The five stories that explain why Arch Manning was built for this moment
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Dave Wilson
THIBODEAUX, La. — In the middle of a sweltering August day in south Louisiana, Archibald “Arch” Manning, son of Cooper, grandson of Archie, nephew of Peyton and Eli, roams the fields of his ancestral homeland, the Manning Passing Academy, where quarterbacks are grown.
This is Year 29 of the MPA, and Arch’s dad and uncles have been present for every one, beginning when Cooper had just graduated from Ole Miss, Peyton was a freshman at Tennessee and Eli was a camper as a sophomore in high school.
Archie, the patriarch of football’s first family, surveys 48 of the best college quarterbacks in America — this year’s counselors. There’s one who stands out: A moppy-haired 6-4, 200-pound Texas Longhorns quarterback, who just happens to be his grandson.
“Arch has come full circle,” he said.
Archie, 76, has nine grandchildren. Eli’s four kids in New York. Peyton’s twins in Denver. But Cooper’s three –May, who just graduated from Virginia, Arch, a junior at Texas, and Heid, a sophomore at Texas — all grew up in New Orleans and were constants in his life.
Arch, his namesake, is the one who has gone into the family business and today is a big day. Last year, Arch didn’t compete in the skills competition or serve in any official capacity, wanting Quinn Ewers to represent Texas at the camp.
Now, Arch is the starter at Texas. But more importantly on this day, he’s a Manning Passing Academy counselor. At the sight, Archie’s memories start playing out in his eyes; he sees 4-year-old Arch, roaming the fields at Nicholls State, wearing an MPA T-shirt.
“He wore glasses when he was a little boy,” Archie said. “I can remember how excited he was when he first got to be a camper — eighth grade — a real camper, and stay in the dorm. I used to sneak off and watch his 7-on-7 games. I remember one year his coach was Trevor Lawrence. That was pretty cool. And now he’s a full counselor. Unbelievable.”
It’s the first step in a big year for perhaps the most famous quarterback in college football history.
“Just climbing the ladder,” Arch said.
Now, summer camp is over, Arch is on the top rung and the hot-take economy awaits his first start. He’ll lead No. 1 Texas into Columbus, Ohio, to take on No. 3 Ohio State on Saturday (noon ET, Fox), opening the season as ESPN BET’s leading Heisman candidate.
For two years, Arch has laid low, but that hasn’t stopped the hype. At Sugar Bowl media day in 2023, a throng of reporters surrounded him while the starter, Ewers, waited at a nearly empty podium. Whenever Arch entered games, Texas fans took to their feet. When he lost his student ID the first week on campus, it made the local news. When his picture went missing from the wall of a local burger joint, a citywide search ensued.
All of this happened despite the family’s best efforts, not because of it.
“He ain’t even pissed a drop yet,” Archie protested when I contacted him about this story.
There are inherent advantages to being a Manning. They seem to be imbued with a mix of self-effacing humor and a relentless pursuit of excellence. But Arch is the first Manning to emerge into the world that social media created. We didn’t even know which schools Peyton visited. We didn’t have pictures of Eli popping up on our phones every day.
While Arch’s road to becoming his own Manning started off in much the same way as his uncles, his experience since has been unlike anyone else’s.
I. The Manning whisperer
DAVID CUTCLIFFE SAW the future in 1969 at Legion Field in Birmingham, Alabama. Cutcliffe, then 15, was there to see No. 15 Alabama playing No. 20 Ole Miss in the first night game ever televised in color. Though Cutcliffe was there as an invited guest of the Crimson Tide, and would go on to graduate from Alabama, he instead came away with a new hero.
No player had ever thrown for 300 yards and rushed for 100 in a major college football game. But that night, in a duel with Alabama’s Scott Hunter, Archie completed 33 of 52 passes for 436 yards and two touchdowns and ran 15 times for 104 yards and three scores. Bear Bryant and the Tide prevailed 33-32 but Cutcliffe was smitten.
“He was the only thing I could watch as a young high school guy,” Cutcliffe said. “Man, I’m watching Archie Manning. I didn’t want to see anybody else after that game.”
He had no idea that he would end up in Archie’s living room in New Orleans nearly 25 years later, trying to sell him on sending his son to Tennessee, where Cutcliffe was the offensive coordinator for Philip Fulmer. Both men laugh remembering when Cutcliffe visited and regaled Peyton with some film, while Archie, who was sitting in, drifted off for a nap.
“I’m probably the only coach in history that’s ever bored Archie Manning enough to put him asleep,” Cutcliffe said. “He has never bored me. He’s one of my favorite human beings on the face of the Earth.”
Between 1994 and 1997, with Cutcliffe as his mentor, Peyton became Tennessee‘s all-time leading passer, throwing for 11,201 yards and 89 touchdowns. Then, as the head coach at Ole Miss, he coached Eli from 2000 to 2003, as the quarterback also set school records with 10,119 passing yards and 81 TDs. So naturally, Cutcliffe always planned on making a pitch for Arch, and he didn’t wait long. He had a courier bring an Ole Miss scholarship offer to Cooper in the hospital the day Arch was born in 2004.
Cutcliffe was out of coaching when Arch actually committed to Texas, but he got to coach him after all. He started working with Arch at 10 years old.
“He was a talented youngster, a middle schooler,” Cutcliffe said. “He’s always been strong. You could see the physical abilities. But what I liked about Arch is Arch liked working. He does not have to be forced into work.”
Cooper was an All-State, 6-4 wide receiver before spinal stenosis ended his career, and Cooper’s mom, Ellen, is in the athletics Hall of Fame at Sacred Heart in New Orleans, where she ran track. Arch certainly had the right parents to be a world-class athlete, but the Manning family knows well that speed can’t be handed over in a will.
“Peyton, he was really determined,” Archie said, laughing. “One day he just asked me, ‘Dad, why am I not fast?’ I didn’t have an answer for that. Eli followed in that same mold. But I can remember when Arch first started playing flag football, the other boys couldn’t pull his flag. They couldn’t get him.”
Cutcliffe, who now works as a special assistant to SEC commissioner Greg Sankey, visits Arch in Austin and sometimes sits in on quarterback meetings and watches practice, which the Texas coaches encourage. Now, he can’t wait to watch Arch scramble around, the same way he couldn’t wait to watch Archie play that night at Legion Field.
“I think it’s a thing of beauty,” Cutcliffe said. “The fact that his name is Arch — short for Archie — it’s only appropriate.”
II. The lightness of being a Manning
FOR 29 YEARS, the Manning Passing Academy, Archie’s baby, has trained quarterbacks across the country, including 25 of last year’s 32 NFL starters. Archie is uniquely aware of the family’s role in the football ecosystem and understands the pressure on QBs. But he can’t understand all the attention showered on Arch before he has started a season opener in college. Archie is no fan of the discourse.
“It’s just so unfair it just kills me,” Archie said. “Even my old friend Steve Spurrier, on a podcast, he blows up Arch.”
In June, Spurrier appeared on “Another Dooley Noted Podcast” and noted Texas was a trendy pick for the SEC championship. “They’ve got Arch Manning already winning the Heisman,” Spurrier said. “If he was this good, how come they let Quinn Ewers play all the time last year? And he was a seventh-round pick.”
So Archie tries to keep his steady and remain a grandfather, preferring to stay out of the spotlight, but so many people have his phone number that he still becomes the go-to guy for a quote about Arch. Archie texts all nine grandchildren, who call him Red for his hair that was once that color, every morning. It could be a Bible verse, a motivational message, a thought for the day. Archie talks football sparingly, instead keeping it simple with Arch: He reminds him to be a good teammate, or checks on how practice is going.
