Penn State's Drew Allar Draws Early Heisman Trophy Odds
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After a breakthrough freshman season, Penn State running back Nicholas Singleton is appearing on some early Heisman Trophy odds lists. But his potential starting quarterback has even better odds.
According to BetOnline.ag, Penn State quarterback Drew Allar is a 25/1 bet to win the 2023 Heisman Trophy. Even though hasn't started a game — and hasn't truly won the starting job yet — Allar ranks among BetOnline's top 12 Heisman contenders.
Joining Allar on the 25/1 line are Clemson quarterback Cade Klubnik and Texas quarterback Quinn Ewers, who must contend with incoming freshman Arch Manning (a 75/1 shot, per BetOnline.ag).
Singleton, meanwhile, is a 50/1 bet to win the Heisman Trophy. The running back carries the same odds as Ohio State's TreVeyon Henderson and Marvin Harrison Jr., Arkansas quarterback KJ Jefferson and Nebraska transfer quarterback Jeff Sims.
Allar, among the nation's top-ranked quarterback recruits in 2022, played in nine games as a freshman. He completed 59.3 percent of his passes for 344 yards and four touchdowns.
Penn State treated Allar's development deliberately last season, allowing him to draft behind fourth-year starter Sean Clifford. Head coach James Franklin, who spent a year in Green Bay, compared his strategy to how the Packers handled the transition from Brett Favre to Aaron Rodgers.
"I was with the Green Bay Packers when we had Brett Favre and we drafted Aaron Rodgers, ... and I think there's a ton of value in what Aaron was able to do in being able to sit behind Brett for a few years and learn from that," Franklin said before the Rose bowl. "And when he was able to take over, he was ready. Obviously Aaron has had an unbelievable career.
"But that kind of impacted me. You see a lot of quarterbacks that maybe get thrown into the fire before they're ready, and I think this was an ideal situation for both Sean from a leadership standpoint and all of our young quarterbacks."
Singleton, the Big Ten freshman of the year, punctuated a 1,000-yard debut season by rushing for 120 yards on seven carries in the Lions' Rose Bowl win over Utah. The running back's 87-yard touchdown run was the third-longest in Rose Bowl history.
Singleton and fellow freshman Kaytron Allen each topped 1,000 all-purpose yards, giving the Lions a formidable backfield punch next season.
"Nick and Kaytron have really been able to play well, not just as running backs in the traditional manner of carrying the football, but also in protections, on special teams, in route-running and being a threat in the passing game," Franklin said. "Which is important, that we have well-rounded, complete backs. They've just continued to gain confidence and gain production as the year has gone on."
BetOnline.ag rates North Carolina quarterback Drake Maye as the 5/1 favorite to win the 2023 Heisman. USC quarterback Caleb Williams, the defending Heisman winner, is second at 6/1. BetOnline's reason? No Heisman Trophy winner has repeated since Archie Griffin in 1975.
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