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Chris Wassel of RotoBaller ranks the top 10 quarterbacks for the 2025 college football season. Where do players like Arch Manning and Garrett Nussmeier rank?
After quite a wild 2024 college football season, where the quarterbacks were overshadowed a bit by wide receivers and running backs, the 2025 season looks like a batch of older and newer quarterbacks are primed to make their next steps.
Below, we have a way-too-early list of the 10 best potential QBs, from returning starters like LSU's Garrett Nussmeier to a new starter in the name of Texas' Arch Manning.
Below are the top 10 quarterbacks for the 2025 college football season.
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10. Carson Beck - QB - Miami
Carson Beck is going to a pretty solid program at Miami. It will be interesting to see who are his receivers, running back, etc. Mario Cristobal and his staff believe they can curb Beck's propensity to make mistakes. Beck has thrown over 850 passes in the last two years, which led the SEC.
A lot of pundits assume an improvement and bounce-back is coming for Beck. Playing in the ACC seems easier, but Clemson can always be tough. It will be interesting to see what the Hurricanes' schedule looks like regarding out-of-conference opponents.
Beck has one more shot at this. Not every quarterback produces the same as the previous signal-caller. Miami hopes it can find lightning in a bottle. Honestly, Beck has potential but is a big question mark heading into the fall.
9. Sam Leavitt - QB - Arizona State
Can Sam Leavitt do it again? The redshirt freshman threw for nearly 2,900 yards and 24 touchdowns, then added 443 more rushing yards and five touchdowns on the ground.
Naturally, there will be some uncertainty and disagreement. However, Leavitt has one strong arm and will have a healthy Jordyn Tyson. That will make a huge difference as Arizona State tries to make the College Football Playoff again.
This will be Leavitt's team. Can he withstand the pressure of defending off the previous year's results? Kenny Dillingham and his staff believe a ton in the young player.
Leavitt might not lead the Big 12 in yards this season, but he could come close. Again, his dual-threat prowess is expected to become more pronounced in 2025.
Late nights are going to be fun in Arizona again this season with Leavitt as the Sun Devils signal-caller.
8. Dante Moore - QB - Oregon
The problem with any list like this is, inevitably, leaving some quarterbacks off. Kevin Jennings led SMU to an improbable run and a playoff spot last season. Several other quarterbacks are worthy of being on any top 10 list. Anyway, Oregon's Dillon Gabriel and Bo Nix both finished third in the Heisman voting the past two seasons. The bar will be high for Dante Moore and the Ducks this season.
Dan Lanning figures to have a high-flying offense once again that highlights the quarterback's strengths. Moore can get the ball downfield and had a year at Oregon to get used to the pace of the offense he is about to run. The good news is he will be ready.
Moore did not have the best of seasons at UCLA, but then again, many talk about his three-touchdown start. Again, seeing how a quarterback like Gabriel handled defenses had to be helpful. It will be interesting to see what the Ducks and Moore do in 2025.
7. LaNorris Sellers - QB - South Carolina
South Carolina floored us in a good way in 2024. If the Gamecocks are going to do that again, they and LaNorris Sellers will have to step up against some even tougher competition. Shane Beamer and South Carolina won nine games as the Gamecocks accomplished this for the first time since 2017.
Sellers proved to be quite the run-pass option threat. He piled up 674 yards and seven touchdowns while passing for 2,534 yards and 18 scores. Also, Sellers completed 65.6 percent of his passes but will have to go up against Alabama, Clemson, Ole Miss, Texas A&M, and others in what will be a gauntlet of a final seven games.
If anyone can take that next step, it might be Sellers, who could shock us one more time in 2025.
6. Nico Iamaleava - QB - Tennessee
2024 was a very good year for Nico Iamaleava and the Tennessee Volunteers. The team won 10 games and made the playoff. Tennessee had not won this many games since 2007. However, the SEC is always a tough customer.
The quarterback totaled nearly 3,000 yards between rushing and passing. One major red flag with Iamaleava is accuracy, but a minor one may be situational play. Iamaleava did not take over some games as expected, maybe because he was still a redshirt freshman.
