The Heisman Trophy award finalists will be announced on Monday night and after the weekend of games, Alabama running back Derrick Henry looks to be the favorite to win. Players like Christian McCaffrey, Deshaun Watson, Baker Mayfield, Dalvin Cook and Keenan Reynolds are also candidates and some of them could be invited to New York City for the ceremony. Check here for the finalists.
The announcement is coming on Monday night and will be televised from ESPN and there could be a group of three to seven players that get invited to NYC. Keenan Reynolds and Dalvin Cook are also in the mix, but they may not end up making it to the ceremony. Watson, Mayfield and Henry all saw their teams make it into the College Football Playoff, while McCaffrey put his team in position for a major bowl berth with a win in the Pac-12 title game.
Here is a look at the candidates:
Derrick Henry, Alabama
Henry comes in after having a huge season for the number two ranked team in the nation and after Leonard Fournette dropped off, Henry has taken over as the favorite for the award along with McCaffrey. Henry has 1986 yards rushing and 23 touchdowns this season for Alabama and he has nine games this season with over 100 yards. Henry has four games with over 200 yards and he had another massive performance in the SEC championship with 44 carries for 189 yards to help bolster his chances.
Christian McCaffrey, Stanford
McCaffrey has put together a strong season and his performance against USC in the Pac-12 championship game could be enough to push him over the top. McCaffrey had 461 all-purpose yards in the game against the Trojans and that performance could be something Heisman voters really feel is worthy of an award winner. McCaffrey has put up strong numbers overall with 1847 yards and eight rushing touchdowns this season along with 540 receiving yards and another four touchdowns.
Deshaun Watson, Clemson
Watson has Clemson undefeated and ranked number one in the country and he comes in with 3512 passing yards and 30 touchdowns with 11 interceptions. Watson has completed nearly 70 percent of his passes this season and has also added 887 rushing yards and another 11 touchdowns. Watson had five touchdowns in the ACC championship game against North Carolina.
Baker Mayfield, Oklahoma
Mayfield has thrown for 3389 passing yards and 35 touchdowns with just five interceptions this season and he is completing 68 percent of his passes for Oklahoma. Mayfield did not get a chance to bolster his stats in a conference championship game and that could keep him from being a real contender for the award.
Prediction: Derrick Henry wins award.
Henry, Christian McCaffrey, Deshaun Watson, Baker Mayfield invited to NYC.
