Texas quarterback Arch Manning is among the top 10 passers returning to college football in 2025, while Florida’s DJ Lagway just missed the cut. However, an anonymous SEC coach says he would vote for the young Gators star over Manning in his 2025 Heisman Trophy ballot. Lagway played 12 games (seven starts) for Florida as a true freshman this season and completed 59.9% of his passes for 1,915 yards and 12 touchdowns against nine interceptions. He added 101 yards on the ground.
“[Lagway] at the top of my list,” an anonymous SEC coach told ESPN this week. “If I was right now voting for a Heisman guy, it would probably be him over Arch. He’s going to be their team. They’re going to go as he’s going to go.”
The former five-star recruit and top-ranked prospect in the class threw for 456 yards in his first career start, a Week 2 matchup against Samford, breaking the single-game program record for most passing by a freshman. HE recorded his second 300-yard outing in the Gasparilla Bowl win over Tulane with 305 yards and a touchdown with two interceptions.
“Lagway kind of built like a running back, hard to tackle, probably a little bit more athletic than some people give him credit for, and he seems to be a good passer,” an anonymous SEC defensive coordinator added. “Some of the decision-making that he showed as a freshman was pretty impressive.”
The Manning era at Texas officially kicks off in 2025 as Quinn Ewers departed for the NFL draft. The former five-star prospect out of New Orleans Isidore Newman made two starts during the 2024 regular season as Ewers nursed an abdominal injury and impressed with a 325-yard, two-touchdown passing performance in a win over Mississippi State in Week 5. He’s completed 66.3% of his passes for 969 yards and nine touchdowns with two interceptions and rushed for 115 yards and four more scores in his two seasons in Austin.
Manning turned heads with his legs this season, galloping for a season-high 53 yards against UTSA and running six times for 33 yards and a score against Mississippi State. He also scored the first touchdown of the SEC Championship games against Texas A&M with a tough 15-yard scamper on 4th A& 2 late in the first quarter.
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“That was way more natural than I thought it was going to be,” an anonymous opposing coach said of Manning’s rushing ability. “I was blown away by how effortless it looked. Going into the game, I had respect for his body size, the way he threw it, how he commanded things. But then, obviously, he ran well in the game. He’s going to be in the Heisman conversation for damn sure.”
