5 Heisman Trophy winners born in California
California has produced more Heisman winners than any other state. Fifteen. These are five of them, and the trophy is the least interesting part.
Lindsey Marino
Orange County native, and a licensed California real estate agent. What I do
CA DRE 02055819
September 10, 2026
California has produced fifteen Heisman Trophy winners, more than any other state. Four came from San Diego County alone.
These five are here because of what happened after the trophy, which in most cases is the more interesting half.
05
Jim Plunkett
San Jose
Raised by two legally blind parents in a family surviving on welfare, working odd jobs as a kid to help with the bills.
He earned a scholarship to Stanford, won the Heisman in 1970, and went first overall in the NFL draft. He then won two Super Bowls with the Raiders. If there is a California dream story, it is probably this one.
Heisman 1970, Stanford.
04
Ricky Williams
San Diego
Won the Heisman at Texas in 1998, led the entire league in rushing, then walked away at 27.
What most people did not know was that he had been diagnosed with social anxiety disorder, and later spoke openly about how difficult the attention around football had become. Away from the game he studied holistic medicine and became a yoga instructor. Then he came back, played several more seasons, and finished with more than 10,000 rushing yards. Leaving did not end the story. It let him build one outside the sport.
Heisman 1998, Texas.
03
Reggie Bush
San Diego
At USC he could score from anywhere on the field. In 2005 he averaged close to nine yards a carry.
The NCAA later found that he and his family had received benefits not permitted at the time, and he gave the trophy back. Fourteen years on, after the rules changed and players could earn from their name and likeness, he got it back.
Heisman 2005, USC. Returned 2010, reinstated 2024.
02
Carson Palmer
Rancho Santa Margarita
Went to Santa Margarita Catholic in Orange County, then USC, then first overall in the draft. Fifteen NFL seasons.
He is now head coach at the same high school he played for. In his first season, 2025, he took a team that had gone 5 and 7 to an 11 and 3 record and a CIF Open Division state title, beating De La Salle 47 to 13 in the final. MaxPreps named him National Coach of the Year, the first person to win it in a debut season. We love a full circle story.
Heisman 2002, USC.
01
O.J. Simpson
San Francisco
The most famous name on this list and easily the most infamous.
He won the Heisman at USC in 1968 by what was then a record margin, and in 1973 became the first NFL player to rush for more than 2,000 yards in a season. What happened after football changed how the world remembered him entirely.
He was charged with the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman and acquitted at criminal trial. A civil jury later found him liable for their deaths. His Heisman was seized and sold to help satisfy that civil judgment.
Lindsey Marino
Orange County native, and a licensed California real estate agent. What I do
CA DRE 02055819