There are five players heading to New York City as Heisman Trophy finalists this season.
Louisville quarterback Lamar Jackson, Oklahoma quarterback Baker Mayfield, Clemson quarterback Deshaun Watson, Michigan linebacker Jabrill Peppers and Oklahoma wide receiver Dede Westbrook were all announced as finalists Monday for college football's most prestigious award.
Jackson is the frontrunner to take home the hardware. The Louisville signal caller threw for 3,390 yards, ran for 1,538 yards and accounted for 51 touchdowns as the Cardinals finished the regular-season 9-3. Louisville will play LSU in the Citrus Bowl on Dec. 31.
Mayfield and Westbrook are the first pair of teammates to be named Heisman finalists since 2005 when USC's Matt Leinhart and Reggie Bush made the trip. Mayfield has 3,669 passing yards and 38 touchdown passes this season for the Sooners while Westbrook recorded 74 catches for 1,465 yards and 16 touchdowns.
Peppers played a number of positions this season for the Wolverines — including offense — but his primary position was outside linebacker. The junior recorded 72 tackles (16.5 for loss), four sacks and one interception.
Watson was a preseason favorite of many and led the Tigers to a 12-1 record this season and a College Football Playoff berth. He finished the regular season with 3,914 passing yards, 524 rushing yards and 43 total touchdowns.
Ohio State has already faced off with three of these finalists having beaten Oklahoma and Michigan this season. The Buckeyes will play their fourth Heisman Trophy finalist of the season in the Fiesta Bowl when they match up with Watson and Clemson.
Ohio State also faced all three Heisman Trophy finalists in 2014 when the Buckeyes played Wisconsin (Melvin Gordon), Alabama (Amari Cooper) and Oregon (Marcus Mariota) in order to end the season.
The winner of the Heisman Trophy will be revealed Saturday night.
Heisman Trophy Finalist
Could it be the Year of the Quarterback once again for the Heisman voters?
Louisville quarterback Lamar Jackson, Oklahoma quarterback Baker Mayfield and receiver Dede Westbrook, Michigan linebacker Jabrill Peppers and Clemson quarterback Deshaun Watson were announced as Heisman Trophy finalists on Monday night, sending a full field to New York for the ceremony on Saturday night.
After two running backs and one quarterback were invited to New York a year ago, the field this year settled back into the recent trend that has seen this award go to the best quarterback in the country. With quarterbacks dominating the field of finalists, it seems likely a quarterback will win the award for the fifth time in the past six years.
Jackson has long been considered the favorite to win the award after opening September on a torrid touchdown pace, racking up 26 total TDs in the month and at least 400 yards of offense in each game.
Though Louisville lost its final two games to put a damper on its season, Jackson ended up with the ACC single-season total touchdown record with 51 and became the first player in FBS history with 3,300 yards passing and 1,500 yards rushing.
He is the first Heisman finalist in Louisville school history.
In an interview over the weekend after picking up his ACC Player of the Year trophy, Jackson said this about being in the Heisman conversation: "It really hasn't hit me yet. I'm still trying to let it sink in."
But he is not the only quarterback who made a big impression this season. Watson, who also plays in the ACC with Jackson, came on strong in the final month to ensure his second consecutive trip to New York. Watson ended up with 4,443 yards of total offense and was responsible for 43 touchdowns while helping the Tigers win a second straight ACC championship.
He remains the only player in Clemson history to become a Heisman finalist. Watson finished third last year and is the first player to make consecutive trips to New York since Johnny Manziel in 2012 (winner) and 2013 (finished fifth).
But among the three quarterbacks, Mayfield ended the season as the highest-rated player in the country and saw his Heisman hopes take off over the past month. Mayfield finished with 3,669 yards passing, 44 total touchdowns and eight interceptions and also led the nation in completion percentage (71.2 percent) and quarterback efficiency.
Though Mayfield didn't get an invitation to New York last year, he finished fourth in the Heisman balloting.
He has a stellar receiver in Westbrook to help him out. Westbrook did not exactly start out quickly -- he had 154 yards receiving in his first three games combined. But over the last nine, he failed to reach the 100-yard mark just once. Westbrook had 1,465 yards receiving and 16 total touchdowns to rank No. 4 nationally in receiving yards per game (122.1).
If either Mayfield or Westbrook wins, he would become the sixth Oklahoma player to hoist the Heisman, ranking second nationally.
The selection of Peppers came as somewhat of a surprise considering his position. Defensive players rarely get invitations to New York: Notre Dame linebacker Manti Te'o was the last in 2012. Only fellow Wolverine Charles Woodson has won the Heisman as a primarily defensive player.
Clemson quarterback Deshaun Watson has been named a Heisman Trophy finalist for a second consecutive season and is joined by Louisville quarterback Lamar Jackson and Michigan linebacker Jabrill Peppers on the list of finalists.
Jackson has been the star of the Cardinals' offense all season as he recorded 51 touchdowns and averaged 410 yards of total offense per game.
Watson led the Tigers to the ACC title and will face the Ohio State Buckeyes in the Fiesta Bowl. He finished the season with 3,914 yards and 37 touchdowns.
Two Oklahoma Sooners will be heading to New York as well; Quarterback Baker Mayfield and wideout Dede Westbrook were also named finalists for the award.
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