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

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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JACKSONVILLE, FL – DECEMBER 30: Lamar Jackson #8 of the Louisville Cardinals directs the offense in the first half of the TaxSlayer Bowl against the Mississippi State Bulldogs at EverBank Field on December 30, 2017 in Jacksonville, Florida. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images) /

2. Lamar Jackson, QB, Louisville (2016 winner)

Watching Lamar Jackson along the way in his 2016 Heisman Trophy winning performance was must-see viewing. The Louisville Cardinals quarterback was just slicing up one defense after another both with his arm and legs as one of the greatest and most productive dual-threat quarterbacks in college football history. However, it’s hard to say that was foreseeable looking back at his recruiting profile.

While Jackson had interest from numerous big-time programs, he wasn’t exactly a stud coming out of high school. The Boynton Beach Community High School prospect was only a 3-star recruit ranked 409th nationally. While he was the 12th-best dual-threat quarterback in the class, his overall ranking really showed that people were missing how special of an athlete the young man could be. He certainly changed their opinions, however.

1. Baker Mayfield, QB, Oklahoma (2017 winner)

Coming out of Lake Travis High School in Austin, TX in 2013, Baker Mayfield was indubitably an unknown commodity. In fact, he wasn’t even among the top 1,000 recruits in the country according to the 247 Sports Composite Rankings. He ranked as the 1,029th overall prospect, just the 42nd-ranked pro-style quarterback prospect and even just the 160th best prospect in the state of Texas.

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With only three offers at the time — from Florida Atlantic, New Mexico and Rice — Mayfield bet on himself by walking on at Texas Tech. After leaving the Red Raiders and transferring to Oklahoma, he walked on once again and ultimately worked his way to becoming one of the most efficient, fiery and dynamic stars that we’ve seen in college football in a long time. Given where he came from, though, there’s no chance that anyone could’ve seen this coming.

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