Heisman Trophy finalists includes surprising candidate

Quarterbacks Stetson Bennett of Georgia, Max Duggan of TCU, C.J. Stroud of Ohio State and Caleb Williams of Southern California have been introduced as finalists for the Heisman Trophy on Monday evening.

The award given to the excellent participant in school soccer, decided by a vote of greater than 900 sports activities journalists and previous winners, will probably be introduced Saturday on the Lincoln Heart in New York.

Conspicuously absent from the checklist of finalists is Tennessee quarterback Hendon Hooker, who was the chief of the nation’s No. 1 offense earlier than his season ended Nov. 19 due to a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee.

Bennett had been a bit below the radar as a Heisman candidate and maybe a light shock to be one of many high 4 vote-getters for no cause aside from that his statistics don’t soar off the web page.

“I don’t even know what to assume proper now,” Bennett mentioned. “We have now lots of good gamers who make me look good. It’s particular. This honor is all about my teammates and this staff. I wouldn’t be right here if we didn’t have the staff that now we have. This honor is for them.”

Bennett, a sixth-year participant from Blackshear, Georgia, does know how you can win, although. He has quarterbacked the defending nationwide champion Bulldogs to a second straight spot within the Faculty Soccer Playoff and is 24-1 as a starter since final season.

Heisman
Georgia’s Stetson Bennett
Getty Pictures

Bennett was most precious participant of the Southeastern Convention championship sport after throwing for 274 yards and 4 touchdowns in a 50-30 win over LSU that ran the Bulldogs’ document to 13-0.

Of Georgia’s three all-time wins over a No. 1-ranked staff, Bennett was quarterback for 2 of them. He was on the controls for the Bulldogs’ win over Alabama within the nationwide championship sport final January, and he handed for 2 TDs and ran for an additional in a 27-13 win over Tennessee final month.

“I perceive what Coach (Kirby) Good means when he says that success involves those that don’t search for it or are too busy working to search for it,” Bennett mentioned. “I've by no means thought in regards to the Heisman. I simply needed to play quarterback at Georgia. I simply needed to play soccer. I’m considering of the gamers and individuals who have been on this with me. No matter who wins, it’s an enormous honor to be on this group.”

Duggan willed TCU to its first CFP look with an inspiring efficiency within the Massive 12 championship sport towards Kansas State.

Duggan, who had coronary heart surgical procedure two years in the past, was on the middle of one of many signature sequences of the season. It occurred late within the fourth quarter when he broke free for 40 yards after which, visibly out of breath, ran for an 8-yard TD and accomplished his 2-point cross to carry the Frogs again from an 11-point, fourth-quarter deficit. Duggan got here up simply in need of the objective line on a run in extra time, and the Frogs misplaced for the primary time this season, 31-28.

“I feel when you watch this sport right now, I feel it’s fairly clear that he’s actually deserving to, if not win the Heisman Trophy, to actually be within the dialog,” first-year TCU coach Sonny Dykes mentioned. “His efficiency has been gritty week after week after week. The man is without doubt one of the greatest gamers in school soccer. I feel it’s fairly apparent.”

Heismann
USC quarterback Caleb Williams
AP
Max Duggan #15 of the TCU Horned Frogs
Max Duggan #15 of the TCU Horned Frogs
Getty Pictures

Duggan, a fourth-year participant from Council Bluffs, Iowa, was Gary Patterson’s starter for 2 seasons earlier than Dykes picked Chandler Morris over Duggan within the preseason. Duggan regained the job for the second sport due to an harm to Morris and ended up main the Massive 12 in each main passing class.

Stroud, in his third season out of Inland Empire, California, is a Heisman finalist for the second 12 months in a row. He was fourth in voting final 12 months. He got here into this season thought to be the front-runner and remained the favourite as Ohio State piled up spectacular numbers by way of the primary eight video games.

However he struggled towards Northwestern, the worst staff within the Massive Ten, and he couldn’t rally the Buckeyes within the second half of their most up-to-date sport, a 45-23 residence loss to Michigan.

Ohio State quarterback C.J Stroud
Ohio State quarterback C.J Stroud
USA TODAY Sports activities

Nonetheless, Stroud has the nation’s highest passer score and is tied for the lead with 37 landing passes.

Williams transferred to USC from Oklahoma in February, two months after Lincoln Riley was employed away from the Sooners.

The second-year participant from Washington is chargeable for a nation-leading 21.7 factors per sport. He turned in a gutty efficiency within the Pac-12 championship sport Friday, injuring his left hamstring on a 59-yard run within the first quarter however staying within the sport and ending with 363 yards passing and three touchdowns regardless of a noticeable limp within the 47-24 loss to Utah.

Williams has thrown for 37 touchdowns towards simply 4 interceptions and has amassed a school-record 4,447 complete yards. Together with his 10 speeding touchdowns, he has accounted for a school-record 47.

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