Monday night, the finalists for the 85th annual Heisman Memorial Trophy were announced.
The finalists are LSU quarterback Joe Burrow, Ohio State quarterback Justin Fields, Oklahoma quarterback Jalen Hurts and Ohio State defensive end Chase Young.
The announcement of the finalists was made on ESPN's 6:00 PM EST telecast of its Monday Night Countdown show.
The four finalists will be invited to New York City for the Heisman Trophy announcement on Saturday, December 14, which will broadcast live on ESPN at 8:00 PM EST.
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NEW YORK (AP) - Oklahoma quarterback Jalen Hurts and Ohio State teammates quarterback Justin Fields and defensive end Chase Young will join LSU quarterback Joe Burrow as Heisman Trophy finalists.
The top vote-getters for college football's most famous player of the year award were announced Monday, and three of them were quarterbacks who transferred to their current schools.
Burrow is the clear front-runner to win the Heisman on Saturday night in New York after a record-breaking season, leading the Tigers (13-0) to the top seed in the College Football Playoff. He would be LSU's second Heisman winner and first since running back Billy Cannon in 1959. The 60-year gap between Heisman winners would be the longest for any school with multiple winners.
The other finalists were not so obvious even after all the games had been played. Ohio State had three players worthy of consideration in Fields, Young and running back J.K. Dobbins. Fields and Young are the first teammates to be finalists since Oklahoma had quarterback Baker Mayfield and receiver Dede Westbrook at the Heisman ceremony in 2016.
Hurts is the third Oklahoma quarterback in the last four seasons to be a Heisman finalist, including the last two winners in Kyler Murray and Mayfield.
Burrow is just the second Heisman finalist for LSU since candidates began being invited to New York for the presentation ceremony in 1982, and the first offensive player from the Tigers. The last finalist from LSU was defensive back Tyrann Mathieu, who finished fifth in the voting in 2011.
Quarterbacks have dominated the Heisman over the last two decades, winning 16 of the last 19 trophies, dating back to 2000. The last two winning quarterbacks, Murray and Mayfield, were both transfers, and this year will likely make it three straight transfer QBs to win the Heisman.
Burrow left Ohio State and joined LSU in 2018 as a graduate transfer. He had a breakout season this year in the Tigers' new spread offense. Burrow has already set an Southeastern Conference record with 48 touchdown passes and is on pace to set an NCAA record for completion percentage at 77.9%.
