DeVonta Smith wasn’t even on the board of players being offered Heisman Trophy odds at most sportsbooks a week ago.
Another dynamic outing later — along with some national publicity love from Kirk Herbstreit — and Alabama’s senior receiver is suddenly one of the Heisman favorites.
Florida quarterback Kyle Trask has been the betting favorite by most sportsbooks for the past several weeks, but his hopes took a serious hit with the Gators losing their second game of the season last Saturday.
Meanwhile, Alabama improved to 10-0 with a 52-3 rout of Arkansas.
Quarterback Mac Jones threw for 208 yards on 24 of 29 passing. Three of those completions went to Smith, who scored the Crimson Tide’s first touchdown on an 84-yard punt return.
Jones is now widely considered the Heisman Trophy favorite. He’s being offered at -160 by FanDuel, -200 by DraftKings and -210 by William Hill. Several other regulated sportsbooks have taken Heisman odds off their markets.
Those who are still offering them now have Smith as the second favorite.
Smith’s sudden rise also followed an endorsement from ESPN’s Herbstreit on “College Gameday” before the Arkansas rout.
“I think DeVonta Smith right now, I don’t know if he’s (No. 1 or 2) but he’s right there,” Herbstreit said. “I want to see how things go next weekend in Atlanta (in the SEC Championship Game).
“This is an offense that lost (Jerry) Jeudy and (Henry) Ruggs a year ago (and) (Jaylen) Waddle during the Tennessee game, and he just keeps getting better and better. (Alabama offensive coordinator Steve Sarkisian) and Mac Jones get all the recognition, but my man DeVonta Smith is having the best year in the country as far as I’m concerned.”
Smith now has 83 receptions for 1,327 yards and 15 touchdowns this season, all career highs.
He is being offered at +200 by DraftKings and FanDuel and +250 by William Hill. That’s ahead of Trask at all three – +350 by DraftKings and William Hill and +800 by FanDuel.
Preseason Heisman favorite Trevor Lawrence is fourth at each of the three sportsbooks, with his hopes largely dashed after missing two games following a positive COVID-19 test.
