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Tua Tagovailoa is set to bring some Hawaiian flare to The Big Apple. The Alabama quarterback was announced Monday as one of three finalists for this year’s Heisman Trophy Award and will join Oklahoma quarterback Kyler Murray and Ohio State quarterback Dwayne Haskins in New York for Saturday night's trophy presentation.
Tagovailoa is Alabama’s eighth Heisman finalist, joining David Palmer (1993), Jay Barker (1994), Mark Ingram (2009), Trent Richardson (2011), AJ McCarron (2013), Amari Cooper (2014) and Derrick Henry (2015). Ingram and Henry are the Crimson Tide’s two Heisman winners.
This year’s Heisman Trophy ceremony will be aired on ESPN at 7 p.m. CT from the New York Marriot Marquis in Times Square.
Tagovailoa and Murray are the two favorites to win this year’s award. Betting agency Bovada has Murray as the odds-on favorite at 7/2 while giving Tagovailoa 1/5 odds. ESPN’s expert panel also gives Murray a slight edge with 46 points followed by Tagovailoa with 44 points.
Those projections come after Murray jumped ahead of Tagovailoa during Championship Week. Murray led Oklahoma past Texas in the Big 12 Championship by completing 25 of 34 passes for 379 yards and three touchdowns. Meanwhile, Tagovailoa had the worst game of his career during Alabama’s SEC Championship win against Georgia. After injuring his ankle early in the game Tagovailoa completed just 10 of 25 passes for 164 yards and a touchdown with two interceptions.
“I think he’s been one of the best players in college football all year long,” Alabama head coach Nick Saban said during the Orange Bowl teleconference Sunday. “Maybe the most productive for the time that he played… I think that everybody should look at the whole body of work when they’re deciding who the best player is.”
Meet the Heisman finalists
Tua Tagovailoa, Alabama, So., QB
Passing: 199/294 (67.7 percent), 3,353 yards, 37 touchdowns, 4 interceptions, 202.30 passer rating.
Rushing: 48 carries, 190 yards, 3.96 yards per carry, 5 touchdowns.
Kyler Murray, Oklahoma, R-Jr., QB
Passing: 241/340 (70.9 percent), 4,053 yards, 40 touchdowns, 7 interceptions, 205.72 passer rating.
Rushing: 123 carries, 892 yards, 7.25 yards per carry, 11 touchdowns.
Dwayne Haskins, Ohio State, So., QB
Passing: 348/496 (70.2 percent), 4,580 yards, 47 touchdowns, 8 interceptions, 175.77 passer rating.
Rushing: 73 carries, 122 yards, 1.67 yards per carry, 4 touchdowns.
