This time of year is the most exciting in the college football universe. There are the bowl games, the newly minted College Football Playoffs, and of course, the winner of the Heisman Trophy will be announced. The Heisman is the most prestigious award a college football player could receive. Football players dream of taking home the trophy, as the likes of football legends such as Roger Staubach, Barry Sanders, Marcus Allen,  Bo Jackson, and Charles Woodson have taken home the elite award. This year, there are multiple players who have had an outstanding season and are deserving of the award.

The presumed favorite to take home the award this year is Lamar Jackson, a Sophomore Quarterback for the currently thirteenth ranked Louisville Cardinals. Jackson has been an absolute touchdown machine this year, scoring 58 total with a cool 2,753 passing yards along with 1,181 rushing yards. This is a player that truly personifies what the duel threat quarterback is, and brings a lot of explosiveness to the quarterback position. Nobody would be surprised if Jackson walks away with a Heisman trophy at the end of the year.

Another quarterback that has been a big name all year is Baker Mayfield, who is a junior quarterback for the ninth ranked Oklahoma Sooners. Considered more of a pocket passer compared to Jackson, Mayfield has 3381 passing yards on the season, completing a whopping 71.4 percent of his passes with 41 total touchdowns. He has been a big reason why the Sooners have only lost 2 games this season and have been playing like a top ten team. Mayfield is one of the better quarterbacks in the entire league and his stats this season have proved it.

The last defensive player to be named a Heisman winner was a defensive back from Michigan named Charles Woodson, who just capped a legendary football career playing his last year with the Oakland Raiders. Similar to Woodson is a dark horse candidate to win the Heisman is Michigan junior Jabrill Peppers, who spends most of his time playing defensive back for the Wolverines, but has also spent time all around the field. Peppers’ versatility is what makes him such a great player, as he has lined up virtually everywhere on the field on offense, defense, and on special teams, where he is one of the most electric returners in the game right now. He currently has 60 tackles, three sacks, and one interception on defense, but he has 4 touchdowns playing both on offense and on special teams. His ability to play anywhere on the football field and excel at these positions is what could make him the winner of the Heisman Trophy.

Jacob Waxman, a junior at Hills, commented, “”Going into this season, many people predicted that Jabrill Peppers and Baker Mayfield would be in the Heisman Race. No one knew who Lamar Jackson was though. He’s had one of the best season of any quarterback in college football ever while playing at Louisville. I think Jabrill Peppers is not only the best athlete out of all 3 of them, I think he’s the best football player out of them. His football IQ is unbelievable, he swarms the ball and will most definitely be a top pick in the upcoming draft. Mayfield was well known last season when he led Oklahoma to the College Football Playoff, while also having an outstanding season. Having these 3 in the Heisman Race this year is great for College football, but this year, the race isn’t close. Peppers who is a DB/LB from Michigan is playing outstanding, making his case for the Heisman. Jackson and Mayfield who are both QB’s are both playing great but only one of them stands out. The player that stands out the most is Jackson. There is no doubt in anyone’s mind who will win this years Heisman. He’s putting up numbers that we haven’t seen since when Cam Newton was playing at Auburn. While being a Sophomore he has one of, if not, the strongest arms in all of College Football. There’s not a shot that Jackson doesn’t win, but there is a very good argument for Peppers. Jabrill is the most versatile player on the field at all times, no matter who he’s against. He plays offense, defense and special teams. The last person we saw do what Peppers is doing on the field was CB Charles Woodson, who also went to Michigan, and ended up winning the Heisman over Ryan Leaf, and Hall of Famer Peyton Manning. Unfortunately for Peppers, if Jackson wasn’t putting up as high numbers as he is, Peppers would most likely take the trophy in from New York. Both Peppers and Mayfield will most likely declare for the NFL Draft, but Jackson has a least one more year at Louisville before he can declare. Lamar Jackson will take it home this year, making him the first player in Louisville football history to win the Heisman Trophy.”

All of these players have been having great seasons, and there are many more players who could be in the running to nab the trophy. If it is any of these players that win the Heisman, they will absolutely be deserving of the honor.