| | 1935 Jay Berwanger - Chicago RB Sr. |
| | 1936 Larry Kelley - Yale END Sr. |
| | 1937 Clint Frank - Yale QB Sr. |
| | 1938 Davey O'Brien - TCU QB Sr. |
| | 1939 Nile Kinnick - Iowa RB Sr. |
| | 1940 Tom Harmon - Michigan RB Sr. |
| | 1941 Bruce Smith - Minnesota RB Sr. |
| | 1942 Frank Sinkwich - Georgia RB Sr. |
| | 1943 Angelo Bertelli - Notre Dame QB Sr. |
| | 1944 Les Horvath - Ohio State QB Sr. |
| | 1945 Doc Blanchard - Army FB Jr. |
| | 1946 Glenn Davis - Army RB Sr. |
| | 1947 John Lujack - Notre Dame QB Sr. |
| | 1948 Doak Walker - Southern Methodist RB Jr. |
| | 1949 Leon Hart - Notre Dame E Sr. |
| | 1950 Vic Janowicz - Ohio State RB Jr. |
| | 1951 Dick Kazmaier - Princeton RB Sr. |
| | 1952 Billy Vessels - Oklahoma RB Sr. |
| | 1953 John Lattner - Notre Dame RB Sr. |
| | 1954 Alan Ameche - Wisconsin FB Sr. |
| | 1955 Howard Cassady - Ohio State RB Sr. |
| | 1956 Paul Hornung - Notre Dame QB Sr. |
| | 1957 John David Crow - Texas A&M RB Sr. |
| | 1958 Pete Dawkins - Army RB Sr. |
| | 1959 Billy Cannon - Louisiana State RB Sr. |
| | 1960 Joe Bellino - Navy RB Sr. |
| | 1961 Ernie Davis - Syracuse RB Sr. |
| | 1962 Terry Baker - Oregon State QB Sr. |
| | 1963 Roger Staubach - Navy QB Jr. |
| | 1964 John Huarte - Notre Dame QB Sr. |
| | 1965 Mike Garrett - USC RB Sr. |
| | 1966 Steve Spurrier - Florida QB Sr. |
| | 1967 Gary Beban - UCLA QB Sr. |
| | 1968 O.J. Simpson - USC RB Sr. |
| | 1969 Steve Owens - Oklahoma FB Sr. |
| | 1970 Jim Plunkett - Stanford QB Sr. |
| | 1971 Pat Sullivan - Auburn QB Sr. |
| | 1972 Johnny Rodgers - Nebraska RB Sr. |
| | 1973 John Cappelletti - Penn State RB Sr. |
| | 1974 Archie Griffin - Ohio State RB Jr. |
| | 1975 Archie Griffin - Ohio State RB Sr. |
| | 1976 Tony Dorsett - Pittsburgh RB Sr. |
| | 1977 Earl Campbell - Texas RB Sr. |
| | 1978 Billy Sims - Oklahoma RB Jr. |
| | 1979 Charles White - USC RB Sr. |
| | 1980 George Rogers - South Carolina RB Sr. |
| | 1981 Marcus Allen - USC RB Sr. |
| | 1982 Herschel Walker - Georgia RB Jr. |
| | 1983 Mike Rozier - Nebraska RB Sr. |
| | 1984 Doug Flutie - Boston College QB Sr. |
| | 1985 Bo Jackson - Auburn RB Sr. |
| | 1986 Vinny Testaverde - Miami (Fla) QB Sr. |
| | 1987 Tim Brown - Notre Dame WR Sr. |
| | 1988 Barry Sanders - Oklahoma State RB Jr. |
| | 1989 Andre Ware - Houston QB Jr. |
| | 1990 Ty Detmer - Brigham Young QB Jr. |
| | 1991 Desmond Howard - Michigan WR Jr. |
| | 1992 Gino Torretta - Miami (Fla) QB Sr. |
| | 1993 Charlie Ward - Florida State QB Sr. |
| | 1994 Rashaan Salaam - Colorado RB Jr. |
| | 1995 Eddie George - Ohio State RB Sr. |
| | 1996 Danny Wuerffel - Florida QB Sr. |
| | 1997 Charles Woodson - Michigan CB Jr. |
| | 1998 Ricky Williams - Texas RB Sr. |
| | 1999 Ron Dayne - Wisconsin RB Sr. |
| | 2000 Chris Weinke - Florida State QB Sr. |
| | 2001 Eric Crouch - Nebraska QB Sr. |
| | 2002 Carson Palmer - USC QB Sr. |
| | 2003 Jason White - Oklahoma QB Jr. |
| | 2004 Matt Leinart - USC QB Jr. |
| | 2005 Reggie Bush - USC RB Jr. |
| | 2006 Troy Smith - Ohio State QB Sr. |