A Tale of Two Heisman Winners

The Heisman Trophy goes to the best player in college football each year. What those players do after that is up to them. These two former Heisman winners are definitely heading in opposite directions…

Two of the top stories in my Facebook newsfeed this morning really paint a picture of two former college football stars, and the way their careers, and lives, are heading. The first one is about Johnny Manziel being a passenger in a car that hit a light pole and drove away. The second is about the Republican party allegedly pushing for Tim Tebow to run for public office in Florida.

These two men have a few things in common. They both are known for playing quarterback, in college and in the NFL. They both won the Heisman Trophy while in college, being selected as arguably the best player in college football for the years they won the award. They both won as underclassmen (Tebow as a sophomore in 2007 and Manziel as a freshman in 2012) but failed to win it a second time. However, that’s really where the similarities end.

Tim Tebow was lambasted for not being an NFL-caliber quarterback. Yet, he led the Denver Broncos to a playoff appearance and simply found ways to help his team win games. Johnny “Football” joined the NFL and could have changed his nickname to “Johnny Freefall” with his antics and indiscretions.

While Tim Tebow's NFL career is pretty clearly in the rear-view mirror, Manziel still has a chance to clean his act up. Will Manziel manage to make more of his football talent and give himself a chance to succeed on the field? And will Tebow make a successful jump into politics? Only time will tell for both Heisman Trophy winners. I know which one I'd bet on at this point...