Texas has two Heisman Trophy winners, both running backs, both from the state, and both with a case for being the best player in program history. Earl Campbell won in 1977 and Ricky Williams in 1998. Nobody has won since, though two Texas quarterbacks have finished second.
| Year | Player | Position | The season |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1977 | Earl Campbell | Running back | 1,744 yards, 18 touchdowns, unbeaten regular season |
| 1998 | Ricky Williams | Running back | 2,124 yards, 27 touchdowns, NCAA career rushing record |
Earl Campbell, 1977
Campbell, from Tyler, led the nation with 1,744 rushing yards and 18 touchdowns as Texas went 11 and 0 in the regular season under first year coach Fred Akers and reached No. 1. He won the Heisman comfortably over Oklahoma State’s Terry Miller, becoming the program’s first winner in the award’s 43rd year.
The season ended with a 38 to 10 loss to Notre Dame in the Cotton Bowl that cost Texas the national championship. Campbell went first overall in the NFL draft, won three straight rushing titles with the Houston Oilers, and is in both the College and Pro Football Halls of Fame.
Ricky Williams, 1998
Williams, from San Diego, ran for 2,124 yards and 27 touchdowns in Mack Brown’s first season and broke Tony Dorsett’s NCAA career rushing record, which had stood for 22 years, against Texas A&M in the regular season finale. He finished with 6,279 career yards.
He won the Heisman over Michael Bishop of Kansas State by one of the widest margins in the award’s history and went fifth overall to New Orleans, where Mike Ditka traded his entire draft to get him. The 60 yard touchdown run against A&M that broke the record remains the most replayed play in program history alongside Vince Young’s Rose Bowl scramble.
The Four Who Finished Second
| Year | Player | Lost to |
|---|---|---|
| 2005 | Vince Young | Reggie Bush, USC |
| 2008 | Colt McCoy | Sam Bradford, Oklahoma |
| 2009 | Colt McCoy | Mark Ingram, Alabama |
Vince Young’s second place finish in 2005 is the one that still gets argued. He lost to Reggie Bush, then beat Bush’s USC team in the Rose Bowl a month later with one of the greatest individual performances the sport has seen. Bush’s award was later vacated and then reinstated, which has not settled anything.
Colt McCoy finished second in consecutive years, losing the 2008 vote to Sam Bradford by one of the narrowest margins in Heisman history despite Texas having beaten Oklahoma head to head that season.
Why Only Two
Texas has produced 100 first team All Americans and two Heisman winners, and the explanation is partly structural. The wishbone offence that won three national titles under Darrell Royal was designed to spread carries across four ball carriers, which made it nearly impossible for any one of them to post Heisman numbers. Campbell won the year after Royal retired, in an offence built around him.
The other factor is Oklahoma. Bradford beat McCoy in 2008, Jason White and Kyler Murray won in years Texas had contenders, and the Red River game has decided more Heisman races than any other single fixture.
Our Heisman winners by year page has every recipient since 1995.
The Bottom Line
Texas has two Heisman winners, Earl Campbell in 1977 and Ricky Williams in 1998, both running backs who set records that stood for decades. Vince Young and Colt McCoy each finished second, McCoy twice, and Young’s loss to Reggie Bush a month before the 2005 Rose Bowl remains the most disputed result of the era.