Click here to see the Heisman votes by year.
| Year | Name | University | Class | Position | Points |
| 1935 | Jay Berwanger | Chicago | Sr. | HB | 84 |
| 1936 | Larry Kelley | Yale | Sr. | E | 219 |
| 1937 | Clint Frank | Yale | Sr. | HB | 524 |
| 1938 | Davey O’Brien | Texas Christian | Sr. | QB | 519 |
| 1939 | Nile Kinnick | Iowa | Sr. | HB | 651 |
| 1940 | Tom Harmon | Michigan | Sr. | HB | 1,303 |
| 1941 | Bruce Smith | Minnesota | Sr. | HB | 554 |
| 1942 | Frank Sinkwich | Georgia | Sr. | HB | 1,059 |
| 1943 | Angelo Bertelli | Notre Dame | Sr. | QB | 648 |
| 1944 | Les Horvath | Ohio State | Sr. | QB/HB | 412 |
| 1945 | Doc Blanchard | Army | Jr. | FB | 860 |
| 1946 | Glenn Davis | Army | Sr. | HB | 792 |
| 1947 | Johnny Lujack | Notre Dame | Sr. | QB | 742 |
| 1948 | Doak Walker | Southern Methodist | Jr. | HB | 778 |
| 1949 | Leon Hart | Notre Dame | Sr. | E | 995 |
| 1950 | Vic Janowicz | Ohio State | Jr. | HB | 633 |
| 1951 | Dick Kazmaier | Princeton | Sr. | HB | 1,777 |
| 1952 | Billy Vessels | Oklahoma | Sr. | HB | 525 |
| 1953 | Johnny Lattner | Notre Dame | Sr. | HB | 1,850 |
| 1954 | Alan Ameche | Wisconsin | Sr. | FB | 1,068 |
| 1955 | Howard Cassady | Ohio State | Sr. | HB | 2,219 |
| 1956 | Paul Hornung | Notre Dame | Sr. | QB | 1,066 |
| 1957 | John David Crow | Texas A&M | Sr. | HB | 1,183 |
| 1958 | Pete Dawkins | Army | Sr. | HB | 1,394 |
| 1959 | Billy Cannon | Louisiana State | Sr. | HB | 1,929 |
| 1960 | Joe Bellino | Navy | Sr. | HB | 1,793 |
| 1961 | Ernie Davis | Syracuse | Sr. | HB | 824 |
| 1962 | Terry Baker | Oregon State | Sr. | QB | 707 |
| 1963 | Roger Staubach | Navy | Jr. | QB | 1,860 |
| 1964 | John Huarte | Notre Dame | Sr. | QB | 1,026 |
| 1965 | Mike Garrett | Southern California | Sr. | HB | 926 |
| 1966 | Steve Spurrier | Florida | Sr. | QB | 1,679 |
| 1967 | Gary Beban | UCLA | Sr. | QB | 1,968 |
| 1968 | OJ Simpson | Southern California | Sr. | HB | 2,853 |
| 1969 | Steve Owens | Oklahoma | Sr. | HB | 1,488 |
| 1970 | Jim Plunkett | Stanford | Sr. | QB | 2,229 |
| 1971 | Pat Sullivan | Auburn | Sr. | QB | 1,597 |
| 1972 | Johnny Rodgers | Nebraska | Sr. | WR | 1,310 |
| 1973 | John Cappelletti | Penn State | Sr. | RB | 1,057 |
| 1974 | Archie Griffin | Ohio State | Jr. | RB | 1,920 |
| 1975 | Archie Griffin | Ohio State | Sr. | RB | 1,800 |
| 1976 | Tony Dorsett | Pittsburgh | Sr. | RB | 2,357 |
| 1977 | Earl Campbell | Texas | Sr. | RB | 1,547 |
| 1978 | Billy Sims | Oklahoma | Jr. | RB | 827 |
| 1979 | Charles White | Southern California | Sr. | RB | 1,695 |
| 1980 | George Rogers | South Carolina | Sr. | RB | 1,128 |
| 1981 | Marcus Allen | Southern California | Sr. | RB | 1,797 |
| 1982 | Herschel Walker | Georgia | Jr. | RB | 1,926 |
| 1983 | Mike Rozier | Nebraska | Sr. | RB | 1,801 |
| 1984 | Doug Flutie | Boston College | Sr. | QB | 2,240 |
| 1985 | Bo Jackson | Auburn | Sr. | RB | 1,509 |
| 1986 | Vinny Testaverde | Miami | Sr. | QB | 2,213 |
| 1987 | Tim Brown | Notre Dame | Sr. | WR | 1,442 |
| 1988 | Barry Sanders | Oklahoma State | Jr. | RB | 1,878 |
| 1989 | Andre Ware | Houston | Jr. | QB | 1,073 |
| 1990 | Ty Detmer | Brigham Young | Jr. | QB | 1,482 |
| 1991 | Desmond Howard | Michigan | Jr. | WR | 2,077 |
| 1992 | Gino Torretta | Miami | Sr. | QB | 1,400 |
| 1993 | Charlie Ward | Florida State | Sr. | QB | 2,310 |
| 1994 | Rashaan Salaam | Colorado | Jr. | RB | 1,743 |
| 1995 | Eddie George | Ohio State | Sr. | RB | 1,460 |
| 1996 | Danny Wuerffel | Florida | Sr. | QB | 1,363 |
| 1997 | Charles Woodson | Michigan | Jr. | DB/WR | 1,815 |
| 1998 | Ricky Williams | Texas | Sr. | RB | 2,355 |
| 1999 | Ron Dayne | Wisconsin | Sr. | RB | 2.042 |
| 2000 | Chris Weinke | Florida State | Sr. | QB | 1,628 |
| 2001 | Eric Crouch | Nebraska | Sr. | QB | 770 |
| 2002 | Carson Palmer | Southern California | Sr. | QB | 1,328 |
| 2003 | Jason White | Oklahoma | Jr. | QB | 1,481 |
| 2004 | Matt Leinart | Southern California | Jr. | QB | 1,325 |
| 2005 | Reggie Bush | Southern California | Jr. | RB | 2,541 |
| 2006 | Troy Smith | Ohio State | Sr. | QB | 2,540 |
| 2007 | Tim Tebow | Florida | So. | QB | 1,957 |
| 2008 | Sam Bradford | Oklahoma | So. | QB | 1,726 |
| 2009 | Mark Ingram, Jr. | Alabama | So. | RB | 1,304 |
| 2010 | Cam Newton | Auburn | Jr. | QB | 2,263 |
| 2011 | Robert Griffin III | Baylor | Jr. | QB | 1,687 |
| 2012 | Johnny Maziel | Texas A&M | Fr. | QB | 2,029 |
| 2013 | Jameis Winston | Florida State | Fr. | QB | 2,205 |
| 2014 | Marcus Mariota | Oregon | Jr. | QB | 2,534 |
| 2015 | Derrick Henry | Alabama | Jr. | RB | 1,832 |
| 2016 | Lamar Jackson | Louisville | So. | QB | 2,144 |
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