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Best non-quarterback Heisman bet: All-in on Travis Etienne

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It's going to take one hell of a year from any non-quarterback if they hope to win the Heisman in 2020. But there's one player who may be able to pull it off.

We kicked off our 2020 college football coverage by highlighting a couple of signal-callers you should bet immediately, and then followed that up with a dark horse in the second tier.

Now, it's time for the real fun.

Here, we're pinpointing which non-quarterback offers the best value for the Heisman.

Odds to win the 2020 Heisman

Player Odds
QB Justin Fields +350
QB Trevor Lawrence +400
Field +1000
QB Jamie Newman +1000
QB Spencer Rattler +1200
QB D'Eriq King +1500
QB Sam Ehlinger +1800
QB Mac Jones +2000
RB Chuba Hubbard +2200
RB Travis Etienne +2200
QB Bo Nix +2500
QB Ian Book +2500
QB Myles Brennan +2500
QB Sam Howell +3000
QB Kyle Trask +3500
QB Adrian Martinez +4000
QB Kedon Slovis +4000
QB Kellen Mond +4500
RB Najee Harris +5000
QB Spencer Sanders +5000
QB Tyler Shough +5000
WR Ja'Marr Chase +6000
QB K.J. Costello +6000
RB Master Teague III +6000
QB Sean Clifford +6000
RB Zamir White +7000
QB Alan Bowman +7500
QB Chase Brice +7500
QB Hank Bachmeier +7500
WR Jaylen Waddle +7500
RB Kylin Hill +7500
QB Micale Cunningham +7500
QB Peyton Ramsey +7500
QB Brock Purdy +8000
RB C.J. Verdell +8000
QB Charlie Brewer +8000
WR DeVonta Smith +8000
QB Dylan McCaffrey +8000
QB Shane Buechele +8000
WR Tamorrion Terry +8000

Only displaying players with odds 80-1 or shorter

RB Travis Etienne (+2200)

There's only one player on this list, and I'm actually close to playing Etienne in general.

It makes all the sense in the world. Clemson lost wide receiver Tee Higgins to the draft and its leading pass-catcher from last season, Justyn Ross, will also be absent from the 2020 offense.

Etienne has recorded more than 3,200 rushing yards during the last two seasons to go along with 49 combined touchdowns, all while sharing a field with the top quarterback in the country and a usually loaded skill corps.

Derrick Henry in 2015 was the last non-quarterback to win the Heisman. He put up a whopping 2,219 yards - on 395 attempts (5.6 YPC) - and 28 touchdowns.

Etienne won't see close to that type of volume, even with the depleted receiving group; his single-season high for attempts is 207 (2019).

He would have flirted with 2,000 yards on the ground and roughly 23 touchdowns during the regular season if he was given just three more carries per game in 2019. That stat line would have rivaled Chuba Hubbard's, who garnered some Heisman consideration after amassing 2,094 yards and 21 touchdowns on 328 carries.

The problem is that Clemson has always been so balanced, which keeps one individual player from breaking out. And that could be the case again, even without Ross, as the receiving corps could reload with a handful of blue-chip prospects. The other issue is that Etienne doesn't play a ton in the fourth quarter due to Clemson's dominance.

However, the writing is on the wall. Etienne has recorded 7.2 yards or better per rush in all three seasons in Death Valley. He averaged 7.8 last year and led the country in broken tackles.

If there's one legitimate non-quarterback Heisman candidate who needs just a few more opportunities to truly blow up the stat sheet, it's Etienne.

Alex Kolodziej is a betting writer for theScore. He's a graduate of Eastern Illinois who has been involved in the sports betting industry for 12 years. He can quote every line from "Rounders" and appreciates franchises that regularly wear alternate jerseys. Find him on Twitter @AJKolodziej.

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