Jason White ( American football ) Jason White ( born June 19 , 1980 ) is a former American college football quarterback who played for the University of Oklahoma , was recognized as a unanimous All - American , and won the Heisman Trophy in 2003 . White is currently a business owner in Oklahoma . Early life . White was raised in Tuttle , Oklahoma . He attended Tuttle High School , and played for the Tuttle Tigers high school football team . His parents owned a cement plant in east Tuttle . College career . White attended the University of Oklahoma , where he played for coach Bob Stoops ' s Oklahoma Sooners football team from 1999 to 2004 . White played in a reserve role his true freshman season , behind Josh Heupel , the Sooners ' starting quarterback . He redshirted his sophomore season in 2000 ; the Sooners went on to win the 2001 Orange Bowl and the BCS National Championship . Nate Hybl beat out White for the starting quarterback job in 2001 . Hybl hurt his right side in the first quarter of the Sooners ' 14 - 3 win over No . 5 Texas and did not return . White replaced him and was 16 - of - 23 for 108 yards and ran 12 times for a team - high 38 yards . He started the next week against Kansas , throwing four touchdown passes to tight end Trent Smith . White continued to start the following games for the Sooners including a showdown with Nebraska , featuring the top two teams in the BCS for the second consecutive year . During the second quarter , White injured his ACL while completing a long pass to running back Quentin Griffin , ending his season . The 2002 season started out with a preseason battle for the starting quarterback position between White and Hybl . White eventually won a close a battle and was named the starter for the first game against Tulsa . After a slow start , the offense finally got rolling and they easily cruised to a shutout win . In the second game , the Alabama Crimson Tide came to Norman . White again went down with a knee injury , this time tearing the ACL in the opposite knee . Hybl came in as a backup and led the team to a hard - fought come - from - behind win , but the offense experienced some struggles in the second half . White would again be out for the season and Hybl led the team to a Big 12 championship and a victory over Washington State in the 2003 Rose Bowl game , being named MVP . After suffering from consecutive anterior cruciate ligament tears , White had reconstructive knee surgeries on both knees during the 2001 and 2002 seasons . Despite the fact that White could not scramble and the Sooners had to run every offensive play out of a shotgun formation , White won the Heisman Trophy in 2003 after throwing 40 touchdown passes and 8 interceptions . White was also the recipient of the Associated Press Player of the Year , unanimous All - American , consensus Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year , the Davey O ' Brien Award and the Jim Thorpe Courage Award in his 2003 season . He was also the 2003 NCAA QB of the Year as awarded by the Touchdown Club of Columbus . He was awarded a medical hardship by the NCAA and allowed to play a second senior year in 2004 . He led the Sooners to the Big 12 championship game in 2003 , which they lost to Kansas State . White was granted a medical hardship for the 2004 season . He was again a finalist for the Heisman Trophy in 2004 , trying to become just the second player after Archie Griffin to win the honor twice , but instead finished third behind his Sooner backfield mate , runner - up Adrian Peterson and winner Matt Leinart . White did win the Davey O ' Brien Award for the second straight year , becoming the third quarterback ever to win the prestigious award two years in a row . White and Peterson led the Sooners to another national championship game , the Orange Bowl , in 2004 , but lost 55 - 19 to Leinart ' s USC Trojans . White finished his collegiate career as the University of Oklahoma ' s all - time leader in career passing yards ( 8 , 012 ) and touchdown passes ( 81 ) . White ' s on - the - field accomplishments have been further honored in Tuttle with the painting of a local water tower to read " Home of Jason White 2003 Heisman Trophy Winner " . This tower is readily seen from the center of town , just west of State Highways 4 and 37 . Additionally , a section of Cimarron Road in the city was renamed " Jason White Boulevard " . Professional career . Despite his strong college career , White was not selected in the 2005 NFL Draft and did not receive a tryout from any NFL team in the first several weeks of post - draft free agency . White became just the third Heisman trophy winner not to be drafted in the NFL after Pete Dawkins instead chose a military career and Charlie Ward chose a career in the NBA . He did eventually receive a tryout from the Kansas City Chiefs , who opted not to sign him . Eventually the Tennessee Titans signed him as an undrafted free agent in 2005 , but White decided to quit professional football , citing weak knees . White has expressed an interest in coaching . Life after football . Today , White owns and operates the Jason White Companies , which owns A Store Divided , an OU / OSU memorabilia store , and a The Athlete ' s Foot shoe store . He also worked with insurance agent Steve Owens , another former Sooner Heisman Trophy winner and former athletic director at the University of Oklahoma . Prior to that , White worked briefly for a securities firm in downtown Oklahoma City . He is a co - founder and board member of St . Anthony Hospital ' s YourCARE Clinic community health centers . In 2007 , a bronze statue of White was dedicated on the University of Oklahoma campus in Heisman Park , commemorating his 2003 award .