UGA transfer Justin Fields named a finalist for Heisman Trophy

He left Georgia after playing sparingly behind starting quarterback Jake Fromm as a freshman last season. The NCAA approved a waiver of the rule requiring non-graduate transfers to sit out a year, making Fields eligible to play for Ohio State this season.

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The other Heisman finalists are LSU quarterback Joe Burrow, Oklahoma quarterback Jalen Hurts and Ohio State defensive end Chase Young. The ceremony announcing the winner will be broadcast live on ESPN at 8 p.m. Saturday. The finalists, all of whom are invited to New York for the ceremony, are the top four vote-getters.

Burrow is the heavy favorite to win the award.

Like Fields, Burrow and Hurts transferred to their current schools – Burrow from Ohio State in May 2018 and Hurts from Alabama in January 2019. All three quarterbacks' teams are in the College Football Playoff.

Before going to New York, Fields, Burrow, Hurts and Young are scheduled to be in downtown Atlanta on Thursday, along with other star players from around the country, for the “Home Depot College Football Awards” show at the College Football Hall of Fame. At that annual event, held in Atlanta  since 2015, winners of 12 awards – most of the sport’s major individual awards except for the Heisman -- will be presented. The show will be televised live on ESPN beginning at 7 p.m. Thursday.

Burrow, Fields and Hurts are the finalists for the Davey O’Brien National Quarterback Award, and Burrow, Hurts and Young are the finalists for the Maxwell Award as college player of the year.