College Football

2023 Heisman odds, best college football long-shot bets to make

Updated Jul. 1, 2023 11:35 a.m. ET

The college football season is drawing closer, and soon a few unheralded guys will have a chance to emerge from the shadows through their play this season.

All that is to say, there are a few players you may not be thinking of that can come on strong and really give the Heisman favorites a run for their money.

Are there really long shots that can win the coveted award?

Yes. Three dark horse quarterbacks can take home the Heisman, and I want to make my case for why you should consider laying a couple of bucks down on each of them.

Let's dive in.

Joe Milton, Tennessee: +2500 (bet $10 to win $260 total)

The Manning Passing Academy, a premier destination for top college quarterbacks to compete over three days, was this past weekend.

Among a group of Heisman favorites like North Carolina's Drake Maye, Texas' Quinn Ewers and Florida State's Jordan Travis, Tennessee quarterback Joe Milton was singled out as a top performer in the event.

Milton showed off his large frame (6-foot-5, 243 pounds) and monster arm, easily throwing the ball 70 yards. The word out of camp was Milton reminded the evaluators of Anthony Richardson, the fourth pick in the 2023 NFL Draft.

Unlike Richardson, who had limited game experience heading into last season, Milton is entering his sixth college football season.

The Tennessee offense plays fast, scores quickly and puts up yards at an explosive rate. Last season, quarterback Hendon Hooker was firmly in the Heisman race before an unfortunate knee injury late in November ended his season.

Milton started the final two games of the season, including against Clemson in the Orange Bowl. Against the stout Tigers defense, he threw for 251 yards with three touchdowns helping the Volunteers win 31-14.

With a full offseason to take command of the offense, I would expect Milton to put up eye-popping numbers.

It’s worth noting that quarterbacks under Josh Heupel that have played a full season have thrown for at least 3,500 yards, which would put Milton straight into the Heisman discussion.

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DJ Uiagalelei, Oregon State: +10000 (bet $10 to win $1,010 total)

DJU is the best quarterback Oregon State has ever had on campus, and he will boost the Beavers' offense into one of the most efficient in the game.

Jonathan Smith, entering his sixth season as Oregon State's coach, has built this program from two wins in 2018 to a 10-win team this past season.

However, there were plenty of times last season where you’d think, "If only they had a quarterback," because receivers get wide open in this offense.

I guarantee you will not be saying that this season.

It’s a run-first operation, but that's because they’ve never had a quarterback like Uiagalelei. The run game opens up the play-action pass, giving DJU easy throws for big yards.

Also, the Beavers are aggressive on offense and go for it on fourth down all the time. They do this with their run game, and they will use DJU in that spot. Uiagalelei will have plenty of highlight-worthy plays on fourth down to show the Heisman voters.

Oregon State’s schedule sets up for the Beavers to be a top-15 team heading into their final two games against Washington and Oregon. DJU will have two nationally televised games to end the season to showcase his skills.

As far as long shots go, with these odds, you could do a lot worse.

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Will Howard, Kansas State +10000 (bet $10 to win $1,010 total)

Howard started the final six games of the season for the Wildcats, including a win over TCU in the Big 12 title game and a loss to Alabama in the Sugar Bowl.

With him now being QB1, he has gotten all those reps this offseason which should lead to more productive play.

It’s always worth putting a small sprinkle on Kansas State because the Wildcats can win the conference again.

If they are the Big 12 champion, they will have tons of eyeballs on them all season long. Howard will need to play well for the Wildcats to pull this off. If he does, we know Heisman voters gravitate toward winners.

Geoff Schwartz played eight seasons in the NFL for five different teams. He started at right tackle for the University of Oregon for three seasons and was a second-team All-Pac-12 selection his senior year. He is an NFL analyst for FOX Sports. Follow him on Twitter at @GeoffSchwartz.

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