How the third-place finishers fared
Last month, we took a look at how runners up in the Heisman race fared upon returning to compete for the trophy the following year. Now, with Clemson’s DeShaun Watson back after a third-place finish in 2015, let’s have a look at how previous third-place finishers have ended up.
As it turns out, they’ve done pretty well. Out of the 22 players who finished third in the Heisman vote and returned to play another season, six of them won the Heisman either the following season or later in their careers, while six of them finished as the runner up. That means that 12 of the 22 third-place finishers who returned managed to improve their positions in the Heisman vote the following season.
It appears that finishing in third place is a pretty good launching point from which to compete for the Heisman.
Here’s the breakdown:
| Name | Year Finished 3rd | Following Year Finish |
| Marshall Goldberg, Pittsburgh | 1937 | 2nd in 1938 |
| Paul Christman, Missouri | 1939 | 5th in 1940 |
| Paul Castleberry, Georgia Tech | 1942 | DNP |
| Felix “Doc” Blanchard, Army | 1944 | Won the Heisman in ’46 |
| John Lujack, Notre Dame | 1946 | Won the Heisman in ’47 |
| Doak Walker, SMU | 1947 | Won the Heisman in ’48 |
| Paul Giel, Minnesota | 1952 | 2nd in ’53 |
| Howard Cassady, Ohio State | 1954 | Won the Heisman in ’55 |
| Billy Cannon, LSU | 1958 | Won the Heisman in ’59 |
| Leroy Keyes, Purdue | 1967 | 2nd in ’68 |
| Rex Kern, Ohio State | 1969 | 5th in ’70 |
| Greg Pruitt, Oklahoma | 1971 | 2nd in ’72 |
| Roosevelt Leaks, Texas | 1973 | DNP |
| Joe Washington, Oklahoma | 1974 | 5th in ’75 |
| Ricky Bell, USC | 1975 | 2nd in ’76 |
| Herschel Walker, Georgia | 1980 | 2nd in ’81, Won the Heisman in ’82 |
| Robbie Bosco, BYU | 1984 | 3rd in ’85 |
| Danny Wuerffel, Florida | 1995 | Won the Heisman in ’96 |
| Michael Vick, Virginia Tech | 1999 | 6th in ’00 |
| Tim Tebow, Florida | 2008 | 5th in ’09 |
| LaMichael James, Oregon | 2010 | 10th in ’11 |
| Deshaun Watson, Clemson | 2015 | ????? |
