NFL Draft Buzz: Top Prospects Declare; Heisman Finalists Announced, Latest All-Star Game Invites + More

All Access Football brings you the latest NFL Draft Buzz, a look at the Heisman Trophy finalists, plus one-half of the 'Mustache Bandits' takes home an award and more All-Star Game invites.

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ALL ACCESS FOOTBALL NFL DRAFT BUZZ

With 135 days to go until the 2026 NFL Draft in Pittsburgh, we have officially entered ‘draft season.’ In today’s AAF NFL Draft Buzz Report, we highlight a college football award winner who seems posed to enter the draft, examine the Heisman Trophy Award finlists with the presentation in New York scheduled for Saturday night and have the latest on a pair of underclassmen with potential first round grades who have announced they will indeed declare early.

Plus, we have tracked down a total of 117 all-star game invites and we have them all-listed below, including the most recent invites announced since yesterday.

HEISMAN TROPHY FINALISTS ANNOUNCED

The Heisman Trophy is set to be awarded on Saturday night, so brace yourself for another Fernando Mendoza (photo: Indiana Athletics) speech. The Indiana quarterback will arrive to New York as the heavy favorite to hoist the hardware.

After guiding the Hoosiers to their first Big ten title in nearly 60 years, Mendoza has firmly remained atop the list of contenders all season. Other finalists announced include Ohio State fab freshman quarterback Julian Sayin, whom Mendoza topped in the B1G championship showdown, along with Vanderbilt spark-plug signal-caller Diego Pavia and explosive Notre Dame running back Jeremiyah Love.

At this stage, this year’s Heisman presentation feels more like a formality, as Mendoza could run away with the award in a landslide and become the first-ever winner from Indiana. Here’s a look at the statistical breakdown of the candidates:

• Fernando Mendoza, QB, Indiana: 13 games played, 226-of-316 completions (71.5%), 2,980 passing yards, 33 touchdowns, six interceptions, 181.4 rating, 69 rushes, 240 yards (3.5 average), six touchdowns; team record 13-0.

• Julian Sayin, QB, Ohio State: 13 games played, 280-of-357 completions (78.4%), 3,329 passing yards, 31 touchdowns, six interceptions, 182.1 rating, 37 rushes, -2 yards; team record 12-1.

• Diego Pavia, QB, Vanderbilt: 12 games played, 242-of-340 completions (71.2%), 3,192 passing yards, 27 touchdowns, eight interceptions, 171.5 rating, 152 rushes, 826 yards (5.4 average), nine touchdowns; team record 10-2.

• Jeremiyah Love, RB, Notre Dame: 12 games played, 199 rushes, 1,372 yards (6.9 average), 114.3 rushing yards per game, 18 touchdowns, 27 catches, 280 yards (10.4 average), three touchdowns; team record 10-2.

The 91st annual Heisman Trophy Award presentation will be broadcast on Saturday, December 13, 2025 at 8:00pm eastern time on ABC.

STACHE BANDIT TAKES HOME BRONCO NAGURSKI AWARD

One player noticeably absent from the Heisman Trophy finalists is Texas Tech linebacker Jacob Rodriguez (photo: Texas Tech Athletics). A fire-starter for the Red Raiders defense, Rodriguez is having a season for the ages thus far, recording 117 tackles, 11 tackles for loss (one sack), four interceptions, six pass deflections, seven forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries, including one scooped up for a touchdown, while adding two rushing scores on offense.