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LSU running back Leonard Fournette was the runaway favorite for the 2015 Heisman Trophy before Alabama running back Derrick Henry came to Baton Rouge in Week 10.
Fournette had rushed for at least 150 rushing yards in every game to that point, including three straight 200-yard efforts. That was before Fournette was held under 100 rushing yards over the next two games, losing steam to Henry’s Heisman campaign.
Still, Fournette showed other-worldly ability for almost the entire season, and that’s why he’s a heavy favorite to win the 2016 Heisman Trophy.
Here are the players with the best odds of winning the 2016 Heisman Trophy, according to USA Today’s Danny Sheridan:
Leonard Fournette — 2-1
Deshaun Watson — 3-1
Christian McCaffrey — 3-1
Baker Mayfield — 8-1
Malik Zaire — 8-1
Dalvin Cook — 10-1
JT Barrett — 10-1
Fournette is followed closely by a pair of players that didn’t have nearly as much national attention until the latter portion of the season.
However, Clemson quarterback Deshaun Watson is officially on the map despite his team’s loss to Alabama in the national championship. Against the Crimson Tide, Watson became the first player in FBS history to record 4,000 passing yards and 1,000 rushing yards in the same season.
Meanwhile, Stanford running back Christian McCaffrey shattered Barry Sanders’ NCAA single-season record for all-purpose yardage (3,250 yards) in the Pac-12 title game against USC before finishing the season 3,864 yards, a little over 600 yards more than Sanders’ mark.
Born and raised in Gainesville, Talal joined SDS in 2015 after spending 2 years in Bristol as an ESPN researcher. Previously, Talal worked at The Gainesville Sun.
