College football's top returning QBs for 2025: Arch Manning just behind Cade Klubnik, Drew Allar before season

The Cover 3 Podcast crew listed their top 10 returning quarterbacks; here are Tom Fornelli's best 10

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.

1	Cade Klubnik Clemson Tigers QB
I was a certified Cade Klubnik skeptic (colloquially known as a hater) heading into 2024, and the first game of the season against Georgia did little to sway me. But then a funny thing happened: the schedule got much easier, and Klubnik performed much better. When I look around, there is no QB who matches Klubnik's combination of experience, talent, production and situation. Clemson won the ACC last season and likely to do so again in 2025. Should that happen, Klubnik's name will be in the Heisman conversation all year.
2	Drew Allar Penn State Nittany Lions QB
Allar is so polarizing. As far as talent, it's all there. When you watch him play, it's easy to see why he was so highly rated as a recruit -- and why NFL scouts are high on him. The problem is looks great against teams Penn State is better than, but struggles against the best ones. Even in Penn State's playoff wins, Allar was underwhelming. However, Penn State enters 2025 with far fewer questions than any other program in the Big Ten, including Ohio State, Oregon, and Michigan. If he's able to step up and perform in the big moments, I'm not sure there's any question about who the best QB in the country will be.
3	Arch Manning Texas Longhorns QB
We didn't see much of Arch last year, but we saw enough to justify the immense recruiting hype. Listen, you may think I have him too high, but I felt all last season that Texas wasn't using him as much as it should've been; Steve Sarkisian was being too respectful to Quinn Ewers. I fully believe giving Manning the keys to the Texas offense in 2025 will lead to a better product than the one we saw in 2024, and that team got to the CFP semis.
4	Carson Beck Miami (FL) Hurricanes QB
How healthy is he? That's the one question we won't know until the fall. While last season at Georgia was a disappointment, I remember the guy I saw in 2023 when he had better weapons around him. I can't help but wonder if we'll see a revert to 2023 form now that Beck is in Miami, and the defenses he faces in the ACC won't be as monstrous as the ones he faced in the SEC. Miami hit a home run with Cam Ward in the portal last season. Can the Canes strike gold twice?
5	Garrett Nussmeier LSU Tigers QB
There are two things about Nussmeier I love. The first is his arm. It's an absolute cannon, and I cannot stress enough how important arm strength is if you want to be an elite QB. (Yes, he needs to learn how to harness it better. He also has to make better decisions, but find me the college QB who doesn't.) Second, I love his pocket presence. He's great at manipulating the pocket to avoid sacks and keep plays alive. LSU has had a lot of problems the last two seasons, but few of them have been on the offensive side of the ball. I am still a Nuss Believer.
6	Sawyer Robertson Baylor Bears QB
He didn't receive much recognition for it nationally, but I'd argue Sawyer Robertson saved Baylor's season. He didn't begin the year as the starter, but Baylor was a much better team once he did. He's the primary reason I'm high on the Bears as a Big 12 contender/CFP hopeful in 2025.
7	Luke Altmyer Illinois Fighting Illini QB
The Big Ten has a lot of question marks at the QB position this spring, but Illinois knows its answer. Altmyer was at the head of an Illinois offense that scored nearly 30 points per game last season and has nearly its entire starting lineup back. It's also Altmyer's third season as the starter, and experience is huge at QB. He doesn't put up eye-popping numbers, and he struggled in games against Penn State and Oregon, but the Illini don't get close to 10 wins last year without him.
8	LaNorris Sellers South Carolina Gamecocks QB
LaNorris Sellers has one of the highest ceilings in the country. You know how good Jalen Milroe was for Alabama the last few years? Imagine that, but a better passer. Sellers threw for 18 touchdowns to only 7 interceptions, but the consistency wasn't always there. Should he develop as a passer and mingle that with his ability as a rusher, watch out.
9	Devon Dampier New Mexico Lobos QB
Odds are strong you didn't watch Devon Dampier much at New Mexico last season, and that's your loss. If dictionaries still existed, and they put "fun college QB" in them, Dampier's face would be there. Chucking bombs, scrambling, doing crazy stuff that takes years off a coach's life, Dampier did it all. And he had to! New Mexico's defense was awful. Now, he's at Utah, where he'll be working with the same offensive coordinator he played for at New Mexico (Jason Beck), and I can't wait to see him get to work in the Big 12.
10	DJ Lagway Florida Gators QB
Listen, if Lagway is healthy and lives up to his potential coming out of high school, he could blow every other QB on (and off) this list out of the water. I said Sellers has one of the highest ceilings in the country, but Lagway's is the highest. The problem is he was banged up last year, and he's still banged up this spring. His health and development will determine Florida's fate in 2025. I'm serious when I say that if Lagway plays to his potential, it's not crazy to think Florida could follow up its basketball natty with a football one.