{"id":140125,"date":"2025-06-18T17:15:23","date_gmt":"2025-06-18T17:15:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/140125\/"},"modified":"2025-06-18T17:15:23","modified_gmt":"2025-06-18T17:15:23","slug":"athlon-sports-ranks-top-10-qb-units-in-college-football-for-2025","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/140125\/","title":{"rendered":"Athlon Sports ranks Top 10 QB units in college football for 2025"},"content":{"rendered":"

Quarterback play will be front and center during the 2025 college football season. The hype is building around multiple potential top NFL Draft<\/a> picks, and Athlon Sports ranked the Top 10 QB units ahead of this year.<\/p>\n

Plenty of eyes will be on Austin this year as Arch Manning<\/a> takes over as Texas\u2019<\/a> starting quarterback. The former Five Star Plus+<\/a> prospect will take over for Quinn Ewers<\/a> as the full-time starter after getting some run a year ago as Ewers suffered an injury.<\/p>\n

However, there\u2019s still plenty of quarterback talent around the country to watch in 2025. Here are Athlon Sports\u2019 full Top 10 QB units this coming season.<\/p>\n

CLICK HERE <\/a>to buy Athlon\u2019s 2025 magazine online<\/p>\n

1. Texas<\/p>\n

Arch Manning is getting plenty of buzz this year, but he\u2019s not the only former highly touted recruit in Texas\u2019 quarterback room. The Longhorns also have redshirt freshman Trey Owens<\/a> and true freshman K.J. Lacey<\/a> in tow \u2013 both of whom were four-stars out of high school \u2013 and come in as Athlon Sports\u2019 No. 1 QB unit in 2025.<\/p>\n

Manning, though, is set to lead the charge as the starter after two years behind Quinn Ewers. In his limited action, the former No. 1 overall player has 969 passing yards and nine touchdowns while adding 115 rushing yards and four touchdowns on the ground.<\/p>\n

2. Clemson<\/p>\n

\"ClemsonAlex Hicks Jr. | USA TODAY Sports via Imagn Images<\/p>\n

Following a breakout year in 2024, Cade Klubnik<\/a> will take center stage once again at Clemson<\/a>. He helped lead the Tigers to the College Football Playoff<\/a> a year ago and will look to maintain their spot atop the ACC in 2025.<\/p>\n

In addition to Klubnik \u2013 who threw for 3,639 yards and 36 touchdowns in 2024 \u2013 Clemson has another former touted recruit in redshirt freshman Christopher Vizzina<\/a>. As a result, the Tigers came in at No. 2 in Athlon Sports\u2019 Top 10 QB units for 2025.<\/p>\n

3. LSU<\/p>\n

LSU<\/a> got a big boost this year when Garrett Nussmeier<\/a> said he planned to run it back in Baton Rouge. In the conversation for the No. 1 overall pick in the draft, he\u2019s looking to build on his 4,052 passing yards and 29 touchdowns after taking over for Jayden Daniels<\/a> as QB1.<\/p>\n

The Tigers also brought in a quarterback from an SEC rival, landing former Mississippi State<\/a> QB Michael Van Buren<\/a>. Former four-star recruit Colin Hurley<\/a> is also part of Athlon Sports\u2019 third-ranked quarterback unit this year.<\/p>\n

4. South Carolina<\/p>\n

One of the top returning quarterbacks in the country, LaNorris Sellers<\/a> made a strong impression in his first year as South Carolina\u2019s<\/a> starter in 2024. He threw for 2,534 yards and 18 touchdowns while adding 674 rushing yards and seven touchdowns as a bona fide dual-threat, and he\u2019s back for another go-round.<\/p>\n

The Gamecocks made a splash in the transfer portal<\/a>, as well, as they brought in former Ohio State<\/a> quarterback Air Noland<\/a>. A former four-star prospect, he was the No. 5-ranked quarterback from the 2024 cycle, according to the On3 Industry Ranking<\/a>, a weighted average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies.<\/p>\n

5. Florida<\/p>\n

\"FloridaDoug Engle | Gainesville Sun | USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images<\/p>\n

DJ Lagway<\/a> began his freshman year as a backup at Florida<\/a>, but ultimately took the starting quarterback job and ran with it. The hype continues to build around the rising sophomore, heralded as one of the top returners in the nation in 2025.<\/p>\n

Lagway is part of a quarterback room that also features Louisville<\/a> transfer Harrison Bailey<\/a> and 2025 four-star Tramell Jones<\/a>. That group comes in as Athlon Sports\u2019 No. 5-ranked quarterback unit for this year.<\/p>\n

6. Penn State<\/p>\n

Although rumors swirled about whether he\u2019d head to the NFL Draft, Drew Allar<\/a> is back for Penn State<\/a> in 2025. He\u2019ll look to continue making his case for the 2026 draft and take a leap forward in Year 2 of Andy Kotelnicki\u2019s<\/a> system.<\/p>\n

