Matt Leinart (2004)
Of all the great players to ever suit up for the Trojans of the University of Southern California, few players truly embodied everything that program was about the way Matt Leinart did. The two-time national champion, two-time First-team All-American, and two-time quarterback of the year was the most successful quarterback in school history, and the savvy maestro of one of the most exciting offenses in college football history.
But Leinart, by his own admission, enjoyed his newfound celebrity a bit too much after getting to the NFL. The success he found in Los Angeles didn’t follow him to Arizona, who selected Leinart in the first round of the 2006 NFL Draft. Between a myriad of injuries weaved in with generally poor performances, Leinart was out of the NFL by 2011.
Jeff Dunn says
The Heisman Trophy is a total joke, including this year’s winner. It’s winners as often as not don’t even come close to representing truly the best football player in college football. It’s nothing more than a club.
Pigdog says
How about Steve Spurrier? Won the Heisman and then was crap with the Niners and eventually a winless season with the Bucs.
Govskeptic says
He wasn’t particular crap with the Niners, their 1st string Quarterback was so good he mainly sat
on the bench for several years!
James Michael Krause says
The Browns will probably retire RG III’s number.
Tim Murdock says
No Eric Crouch?
Mark Tye Turner says
You can’t do this list without including Jason White. The guy wins the Heisman and then isn’t even drafted. He tried out for the Chiefs and Titans but nothing came from them. Only two other Heisman winners didn’t get drafted. One guy years ago who opted to the join the army, the other was Charlie Ward who told scouts he was going to play basketball.
Jeff Bumgarner says
He had 2 knee surgeries (ACL tears in each knee) and couldn’t run at all anymore. He simply was too injured to play by the time he graduated.
Spider1952 says
These guys really flopped in the NFL, no doubt. FU Gator QB’s never make good NFL players.
Ole Buck says
The Heisman has nothing to do with the NFL. it is intended to be a predictor of future football success. Charlie Ward was a deserving winner from Florida State and never played a down in the NFL. He won a bundle of other awards too. Then he played 11 seasons in the NBA.
Leon Ferguson says
thats when i stop watching the nfl the worst heisman winner ever is geno toretta from the U……
Ole Buck says
No hardly is Gino Torretta the worst, but in any case it does not matter. In 1991, he was the top college player in the country. That is what the heisman is all about. it is a shame some folks cannot understand that.
david johnson says
he wasn’t even the top player on his team…. marshall faulk was the top player in the country that year
Ja Mo says
Declined the pop-up asking for updates from this website after reading that a Superbowl MVP, pro-bowl player with a 9 year career was a Heisman winning NFL bust bust.
Broadus G Rollins says
What about George Rogers?
Bill says
He had a good career -rookie of the year led league in rushing that year and at least one more year played 7-8yrs
Marvin Clueless says
This is pure shit.Its just lets see how many ads we can fit on one page.
Marvin Clueless says
This is just ad bait
Kurt Rieck says
Desmond Howard was a Super Bowl MVP. Whoever compiled this list…is a dumbass.
Roy Veteto says
the heisman doesn’t mean the player best suited for the nfl. it showcases who was the best collegiate player that year
Leon Ferguson says
so you tell me charlie ward was not good enough for the NFL what you smoking all of these washed QBS IN THE LEAUGE now could not tote charlie ward jock strap you see it every sunday
Roy Veteto says
charlie ward was never drafted by an nfl team . i would rather carry chalie ward’s jock strap then take a shower with michael sam
mttiro67 says
Face it. The Heisman committee has made some bad choices through the years. About half of these guys just didn’t even deserve the *Heisman*, which is one reason they did so poorly in the NFL. Others on this list, like Matt Leinart, were not really very good in college. My grandmother could’ve QB’ed USC when Leinart was there and been successful. What this list does show is how little correlation there is between that award and success in the NFL. In 1999 Tom Brady, now the GOAT, was not even on the ballot in the Heisman voting. So there.
BBBYpsi says
Brady was sharing time with Drew Henson at Michigan & at one time was 3rd string QB. I believe it was the 1997 year when Michigan won the national championship with Charles Woodson winning the heisman only defensive player ever to win it. Might be best Heisman choice ever.
Leon Ferguson says
no woodson is not the best heisman trophy winner ever here r the top -3 hershal walker archie griffin charles woodson
Leon Ferguson says
you are so right that heisman committed got to much power its about who they like.let the fans vote pick the 4 players submitt there names. and the committed. needs to get out of the way.
mttiro67 says
“Likely” ending his season? That was in 2015. Did it end his season or not? Such great writing on these online sites.
