Bryce Young collected the first Heisman Trophy for an Alabama quarterback on Saturday night and is already favored to add a second one next year.
Young opened as the +200 favorite at FoxBet to win the 2022 Heisman Trophy ahead of Ohio State quarterback C.J. Stroud (+400), who finished fourth in Saturday’s Heisman results.
Both quarterbacks hail from Southern California and will resume their on-field competition next year that dates back to middle school. Young is only the sixth sophomore to win the award and will attempt to join Archie Griffin (1974-75) as the only players to win two Heismans.
Spencer Rattler hasn’t announced which school he will transfer to yet, but the former Oklahoma quarterback still has the third-shortest odds at +700 by FoxBet to win next year’s Heisman. That’s ahead of Caleb Williams (+1000), who replaced him with the Sooners this season.
Michigan State running back Kenneth Walker III opened at +1200, although he is widely expected to enter the 2022 NFL Draft. He’s followed by Ohio State running back TreVeyon Henderson (+1500) and Clemson quarterback DJ Uiagalelei (+1600).
Texas running back Bijan Robinson is +1800, with the list rounding out with Georgia quarterback JT Daniels (+2000) and Oklahoma running back Kennedy Brooks (+4000).
Alabama has produced three of the past seven Heisman winners, including the only two since 2010 who weren’t quarterbacks: running back Derrick Henry in 2015 and wide receiver DeVonta Smith in 2020.
Young received 2,311 points Saturday night, easily outdistancing Michigan defensive end Aidan Hutchinson (954), Pittsburgh quarterback Kenny Pickett (631) and Stroud (399).
“This is amazing,” said Young, who thanked everyone from his offensive linemen and receivers to the Crimson Tide defense for helping him get the ball back. “… Whenever you can win an award like this, it goes as an individual award, but it’s a team award.”
Young threw for 4,322 yards and 43 touchdowns with just four interceptions. That includes throwing for 421 yards and three touchdowns in a 41-24 win over then-No. 1 Georgia in the SEC title game to help Alabama secure the No. 1 seed in the College Football Playoff.
“For me, I’ve always been someone who has been labeled as not the prototype — being an African-American quarterback, being quote-unquote undersized and not being that prototype, I’ve always been ruled out,” Young said. “People a lot of times have told me that I wasn’t going to be able to make it.
“For me, it has always been about, not proving them wrong, but proving to myself what I can accomplish.”
–Field Level Media