ESPN ranks Top 15 most-important QBs for 2025 college football season

We’re weeks away from the 2025 college football season getting underway. With that in mind, ESPN’s Bill Connelly ranked the most important starting quarterbacks in the sport.

It’s the most important position in all of football, and maybe in all of sports as a whole. Each contender for the national title will need someone they can trust under center, but they’re few and far between heading into a new campaign.

Whether they’ll have to be at their best week in and week out, or simply do enough to keep their team afloat, each quarterback on the list is special to their program for one reason or another. Check out who ESPN believes is the most important below.

1) Arch Manning, Texas

Arch Manning is finally the unquestioned starting quarterback for Texas. He’s not only the most important signal-caller in college football, but Manning is arguably the most important player in the entire sport in 2025.

Behind Quinn Ewers in 2024, Manning passed for 939 yards, nine touchdowns and just two interceptions. The Longhorns were 3-0 in games he started in (UTSA, Louisiana-Monroe and Mississippi State), winning by an average of 40 points per game.

2) Gunner Stockton, Georgia

It’s a new era in Athens. Following the transfer of Carson Beck to Miami this offseason, Gunner Stockton has taken full reign of the Georgia starting quarterback job.

He has a bit of experience, as Stockton took over in relief of an injured Beck in the SEC Championship game last season and led the Bulldogs to a 22-19 OT win over Texas. However, expectations are tempered a bit by his performance in the game afterwards, where Stockton passed for just 267 yards and one touchdown with four sacks in a 23-10 loss to Notre Dame in the Allstate Sugar Bowl.

3) Ty Simpson, Alabama

Ty Simpson has big shoes to fill at the Alabama quarterback position. He’s following in the footsteps of Jalen Milroe, with memories of Heisman Award winner Bryce Young and first-rounder Mac Jones still fresh in Tuscaloosa.

Over his three seasons with the program, Simpson has passed for just 381 yards on 50 attempts. The Crimson Tide will be hoping he can utilize his arm and his legs to make an impact during his first season as the starting quarterback.

4) CJ Carr, Notre Dame

Marcus Freeman brought in Riley Leonard as a mercenary to deliver Notre Dame a national title. It almost worked, but the Fighting Irish came up just short against Ohio State in the season finale last season.

This time around, he’ll rely on a more unproven commodity, with CJ Carr under center. He has immense talent, but it remains to be seen what he can do when the lights are the brightest. Freeman is hoping it all works out for Notre Dame’s new quarterback in 2025.

5) Dante Moore, Oregon

Dante Moore arrived in Eugene with prior experience, but was forced to play a backup role during their first season with their new program. As a true freshman in 2023, Moore started five games for UCLA and threw for 1,610 yards along with 11 touchdowns and nine interceptions.

He’s now set to take over the starting quarterback job for a national championship contender. Moore has the opportunity to prove his doubters wrong by leading the Ducks back to the CFP in 2025. It helps that he has a fantastic supporting cast.

6) Julian Sayin, Ohio State

Julian Sayin was a part of last season’s national championship squad as the backup quarterback to Will Howard. A former five-star recruit, fans are excited to see what Sayin can bring to the offense. 

Fans got to see a little bit of his work during the Buckeyes’ annual spring game. In that matchup, Sayin completed 17 of his 24 passing attempts for 175 yards. He threw for just 84 yards last season to go with one touchdown.

7) Drew Allar, Penn State

Drew Allar turned down the opportunity to turn pro at the end of last season. However, he’s returning to Happy Valley for one reason — to win it all.

2025 will be Allar’s third season as the Nittany Lions’ starting quarterback. He led Penn State to the national semifinal while throwing for 3,327 yards and 24 touchdowns compared to eight interceptions last season.

8) Cade Klubnik, Clemson

Cade Klubnik is the choice of many to be the top quarterback in all of college football in 2025. As a junior in 2024, Klubnik passed for 3,639 yards, 36 touchdowns and just six interceptions.

Moreover, the Tigers star is one of only three two-time ACC Championship Game MVPs all-time, while ranking in the top five in Clemson history in nearly every passing category. A national title will be on his mind in 2025.

9) Garrett Nussmeier, LSU

Garrett Nussmeier is back as LSU‘s starting quarterback in 2025. Last season, he exploded for 4,052 passing yards, 29 touchdowns and 12 interceptions.

With Nussmeier at the helm, the Tigers won their final three games of the season, including a 44-31 win over Baylor in the Kinder’s Texas Bowl. They have national title aspirations in 2025, beginning with their Week 1 clash against Clemson.

10) Carson Beck, Miami

After spending his first four seasons at Georgia, Carson Beck is heading to Miami for his final year of college football. He’s one of the more recognizable names in the sport due to his time in Athens.

Beck won back-to-back National Championships (2021 & 2022) as Stetson Bennett‘s backup and was named a Second Team All-SEC selection in 2023. In two seasons as Georgia‘s starter (2023 & 2024), he threw for 7,426 yards, 52 touchdowns and 18 interceptions.

ESPN’s Top 15 most-important QBs for 2025 season — Nos. 11-15:

11) LaNorris Sellers, South Carolina 
12) DJ Lagway, Florida
13) John Mateer, Oklahoma
14) Marcel Reed, Texas A&M
15) Austin Simmons, Ole Miss

— On3’s Barkley Truax and Daniel Hager contributed to this article.