Ranking college football’s 10 best players entering 2025 season

One of the game’s most powerful ballcarriers, Jeremiyah Love galloped his way to five 100-yard games as a sophomore and was one of the options in Notre Dame’s run-heavy backfield, which included quarterback Riley Leonard. Notre Dame’s Sugar Bowl win over Georgia marked the first time all season he failed to reach the end zone as the team’s leader in touchdowns (17). We’re expecting Love to transform into more of a high-volume back this fall prior to his expected entry into the NFL.

The first of three teams with multiple selections, Clemson is loaded on both side of the football ahead of the 2025 season. T.J. Parker should be the preseason favorite to win ACC Defensive Player of the Year given his prowess off the edge for the Tigers. A former four-star recruit from Alabama, Parker set a new program record with six forced fumbles last fall and enters his junior season with 105 tackles (32 for loss), 16.5 sacks, three fumble recoveries and three pass breakups in 1,085 snaps over 27 career games.

As a necessity to Arizona State’s continued success in the Big 12, Sam Leavitt should see a rise in production without Cam Skattebo shouldering some of the offensive load this season. Leavitt was elite for Kenny Dillingham’s squad as a freshman, establishing himself as one of the nation’s top players. He went 4-1 against ranked teams, the lone loss coming in double-overtime to Texas in the College Football Playoff. Leavitt’s four-touchdown outing in the Big 12 title game against Iowa State was his arrival moment nationally and there’s more to come.

An absolute menace off the edge as a five-star true freshman, Dylan Stewart will be South Carolina’s featured threat on defense this fall given the talent losses on that side of the football for Shane Beamer. While quarterback LaNorris Sellers has received much of the preseason shine, it’s Stewart who has an opportunity to be the first player taken at his position down the road in the NFL Draft. He’s going to command double teams this season now that the exit of reigning SEC Defensive Player of the Year Kyle Kennard leaves a major void on the other side of the defensive line.

Once spring practice is over, Arch Manning will be three years into Steve Sarkisian’s offensive system and will finally get his opportunity to shine in 2025 with Quinn Ewers off to the NFL. You’re going to see the Longhorns able to do more offensively from a quarterback run standpoint, too. While the pass-catchers will be different around Manning along with a four new starters along the offensive line, the preseason Heisman frontrunner has a chance to ascend to top billing nationally as the face of a program that should get back to the playoff as one of the SEC’s favorites.

When he’s on, Garrett Nussmeier has No. 1 overall pick potential. When he’s off, the quarterback who once backed up Heisman winner and top NFL rookie Jayden Daniels can be turnover-prone. Consistency trumps all with Nussmeier, who was elite in the fourth quarter in wins over Ole Miss and South Carolina, but struggled during losses to Alabama and Texas A&M. He’s a super-talented passer with incredible arm strength and plays with extreme confidence. Brian Kelly and LSU quarterbacks coach Joe Sloan hope he’s Heisman-level in 2025 and the Tigers have done all they can to ensure the weaponry around him is top-notch.

Projected to be one of college football’s most productive passers in 2025, Cade Klubnik is on the brink of a record-setting season as a third-year starter at Clemson. Klubnik was superb during his second go-around with Garrett Riley calling the plays in 2024, throwing 17 more touchdown passes than he did the previous campaign thanks to improvements made as a passer. He’s comfortable in clutch situations and Clemson has the deepest wide receiver room in the ACC, which will undoubtedly help.

The first of three consecutive former five-star recruits, Anthony Hill Jr. has 22 starts over his first two seasons with the Longhorns and is a heat-seeking missile when it comes to getting after opposing quarterbacks and tracking down ballcarriers. Offenses must account for where No. 0 is on the field at all times. The former Freshman All-American and co-Big 12 Defensive Freshman of the Year was terrific as one of the leaders of the Texas defense last season in the SEC, notching 107 tackles, a team-best 16 stops behind the line of scrimmage and multiple multi-sack efforts. By the way, fellow former five-star Longhorns signee off the edge, Colin Simmons, has next.

There’s not a player in college football as cerebral as Caleb Downs in terms of diagnosing a play pre-snap then destroying the opposing team’s next snap. He made play after play for the Buckeyes down the stretch last season, from coming up big in crunch during the national semifinal against Texas to helping Ohio State shut down the Tennessee offense in December. Downs is the best defensive player in transfer portal history after originally starring for Alabama in 2023 before racking up 82 tackles and a pair of interceptions for the Buckeyes last season.

College football’s most electrifying freshman sparkled throughout the 2024 season, but his playoff performances were extraordinary. Jeremiah Smith saved his best for Ohio State’s final few games and helped the Buckeyes win the national championship. The No. 1 overall player in the 2024 recruiting cycle, Smith is a weapon opposing defenses must always be aware of. Not only does he bring a physical presence in third-down situations, but Smith’s a home run threat at the second level. He’s the total package and could be the No. 1 overall pick in the 2027 NFL Draft.