- The race for the Heisman Trophy is in full effect, with odds currently listing Miami Hurricanes quarterback D’Eriq King as the favorite at +500.
- King is joined by the usual suspects of Trevor Lawrence (+600) and Justin Fields (+600) with Florida QB Kyle Trask (+700) also shooting up the board.
- Valuable sleeper picks include KJ Costello (+800) and a duo of Bama skill players in Najee Harris (+2000) and Jaylen Waddle (+5000).
CORAL GABLES, Fla. – The Heisman Trophy is debatably the most prestigious single-player award a football player can win, forever placing them in an elite and exclusive group of some of the best athletes to ever play the sport at the collegiate level.
Despite the unique season that is underway in 2020, the Heisman still looks and weighs the same, and will be handed out after the season to the best player in the country.
Who that player will be remains the most important question, and with the remaining conference holdouts announcing plans to play their season, the field could be even when all is said and done.
Needless to say, the benchmarks for previous Heiman candidacy will be a bit smaller. Whereas a 3000-yard passing or 2000 yard rushing season might earn a player an invite to New York in years prior, this year the voters will have to curb their expectations to meet the shortened situations that many of the teams face in 2020.
Looking at odds for the Heisman Trophy via the online sportsbooks yields some intriguing contenders this soon into the season.
2020 Heisman Trophy Winner:
- D'Eriq King +500
- Trevor Lawrence +600
- Justin Fields +600
- Sam Ehlinger +700
- Kyle Trask +700
- K. J. Costello +800
- Najee Harris +2000
The Miami Hurricanes hype train has officially left the station once again, with Houston transfer quarterback D’Eriq King at the helm.
The Canes are 3-0 behind King, who has thrown for 736 yards and six touchdowns. King led Miami to a 52-10 embarrassment of the Florida State Seminoles in primetime Saturday night, launching him to the front of the Heisman race.
While Miami’s offense looks dangerous behind their new quarterback, the fact of the matter remains that the Hurricanes will have to continue to win games in order for King to be taken seriously as a Heisman candidate.
Miami has been a perennial underachiever throughout the years and will need to show they can beat good teams in order to keep King in the conversation.
The Hurricanes will face this exact test in two weeks when they travel to Clemson to face the Tigers and the second-place Heisman candidate, Trevor Lawrence.
Many would say the race is still Lawrence’s to lose, with Clemson still holding the No. 1 ranking in the latest AP Poll.
Other contenders re-entering the conversation this week are headlined by Ohio State QB Justin Fields.
The Big 10 announced last week that they would be returning to play the weekend of October 24 to play a nine-week season.
Advertising Disclosure
USAOnlineSportsbooks.com provides you with the most current information regarding sports betting and fantasy with the help of commissions we receive from links you may click on our site.
It is safe to assume that the Heisman committee will wait until all of the major conferences have completed their seasons to make their selections. Whether this will lead to a recency bias favoring the later scheduled teams will remain to be seen.
Outside of the top choices of King, Lawrence, and Fields, there is tons of value on some other rising stars, notably from the SEC.
Florida Gator quarterback Kyle Trask threw for six touchdowns and 416 yards in his opener against Ole Miss. Trask jumped his odds up to +700 after his impressive outing, albeit against a Rebel defense that was last in the SEC in passing defense in 2019.
Mississippi State QB K.J. Costello (+800) also joined the ranks of Heisman hopefuls Saturday with an upset win over LSU in which the Bulldogs broke the SEC record for passing. Costello put up 623 yards against the defending champs, silencing doubters who thought Mike Leach’s air raid offense wouldn’t be effective against SEC defenses.
Outside of the quarterbacks, two skill players from the Alabama Crimson Tide began their case for a Heiman bid in the Tide’s dominant win over Missouri.
Running back Najee Harris (+2000) proved he will be in the endzone often this season with three touchdowns in his 2020 debut. Harris had 17 carries for 98 yards.
In the passing game, Alabama wasted no time getting the ball in the hands of Jaylen Waddle (+5000), who might be the most electrifying player in college football this year.
Alabama WR Jaylen Waddle made a *ridiculous* catch.
(
: @FTBeard1) pic.twitter.com/zXN4Pmdtvt
— Field Yates (@FieldYates) September 26, 2020
Waddle finished the day with eight catches for 134 yards and two touchdowns. Now is the time to get great futures odds on Waddle, as he also poses a threat in the return game, where he has three career touchdowns.
No matter which player wins the Heisman, this year is looking like it could be the saving grace of 2020 that football fans have been waiting for.
Jimmy Reinman honed his skills across various mediums including print, radio, and broadcast before bringing his arsenal of knowledge to the team here at USAOnlineSportsbooks in 2020. When he’s not writing, you can find him in a state of focused stress on any College Football Saturday, or maniacally constructing NBA parlays on a cool spring evening.
