One of the most exciting stories to follow throughout the college football season is who’s going to strike the Heisman trophy pose in New York City at the end of the year. Since the award was first given out in 1935 some of the most iconic names in football history have accepted the honor as the NCAA’s top player including Roger Staubach, Bo Jackson, Barry Sanders, and many others. Our BetCrushers futures prop here focuses on who might be the recipient of the award for the 2019 season. We’re a little salty as we went favorite heavy last year with Tua Tagovailoa and had mentally cashed that ticket before getting the rug pulled out from underneath us. But this is a new year and we’re not going to let a futures bad beat derail us from taking another shot at picking this year’s winner and cashing in. Let’s take a look:

TUA TAGOVAILOA – QB, ALABAMA
ODDS: +260

Speaking of Alabama’s Tua Tagovailoa he not shockingly in the preseason pole position with odds currently resting at +260. (Bovada sportsbook) And why not? He’s got another year of experience under his belt, he appears to be healthy, and we have to believe that he’s as hungry as ever to re-prove himself to the world after the difficult finish last season. Let’s not forget something that is often very important when we look at this award, and that is if the player’s team is a contender for the playoffs. While nothing is guaranteed in sports, expecting Alabama to be in the hunt at the end of the season seems about as sure of a thing as you can get. So is it a done deal again this year that Tua will finally earn the trophy that he very well could have received a year ago? We wouldn’t be shocked at all, but let’s see who else is on the potential Heisman watch before the first game kicks off this fall.

As mentioned earlier, you have to really look at not only the talented players that are on this list, but also their respective teams if you want to give yourself the best shot at picking the winner. We’ve got our radar up on a few folks on the list above who seem to have the talent, opportunity, and potential team success to take home the trophy and college football immortality.

TREVOR LAWRENCE – QB, CLEMSON
ODDS: +325

The fact that Trevor Lawrence is sitting just behind Tua Tagovailoa is all the information needed to know that Tua is not a runaway. In fact, by the time the season opens, it’s very possible that Lawrence will be a bigger favorite to take home the trophy. As with Alabama, Clemson figures to be in the hunt at the end of the season. (The two teams are also almost identical favorites to win the National Championship). Watching Trevor Lawrence come on last season was nothing short of amazing. What an unassuming cool customer he was under pressure that would have made normal college football players wilt. There is no question that Lawrence has the ability to lead this team and win this award. Perhaps the biggest obstacle standing in Lawrence’s way resides in his own backfied. Teammate Travis Etienne is acually sitting as a +1800 Heisman winner himself. While a QB will always get the nod over an RB, could Etienne take some valuable stats and spotlight away from Lawrence?

JUSTIN FIELDS – QB, OHIO STATE
ODDS: +900

If you aren’t an avid student of college football you may not know much about Justin Fields. And in reality, there isn’t a huge sample size to go on in terms of his NCAA production. Fields transferred from Georgia as he found himself in the position of backing up Jake Fromm (also a candidate at +1800). Normally not a terrible spot to be sitting in, but when you were the number 2 overall prospect coming out of high school, and the definition of a dual-threat quarterback, sitting behind anyone doesn’t seem to work. The return on pay for a player of this caliber playing for a team that owns their conference makes Fields an interesting option. If Fields can live up to the hype and continue OSU on their Big 10 dominant track, it’s not crazy to think that he could win. This is a high-risk and high-reward play for sure.

JUSTIN HERBERT – QB, OREGON
ODDS: +2200

Justin Herbert bucked the trend of players leaving early for the draft when he declared before last year’s bowl game that he intended to return to Oregon for his senior season. His love of the university, his team and his brother joining this year to play tight end all were said to have factored into that decision. A lot can happen during the course of a season but Herbert has the opportunity to be a top 3 selection in next year’s draft if he can perform at a high level this year. Herbert has nice physical tools and is considered one of the better students and smarter quarterbacks to have played in recent years. That early fanfare makes him an appealing play for the Heisman as a lot of eyes will be on him throughout the year. But does Oregon have enough talent around him to see him truly catapult to the next level? Can they contend and be relevant late in the season in a watered down conference? We expect a big season from Herbert, but we’re not sure that even his bright NFL prospects can help him leapfrog some of the early favorites.

SHEA PATTERSON – QB, MICHIGAN
ODDS: +2600

A 5 star recruit out of high school, Shea Patterson is also widely considered a “pro-style” quarterback with a possible future in the NFL. While it took him a little while to get warmed up at Michigan he certainly showed some of the potential the Wolverines hope will lead to vaulted success in 2019. You could argue that no player in college football has more to prove or more at stake this year than Patterson. Michigcan is under the microscope and needs to figure out a way to take ownership of the Big 10. If that does happen, it’s likely that Patterson is a big reason and also highly in contention for player of the year honors. Most likely we’ll look back at the end of the season and his legacy will be that of a hero or that of a fizzled out underachieving player. There is some really nice payout at +2600 if you want to take a long-shot here, but don’t be shocked if your ticket could be all but shredded halfway through the season.

You may notice that we only rolled with quarterbacks here. While it’s not impossible for another position to sneak in there, (you’ll see a few promising names at the RB and WR position) this has become a QB driven league same as the NFL. Since 2000, only three non-QBs have taken home the trophy. As mentioned earlier, you have to really look at not only the talented players that are on this list, but also their respective teams if you want to give yourself the best shot at picking the winner. Our selection is:

BETCRUSHERS TAKE: TUA TAGOVAILOA

Having narrowed the list down, looked at this year’s schedules and opponents and researched what we can via team websites and odds articles we’re going to follow up last year’s play by giving Tua another shot. Yes, we’re well aware this isn’t exactly sticking our neck out on the line, but the goal is to find the best value in an attempt to win and make money. Other than Lawrence, the rest of the field seems way too much like throwing darts at the wall. We won’t hold our breath on this pick or celebrate too loudly if it wins, and wouldn’t suggest you do either, but we’ve got enough confidence to throw a few pennies at it with the potential return. Choose wisely and you may make a few pennies of your own this season.