Tagovailoa, Murray, Haskins Named Heisman Trophy Finalists
Alabama quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, Oklahoma quarterback Kyler Murray and Ohio State quarterback Dwayne Haskins were named as the three Heisman Trophy finalists on Monday.
Tagovailoa, a sophomore, was considered the favorite to win the award for most of the season. He established hmself as one of the top offensive talents in college football early, throwing for 1,033 yards and 12 touchdowns through Alabama's first four games of the season. Injury limited his production later on, however. In Saturday's SEC championship game against Georgia, Tagovailoa went 10-of-25 for 164 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions before exiting the game with a right ankle injury. Still, the Alabama quarterback would make for a worthy trophy recepient, totaling 3,353 passing yards and 37 touchdowns while leading the Crimson Tide to the No. 1 seed in the College Football Playoff.
Sooners quarterback Murray is one of three players to eclipse 4,000 passing yards, accumulating a season total of 4,053 passing yards, 40 touchdowns and seven interceptions. Murray also tallied 892 yards and 11 touchdowns on the ground. In Saturday's Big 12 championship against Texas, Murray lit up the Longhorns for 379 yards and four touchdowns en route to a title victory. The win positioned Oklahoma at No. 4 in the final College Football Playoff rankings and has the Sooners primed for an Orange Bowl matchup against Tagovailoa and Alabama on Dec. 29.
A sophmore at Ohio State, Haskins finished the season with 4,502 yards, 46 touchdowns and eight interceptions. Haskins was the single-season Big Ten passing leader and threw for 396 yards and six touchdowns against Michigan to push the Buckeyes to a Big Ten title. In Saturday's championship game, Haskins accounted for 499 yards and five scores, leading his team to a big 45–24 title win over Northwestern.
The 2018 Heisman Trophy winner will be announced on Saturday, De. 8 at 7 pm, ET.
