Washington QB Penix Jr., LSU QB Daniels, Oregon QB Nix, and Ohio St WR Harrison Jr. are Heisman contenders.
On Monday night, LSU's Jayden Daniels, Oregon's Bo Nix, Washington's Michael Penix Jr., transfer quarterbacks with at least five collegiate seasons, and Ohio State receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. were named Heisman Trophy contenders.
College football's best player has won the Heisman since 1935. In New York on Saturday, the winner will be unveiled. The top four vote-getters decided by more than 870 voters, who include members of the media and past Heisman winners, are picked as finalists.
For the first time since 2010, when Stanford's Andrew Luck finished second behind Auburn's Cam Newton and Oregon running back LaMichael James finished third, the Pac-12 has two Heisman finalists: Nix and Penix.
He enjoyed one of the best SEC seasons in history with the 13th-ranked Tigers (9-3), his second at LSU and sixth overall after starting his career at Arizona State. He ran 1,134 yards and scored 10 touchdowns and tossed 3,812 yards and 40 touchdowns.
His New York visit gives No. 7 Ohio State (11-1) Heisman hopefuls in five seasons. Harrison gained 1,211 yards and 15 touchdowns on 67 catches. Despite his poor receiving stats, Harrison was the Buckeyes' most reliable threat as they acclimated to a new quarterback and suffered with injuries all season.
While Daniels went from Pac-12 to SEC and became famous, Nix went the opposite direction. Former five-star prospect moved to Oregon in 2022 after three years at Auburn and became one of the nation's finest players, helping the eighth-ranked Ducks (11-2) to the Pac-12 title game.
Penix is in his sixth collegiate season following four injury-plagued years at Indiana. He joined the second-ranked Huskies in 2022 to play for Kalen DeBoer, his old offensive coordinator at Indiana, and has led them to 23 wins
a Pac-12 title, and their second College Football Playoff participation. Penix has thrown for 4,218 yards and 33 touchdowns this season.