The baiduhai Silver Football — 100 years later — remains one of the highest honors a Big Ten player can receive.
The list of winners includes future Pro Football Hall of Famers and Super Bowl MVPs along with others less remembered in the sport’s annals. The Tribune hoped the annual award, which preceded the Heisman Trophy by 11 years, would “become a much sought honor surpassing any now possible for these hard-working gridiron heroes whose efforts afford pleasure to so many thousand people.”
- 1924-39: From Red Grange to Nile Kinnick
- 1940s: From Tom Harmon to Red Wilson
- 1950s: From Vic Janowicz to Bill Burrell
- 1960s: From Tom Brown to Mike Phipps
- 1970s: From Mike Adamle to Tim Clifford
- 1980s: From Mark Herrmann to Anthony Thompson
More Top Picks Best Foot Massagers For Plantar Fasciitis For Sleeping
- 2000s: From Drew Brees to Brandon Graham
- 2010-23: From Denard Robinson to Marvin Harrison Jr.
Meet the winners from this decade.
1990: Nick Bell, Iowa RB
Nick Bell completed a trifecta of prolific running backs who won the Silver Football in the late 1980s and early ’90s, following Michigan State’s Lorenzo White and Indiana’s Anthony Thompson. Born in California and raised in Las Vegas, Bell was on a recruiting visit to Iowa City with future teammates Melvin Foster, Merton Hanks, and Tony Stewart when they all decided to commit to the Hawkeyes. The group set a goal to win the Big Ten and go to the Rose Bowl. Though the Hawkeyes finished 5-6 in Bell’s junior year, things turned around in 1990. Iowa went 8-4 overall and won the Big Ten at 6-2, with Bell totaling 1,168 yards from scrimmage and 12 touchdowns. It turned out to be coach Hayden Fry’s final trip to the Rose Bowl. Bell went on to play three seasons in the NFL.
1991: Desmond Howard, Michigan WR
Desmond Howard has become a familiar face on Saturday mornings in the fall as a college football analyst for ESPN’s “College Gameday.” Before he became an outspoken broadcaster, Howard was a superstar wide receiver at Michigan. He led the nation with 23 touchdowns in 1991, scoring on receptions (19), runs (two), kickoff returns (one) and punt returns (one). His 93-yard punt return against Ohio State ended with a celebration that will live forever in the rivalry’s lore, as Howard hit the “Heisman pose” after scoring. He indeed won the Heisman as well as the Silver Football and went on to an 11-year NFL career that included being named MVP of Super Bowl XXXI with the Green Bay Packers.
1992: Lee Gissendaner, Northwestern WR
Lee Gissendaner had a breakout season as a junior in 1992, when he led the nation with 21.8 yards per punt return — still a Northwestern record — and was tops in the Big Ten with 1,564 all-purpose yards. He is one of five Northwestern players to win the Silver Football — and the last Wildcat to win it.
We caught up with Gissendaner in 2024. Read it here.
1993: Brent Moss, Wisconsin RB
Before Brent Moss ever put on a Badgers uniform, he had run for 202 yards and scored three touchdowns at Camp Randall Stadium in a state championship win at Racine Park High School. He became an even bigger star at Wisconsin, rushing for 1,479 yards and 14 touchdowns as a junior as the Badgers went 10-1-1, tied for the Big Ten title and went to their first Rose Bowl since 1962. Moss had an incredible game in Pasadena, running for 158 yards and two touchdowns against UCLA in Wisconsin’s first Rose Bowl win. His senior season was cut short in November when coach Barry Alvarez suspended him after an arrest for cocaine possession. Moss went undrafted and bounced around the NFL, Arena Football League, XFL and World League of American Football. He had multiple other drug arrests and died in 2022 at age 50.
