2020 Heisman Trophy rankings: Justin Fields, Trevor Lawrence lead top 10 candidates

INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA - DECEMBER 07: Justin Fields #01 of the Ohio State Buckeyes celebrates after a touchdown in the Big Ten Championship game against the Wisconsin Badgers at Lucas Oil Stadium on December 07, 2019 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Justin Casterline/Getty Images) /

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MANHATTAN, KS – NOVEMBER 30: Quarterback Brock Purdy #15 of the Iowa State Cyclones throws a pass against the Kansas State Wildcats during the second half at Bill Snyder Family Football Stadium on November 30, 2019 in Manhattan, Kansas. (Photo by Peter G. Aiken/Getty Images) /

7. Brock Purdy, QB, Iowa State

Brock Purdy took over Matt Campbell’s Iowa State Cyclones offense as a freshman in the 2018 season and turned plenty of heads in doing so. In his first season at the helm, Purdy showed tremendous moxie as he threw for 2,250 yards, 16 scores and just seven picks while also rushing for five touchdowns. That had many people waiting for what would be in store in his encore presentation in 2019.

However, as Purdy lost a number of key offensive weapons from the 2018 team — namely running back David Montgomery and wide receiver Hakeem Butler — the Iowa State offense really took a while to click in 2019. As such, the production of the quarterback was less than stellar early in the season. Down the stretch though, Purdy turned it on to finish with an overall nice season.

When it was all done, the Cyclones signal-caller finished the season with 3,760 passing yards, 27 passing touchdowns and only nine interceptions, also adding 265 rushing yards and eight rushing touchdowns to his credit. Despite those early-season stumbles, he clearly showed that he has the dual-threat ability to be in the national spotlight moving forward with this team.

The best news for Purdy entering 2020 is that he shouldn’t have to deal with the hardships he did at the start of this past season as it pertains to getting accustomed to new personnel around. Instead, he should have built a rapport with his teammates in 2019, which should serve him well for a hot start. If that happens, he more than has the juice to rise up the 2020 Heisman rankings.

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