Heisman Trophy: Top 10 winners who succeeded in pro football

The Heisman Trophy was awarded Saturday night to Auburn QB Cam Newton, as the most outstanding college football player in 2010. But a Heisman is not a guarantee of success in the NFL. Some of the 74 winners since 1935 didn't make the transition, some didn't live up to their potential due to injury. With help from heisman.com and nfl.com, we compiled a list of Heisman winners who went on to have the most success on the professional gridiron.

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The Heisman Trophy on display in New York in this 2009 file photo.

Doak Walker

Hy Peskin/Sports Illustrated
The Lions' Doak Walker on a 1955 Sports Illustrated cover.

Walker, a halfback from Southern Methodist, won the Heisman Trophy in 1948. He went on to star with the NFL's Detroit Lions, helping them win NFL Championships in 1952 and 1953 and a runner-up finish in 1954. Leon Hart, the 1949 Heisman Trophy winner, was a Lion teammate of Walker, who was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1986.

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