@mld-woody said:

Its not totally fair to include the QBs that won because of their legs as well

This thread is about Heisman Trophy winner QBs and their ability to make it in the pros.

In the past, college QBs who were as much runner as passer became HBs in the pros, see Hornung and Horvath.

Maybe Tim Tebow can take a lesson from them. You never know, he might succeed.

And the likes of Newton and RGIII ARE winning in the pros because of their legs as well as their arms, so, sure, it is fair to include them.

Zombo said:

This would have been a great hypothesis in 2008, but the last three, Bradford, Newton and Grffin, look pretty good. Even if you throw out Bradford, the last two selected, Newton and Griffin look damn good.

Zombo

Yes, like I said, some light at the end of that tunnel. Here is the list of each Heisman winning QB in order of his production in the pros, going strictly by passing yardage:

1. Vinny Testaverde 46,233 yds, 275 TDs

2. Jim Plunkett 25,882, 164 TDs

3. Roger Staubach 22,700, 153 TDs

4. Doug Flutie 14,715, 86 TDs (but is in CFL HOF)

5. Sam Bradford* 9378, 45 TDs

6. Cam Newton* 7920, 40 TDs

7. Steve Spurrier 6878, 40 TDs

8. Ty Detmer 6351, 34 TDs

9. Johnny Lujack 6295, 41 TDs

10. Matt Leinert* 4065, 15 TDs

11. Chris Weinke 3904, 15 TDs

12. Robert Griffin* 3200, 20 TDs

13. Davey O'Brien 2614, 11 TDs

14. Tim Tebow* 2422 , 17 TDs

15. Danny Wuerffel 2123, 12 TDs

16. Troy Smith 1734, 8 TDs

17. Pat Sullivan, 1155, 5 TDs

18. Andre Ware, 1112, 5 TDs

19. Angelo Bertelli, 972, 8 TDs

20. Paul Hornung 383 , 5 TDs....but did not play QB, HOF halfback

21. John Huarte 230, 1 TD

22. Terry Baker 154, 0 TDs

23. Gino Torretta, 41, 1 TD

24. Gary Beban 0 yds, 0 TDs was 0 for 1 passing in his career

25. Les Horvath, no passes, but played 3 years at HB

26. Charlie Ward did not play

27. Eric Crouch did not play

28. Jason White did not play

29. Nile Kinnick did not play, killed in action

* active

The fact that Bradford, Newton, and Griffin are already so high on this list is illustrative of two points: A. In the past, yes, Heisman QBs have generally be not so hot in the pros, and B. That may in fact be changing.

Note that this list does not include Paul Hornung. While he was a QB in college at Notre Dame, in the pros he played halfback, not QB, but he did win several titles as a member of the 1960s Packer dynasty.

Besides those name in the previous post, the other QBs to win the Heisman are:

Davey O'Brien...played a few years, had 11 pro TD passes, but switched primarily to DB.

Nile Kinnick...killed in WWII before going pro

Angelo Bertelli...played a few non-distinctive years in the AAFC with the LA Dons

Les Horvath (combined QB/HB at OSU)...played one year in NFL with Rams

Johnny Lujack...actually pretty decent. Played a few years with Bears, made 2 Pro Bowls

Terry Baker...backup with Rams. Career: 0 TDs, 4 Ints, then played a few years in CFL

John Huarte...another backup, with 5 teams he had 1 career TD and 5 Ints

Steve Spurrier...decent career mainly as a backup, not great. Played 10 years with SF and TB, had 6878 career passing yards and 40 TDs. Obviously better known as a college coach.

Gary Beban..quit football after 2 years as a backup to Sonny Jurgenson. Had -0- career TDs.

Pat Sullivan..spent 4 years in NFL, again as a backup in Atlanta. Had 5 career Tds

@the-gipper said:

The title of this thread pretty much says it all: It would, on general be a fairly wise decision to NOT draft a Heisman winning QB. Here is the list of the Heisman winning QBs of the last 25 years:

2012 Johnny Manziel

2011 Robert Griffin III

2010 Cam Newton

2008 Sam Bradford

2007 Tim Tebow

2006 Troy Smith

2004 Matt Leinert

2003 Jason White

2002 Carson Palmer

2001 Eric Crouch

2000 Chris Weinke

1996 Danny Wuerffel

1993 Charlie Ward

1992 Gino Torreta

1990 Ty Detmer

1989 Andre Ware

Before that the last decent Heisman winning QB was Vinny Testaverde. Jim Plunkett was decent and won two titles (in fact, he is the last Heisman winning QB to start for a Super Bowl winner), but neither Vinny or Plunkett or Palmer are ever likely to be HOF caliber.

The last Heisman winning QB to be HOF caliber: Roger Staubach...who was drafted in 1964. That's the last year the Browns won a title folks, so that tells you how long it has been.

There may be some light at the end of that tunnel. Bradford seems just OK. Newton and RGIII may have some real possibilities.

And Johnny Football? Seems like a hell of a college QB, but reminds me more of Doug Flutie than anyone else. Also just a decent Heisman winning QB when it came to the pros.

This would have been a great hypothesis in 2008, but the last three, Bradford, Newton and Grffin, look pretty good. Even if you throw out Bradford, the last two selected, Newton and Griffin look damn good.

Zombo