It’s not exactly scientific, but if you look at Heisman Trophy odds for the 2025 season, the list of favorites looks a lot different than they did in recent seasons. Two years ago, we had Caleb Williams as a favorite coming off a Heisman-winning season. Last year, it was Dillon Gabriel, who may not have been as accomplished but had plenty of experience and stepped into a good situation.
This year, the favorite is LSU’s Garrett Nussmeier. After him it’s Texas‘ Arch Manning, and then you get to Clemson’s Cade Klubnik. The next two quarterbacks — Oregon’s Dante Moore and Ohio State’s Julian Sayin — haven’t even been named starters yet.
There are a lot of question marks at the position heading into 2025. Far more so than in recent years when COVID eligibility led to so many players sticking around longer. So when the question was posed on a recent episode of the Cover 3 Podcast about who our top 10 returning quarterbacks were (the stipulation being that they had to have started at least one game in 2024), it was tough to put together a list.
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Considering how different my list looked compared to my co-hosts, it’s clear I wasn’t the only one grappling with the question. In the end, I found my 10, but it’s not an overly confident 10. I considered experience, potential and situation. What I did not consider was NFL Draft stock. I’m sure you’ll disagree with plenty. You should. That’s the point. Nobody knows right now, which is both exciting and terrifying.
