Charles Woodson (1997)
Michigan's Heisman Trophy History
The John W. Heisman Trophy has been given to college football's outstanding player each season since 1935 by the Downtown Athletic Club of New York. The trophy, first known as the D.A.C. trophy was renamed in 1936 for Heisman, the first athletic director for the Downtown Athletic Club. Heisman played football at Penn and at Brown and later coached for 36 seasons, serving at nine different schools.
Three University of Michigan players have won the award: Tom Harmon (1940), Desmond Howard (1991) and Charles Woodson (1997).
Tom Harmon (1940)
Desmond Howard (1991)
Charles Woodson (1997)
Three Wolverines (Harmon, 1939; Bob Chappuis, 1947; and Aidan Hutchinson, 2021) have finished second in the voting, three U-M individuals (Rob Lytle, 1976; Rick Leach, 1978; and Jim Harbaugh, 1986) have finished third, and three others (Bob Timberlake, 1964; Anthony Carter, 1982; and Chris Perry, 2003) have placed fourth.
Michigan student-athletes have placed in the top 12 in the Heisman voting 29 times. Carter finished among the top 10 in his sophomore, junior and senior seasons, while Harmon, Ron Kramer (1955, 1956) and Leach (1977, 1978) placed in the top 10 twice during their Michigan careers.
Following is a year-by-year listing of Heisman Trophy winners, along with Michigan players who placed in the voting:
| Year | Winner, School, Position | U-M in Voting |
| 1935 | Jay Berwanger, Chicago, HB | |
| 1936 | Larry Kelly, Yale, E | |
| 1937 | Clint Frank, Yale, HB | |
| 1938 | Davey O'Brien, Texas Christian, QB | |
| 1939 | Nile Kinnick, Iowa, HB | Tom Harmon (2nd) |
| 1940 | Tom Harmon, Michigan, HB | |
| 1941 | Bruce Smith, Minnesota, HB | Bob Westfall (8th) |
| 1942 | Frank Sinkwich, Georgia, HB | |
| 1943 | Angelo Bertelli, Notre Dame, QB | Bill Daley (7th) |
| 1944 | Les Horvath, Ohio State, QB | |
| 1945 | Doc Blanchard*, Army, FB | |
| 1946 | Glenn Davis, Army, HB | |
| 1947 | John Lujack, Notre Dame, QB | Bob Chappuis (2nd) |
| 1948 | Doak Walker*, Southern Methodist, HB | |
| 1949 | Leon Hart, Notre Dame, E | |
| 1950 | Vic Janowicz*, Ohio State, HB | |
| 1951 | Dick Kazmaier, Princeton, HB | |
| 1952 | Billy Vessels, Oklahoma, HB | |
| 1953 | John Lattner, Notre Dame, HB | |
| 1954 | Alan Ameche, Wisconsin, FB | |
| 1955 | Hopalong Cassady, Ohio State, HB | Ron Kramer (8th) |
| 1956 | Paul Hornung, Notre Dame, QB | Ron Kramer (6th) |
| 1957 | John David Crow, Texas A&M, HB | |
| 1958 | Pete Dawkins, Army, HB | |
| 1959 | Bill Cannon, Louisiana State, HB | |
| 1960 | Joe Bellino, Navy, HB | |
| 1961 | Ernie Davis, Syracuse, HB | |
| 1962 | Terry Baker, Oregon State, QB | |
| 1963 | Roger Staubach*, Navy, QB | |
| 1964 | John Huarte, Notre Dame, QB | Bob Timberlake (4th) |
| 1965 | Mike Garrett, Southern California, RB | |
| 1966 | Steve Spurrier, Florida, QB | |
| 1967 | Gary Beban, UCLA, QB | |
| 1968 | O.J. Simpson, Southern California, RB | Ron Johnson (6th) |
| 1969 | Steve Owens, Oklahoma, RB | |
