A Look At The 3 Heisman Winners Who Have Played For The Broncos
By Steve Cox
DENVER (CBS4) - The Heisman Trophy is the top award in college football, and the 2015 winner will be announced this Saturday night (former Valor Christian standout Christian McCaffrey is one of the three finalists.)
A total of 79 players, counting Reggie Bush, have won the Heisman since its creation in 1935.
Three of those 79 winners have gone on to play for the Denver Broncos.
Tony Dorsett (1988 Season)
Dorsett's Broncos career was brief. In 1988, he was traded from the Cowboys to the Broncos for a conditional fifth-round draft choice.
Dorsett led the Broncos with 703 yards and five touchdowns that year, but injuries prior to the 1989 season led to his retirement.
As a senior, Dorsett helped lead the Pitt Panthers to a national title in 1976, picking up the Heisman Trophy, and several other awards that season. He led the nation in rushing with 2,150 yards.
Ron Dayne (2005 Season)
Dayne was also a one and done for the Broncos. Originally drafted by the New York Giants in 2000, Dayne reached Denver in 2005 when the Giants chose not to re-sign him that season.
He would be back in 2006, but fell on the depth chart as the pre-season went on and was cut in early September of that year.
Dayne won the Heisman Trophy in 1999 as a star running back at the University of Wisconsin. His 6,397 career rushing yards still stands as the most in college football's top division.
Wisconsin retired his #33 in 2007.
Tim Tebow (2010 and 2011 Seasons)
The most recent Heisman-winner-turned-Bronco is by far the most famous. Tebow spent two seasons in Denver after being selected in the first round of the 2010 draft.
A year later he would lead the Broncos to the playoffs and a first round upset of the Pittsburgh Steelers. Tebow's Broncos career came to end in early 2012 when the team signed Peyton Manning and traded him to the New York Jets.
Tebow won the Heisman in 2007 in just his sophomore season at the University of Florida. He was the first sophomore to ever win the award.
Steve Cox is CBS4's Executive Producer for Sports. He has been with CBS4 since 1993. Follow Steve on Twitter @stevecoxdenver.
