Murray wins Heisman Trophy over Tagovailoa, Haskins
If Kyler Murray does indeed leave football to pursue an MLB career, he'll be leaving it at the top of the mountain.
The Oklahoma quarterback, who's planning to play professional baseball next year, was named the 2018 Heisman Trophy winner in Saturday's ceremony in New York, beating out fellow passers Tua Tagovailoa of Alabama and Dwayne Haskins of Ohio State.
Murray's victory makes Oklahoma the first school in history to have back-to-back Heisman Trophy-winning quarterbacks, following Baker Mayfield's win last season.
Tagovailoa was the front-runner for college football's highest honor entering the final week of the regular season. However, the sophomore struggled in the SEC title game and left in the fourth quarter, leaving Jalen Hurts to pull out the come-from-behind victory over Georgia.
In the end, Tagovailoa was a distant second.
| Rank | Player | 1st-place votes | Total points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kyler Murray | 517 | 2167 |
| 2 | Tua Tagovailoa | 299 | 1871 |
| 3 | Dwayne Haskins | 46 | 783 |
Murray tore defenses apart all season long with both his arm and his legs, finishing the season with 4,053 passing yards, 892 rushing yards, and 51 total touchdowns.
The 21-year-old has said, "as of now," that he'll pursue an MLB career. He was taken with the No. 9 overall pick in last year's draft by the Oakland Athletics.