Heisman Trophy Proposition Betting – The Rapid Rise of Robinson

Proposition bettors know that after a couple of weeks, we already have some new contenders for the Heisman Trophy betting, and some others who, for the time being, have more or less dropped out of the running, the guy who is really making the rapid rise is Michigan’s Denard Robinson, who looks like the kind of do-it-all quarterback who could gain the favor of Heisman voters.

Robinson is clicking in Rich Rodriguez’s spread offense and has Michigan in the national rankings again.

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Terrelle Pryor of Ohio State is the proposition betting favorite for the award at +350, but Robinson is second at +450.

Proposition Betting Odds To Win Heisman Trophy
(Odds of 30/1 or lower)

• Mark Ingram +2000
• Terrelle Pryor +350
• Jake Locker +3000
• Ryan Mallett +1000
• Noel Devine +1000
• Case Keenum +2000
• John Clay +3000
• Kellen Moore +800
• Andrew Luck +3000
• DeMarco Murray +3000
• Landry Jones +1200
• Jacquizz Rodgers +3000
• LaMichael James +2000
• Tate Forcier +3000
• Brandon Saine +2500
• Cam Newton +1000
• Trent Richardson +1500
• Denard Robinson +450

Mark Ingram, who is still +2000 in the proposition betting to win the Heisman Trophy, has yet to take the field, but that’s okay – there are plenty of youngsters ready to put their best foot forward to be his successor.

The one who has probably made the biggest splash so far is Denard Robinson, the cat-quick quarterback who has finally given Rich Rodriguez his answer as to who would be the player to marshal the forces of the spread offense that worked so well for the coach a West Virginia under Patrick White.

A sophomore out of Deerfield Beach, FL, Robinson is one of those guys who is undoubtedly going to be be judged too small to play quarterback in the NFL, at six feet and somewhere in the neighborhood of 190 pounds. But that doesn’t matter much on the college level, and especially in Rodriguez’s offense, where ideally the quarterback can be a principal ball-carrier.

Robinson already looks more comfortable in the dual role of passer-runner than the guy who is listed as the proposition betting favorite here, Ohio State’s Terrelle Pryor (+350).

Robinson was rated a top 20 quarterback prospect in high school, where he had over 6000 yards of total offense, and was also a member of the track team for the Maize and Blue. So it is not like he came out of nowhere; in fact, he failed to beat out Tate Forcier for the starting QB position last year.

He started one game as a running back, and was Michigan’s leading returning rusher. He completed only 14 of 31 passes s a quarterback. Now it is safe to say that he isn’t going to be shifted anywhere, and the legend of the "Shoelace" (he doesn’t tie his shoes when he plays) promises to grow.

Rodriguez struggled through his first season at the helm at Michigan, searching for someone who could run the spread in an effective fashion, but he didn’t find anyone, and his team won only three games. The arrival of heralded Forcier brought some optimism, and at this time last year he was in the Heisman proposition betting.

That kind of talk escalated after a 4-0 start, but Michigan won only one game for the rest of the season. Forcier wasn’t as diligent in the off-season as the Michigan staff wanted him to be, and as a result he lost his job to Robinson.

After the first game, where Robinson put up the 383 yards of total offense against Connecticut, Forcier realized he was not going to play another down for the Wolverines if Robinson was healthy. Seeing the writing on the wall, Forcier told reporters, "All you need to know is I’m out," and so he’s looking for someplace else he can play.

He was probably moving even faster toward that transfer after watching Robinson against Notre Dame, where he ran for 258 yards and passed for 244 more. Michigan, which is ranked 20th in the AP Poll, is +2000 to win the national title in BCS proposition betting.

Robinson now leads the nation in rushing yards, and is one of only two quarterbacks in the history of Big Ten football (Antwaan Randle El is the other) to both run and pass for 200 yards in the same game. There will be an opportunity to put up big numbers in upcoming games against U-Mass, Bowling Green and Indiana before hitting the rough part of the Big Ten schedule.

Of course, when it comes to attention from the pro scouts, Robinson will get the same kind of consideration as Randle El, which is to say they will look at him as an "athlete" who can play some in the backfield, at wide receiver, maybe on the return teams. For the time being, though, he is behind center, and despite being behind Pryor in proposition betting this week, ahead of the rest of the pack.

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