Most college football teams are lucky if they have one Heisman Trophy candidate on their roster. Ohio State has three, which is undoubtedly one of the many reasons the Buckeyes have been No. 1 in the College Football Playoff rankings in three of the last five weeks.
Quarterback Justin Fields, running back J.K. Dobbins and defensive end Chase Young are all outstanding players. The Heisman field is a bit crowded this season — despite LSU quarterback Joe Burrow being the clear favorite in the second half of the season — but these three players have strong arguments to be finalists.
So when Monday’s voting deadline comes around, maybe we’ll see five or even six finalists invited to the December 14 ceremony in New York.
Regardless, Ohio State is understandably vocal about its three players in the running and released its “Heismen” campaign Tuesday on Twitter. And their cases are pretty compelling.
Although he’s not up there with Burrow’s nation-leading 78.3 completion percentage — although, no one is — Fields is still having an incredible season worthy of Heisman consideration. With a 68.2 completion percentage, the sophomore quarterback has thrown for 2,654 yards and the third-most touchdowns so far with 37. He also has just one interception and had added 10 rushing touchdowns to his resume.
However, the double-edged sword for Fields is that he’s not carrying the Buckeyes’ top-5 offense alone with Dobbins out there too. The junior running back is ranked fourth nationally with 1,657 rushing yards and is tied for fifth with 19 touchdowns. Most recently, he had a stellar performance against Michigan in Week 14, finishing with four touchdowns for the first time in his career while breaking the 200-yard mark.
And then there’s Young, who is unquestionably the most dominant defensive player in the country and should terrify every opposing quarterback. The junior defensive end is disruptive, athletic and fast, and he’s a huge reason why Ohio State is ranked No. 2 in passing defense and No. 4 in rushing defense. Young leads the nation with 16.5 sacks this season, despite missing two games because of an NCAA suspension, and has 38 total tackles.
But the Heisman winner is almost always on offense, so that’s his disadvantage. Former Michigan cornerback Charles Woodson remains the only player to win the Heisman, which he did in 1997.
In addition to LSU’s Burrow, Fields, Dobbins and Young are up against Oklahoma quarterback Jalen Hurts and Alabama quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, who could still be a finalist despite suffering a season-ending injury in Week 12 against Mississippi State.
The best the Buckeyes’ trio and fans can hope for is that there is a small enough margin in the voting that all three are finalists and invited to the ceremony in New York. And this year, that’s not really much of a reach.
