FSU QB Jameis Winston Leads Early 2014 Heisman Odds

Statistically, the chances of a player winning his second Heisman Trophy are not very good. For recent examples, look at the close-but-no-cigar campaigns of Johnny Manziel and Tim Tebow.

But that won't stop Jameis Winston from being declared the early favorite to repeat in 2014, according to Bovada, which recently listed the early odds for next year's award.

Update: Feb. 6, 2014 – 12:35 p.m.

Bovada has updated their Heisman odds, adding a few names to the field and changing the line on certain players.

Here's a look at the new list:

	Player	School	Odds
	QB Jameis Winston	Florida State	12/5
	QB Marcus Mariota	Oregon	5/1
	QB Braxton Miller	Ohio State	11/2
	QB Bryce Petty	Baylor	9/1
	RB Todd Gurley	Georgia	12/1
	QB Brett Hundley	UCLA	14/1
	RB T.J. Yeldon	Alabama	14/1
	RB Melvin Gordon	Wisconsin	16/1
	QB Connor Cook	Michigan State	18/1
	RB Mike Davis	South Carolina	18/1
	QB Everett Golson	Notre Dame	22/1
	RB Ameer Abdullah	Nebraska	25/1
	RB Derrick Henry	Alabama	25/1
	QB Sean Mannion	Oregon State	25/1
	QB Taylor Kelly	Arizona State	25/1
	QB Trevor Knight	Oklahoma	25/1
	QB Dak Prescott	Mississippi State	33/1
	RB Duke Johnson	Miami (FL)	33/1
	RB Karlos Williams	Florida State	33/1
	LB Myles Jack	UCLA	33/1
	QB Nick Marshall	Auburn	33/1
	QB Rakeem Cato	Marshall	66/1
	QB Matt Johnson	Bowling Green	66/1

--END OF UPDATE--

Here are the original, pre-update odds:

	Player	School	Odds
	QB Jameis Winston	Florida State	2/1
	QB Marcus Mariota	Oregon	3/1
	QB Braxton Miller	Ohio State	11/2
	RB T.J. Yeldon	Alabama	5/1
	QB Bryce Petty	Baylor	6/1
	QB Brett Hundley	UCLA	12/1
	RB Todd Gurley	Georgia	12/1
	RB Mike Davis	South Carolina	15/1
	RB Melvin Gordon	Wisconsin	16/1
	QB Everett Golson	Notre Dame	25/1
	QB Trevor Knight	Oklahoma	25/1
	RB Duke Johnson	Miami (FL)	33/1
	RB Karlos Williams	Florida State	33/1
	QB Matt Johnson	Bowling Green	66/1
	QB Rakeem Cato	Marshall	66/1

Winston was the easy choice among a weak field in 2013, leading his Florida State Seminoles to a 14-0 record and BCS National Championship. He finished the year with a quarterback rating of 184.85, which was best in the country by a wide margin.

Next season, the cast around him will be a little different, as guys like Kelvin Benjamin, Devonta Freeman, Kenny Shaw and James Wilder Jr. are all no longer with the team. However, left tackle Cameron Erving shocked many by forgoing the NFL draft, while John Mackey Award finalist Nick O'Leary and leading receiver Rashad Greene are still around to provide quality receiving targets.

Winston should be just fine.

Marcus Mariota and Braxton Miller are understandable options for Nos. 2 and 3. Each was a Heisman candidate at the start of last season, but petered out during the year. Miller was hurt by an injury that affected his final numbers, while Mariota lost steam after getting dominated by Stanford.

Still, Mariota and Miller quarterback two of the best teams in the country, both of which are expected to compete for a spot in next year's College Football Playoff. If either or both can guide their team to a conference championship, they will be suitable alternatives to Winston.

The most curious inclusion is T.J. Yeldon at 5-1. Yeldon doesn't lack for talent and there's certainly a precedent for winning this award in Nick Saban's offense, but after Derrick Henry's breakout performance in the Sugar Bowl, the breadth of his workload remains to be seen.

A 60-40 timeshare is not out of question and might even be preferred by Tide fans.

Props to Bovada for listing Marshall's Rakeem Cato and Bowling Green's Matt Johnson as long shots, capitalizing on the third-place finish of Northern Illinois' Jordan Lynch in 2013. But even at 66-1—and with all due respect—anyone who takes those bets is a sucker.

If Winston repeats, he would become the second two-time winner in history. The feat has not been achieved since Archie Griffin in 1974-75.

Follow Brian Leigh on Twitter @BLeighDAT.