Matt Barkley's return to USC also means a return to the top of the early Heisman favorites list -- at least according to Danny Sheridan, oddsmaker for USA Today. Sheridan has Barkley as the 5-1 favorite to win the Heisman Trophy next season, the very award that went to Robert Griffin III out of Baylor just months ago.
Barkley could have been a top ten pick in this year's NFL Draft, but he decided to return to school. So did Montee Ball of Wisconsin and he's listed as the second favorite at 6-1. Other top candidates include Landry Jones, the Oklahoma quarterback, and Geno Smith, quarterback of West Virginia. That means the Big 12 is going to have several favorites among the top.
However, an interesting inclusion from Sheridan is Dayne Crist, the new quarterback for Kansas under Charlie Weis. Crist is listed at 25-1 odds and is ahead of some like A.J. McCarron or Keith Price. It's an interesting inclusion for a team that was a basement dweller this last season. Even that shows just how much hope the arrival of Charlie Weis gives the Jayhawks football program.