Skip to content

Ad Disclosure

ESPN’s Laura Rutledge explains why she believes Justin Fields will win the Heisman Trophy

Dustin Schutte

By Dustin Schutte

Published:

The ongoing debate about the 2020 Heisman Trophy favorites continues to be divided. The two candidates leading the way in the preseason are Clemson quarterback Trevor Lawrence and Ohio State quarterback Justin Fields.

Both are incredibly talented, both receive rave reviews from NFL scouts and both will be returning starters for teams that will compete for the national championship this coming season. Right now, it’s hard to pick a favorite in the Heisman race.

ESPN’s Laura Rutledge believes that Fields will claim this year’s award, pointing to an incredible first season as the starter in Columbus. She discussed his incredible stat line, throwing 41 touchdown passes with only three interceptions and rushing for an additional 10 scores.

Fields also led the Buckeyes to a 13-1 record, a B1G title and a College Football Playoff appearance in his first year as a starter.

Obviously, Lawrence is on a similar level. He’s lost just one career game as Clemson’s starter — that being the national title game against LSU in January. He had 36 passing touchdowns and rushed for nine more, but did total eight interceptions.

Below, Rutledge explains why she believes Fields has the edge in the Heisman Trophy race this season:

Dustin Schutte

Dustin grew up in the heart of Big Ten country and has been in sports media since 2010. He has been covering Big Ten football since 2014. You can follow him on Twitter: @SchutteCFB