Alabama senior wide receiver DeVonta Smith won the 2020 Heisman Trophy on Tuesday night, becoming the first wide receiver to win the prestigious college football award since 1991 (Desmond Howard), and the first non-quarterback to win the award since 2015 (Derrick Henry). And oddsmakers think it’s very unlikely a non-quarterback wins the Heisman again in 2021.
Sports Betting Dime released their 2021 Heisman Trophy odds shortly after Tuesday night’s results, and the top ten players favored to win are all quarterbacks. “A Non-QB” comes in tied for eighth in the odds, at 15/1. And the first specific non-quarterback listed is Iowa State running back Breece Hall (25/1 odds), who totaled 23 touchdowns with 1,572 rushing yards as a sophomore this season for the Cyclones. After Hall, the next non-quarterback listed is at 100/1 odds, in Notre Dame running back Kyren Williams. And at 150/1 odds is “Any Defensive Player.”
The favorite is Oklahoma quarterback Spencer Rattler at 7/1 odds. Rattler put together a terrific redshirt freshman season for the Sooners, throwing for 28 touchdowns (along with six rushing touchdowns) and 3,031 yards. He’s followed by Clemson freshman quarterback D.J. Uiagalelei (9/1 odds), who was extremely impressive in place of Trevor Lawrence against Notre Dame and looks like the next superstar quarterback for the Tigers. And Georgia redshirt sophomore quarterback JT Daniels comes in third at 11/1, after announcing that he’ll return to the Bulldogs next season instead of entering the 2021 NFL Draft.
Here are the full opening 2021 Heisman odds:
1. Spencer Rattler (QB, Oklahoma): 7/1
2. D.J. Uiagalelei (QB, Clemson): 9/1
3. JT Daniels (QB, Georgia): 11/1
4. Bryce Young (QB, Alabama): 13/1
5. Jayden Daniels (QB, Arizona State): 14/1
6. Kedon Slovis (QB, USC): 14/1
7. Sam Howell (QB, UNC): 14/1
8. D’Eric King (QB, Miami) 15/1
9. A Non-QB: 15/1
10. Michael Penix Jr (QB, Indiana): 19/1
11. Graham Mertz (QB, Wisconsin): 20/1
12. Breece Hall (RB, Iowa State): 25/1
13. Dillon Gabriel (QB, UCF): 40/1
14. Brock Purdy (QB, Iowa State): 60/1
15. Jack Coan (QB, Notre Dame): 75/1
16. Bo Nix (QB, Auburn): 75/1
17. Sean Clifford (QB, Penn State): 90/1
18. Kyren Williams (RB, Notre Dame): 100/1
19. George Pickens (WR, Georgia): 125/1
20. Any Defensive Player: 150/1
Now, it’s worth noting that DeVonta Smith initial odds were 100/1 in June, so maybe there’s another big Heisman surprise in the 2021 college football season.
