Notre Dame Football: Is Kyren Williams being undervalued for Heisman?

Notre Dame football’s Kyren Williams had a great 2021 season for the Irish on the field. Even with Williams’ great year, he is nowhere to be found in the Heisman odds at the moment.

Is the Irish running back being disrespected?

It’s August now, so that means college football is right around the corner. Over the past years, sports betting has become a lot more popular. It was not too long ago when sports betting was frowned upon. You did not see sports lines on the tracker at the bottom of the screen, or even have them mentioned on different sports shows. Now it’s weird if sports gambling is not included in some fashion on TV, the radio, or the internet.

One future bet that has always caught my eye is the Heisman odds.

Kyren Williams arrived in 2019 but had to wait his turn. Williams only had four carries for 26 yards in his first year in blue and gold, but he was not one of the main running backs because of guys like Tony Jones Jr., Jafar Armstrong, and C’Bo Flemister getting the majority of the carries. By playing in only two games in 2019 Williams preserved an extra year of eligibility down the road, too.

Last year, Williams came into camp knowing this was a job he could win to be the featured back. He not only won the job, but proved he was the right man for the job as he rushed for 1,125 yards on 211 carries, and 13 touchdowns on the ground. Williams was also great catching out of the backfield with 35 receptions for 313 yards, and one receiving touchdown. You may remember that receiving touchdown well when Ian Book was getting in a workout running around against the North Carolina defense and found Williams for the score in the first half.

Williams really proved he could be the main back for many years to come overall. The St. Louis native has the speed, the strength, and the make-you-miss type moves in space as well that you look for in a featured back.

According to a number of betting sites, Kyren Williams is currently +10000 at the moment to win the Heisman. For the non-betters out there, this means that if you placed a $10 bet for Williams to win the Heisman, and he did you would net $1,010.

Am I saying Williams should be the favorite? No, but that seems extremely high guy for a guy who had one of the better seasons on the ground in all of college football last year. Yes, Notre Dame has had multiple offensive linemen, and Book, move on to the NFL, but Williams is still going to be the featured back and has only gotten bigger and stronger in the offseason as well.

Offensive coordinator Tommy Rees, and whoever wins the quarterback job for Notre Dame will both be relying on Williams to help carry a heavy load for the Irish.

Notre Dame does have a solid 1-2 punch in their backfield in Williams and speedster Chris Tyree, so maybe an expanded role comes into play for the latter on why some betting sites have Williams a little lower with their Heisman odds. Even with Tyree and others getting carries for the Irish it would not shock me to see Kyren Williams surpass 20 touchdowns, or get very close overall this year.

https://twitter.com/NDonNBC/status/1325237015454081026?s=20

Always, and I mean always bet responsibility, but if I were you I would throw a few bucks on Williams here to win the Heisman.

Former Alabama wide out, and the reigning Heisman winner Devonta Smith had huge odds like Williams coming into the season last year, so maybe it happens for a second year in a row. I’ve learned over the years when it comes to sports betting the saying of right team, right price. In this scenario, it becomes right player, right price in betting Williams.

Go ahead and bet consider betting Williams to win the Heisman, and maybe we can both win some money together come December.