Rece Davis chooses his standout QB between Arch Manning & Garrett Nussmeier ahead of CFB 2025 season

Quarterback Arch Manning is expected to take a big step in his college football career next season. After two years backing up Quinn Ewers in Texas, Manning is expected to be announced as the starter with Ewers headed to the 2025 NFL draft. Another QB who is expected to be a standout next season is LSU's Garrett Nussmeier, who broke out in 2024.

Both players are expected to contend for the Heisman Trophy next season. They will compete against each other in the SEC next year, but only one can be named First-Team All-SEC.

On Wednesday's "College GameDay Podcast," analysts Rece Davis and Pete Thamel made their predictions for who will get the designation in 2025.

Thamel made his prediction first, saying that he thinks Nussmeier will beat out Manning for the accolade. However, Davis disagreed, picking Manning.

"I might lean Arch though," Davis said. "With the Sark numbers. Nussmeier, I think, is as good as anybody in the country. His arm talent is ridiculous. The throws are great.

"I guess what I'm saying is, I think Texas might be better than LSU next year, and that will help. That will help Arch, even if Nussmeier maybe puts up slightly better numbers if Texas wins more games. That might help."

Arch Manning and Garrett Nussmeier are the top two Heisman contenders in 2025

Arch Manning and Garrett Nussmeier will be competing for more than the honor of being named the best QB in the SEC next season. They are also expected to compete with each other for the Heisman Trophy.

FanDuel has early odds for the 2025 Heisman Trophy, and Manning and Nussmeier are the top two contenders. The top 10 are as follows:

1. LSU QB Garrett Nussmeier +800
2. Texas QB Arch Manning +900
3. Clemson QB Cade Klubnik +1000
4. Oregon QB Dante Moore +1200
5. Ohio State WR Jeremiah Smith +1200
6. Tennessee QB Nico Iamaleava +1400
7. South Carolina QB LaNorris Sellers +1800
8. Penn State QB Drew Allar +1800
9. Ohio State QB Julian Sayin +1800
10. Miami QB Carson Beck +2000

Nussmeier had a breakout 2024 season in his first year as the starter. He completed 337 of 525 passing attempts for 4025 yards and 29 touchdowns.

Conversely, Arch Manning has only started a few games throughout his career. He is taking over the starting job from Quinn Ewers and is expected to have an immediate impact on the Longhorns offense.