2017 Heisman Trophy Odds: Quarterbacks Top Betting Board as Award Favorites

Only one running back in the previous seven seasons has won the Heisman Trophy, as Alabama's Derrick Henry took home the award given to college football's best player two years ago during the Crimson Tide's national championship run.

The other six Heisman winners during that stretch were all quarterbacks, and four more signal-callers are among the favorites on the odds to win the Heisman Trophy at sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark for the 2017 season.

USC sophomore Sam Darnold sits atop the betting board as the +275 favorite (wager $100 to win $275) even though two other returning quarterbacks in that group posted better numbers than him a year ago. Darnold ranked 36th nationally in passing yards last season with 3,086 to go along with 31 touchdowns and nine interceptions.

Oklahoma senior Baker Mayfield is the +750 second choice to win the Heisman, and he was ninth in the country with 3,965 yards plus 40 touchdowns and eight interceptions. After starting his college career at Texas Tech, Mayfield has really thrived with the Sooners, who will bring a 10-game winning streak into their season opener.

Louisville's Lamar Jackson and Ohio State's J.T. Barrett are next in line at +800 on the Heisman Trophy betting lines tracker at OddsShark, in addition to Penn State running back Saquon Barkley.

Jackson won the Heisman last year after putting together one of the greatest seasons ever for a dual-threat quarterback. The junior totaled 3,543 yards and 30 touchdowns through the air and also added another 1,571 yards and 21 scores on the ground as a sophomore.

Meanwhile, Barrett's numbers last year were not as good as his first season for the Buckeyes. The senior threw for 2,555 yards with 24 touchdowns and seven interceptions as a junior but had 2,834 yards with 34 scores and 10 picks as a freshman. He lost the starting job to Cardale Jones as a sophomore in 2015.

Barkley might be the most intriguing name as the first non-quarterback on the board, especially following a sophomore campaign that saw him rush for 1,496 yards and 18 touchdowns. He will try to become the third running back, and first not from Alabama, since Wisconsin's Ron Dayne won the Heisman for the Badgers back in 1999. USC's Reggie Bush won it in 2005 but later vacated it amid an NCAA investigation.