Urban Meyer looks past Arch Manning & Garrett Nussmeier to $4M NIL-valued star as the favorite to win the Heisman Trophy

BetMGM has Texas quarterback Arch Manning as the current favorite to bring home the Heisman Trophy next season, with names such as LSU passer Garrett Nussmeier and Ohio State receiver Jeremiah Smith trailing. Urban Meyer has weighed in on the stiff-arming statue debate.

Meyer, who coached Ohio State from 2012 to 18, is a big believer in the Buckeyes' exceptional wideout, who had a Big Ten-best 1,315 receiving yards and 15 touchdown grabs on 76 receptions. According to On3, Smith's NIL deals are valued at $4 million. He has 453,000 followers on Instagram.

"Well, the best player in the country — maybe in the last decade — is Jeremiah Smith," Meyer said Wednesday on "The Triple Option" podcast (45:00). "He's the best player. ... Arch Manning — to be determined. I said that and I think some Texas fans got a little upset saying he's the next coming. He might be. He's really good."

"If I had to say, (Smith is) only +1200? Arch Manning is No. 1 at +700 as far as the betting. I'm gonna say Jeremiah Smith is gonna be the first receiver in a while to win the Heisman Trophy."

Revisiting the performances Arch Manning and Jeremiah Smith had last season

Arch Manning was stuck behind incumbent Longhorns quarterback Quinn Ewers for the majority of last season. Manning had a pair of starts as Ewers was briefly out injured, beating UL Monroe and Mississippi State. Manning finished the season with 90 pass attempts, completing just over two-thirds of them. He had 939 passing yards, nine touchdown passes, and two interceptions.

Jeremiah Smith, on the other hand, was a lineup mainstay. He stepped in for Ohio State as a true freshman and was a godsend for transfer quarterback Will Howard. In the middle of last season, former Alabama quarterback and ESPN college football analyst Greg McElroy had high praise in labeling a comparison for Smith.

"This guy comes in with all sort of fanfare," McElroy said. "He reminds me very much of a guy like Julio Jones. Just big, physical, looks the part. He looks like he's 28 years old when he's just 18 or 19. But, he's not really at this point, giving up any physical limitations to anyone he's played against."

Smith's presence was never more important than late in the Buckeyes' College Football Playoff national title game win over Notre Dame. He hadn't seen the ball the entire second half of that contest, but on 3rd-and-11, with the outcome hinging on the result of the play, he pulled it out. A 45-yard grab from Howard sealed matters.

"He was biting on anything that we were doing all game at him, so I just knew if I stick and run past him I'd be open," Smith said after the victory.

The race for the Heisman between Arch Manning and Jeremiah Smith will be a sight to behold.