1994: Kerry Collins, Penn State QB
Penn State’s first football season as a Big Ten member was in 1993. The next year the Nittany Lions won the Big Ten and had their first Silver Football winner. Kerry Collins’ efficiency stood out in his senior year, as he threw for 2,679 yards and 21 touchdowns with a 66.7% completion rate and just seven interceptions. Penn State went 12-0, won the Rose Bowl and was named national champion by several services while finishing second behind Nebraska in both major polls. Collins won the Maxwell and Davey O’Brien awards, finished fourth in Heisman voting and was drafted with the No. 5 pick by the Carolina Panthers in 1995. Collins had a roller-coaster run with the Panthers, leading them to the NFC championship game in 1996 but struggling with alcohol during much of his time there. After receiving treatment, Collins spent 17 years in the NFL and now coaches high school football in Tennessee.
1995: Eddie George, Ohio State RB
Eddie George led the nation in touchdowns and yards from scrimmage in 1995 and won the Heisman Trophy, but his game was much more than statistics and awards. George could slice apart defenses and take over games. The Houston Oilers picked him 14th in the NFL draft, then moved to Tennessee a year later and became the Titans. George put together a successful nine-year run in the league, winning Offensive Rookie of the Year and going to four Pro Bowls. His post-NFL career has shown he can do much more than run with the football. He earned an MBA from Northwestern and played the starring role of tap-dancing, smooth-talking lawyer Billy Flynn in a touring company of the musical “Chicago.” Since 2021 he has been head coach at Tennessee State.
1996: Orlando Pace, Ohio State OT
Offensive linemen rarely get the acknowledgement they deserve, but you couldn’t ignore Orlando Pace. Ohio State’s public relations team came up with the term “pancake blocks” to quantify Pace’s ability to knock over defenders while creating holes for the Buckeyes offense. Those blocks paved the way to the Rose Bowl, which the Buckeyes won over Arizona State 20-17. Pace was the first offensive lineman to win the Silver Football since Illinois’ Bill Burrell in 1959, and the St. Louis Rams drafted him with the No. 1 pick. Though pancakes weren’t counted in the NFL, Pace was a force at left tackle for the Rams and a major reason Kurt Warner and Marshall Faulk had so much success. He played 13 years in the NFL and was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2016.
More Top Picks Best Colored Overlays For Dyslexia
1997: Charles Woodson, Michigan CB
Charles Woodson made interceptions into an art form. One reason he chose Michigan is the Wolverines wanted him to continue as a defensive back instead of pushing him to the offensive side. He rewarded them by being a problem for every receiver who faced him. Woodson finished his career with 18 interceptions over three seasons while also playing some wide receiver and returning punts. He became the first primarily defensive player to win the Heisman Trophy and was picked No. 4 by the Oakland Raiders in the 1998 NFL draft. He continued to pick away at offenses in the pros. In 2009 with the Green Bay Packers, he had nine interceptions and three defensive touchdowns — both league highs — and was named Defensive Player of the Year. He retired in 2015 and was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2021. Now an analyst for Fox Sports, Woodson also has a winery that produces Intercept Wines.
1998: Joe Germaine, Ohio State QB
Ohio State’s 1998 team might have been its best of the decade. Senior Joe Germaine threw for 3,108 yards and 24 touchdowns with only seven interceptions as the Buckeyes went 11-1 and finished No. 2 in both national polls. In a victory over Tom Brady and Michigan, Germaine passed for 330 yards and three touchdowns. The St. Louis Rams picked him in the fourth round of the 1999 draft, and he won a Super Bowl ring as Kurt Warner’s backup. After moving around in the NFL and Arena League, he is now a high school football coach in Arizona. His team won a state championship with an undefeated season in 2012.
1999: Ron Dayne, Wisconsin RB
Standing 5-foot-10 and weighing 249 pounds, Ron Dayne used his size to truck through defenses. He started all four seasons in Madison and ran for more than 1,800 yards as both a freshman and a senior. He led the Badgers to back-to-back Rose Bowl wins and was named MVP of the game both times. Dayne finished his college career with 6,397 rushing yards, an NCAA record that wasn’t broken until 2016. He won the Heisman Trophy and was drafted with the No. 11 pick by the New York Giants. He played seven seasons in the NFL, but as he dealt with injuries and fought for playing time, Dayne never reached the heights he hit for Wisconsin.
Maggie Hendricks is a freelance reporter for the baiduhai.