NEW YORK - The 2020 Heisman Trophy race will start with a couple of clear front-runners and plenty of room for other stars to emerge - much the way LSU senior quarterback Joe Burrow did this year before winning in a record landslide Saturday night.
Here are six contenders for college football's most prestigious individual award next year, ranked from most likely to least.
Justin Fields, QB, Ohio State: The only Heisman finalist likely to be back next season unless Fields' teammate, defensive end Chase Young, shocks the college football world and decides to come back for his senior year instead of making himself available for the NFL draft. Without Young and other teammates such as running back J.K. Dobbins cluttering up the Heisman field, Fields will be the clear top Buckeye. Expectations will be sky high after he threw 40 touchdown passes and just one interception in his first season at Ohio State after transferring from Georgia last winter.
Ohio State quarterback Justin Fields, a 2019 Heisman Trophy finalist, speaks during a news conference Saturday night in New York. / AP photo by Jason SzenesTrevor Lawrence, QB, Clemson: Fields and Lawrence both played their high school ball in Georgia - Fields for Kennesaw's Harrison Hoyas, who won their first state title Friday night, and Lawrence for Cartersville's Purple Hurricanes - and were in the same recruiting class. They were Nos. 1 and 1A among quarterback prospects in 2018, so it seems appropriate they would battle it out for the Heisman - and then maybe to be the first overall pick in the 2021 draft. Lawrence's 2019 Heisman campaign never gained traction after he played less than his best during the season's first month. He played great over the past two but was overlooked as Clemson rolled through outmanned Atlantic Coast Conference foes, and he could get lost in the shuffle again.
Clemson sophomore quarterback Trevor Lawrence was not a Heisman Trophy finalist this season despite playing well over the final two months of the regular season, but he could be a favorite next year. / AP file photo by Richard ShiroJake Fromm, QB, Georgia: Fromm did not play very well for much of this season, with the junior's 139.67 efficiency rating No. 55 in the country. Remember, though, that last season Burrow finished with a 133.21 rating that ranked 65th. If Bulldogs coach Kirby Smart can go the route LSU coach Ed Orgeron did and find someone to revamp Georgia's offense, maybe Fromm takes off next season like Burrow this year.
Georgia quarterback Jake Fromm passes during the SEC title game against LSU on Dec. 7 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta. / Staff photo by C.B. SchmelterSpencer Rattler, QB, Oklahoma: Jalen Hurts this season became the latest Sooners quarterback to be a Heisman finalist in a four-year string of them, following 2018 winner Kyler Murray and 2017 winner Baker Mayfield, a finalist in 2016. If Rattler is the next one up, he will be different in at least one regard by having started his career at Oklahoma, with Hurts (Alabama), Murray (Texas A&M) and Mayfield (Texas Tech) all transfers. Rattler was a huge recruit in the 2019 class and is the front-runner to slide into coach Lincoln Riley's Heisman machine.
Sam Howell, QB, North Carolina, and Brock Purdy, QB, Iowa State: The Heisman almost always goes to someone on a team contending for a national title. An exception is occasionally made for a player who lifts his team above its usual standards, such as Robert Griffin III at Baylor in 2011 or Lamar Jackson at Louisville in 2016. Howell was the most productive freshman quarterback in the country this season, passing for 3,347 yards and 35 touchdowns. Purdy is fifth in the nation at 313 passing yards per game. If either pushes his school into nine- or 10-victory territory, Heisman buzz might follow.
An RB who is TBD: The Heisman is a quarterback's award now, with 17 of them winning the honor since 2000 and running backs having a hard time even breaking into the group of finalists. You could slot Alabama's Najee Harris or Georgia's D'Andre Swift into this spot if they returns as seniors. But what are the chances of that? Memphis Tigers star Kenneth Gainwell could be another dark horse.