College Football

Trevor Lawrence among best players to never win Heisman Trophy

Published Feb. 16, 2022 7:14 p.m. ET

Back in October, FOX Sports college football writer RJ Young and senior editor Sean Merriman put together a piece featuring the greatest college football player from each of the 50 states.

On that list were names such as Vince Young and Ndamukong Suh, who were both generational talents who lacked one thing from their otherwise flawless résumé: a Heisman Trophy.

Young finished his collegiate career with a near-perfect 30-2 record as a starter, while becoming the first player in NCAA Division-I history to throw for more than 3,000 yards and rush for more than 1,000 yards in a season. He led the Longhorns to a memorable win over USC in the 2006 Rose Bowl, giving Texas its first national title in 35 years.

It just so happened that Young accomplished all of that in a season where Reggie Bush also put together one of the greatest individual years in college football history.

Suh, considered by many to be the greatest defensive tackle in college football history, put together a record-setting senior season in 2009. That year, the former Nebraska standout recorded 85 tackles, 20.5 tackles for loss, 12 sacks, 24 QB hurries and an interception while winning the Associated Press Player of the Year award, as well as claiming the Outland, Lombardi, Bednarik and Nagurski Trophy.

But it was Mark Ingram who took home the Heisman Trophy that season after leading Alabama to a perfect 14-0 record and the BCS National Championship.

During an episode of "The No. 1 Ranked Show" podcast, Young revealed his list of the Top 5 players to never win the Heisman Trophy, which includes both Young and Suh.

Jim Brown, Ndamukong Suh and Trevor Lawrence headline RJ Young's Top 5 players to NEVER win a Heisman I No. 1 Ranked Show

RJ Young lists his five best college football players to never win the Heisman Trophy. RJ has some predictable selections, such as Vince Young, Trevor Lawrence, Ndamukong Suh, but his other answers might surprise you.

Here is a look at Young's list and what he had to say about each player:

1. Jim Brown, RB, Syracuse (1954-56)

College stats: 2,091 rushing yards, 5.8 YPC, 21 total touchdowns

Young on Brown: "Jim Brown quite honestly has an argument to be the best football player ever. If you take everything into account, you're gonna have a hard time getting past Jim Brown. The one thing he doesn't have that should be on his résumé is a Heisman Trophy."

2. Ndamukong Suh, DT, Nebraska (2005-09)

College stats: 215 tackles, 49.5 tackles for loss, 24 sacks, four interceptions

Young on Suh: "He is a defensive player who won AP Player of the Year. I can stop there. One of the things college football media hates doing is rewarding defensive players, but in 2009, they made an egregious mistake. The Huskers have won three Heisman Trophies and I can make a great argument that their best player in the history of one of the greatest programs of all time didn’t win the Heisman."

3. Trevor Lawrence, QB, Clemson (2018-20)

College stats: 34-2 record as a starter, 10,098 passing yards, 90 passing touchdowns, 67% completion percentage, 164.3 QBR

Young on Lawrence: "He was just outstanding in his three years at Clemson. He had just two losses in his career and he has the most definitive win against Nick Saban ever, putting up 44 against Alabama in the year Clemson becomes the first team to ever win 15 games in a season."

4. Andrew Luck, QB, Stanford (2008-11)

College stats: 9,430 passing yards, 82 passing touchdowns, 67% completion percentage, 162.8 QBR

Young on Luck: "He called his own plays as a senior. What is most remarkable about that is that his play section was outstanding. Stanford led the entire FBS when it comes to the least amount of negative plays."

5. Vince Young, QB, Texas (2002-05)

College stats: 30-2 record as a starter, 6,040 passing yards, 44 passing touchdowns, 3,127 rushing yards, 37 rushing touchdowns

Young on Young: "It’s not just that he’s the best Longhorn in Texas football history. He beat perhaps the greatest USC team of my lifetime, and mostly by himself."

You can watch the "The No. 1 Ranked Show with RJ Young" on YouTube or subscribe on podcast platforms, including Apple Podcasts.