Last week, Bovada released their odds to win the 2017 Heisman Trophy. A trio of quarterbacks make up the most heavily favored. USC’s Sam Darnold is sitting at 11-4, while Oklahoma’s Baker Mayfield is second at 15-2. Louisville quarterback Lamar Jackson rounds out the top three at 8-1, but back-to-back Heisman campaigns seem incredibly unlikely. To this day, Archie Griffin remains the only man to win two Heismans. This doesn’t seem too odd, considering the Heisman so often goes to a quarterback.
Las Vegas seems to be high on the SEC this year (if you’re looking at Heisman odds as a metric to sort out strength of conference). Six of the field of 19 listed play in the SEC. The Pac-12 is second with four players on the board. The ACC, Big 12, and Big Ten each have three.
Of those six SEC players listed, two play for the team that many consider the preseason favorite to win it all: the Alabama Crimson Tide. Bo Scarbrough currently sits at 14-1 odds, while Hurts clocks in at 16-1.
That’s where things do seem a bit odd to me…for a couple of reasons.
First of all, given the monstrous depth of Alabama’s backfield, it’s hard for any one man to stand out enough. To win the Heisman, a player must have freakish “video game” numbers, but that’s going to be hard for a Tide running back to accomplish when they have to split carries with two or three other guys. Damien Harris, Josh Jacobs, and B.J. Emmons are all returning. Not to mention, five-star recruit Najee Harris will probably play his way into the mix. Is Scarbrough even going to get the opportunity to post Heisman-esque stats?
He finished 19th in the SEC in rushing yards last season with 812. 19th! His 11 touchdowns were good for 8th, but that’s not enough. The stats simply aren’t there to warrant Heisman consideration. I understand Scarbrough strung together two dominant games in the College Football Playoff, posting 273 yards and four touchdowns against Washington and Clemson. But, is that really enough to supersede a season that only saw him eclipse 100 yards once?
You know who finished ahead of Scarbrough in both rushing yards and rushing touchdowns last year? Hurts! That’s right – the quarterback. Hurts posted 954 yards and 13 touchdowns…..again, as quarterback.
Now, the obvious concern is the reported struggles of Hurts throughout the Spring. Also, it just so happens that the greatest potential quarterback in Alabama history, Tua Tagovailoa, lit up A-Day. Ever since he committed, he’s been touted as an elite prospect. Many seem to think he’ll be starting by season’s end, but Hurts has shown a fiery competitiveness in practice that bodes well to his keeping the job. Plus, his downfield accuracy appears to have improved.
Nick Saban hinted that Lane Kiffin might not have utilized Hurts properly. The addition of Brian Daboll as offensive coordinator should shift the Tide back to a more traditional pro-style offense. But, they’re still going to take full advantage of Hurts’ skills. Nonetheless, this uncertainty is likely what caused Scarbrough to creep ahead of Hurts, but I’m not buying that talk just yet.
I’d put my money on Hurts today….if I was the type of man who gambled, of course…
Stoney Keeley is the Editor in Chief of The SoBros Network. A strong advocate of GSD (get shit done) and #BeBetter, he’s down to talk Tennessee Titans and Alabama Crimson Tide football over a beer any day. Check him out covering the WWE for WrestlingNews.co. Follow on Twitter @StoneyKeeley, @WrestlingNewsCo
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