The college football calendar may be in its down interval, however we maintain transferring alongside in previewing the 2025 faculty soccer season. A few weeks in the past, I shared my post-spring prime 25 rankings. Now, I wish to share my prime 10 quarterbacks for the upcoming season.
Once I did this train final yr, I truly solely ranked the 5 finest quarterbacks within the sport coming into the season. This is not an inventory of fellows who I essentially suppose can have the ten finest statistical seasons in 2025. Reasonably, these are the ten quarterbacks who I feel can have the very best seasons between particular person efficiency and main their groups to a profitable season.
So, listed below are the ten quarterbacks who I feel can have the very best seasons in 2025.
I truly had Beck at No. 1 after I did this checklist final offseason, and I really feel like this rating is giving him the advantage of the doubt. There are quite a lot of issues that crept up in the course of the 2024 season and now within the offseason that give me a bit little bit of pause.
When it comes to on-field issues, Beck turned the ball over a bit an excessive amount of. Sure, Georgia wasn’t that gifted on the surface, and it had extra drops than any large receiver corps within the nation. That was clearly an issue and wasn’t essentially his fault. However he nonetheless turned the ball over an excessive amount of and you’ll’t count on your staff to carry out at its highest capabilities while you do this.
Off the sector, Beck is getting back from the UCL damage he suffered within the SEC Championship Recreation. We actually haven’t seen him throw within the spring and he hasn’t been in a position to kind any rapport together with his new staff and receivers. He was solely cleared to throw not too long ago. I feel that damage is a much bigger deal than individuals notice.
Nonetheless, I feel Beck is a extremely good participant. There’s a motive why I had him as my No. 1 quarterback coming into 2024.
This one would possibly shock some and there have been a number of different names I debated placing at No. 9 and 10 (reminiscent of Baylor’s Sawyer Robertson and Iowa State’s Rocco Becht) earlier than settling with Altmyer and Beck. I picked these two to spherical out my prime 10 due to expertise. This shall be Altmyer’s third season beginning. We’ve seen that the quarterbacks who play finest on this NIL, switch portal period are guys with quite a lot of expertise.
Altmyer isn’t the flashiest man in my prime 10. He additionally doesn’t play in an offense that may permit him to put up big-time stats. However he’s on a staff that gained 10 video games final season and Illinois has a schedule that would permit it to succeed in the School Soccer Playoff. His touchdown-to-interception ratio a yr in the past was 22-6. I actually like that. He can even run when he must.
Sellers took off within the second half of final season and if he can maintain that in 2025, then we’ve acquired a star on our palms.
Sellers is big at 6-foot-3 and 240 kilos, so he’s actually powerful to deliver down. He’s additionally athletic and might get out on the sting. That was obvious within the Clemson sport when Sellers rushed for 160 yards. He nonetheless has some room to develop as a passer, however I’m going to wager on the potential and I feel he might be an All-SEC man.
Much like Sellers, Lagway additionally took off late final season. I feel SEC followers are going to be a bit nervous about their groups dealing with Lagway. He’s a star and might be a famous person by the tip of the yr. He got here in at halftime of that Tennessee sport and almost pulled off the upset. I do know Volunteers followers don’t just like the matchup towards the Gators as a lot this yr in comparison with latest years due to Lagway. That’s how good Lagway already is.
After departing the Georgia sport early because of damage and lacking the Texas sport, Lagway returned and helped Florida win its remaining 4 video games. These wins included victories over LSU and Ole Miss, outplaying Jaxson Dart within the latter. He nonetheless had some interceptions, turnovers and accomplished simply 60% of his passes, so he’s acquired to wash that up. However you possibly can count on a few of these errors from a freshman.
Nussmeier may not be probably the most athletic man on the market, however he’s big and threw for over 4,000 yards final yr. He’s an absolute gunslinger – good and dangerous, he can take some probabilities – however he’s going to place up numbers and I feel LSU shall be a extremely good staff this season. In reality, I feel this needs to be Brian Kelly’s finest LSU staff but, partly due to Nussmeier.
Like a number of different quarterbacks on this checklist, Nussmeier wants to chop down on the turnovers. He had 15 final season. He’s a conventional pocket passer who gained’t bail you out together with his legs, so minimizing turnovers is a should. These gamers aren’t the erasers that athletic quarterbacks are.
LSU actually improved its large receiver corps, probably permitting Nussmeier to enhance his turnover downside. He needs to be actually terrific, although, in 2025.
I attempted to tempo myself with this rating as a result of I’m additionally actually excessive on Penn State, who I ranked No. 1 in my post-spring prime 25. I’ve cherished Allar since I watched him heat up for his first sport as a real freshman in 2022, however he is acquired to take the following step in 2025.
I’ve seen the expansion with Allar thus far. He performed some wonderful soccer in 2024. Some would possibly level on the stats and disagree. Nevertheless, while you have a look at how he performed the place, his accuracy, decision-making, growth and far more, he confirmed some good things. There isn’t any doubt there are issues he can get higher at, however his large receivers had been beneath common. That is not unreasonable shade. That group of gamers did not document a reception in a CFP sport final season.