“I get a lot of texts from him,” Arch said with a smile. “He can’t hear well. So he texts.”
And he might stick to texting. Archie has been bewildered at times during Arch’s college tenure by the way his quotes turn into headlines, like when he told a Texas Monthly reporter he thought Arch would return for his senior year.
“Yeah, I don’t know where he got that from,” a bemused Arch told reporters in response, noting that Archie texted him to apologize. For Archie, it was a reminder of how far his voice can travel, and why he has to be careful.
He tells a story from a decade ago. Arch was making the transition from flag football to tackle in sixth grade. While Archie was driving Arch to a baseball tournament, the grandson asked for his grandfather’s wisdom for the first time.
“Red, I’m going to be playing real football this year for the first time, and I’ll be the quarterback,” Arch said. “You got any advice for me?”
Archie lit up.
You’ve got to know your play, Archie told him. Stand outside the huddle. When you walk in that huddle, nobody else talks. You call that play with authority and get ’em in and out of the huddle. That’s called “huddle presence,” and it’s among the most important things for a quarterback.
“Well, Red,” Arch replied. “We don’t ever huddle.”
Showed what he knew, Archie said. So he makes it clear he is just around to watch his grandson fulfill his own dreams.
“Arch and I have a really good grandson-grandfather relationship, but I haven’t been part of this football journey,” Archie said.
Arch would disagree, however. While he loves to study Joe Burrow and Josh Allen, Arch says his original inspiration was watching Archie play in the “Book of Manning.” He would go out into the yard and try to emulate Red’s moves. But he also noticed that Archie got hit hard a lot. And that’s the one piece of advice that Archie, who walks with a cane, wants Arch to really take to heart.
“He reminds me pretty much every time I talk to him,” Arch said, “to get down or get out of bounds.”
Every member of the family plays a different role. They humble each other frequently, as any “ManningCast” viewer can attest. Eli loves to remind everybody that Peyton set the NFL record for most interceptions by a rookie. But the family members also are each other’s biggest supporters. Cooper notes how ridiculous it was early in Peyton’s career that he was written off as someone who couldn’t win a championship.
Football is a team sport, and the Mannings are a pretty good team. Archie does the big-picture stuff. Eli and Cooper lived inside the pressure cooker after following their legendary father to Ole Miss; they know how to handle fame. Peyton is the football obsessive who drills down on the details. No matter the problem, Arch has somebody he can ask for guidance.
“I threw a pick in a two-minute drill in the summer, and I texted Peyton, ‘Hey, any advice on how to get better in two-minute?” Arch said. “And it was like a 30-minute voice memo.”
Eli said he keeps it much shorter.
“You can’t try to be someone else. I think Arch is very comfortable in his own skin,” Eli said. “The best piece of advice I’ve ever given Arch is just try to throw it to the guys wearing the same color jersey you’re wearing. If you do that, you’ve got a chance.”
Cooper is the comedian of the family, and Arch’s brother, Heid, got that gift as well. Every member of the family agrees that nobody is having more fun than Heid.
“We go to dinner during the week, kind of a break from football life, and he’s a funny guy, so it’s comedic relief,” Arch said. “I’m blessed to have him at the University of Texas.”
Arch, Cooper and Archie all starred in a recent Waymo commercial for self-driving Ubers. Archie had no idea what they were shooting, just that they were getting together to film something. Arch and Cooper, who was given creative control of the ad, got a kick out of surprising him with the newfangled robot car.
“Really? This is really what we’re doing over here in Austin today?” Archie asked. “I couldn’t believe when it stopped at a stop sign. Blew me away.”
Levity is a key component in the Mannings’ shared DNA. Last year, after Arch’s second start, against Mississippi State, he lamented that he had been tight in his first game against UL Monroe, saying he forgot to have fun.
He said that again Monday, speaking to reporters before he makes his first road start against the defending national champions.
“I’m excited,” Arch said. “I mean this is what I’ve been waiting for. I spent two years not playing, so I might as well go have some fun.”
III. The winding road to Texas
DURING HIS RECRUITMENT, Arch visited a 15-0 Georgia team four times. He did the same with an 11-2 Alabama team. Texas, meanwhile, went 5-7. But Arch liked Steve Sarkisian’s work with quarterbacks and wanted to be part of a resurgence at Texas, a place that had been mired in mediocrity for most of a decade.
“I think he takes a lot of pride in going to Texas, coming off a losing record and being a part of something that’s only getting better,” Cooper said. “That’s when I learned a lot about Arch, not just going and chasing who’s the No. 1 or No. 2 or No. 5 team in the country.”
The Mannings knew Texas. All three of Archie’s sons visited, but they didn’t all have fond memories. The Longhorns had been among Cooper’s first major offers. Then, in December 1991, coach David McWilliams was fired and replaced by John Mackovic, who pulled Cooper’s offer.
Before his senior year, Peyton asked Archie to drive him to schools he wanted to see on unofficial visits. They gave Texas another look and set it up with Mackovic. When the pair got to Austin, Archie said, Mackovic was nowhere to be found. Instead, they met with offensive coordinator Gene Dahlquist, who didn’t even know they were coming.
Peyton asked Dahlquist who else the Longhorns were recruiting and asked if they could watch some film. So the Texas OC, Archie and Peyton watched high school film of other quarterbacks.
“Peyton said, ‘Coach, how do I stack up?'” Archie recalled. “He said, ‘You’re definitely in our top 12.'”
The Mannings know so many people in football that they don’t take sides in rivalries or — generally — hold any slights from the past against schools. They were tight with Mack Brown and his offensive coordinator, Greg Davis, who both had coached at Tulane and knew them well, so Eli gave the Longhorns serious consideration before opting for Ole Miss.
But Archie still says for Texas’ sake, it was probably fortunate that Arch was Cooper’s son and not Peyton’s. “Cooper never held it against them,” he said. “Peyton never forgot that. Anybody that knows Peyton knows that he doesn’t forget.”
Texas fit a specific vision that Arch had for his career. He didn’t want to live life as the most famous man in a small college town. Staying in the state capital and still getting to play SEC football held a greater appeal to him. He wanted to be just one of the guys.
“It’s not like Ty Simpson or Gunner Stockton at Alabama and Georgia, where the whole town rallies around it,” Arch said. “I can go to parts of Austin where no one really cares about [football], which is nice.”
Will Zurik, one of Arch’s best friends and his former running back at Isidore Newman in New Orleans, understands why. He recalled seeing people post pictures and videos of a seventh-grader Arch playing catch with Heid on Instagram. Just a few years later, Zurik said, it wasn’t just social media obsessing over Arch. Things were spilling over into real life. Before their sophomore year, several Newman teammates went to Thibodeaux to the Manning Passing Academy, and Arch came to hang out in their dorm room. Word got out, and all of a sudden, there was a crowd in the hallway.
“A hundred kids were outside, banging on the door trying to get in,” Zurik said. Arch’s teammates shooed them away,
Zurik and another of Arch’s friends, Saint Villere IV, are students in fraternities at Alabama. The budding Texas-Alabama rivalry makes their friendship a source of fascination in Tuscaloosa. They constantly get peppered with questions about growing up with the most famous amateur athlete in America.
“If he didn’t play football, he’d be here drinking beer with us right now,” Zurik told them. “He’s just another kid — that just happens to be really talented and have that last name. He’s the most selfless kid I know.”
But even the Arch defenders are very serious about keeping their superstar friend from getting too cocky. When they talk to him these days, they try to keep the focus off football. They instead keep their sights on what’s most important, like when Arch arrived at SEC media days in a standard-issue Southern fraternity fit.
