Is Dillon Gabriel the favorite to win the 2024 Heisman Trophy?
Well, he might not be in the minds of the nation’s fans – at least outside of Eugene, Oregon, where he’ll now suit up for the Oregon Ducks – but Gabriel is the betting favorite. At least according to ESPN BET.
That’s the story that broke Friday, written here (Dillon Gabriel passes Beck, Ewers as Heisman favorite ) by David Purdum on ESPN.com. Gabriel, who transferred from the Oklahoma Sooners (maybe to avoid the SEC? Hmmm, a question for another day) to Oregon in the offseason.
According to Purdum’s work there on the Mothership, Gabriel, who replaces new Denver Bronco Bo Nix as the Ducks’ starter at quarterback, started the month of July with 10-1 odds to take home the trophy at season’s end.
He slipped past Georgia quarterback Carson Beck and Texas quarterback Quinn Ewers and is now in the driver’s seat, with odds of +750 to win the Heisman.
Beck checks in at +800, Ewers at +900 (both of those have early tests: Beck gets Clemson right off the bat in a “neutral site” game in Atlanta and then also faces Alabama on the road in Tuscaloosa, and Ewers and the Longhorns go to Michigan for the second game of the season). Also named among the favorites: Jaxson Dart, quarterback at Ole Miss (+1500), and Ohio State quarterback Will Howard, Tennessee QB Nico Iamaleava, and ‘Bama’s Jalen Milroe, all at +1600.
It’s worth noting that Gabriel is well-traveled: Oregon is his third college. He began his career at Central Florida, transferred to OU, and now, of course, the Ducks. He threw for over 3,600 yards, 30 touchdowns and six picks last year for the Sooners.
Oregon opens the season at home on Aug. 31 against Idaho (probably won’t earn a ton of Heisman stock there), and then hosts Boise State on Sept. 7. This is the season the Ducks join the Big Ten, so games against Ohio State, Michigan, and Wisconsin are all out there for Gabriel to showcase his talents, and he gets to keep Washington and UCLA on the schedule – they, too, moved over to the Big Ten from the Pac-12.
The Ducks and Oregon State are no longer in the same conference, but kept the game; they’ll meet in Corvallis on Sept. 14.
