The Heisman Memorial Trophy is handed out to the greatest player in the world of NCAA football. It must be a huge honor to receive it, but the recipient has to deal with a lot of pressure. More often than not, it goes to a player from the best college football programs. Even though some of them kept impressing football fans in the big leagues, others did not meet their expectations. In this list, you will see players who brought home the award but did not play as well in the NFL.
Joe Bellino
The Navy alum was known to be versatile on the football field. He had 834 running yards, as well as 15 passes for 264 yards. In 1960, the halfback brought home the Heisman Trophy even though the team lost his last game in the Orange Bowl. In the NFL, the Washington Redskins picked Joe Bellino during the 17th round of the 1961 NFL Draft. The Boston Patriots also picked him at the AFL Draft. He decided to commit to the former and played as a kick returner for a few seasons. His loyalty to the Navy is what made him the lowest drafted Heisman Trophy awardee in the history of the NFL.
Joe Bellino
Gary Beban
The UCLA Bruins ended the 1967 season with a record of 7-2-1. Gary Beban scored eight touchdowns and rushed for 1,359 yards. The year after that, he was a second-round draft pick by the Rams. Sadly, they traded him to the Redskins. He was with Washington for two seasons but did not get much playing time as a backup to Sonny Jurgensen. In 1970, the Redskins released him. He joined the Denver Broncos, but they put him on waivers. He ended up retiring not too long after that.
Gary Beban
