Archie Griffin’s legacy as the answer to college football’s easiest trivia question is as tenuous as it ever has been.
Though the former Ohio State running back remains the only two-time winner of the Heisman Trophy, Florida State quarterback Jameis Winston is the latest in a rapidly growing list of players with the opportunity to stand alongside Griffin.
Since Griffin’s second win, in 1975, just eight players have had the chance to match his feat, but 75 percent of those occurrences have come in the past 11 years. First handed out in 1935, the Heisman didn’t go to an underclassman until Tim Tebow won in 2007, and just seven juniors snagged the trophy in its first 50 years of existence.
With Winston returning as a sophomore to lead the defending national champions, everything is aligned for another Heisman run, but former winner Ty Detmer remembers how much harder it was to keep the crown than win it for the first time.
“It’s kind of a tough situation because you have the pressure of being under the microscope even more, and everyone wants to see what you’re going to do to follow it up,” said Detmer, the 1990 Heisman winner. “It’s kind of like starting over again a little bit. … You can feel the fact that people expect more.”
The former BYU star finished third in the Heisman voting in 1991, despite what he believes was a superior season. Though he threw for 1,100 fewer yards and six fewer touchdowns, Detmer also threw 16 fewer interceptions and averaged more yards per attempt.
He was no longer bright and shiny and new. Each scab was picked, each hiccup examined in-depth. Dominance wasn’t dominant enough.
“I thought I was a better player my senior year, and I felt a lot more in control of the game, but it didn’t reflect it in the numbers, and that’s what people want to see,” said Detmer, now the head coach at St. Andrew’s Episcopal School in Texas. “It’s been the same for Tebow and [Johnny] Manziel, which is, ‘Well, it’s kind of the same thing he did. That’s just average for him.’
“You might do the same or similar, but people, just human nature, they want to see something better. You can still be the best player on the field, like Manziel. I still think he was the best player in football [last year], but the team changed a little bit and they lost and people wanted to see more. It’s a pretty big feat to still have those kinds of numbers, but people expect more. That shouldn’t be the case. It’s hard to do more when you win a Heisman Trophy.”
Hard, but that is exactly what Winston already is predicting will happen.
“I’m going to be good. I’m going to be great, even better than I was last year,” Winston said at the team’s media day this month.
The mammoth expectations aren’t anything new. Winston arrived at Tallahassee as the No. 1-rated quarterback in the nation, then completed 25 of 27 passes for 356 yards and four touchdowns in his first game. He finished the undefeated season with 4,057 yards, 40 touchdowns and 10 interceptions, completing nearly 67 percent of his passes for the highest scoring team in college football history, becoming the youngest ever Heisman winner.
Though a second season only should improve Winston’s play, the smart money is on the field. Winston is the front-runner, but only until his first snap.
Bovada lists Winston as a slight favorite (9-2) to retain the trophy, followed closely by a quartet of quarterbacks playing for equally explosive offensives that also will be in the national championship conversation — Oregon’s Marcus Mariota (5-1), Baylor’s Bryce Petty (12-1), UCLA’s Brett Hundley (10-1) and Auburn’s Nick Marshall (12-1). Georgia running back Todd Gurley (14-1) and Wisconsin’s Melvin Gordon (12-1) represent the biggest threats in the backfield.
Unlike other candidates, Winston also may face backlash because of his off-the-field issues, such as the crab-stealing incident in the spring.
Last season, Winston was left off 115 of the 900 ballots, after being cleared of charges in his heavily publicized sexual assault case.
“I just have to know that everything I do is under a microscope and make sure I do the right thing,” Winston said. “As the quarterback, you’re always going to get scrutinized and you’re always going to get praised. But that’s the position that we play. It’s the most scrutinized and praised position in sports.”
For at least one more season, Winston will stay in spotlight, starting for the No. 1 team in the nation. And his star-studded roster, more than anything, gives him an incredible opportunity at history.
“He’s got as good a shot as anybody,” Detmer said. “It’ll take someone having another special year and running the table to the national championship game. They’re in the ACC, they’ll probably be in it, and if you’re the quarterback of that team, you’re going to get the attention.
“I think we will see [a repeat winner]. It’s just a matter of time.”
Repeat performance
Since Archie Griffin repeated as the Heisman winner in 1974-75, here are players who had a shot, returning to school the year after winning the award:
Player, Position, School, Year, Finish
Billy Sims , RB, Oklahoma, 1979, 2nd
Ty Detmer , QB, BYU, 1991, 3rd
Jason White , QB, Oklahoma, 2004, 3rd
Matt Leinart , QB, USC, 2005, 3rd
Tim Tebow , QB, Florida, 2008, 3rd
Sam Bradford* , QB, Oklahoma, 2009
Mark Ingram^ , RB, Alabama, 2010
Johnny Manziel , QB, Texas A&M, 2013, 5th
* Played just three games because of injury
^ Did not finish in top 10