Texas & Ohio State in Joel Klatt’s Submit-Spring prime 5 groups
Allar has gotten a nasty rap, even from some Penn State followers. However he is acquired unbelievable talent ranges and has proven the power to run, even when he may not use his legs to tear up opposing defenses. He took a step ahead with offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki final season and was higher at pushing the ball down the sector.
The subsequent step for Allar, and his staff, is that he has to beat a program that Penn State is both equal to or lesser than from a expertise standpoint. I feel Allar can play greater than this rating and I would not be shocked if his identify entered the Heisman dialog in some unspecified time in the future subsequent season.
Leavitt had an ideal 2024 season and will have an incredible yr in 2025. The Solar Devils need to discover a manner, although, to make up for the lack of working again Cam Skattebo. He was so necessary to them simply from a numbers standpoint.
Leavitt will get large receiver Jordyn Tyson again, no less than. As another quarterbacks on this checklist have questions at receiver or misplaced their prime goal from final season, Leavitt will proceed to throw balls to a man who had 1,101 receiving yards final season. Leavitt can also be a risk to make performs together with his legs, dashing for 60 yards within the CFP loss to Texas this previous season.
This offense underneath third-year coach Kenny Dillingham ought to put up factors and have an opportunity to repeat as Large 12 champs. It will be tough because of the depth of the league, however Leavitt ought to assist give them an opportunity.
Primarily based on what I’ve seen from different quarterback rankings, I am very excessive on the Washington State switch in comparison with others. Once I ready to name the Vacation Bowl between Washington State and Syracuse, I got here away so impressed with Mateer after watching each single one in all his performs on movie. He is actually gifted as a thrower and athletic. He quietly put up among the finest seasons for a quarterback within the nation final yr as he was the one participant to common no less than 250 passing yards and 50 dashing yards. Should you took out sack yardage, Mateer would’ve had over 1,000 dashing yards.
Now, Mateer shall be within the highlight. There’ll clearly be a soar in competitors for Mateer. Nevertheless, he adopted his Washington State offensive coordinator, Ben Arbuckle, to Norman. So, he will not need to be taught a brand new system like another quarterbacks who had been on the transfer this offseason.
The No. 1 choose within the NFL Draft, Cam Ward, performed on the identical stage he was at with Washington State when he transferred to Miami. I would not be shocked if we noticed one thing related with Mateer. Oklahoma and Mateer can have a a lot harder schedule than what Miami and Ward had final season, however the brand new Sooners quarterback will get an opportunity to point out his mettle once they host Michigan in Week 2.
I’ve acquired to rank Manning this excessive as a result of I imagine in him, his coach and this system round him. Sure, I do know I am large on expertise, however did you see him play in these two video games final yr? Steve Sarkisian has all the time performed a robust job of constructing across the instruments he has. He has a giant quarterback in Manning, who’s 6-4, 225 kilos, can transfer and has a robust arm.
In reality, I feel Manning’s acquired a stronger arm than Quinn Ewers. There was a distinction to the offense when Manning was taking part in final season in comparison with when Ewers was underneath middle. That is not a knock on Ewers, however Manning made Texas’ offense extra dynamic. He was in a position to put extra defensive gamers in battle than Ewers. Manning can put edge rushers in battle, which I do not suppose some individuals knew he may do due to his athleticism. He can even put safeties in battle due to his means to threaten the whole discipline together with his arm and legs.
Arch Manning & Cade Klubnik in Joel Klatt’s prime three QBs for the 2025 season
Manning goes to be actually good. It may be a projection and the final identify may be inflicting some bias, however it looks like that is simply going to work out. If there have been a quarterback with the very same construct and traits, however with a unique final identify whereas taking part in underneath Sarkisian and that Texas offense, I might really feel simply as robust about that participant, too.
Whereas Manning would not have expertise, sitting and studying the final two seasons needs to be invaluable and can permit him to hit the bottom working. He jogs my memory quite a lot of Trevor Lawrence while you see him get transferring with the ball in his palms – we noticed that on a few TD runs final yr. I feel that is a really applicable comparability, and we noticed what Lawrence was in a position to do immediately for Clemson.
I am a giant believer in Clemson for the 2025 season, primarily as a result of I feel Klubnik would be the finest quarterback within the nation. There have been some questions surrounding Klubnik at the moment final yr, with a few of us questioning if he could lead on Clemson again to title rivalry.
However Klubnik started to quell these issues final season and confirmed why he was the No. 1-ranked quarterback in his recruiting class. He was in a position to efficiently push the ball down the sector extra, finishing the third-most passes with an air yardage of no less than 20 yards. He is actually athletic as nicely.
On prime of all of that, Klubnik has some actually gifted receivers round him and can have offensive coordinator Garrett Riley again. So, it is an ideal storm for him. He suits the prototype of the quarterback prone to have probably the most success coming into 2025. It will be actually tough for me to select anybody aside from Klubnik as my preseason Heisman favourite. We should always count on an ideal season out of him.
Joel Klatt is FOX Sports activities’ lead faculty soccer sport analyst and the host of the podcast “The Joel Klatt Show.” Comply with him at @joelklatt and subscribe to the “Joel Klatt Show” on YouTube.
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