The 2020 NFL Draft was conducted virtually in April, with players watching the proceedings from their homes and Commissioner Roger Goodell announcing the selections from his basement. The other major professional sports leagues followed suit, as the NBA Draft will do the same on Wednesday as an ESPN panel will broadcast the annual affair from their Bristol studios.
Over the weekend, it was announced that the Heisman Trophy will be awarded virtually as well, though this year's presentation will be pushed to January, a month later than normal.
Down To Brass Trask
That news came on the eve of a new favorite emerging across many sportsbooks to take home the prestigious hardware, as Florida quarterback Kyle Trask is now the chalk at +220. This is the first time this season that neither Trevor Lawrence nor Justin Fields is the odds-on favorite to win the coveted prize.
Both Lawrence and Fields are still very much in the conversation, however, as is Alabama quarterback Mac Jones, all of whom are +263 or shorter.
Florida has climbed to No. 6 in the AP Top 25, led by their senior quarterback, who has thrown for four or more touchdowns in five straight games. In this past Saturday's win over Arkansas, Trask had five touchdowns in the first half alone and 356 passing yards.
Like Joe Burrow a year ago, Trask began the season as a longshot to win the Heisman. Burrow, the eventual No. 1 pick in the 2020 NFL Draft, was +15000 in the preseason and 200-1 during the season before eventually winning, while Trask was +3167 at one point.
The year prior, eventual winner Kyler Murray of Oklahoma wasn't even on the board when the initial odds were released.
Trask and Trevor
Lawrence's chances took a hit two weeks ago when he tested positive for COVID-19, forcing him to miss two games, including the showdown with Notre Dame that Clemson wound up losing in double overtime. Lawrence remains the odds-on favorite to be the top pick in the 2021 Draft should he decide to declare, but he's now fourth in the pecking order for the Heisman and will have to blow voters away and his opponents out to surpass the other three.
He has cleared protocol and will be active for the Tigers this upcoming weekend. On Oct. 29, the date of his positive test, the Clemson signal-caller was the betting favorite at -132, but then the odds came off every board upon the announcement.
After Week 9, Fields and Jones leapfrogged Lawrence, but the big right-handed gunslinger only slipped to +275. It was on Nov. 9 that Trask really shot up the charts following the Gators' big win over Georgia in which he threw four touchdowns and over 400 yards.
He moved to +675 and within striking distance of the other three favorites.
Trask should continue to pile up numbers, as Florida's remaining schedule features Vanderbilt, Kentucky, Tennessee and LSU. While none of those programs will cement a signature win for the senior, an SEC Championship Game against the likes of Alabama certainly would.
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