PBinLosAngeles says
On a side note, as a direct result of Griffin’s egregious 1974 Heisman win, the date to vote for the trophy winner was moved back. This, after Anthony Davis – who was also an All-American at second base for the Trojans – demolished Notre Dame….
blurglecruncheon says
Uh oh, Tebow is on this list. His fans will be here soon to complain about how unfair it is because the reason he’s on this list is because he’s a Christian who genuflects after a successful play.
Leon Ferguson says
tebow hes not in the top five
Joe says
This list is garbage. Total opinion. Person needs to do some research and go by facts.
Winner says
This list is awful. Desmond Howard won a Super Bowl MVP and Pro Bowl? How is Sam Bradford ranked as a worst bust than Tim Tebow? Bradford shouldn’t even be on this list because between injuries he’s at least been a starter for all his teams, and last season he holds the season completion percentage record. Delete your account.
John Smith says
Howard belongs on here. He was complete trash as WR and could only handle special teams duties. He is the very definition of a Heisman Trophy winning bust in the NFL.
Jon English says
So special teams don’t count? Coaches will tell you it is 1/3 of the game. So Adan Vinatieri is not great because he “could only handle special teams” ???
Presten Tok says
Umm, Desmond Howard was a Super Bowl MVP, as well as a Pro-bowl selection. How exactly was he “terrible in the NFL”? What’s really terrible is the amount of phishing malware that your site tries to load onto my computer when I visit it.
Reviewed says
John Cappelletti probably should be on this list too, but the Heisman is awarded for college accomplishments. Why don’t they award the Heisman 10 years later so we could see how their pro careers turned out? lol
Leon Ferguson says
the heisman is not apart of the nfl
momike says
I’m not sure how Sam Bradford is on this list. He has been a starter and far from the worst QB in the league. Desmond Howard shouldn’t be on it either. RG3 can stay until he does something more than get injured.
xracer says
At least half of these men played longer than the avg NFL career of 3.5 years. It’s seems the common denominator in their mediocre performance is getting drafted by the Browns. And where is Charlie Ward, who was never drafted and played in the NBA instead?
robd says
Desmond Howard made a pro bowl and was a super bowl MVP. Not exactly a mediocre NFL resume so having him on here is a bit of hogwash. 99% of atheletes would give anything for that resume.
Polymath3 says
Auburn’s Pat Sullivan was a bust with the Falcons. He was only 6′ 1″ and threw side armed. He couldn’t see over nor throw over NFL defensive lineman.
Shawn Gorsick says
worked at auburn tho
Polymath3 says
Yes, it did. I watched him shred the UGA secondary between the hedges. But what works in college doesn’t always cut it in the pros.
Phil O'Sophocle says
I figured I’d scan the comments first before I posted that they left Pat Sullivan off the list. He should be at or near the top of the Heisman winning washouts.
Lunderful says
Gary Began from UCLA was the all time worst.
P.S. Fight on!
Polymath3 says
Beban
deadlikeme74 says
The original headline was Worst Heisman winners. They are Heisman winners – representing the best player for the year in college. It’s not supposed to be an indication of how well they will perform in the NFL – some never played in the NFL.
spackler says
Griffin is beyond brutal. He’s toast.
David Kinsey says
Anyone remember Gary Beban from UCLA? It was 1967 when he won. Redskins tried to make him a tight end. He should be number one on the list!
Brian Anderson says
Of note, Dayne really wasn’t ever given a chance. As a Rookie he shared backfield duties with Barber, and still managed to rush for 800 and 5 TD’s. If he would have been allowed to play FT, he would have been a Bettis type. ONWisconsin!!!
deadlikeme74 says
The Giants promoted them as Thunder and Lightening. They forced Dayne into the roll of getting the straight ahead – short yards. Barber was supposed to be the back that could turn the corner and go outside. Barber also had a problem holding onto the ball. Funny they won the Super Bowl the year after he left the team.
idovbnc . says
Desmond Howard was terrible? He won the SB MVP, not exactly what you’d call terrible.
Paul Miille says
manziel is legitimately on the list. griffin could actually become a pretty good(note, i didn’t say great) QB. gruden couldn’t develop a good case of hemorrhoids, let alone a QB, and he never liked griffin, even before he arrived in washington. and shanahan never developed a QB, either. everything elway accomplished began and ended with him and jack elway, in the back yard, growing up. the hard part for griffin would be getting into camp with a solid QB coach who actually gives him a chance, after all the BS in washington. and at least half of that BS was made up by reporters with “anonymous sources”.
howard definitely doesn’t belong on this list. super bowl MVP and pro bowler. hardly a bust and you’d have to be a bust to be terrible in the NFL. griffin was hardly given a reasonable shot. the bungles didn’t have a great line in any of his seasons in cincinnati. and he wasn’t a guy who was going to make 3 guys miss before he got to the line. there have really only been 2 or 3 guys in NFL history who didn’t need a good offensive line in order to be successful, and archie is far from gale sayers and barry sanders.
