Who are the top Heisman Trophy candidates in the Big Ten?

The Big Ten will once again be one of, if not the most competitive conference in all of college football this season. While Georgia is the favorite to win the national championship this season, multiple Big Ten teams will contend to be the last team standing.

However, no individual player within the conference has top-10 odds to win the Heisman Trophy at DraftKings Sportsbook. In fact, it’s been 17 years since a Big Ten player won the award, dating back to 2006 when Ohio State’s Troy Smith earned the honor.

Of the 85 players available at DraftKings to wager a Heisman future on, 18 play in the Big Ten, second only to the SEC’s 24. Unsurprisingly, USC’s Caleb Williams is a far and away favorite to win the award for the second straight year with +450 odds. The next closest player is LSU quarterback Jayden Daniels at +1100.

Here are the 10 Big Ten players most likely to win the Heisman Trophy, according to betting odds presented by DraftKings Sportsbook:

• Michigan QB JJ McCarthy: +1800 (11th-best odds nationally)
• Ohio State WR Marvin Harrison Jr.: +2000 (12th)
• Ohio State QB Kyle McCord: +2200 (13th)
• Penn State QB Drew Allar: +2500 (15th)
• Michigan RB Blake Corum: +2800 (16th)
• Ohio State QB Devin Brown: +3500 (17th)
• Ohio State RB TreVeyon Henderson: +4000 (18th)
• Penn State RB Nicholas Singleton: +5000 (22nd)
• Wisconsin RB Braelon Allen: +6000 (24th)
• Michigan RB Donovan Edwards: +8000 (37th)

Logically, this list is subject to change early in the season when the winner of Ohio State’s quarterback battle between McCord and Brown becomes apparent, and one of Corum and Edwards — most likely Corum — receives the majority of reps as Michigan’s lead back.

Harrison Jr. has a real case as the best overall player in college football, but has an uphill battle to the Heisman Trophy as a wide receiver. Since Desmond Howard won the award in 1991, DeVonta Smith (2020) is the only wide receiver to have done so. If Harrison Jr. has a huge year like most expect him to, don’t be surprised if votes start coming in for his quarterback instead.

The Maryland player with the top odds to win the award is unsurprisingly quarterback Taulia Tagovailoa, although he is a massive long shot at +15000. Odds-wise, he is tied with Purdue’s Hudson Card and Iowa’s Cade McNamara as the seventh most likely quarterback in the Big Ten to be honored, also behind Nebraska’s Jeff Sims (+8000) and Wisconsin’s Tanner Mordecai (+10000).