Arch has nailed the “Kappa Sig president begging university leadership not to kick his frat off campus” look. https://t.co/kItB96Wh7F
– Zach Barnett (@zach_barnett) July 15, 2025
“It looked like a big day, almost game-day pledge attire,” Villere said. “I’d give him a seven, eight out of 10.”
“Definitely going to use some work,” Zurik said. “But looks good. Could use a beer in his hands.”
They can’t scroll Instagram without seeing Arch in an ad for Vuori or Uber or Panini or Red Bull or any of the other brands he represents. Manning even admitted Monday that he has a private Instagram account he uses to browse, and when he sees something in the media about him, he clicks “not interested.”
“I don’t know how many commercials I’ve done, but probably too many,” Arch said. “Probably tired of seeing my face.”
Villere has taken notice as well and offered a suggestion.
“It seems like he’s got a little room for an acting coach, maybe, but it’s all right,” he said.
For Arch, having friends who keep him humble is the antidote to the puzzling amount of attention he gets. He lives with five other Texas players. He has his brother around, plays golf and hangs out at the lake. He wants his friends to keep him in check.
“If I ever start talking about any of this stuff,” Arch said, “they’re like, ‘Oh, you’re being a total weirdo.'”
IV. The Arch experience in Austin
AUSTIN MIGHT OFFER Arch a little respite from crowds in parts of town, but there’s no neighborhood there where the Longhorns are nobodies. Arch might want the typical college experience, but that’s impossible.
He has tried his best to keep a low profile. His news conference appearances hovered in the single digits over the past two seasons. He didn’t land any high-profile NIL deals, other than agreeing to auction off a one-of-a-kind signed card for charity through Panini. It brought in $102,500, eclipsing an exclusive Luka Doncic card that went for $100,000 and making it the most expensive item sold on the company’s platform. There’s nothing that Arch Manning can do to be just another guy.
Tim Tebow and Johnny Manziel were off-the-field famous — after they were stars. For Arch, the fame came first, then football. That’s something that none of the Mannings particularly relish.
“The weirdest part of a lot of this is I haven’t done anything, so why am I getting a bunch of cameras in my face?” Arch asked this summer. He seemed perplexed when another reporter asked how careful he has to be not doing shots at a bar.
“I’m 21, so I can do shots at a bar,” he said. Within hours, Athlon Sports posted a story with the headline: “Arch Manning Says He Can Take Shots at the Bar if he Wants.”
Arch got a quick lesson in just how closely he would be watched immediately after arriving at Texas. He lost his student ID, got a FaceTime call from Sarkisian, who was holding up said ID when he answered and asked if he was missing anything. The student who found it had used it to swipe into the football building, walked right into Sarkisian’s office and handed it to him.
“Pretty ballsy,” Arch said.
Then he lost it again shortly thereafter, leading to tweets about his lack of “pocket awareness.” A Reddit post was headlined “Archibald Manning loses his student ID (Again).” When football season came around, fans held up a giant banner of his ID in the crowd.
Arch says he’s good now, because Texas has moved to a fingerprint-based system instead of swiping a card. Still, his dad says he’s not out of the woods yet.
“He can’t lose his fingerprint,” Cooper said. “Well, if someone could lose it, he could lose it.”
And if someone could steal it, they probably would, too. Arch said this summer he didn’t even have an ID anymore to lose, because he thinks someone stole it while he was on vacation in Charleston, South Carolina. And Arch’s name, image and likeness isn’t even safe in Austin institutions.
Dirty Martin’s Place has been slinging burgers since 1926 right off UT’s campus and has become somewhat of an unofficial museum of Longhorn sports. There are paintings of Earl Campbell (who visits at least once a week), old magazine covers featuring legendary quarterback James Street and a photo wall of fame of athletes who visit.
Daniel Young, the general manager at Dirty’s, said his staff fell in love with Arch as soon as he arrived in the spring of his freshman year. He called Arch “a man of the people,” mixing it up at their proud little dive, which was named for originally having dirt floors. They asked Arch for a photo they could mount on their walls.
“He was already a household name,” Young said.
Arch’s picture occupied a prime spot at the front of the restaurant. That is until April 2024, when only a blank space remained where the photo once hung. This was the second time it had gone missing, after some guys took it off the wall and made videos with it before leaving it on a table outside the restaurant. That time, they found the picture within 12 hours. This time, there was no sign of it. Dirty’s offered a reward for the photo’s return via an Instagram post. “Arch is our friend and this was definitely not a nice thing to do,” it said.
Days later, their long nightmare was over. Four students said they found the picture abandoned in an elevator shaft at an apartment complex near campus and returned it, apparently after the streets got too hot. Shelby Burke, Meredith Greer, Anne Blanche Peacock and Georgia Ritchie now have their photo on the wall with Arch’s.
“I could’ve just blown it up again and put it back up,” Young said. “But now it’s kind of become folklore. He’s a fun-loving kid and he couldn’t be just nicer to my staff. And man, I love him.”
Will Colvin, who has manned the grill at Dirty’s for nearly 30 years said he’s fortunate that in his decades at a campus hangout, he’s gotten to know legends, including favorites Campbell, Cedric Benson and Bijan Robinson.
“But I’m going to tell you something,” Colvin said. “This Arch Manning, he stands out. He has this aura about him. He’s going to do great things.”
For Young, it’s time to take protective measures. No matter how Arch and the Longhorns perform against Ohio State, the game tape will be analyzed more than the Zapruder film. A strong performance will send the burnt orange faithful into a frenzy.
“I really need to get that photo bolted to the wall,” Young said.
V. Finally on the field
BRANNDON STEWART, A longtime tech and software entrepreneur in Austin, has watched the newest iteration of Manning mania from an interesting vantage point. In 1994, he was a star Texas high school quarterback who became one of the nation’s top recruits and signed with Tennessee in the same class as Peyton. They roomed together on the road and lived side by side in the dorms as they competed against each other. Stewart played in 11 of the Vols’ 12 games that year. But Peyton started the last eight contests of the season and Stewart saw the writing on the wall.
“Who’s the one person you wouldn’t want to draw to compete against when you show up at college?” Stewart said. “He would certainly be at the top of the list.”
Stewart says it’s funny now that he didn’t know much about the Mannings beforehand, didn’t know how good Peyton was and, growing up in Texas, wasn’t prepared for the intensity of fans in Knoxville. That’s why, he said, he can empathize with how overwhelming the attention must be for Arch. In 1994, there was a strong contingent of Vols fans who thought Stewart, a high school All-American who had rushed for 1,516 yards while winning a state championship for Art Briles at Stephenville High School, was the better fit to replace the similarly athletic Heath Shuler, the third pick in that year’s NFL draft.
“I remember it was like being Troy Aikman in Dallas,” Stewart said. “Everywhere you go, someone knows who you are and they’re asking for your autograph. People were talking about naming their kid after me.”
When Peyton came to Austin last fall to see Arch, he and Stewart went to dinner and saw each other for the first time in 25 years. Stewart said, even as crazy as that 1994 season was for the two of them, he can’t imagine how it would’ve felt with their every move being broadcast every day.
“Back then it seemed like hysteria, but now it’s like ‘Little House on the Prairie,'” Stewart said. “Everything happens so much faster. I’m sure it’s been quite a ride for him. He’s probably pretty well-groomed for it, desensitized to the stuff that happens when you become popular and successful in sports and was able to adapt to it much better than most of us.”
This summer at the MPA, Arch told ESPN he appreciated being able to feel like a “normal person.” He roomed with LSU’s Garrett Nussmeier; two of the most famous people in Louisiana walked around a Thibodeaux Walmart buying snacks. He laughed at the social media frenzy around his trip with star wide receiver Ryan Wingo to his hometown of St. Louis.
