Steve Dominey
- BetOnline has updated 2019 Heisman Trophy odds with college football season just weeks away
- Alabama’s Tua Tagovailoa (+250) is the slight favorite over Clemson’s Trevor Lawrence (+300)
- Oklahoma’s Jalen Hurts (+800) and Ohio State’s Justin Fields (+1100) could thrive under two of the country’s top offensive minds
Even though most freshmen won’t even have picked their classes or bought their books by August 24th, that is the date when college football officially returns.
With quarterbacks winning the past three Heisman Trophies and eight of the last nine awards, it’s no surprise that BetOnline has put Tua Tagovailoa and Trevor Lawrence in rarefied air atop their board, but which star player will take home the honor?
2019 NCAA Heisman Trophy Odds
| Player (Position, Team) | Odds |
| Tua Tagovailoa (QB Alabama) | +250 |
| Trevor Lawrence (QB Clemson) | +300 |
| Jalen Hurts (QB Oklahoma) | +800 |
| Adrian Martinez (QB Nebraska) | +1000 |
| Justin Fields (QB Ohio State) | +1100 |
| Jonathan Taylor (RB Wisconsin) | +1200 |
| Jake Fromm (QB Georgia) | +1400 |
| D’Andre Swift (RB Georgia) | +1400 |
| Sam Ehlinger (QB Texas) | +1600 |
| Travis Etienne (RB Clemson) | +1600 |
| Justin Herbert (QB Oregon) | +1600 |
| Ian Book (QB Notre Dame) | +2000 |
| Kelly Bryant (QB Missouri) | +2500 |
| JT Daniels (QB USC) | +2500 |
| Jerry Jeudy (WR Alabama) | +2500 |
| Austin Kendall (QB West Virginia) | +2500 |
| Shea Patterson (QB Michigan) | +2800 |
Tua Tagovailoa
Is any athlete facing more pressure than Tua Tagovailoa right now? The Crimson Tide quarterback is currently favored to both win the Heisman Trophy and be the first player selected in the 2020 NFL draft.
Tua’s apparently in the best shape of his life and will be throwing to star pass catcher Jerry Jeudy and two other returning All-SEC receivers. Offensive coordinator Steve Sarkisian is also back in Tuscaloosa after flaming out with the NFL’s Atlanta Falcons, although that may or may not be a good thing.
“I’ve gotta get more treatment, lose weight, can’t binge eat at night….”#Alabama QB Tua Tagovailoa tells me the biggest thing he’s worked on this offseason is his diet and ‘mental things’ pic.twitter.com/AZghlxqrXa
— Simone Eli (@SimoneEli_TV) August 3, 2019
Approaching last year’s numbers (3,966 passing yards, 43 TDs) could be enough to take home the Heisman, but should the junior QB really be favored over Trevor Lawrence after Clemson crushed Alabama 44–16 in last year’s title game?
Trevor Lawrence
Trevor Lawrence is a 6-foot 5-inch Adonis with the kind of thick flowing hair usually seen on the covers of Harlequin romance novels.
Considering he’s also only the second true freshman to start and win a national championship at quarterback, the Clemson signal-caller should probably be the Heisman favorite.
Power 5 Questions: Is Trevor Lawrence the best player in the country? https://t.co/bK2EiyuqYP
(via @mark_cooperjr) pic.twitter.com/8U4VFpNQ5Z
— theScore (@theScore) July 30, 2019
After winning the starting job five weeks into the 2018 season, Lawrence completed 65.2 percent of his passes for 3,280 yards and 30 touchdowns.
The Tigers’ No. 3 offense in the country averaged 527 yards per game and their three most explosive weapons (Travis Etienne, Tee Higgins, Justyn Ross) are all back in the fold.
The Transfers
Jalen Hurts (+800), a championship-winning quarterback who had a 26-2 record as a starter for Alabama, joins Oklahoma and Lincoln Riley, who has coached up the past two Heisman Trophy winners in Baker Mayfield and Kyler Murray.
Justin Fields says he was timed at 4.43 seconds (laser) and 4.38 seconds (hand) in the 40-yard dash this spring. pic.twitter.com/zKk7a8I9RG
— Colin Hass-Hill (@chasshill) August 4, 2019
However, I prefer fellow transfer Justin Fields (+1100). The fastest quarterback in college football should “put up stupid numbers” in Ryan Day’s high-powered Ohio State offense.
Steve Dominey 
