COLUMBUS, Ohio — Ohio State hasn't had a Heisman Trophy winner in 13 years. Could that change in 2019?
According to FanDuel Sportsbook, three Buckeyes are currently contenders for college football's most-coveted award. The one who has the best chance for the moment is sophomore quarterback Justin Fields, whose 8/1 (+800) odds are the fourth-best overall.
In his first year in Columbus after transferring from Georgia, Fields has led OSU to an 8-0 record and a No. 3 national ranking while throwing for 1,659 yards and 24 touchdowns along with just one interception. The 20-year-old is also averaging 8.4 yards per carry on the ground with four scores.
While Fields currently has the best odds of any Buckeye, it's his teammate on the defensive side of the ball who is really starting to gain traction: Junior defensive end Chase Young leads the nation with 13.5 sacks, including four during last Saturday's 38-7 win over Wisconsin. He is currently at 19/1, fifth-best.
Many observers feel Young is the most-talented player in the country. However, no defensive player has won the Heisman since Michigan's Charles Woodson (who also returned kicks and played some offense) in 1997.
Aside from Fields and Young, junior running back J.K. Dobbins is tied with Wisconsin's Jonathan Taylor for sixth-best at 50/1. The 20-year-old has tallied 1,242 all-purpose yards and 11 touchdowns this season, including two against the Badgers.
Ironically, FanDuel currently has former Ohio State and current LSU quarterback Joe Burrow as the Heisman favorite at 3/2. Burrow graduated from OSU in 2018 but transferred south that year after failing to beat out Dwayne Haskins for the starting job, and has has completed an incredible 77% of his passes while throwing for 30 touchdowns this year for the top-ranked Tigers.
Quarterbacks Jalen Hurts of Oklahoma and Tua Tagovailoa of Alabama sit between Burrow and Fields at +260 and +270, respectively. Cleveland native Troy Smith was the last Ohio State player to win the Heisman, doing so in 2006 when he led the Buckeyes to an undefeated regular season.