“He’s a legend down there,” Manning said.” All those kids want to be like Wingo. They know his dance moves, his touchdown celebration.”
It was the ideal scenario for Arch. He was showing up for his teammates, and someone else was the star. Cutcliffe has watched Arch hype up players on the sideline, celebrate with his teammates and self-deprecatingly deflect questions in interviews like when legendary Texas reporter Kirk Bohls, who has covered the Longhorns for more than 50 years, asked Manning if he gets nervous when he plays. “Nah,” he said, smiling at Bohls. “You get nervous?”
“That’s an Archie Manning trait,” Cutcliffe said. “It’s a Cooper, Peyton and Eli trait. They walk into a room and say, ‘There you are,’ rather than ‘Here I am.’ That’s a rare commodity.”
A.J. Milwee, Texas’ co-offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach who forged a strong bond with Arch and his family while recruiting him and talking nearly every day, said that being raised by football royalty allows Arch to balance all of the excitement surrounding this game.
“He has real competitive fire,” Milwee said. “He can get juiced up, he can get jacked up, but he’s grown up in a world of quarterbacks. As quarterbacks, we’re taught to be flatliners.”
As a kid, Cooper thought Arch might be a wide receiver like him. But when he coached him in flag football, Arch seemed to have more fun throwing the ball to his buddies so they could all catch a lot of passes.
That’s the plan for Saturday.
“Arch has been a quarterback since he was little, running around,” Cooper said. “I think he made the right call. Don’t listen to your parents. Do what comes natural.”
The world awaits Arch’s arrival on the biggest stage. Sarkisian said the one thing that’s most amazing about Arch’s evolution over the past two years is how much he hasn’t changed.
“He’s normal and that’s what I love about him. It’s not some guy who feels like he’s untouchable, he’s better than everybody else,” Sarkisian said. “You can’t go a day without seeing somebody talking about Arch Manning. He’s a direct representation of our football program and this university and … we respect him for the way that he does it.”
But it’s time to see him do it in uniform. And Cooper believes he’s ready.
“What’s the pressure?” Cooper said. “He gets to play. Pressure is when you don’t know what you’re doing. I think he knows what he’s doing.”
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Adam Rittenberg
Among the teams that reached the initial 12-team College Football Playoff, four brought back starting quarterbacks for this fall, and two others saw their QBs transfer but remain in the college game.
Normally, the focus of the sport would be on the returning signal-callers. Players such as Penn State’s Drew Allar, Clemson’s Cade Klubnik, Arizona State’s Sam Leavitt, SMU’s Kevin Jennings and an intriguing group of incumbents in the Big 12, SEC and elsewhere would be generating the most buzz.
But 2025 is different. The quarterback discussion is dominated by a 2024 backup who didn’t attempt a pass in four postseason games and had just 12 pass attempts after his first two career starts. Texas quarterback Arch Manning might be the biggest name in the sport as he prepares for his first season as QB1. The guy with the attention-grabbing name now has the platform to showcase his talents.
After a season in which the Heisman Trophy race came down to two non-quarterbacks — Travis Hunter and Ashton Jeanty — perhaps Manning will meet the outsized expectations. Or will another quarterback — Allar, Klubnik, LSU’s Garrett Nussmeier, South Carolina’s LaNorris Sellers, Miami’s Carson Beck — step forward in the race?
I spoke with coaches and others around the sport to assess several of the more notable quarterbacks. Other than Manning, I focused on quarterbacks with a good amount of game experience, as we’ll see how things play out with freshmen such as Michigan’s Bryce Underwood, Ohio State’s Julian Sayin and Notre Dame’s CJ Carr.
Here’s a conference-by-conference look:
Jump to a conference:
SEC | ACC | Big Ten | Big 12
SEC
Nussmeier’s path through college used to be the norm but has become increasingly rare — a quarterback who waits his turn behind top players, then takes over the starting job when he’s more seasoned, both physically and mentally. Along with Clemson’s Klubnik, Nussmeier received the most consistently strong reviews from opposing coaches.
“Cade and Nussmeier are two studs,” an ACC coach said. “I love both of them.”
Added an SEC coach: “Garrett is a really talented quarterback. He’s obviously going to take a really good step second year as a starter, too.”
Nussmeier is the first LSU quarterback and just the fourth in SEC history to return to his team following a season with at least 4,000 passing yards.
“He’s in the top two or three in the whole country, without question,” said a defensive coordinator set to face Nussmeier this fall. “We’ve got to affect him somehow.”
Sellers grew up admiring Cam Newton and hopes to mimic Newton’s Heisman Trophy-winning breakthrough season of 2010. Like Newton, Sellers has physical gifts that jump out — a 240-pound frame and quickness that makes him difficult to tackle, as Clemson found out in last year’s rivalry loss to the Gamecocks. Sellers rushed for 166 yards and two touchdowns against Clemson, and showcased his dual-threat playmaking ability in games against Texas A&M, Missouri and LSU.
“Sellers really got hot down the stretch,” an SEC coach said. “He’s such a big, imposing, physical kid. Now, can he take the next step in the throw game?”
Other coaches echoed the review on Sellers, whose ability to make head-turning plays is unquestioned. He also showed better accuracy as the season went along, finishing at 65.6% completions.
The key is identifying the right run-pass blend and ultimately being at his best when surveying the field to pass.
“It’s run when you want to, not when you have to,” South Carolina offensive coordinator Mike Shula told ESPN. “We just want him to use [the running ability] as an added layer, icing on the cake. He’s moving toward that, but as he continues to get better on processing mentally and then timing-wise, where he’s trusting himself and the wideouts, that’s when he can really excel.”
Some coaches aren’t quite sold on Sellers.
“I can’t get behind the LaNorris Sellers hype,” an SEC coach said. “He reminds me of Anthony Richardson, and I know Anthony Richardson went fourth overall [in the NFL draft]. Physically, he’s a freak, but is he a great quarterback?”
Mateer has generated a lot of attention from opposing coaches as he makes the jump to Oklahoma from Washington State, alongside offensive coordinator Ben Arbuckle. The lightly recruited Texan shined last fall as the Cougars’ starter, leading the FBS in touchdowns responsible for during the regular season (44), and producing the best rushing season for a WSU quarterback — 826 yards, 15 touchdowns — to go with 3,139 passing yards and 29 touchdowns on 64.6% completions.
“He’s a triple threat,” an SEC defensive coordinator said. “He can throw it, he can scramble and they can call runs for him. Those kinds of guys are the ones hard to defend. Very fearless. He’s got all the moxie and the intangibles to go with it.”
Mateer’s intrepid approach jumped out to those who faced him in 2024. But how will he transition to the SEC?
“He’s going to be one of the better quarterbacks in the SEC,” said a coach who faced him in 2024. “If he can stay healthy — because they run him like a running back — they’ll be a much better team. He’s the type of guy who can change your whole culture.”
Mateer’s durability could be the biggest factor in his performance. He’s solidly built at 6-foot-1 and 224 pounds. After setting a WSU record with 178 rushing attempts in 2024 — fifth among quarterbacks and tied for 53rd nationally — Mateer’s workload as a ball carrier will be closely watched.
“He doesn’t look very big,” an SEC defensive coordinator said. “The human body can only take so many hits, and if you’re not a big dude in this league, it’ll take its toll.”
3:34
John Mateer highlights the improvements of Oklahoma’s offense
Mateer joins SEC Now and discusses his plans of stepping up as a leader this season and the impact that offensive coordinator Ben Arbuckle has already made on the Sooners’ offense.
Lagway played more than Manning did in 2024, but the two quarterbacks are often paired because of their relative youth and potential. Mississippi State coach Jeff Lebby, who saw both players in 2024 and will face them in consecutive weeks this fall, said of the tandem, “Those are both guys that have got a chance to be elite players, and probably guys that are going to have great control of the offense and their systems.”
