Six Players Selected As Heisman Finalists
NEW YORK (CBSMiami) – An unusually large group of six players will be in New York on Saturday as finalists for the Heisman Memorial Trophy. The finalists were announced by the Heisman Trust late Monday evening.
The finalists include: Florida State quarterback Jameis Winston; Northern Illinois quarterback Jordan Lynch; Texas A&M quarterback Johnny Manziel; Alabama quarterback A.J. McCarron; Auburn running back Tre Mason; and Boston College running back Andre Williams.
The six finalists are the most invitees since 1994.
The overwhelming favorite to win the trophy is FSU's Winston. He's been consistently great throughout the season and would be the second straight redshirt freshman to win college football's most coveted award.
Winston had incredible hype coming into the 2013 season and has met and exceeded expectations. The Alabama native is on pace to break the NCAA record for passer efficiency rating (190.1) and has already set NCAA records for yards passing (3,820) and TD passes (38) by a freshman.
Winston's path to the trophy ran into problems in November when news broke that he had been accused of sexually assaulting a fellow Florida State student. The state attorney declined to press charges against the Seminoles' quarterback, primarily due to a lack of evidence.
All six finalists are expected to attend the ceremony, which would match '94 for the most in Heisman history. That season Colorado tailback Rashaan Salaam won the Heisman, and Penn State's Ki-Jana Carter and Kerry Collins, along with Alcorn State's Steve McNair, Alabama's Jay Barker and Miami's Warren Sapp were finalists.
In 1989, eight players were invited to the ceremony, but only four attended. Among the missing was Houston's Andre Ware, who won the award but was preparing for a game.
