Alabama Crimson Tide

Wanna Bet? SEC Players Pay Big in Early Vegas 2017 Heisman Odds

Updated Mar. 4, 2020 1:13 p.m. ET

Fansided, Bobby Wesson/FanSided via Bama Hammer

Dec 3, 2016; Atlanta, GA, USA; Alabama Crimson Tide quarterback Jalen Hurts (2) looks to pass during the second quarter of the SEC Championship college football game against the Florida Gators at Georgia Dome. Mandatory Credit: John David Mercer-USA TODAY Sports

Wanna bet? Las Vegas releases early betting odds for potential 2017 Heisman Trophy winners and SEC players pay big!

Vegas has released the way too early is never too early for Vegas betting lines for the 2017 Heisman Trophy winner and there are some big names from the baddest conference on the list. They may not be the favorites but neither was the 2016 Heisman trophy winner Lamar Jackson who showed up on this opening odds list last year at 50/1.

Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports

If you had $100 dollars and a crystal ball last year that long shot bet on Lamar Jackson would have earned you $5000. That would have been almost enough money to hire a rescue team to dig last year’s 6/1 Heisman odds favorite Leonard Fournette out of the hole where the Alabama defense buried him and his chances of bringing home the hardware.

Credit: John David Mercer-USA TODAY Sports

The SEC names on this years way too early is never too early opening Heisman trophy betting odds include a new one from LSU, an Alabama duo, a Georgia staple and two new comers from schools that surprised me.

Let’s take a look at who Vegas thinks has the best shot at winning from the conference that does it better than anyone else and figure out where we should place our bets.

Jalen Hurts, QB, Alabama: 12/1 Odds

: Jason Getz-USA TODAY Sports

$100 bet wins $1200.

12/1 odds seems like a long shot but remember that Lamar Jackson opened up with 50/1 odds last year. Jalen Hurts finished the season with 33 touchdown which is second only to Blake Sims record of 35 in a season. He threw for 2.454 yards for 21 of those touchdowns. Jalen brought the other 12 TDs home with his legs while rushing for a single season record of 840 yards by an Alabama Quarterback.

John David Mercer-USA TODAY Sports

I’m not done. Jalen has broken more records than a disgruntled Tower Music employee. Hurts is the first Quarterback under a Nick Saban coached team to rush for more than 11 touchdowns in a season. He was the first Alabama QB to ever pass for more than 300 and rush for more than 100 yards in the same game and the first to rush for more than 120 yards in multiple games.

Hurts struggled to connect in the title game against Clemson but every Bama fan is excited about what this 18 year old will be capable of producing with another year of experience behind him and a talented Crimson line in front of him.

Tim Heitman-USA TODAY Sports

Jalen Hurts is the best freshman QB college football has ever seen and it’s not even close. There are worse ways to bet $100. Ask Green Bay fans.

Derrius Guice, RB, LSU: 15/1

: Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sports

$100 bet wins $1500

It’s hard to believe that LSU could lose Leonard Fournette and not lose any of their power run game. Guice spent most of 2015 as a back up to Fournette but the first time he got the ball to start he went took it for 155 yards and a touchdown on 19 carries. He rushed for 252 yards against the Razorbacks which is the 2nd most single game rushing yards in LSU history.

He waited a couple of weeks before he went ahead and broke that record against the Aggies while rushing the ball for 285 yards. That was 1 yard more than the previous record of 284 yards set the previous season by, no surprise here, Leonard Fournette.

Crystal LoGiudice-USA TODAY Sports

Vegas give Derrius Guice 15/1 odds to win the Heisman but they gave Fournette 6/1 odds at the beginning of last season. Those odds changed in November after Fournette faced Alabama.

These same two monsters rushed for a COMBINED total of 43 yards on 19 carries against a hateful Alabama defense in 2016. Those numbers aren’t much better than the 31 yards on 19 carries that Fournette got against Bama in 2015. See you in November, Derrius!

At 15/1 this is a trendy pick but the only two running backs to win the award since 2000 were both wearing Crimson. That won’t change this year and neither will the day in November when Alabama ends LSU’s Heisman hopes again.

Bo Scarbrough, RB, Alabama 15/1

Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports

$100 best wins $1500

Vegas gives big Bo Scarborough the same odds as LSU’s Derrius Guice to bring home the Heisman Trophy. Bo has the advantage of only have to line up against the Alabama defense in practice and at lunch time which is nice for a Heisman hopeful.

Bo’s career has been hampered by injury and none more devastating to the Alabama faithful than the one that came late in the national championship against Clemson. He’s a big, intimidating Derrick Henry throwback power back that breaks tackles and and the hearts of opposing fans as he rumbles down the field.

Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports

Bo earned the Offensive MVP Award while setting an Alabama bowl game record with 180 yards in the playoffs this year against a Washington defense that was better than most of us expected. Before he wins the Heisman he’ll have to win his starting spot next year against some familiar names in the Alabama backfield as well as an incoming and highly touted Najee Harris.