After taking over for the injured Graham Mertz, Lagway went 6-1 as Florida’s starter and helped the team to signature wins against Ole Miss and LSU, while capping the season by winning Gator Bowl MVP honors against Tulane. Lagway’s overall arm strength and the variety of throws he makes, especially as a relatively inexperienced quarterback, jump out to coaches.
“He’ll throw off the weirdest platforms,” an SEC coach said. “His feet won’t be in the ground, and the guy still throws at 60 yards. Like, what the f—? It shouldn’t be humanly possible.”
The 6-foot-3, 247-pound Lagway enters the season with some injury concerns, as lingering shoulder issues limited him during the spring, and he sustained a calf injury shortly before training camp.
“With DJ, it’s being able to keep things alive, arm strength, arm angles, all the off-platform things that he can do,” Lebby said. “DJ’s just a great talent.”
Everyone around college football is buzzing about Manning, but coaches understandably are taking a more measured approach toward evaluating a quarterback who hasn’t logged significant snaps. So what do they know about him? He has handled the spotlight well so far, and he brings a new element of athleticism to Texas’ offensive backfield.
“I’ve been watching a lot of his press conferences, and he seems like a pretty level-headed kid,” said a coach who will face Texas this year. “Pretty low-key.”
The coach’s opinion echoes what Texas has seen internally with Manning, with one source there saying, “It’s not lost on him that he’s Arch Manning, that he’s a Manning, what the expectations are. None of that stuff is lost on him. He’s just learned to manage it internally.”
Another of his strengths is movement, which Manning showed last season when he received his most significant playing time against UTSA and Mississippi State. When starting quarterback Quinn Ewers returned from injury, Texas used Manning mostly as a running threat. A Texas source noted that although comparisons will be made to Manning’s uncles, Peyton and Eli, Manning plays more like his namesake, grandfather Archie Manning, who rushed for 2,197 yards in his NFL career, significantly more than Peyton and Eli’s combined total of 1,234 yards.
“He comes from a good bloodline,” an SEC defensive coordinator said. “I know he’ll have all the attributes, the want-to and how to work, all those things.”
Reed opened the 2024 season as Conner Weigman‘s backup but soon became Texas A&M’s starter, displaying impressive dual-threat skills that helped him lead SEC quarterbacks in both rushing yards per game (49.4) and yards per carry (4.7). He had a big performance at Florida and rallied Texas A&M past then-No. 8 LSU with three rushing touchdowns.
The redshirt freshman finished the season with 1,864 passing yards, 15 touchdowns and 6 interceptions. When training camp opened, Reed addressed the perception that he’s a run-first quarterback with limited passing ability, and there’s hope internally that he will display significant growth this fall.
“You’re hoping to see the natural development of him as a leader,” coach Mike Elko told ESPN. “This is his offense now. He’s had the ability to make those connections, to do the leadership things behind the scenes, and then him on the field, it’s him being fully comfortable in the schemes, in the progressions and the passing game. He got a little bit more comfortable, and we got more comfortable, too.”
Reed’s development has been consistent, and Texas A&M’s coaches think he can thrive in throwing the ball to NC State transfer KC Concepcion, among others.
“He threw the ball well,” an SEC defensive coordinator said. “They return a lot, offensive line, him. They had a bunch of receivers transfer out, but I think they did a good job in the portal.”
ACC
Coaches view Klubnik through a similar lens to Nussmeier, with respect for his talent level, experience and development.
The difference is Klubnik will be entering his third season as Clemson’s starter and third under offensive coordinator Garrett Riley. Klubnik has amassed 7,180 career passing yards and 57 career touchdowns, and made significant jumps for both yards (795) and touchdowns (17) from his sophomore to junior season.
“He’s gotten so much better,” an SEC coach said. “When you watch him versus Georgia [in the 2024 opener] to the Texas game, it’s incredible. What makes him dangerous is his ability to tuck the ball and get vertical. … Their best play is quarterback draw.”
Several coaches echoed that observation about Klubnik, who last fall had about the same number of carries as he did in 2023 but saw a nice jump in rushing yards to 463 and had seven rushing touchdowns.
“He’s not just like a pure dropback, that’s not him,” a Power 4 defensive coordinator said. “He’s good at that, but that’s not his strength. It’s when he has to create something, that’s what makes him dangerous.”
Klubnik has established himself as a top college quarterback, but coaches think there’s another step to his game.
“He’s good, but he ain’t Trevor Lawrence,” an ACC coach said. “I don’t think he’s a first-rounder. He’s a good player, but if it’s covered, he’s not throwing it. He doesn’t have the faith to do that.”
2:16
Cade Klubnik’s best TDs from this season
Check out some of Cade Klubnik’s best touchdowns from this season as he announces his return to Clemson.
Beck is one of the more fascinating quarterbacks to analyze, and also among the most polarizing for coaches. He had an undeniably great season in 2023, when he completed a blistering 72.4% of his passes for 3,941 yards and 24 touchdowns with Georgia. Without two-time John Mackey Award winner Brock Bowers and others last season, Beck looked shakier, throwing 12 interceptions during a six-game midseason stretch.
He completed at least 69.7% of his passes in four of the first six games but then eclipsed 65% just once the rest of the season. After surgery to repair the ulnar collateral ligament in his right (throwing) elbow, Beck joined Miami for his final college season.
“He always played well against us, and I thought a lot of him,” an SEC defensive coordinator said. “He maybe threw some balls he shouldn’t have, but he was super talented and he has a lot of confidence. It’ll be interesting [at Miami].”
Miami coach Mario Cristobal has been very pleased with Beck since his arrival this winter.
“You start observing practice and you see some of the things that he gets us into in an awesome way, and some of the things he can get us out of,” Cristobal told ESPN. “And then the autocorrect when we don’t have a positive play, the ability to bounce back from that and take ownership for it, even if it’s somebody else’s doing. He’s going to find a way to bring people together.”
Some coaches can’t get past Beck’s midseason struggles in 2024.
“He’s a turnover machine,” an SEC coordinator said. “There might have been some drops, but there might have been some dropped interceptions, too. The guy just throws it to the other team. He makes some good throws, but as a quarterback, that’s tough to overcome. He was just fortunate how good they were on defense.”
Beck averaged 1.62 yards per carry as Georgia’s starter, raising some questions about his mobility. “Beck’s good, but Beck can’t move,” an ACC coach said. But Cristobal has been surprised by how Beck moves around
“He’s athletic, man,” Cristobal said. “He can throw it, he can throw it on the run, he can run it. He’s a big cat. I didn’t realize how big he was until he got here. So there’s a lot of things to be excited about.”
1:57
Carson Beck’s best plays of the season for Georgia
Take a look at Carson Beck’s best plays of 2024 for Georgia after announcing his intention to enter the transfer portal.
Jennings is another interesting quarterback to evaluate, as he helped SMU to an unlikely playoff appearance in its first year as an ACC member but fell apart at Penn State in a first-round loss, throwing three interceptions, two of which were returned for Nittany Lions touchdowns. Jennings also was intercepted in an ACC championship game loss to Clemson and threw three picks in an overtime win at Duke.
He completed 65% of his passes for 3,245 yards and 23 touchdowns, and was a solid run threat, especially in the first half of the season.
“He’s unorthodox,” an ACC defensive coordinator said. “When you first watch him, you think, ‘OK, this kid’s not fundamentally sound, and his footwork is bad, and his mechanics aren’t great honestly,’ but then it’s like, dang, he just keeps making accurate throw after accurate throw on the move. He’s so unorthodox, but he’s so effective, and he can run. So I think he’s legit good.”
