The Heisman Memorial Trophy is awarded annually to the nation’s most outstanding football player.
Chicago running back Jay Berwanger won the first Heisman Memorial Trophy in 1935.
The award is named after John Heisman. Heisman played center, tackle and end at Brown (1887–88) and Penn (1889–91).
He served as head coach at Oberlin (1892, 1894), Buchtel (1893-94), Auburn (1895-99), Clemson (1900-03), Georgia Tech (1904-19), Penn (1920-22), Washington & Jefferson (1923) and Rice (1924-27), compiling a 199–108–7 record. Heisman won the 1916 and 1917 national championships at Georgia Tech.
Heisman was described as an innovator of the game.
He was born in Cleveland, Ohio on Oct. 23, 1869.
Below are Tennessee’s all-time second-place runner-up student-athletes for the Heisman Memorial Trophy.