Heisman Race 2016: List of Finalists for Coveted Trophy Announced

Headlined by Louisville Cardinals quarterback Lamar Jackson, the five-player field for this year's Heisman Trophy was announced Monday night.

Jackson is the favorite to take home the award Saturday after leading the Cardinals to a 9-3 regular-season record.

The sophomore signal-caller will have some stiff competition from Clemson Tigers quarterback Deshaun Watson, who finished third in last year's Heisman voting.

Below is a look at each of the five finalists.

Heisman Trophy Finalists

Finalist	Position	School	Notable Stats
Lamar Jackson	QB	Louisville	3,390 Pass Yds., 30 Pass TDs, 1,538 Rush Yds., 21 Rush TDs
Deshaun Watson	QB	Clemson	3,914 Pass Yds., 37 Pass TDs, 529 Rush Yds., 6 Rush TDs
Jabrill Peppers	LB	Michigan	66 Tackles, 3 Sacks, 1 Interception, 167 Rush Yds., 3 Rush TDs, 1 Punt Return TD
Dede Westbrook	WR	Oklahoma	74 Rec., 1,465 Rec. Yds., 16 Rec. TDs
Baker Mayfield	QB	Oklahoma	3,669 Pass Yds., 38 Pass TDs, 143 Rush Yds., 6 TDs

Heisman Field Overview

Lamar Jackson, QB, Louisville

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Anything other than a Jackson victory would be a surprise, despite Louisville losing its last two games and falling out of College Football Playoff contention.

In another year, that might have had a greater effect on Jackson's Heisman candidacy, but it may not cost Jackson in this year's weak field.

Faulting Jackson for Louisville's defeats to Clemson, Houston and Kentucky would be harsh as well. ESPN.com's David Hale highlighted that his performance didn't drop off much in those three games:

Heisman voters likely don't remember the end to Jackson's regular season as much as they remember his hot start. Through Louisville's first four games, he had 1,330 passing yards, 526 rushing yards and 25 total touchdowns.

Jackson drew comparisons to Michael Vick, with Vick suggesting Jackson had already surpassed him in September:

Barring a major upset, Jackson will be the first Louisville player to win the Heisman Trophy.

Deshaun Watson, QB, Clemson

To a certain extent, Watson's Heisman candidacy suffered from the fact that he played in the same conference as Jackson. While Watson has the better passing numbers, his overall body of work doesn't match that of Jackson.

In addition, Watson may have been on the winning side in Clemson's matchup with Louisville, but many will argue Jackson was the better performer in that game:

Player	Comp./Att.	Pass Yds.	Pass TD	INT	Carries	Rush Yds.	Rush TD
Watson	20/31	306	5	3	14	91	0
Jackson	27/44	295	1	1	31	162	2

Voter fatigue may also be a factor for Watson. Although he didn't win last year's Heisman, he was one of three finalists. In order to sway voters and make the jump from finalist to winner, Watson may have needed to provide better numbers:

Season	Comp./Att.	Comp. %	Yards	TD	INT	Rush Yds.	Rush TD
2015	333/491	67.8	4,104	35	13	1,105	12
2016	329/487	67.6	3,914	37	15	529	6

Of course, Watson has the benefit of starring for a playoff team. Playing for a national title contender isn't a prerequisite for the Heisman, but it's often a factor in the final outcome.

Should Jackson finish outside the top spot, Watson is the likeliest candidate to top the ballot.

Jabrill Peppers, LB, Michigan

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If the Heisman Trophy truly honored the most outstanding player in college football—and not the best offensive skill-position player, as it usually does—then Jabrill Peppers would have a greater chance of winning.

Instead, the Michigan Wolverines linebacker plays on the wrong side of the ball.

If he were to come away with the award, Peppers would be following in the footsteps of Charles Woodson, who won the 1997 Heisman Trophy despite spending most of his time at cornerback.

Like Woodson, Peppers has played both ways in 2016, and they each finished with the same number of offensive touchdowns (three) in their junior years. A lack of noteworthy plays on defense will hurt Peppers, though. He has just one interception, compared to seven for Woodson in 1997.

Peppers' versatility helped Michigan this year, but moving around the field did little to strengthen his Heisman hopes.

Dede Westbrook, WR, Oklahoma

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History is against Oklahoma wide receiver Dede Westbrook. Excluding Johnny Rodgers, who split his time at running back, only Tim Brown and Desmond Howard have won the Heisman Trophy as a wide receiver.

Oklahoma assistant athletic director for strategic communications Mike Houck noted Westbrook had a knack for delivering big plays this season:

Still, Westbrook will be hurt by the fact that he had 13 combined catches for 121 yards and zero touchdowns in the Sooners' two losses. In comparison, he averaged over 134 receiving yards and 1.6 touchdowns in Oklahoma's 10 wins.

And as good as Westbrook was, his 2016 wasn't historically significant. According to Sports-Reference.com, his 1,465 receiving yards were the 70th-most in a single season, and his 16 touchdowns tied for the 42nd-highest mark in FBS history.

In order to achieve Heisman immortality, a wide receiver has to go above and beyond to sway voters, and Westbrook likely didn't do enough to bridge the gap between himself and the combination of Watson and Jackson.

Baker Mayfield, QB, Oklahoma

Making things more difficult for Westbrook, he may end up splitting votes with teammate Baker Mayfield.

The Tulsa World's Eric Bailey noted two Sooners were Heisman finalists in 2004, which is the last time two teammates made it to New York City in the same year. Adrian Peterson finished second in the voting, one spot ahead of Jason White.

The USC Trojans also had two players among the five finalists that year. Matt Leinart won the award, while Reggie Bush placed fifth, so there may be hope for Mayfield or Westbrook.

Earlier in the day, Westbrook deferred to his quarterback in the Heisman race:

"

Baker Mayfield for Heisman!!! The GREATEST player on the land!

— Dede Westbrook (@DedeTHEGreat11) December 5, 2016"

In terms of efficiency, no other quarterback can beat Mayfield. He's on pace to set the single-season record for passer rating (197.76), per Sports-Reference.com.

The questions are whether that was enough for Mayfield to surpass Watson and Jackson as well as whether Heisman voters were able to separate Mayfield from Westbrook to the extent that one of the two can beat out Jackson and Watson.