SMU coach Rhett Lashlee likes what he has seen from Jennings since the Penn State game, both from a physical approach and mentally.
“He’s probably put on 10 or 12 pounds in the offseason, which is great,” Lashlee said. “Just a bustle that helped his frame. And mentally, he’s an unquestioned leader of our team. He’s been awesome. He’s got a lot of confidence. He’ll be him, he’ll be fine.”
Moss had his breakout performance at USC against Louisville in the 2023 Holiday Bowl — 372 passing yards, six touchdowns — and now joins the Cardinals as the latest transfer quarterback under coach Jeff Brohm. He had some good moments with the Trojans, including the 2024 opening win against LSU, but struggled with interceptions and in road games.
A fifth-year senior, Moss follows NFL second-round draft pick Tyler Shough with Brohm, whose creative and aggressive offensive system gives Louisville a chance in every game.
“Miller Moss is good. I liked him, always, out of high school, and then Brohm’s really good,” an ACC coach said. “Miller is in a system that fits him.”
Moss is a smart and skilled quarterback, but some wonder about his ability to improvise.
“He’s a really good system guy,” a Big Ten defensive coordinator said. “Brohm will do really well with him because he’s such a quarterback-friendly coach. Moss is very systematic. If things get off schedule, he struggles. He can’t create with his legs. He doesn’t make a lot of creating-type plays, but if everything’s on schedule, he’s a machine. He’s a robot.”
Brohm told ESPN that Moss, like Shough in coming in from Texas Tech last year, is eager to prove himself. Brohm has tried to put Moss in pressurized situations against the starting defense to improve his decision-making and limit the mistakes that surfaced during the middle part of the 2024 season.
“He’s an intelligent quarterback,” Brohm said. “He can control where he’s throwing it, which not everyone can do. When he’s confident and things happen in rhythm and he knows where to go with the ball, he can produce. It’s the times when things aren’t in rhythm and the timing isn’t quite there and he’s got to adjust and he’s got to make decisions and be a quarterback who can handle a broken play here and there.”
Mensah wasn’t the biggest name on the quarterback transfer market, but his move to Duke — and the reported $8 million deal that came with it — generated significant attention. Duke went all-in to land Mensah, who has three years of eligibility left after an impressive redshirt freshman season at Tulane, where he completed 65.9% of his passes for 22 touchdowns and never had a multi-interception performance.
The Mensah move showed that “Duke is serious about football,” coach Manny Diaz told ESPN, especially coming off three consecutive seasons with eight or more wins. Diaz also liked how Mensah fits with offensive coordinator Jonathan Brewer’s vision. Duke was willing to part ways with quarterback Maalik Murphy, who had a team-record 26 touchdown passes last season.
“He can make the throws similar to what we have to have in our offense, but the mobility is key,” Diaz said. “Not just in terms of QB run game, but the ability to extend plays, make things happen, scramble to throw, scramble to run. Those things, you can already see the difference.”
Some coaches are curious about whether Mensah, who thrived in Tulane’s play-action passing attack, will perform in a Duke offense that has emphasized tempo and quick screens and other passes.
“He’s not a no-brainer,” a Power 4 coach said. “Maalik has a bigger arm than he does.”
“It was a head-scratcher for some that they invested what they did in him,” an ACC defensive coordinator added.
King turns 25 in January and has seen just about everything at the college level. He could be set for his last and best season this fall with Georgia Tech, which is hoping to eclipse seven wins for the first time since 2016 and become an ACC contender. King is among the toughest quarterbacks in the country, having fought through several significant injuries.
He showed much greater accuracy in 2024, throwing only two interceptions in 269 pass attempts and completing an ACC record 72.9% of his passes. King became the first FBS player since at least 1956 to record 2,000 passing yards, 10 touchdown passes, a 70% completion percentage and two or fewer interceptions in a season.
“The sky’s the limit for Haynes,” Georgia Tech offensive coordinator Buster Faulkner told ESPN. “The biggest thing we’ve hammered is: If we can make the routine plays all the time, we’re going to be really tough to handle. It’s continuing to shorten up his stride, shorten up his delivery. He’s a very conscious kid, great football player. We want to hone in the fine details of playing quarterback.”
The challenge for King is staying on the field without overly limiting his aggressive style of play. After recording 737 rushing yards and 10 touchdowns in 2023, King ran for 587 yards and 11 touchdowns last fall.
“Haynes is a tough sucker,” an ACC defensive coordinator said. “Just a great, great player, and a great fit for what they do.”
BIG TEN
Arguably no national championship contender has greater urgency than Penn State, and no quarterback carries a heavier burden than Allar. He looks like a top NFL draft pick at 6-foot-5 and 235 pounds. After two seasons as the starter, he ranks among the top 10 in team history in most statistical categories and in the top five in several, including first in career completion percentage (62.9) and interception percentage (1.19).
The knock on Allar, fair or unfair, is the same as the one against Penn State under coach James Franklin — the inability to win the biggest games. He’s still searching for his first win against Ohio State, Michigan or Oregon, and his struggles against Notre Dame in a CFP semifinal loss left him teary-eyed and determined to rewrite his story.
“He played so poorly against Notre Dame that he just got destroyed the whole offseason, but in some ways that can be good,” a Big Ten defensive coordinator said. “He’s got all the tools. Obviously he’s big, his body looks good. He’s got better receivers around him. The receivers have been so ineffective there.”
The additions of transfer wide receivers Trebor Pena (Syracuse), Devonte Ross (Troy) and Kyron Hudson (USC) should help Allar, who hasn’t seen an 800-yard wide receiver during his time at Penn State. Franklin told ESPN that Allar has “gotten better every single year,” and he should benefit from his best supporting cast.
“Whether it’s his understanding, whether it’s his command, whether it’s his athleticism, he’s made significant jumps,” Franklin said. “The other thing is going out and finding some guys that are going to make some more plays for him.”
New Penn State defensive coordinator Jim Knowles has a distinct perspective on Allar, having faced him the past two seasons at Ohio State, and now seeing him daily in practices.
“I didn’t know him as a person, but he’s got a great work ethic and wants to learn,” Knowles told ESPN. “It’s like when I first got to Ohio State and CJ Stroud was asking me all kinds of questions. You don’t know any of this when you play them, but he’s got those leadership skills and traits, and the team really follows him.”
0:58
How will Drew Allar respond to pressure this season?
A.Q. Shipley joins “The Pat McAfee Show” to discuss how Drew Allar will respond when his back is against the wall.
Altmyer grew up loving the SEC and began his college career in his favorite conference, but he has made a much bigger impact since leaving Ole Miss for the Big Ten and Illinois, where he enters his third season as the starter. He can go down as an Illini legend, as the team has a realistic chance for its first CFP appearance and consecutive 10-win seasons for the first time.
Despite receiving overtures from Tennessee to transfer, Altmyer is back with Illinois, where he went through some challenges in 2023 and nearly quit after the season, only to return and pass for 2,217 yards with 22 touchdowns and only six interceptions last fall.
“He’s a good player; he’s going to be third year in the system,” a Big Ten defensive coordinator said. “I think he’s a good athlete. He can throw it.”
Last season restored Altmyer’s confidence, and Illinois’ coaches expect him to adjust well to the inevitable ebbs and flows.
“The biggest difference in him is his volume [of play], which is reflected in his confidence, not just for him, but his players around him, and then just the experience,” Illinois coach Bret Bielema told ESPN.
Added Illinois offensive coordinator Barry Lunney Jr.: “You’re going to come up short and make mistakes, but he’s at the point of his career, he’s played enough ball that he knows how to navigate away from those.”
