With Drake Maye one of the leading candidates for the Heisman Trophy entering the 2023 season, it makes sense to dig into North Carolina's past into its history with sport's most prestigious award.
Only six times has a North Carolina football player finished among the top 10 in Heisman Trophy voting:
1948 - Charlie "Choo Choo" Justice
No. 2 with 272 points behind Leon Hart with 995. Third was Doak Walker.
UNC finished the 1948 season with a 9-1-1 record and ranked No. 3 in the nation, the program’s highest final ranking ever, and Justice was its star player. He ran for 766 yards, passed for 846, returned 19 punts for 17.5 yards, including a touchdown, and even returned five kickoffs for 90 total yards. He also averaged 44.0 yards per punt.
1949 - Charlie "Choo Choo" Justice
No. 2 with 443 points behind Doak Walker with 778. Third was Chuck Bednarik.
Carolina finished 7-4 and ranked No. 16 in the nation after playing in a major bowl for the third consecutive season, this time falling to Rice in the Cotton Bowl. Justice ran for 377 yards and six touchdowns, passed for 854 yards and 12 scores, returned seven punts for 17.6 yards per, and nine kickoffs for 20.4 yards per. He also averaged 44.1 yards per punt.
1970 - Don McCauley
No. 9 – Voting: 6 first-place; 10 second-place; 19 third-place.
UNC (8-4) secured its first winning season in seven years and second since 1958 the season McCauley broke O.J. Simpson’s single-season rushing record accumulating 1,863 yards while also scoring 22 touchdowns. He caught 15 passes for two more scores that season in earning ACC Player of the Year honors.
1976 - Mike Voight
No. 8 – Voting: 1 first-place; 7 second-place; 24 third-place.
Voight passed the 1,000-yard mark for the third consecutive season in 1976 as he ran for 1,407 yards and 18 touchdowns in leading the Tar Heels to a 9-3 record. The “Space Cowboy” was a workhorse, carrying the ball 315 times that season, including 47 times (for 261 yards) in a win over Duke. He was ACC Player of the Year in 1975 and 1976.
2001 - Julius Peppers
No. 10 – Voting: 2 first-place; 10 second-place; 15 third-place.
Peppers won the Lombardi and Bednarik awards n 2001 as the top defensive player in the nation in helping UNC to an 8-5 record and win over Auburn in the Peach Bowl. He registered 9.5 sacks a year after leading the nation with 15, plus Peppers had 19 TFLs, three interceptions in 2001, including one returned for a touchdown, 9 PBUs, 8 QB hurries, and a forced fumble.
2022 - Drake Maye
No. 10 – Voting: 3 first-place; 6 second-place; 21 third-place.
Maye completed 66.2 percent of his pass attempts for a school-record 4,321 yards, 38 touchdowns, and ran for 698 yards and seven more scores. He guided the Tar Heels to a 9-1 start on the season and ACC Coastal Division championship. Overall, Carolina finished 9-5 losing to Oregon in the Holiday Bowl.