At 15/1 and with a lot left to prove Bo might seem like a good bet but remember that before he competes for the Heisman he’ll have to compete for his starting spot next year. The Alabama back field returns some familiar names as well as an incoming and highly touted Najee Harris that all want a shot at the statue.

John David Mercer-USA TODAY Sports

It’s great to be Bama.

Nick Fitzgerald, QB, Mississippi State: 22/1 Odds

Marvin Gentry-USA TODAY Sports

$100 bet wins $2200

Vegas gives Nick Fitzgerald 22/1 odds of winning the Heisman Trophy. If you’ll remember Nick started the Bulldog’s first game against South Alabama this season but was pulled after two series. Mississippi State went on to lose that game 21-20 against the Jaguars in an upset.

That upset wouldn’t be the last one that Fitzgerald saw in 2016. He was again the starter when State faced the 9th ranked Texas A&M Aggies and had 391 yards of total offense on his way to scoring 4 touchdowns. The first of those 4 scores came on a 74 yard play in the Bulldogs first possession that set the tone for the rest for the game and the rest of the season for both the Aggies and the Bulldogs.

Matt Bush-USA TODAY Sports

Fitzgerald was at it again against a beaten down Ole Miss in the Egg Bowl where he set a Mississippi State single game rushing record of 258 yards rushing with 2 touchdowns and throwing for 3 more on the path to a 55-20 win over the Rebels.

22/1 odds makes me think someone in Vegas missed the Miss State / Bama game. Nick’s resume is just as thin as the competition he built it on. Don’t take this bet unless you hate Benjamin Franklin and want him as far away from you as possible.

Nick Chubb, RB, Georgia: 25/1 Odds

Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports

$100 bet wins $2500

Nick Chubb is a name that you hear early every year mentioned in the Heisman running but never late. He suffered a devastating leg injury against in the first play from scrimmage against Tennessee in 2015 that I’m not going to even link to because you’ve seen it, you may be eating right now and wow, it was bad.

That injury ended Chubb’s 2015 season and prevented him from breaking Herschel Walker’s streak of 13 games with 100+ rushing yards. He tied that record late against Alabama on a late 83 yard run in the 4th quarter in a game that UGA lost 35-10. He returned in 2016 and was the Bulldogs leading rusher with 1.130 yards on 224 carries and 8 TDs despite missing most of the game against Ole Miss and all but one snap against Tennessee the following week.

Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports

Georgia lost both of those games. Nick Chubb is a powerful, instinctive runner when he’s healthy and a hole in the Georgia offense that can’t quite be filled when he’s not. He kicked off the 2016 season by earning the Maxwell Player of the Week Award with a Chik-Fil-A Kickoff record of 222 yards rushing on 32 carries vs. North Carolina.

Vegas gives Nick Chubb 25/1 odds at winning the Heisman but if you’ve been watching you know that’s generous. Expect Nick Chubb’s performance to fall off this year as it has done every year since his breakout freshman season. Save your money.

Kamryn Pettway, RB, Auburn 25/1 Odds

Marvin Gentry-USA TODAY Sports

$100 bet wins $2500

Vegas is giving Kamryn Pettway the same generous odds as Nick Chubb at 25/1.

At 240 pounds, Pettway is a bruising back who ended his 2016 season with a record of 1,224 yards rushing and seven touchdowns in 10 games and first team All-SEC honors. 12 attempts, 17 of those yards and none of those touchdowns came against Alabama in November.

John Reed-USA TODAY Sports

At 25/1 odds $100 bet would earn you $2500 but this is a bad way to spend $100. If you’re into giving money away I suggest making a donation to the Ronald McDonald House charities. They do good work and give kids a better chance than Pettway has to win the Heisman this season. Don’t make this bet.

So there you have it folks – the way too early is never too early odds for who wins the Heisman from the conference that wins. The full list from Bovado.com looks like this:

Baker Mayfield (QB Oklahoma): 11/2
JT Barrett (QB Ohio State): 6/1
Lamar Jackson (QB Louisville): 7/1
Sam Darnold (QB USC): 9/1
Saquon Barkley (RB Penn State): 10/1
Jake Browning (QB Washington): 10/1
Trace McSorley (QB Penn State): 10/1
Deondre Francois (QB Florida State): 12/1
Josh Rosen (QB UCLA): 12/1
Mason Rudolph (QB Oklahoma State): 12/1
Jalen Hurts (QB Alabama): 12/1
Derrius Guice (RB LSU): 15/1
Bo Scarbrough (RB Alabama): 15/1
Nick Fitzgerald (QB Mississippi State): 22/1
Nick Chubb (RB Georgia): 25/1
Kamryn Pettway (RB Auburn): 25/1
Shane Buechele (QB Texas): 35/1
Luke Falk (QB Washington State): 35/1

The names you would expect after last season are at the top with the exception of the returning Heisman winner Lamar Jackson who comes in at the number 3 spot. Who do you think brings home the Heisman in 2017? Let us know on Facebook or in the comments. Roll Tide!