Alabama running back Derrick Henry, Stanford running back Christian McCaffrey and Clemson quarterback Deshaun Watson were named Heisman Trophy finalists Monday.
Oklahoma quarterback Baker Mayfield and Ohio State running back Ezekiel Elliott, two other top contenders, did not make the final field.
The Heisman winner will be announced Saturday at 8 p.m. ET, on ESPN.
Henry has broken Herschel Walker's SEC single-season rushing record with 1,986 yards and 23 touchdowns, including four 200-yard performances, all in conference games.
His Heisman momentum was taken directly from LSU running back Leonard Fournette, who was considered the midseason favorite for the award until being outrushed 210-31 by Henry in a nationally televised showdown for the lead in the SEC West.
Fournette took to Twitter with his reaction:
Like Henry, Watson will also be a key performer in the College Football Playoff. The Clemson quarterback has passed for 3,412 yards with 30 touchdowns, but has really revved his rushing engine of late, with 100-yard games in four of his last five.
McCaffrey broke a hallowed record of his own. The Stanford sophomore has piled up 3,496 all-purpose yards, breaking a 27-year-old record held by former Detroit Lions star Barry Sanders. The previous mark was set in 1988, and in only 11 games.
The last five Heisman Trophy winners were all quarterbacks and have gone on to be first-round NFL draft choices, four of them chosen within the draft's first two picks: Jameis Winston, Marcus Mariota, Johnny Manziel, Robert Griffin III and Cam Newton.
*Follow Chase Goodbread on Twitter **@ChaseGoodbread*.