If the quarterback can make those deeper throws and assert himself into big games more often, Tennessee has a chance to win 10 games again in 2025.
5. Cade Klubnik - QB - Clemson
2024 featured a nice jump in numbers for Clemson quarterback Cade Klubnik, as he tossed 36 touchdowns and a mere six interceptions. That almost doubled his career high of 19 in 2023.
Klubnik has only played 37 games in three years, but the now-fourth-year signal-caller gets one last great opportunity with a Clemson squad that can again make the playoff. The quarterback made fewer mistakes (1.2 percent interception rate), improved yards per attempt (8.41), and saw his yards per catch jump to 11.8.
Just check out these Heisman odds.
Heisman Odds
Garrett Nussmeier +800
Arch Manning +900
Cade Klubnik +1000
Dante Moore & Jeremiah Smith +1200
Nico Iamaleava +1400
LaNorris Sellers, Drew Allar, Julian Sayin +1800
Carson Beck, DJ Lagway +2000
John Mateer +2500
Kevin Jennings +3000
Miller Moss, Gunner Stockton,…— CFB Home (@CFBHome) February 1, 2025
Clemson and Klubnik will be in the ACC and Heisman conversation as long as they start a little better than 2024.
4. Julian Sayin - QB - Ohio State
Big splashes from first-year starters could be more of the norm in 2025. Moore is up on the list, like Bryce Underwood from Michigan and even Alabama's Ty Simpson. However, Julian Sayin probably has a higher ceiling now that the weight of a national championship has been lifted off the shoulders of the Ohio State Buckeyes.
Anyway, the work is not done as Ryan Day and company try to defend their crown. Sayin gets a tailor-made offense and Jeremiah Smith to throw to. How could an incoming quarterback ask for anything more? The Buckeyes could light up scoreboards once again, led by Sayin in 2025.
3. Drew Allar - QB - Penn State
James Franklin and Drew Allar got Penn State to the Orange Bowl against Notre Dame. Could 2025 mean another shot at the national title game? It helps the band is mostly back together as the Nittany Lions enter the upcoming season with a good chance to win that elusive championship.
Allar completed just about two-thirds of his passes in 2024 (66.5 percent), along with 3,327 yards and 24 touchdowns. While Allar got picked eight times, he averaged 12.7 yards per completion. The signal-caller could improve a little more in big-game moments. If Allar does that, then the Nittany Lions could be in that final game.
2. Garrett Nussmeier - QB - LSU
Garrett Nussmeier is not afraid to chuck that pigskin. He attempted 525 passes in 2024 for LSU and threw for 4,052 yards. There were 29 touchdowns and 12 interceptions. Sure, the interceptions hurt, but the Tigers signal-caller was not afraid. LSU quarterbacks have a way of hammering down big final seasons. Could Nussmeier be next?
It all comes down to mistakes and miscues. For Nussmeier, this is even more than turnovers. He has to stop missing open receivers. That tended to happen when games got close. Maybe he got tight. Whatever the reason, if that improves, LSU could rise back up the SEC and then some in 2025.
If the final four games were any indication, the rise would possibly be close at hand.
1. Arch Manning - QB - Texas
In theory, the top two quarterbacks on this list should be early favorites for the Heisman and potentially lead their teams close to a national championship game. Anyway, no quarterback comes in with more hype than Arch Manning. For better or for worse, Manning will be the starter at Texas for 2025.
Four #Longhorns have been named to ESPN’s “Way Too Early” All-American Team.
LB Anthony Hill Jr. - First Team
QB Arch Manning - Second Team
DE Colin Simmons - Second Team
S Michael Taaffe - Second Team@OnTexasFootball pic.twitter.com/r62WHKSoZh— Blake Munroe (@BlakeMunroeOTF) February 3, 2025
Everyone remembers the Mississippi State game, where Manning completed more than five out of every six passes for 325 yards and two scores.
Manning is a risk here, but if Steve Sarkisian lets the quarterback play, Texas might just be able to get past more than a round in the College Football Playoff. It is not a secret that the nephew of Peyton and Eli has the ability and a lot more mobility. Look out for him in 2025!
