Before Earl Campbell bulldozed defenders in burnt orange …
Before Johnny Manziel improvised his way into college football lore …
Before Robert Griffin III made Baylor a national brand …
Before all that, TCU quarterback named Davey O’Brien brought the Heisman Trophy home to Fort Worth.
That was 1938. Nearly nine decades later, O’Brien’s win still anchors Texas’ place in college football’s most exclusive club.
Only 41 schools have produced a Heisman winner since the award debuted in 1935. USC leads the way with eight recipients. Notre Dame, Ohio State and Oklahoma each have seven. Alabama has four.
But six programs inside the state of Texas have combined for eight Heismans — a haul that puts the Lone Star State in rare company. Only California, which has produced 10 winners, has more. Florida, Indiana and Oklahoma also have eight, and Alabama has seven.
Here’s how Texas built that legacy, school by school.
TCU: Where it began
Davey O’Brien, a 5-foot-7 quarterback, led the Horned Frogs to an undefeated season and a national championship in 1938, then won the Heisman.
His name now lives on the trophy given each year to college football’s best quarterback. The Davey O’Brien Award, presented annually by the Fort Worth-based Davey O’Brien Foundation, keeps his legacy in the national conversation every December.
TCU has come close since. Max Duggan was the Heisman runner-up in 2022, when he led the Horned Frogs to the national championship game. Andy Dalton put together his own memorable run in Fort Worth before turning pro.
But O’Brien remains the only Horned Frog to bring the Heisman home.
SMU: The Doaker
A decade after O’Brien’s win, the Heisman stayed in the Fort Worth area when SMU’s standout halfback Doak Walker took home the honor in 1948.
He was a triple threat — he ran, passed and kicked — and remains one of the most beloved figures in Southwest football history.
The Doak Walker Award, given each year to the nation’s top running back, carries his name.
Texas A&M: Two eras, two icons
Bear Bryant coached John David Crow to the 1957 Heisman in College Station, and the bruising running back’s award-winning season still stands as one of the defining moments in Aggies football.
Fifty-five years later, a redshirt freshman from Kerrville named Johnny Manziel became the first freshman to win the trophy.
“Johnny Football” dazzled the SEC in 2012, throwing for 3,706 yards and running for 1,410 in a season that ended with A&M celebrating its second Heisman.
Texas: Two Longhorn legends
Earl Campbell ran through, over and around defenders on his way to the 1977 Heisman. He remains one of the most punishing runners the sport has ever seen.
Two decades later, Ricky Williams broke Tony Dorsett’s NCAA career rushing record and captured the 1998 Heisman for the Longhorns, cementing Texas as a program with multiple winners.
Houston: Ware breaks through
Andre Ware became the first African American quarterback to win the Heisman when he took the award in 1989 while operating Houston’s run-and-shoot offense.
He threw for 4,699 yards that season and produced numbers the college game had rarely seen.
Baylor: RG3 and the leap
Baylor had never produced a Heisman winner before Robert Griffin III arrived on campus.
In 2011, he changed that, throwing for 3,998 yards, running for 644 and rewriting expectations for the program in Waco.
His win reshaped how the college football world viewed Baylor.
The bigger picture
Add it up and Texas schools have produced eight of the 91 Heismans awarded.
For TCU fans, though, the story starts and ends with the trophy in the case and the award ceremony each December that keeps a Fort Worth quarterback’s name in the national spotlight.
Davey O’Brien got there first.
In Texas, that means something.
Every school with a Heisman winner
Here is every program that has produced a Heisman winner, from USC’s record eight to Indiana, the newest member of the club after Fernando Mendoza’s 2025 victory.
8 winners
USC: RB Mike Garrett (1965), RB O.J. Simpson (1968), RB Charles White (1979), RB Marcus Allen (1981), QB Carson Palmer (2002), QB Matt Leinart (2004), RB Reggie Bush (2005), QB Caleb Williams (2022)
7 winners
Notre Dame: QB Angelo Bertelli (1943), QB John Lujack (1947), TE Leon Hart (1949), RB John Lattner (1953), QB Paul Hornung (1956), QB John Huarte (1964), WR Tim Brown (1987)
Ohio State: HB Les Horvath (1944), RB Vic Janowicz (1950), RB Howard Cassady (1955), RB Archie Griffin (1974, 1975), RB Eddie George (1995), QB Troy Smith (2006)
Oklahoma: RB Billy Vessels (1952), RB Steve Owens (1969), RB Billy Sims (1978), QB Jason White (2003), QB Sam Bradford (2008), QB Baker Mayfield (2017), QB Kyler Murray (2018)
4 winners
Alabama: RB Mark Ingram (2009), RB Derrick Henry (2015), WR Devonta Smith (2020), QB Bryce Young (2021)
3 winners
Army: FB Doc Blanchard (1945), RB Glenn Davis (1946), RB Pete Dawkins (1958)
Auburn: QB Pat Sullivan (1971), RB Bo Jackson (1985), QB Cam Newton (2010)
Florida: QB Steve Spurrier (1966), QB Danny Wuerffel (1996), QB Tim Tebow (2007)
Florida State: QB Charlie Ward (1993), QB Chris Weinke (2000), QB Jameis Winston (2013)
LSU: RB Billy Cannon (1959), QB Joe Burrow (2019), QB Jayden Daniels (2023)
Michigan: RB Tom Harmon (1940), WR Desmond Howard (1991), CB Charles Woodson (1997)
Nebraska: WR Johnny Rodgers (1972), RB Mike Rozier (1983), QB Eric Crouch (2001)
2 winners
Colorado: RB Rashaan Salaam (1994), WR/CB Travis Hunter (2024)
Georgia: RB Frank Sinkwich (1942), RB Herschel Walker (1982)
Miami: QB Vinny Testaverde (1986), QB Gino Torretta (1992)
Navy: RB Joe Bellino (1960), QB Roger Staubach (1963)
Texas: RB Earl Campbell (1977), RB Ricky Williams (1998)
Texas A&M: RB John David Crow (1957), QB Johnny Manziel (2012)
Wisconsin: FB Alan Ameche (1954), RB Ron Dayne (1999)
Yale: TE Larry Kelley (1936), HB Clinton Frank (1937)
1 winner
Baylor: QB Robert Griffin III (2011)
Boston College: QB Doug Flutie (1984)
BYU: QB Ty Detmer (1990)
Chicago: HB Jay Berwanger (1935)
Houston: QB Andre Ware (1989)
Indiana: QB Fernando Mendoza (2025)
Iowa: QB/HB Nile Kinnick (1939)
Louisville: QB Lamar Jackson (2016)
Minnesota: HB Bruce Smith (1941)
Oklahoma State: RB Barry Sanders (1988)
Oregon: QB Marcus Mariota (2014)
Oregon State: QB Terry Baker (1962)
Penn State: RB John Cappeletti (1973)
Pittsburgh: RB Tony Dorsett (1976)
Princeton: HB Dick Kazmaier (1951)
South Carolina: RB George Rogers (1980)
SMU: HB Doak Walker (1948)
Stanford: QB Jim Plunkett (1970)
Syracuse: RB/LB Ernie Davis (1961)
TCU: QB Davey O’Brien (1938)
UCLA: QB Gary Beban (1967)
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Mike Garbett is a content specialist working with McClatchy’s Content Innovation Lab.
This report was produced with the assistance of a proprietary tool powered by artificial intelligence and using our own originally reported, written and published content. It was reviewed and edited by our journalists.