Tebow for 2?

After leading a magnificent comeback against Alabama Saturday night, Tim Tebow might have climbed back into the Heisman Trophy race. Only one other player has won the award twice, Archie Griffin, Running Back for Ohio State University in 1974-1975.

Winning the Heisman Trophy does not always translate into NFL success. Griffin was the 24th player selected in the first round of the 1976 NFL draft by the Cincinnati Bengals. Griffin played 6 years for the Bengals and only totaled 4400 total yards and 13 touchdowns.

Lets review the past 20 winners and see you was a bust and who became a superstar.

1988- Barry Sanders RB Oklahoma St. 1st rd/3rd overall Detroit.

Sanders was a true elite running back in the NFL. He earned 10 trips to the probowl, each year he played. 6 time All-Pro. 1989 Rookie of the Year. 1997 Co-MVP with Brett Favre. Only Walter Payton and Emmitt Smith have more career rushing yards than Sanders. Prior to the start of the 1999 campaign, Sanders simply retired and walked away from the game. He was simply 1,557 yards behind Payton for the all-time leading rushing title, which was achievable given 1500 yards was his career season average.
An interesting note is he was the third player chosen in the draft in 1988. The Cowboys had the first pick and selected Troy Aikman. Then the Packers selected OL Tony Mandrich, one of the NFL's all-time biggest draft busts. The Lions then selected Sanders with the third pick. Had Barry Sanders been selected by the Packers in 1988, would Ron Wolf traded with Atlanta for a quarterback named Brett Favre in 1992? Would Sanders, known as a better runner on turf than natural grass, have had a similar career on the frozen Tundra of Green Bay? Superstar.

1989- Andre Ware QB University of Houston 1st rd/7th overall Lions

The Lions select their second Heisman trophy winner back to back. Ware put up outrageous numbers at the University of Houston. Ware benefitted from a system, the run and gun offense which allowed him to throw 40 or more times a game. While Houston played against weak opponents, Ware's numbers never translated into NFL success. He was on the Lions roster through the 1993 season after which Ware headed to Canada and played a few years in the CFL.
Bust.

1990-Ty Detmer QB BYU 9th rd/230th overall Packers

Detmer was one reason Ron Wolf eventually traded a first round pick to Atlanta for Brett Favre. Detmer played for 6 teams over a 14 year career, throwing 34 touchdowns and 6,000 yards. Detmer never became anything more than a spot starter and a career back-up. BUST.

1991-Desmond Howard University of Michigan WR 1st rd/4th overall Washington

Howard was an electrifying player in college. He played for 5 teams in 10 years and while used as a third wide reciever on some teams, he was primiarly utilized as a kick returner while amassing over 10,000 career return yards. Howard is currently employed as a commentator for pre-season Detroit Lion games. Ouch. Not a bust, but not worthy of the position of where he was selected in the draft.

1992-Gino Toretta QB University of Miami 7th rd/192 Vikings

Toretta rode the coattails of previous quarterbacks which came from the U of M. He also won the Heisman in a year where the crop of talent named for the award was fairly weak. Toretta played in NFL Europe and for the Vikings, 49er's, Lions and Seahawks. Never had much of a career. Are you starting to see a link here to all the Heisman winners and the connection to the Lions? BUST

1993-Charlie Ward QB THE Florida State University (national champions in 1993)

Charlie Ward said if he wasn't going to be drafted in the first or second round, he would play in the NBA. Ward was an exciting player on the football field but he truly was a triple sport star. In addition to football, Ward was drafted by a MLB team and finally opted to play point guard for the New York Knicks and 3 other teams in an 11 year career.

1994-Rashaan Iman Salaam RB Colorado 1st rd/21st pick Chicago

Salaam had a 1,000 yard rookie season, but followed up the next two years with a rash of injuries, ball control issues and drug charges. Salaam also made stops in Cleveland and Green Bay, finally playing a year in the failed XFL for the Memphis Maniax. BUST

1995-Eddie George RB Ohio State 1st rd/14th overall Houston Oilers.

George was a dynamic and tough as nails running back for the Houston Oilers, who eventually became the Tennessee Titans. George played 9 years, rushed for 10,441 yards and scored 78 touchdowns. SUPERSTAR

1996- Danny Wuerffel QB Some college in Gainesville FL 4th rd/99th overall New Orleans

Wuerffel, proir to the arrival of Tim Tebow, was the most prolific and dynamic quarterback at the University of Florida. Wuerffel was deserving of the Heisman in 1996. However, he was another system oriented player, playing in Steve Spurrier's run and gun offense. Not many of Spurrier's players translated into successful NFL players. Wuerffel, a man with the highest character of football players never really caught on in the NFL. He played for the Saints, Packers, Bears, Redskins and a stint in the NFL Europe. He compiled 2200 career passing yards, 12 touchdowns and 22 interceptions. BUST

1997-Charles Woodson DB University of Michigan 1st rd/4th overall Oakland

In a rare move, a defensive player won the Heisman trophy. Woodson is still currently playing. After a long career with the Oakland Raiders he has recently signed a 6 year deal with the Green Bay Packers. To this point in his career, he has 602 career tackles and 32 interceptions. SUPERSTAR

