Winston Already The Favorite For Next Season’s Heisman

There are a lot of things that being an incumbent helps you with, betting re-elected into the senate for example. However, being a Heisman Trophy winner is not one of them.

Archie Griffin

Only one person has managed to win the Heisman trophy two times in a row and that is Ohio State running back Archie Griffin.

Many had pegged Mr. Football himself, Johnny Manziel to join Griffin as a two-time Heisman recipient. As we all know, that did not happen. Instead Florida State quarterback Jameis Winston took the Heisman Trophy in a landslide and rightfully so. He led his team to a National Championship game and put up better numbers than any of the other front runners.

Eight players have returned to school and attempted to win a second Heisman. All eight of them have failed. The 2007 winner, Tim Tebow, returned for three season, but his ’08 and ’09 season with the ‘Gators were disappointments, and he failed to recapture the magic of 2007.

Without a doubt, winning two Heisman’s is the rarest and most elusive accomplishment in football.  The next person to attempt it will be Winston. Winston was a true redshirt freshman this year and will return and make another run at the Heisman.

It is no surprise to see that the Vegas odds favor Winston in the early stages. The odds nearly always open with the last year’s previous winner as the front runner for the trophy. However, the odds for Winston making back to back Heisman runs is not out of the question. Unlike previous attempts, Winston is young and will see his teammates change very little.

Winston is not even 20 years old. He is at the stage at which most quarterbacks improve their abilities. This last season he had 3,820 passing yards and 38 touchdown passes. If he does improve, it is going to be hard for any other quarterback in the nation to touch his number. Also, the team surrounding him is going to change very little. The Florida State Seminoles are losing very little to graduation/the NFL draft. He will still have his line intact to protect him and all his favorite targets next season.

Regardless of the odds and Winston’s intact teammates, it is not an easy task to make another run at the most prestigious single-player honor in NCAA football. It will be an uphill climb for Winston’s 2014-2015 Heisman campaign.