Allar \u2013 a former five-star prospect \u2013 is now joined by a former four-star prospect in Ethan Grunkermeyer<\/a> following Beau Pribula\u2019s<\/a> departure. Penn State as a whole comes in at No. 6 in Athlon Sports\u2019 top QB units for 2025 and will look to maintain its place toward the top of a loaded Big Ten.<\/p>\n

7. Ohio State<\/p>\n

The quarterback competition at Ohio State<\/a> is still coming into focus, but the Buckeyes have some talent in the room. Former five-star Julian Sayin<\/a> is vying for the job, as is Lincoln Kienholz<\/a>, and former five-star Tavien St. Clair<\/a> is also on board.<\/p>\n

As a result, the Buckeyes have an up-and-coming quarterback unit in 2025. The race for the starting job is largely between Sayin and Kienholz, head coach Ryan Day<\/a> previously said<\/a>, and a decision will come after training camp.<\/p>\n

8. Arizona State<\/p>\n

\"Sam(\u00a9 Brett Davis-Imagn Images)<\/p>\n

Now looking to build off a huge 2024 season, Sam Leavitt<\/a> is back at Arizona State<\/a>. He helped lead the Sun Devils to the College Football Playoff after transferring from Michigan State<\/a> and told On3\u2019s Pete Nakos<\/a> three plays are helping fuel his bid<\/a> for the Heisman Trophy.<\/p>\n

Leavitt threw for 2,885 yards and 24 touchdowns and ran for 443 yards and five touchdowns. He\u2019s joined in the quarterback room by former Nebraska<\/a> and Georgia Tech<\/a> quarterback Jeff Sims<\/a> as part of a Top-10 unit, according to Athlon Sports.<\/p>\n

9. Miami<\/p>\n

With Carson Beck<\/a> on his way in, Miami<\/a> made another splash in the transfer portal this year. Add in Emory Williams<\/a> and four-star Luke Nickel<\/a>, and the Hurricanes have one of Athlon Sports\u2019 top-10 QB rooms.<\/p>\n

Beck is coming off an impressive run at Georgia<\/a>, although he went through a rough patch in 2024. He still threw for a career-high 28 touchdowns along with 3,481 yards before heading to Miami for his final year of college football.<\/p>\n

10. Oregon<\/p>\n

With Dillon Gabriel<\/a> in the NFL, the expectation is Dante Moore<\/a> will be next man up at Oregon<\/a>. They both arrived in Eugene via the transfer portal last year, with Moore looking to develop behind the experienced Gabriel.<\/p>\n

Now, Moore is ready to go and told On3\u2019s Pete Nakos<\/a> about the impact Gabriel had<\/a> on him as he prepares to assume the starting job. Four-star Akili Smith<\/a> will now look to learn from Moore, and they help boost Oregon into Athlon Sports\u2019 Top 10 QB units in 2025.<\/p>\n

With just a few months left before the 2025 season gets underway, quarterback play will continue to be front and center. These 10 units are considered some of the best in the country, as well, with training camp on the horizon.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Quarterback play will be front and center during the 2025 college football season. The hype is building around…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":140126,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2026],"tags":[32725,5242,5978,15516,32726,32727,32728,5982,5792,32729,32730,7,5796,20829,32731,32732,5801,32733,32734,32735,5992,32736,20830,27743],"class_list":{"0":"post-140125","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-football","8":"tag-air-noland-24-langston-hughes","9":"tag-arch-manning-23-isidore-newman","10":"tag-cade-klubnik-22-westlake","11":"tag-carson-beck-20-mandarin","12":"tag-christopher-vizzina-23-briarwood-christian","13":"tag-colin-hurley-24-trinity-christian-academy","14":"tag-dante-moore-23-martin-luther-king","15":"tag-dj-lagway-24-willis","16":"tag-drew-allar-22-medina","17":"tag-emory-williams-23-milton","18":"tag-ethan-grunkemeyer-24-olentangy","19":"tag-football","20":"tag-garrett-nussmeier-21-marcus","21":"tag-harrison-bailey-20-marietta","22":"tag-jeff-sims-20-sandalwood","23":"tag-julian-sayin-24-carlsbad","24":"tag-lanorris-sellers-23-south-florence","25":"tag-lincoln-kienholz-23-t-f-riggs","26":"tag-luke-nickel-25-milton","27":"tag-michael-van-buren-24-st-frances-academy","28":"tag-sam-leavitt-23-west-linn","29":"tag-tavien-st-clair-25-bellefontaine","30":"tag-tramell-jones-25-mandarin","31":"tag-trey-owens-24-cy-fair"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":"Validation failed: Text character limit of 500 exceeded"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/140125","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=140125"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/140125\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/140126"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=140125"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=140125"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=140125"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}