NEW YORK CITY -- The four Heisman Trophy finalists took turns posing with the trophy Friday on the eve of the official ceremony and presentation of college football's top award.
Before that, USC quarterback Caleb Williams talked about his connection with the other QBs who were brought to New York -- Ohio State's C.J. Stroud, Georgia's Stetson Bennett and TCU's Max Duggan.
"The only person I hadn't really met before is Max," Williams said. "Max is a cool guy. C.J. I've known from a couple of the camps and we've met throughout the football world. And then Stetson Bennett, it's kind of funny, he was actually my host on my visits at Georgia. It's kind of funny how it came full circle -- him being here with me, it's special."
Williams has completed 66.1 percent of his passes for 4,075 yards, 37 touchdown and 4 interceptions while rushing for 372 yards and 10 touchdowns, leading a USC program that went 4-8 last season without him to an 11-2 mark so far and a New Years 6 matchup with Tulane in the Cotton Bowl ahead.
Stroud, who was the Heisman runner-up last season to Alabama's Bryce Young, has passed for 3,340 yards, 37 touchdowns and 6 interceptions for an 11-1 Ohio State team that was kept out of the Big Ten championship game by losing to Michigan but moved into the College Football Playoff when USC lost to Utah last week.
"I met CJ a couple of times and he's always been really cool. He's a real relaxed dude, real laid back, but when he's out there on the field you can see the competitiveness inside of him and what this game brings out and what it brings out in a lot of us here," Williams said. "... CJ, he's a baller, and I can't wait to see him ball out in the College Football Playoff."
Duggan, who led TCU to a 12-1 record and spot in the College Football Playoff despite opening the season as the team's backup quarterback (but took over early in the opener when Chandler Morris was injured), has passed for 3,321 yards, 30 touchdowns and 4 interceptions with 400 rushing yards and 6 TDs on the ground.
"I played in the Big 12 and I played versus the teams he's played against, especially in the back half of the season, so I understand how tough that league is. I understand that there's games that just don't sometimes go your way. To see him go out there and compete, to hear his story and how wasn't the starter, I kind of relate to some of his story about him not being the starter, fighting for it and working for it," Williams said. "Obviously, his story off the field that I'm going to leave that to him to talk about eventually. But yeah, he's a competitor. You can see it when he's out there. He's fearless and you can tell that he believes in himself, he believes in his team, the guys around him, his coach and you can tell that the guys believe in him.
"I admire him and how he works when he's out there. Like I said, I think we have a little bit in common about how when we're out there, there's nobody better than us and there's nobody better than our team out there."
Bennett, who helped Georgia to a national championship last year and has the Bulldogs at 13-0 and No. 1 in the country, has passed for 3,425 yards, 20 touchdowns and 6 interceptions with 7 rushing scores.
Williams has been the overwhelming betting favorite to win the Heisman.
