College Football: 5 surprise QBs who’ll contend for 2020 Heisman Trophy

Every year, there’s a Heisman Trophy finalist that comes out of nowhere. These are the college football quarterbacks with a chance to do just that in 2020.

The Heisman Trophy odds are predictable at the top. Clemson’s Trevor Lawrence and Ohio State’s Justin Fields lead the way, and Georgia’s Jamie Newman is expected by many to have a huge year in Athens.

Beyond those names, however, is a group of passers that are poised to insert themselves into the headlines. As has happened year after year, one of these guys is bound to come out of nowhere and earn a trip to New York in December.

Last year, it was LSU’s Joe Burrow, who rose from pedestrian to elite with the right combination of scheme and talent around him. In 2012 it was Johnny Manziel, who burst on to the scene as a freshman, the first player to ever win the Heisman Trophy in their debut season.

What was once an award that hinged on the culmination of years of hype has become a true recognition of a sole season’s production. In fact, considering how fast the news cycle has become, and how quickly our attention shifts to new narratives, it may even help to be one of the guys who comes out of nowhere.

An even bigger asset to the players on this list is the position they play at. Quarterbacks have won 12 of the last 14 Heisman Trophies, and nine out of ten in the 2010’s. If one of these guys catches fire in 2020, they’ll have a good chance of keeping that trend going.