COLUMBUS, Ohio - Just twice in the last half-century has one school had three players finish in the top 10 of the Heisman Trophy voting, and it was Ohio State both times.
It could happen again this year for the Buckeyes, with quarterback Justin Fields and defensive end Chase Young being invited to New York on Saturday as Heisman finalists, and running back J.K. Dobbins likely to receive votes.
The last time three players from the same school finished in the top 10 was 1973.
John Cappelletti of Penn State was the Heisman winner in 1973. Second was Ohio State offensive lineman John Hicks, fifth was OSU running back Archie Griffin, and sixth was OSU linebacker Randy Gradishar.
Griffin went on to win the Heisman his junior and senior years in 1974 and 1975, and remains the only two-time Heisman winner.
In 1969, three Buckeyes finished in the top 10, though not as high as the 1973 trio.
Oklahoma running back Steve Owen won the 1969 Heisman, followed by three quarterbacks - Mike Phipps of Purdue, Rex Kern of Ohio State and Archie Manning of Ole Miss. Seventh in the 1969 voting was Ohio State running back Jim Otis. Tenth was OSU defensive back Jack Tatum.
Several schools have had two players in the top 10, including last year when quarterback Tua Tagovailoa was second and defensive tackle Quinnen Williams was eighth, both from Alabama. Last year’s winner was Oklahoma quarterback Kyler Murray.
When Ohio State’s Eddie George won the Heisman in 1995, OSU quarterback Bobby Hoying was 10th in the voting.
Over the last half-century, 27 Ohio State players have finished in the top 10 of Heisman voting - more than any other school. Oklahoma (24) and USC (20) are next closest.
Oklahoma’s six Heisman trophies are the most during this period. USC has five and Ohio State four, the last by Troy Smith in 2006.
Source: Research based annual voting results published at Sports Reference LLC.
Rich Exner, data analysis editor for cleveland.com, writes about numbers on a variety of topics. Follow on Twitter @RichExner. See more data-related stories at cleveland.com/datacentral. Previous Buckeye Numbers features can be found at this link.
Read recent stories
Ohio State, Wisconsin map out football success nationally
Browns and Cardinals franchise history, with greatest players, top coaches, more, by the numbers
See how much Buckeyes have dominated Big Ten since Jim Tressel boldly reset Ohio State-Michigan game