College Football HQ

Everyone's laughing after original 2025 Heisman Trophy rankings resurface

Joe Cox|
Arch Manning is just one of several identified 2025 Heisman candidates that seem ridiculous in retrospect.
Arch Manning is just one of several identified 2025 Heisman candidates that seem ridiculous in retrospect. | Jordan Prather-Imagn Images

In this story:

South Carolina GamecocksTexas LonghornsLSU TigersFlorida GatorsArizona State Sun DevilsAlabama Crimson Tide

The Internet doesn't hold a secret very well and predicting excellent college football players can make even adept observers seem foolish. If either triusm seems unlikely consider a recent like of Heisman Trophy candidates identified by 247sports reporter Brad Crawford in December of 2024. To say that Crawford's picks haven't aged well would be an understatement.

An unfortunate Heisman candidate list

Ohio State's Jeremiah Smith is virtually the only player from Crawford's list who can't be pretty much entirely eliminated from the Heisman discussion by midseason of 2025. But most of these players have had nearly disastrous 2025 seasons.

The SEC quarterbacks might have had the worst time. LaNorris Sellers ranked 10th in the SEC in QB rating, with Arch Manning 11th, Garrett Nussmeier 12th, and DJ Lagway 15th. Players like Blake Shapen and Beau Pribula lead the entire group in that stat, as well as most other relevant statistics.

Sam Leavitt of Arizona State and Ryan Williams of Alabama haven't been awful, but Williams isn't the top receiver on his team and Leavitt's production has been inconsistent over the first half of Arizona State's season.

Suffice it to say that many are still encountering Crawford's list and sharing some feedback.

Another group of Heisman whiffs

In all fairness, Crawford isn't alone. Analyst Phil Steele published a potentially even more diastrous top 10 Heisman candidates in his preseason football magazine. Steele included all of the players above except for Williams, but then added some more diastrous choices.

Clemson's Cade Klubnik, who no longer starts for the 3-4 Tigers, was another of Steele's picks. So was Penn State QB Drew Allar, whose poor play was a big factor in the firing of coach James Franklin. Allar is now out for the remainder of the season due to injury. Oklahoma's John Mateer isn't a terrible choice-- he started very well, but had an ugly game in a loss to Texas and isn't posting massive numbers. Probably the best of Steele's top 10 was his long-shot 10th pick, Texas Tech QB Behren Morton.

Even the best college football minds couldn't have predicted the twists and turns that the season would take. Diego Pavia and Fernando Mendoza over Arch Manning and Garrett Nussmeier was something that basically no one could have forseen. And if that's unclear, a look at the predictions reveals that some wise pickers missed the boat.

Published
Joe Cox
JOE COX

Joe is a journalist and writer who covers college and professional sports. He has written or co-written over a dozen sports books, including several regional best sellers. His last book, A Fine Team Man, is about Jackie Robinson and the lives he changed. Joe has been a guest on MLB Network, the Paul Finebaum show and numerous other television and radio shows. He has been inside MLB dugouts, covered bowl games and conference tournaments with Saturday Down South and still loves telling the stories of sports past and present.

Home/Picks