Tetairoa McMillan Heisman Odds: How Many Wide Receivers Have Won Award?

We were treated to some incredible performances in Week 1 of the college football season. But it's hard to top what we saw from Tetairoa McMillan on Saturday.

The Arizona star set a new school record with 304 receiving yards and four touchdowns in the Wildcats' 61-39 win over New Mexico State, bolstering his team's Big 12 championship odds in the process.

McMillan was priced as high as 150/1 in the preseason Heisman Trophy odds, but he's down to as short as 28/1 after that Week 1 performance.

Can he join the short list of wide receivers who have won college football's top individual award? And is there value in betting him at this point?

How many wide receivers have won Heisman Trophy?

Four wide receivers have won the Heisman Trophy in the 89-year history of the award, with Alabama wideout DeVonta Smith the most recent to take home the honor in the 2020 season.

While all four winners played receiver as their primary position, two of them played multiple positions and all four returned at least one kick for a score – which speaks to just how hard it is to win the Heisman on receiving stats alone.

Three wideouts came in second in Heisman voting, while two others finished third. That means just nine receivers have ever been finalists to win the most coveted award in college sports.

Here's a look at every receiver to win the Heisman Trophy, along with their statistical resume when the award was announced:

Johnny Rodgers (1972)

While Johnny “The Jet” Rodgers was the first wide receiver to win the Heisman Trophy, he also played running back for Nebraska, combining for 1,978 yards and 17 touchdowns to lead the Cornhuskers to an 8-2-1 record.

He actually finished with more rushing attempts (58) than receptions (54), and he also returned 47 kicks for 791 yards and two touchdowns – including the first score in the “Game of the Century” against Oklahoma.

Rodgers was a do-it-all offensive star in an era where true wide receivers weren't as prolific as they are now. That's why you'll see Rodgers left off some lists of previous Heisman-winning receivers, though the official Heisman Trophy Trust considers him to be the first wideout to win it.

Tim Brown (1987)

Much like Rodgers, Tim Brown played flanker for Notre Dame but also ran it 34 times for 144 yards and returned three punts for touchdowns – including back-to-back returns in Week 2 against Michigan State to kick off his candidacy.

He ranked sixth nationally in all-purpose yardage (167.9 YPG) despite double and triple teams on nearly every possession, helping the Fighting Irish post an 8-3 record before losing in the Cotton Bowl.

He went on to enjoy a Hall of Fame NFL career with the Los Angeles / Oakland Raiders and Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and he's still considered one of the best to ever play the position at any level.

Desmond Howard (1991)

Four years after Brown won it, Desmond Howard became the third wide receiver to win the award – and he also made some of his biggest plays in the return game.

The Michigan star finished his junior season with a ridiculous 19 touchdowns through the air, but it was his 93-yard punt return against rival Ohio State – and his celebration after it – that became the signature moment for his Heisman campaign.

Howard averaged 15.5 yards every time he touched the ball and won the Heisman Trophy by the second-widest margin (1,574 points) at the time. It still ranks as the fifth-biggest landslide in the history of the award.

DeVonta Smith (2020)

Before the final month of the regular season, it was no guarantee that DeVonta Smith would become the first receiver to win the Heisman Trophy in almost three decades.

Then he went on a six-week run for the record books, catching 53 passes for 955 yards and 13 touchdowns over the second half of the season to keep Alabama's perfect season alive.

He punctuated that historic run with the first and only punt return touchdown of his career against Arkansas – an 84-yard statement that effectively secured the award.

The Crimson Tide finished with two other players in the top five – quarterback Mac Jones (third) and running back Najee Harris (fifth) – but neither could match Smith, who finished with the most receptions and receiving yards of any Heisman winner.

Tetairoa McMillan Heisman odds

Odds via our best college football betting sites as of Tuesday, Sept. 3.

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The best time to bet McMillan to win the Heisman Trophy would have been a few days ago, when he was dealing as high as 150/1 to claim the award ahead of Week 1. The next-best time would be right now.

While McMillan is viewed as a potential top-10 pick by the NFL draft odds, he entered the season as a long shot after an offseason leg injury slowed him in the spring. He looked just fine on Saturday, falling 10 yards short of the Big 12 single-game record (314) in his school's conference debut.

In the end, McMillan finished with more catches (10) than the rest of his teammates combined (nine), and his 304 yards accounted for nearly half of Arizona's 624 total yards. After the game, quarterback Noah Fifita said his top target is “the best player in the country,” and he sure made one heck of a case on the field.

While Saturday's effort will likely be his best all year, McMillan's odds should only shorten as the hype builds around him – assuming he keeps putting up numbers and Arizona continues to win games to bolster its College Football Playoff odds.

If either of those don't happen, his odds will once again plummet … but he isn't winning the award in that case, which is the price you pay when betting a long shot. That's why I'd recommend betting him now if you plan to bet him at all.

His biggest competition in the non-QB market is Colorado star Travis Hunter, who caught seven passes for 132 yards and three scores in the opener. Yet the Buffaloes will be lucky to win six games, which simply isn't enough to win the Heisman.

He also has to contend with Missouri's Luther Burden, who finished with just 49 yards in the opener. Boise State star running back Ashton Jeanty went off for 267 rushing yards and six touchdowns, but he faces even longer odds at 100/1 with a tougher path as a Group of Five star.

Without a marquee quarterback this year, this feels like as good of a season as any to bet a non-QB to win the Heisman Trophy. And McMillan is already putting together a compelling case to make history as a long shot.

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