| 1970 | Jim Plunkett, Stanford, QB | |
| 1971 | Pat Sullivan, Auburn, QB | |
| 1972 | Johnny Rodgers, Nebraska, FL | |
| 1973 | John Cappelletti, Penn State, RB | |
| 1974 | Archie Griffin*, Ohio State, RB | Dennis Franklin (8th) |
| 1975 | Archie Griffin, Ohio State, RB | Gordon Bell (8th) |
| 1976 | Tony Dorsett, Pittsburgh, RB | Rob Lytle (3rd) |
| 1977 | Earl Campbell, Texas, RB | Rick Leach (8th) |
| 1978 | Billy Sims*, Oklahoma, RB | Rick Leach (3rd) |
| 1979 | Charles White, Southern California, RB | |
| 1980 | George Rogers, South Carolina, RB | Anthony Carter (10th) |
| 1981 | Marcus Allen, Southern California, RB | Anthony Carter (7th) |
| 1982 | Herschel Walker*, Georgia, RB | Anthony Carter (4th) |
| 1983 | Mike Rozier, Nebraska, RB | |
| 1984 | Doug Flutie, Boston College, QB | |
| 1985 | Bo Jackson, Auburn, RB | |
| 1986 | Vinny Testaverde, Miami (Fla.), QB | Jim Harbaugh^ (3rd) |
| 1987 | Tim Brown, Notre Dame, WR | |
| 1988 | Barry Sanders*, Oklahoma State, RB | |
| 1989 | Andre Ware*, Houston, QB | |
| 1990 | Ty Detmer*, Brigham Young, QB | |
| 1991 | Desmond Howard, Michigan, WR | |
| 1992 | Gino Torretta, Miami (Fla.), QB | |
| 1993 | Charlie Ward, Florida State, QB | Tyrone Wheatley (8th) |
| 1994 | Rashaan Salaam*, Colorado, RB | Tyrone Wheatley (12th) |
| 1995 | Eddie George, Ohio State, RB | Tshimanga Biakabutuka (8th) |
| 1996 | Danny Wuerffel, Florida, QB | |
| 1997 | Charles Woodson*, Michigan, CB/WR | |
| 1998 | Ricky Williams, Texas, RB | |
| 1999 | Ron Dayne, Wisconsin, RB | |
| 2000 | Chris Weinke, Florida State, QB | |
| 2001 | Eric Crouch, Nebraska, QB | |
| 2002 | Carson Palmer, Southern California, QB | |
| 2003 | Jason White*, Oklahoma, QB | Chris Perry^ (4th) |
| 2004 | Matt Leinart*, Southern California, QB | Braylon Edwards (10th) |
| 2005 | Reggie Bush*, Southern California, RB | |
| 2006 | Troy Smith, Ohio State, QB | Mike Hart (5th) |
| 2007 | Tim Tebow*, Florida, QB | |
| 2008 | Sam Bradford*, Oklahoma, QB | |
| 2009 | Mark Ingram*, Alabama, RB | |
| 2010 | Cam Newton*, Auburn, QB | Denard Robinson (6th) |
| 2011 | Robert Griffin III*, Baylor, QB | |
| 2012 | Johnny Manziel*, Texas A&M, QB | |
| 2013 | Jameis Winston*, Florida State, QB | |
| 2014 | Marcus Mariota*, Oregon, QB | |
| 2015 | Derrick Henry*, Alabama, RB | |
| 2016 | Lamar Jackson*, Louisville, QB | Jabrill Peppers^ (5th) |
| 2017 | Baker Mayfield*, Oklahoma, QB | |
| 2018 | Kyler Murray*, Oklahoma, QB | |
| 2019 | Joe Burrow, Louisiana State, QB | |
| 2020 | DeVonta Smith, Alabama, WR | |
| 2021 | Bryce Young*, Alabama, QB | Aidan Hutchinson^ (2nd) |
| 2022 | Caleb Williams*, Southern California, QB | Blake Corum (7th) |
| 2023 | Jayden Daniels, Louisiana State, QB | Blake Corum (9th), J.J. McCarthy (10th) |
^ indicates finalist invited to ceremony (since 1982); Harbaugh did not attend
* indicates non-senior winner
Heisman Trophy Links
• Heisman Trophy Site
• Winner Profile: Tom Harmon
• Winner Profile: Desmond Howard
• Winner Profile: Charles Woodson
