The three finalists for the Heisman Trophy have more in common than gaudy statistics and the position they play.
At this time last year, they all were virtual unknowns, second on the depth charts at their respective schools. Each of them was a top recruit, but still all about potential, and all were waiting for their time to provide results.
Saturday night, those three — Alabama’s Tua Tagovailoa, Ohio State’s Dwayne Haskins or Oklahoma’s Kyler Murray — were contending for the pinnacle of college football as the Heisman winner, the 16th time in 19 years a quarterback would claim the prestigious award.
“I think sitting down and watching is kind of important,” Murray, a two-sport star who was drafted by the Athletics last June in the first round of the MLB draft, said Friday at the New York Stock Exchange. “I know Dwayne got to sit and watch. Tua obviously got to sit and watch. I think it just helps you with your growth and maturing on and off the field. I think that’s a big part.”
It’s hard to argue with that sentiment. All three had sensational seasons once given the chance. But watching and learning certainly seemed to help.
Tagovailoa and Murray each led their respective teams to the College Football Playoff, where they will meet in the Orange Bowl on Dec. 29. Haskins, a redshirt sophomore, guided Ohio State to the Big Ten crown and set conference records for touchdown passes (47) and passing yards (4,580).
Tagovailoa’s rise began last January, when the sophomore replaced struggling starter Jalen Hurts at halftime of the national championship game and led Alabama back from a 13-point deficit to defeat Georgia. It continued this year, as the Hawaiian southpaw threw 37 touchdown passes and just four interceptions despite appearing in fourth quarters just four times because of the lopsided nature of the Crimson Tide’s games.
Haskins and Murray had to wait until September after biding their time behind established stars J.T. Barrett, at Ohio State, and Baker Mayfield, last year’s Heisman Trophy winner, at Oklahoma. But neither needed much time to find his groove.
“Everybody’s been saying if [Tua] did what he did any other year, it would be a landslide. If I did what I did [it would be the same]. Even Dwayne,” Murray said. “This season offensively has been historically something offenses have never done before, and I’m just proud to be a part of it.”
At a time when more and more true freshmen are playing right away — quarterback Trevor Lawrence has Clemson in the playoff, for instance — these three have taken a different path. Haskins backed up Barrett following a redshirt year, throwing four touchdown passes in limited duty. Tagovailoa spent virtually all of his freshman year on the bench, too, until getting the call in the most dire of circumstances. Murray took the longest road, transferring from Texas A&M to Oklahoma after one year, then serving as Mayfield’s backup last season after sitting a season due to NCAA rules.
“For me it was just watching [Mayfield], observing how he succeeded at this level,” Murray said. “Me and him were good friends. I wasn’t picking his brain every hour of the day. I was in the meeting room with every day, practiced with him every day, competed with him. Being around him and watching him do his thing on Saturdays was the biggest thing for me.”
Patience worked for all three quarterbacks. The evidence was on display Saturday night.