Georgia Bulldogs
Georgia Bulldogs

UGA transfer Justin Fields named a finalist for Heisman Trophy

INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA - DECEMBER 07: Justin Fields #1 of the Ohio State Buckeyes runs with the ball in the BIG Ten Football Championship Game against the Wisconsin Badgers at Lucas Oil Stadium on December 07, 2019 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)

Credit: Andy Lyons

Credit: Andy Lyons

INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA - DECEMBER 07: Justin Fields #1 of the Ohio State Buckeyes runs with the ball in the BIG Ten Football Championship Game against the Wisconsin Badgers at Lucas Oil Stadium on December 07, 2019 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)
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Updated Dec 10, 2019

Justin Fields will be in New York on Saturday for the Heisman Trophy ceremony.

Ohio State's sophomore quarterback, who transferred from Georgia in January, was named Monday night as one of four finalists for college football's most prestigious individual honor.

Fields, a former star at Kennesaw’s Harrison High, has thrown 40 touchdown passes -- and just one interception -- this season for the undefeated Buckeyes.

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.

>> RELATED: Transfer quarterbacks dominate the field for College Football Playoff 

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.

About the Author

Tim Tucker, a long-time AJC sports reporter, often writes about the business side of the games. He also had stints as the AJC's Braves beat writer, UGA beat writer, sports notes columnist and executive sports editor. He was deputy managing editor of America's first all-sports newspaper, The National Sports Daily.

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