Heisman Trophy Winners

Auburn Football Tradition

Auburn has produced three Heisman Trophy winners: QB Cam Newton in 2010, RB Bo Jackson in 1985 and QB Pat Sullivan in 1971. Of the colleges where trophy namesake John Heisman coached, only Auburn University has produced Heisman winners.

Cam Newton, 2010

At 6-foot 6-inches and 250 pounds, Cam Newton was the third Auburn Tiger to earn the Heisman Trophy, joining Pat Sullivan '71 and Vincent "Bo" Jackson '85. Newton completed 185 of 280 passes for 2,854 yards and 30 touchdowns while throwing only seven interceptions. He also accumulated 1,473 yards and an additional 20 touchdowns on 264 rush attempts and caught two passes for 42 yards and a touchdown.

His passing and rushing touchdown totals set an Auburn University record and made him only the second player to tally 20 or more passing and rushing touchdowns in the same season. Newton led the Tigers to a perfect 14-0 record, an SEC title and a BCS National Championship.

Ballots were mailed to 870 media personnel across the nation plus 55 Heisman winners and one fan ballot, for a total of 926 electors. The ballots are received and tabulated by the independent accounting firm of Deloitte & Touche LLP. Newton polled 2,263 points to capture the award over Andrew Luck of Stanford (1,079 points), LaMichael James of Oregon (916 points), and Kellen Moore of Boise State (635 points).

Bo Jackson, 1985

Auburn's great running back Bo Jackson was such a remarkable all-round athlete that, if there were Heisman awards in baseball and track, he almost certainly would have won them, too. As the nation's premier ball carrier, Jackson was the spearhead of Auburn's rushing attack. Jackson plowed through defenses in 1985 for 6.4 yards per carry. The three-sport athlete ran for 1,786 yards and 17 touchdowns while helping the Tigers to an 8-4 record and a Cotton Bowl appearance.

In 1985, Jackson led the nation in all four main categories of ball-carrying as late as the eighth week of the season. At that point, he was tops in total rushing yardage, average per carry, touchdowns scored, and yards-per-game. Jackson was the second Auburn Tiger to win the Heisman Trophy.

Jackson finished his career at Auburn with 4,575 all-purpose yards and 45 total touchdowns (43 rushing and 2 receiving), with a 6.6 yards per carry average. Jackson's jersey number 34 was officially retired at Auburn in a halftime ceremony on October 31, 1992.  

Pat Sullivan, 1971

Pat Sullivan, a three-season starter at Auburn was the first Heisman winner from a school coached by the trophy's namesake, John Heisman.

With Sullivan at the helm, the Tigers averaged well over 34 points and 426 yards a game throughout his three-year tenure. Sullivan himself accounted for 73 touchdowns (18 running and 55 passing) to equal the all-time NCAA mark. In his senior season in 1971, Sullivan led Auburn to a 9-2 record and a Sugar Bowl appearance. With Sullivan at quarterback from 1969-1971, Auburn would go 25-5 overall.

Also an excellent student, Sullivan was named an Academic All-American and graduated with a bachelor's of science in business administration in 1972. Sullivan finished his college career with 6,284 passing yards and 57 touchdowns, along with another 18 touchdowns on the ground.