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Justin ranks the top 10 Heisman Trophy contenders for the 2025 college football season. Where do players like Arch Manning and Garrett Nussmeier rank?
After an exciting 2024 Heisman race between Colorado's Travis Hunter and Boise State's Ashton Jeanty, the 2025 race looks like it might be a little more "normal." By that, I mean quarterbacks from top programs look to be the early favorites.
Who are those quarterbacks? You'll find a mixture of names below, from returning starters like LSU's Garrett Nussmeier to newcomers like Ohio State's Julian Sayin.
Below are the top 10 Heisman contenders for the 2025 college football season.
10. Carson Beck - QB - Miami
I bought into the Carson Beck hype before last season, considering him one of the top Heisman candidates. In 2025, I'm not falling for that. Beck's among the top 10 candidates, but he's at the tail end.
Breaking: Georgia transfer quarterback Carson Beck has committed to Miami, sources told @PeteThamel. pic.twitter.com/SUvBxqJ9Kv
— ESPN (@espn) January 10, 2025
Beck moves from Georgia to Miami this season, which is something that should help improve his numbers. Note the italics on "should," though – just because Cam Ward was a Heisman finalist in this offense doesn't mean Beck will be.
9. Dante Moore - QB - Oregon
Oregon quarterback Dillon Gabriel was third in the 2024 Heisman voting, a year after Oregon quarterback Bo Nix was third in the 2023 Heisman voting. Can Dante Moore be the third Heisman finalist in a row for the Ducks?
While Moore doesn't enter this season with the same level of production behind him that Gabriel and Nix had, that doesn't mean he won't be prolific in an offense that's built to create big numbers for its quarterbacks.
Moore's first stint as a college starter at UCLA was uneven, but there were flashes of brilliance, like his three-touchdown day in his first college start against San Diego State.
8. LaNorris Sellers - QB - South Carolina
South Carolina was one of the biggest surprises in the nation last season. Shane Beamer's team won nine games, the most since 2017's nine-win campaign.
Much of the credit for that goes to quarterback LaNorris Sellers, who completed 65.6 percent of his passes for 2,534 yards and 18 touchdowns while rushing for 674 yards and another seven scores.
Sellers would be higher on this list if not for the Gamecocks having an incredibly tough schedule. Realistically, the team probably needs to improve on its 2024 performance for Sellers to have a shot, but having to face LSU, Oklahoma, Alabama, Ole Miss, Texas A&M, and Clemson as six of the final seven games will make that difficult.
7. Nico Iamaleava - QB - Tennessee
2024 was a strong year for the Volunteers as the team made the playoff field and won 10 games, just its second season with double-digit wins since 2007.
Quarterback Nico Iamaleava was a big part of that success, but there's still room for him to improve after a season that saw him complete 63.8 percent of his passes for 2,616 yards with 19 passing touchdowns and just five interceptions. He rushed for 358 yards and three touchdowns as well.
He needs to improve his accuracy a bit, but if that happens, then Iamaleava will be a Heisman favorite in 2025.
6. Julian Sayin - QB - Ohio State
There are a number of first-year starters who could make a big impression in 2025. One is Oregon's Moore, who I highlighted earlier. Michigan's Bryce Underwood and Alabama's Ty Simpson could make an impact as well.
His playing time was brief this year but Julian Sayin could be the next stud QB in college football pic.twitter.com/ARbhJeM9TS
— Hyper Highlights (@HyperHighl14229) January 30, 2025
The most likely quarterback out of these unknown options to emerge as a Heisman candidate is Ohio State's Julian Sayin, simply by virtue of the fact that he's the one who enters the best situation, taking over as QB of the defending champions and having an elite No. 1 receiver to throw the ball to. And speaking of...
5. Jeremiah Smith - WR - Ohio State
Jeremiah Smith enters 2025 as the most likely position player to win the Heisman. This list is highlighted by quarterbacks because seven of the last nine Heisman Trophies have gone to quarterbacks, but wide receivers have made a dent at times, winning the other two in that span.
(Quick digression: Travis Hunter won in 2024 and is a wide receiver, but he was also a defensive back, and that two-way ability was the biggest factor.)
Smith led the Big Ten in receiving yards and touchdowns as a freshman, dominating right from the start. He had six catches for 92 yards and two touchdowns in his collegiate debut against Akron.
Really, the biggest question I have here is that if Ohio State ends up being the best team in the country, who'll get the most credit and thus the most Heisman hype?
4. Cade Klubnik - QB - Clemson
2024 was a breakout year for Clemson quarterback Cade Klubnik, as he threw for 36 touchdowns and just six interceptions. His previous high for touchdowns had been 19 of them in 2023.
It feels like Klubnik has been around forever, but he's only played three seasons and 37 games. He was written off after 2023, but he showcased last year that he just needed more time.
Klubnik also made the coolest play of the 2024 season:
Lifetime Chap, Cade Klubnik, scores the game-winning touchdown on a 50-yard run to lead Clemson to a 24-20 win over Pitt. We have Chaps making plays all over the nation today. We see you, Cade. #ALLIN #GoChaps pic.twitter.com/Aa6SKv2EDW
— WestlakeNation (@Westlake_Nation) November 16, 2024
Clemson enters 2025 as the ACC favorite. As long as the Tigers live up to expectations, Klubnik will be in the Heisman conversation.
3. Drew Allar - QB - Penn State
Can we call a team that made the playoffs a sleeper the next season? Probably not, but thanks to the continuity it has with the return of Drew Allar, the Nittany Lions enter 2025 with their best shot at a national title since the Joe Paterno days.
Allar is coming off a strong year, completing 66.5 percent of his pass attempts for 3,327 yards and 24 touchdowns. While he fell one touchdown shy of his 2023 total and threw six more picks than he did the prior season, Allar's overall improvement in his accuracy helped propel Penn State to 13 wins. That's the most wins in program history.
2. Arch Manning - QB - Texas
Anything can happen once the college football season actually arrives, but at least at this early stage, the Heisman battle looks like a two-player race. Of course, no one expected a Travis Hunter and Ashton Jeanty top two at this time last year, so bet your house on one of these two guys.
ARCH MANNING COMES INTO THE GAME ON FOURTH DOWN AND SCORES AN UNREAL TOUCHDOWN 🔥
TEXAS STRIKES FIRST IN COLLEGE STATION 😤 pic.twitter.com/dLUneP8qpf
— ESPN (@espn) December 1, 2024
Texas quarterback Arch Manning will take over the Horns' job full-time in 2025 after making a few starts in 2024 while Quinn Ewers was injured. That includes a start against Mississippi State that saw Manning complete 83.9 percent of his passes for 325 yards and two touchdowns.
Manning is still a bit of a mystery, but his two starts (and the numerous snaps he had against UTSA when Ewers went down) suggest he can be one of college football's best players.
1. Garrett Nussmeier - QB - LSU
Two of the past six Heisman winners have been LSU quarterbacks, so why not make it three of them in seven seasons?
Garrett Nussmeier enters 2025 as the betting favorite to win the award. In his first year as a starter, Nussmeier led the SEC in completions and pass attempts. He finished the year with 4,052 yards and 29 touchdowns, though he tossed an SEC-worst 12 interceptions.
If Nussmeier is able to cut down on the turnovers this season, he'll be in a great position to hoist the Heisman at the end of the year. He's a skilled passer playing in an offense where he can put up video game numbers.
It's also worth noting that he cleaned some of the issues up late in the year. Over his final four games, Nussmeier was picked off just once.
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