The Hoosiers have given themselves a chance to sustain success, in part because of key portal pickups including Mendoza, who started 19 games at Cal and last season had one of the school’s top 10 passing seasons (3,004 yards, 144.59 rating, 68.7% completions). Although Kurtis Rourke is a big loss, Mendoza brings Power 4 experience and had success despite some trouble spots around him at Cal.
“He’s a big, tall guy, very mobile, and has a quick release with a strong arm, throws the ball well from the pocket and on the move,” Hoosiers coach Curt Cignetti told ESPN. “He’s got a body of work from Cal. He’s got areas to improve and he knows that, but he certainly has a lot of talent. I feel really, really confident in him.”
The 6-foot-5, 225-pound Mendoza had only 191 net rushing yards during two seasons at Cal, but he can scramble to find space to throw. He cut down his interceptions total last fall and improved his completion percentage by 5.7 points. A Big Ten general manager said of Mendoza, “You’re watching a first-round quarterback when you watch that guy throw routes.”
“He’s very similar to the guy they had last year, Rourke,” a Big Ten recruiting director said. “They’re similar builds, they have similar games. They’re both not going to kill you with legs, they’re not going to be able to really drop it into a bucket from that far out. But they have the arm strength, there’s a big frame, they work well within the offense, and they play to their skill set.”
Williams is technically a new starter but gained valuable experience last fall, starting the rivalry game against Oregon and the Sun Bowl against Louisville, where he threw a pick-six on his first pass attempt, then proceeded to complete 26 of 31 attempts for 374 yards and four touchdowns, while adding 48 rushing yards and a score.
He also saw meaningful playing time against UCLA, Iowa and Penn State, and finished the season with 944 passing yards, completing 78.1% of his attempts.
“Starting those last two games was huge for him, and it was great that he played in all the games,” Washington offensive coordinator Jimmie Dougherty told ESPN. “You see those reps have added up. Now he has some experience to draw from, and he’s just getting rid of the ball. He’s making great decisions. And he’s always been a great decision-maker.”
Williams, who followed the coaching staff from Arizona to Washington, has become the “unquestioned leader of the team” this offseason, Dougherty said. While many quarterbacks with Williams’ athleticism lean toward running the ball when the opportunity arises, the redshirt freshman has shown an inclination to remain in the pocket. A Power 4 coordinator said he has some Kyler Murray in his style of play.
“It’s much harder to coach guys the other way, the guys who have relied on their feet most of their careers, to now get them to be comfortable sitting in the pocket and going through a progression,” Dougherty said. “We love the fact that he wants to get rid of the ball and hit his receivers on time, get the ball out of his hand. That’s been the biggest thing that I’ve seen in fall camp is how fast he’s getting rid of the ball now, making good, clean decisions in the pocket.”
Coaches outside of Eugene, Oregon, haven’t seen much of Moore since the 2023 season, which he opened as UCLA’s starter after arriving as the nation’s No. 2 overall recruit. He went through some predictable struggles that fall, and one coach who faced the Bruins said it “looked messy” back then.
But Moore transferred to Oregon and has had more than a year to prepare for the starting job, playing behind Dillon Gabriel last fall and attempting only eight passes in four games.
“I see the arm talent, the ability to operate, very similar to what Bo [Nix] and Dillon had done,” Oregon coach Dan Lanning told ESPN. “He can check plays. He’s probably more similar to Dillon from a pocket presence standpoint, but more similar to Bo in the ability to really put us in really advantageous plays.”
Lanning views Moore more in line with predecessors Gabriel and Nix, but opposing coaches don’t expect him to be nearly as mobile. Gabriel had 25 rushing touchdowns in his final three college seasons (one at Oregon), while Nix rushed for 20 scores during two seasons at Oregon.
“Dante is pro-style,” a Power 4 coach said. “If Dante ran a 40, he’d run a 4.9.”
UCLA made the biggest splash of the spring portal in adding Iamaleava, who helped Tennessee to a CFP appearance last season, his first as the Vols starter. A former top 25 national recruit, Iamaleava grew up not far from UCLA’s campus but went to Tennessee on a then-historic NIL deal.
The 6-foot-6, 215-pound Iamaleava has undeniable physical gifts and a full year as an SEC starter under his belt. But he had only the late spring and summer to connect with his teammates and absorb the offense under new coordinator Tino Sunseri. Iamaleava had 2,930 passing yards and 21 touchdowns at Tennessee, while throwing only five interceptions and adding 435 rushing yards and six scores.
“He’s a true leader and I just love how he approaches the day, how he just approached our players, how he approached coming into the team so late,” Bruins coach DeShaun Foster told ESPN. “It wasn’t just like, ‘I’m Nico’ and this. He wanted to really get in there and work. I wanted to see him in the huddle. I had already seen him in high school and all of that before, so that was good. It was just more, I wanted to see him command, and how is he around the other players? But he’s been great.”
The talent is there with Iamaleava, whose ability to adjust quickly will be tested.
“That’s a kid that is tough as nails,” said a defensive coordinator who will face UCLA this fall. “When he runs, he doesn’t look to slide. He can sling it. With development, he’s going to be one of the top dudes in the country. He’s 6-6, tough to take down, can throw every ball. Needs a little bit more accuracy in the deep ball, but can throw it wherever he needs to put it. His eye progression needs a bit of work, but my guess is with another year, he’s worked through that.”
BIG 12
Leavitt led Arizona State to an unlikely Big 12 title and CFP appearance in his first season as the Sun Devils’ starter last fall. He displayed a skill set that coach Kenny Dillingham expects will propel him to the NFL, setting a team freshman record with 3,328 yards of total offense, and posting a 21-4 touchdown-to-interception ratio during his final nine games.
His decision-making stood out for a young quarterback, and he didn’t shy away from shot plays, recording eight completions of 50 yards or more, most in the Big 12 and tied for second most in the FBS. Leavitt handled pressure well and was an effective scrambler with 435 yards, second most among FBS quarterbacks.
“The way this guy can make plays with his feet, he’s got great instincts,” said a coach who faced Arizona State in 2024. “He can diagnose. Really an elite player for them. The plays he was able to make on third down and create with his legs, it was all year long and pretty special.”
Arizona State finished 18th nationally in third-down conversion rate, as Leavitt moved the chains both with passes under pressure and scrambles. Leavitt told ESPN his goal this fall is “to get to the point where I feel like me and my coach are at the same spot in how we view the game.”
“All the football stuff, everybody sees, everybody sees the talent,” Dillingham said. “He cares. He’s intelligent, he’s competitive, he has the off-the-field X factors that allow him to achieve that level.”
A Big 12 defensive coordinator added of Leavitt: “If you’re going to say, ‘Who’s your top competitor?’ It’s probably that kid.”
Hoover has started the past season and a half for TCU and last fall set the team single-season passing record with 3,949 yards. He was a chunk-play machine, leading the Big 12 and ranking fifth nationally in completions of 20 yards or longer (61). His performance hasn’t generated much national attention, partly because of the team’s uneven starts.
But Hoover will be in the spotlight right away this fall as TCU opens at North Carolina in a standalone Monday game, the first of the Bill Belichick era with the Tar Heels.
“He’s really talented,” coach Sonny Dykes told ESPN. “He throws the ball as well as any of the guys I’ve coached, and we’ve been lucky to coach some good ones. He’s not as big as some of them, he’s not as fast as others, but just purely throwing the football, he’s really, really good. That can get you in trouble sometimes because he’s like, ‘I can make this throw,’ or he gets bored of checking it down and he wants to challenge himself a little bit more.”
If Hoover balances the wow plays with the mundane ones, he could be among the nation’s best quarterbacks this season.
