Stanford quarterback Andrew Luck, Alabama running back Trent Richardson, LSU’s Tyrann Mathieu, Baylor quarterback Robert Griffin III and Wisconsin running back Montee Ball are the five finalists for the Heisman.
Ball is a native of Wentzville, Missouri and has scored 38 touchdowns and needs one more to tie Barry Sander’s NCAA record. We saw firsthand what RG3 can do at Baylor. He threw for 406 yards and three touchdowns in a win over Missouri.
Richardson and Mathieu will face each other in the BCS title game. Richardson is the second Bama running back to be finalist in three years, following Mark Ingram’s win in 2009. The only defensive player of the final five, Mathieu, is a game changer and a big reason LSU is where they are. He’s forced five fumbles, two interceptions and scored four touchdowns including punt returns in the Tigers’ last two games. A big knock against him is he was suspended a game for violating the team’s drug policy…that should be a huge mark against him from Heisman voters.
Luck was the runner up to Cam Newton last season. He led the Cardinal to an 11-1 record with the pressure of being the Heisman favorite early on. He’s passed for 35 touchdowns and 3,170 yards.