Did Jalen Hurts win the Heisman? Revisiting the 2019 voting results after Oklahoma breakout

Jalen Hurts has developed into one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL as of the 2023 season, but it's easy to remember that he was a history-making player during his college days as well.

Hurts began his career at Alabama where he became the first true freshman to start a game at quarterback under Nick Saban. He helped lead Alabama to back-to-back national championship game appearances but was eventually benched midway through the second in favor of Tua Tagovailoa.

Hurts stuck around Alabama during the next season but eventually transferred to Oklahoma for his final college campaign. There, he worked with Lincoln Riley and developed his passing skills to become a true dual threat at the position.

Hurts improved enough to make himself not only a viable NFL Draft prospect, but also a contender for the Heisman Trophy.

The Heisman, which is given annually to the best college football player, is the biggest honor in the sport and has a history dating back to 1935. Winning it certainly would have been a feather in Hurts' cap after his unique situation at Alabama and transfer to Oklahoma.

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But did Hurts ultimately take home the prestigious award? Here's what to know about the Eagles quarterback's history in the Heisman discussion.

Did Jalen Hurts win the Heisman?

No, Jalen Hurts did not win the Heisman Trophy during his college career, though he came close to winning the award in 2019 in his lone season at Oklahoma.

Hurts helped lead the Sooners to an appearance in the College Football Playoff and totaled 53 touchdowns — 32 through the air, 20 on the ground and one as a receiver — for the season. Those numbers normally would have been enough to make him a Heisman shoo-in.

However, Joe Burrow enjoyed a prolific season as the leader of a history-making LSU offense and led them to a national championship. So, he was able to take home the hardware while Hurts settled for a strong second-place showing.

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2019 Heisman voting results

Hurts finished a distant second in the Heisman Trophy voting for 2019. He finished just 15 points ahead of Ohio State QB Justin Fields — who threw for 41 touchdowns with three interceptions in 2019 — in the voting.

Of course, Burrow ran away with the win in landslide fashion, earning 841 first-place votes. Hurts got 12 total first-place votes, which was third to only Ohio State's Chase Young after his 16.5-sack season.

Here's a look at how the 2019 Heisman voting shook out:

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Jalen Hurts stats 2019 vs. Joe Burrow stats 2019

Hurts put together an elite season in 2019 with the Sooners. He posted 5,149 yards of offense and was second in the nation with 53 total touchdowns on the season.

The only player who could outdo Hurts was Burrow. The LSU star accounted for 6,039 yards of total offense, most of which came through the air, and 65 total touchdowns. His numbers set NCAA records that will be hard for anyone to break and helped make him the No. 1 pick in the 2020 NFL Draft.

Below is a look at how Hurts compared to Burrow head-to-head during the 2019 college football season.

So, while Hurts' season was certainly special, it's hard to argue that it was better than Burrow's, which may be the greatest season by a college football quarterback of all time.

That said, there's reason for Hurts to be upset that his prolific season didn't earn him as much draft buzz as Burrow. While Burrow became the No. 1 pick in the 2020 NFL Draft, Hurts wasn't selected until the Eagles took him with the 53rd overall pick, which came in the second round.

Clearly, that was a miss by NFL talent evaluators.

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Full list of Heisman winners

By beating Hurts for the Heisman, Burrow became the second player in LSU's history to take home the prestigious award and the first to do so since halfback Billy Cannon in 1959.

Here are all of the players who have won the Heisman trophy to date, from its first winner (Jay Berwanger in 1935) to its most recent winner (Caleb Williams in 2022).

* Bush voluntarily vacated his Heisman Trophy due to NCAA sanctions.