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College Football Recruiting: How last 10 Heisman winners ranked as recruits

By Cody Williams

PASADENA, CA - JANUARY 01: Quarterback Baker Mayfield #6 of the Oklahoma Sooners looks to avoid a sack by linebacker Roquan Smith #3 of the Georgia Bulldogs in the second half in the 2018 College Football Playoff Semifinal at the Rose Bowl Game presented by Northwestern Mutual at the Rose Bowl on January 1, 2018 in Pasadena, California. (Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images)
PASADENA, CA - JANUARY 01: Quarterback Baker Mayfield #6 of the Oklahoma Sooners looks to avoid a sack by linebacker Roquan Smith #3 of the Georgia Bulldogs in the second half in the 2018 College Football Playoff Semifinal at the Rose Bowl Game presented by Northwestern Mutual at the Rose Bowl on January 1, 2018 in Pasadena, California. (Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images) /
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With National Signing Day approaching, we take a look at how the last 10 winners of the Hesiman Trophy were ranked as incoming recruits.

There’s no more distinguished honor in college football than the Heisman Trophy. The award carries more clout and prestige than any other, and for good reason. When you look back through the past winners of the award — and, to a degree, the finalists — you get an all-encompassing picture of the past stars of the sport. However, we all know that not all Heisman Trophy winners are created equal.

While that’s a simple truth in regards to some players being more deserving of the distinction than others, it applies in more ways than one as well. Frankly, many of these players that have won the award entered the world of college football on different playing fields in terms of their recruitment. Some had fanfare on National Signing Day, while others were just hoping to find a place to play football.

Everyone loves a good underdog story, and there are plenty when looking back at past Heisman Trophy winners. Many of these players have gone from relative unknowns to winning award that makes them a season-defining player. That speaks to their work-ethic and to the fact that, in the end, recruiting isn’t always an exact science. You don’t have to be a 5-star player to be great in college football.

With that in mind, let’s take a look at the last 10 Heisman Trophy winners and how they ranked as recruits once upon a time.

Note: All recruiting data is via 247 Sports.

10. Sam Bradford, QB, Oklahoma (2008 winner)

There were four different schools that were all coming after Sam Bradford back in 2006, one of them of course being Oklahoma, followed by Texas A&M, Texas Tech and Iowa State. All four programs made offers, but Bradford ultimately chose to head to Norman to play under Bob Stoops. Given his success, that was obviously the right decision. What wasn’t the right decision was how evaluators saw him to where he was so lightly recruited.

Bradford was rated only as a 3-star recruit coming out of high school, and didn’t even crack the top 300 overall rankings. What’s more, he wasn’t even among the top 10 pro-style quarterback recruiting prospects at the time, coming in at No. 12 for the 2006 class. Suffice it to say that the Putnam City North High School product made that evaluation look quite silly.

9. Mark Ingram, RB, Alabama (2009 winner)

Being recruited to play running back for the Alabama Crimson Tide more often than not means that you were a special player at the high school level. There’s no questioning the fact that Mark Ingram fit that bill. Having said that, when the back was coming out of Southwestern Commencement Academy in Flint, MI back in 2008, there truly wasn’t as much fanfare about him as a prospect as you might think, especially considering the collegiate career he went on to have.

Sure, Ingram was given a 4-star grade. However, the Crimson Tide star and 2009 Heisman winner was only the 112th ranked prospect in the country for his class and just barely cracked the top 10 at his position as the 10th best running back prospect. Having said that, he was higher-rated than many other winners of the award, but still not as high as you might’ve expected.

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