The NCAA News - News and Features

December 22, 1997

Michigan's Woodson first primarily defensive player to take Heisman

Junior Charles Woodson of Michigan became the first primarily defensive player to win the Heisman Trophy December 13.

Woodson, a defensive back who also has played wide receiver and returned punts for the Wolverines, beat Tennessee quarterback Peyton Manning by a comfortable margin in balloting for the award. Quarterback Ryan Leaf of Washington State was a distant third.

"For a defensive player to win this award, it's truly a breakthrough," Woodson said. "I feel like a pioneer right now."

"Finally a defensive player gets his just due," Marcus Ray, Woodson's teammate, told The Associated Press. "Charles did it. He opened up the doors. He just made a milestone for college football.

"Next year you'll probably see several players go both ways and try to contribute to their teams as much as possible."

Of the previous 62 Heisman winners, 57 were either running backs or quarterbacks.

But Woodson may have clinched the award November 1 against Ohio State, when he intercepted a pass in the end zone to stop a Buckeye scoring threat, caught a 37-yard pass to set up Michigan's first touchdown and then broke open a tight defensive struggle with a 78-yard punt return for a score.

The 13th junior to win the Heisman, Woodson won by 272 points over Manning, 1,815-1,543, in balloting by 870 media representatives and 51 Heisman winners.

Woodson, who joins Tom Harmon (1940) and Desmond Howard (1991) as Michigan's Heisman winners, was in on 765 plays, including 71 on offense and 81 on special teams.

He led the Big Ten Conference and was second nationally with seven interceptions, and had 43 tackles and five pass break-ups. He also caught 11 passes for 231 yards and two touchdowns, rushed for a score, and completed a pass.

In the past, several Heisman winners played both offense and defense, including Leon Hart (1949), John Lattner (1953) and John David Crow (1957), but they are better known for their offensive exploits.

The closest a defensive player had come to winning was in 1980, when Pittsburgh defensive end Hugh Green finished second behind South Carolina running back George Rogers.