The Heisman Trophy will be awarded Saturday night in a virtual ceremony for the first time
The best of the perfect in school football can be honored on Tuesday night as the 2020 Heisman Trophy can be awarded to one of 4 players, two of whom occur to play for the same team. The 4 finalists for this year’s honor are Alabama quarterback Mac Jones, Alabama receiver DeVonta Smith, Clemson quarterback Trevor Lawrence and Florida quarterback Kyle Trask. A kind of 4 will become the 83rd recipient of the famed award.
The Heisman Trophy was first given out in 1935 to the University of Chicago running back Jay Berwanger. It was called the DAC Trophy at the time because it was named after New York’s Downtown Athletic Club. When the club’s athletic director, John Heisman, died in 1936, the award grew to become often called The Heisman Trophy.
It’s the preeminent individual award in college football.
Tuesday evening, we’ll see one other member inducted into college football’s most prestigious membership. The 2020 Heisman Trophy ceremony will start at 7 p.m. ET and air on ESPN. It may also be streamed reside on fuboTV (Attempt free of charge). Due to the continuing COVID-19 pandemic, this year’s award ceremony will be the first held nearly with the 4 finalists appearing to reside through satellite from their houses or school.
Let’s check out the 4 finalists for this year’s award along with their current odds to win through William Hill Sportsbook.
DeVonta Smith, WR, Alabama (2/13):
The college soccer world at large was first launched to Smith in January 2018. It was the final game of the 2017 season when Smith and Alabama had been dealing with Georgia within the School Soccer Playoff National Championship. In overtime of that game, with Georgia main 23-20, Tua Tagovailoa tossed a 41-yard landing go to Smith that won the sport and a nationwide title for the Crimson Tide. Tagovailoa, a freshman sensation who had come off the bench to interchange veteran starter Jalen Hurts,
grabbed the headlines at the time. Now it could possibly be Smith grabbing the Heisman just a few years later. During Smith’s time in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, we have seen receivers like Calvin Ridley, Jerry Jeudy, and Henry Ruggs all transfer on to become first-round NFL Draft picks, but Smith may be the best of them all. After catching 68 passes for 1,256 yards and 14 touchdowns final season, Smith entered 2020 not thought-about by many to be a Heisman candidate. He completed it having caught one other 105 passes for 1,641 yards and 20 extra touchdowns. If Smith wins the award, he will be the first vast receiver to take action since Michigan’s Desmond Howard in 1991.
Mac Jones, QB, Alabama (5-1):
Jones’ story is not all that dissimilar to that of Smith. He spent the last few years as a backup QB at Alabama, buried on the depth chart by nationwide title-winning QBs like Jalen Hurts and Tagovailoa. In an era where so many quarterbacks aren’t keen to attend their flip before transferring, Jones caught it out and entered 2020 as the Tide starter.
Even then, some puzzled if he’d maintain onto the job, as Alabama had a five-star freshman coming in behind him. It wasn’t lengthy earlier than everyone realized Jones would not be giving up the job any time quickly.
Jones threw for 249 yards and two touchdowns in Alabama’s first game of the season, after which the next week in opposition to a top-five staff in Texas A&M, he threw for 435 yards and 4 touchdowns. That form of statline became routine as Jones completed the season with 4,036 yards passing and 36 touchdowns with solely 4 interceptions. Jones’ 77% completion mark and 4,036 yards had been each Alabama college data for a single season. Subsequent week he’ll hope to hitch the players he waited behind, Hurts and Tagovailoa, as QBs to win a national title with the Tide.
Trevor Lawrence, QB, Clemson (8-1):
Actually, what’s there to say about Lawrence that hasn’t already been stated? He came to Clemson having to be the man who changed the best QB at school history in Deshaun Watson, and never solely did he reside as much as Watson’s legacy, however, he could have surpassed it.
He led the Tigers to the School Soccer Playoff in each of his seasons and gained a nationwide title in 2018. This season may have been his best but. Lawrence set career highs in passing yards per game and passing efficiency. If he hadn’t been sidelined for 2 games (including Clemson’s first loss against Notre Dame) as a result of contracting COVID-19, he might have been the runaway Heisman favorite. Perhaps more vital than any of his on-field accomplishments is what he did off the field.
Lawrence was a vocal advocate of players’ rights each within the sport and social issues. He was additionally vocal in his help that the season is played when many puzzled if it might be. Considering the private risk involved to Lawrence due to his NFL future — he is more likely to be the No. 1 pick in the spring’s NFL Draft — his help was seen as a crucial moment in getting the season played.
Kyle Trask, QB, Florida (50-1):
Trask is seen as a longshot to win the award among the finalists largely due to the method Florida finished the season. The Gators misplaced their final two video games of the 12 months (though voting was concluded earlier than a Cotton Bowl loss), but that should not tarnish an incredible season from the Gators QB. Trask set college data for passing yards in a single season (4,283), passing touchdowns (43), and passer effectivity (180.02). Considering Florida has three Heisman-winning quarterbacks in its history, these feats are even more spectacular.
He was at his best during large games, too. In three regular-season clashes against high 10 groups in Texas A&M, Georgia, and Alabama, Trask threw for 1,194 yards and 11 touchdowns with only one interception. Not bad for a man who took over the beginning job for the Gators last season after not beginning a sport since his freshman year of high school.
