Bryce Young earns new nickname, named Heisman favorite by Matt Leinart, Brady Quinn

The Heisman Trophy debate is raging on with just a couple weeks left in the season. Will it be CJ Stroud? Kenneth Walker III? Bryce Young? Matt Corral? Or will a dark horse swoop in?

FOX analysts Matt Leinart and Brady Quinn shared their predictions Saturday morning ahead of Week 12. Leinart, who won a Heisman Trophy at USC, is rolling with Young.

“For me, it’s still Bryce Young at Alabama,” Leinart said. “He is probably the most unassuming star in college football we’ve seen in a handful of years. Eleven to one, touchdown to interception ratio. He’s balling and just steady and consistent every single week.

“And the moment, talk about Heisman moments, talk about Georgia in a couple weeks. I’m fast-forwarding this, Georgia in the SEC Championship Game against that defense. If he wins that and goes off, you might as well hand him the trophy after that.”

Brady Quinn has interesting nickname for Bryce Young

Quinn, a former Notre Dame standout who finished third in the Heisman voting in 2006, also had high praise for Young. He went so far as to give him a new nickname: “The Eraser.”

“I like to call him ‘The Eraser’ because he makes up for a lot of mistakes up front,” said Quinn. “There’s been no quarterback in the SEC that’s been under more duress than him and he’s got 14 touchdowns to just one interception under pressure. 

“He’s clutch. I think he’s the front-runner.”

Young’s having a spectacular season for Alabama. He’s second in the SEC with 302.5 passing yards, but is third in the nation with 33 passing touchdowns. Alabama is 9-1 this year, and Young is a huge reason why.

Alabama is getting ready for a big SEC showdown with Arkansas Saturday at 3:30 p.m. ET on CBS. With a win and an Ole Miss loss, the Crimson Tide can lock up the SEC West title and secure a spot in the league championship game.

Bryce Young the betting favorite to win the Heisman heading into Week 12

In fact, Young is the betting favorite to win the Heisman Trophy. He’s +150 to win the award, followed by Walker and Stroud (+300 each) and Corral (+500).

Check out who Vegas Insider is giving the best odds at taking the podium ahead of Week 12.

Heisman Favorites

Bryce Young, Alabama (+150)

Kenneth Walker III, Michigan State (+300)

C.J. Stroud, Ohio State (+300)

Matt Corral, Ole Miss (+500)

The Underdogs

Kenny Pickett, Pittsburgh (+2000)

Sam Hartman, Wake Forest (+3000)

Caleb Williams, Oklahoma (+3000)

TreVeyon Henderson, Ohio State (+3000)

Desmond Ridder, Cincinnati (+5000)

Jordan Davis, Georgia (+5000)

Brian Robinson, Alabama (+8000)

Will Anderson Jr., Alabama (+8000)