“He does not take sacks,” a Big 12 defensive coordinator said. “He gets rid of the ball quickly, makes good decisions. I really liked him. He’s tough, good decision-maker, gets the ball out on time.”
When Will Howard transferred from Kansas State to Ohio State, there was a sense within some corners of the Big 12 that the Wildcats would upgrade at quarterback with Johnson. A blazing-fast top 100 recruit from the state, Johnson gave Kansas State a different dimension in the explosive run game. He set a team record with 25 passing touchdowns last fall, while throwing 10 interceptions and adding 605 rushing yards and seven touchdowns.
Johnson’s accuracy and efficiency fell off during the back half of the season, but he entered this fall with higher expectations as a passer. He accounted for all three touchdowns — two passing, one rushing — in Saturday’s season-opening loss to Iowa State in Ireland, completing 21 of 30 attempts for 271 yards with no interceptions.
“It’s just not trying to do so much,” Johnson told ESPN. “Getting the ball to playmakers, letting guys do their things with the ball, not trying to force things, taking checkdowns and then whenever you do get big-play opportunities, you’ve got to connect on them.”
Coaches see Johnson’s throwing ability but say he still must master the nuances of the passing game.
“Extremely athletic,” said a coach who faced Kansas State last year. “As a freshman, he still needed so much more polish, and then the ability to sit in the pocket and go through reads. Looks like he’s still needing some of that.”
Anyone who watched Iowa State’s Week 0 win against Kansas State in Ireland got to see the essence of Becht, who is in his third year as the starter. He had some early struggles on a slick field and would end up completing only half of his passes (14 of 28). But Becht avoided an interception and accounted for all three ISU touchdowns — two passing, one rushing — and the game-clinching pass to Carson Hansen on fourth-and-3.
Becht’s resolve to make winning plays might be his best trait.
“He is a really good quarterback, and he’s got escape-ability, he’s got an incredible feel for the game of football, he can use his feet to make the special play,” ISU coach Matt Campbell told ESPN. “But I think one of the things that makes him really special is that locker room. Boy, they believe in him, maybe as good as any football player that I’ve coached.”
Campbell added of Becht’s best on-field trait: “He’s never pressed to make the wild plays, always makes the right decision on every play. Can he keep doing that at an elite level?”
Becht’s numbers are solid but not league-leading. He was 10th in the Big 12 in completion percentage last season (59.2) and fifth in passing yards per game. But he has a lot of respect around the conference.
“I’m always impressed with what he does for Iowa State,” a Big 12 coach said. “He’s so consistent and steady. He’s kind of like [Brock] Purdy was for them. He just wins games.”
Added a Big 12 defensive coordinator: “I have so much respect for that kid. Tough kid.”
0:37
Rocco Becht dives into the end zone for a Cyclones TD
Rocco Becht scrambles his way into the end zone to put the Cyclones up 24-14.
After being recruited to Mississippi State by the late Mike Leach, Robertson transferred to Baylor and started four games in 2023 with shaky results. He then became Baylor’s QB1 in Week 3 last season and looked very much like the top-60 national recruit he was coming out of Lubbock, Texas. Robertson eclipsed 3,000 passing yards while throwing 28 touchdowns and only nine interceptions.
Despite only 14 starts at Baylor, Robertson ranks among the top eight in team history for categories like passing efficiency (fifth, 144.4), yards per pass attempt (sixth, 8.113) and completion percentage (eighth 60.8). He also has played in three offensive schemes with Leach and Baylor offensive coordinator Jeff Grimes and Jake Spavital.
“I’ve developed a lot as a quarterback,” Robertson said. “I learned a lot from Leach, mentally, how you approach the game, all that stuff, and getting to play for Grimes, pro-style, under center, getting reps at that were great for me. And then now playing for Spav, he’s such a good mental leader. … It’s not something I had on my bingo card playing for three different offensive coordinators, but I think it’s just helping me develop.”
Big 12 coaches are mixed on Robertson, as one said he’s “not as dynamic as the others” in the league’s top QB group. But his strong finish to the 2024 season, plus some long-awaited continuity under the same playcaller, should help his development.
“Just the variations of coverages and blitzes and stuff like that, I thought he handled it well,” a Big 12 defensive coordinator said. “He played pretty comfortably, so they’ve got a chance to be pretty good.”
Daniels is certainly a familiar name around the Big 12 after starting games in each of the past five seasons. He has been a big-play juggernaut when healthy but lost most of the 2023 season to injury and portions of others. Daniels finally made it through a season last fall and had solid passing (2,454) and rushing (439) yards totals, but his accuracy fluttered and he and the team didn’t really surge until later in the season.
He’s back for a sixth year, playing in an offense directed by longtime KU quarterbacks coach Jim Zebrowski. Daniels was near-flawless in Saturday’s season opener against Fresno State, completing 18 of 20 passes for 176 yards and 3 touchdowns, while adding 47 rushing yards.
“I really like the Kansas guy, he’s probably my favorite in the league,” a Big 12 coach said. “When push comes to shove, that guy knows how to just stay calm and make stuff happen.”
Other coaches need to see more consistency from Daniels, especially after last season.
“The Kansas kid is hit and miss,” a Big 12 defensive coordinator said. “He’s kind of hot and cold, but he’s a heck of an athlete.”
The Big 12 is heavy on returning starters, but the most intriguing quarterback transfer in the league arrives at Utah, where quarterback play cratered the past two seasons largely because of Cam Rising’s injuries. Utah went the package-deal route to repair the offense, plucking both Dampier and offensive coordinator Jason Beck from New Mexico, where they averaged 6.9 yards per play and finished No. 24 nationally in scoring on a shaky team.
Dampier earned first-team All-Mountain West honors in 2024 after finishing second in the league in passing yards (3,934) and third in rushing yards (1,116), while leading the league in yards per carry (7.5) and finishing second — behind Heisman Trophy runner-up Ashton Jeanty — with 19 rushing touchdowns. Although Rising had some mobility when healthy, Dampier will bring a dramatically different element to the offense.
“Having him here in spring was huge for us,” coach Kyle Whittingham told ESPN. “He was like another coach on the field because obviously he knows Jason’s offense inside and out. So being able to install a new offense with a new coordinator, with a quarterback who knows it, that’s a big advantage for us. He’s been a huge help for his teammates.”
The challenge for Dampier and Beck is how much to run the 5-foot-11, 210-pound junior, who had 15 or more carries in half of New Mexico’s games last season.
“With a running quarterback, you’ve got to stay healthy,” a Big 12 defensive coordinator said.
Another coach in the league added: “He’s going to see a different kind of athlete in the Big 12, and he was used to in the Mountain West. It’s hard to stay healthy when you’re playing like that.”
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Chris Low
Alabama could be without team captain and starting defensive tackle Tim Keenan III for Saturday’s opener against Florida State after he suffered a lower-body injury in practice.
Coach Kalen DeBoer said Wednesday that Keenan would “probably not” be full go for the game and that he was still being evaluated.
“We’re waiting for the update,” DeBoer said. “I don’t know if I can give you a percentage (on Keenan’s status) and be confident on that. We’ll see.”
Keenan, a fifth-year senior, is one of the anchors of an Alabama defensive line that should be one of the strengths of the team. He’s a two-year starter and one of the strongest leaders on the team.
The Crimson Tide were already without starting running back Jam Miller, who dislocated his collarbone in a scrimmage and is expected to miss multiple games.
Offensive lineman Jaeden Roberts‘ status for Saturday’s opener is also uncertain, according to DeBoer. The fifth-year senior, who has started 21 games over the past two seasons, has been “very limited” in recent practices as he works his way through the NCAA’s concussion protocol.
“He’s making progress, but it’s slow and steady,” DeBoer said.
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