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Heisman Trophy winners list: Collin Klein hopes to join exclusive club

Colorado native Collin Klein's excellent senior season could be capped off with a Heisman Trophy, although Johnny Manziel and Manti Te'o represent stiff competition.

By Bryan Kilpatrick
Jeff Zelevansky

Kansas State quarterback and Loveland, Colo. native Collin Klein hopes to become the 76th Heisman Trophy winner on Saturday. He'll be joined by Notre Dame linebacker Manti Te'o and Texas A&M quarterback Johnny Manziel at the award ceremony in New York City.

Klein isn't the first player with Colorado ties to be in the mix for the prestigious honor. In 1994, Colorado Buffaloes running back Rashaan Salaam won the award, beating out Penn State's Ki-Jana Carter and Kerry Collins and Alcorn State's Steve McNair. Colorado quarterback Kordell Stewart received votes that year, as well.

Colorado's long history in the Heisman race dates back to 1937, when Byron "Whizzer" White, a Fort Collins, Colo., native, finished as the runner-up, losing out to Yale's Clint Frank. White later went on to become associate justice of the United States Supreme Court.

In recent years, winning the Heisman Trophy generally hasn't translated into success at the next level, although Robert Griffin III, who won the award after his senior season at Baylor in 2011, has become an NFL phenom in his first year in the league.

For a full list of past Heisman Trophy winners, click here.

Update: Texas A&M's Johnny Manziel has won the 2012 Heisman.