Welcome back to the race, Mr. Chase Young. Too bad it’s very likely too late.
After being ignored for much of the season, the Ohio State defensive end emerged in late October as one of a handful of candidates for the 2019 Heisman Trophy. Unfortunately, an NCAA issue led to a forced two-game sabbatical that seemingly knocked Young out of the stiff-armed chase; fortunately for the player, Young made a resounding return after the suspension -- three sacks, four tackles for loss in a win over Penn State -- to reemerge as a Heisman contender, with one offshore sportsbook giving the true junior 14/1 odds to win this year’s Heisman after two weeks of being off the board.
Young, though, only has the second-best odds on his own team as quarterback Justin Fields sits at 8/1. Last week, Fields was at 10/1.
Barring something unexpected over the next two weekends, both Fields and Young will have to settle for a trip to New York City for the Heisman ceremony as a consolation prize as LSU quarterback Joe Burrow, the former OSU quarterback who has emerged over the past couple of weeks as the overwhelming favorite, has seen his odds shorten even further to 1/30. Just one week ago, Burrow’s odds stood at 1/20.
The only other player currently listed is Oklahoma quarterback Jalen Hurts, whose odds lengthened from 9/1 to 20/1.