Stroud is the first two-time finalist in school history, as only the winner was invited to New York prior to 1982.
Ohio State quarterback C.J. Stroud was named on Monday evening as one of four finalist for the Heisman Trophy, which is presented annually to the nation’s most outstanding player and is widely regarded as the most prestigious individual award in college football.
A redshirt sophomore from Rancho Cucamonga, Calif., Stroud has completed 66.2 percent of his passes for 3,340 yards this season and is tied for the national lead with 37 touchdowns. He also ranks first in the country in passing efficiency with a 176.24 rating.
Stroud was recently named the Big Ten’s offensive player and quarterback of the year for the second season in a row. He’s also a finalist for the Maxwell Award, Manning Award, Davey O’Brien Award, Walter Camp Player of the Year and Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award.
The Buckeyes have had seven Heisman Trophy winners, which is tied with Notre Dame and Oklahoma for the most of any program.
That includes halfback Les Horvath in 1944, halfback Vic Janowicz in 1950, halfback Howard “Hopalong” Cassady in 1955, running back Archie Griffin in 1974-75, running back Eddie George in 1995 and quarterback Troy Smith in 2006.
While Griffin is the only player to win the award twice, Stroud actually becomes the first two-time finalist in school history, as only the winner was invited to New York prior to 1982.
He’s the eighth finalist overall, joining running back Keith Byars in 1984, George in 1995, offensive tackle Orlando Pace in 1996, Smith in 2006, quarterback Dwayne Haskins in 2018 and quarterback Justin Fields and defensive end Chase Young in 2019.
Other finalists for this year’s Heisman Trophy include Georgia quarterback Stetson Bennett, TCU quarterback Max Duggan and USC quarterback Caleb Williams. The winner will be announced during a ceremony on ESPN at 8 p.m. on Dec. 8.
-----
Get your Ohio State football and basketball tickets from SI Tickets. Also, be sure to check out our new message boards, Buckeye Forums. We'd love to have you part of the conversation during the season.
-----
You may also like:
-----
Be sure to stay locked into BuckeyesNow all the time!
Join the BuckeyesNow community!
Subscribe to the BuckeyesNow YouTube channel
Follow Andrew Lind on Twitter: @AndrewMLind
Follow BuckeyesNow on Twitter: @BuckeyesNow_FN
Follow BuckeyesNow on Instagram: @BuckeyesNow_FN