Joe Burrow Officially Named Heisman Finalist

It’s not a surprise, and it may only be a formality, but LSU Quarterback Joe Burrow has been officially named as a finalist for the 85th Heisman Trophy.

Burrow will be joined by Oklahoma quarterback Jalen Hurts and Ohio State’s defensive end Chase Young and quarterback Justin Fields. The award will be handed out this Saturday night at 7 p.m., live on ESPN.

From the official release:

Burrow, a senior from Athens, Ohio, is looking to become LSU’s second winner of the coveted Heisman Trophy. The late Billy Cannon is LSU’s only other Heisman Trophy winner, claiming the trophy in 1959. Cannon finished third in the Heisman balloting in 1958. Outside of Cannon, former halfback Jerry Stovall is LSU’s other highest Heisman Trophy finisher, placing second for the award in 1962.

Bert Jones’ fourth place finish in 1972 ranks as the highest an LSU quarterback has ever finished in the Heisman Trophy balloting.

Burrow becomes LSU’s second “Heisman finalist” since the organization began recognizing finalists for the award in 1982. Prior to 1982, only the winner of the Heisman Trophy was invited to New York for the award ceremony. LSU’s last Heisman Trophy finalist was defensive back Tyrann Mathieu in 2011.

Burrow, who was named the SEC Offensive Player of the Year on Monday by the Associated Press, has re-written the LSU record books in 2019, establishing school marks for passing yards (4,715), passing TDs (48), passing yards per game (362.7), completions (342), total offense (5,004) and total offense per game (384.9).

Burrow also broke the SEC record for passing yards and passing touchdowns in a season in 2019 and he’s the only player in league history to throw for over 4,000 yards and 40 or more touchdowns in a single-season.

Burrow would be will be LSU’s second Heisman winner ever, joining the late Billy Cannon in 1959. Burrow is just the program’s second invitee to the ceremony since it began announcing finalists in 1982. Tyrann Mathieu was, of course, in 2011. Other Tigers that have finished in the top-10 include:

2nd - 1962 Jerry Stovall, halfback (618 points) - lost by 79 points
3rd - 1958 Billy Cannon, halfback (975 points)
4th - 1972 Bert Jones, quarterback (351 points)
5th - 1978 Charles Alexander, running back (282 points)
6th - 2015 Leonard Fournette, running Back (110 points)
9th - 2007 Glenn Dorsey, defensive tackle (30 points)
9th - 1977 Charles Alexander, running back (54 points)

Burrow is widely considered to be the front-runner, and rightfully so. Young has a case of course, but defensive linemen aren’t going to get serious consideration, and his NCAA suspension will almost certainly get him left off some ballots.

LSU is about to have a Heisman Trophy winner. That, folks, is something I truly did not think I would ever see. The trophy’s lost a lot of luster for me in the past 20 years or so, but there’s no question it is the most iconic individual award in American sports. And it will be cool as hell to watch Burrow bring it home.

And LSU’s creative services delivered their best hype video yet to commemorate: