2016 Heisman finalists: Lamar Jackson leads 5 vying for college football’s top award

The Heisman Trophy recognizes the nation’s most outstanding college football player, and has narrowed the field of candidates to five, with the winner to be announced after 8 p.m. ET on ESPN.

Lamar Jackson (the favorite), Baker Mayfield, Jabrill Peppers, Deshaun Watson, and Dede Westbrook will all be in New York City, where one will join a prestigious fraternity of winners.

The amount of finalists is not set, and the average has been about four since the ceremony became part of the process of awarding the trophy. The minimum amount of candidates is three, with additional invites given if the margins of voting are small.

Here are the five players who will be at the Heisman Trophy ceremony Saturday night (listed alphabetically):

The case for the sophomore quarterback is pretty simple: Touchdowns, touchdowns, and more touchdowns. The 6’3, 200-pound Florida native racked up 30 touchdowns as a passer and another 21 as a rusher for a staggering 51 touchdowns on the year.

The 51 touchdowns are an ACC single-season record, and his 1,538 rushing yards are a school record. He helped lead Louisville to a 9-3 record and an upcoming matchup with LSU in the Citrus Bowl.

Mayfield was the nation’s most efficient passer as a junior, completing 71.2 percent of his passes for 3,669 yards, 38 touchdowns, and eight interceptions. No FBS quarterback had a higher passer rating, and nobody connected on bigger plays than Mayfield, who averaged 11.1 yards per attempt.

Despite being a walk-on at Texas Tech, Mayfield started the team’s season opener as a true freshman in 2013 and won the Big 12’s Freshman Offensive Player of the Year. But Mayfield transferred to Oklahoma after the season and sat out 2014 before returning to lead the Sooners to a 2015 Playoff bid and 2016 Sugar Bowl berth.

Calling Peppers a linebacker is a huge understatement, because he does so much more than just that for the Wolverines. He is also the team’s punt returner, kick returner, and even played some offense for Michigan, rushing for 167 yards and three touchdowns.

The 6’1, 205-pound junior from New Jersey racked up stats all over the field for Michigan, finishing the year with 15 tackles for loss, 3.5 sacks, and one interception to go with his handful of carries on offense.

A year after Watson became the first Clemson player to ever be named a finalist for the Heisman Trophy, he’s the only returner in the group in 2016. After finishing third in voting as a sophomore in 2015, Watson posted similar stats as a junior.

Watson finished the year with 37 passing touchdowns and six rushing touchdowns, leading Clemson to the No. 2 seed in the College Football Playoff. Of the five finalists, Watson is the only one who still has national title aspirations on the line.

Westbrook is the only senior of the five Heisman finalists (though Watson is almost certain to leave early for the NFL), but made the most out of his final season with the Sooners, racking up 1,465 receiving yards and 16 touchdowns. On Thursday, Westbrook was named the Biletnikoff Award winner, recognizing the nation’s top collegiate wide receiver.

Listed at just 6’0, 176 pounds, Westbrook led the nation in receptions of 20-plus yards (26), 50-plus yards (7), 60-plus yards (6) and 70-plus yards (3).