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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LOS ANGELES, CA – NOVEMBER 02: USC Trojans quarterback Kedon Slovis #9 throws the ball in the first quarter at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on Saturday, Nov. 2, 2019. (Photo by Scott Varley/MediaNews Group/Torrance Daily Breeze via Getty Images) /

4. Kedon Slovis, QB, USC

Despite the fact that Kedon Slovis did not start the 2019 season as the starting quarterback for the USC Trojans and even though he missed time during the year, the freshman signal-caller was by far the most impressive and enticing thing out of Southern California this year — at least in terms of college football. And even more promising, he got better as the year went on.

On the season, Slovis ended up going 260-of-362 (71.8 percent) for 3,242 yards, 28 touchdowns and only nine interceptions. And just as a reminder, this was without taking reps with the first-team offense in the preseason and in his first taste of college football. For good measure, Slovis finished the year exceptionally strong.

In a Nov. 9 matchup against Arizona State, Slovis went 29-of-39 for 432 yards, four touchdowns and an interception in a win. He followed that up by leading the way to another victory over Cal, going 29-of-35 for 406 yards, four scores and no picks. Slovis’ freshman season then ended with a rivalry victory over UCLA as the quarterback threw for 515 yards, four touchdowns and no turnovers again.

Whenever you have a potentially great quarterback suiting up for USC, it’s basically a given that the media is going to create a narrative for him to be in the spotlight. Where Slovis may stand out, however, is that he seems like he might have the goods to live up to any hype that is brought upon him entering his sophomore season. And if he does, we’ll see the Heisman case start to be made for the Trojans signal-caller.

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