1997 - 63rd Award
Charles Woodson
Michigan Cornerback
At 6-feet 2-inches and 200 pounds, Charles Woodson is the third Michigan Wolverine to win the Heisman Trophy. The exciting junior cornerback garnered numerous post-season honors including First Team All-American by the American Football Coaches Association. Charles finished the season with eight interceptions. Woodson the versatile player also saw time as a receiver on offense and as a dangerous punt returner on special teams. Charles and the Wolverines finished the season with a 21-16 victory over Washington State in the Rose Bowl to go 12-0 on the season and to claim a share of the National Championship with Nebraska. Charles was drafted 4th overall by the Oakland Raiders in 1998. Charles was named the 1998 NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year.
| | Points | |||||||
Place | Name | School | Class | Position | 1 | 2 | 3 | Total |
| 1 | Charles Woodson | Michigan | Junior | CB | 433 | 209 | 98 | 1,815 |
| 2 | Peyton Manning | Tennessee | Senior | QB | 281 | 263 | 174 | 1,543 |
| 3 | Ryan Leaf | Washington State | Junior | QB | 70 | 203 | 241 | 861 |
| 4 | Randy Moss | Marshall | Sophomore | WR | 17 | 56 | 90 | 253 |
| 5 | Ricky Williams | Texas | Junior | RB | 3 | 18 | 20 | 65 |
| 6 | Curtis Enis | Penn State | Junior | RB | 3 | 18 | 20 | 65 |
| 7 | Tim Dwight | Iowa | Senior | RB | 5 | 3 | 11 | 32 |
| 8 | Cade McNown | UCLA | Junior | QB | 0 | 7 | 12 | 26 |
| 9 | Tim Couch | Kentucky | Sophomore | QB | 0 | 5 | 12 | 22 |
| 10 | Amos Zereoue | West Virginia | Sophomore | RB | 3 | 1 | 10 | 21 |
Charles Woodson became the third player from the University of Michigan to win the Heisman. With 921 ballots mailed out, Woodson captured five sections, the Northeast, Mid Atlantic, Southwest, Midwest and the Far West, while quarterback Peyton Manning of Tennessee won the South.
No. of registered electors: 921
Date of announcement: December 13, 1997
Date of dinner: December 15, 1997
The points by region and position within each region for the top five candidates:
Name | North-east | Mid Atlantic | South | South-west | Mid-west | Far West | ||||||
| Woodson | 314 | 1 | 305 | 1 | 218 | 2 | 339 | 1 | 355 | 1 | 284 | 1 |
| Manning | 273 | 2 | 240 | 2 | 340 | 1 | 250 | 2 | 218 | 2 | 222 | 3 |
| Leaf | 118 | 3 | 102 | 3 | 132 | 3 | 129 | 3 | 152 | 3 | 228 | 2 |
| Moss | 49 | 4 | 70 | 4 | 34 | 4 | 24 | 5 | 43 | 4 | 33 | 4 |
| Williams | 10 | 6 | 11 | 7 | 19 | 5 | 73 | 4 | 41 | 6 | 8 | 6 |
