Colin Simmons has a chance to make history if Heisman voters are willing to break norms

The Heisman Trophy has been awarded for nearly a century, starting in 1935, and throughout its 91-year existence, only two defensive players have won the award.

Yes, you read that correctly, two (2).

Every year, the Heisman Trophy "honors the most outstanding college football player in the United States," but every year, it seems that the winning player also "just happens" to play on the offensive side of the ball.

That could all change, in a big way, this year if the nearly 1,000 people who vote on who should win the trophy choose to finally deny that the Heisman Trophy is an offensive award and truly give it to the best player in all of college football: Texas Longhorns' edge rusher Colin Simmons.

After his program-record-tying five sacks against the Tennessee Volunteers in Week 4, Simmons was included on quite a few analysts' rankings for which players should be the Heisman frontrunners, but he still barely cracked the top 10 of most media outlets' polls.

Over the last nine decades, 90 players have won the award. Colorado's Travis Hunter (2024) and Michigan's Charles Woodson were the only defensive players to take home the trophy. The other 89 trophies went exclusively to quarterbacks, running backs, wide receivers, or tight ends.

Hunter truly only found himself as a finalist because he was playing on both sides of the ball, and even Woodson made a few appearances on the offensive side of the ball, earning 16 carries for 237 rushing yards and 30 catches for 495 receiving yards and two touchdowns.

So, if Simmons were to bring the Heisman Trophy home to the 40 Acres, he would be the first-ever entirely defensive player to win the award. However, the oddsmakers in Vegas have even less faith that a non-offensive player will win the Heisman this season.

Right now, Simmons is tied as the 21st-most-likely player to win, with +12,500 odds, according to FanDuel Sportsbook. For comparison, Texas quarterback Arch Manning is currently tied as the eighth-favorite with +3,000 odds.

Odds refresh periodically and are subject to change. If you or someone you know has a gambling problem and wants help, call 1-800-GAMBLER.

Colin Simmons or Arch Manning could be Texas's 3rd-ever Heisman winner

Yet, while Manning has fallen down the board a bit over the first four games of the season, Simmons has actually seen his projected likelihood of winning the Heisman Trophy rise over the last few weeks, especially after his astonishing performance against Tennessee.

If he continues to produce those record-tying (or even record-breaking) games, the Horns' edge rusher will likely continue to see his odds improve, possibly becoming the third-ever Longhorn to win the award.

While Texas has produced six total finalists, including quarterbacks Vince Young and Colt McCoy, only two Longhorns have won the Heisman Trophy, and both were running backs.

Earl Campbell, arguably the greatest running back Texas has ever had, won the Heisman in 1977. Over two decades later, fellow Texas running back Ricky Williams won it in 1998. The Horns have not produced a Heisman finalist since McCoy, who made it to New York in both 2008 and 2009.

931 voters take part in the Heisman Trophy ballot process, including 870 members of the media, all living Heisman winners (currently hovering around 60 players), and one collective fan vote.

According to the Heisman Trophy site, "voters rank their top three choices on each ballot, awarding 3 points for a first-place vote, 2 points for second, and 1 point for third."

So, not all 931 of those votes will have to break from the tradition of awarding the trophy to an offensive star, but at least a majority must keep Simmons in mind as someone deserving of winning the Heisman.

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