KC says
How about Jason White undrafted free agent with nothing really to show in the NFL, Mike Rozier who only rushed for 4462 in 9 years, Eric Crouch, or even Steve Spurrier who’s pro career from ’67 – ’76 massed only 6,878 yds with career yds avg of 64.9 yds a game. So there are many bust or lack luster former Heisman Trophy Winners that played or like Charlie Ward decided since he didn’t get drafted did something else and played for the NBA. Desmond found and accepted his niche and I wouldn’t have him on this list w/ 2,895 punt return yds, 7,959 Kick Return yds, super bowl mvp, and pro bowl appearance. Not exactly a pathetic pro career.
Paul Miille says
you covered it when you said “undrafted free agent”. white wasn’t drafted. they aren’t devoting time to guys who weren’t even drafted. otherwise, where are scott frost, eric crouch, tommy frazier and numerous other nebraska guys? don’t recall any of their fullbacks winning the heisman, but those guys almost always had successful careers in the league. nobody would even know who roger craig was if it weren’t for tom rathman. charlie ward never even tried to play in the NFL, so i don’t know how you can possibly say he was terrible. he opted for the NBA draft, instead. the list is flawed because it was made up by someone who clearly doesn’t understand football all that well. some of these guys were more victims of their situation when they were drafted. the best QB in the world, other than peyton manning maybe, can’t save a franchise that has no blocking, no pass catchers, no running game and horrible coaching. some of these guys were simply drafted by teams that didn’t have the supporting pieces needed to make proper use of them. and they weren’t interested in trading the key guy away in order to get those other pieces.
Mike Knudson says
Not to nit pick, but Scott Frost and Tommy Frazier didn’t win the Heisman.
Robert Janzen says
Jason White could hardly stand up much less drop back and pass considering he had little left of his knees after college.
JFV says
R.I.P. Rashan Salaam. As my high school football coach once said, “There is no greater burden than unmet expectations.”
RexMurphy says
In fairness to Archie Griffin, he was drafted by a Cincinnati Bengals team, who when running the ball utilized a big back offensive scheme. I never understood why they drafted Griffin as he was much better suited to a small, skat back scheme like Kansas City and a number of other NFL teams ran at that time.
Ted E. Dendinger says
Where is Jamarcus Russell, he was a total bust, Bradford is actually playing halfway decent now.
SportsDrop says
Hey Ted. No denying JaMarcus was terrible in the NFL. Probably the biggest draft bust in NFL history. But he didn’t make this list because he never won the Heisman.
ndstruktabl says
Well, one key thing kept Russell from being on this list… the Heisman.
robd says
He didn’t win the heisman. Why would he be on the list of heisman busts?
Lefft Wingerre says
Where’s Pat Sullivan of Auburn? He should have been the #1 bust on this list. For that matter, add Bo Jackson to the list as well, as he never did much either due to his chronic hip problem. I can think of at least a dozen more that belong on this list. Winning the Heisman is one of the worst things that can happen to “a affaleet”
Rodney James says
I gotta disagree with the RGIII pick, Jim Plunkett started pretty bad when he was drafted by the New England Patriots, he was then traded to the San Francisco 49ers, where most people thought it was a confirmation that he was a bust. The Raiders traded for him to back up Dan Pastorini, he got hurt (Pastorini) and Plunkett took the Raiders to two (2) Super Bowls. Lets wait until his career is over before putting him in that “Bust” column next to Jamarcus Russell, ok?
GO RAIDERS!!!
Ted E. Dendinger says
RGIII sucks
Paul Miille says
spoken like a true moron redskins fan, who buys everything the media said “insiders” were telling them about him. he had zero coaching by a real QB coach, in washington. gruden is a moron and it’s pretty clear cousins is the same guy he was when he was drafted to be the safety valve/backup QB for shanahan. what made cousins look good in his first season was when they suddenly developed a running game. now, with that being more of a memory than a fact, he’s average to terrible, most of the time. so stop blaming griffin for what the coaching staff and GM don’t know how to do.
Jim Gates says
they didn’t mention vince young he was terrible in nfl great in college
Thurston S says
I was also waiting to see his name.
robd says
You’ll be waiting forever since he can’t go back in time and get a heisman he never won.
Thurston S says
Ha! Good point. Forgot about that. There was so much hype about him deserving the Heisman more than Bush etc, I forgot he hadn’t.
Mike Knudson says
He didn’t make the list because he didn’t win the Heisman.
Dylan O'Neill says
“He played for five teams during his nine-year NFL career, highlighted by winning the MVP award in Super Bowl MVP XXXI (as a member of the Green Bay Packers) and a Pro Bowl appearance in 2000 (as a member of the Detroit Lions).” – Not exactly terrible by any account.
Wolfman says
now where are all the trophy wives ?