1998-Ricky Williams RB University of Texas 1st rd/5th overall New Orleans

Saints coach Mike Ditka was so enamored with Williams that he traded every pick in the 1999 draft and the 1st and 3rd round picks in 2000 to the Washington Redskins in order to move up in the draft and select Williams 5th overall. Williams did not live up to expectations and was eventually traded to the Miami Dolphins. Ditka was eventually fired and it took several years for the Saints to recover from Ditka's draft day blunder. Williams has had a rocky NFL career. While with the Dolphins, he tested positive for marijuana and faced a 4 game suspension and a near 700,000.00 fine. Williams decided to retire from football. The following year, 2005, after pressure from the Dolphins front office to recover a huge signing bonus, Williams decided to un-retire. He payed back a portion of his signing bonus and served his 4 game suspension. In the offseason, Williams tested positive for marijuana again and was suspended for an entire year. In 2006, he decided to play football for in the CFL for the Toronto Argonaughts. While playing in Canada, he broke his hand halfway through the season. In 2007, NFL Commissioneer Roger Goodell reinstated his eligibility to play in the NFL and he returned to the Dolphins, where he is still playing. Along the way, he's been able to collect nearly 10,000 total yards and 55 touchdowns. The jury is still out on this drama queen.

1999- Ron Dayne RB Illinois 1st rd/11th overall New York Giants

Dayne was a punishing running back who teamed up with Tiki Barber forming the Thunder and Lightining backfield, similar to the Warrick Dunn/Mike Alstott combo in Tampa around the same time. Dayne always dealt with weight issues throughout his career and only lasted a few years in New York before moving on to Denver and finally Houston. Dayne is no longer in football. BUST

2000-Chris Weinke QB National Champion FS Seminoles! 4th rd/106 Carolina

Weinke is the oldest recipient of the Heisman. He won the award at the age of 28. Stright out of high school, Weinke signed to play professional baseball with the Toronto Blue Jays, after reaching AAA ball as a third baseman and realizing he wasn't going to make it to the majors, Weike exercised his college eligibility and returned to Florida State. The led the Seminoles to a National Championship his final season. Weinke never caught on in the NFL. He played 5 years for the Carolina Panthers and 1 season with the 49er's. As mostly a career backup, he threw for 3900 yards, 15 touchdowns and 26 interceptions. BUST

2001-Eric Crouch QB Nebraska 3rd rd/95th overall St. Louis

Though Crouch played quarterback in college, he was moved to defense as St. Louis experimented with him in the secondary. The experiment failed. He spent 2002 on the Rams practice squad, 2003-04 with the Packers, 2005 on the Chiefs practice squad, served a year in NFL Europe with the Hamburg Sea Devils, one year with the CFL's Toronto Argonauts and is currently on the roster of Team Texas, in the All-American Football League. The AAFL is a rival league to the NFL which is scheduled to start play in 2009. With busts like Crouch filling the rosters of these teams, I'm sure the AAFL wont last long. BUST

2002-Carson Palmer QB USC 1st rd/1st overall Cincinnatti

Carson is the only Heisman Trophy winner in the past 20 years to be drafted as the first overall selection. Palmer has proven to be a serviceable quarterback while dealing with injury issues in his young career. Palmer has racked up over 16,000 yards passing, 107 touchdowns and a 88.9 passer rating. It's to early to rate this selection.

2003-Jason White QB Oklahoma undrafted.

He spent 2005 on the Tennessee Titans practice squad and he currently owns an Athlete's Foot shoe store franchise. BUST

2004-Matt Leinhart QB USC 1st rd/10th overall Arizona

This is the second USC quarterback to win the Heisman in three years. The left hander has struggled to crack the starting lineup in Arizona, this year losing out to 38 year old Kurt Warner. Warner has had a fantastic year and has indicated he would like to return in 2009 so Leinhart better get it in gear if he wants to be under center anytime soon. Too soon to tell

2005-Reggie Bush RB USC 1st/2nd overall New Orleans

Heading into the draft, the speculation was that Bush was heading to Houston who had the first overall selection in 2006. The night before the draft, the Texans announced they had reached agreement with DE Mario Williams, a move after the 2006 season which looked foolish for the Texans. In his rookie year, Bush put up 2600 all purpose yards and scored 18 touchdowns. This year however, Texas looks to have made the better selection as Williams has proven to be a force on the defensive line while Bush has become a situational back for the Saints. Too soon to tell

2006 Troy Smith QB Ohio State University 5th rd/174th overall
Smith only saw action while starting the Ravens final game of the 2007 season. In the 2008 draft, the Ravens selected Delaware quarterback Joe Flacco. Smith was unable to unseat Flacco in training camp, so his future with the Ravens may be in question. Too soon to tell

2007-Tim Tebow QB The Swamp- still in college.

So while the near term future looks bright for Tebow, a successful NFL career is not guaranteed.