Early August Is For College Football Fall Camps And Heisman Predictions
College football programs from Blacksburg, Va., to Boulder, Colo., from Ann Arbor, Mich., to Ames, Iowa., from Morgantown, W.V., to Madison, Wisc., and from Berkeley, Calif., to Baton Rouge, La., are back in action, knee deep in pre-season camps and neck deep in playbooks, piled up Gatorade cups and discarded athletic tape.
The college football season kicks off with six games on Aug. 23, followed by a full slate of action between Aug. 28-Sept. 1.
Heating up just as rapidly as thermometers in August is the college football media world’s prognostication season — where predictions of conference champions, CFP qualifiers, national champions and All-Americans are coming out fast and furious,
And, of course, Heisman predictions are starting to roll out as well.
So let’s take our first – albeit it early – peak around the college football’s pundit class and see which names are being bandied about for the most famous bronze statue this side of a European museum.
Venerable ESPN commentator and radio host Paul Finebaum went all in on Texas quarterback Arch Manning this week.
Said Finebaum on Monday about the talented Longhorn QB with the famous family pedigree: “Come on, you know what the answer is, it is Arch Manning. Here’s why. It isn’t because I am in love with the guy. It is because he is going to win that first game (against Ohio State) on the biggest stage in college football this year. All of a sudden it is going to go Archmania to its going to transcend the sport of college football. He has so many other big moments during the season and the Heisman is often won by those moments.”
Fair enough. Sound logic. Could happen. We’ll see how game 1 goes come Aug. 30 when Texas and Ohio State match up in a rematch of the 2024 College Football Playoffs semifinal game.
Manning, by the way, is eyeing his first full season as a starter after a 2024 year marred by injuries.
His Week 1 opponent will feature Buckeye star receiver Jeremiah Smith, who is also one of the top favorites for the Heisman following a freshman season that saw him make 76 catches for 1,315 yards and 15 touchdowns.
ESPN college football expert Heather Dinich tapped Smith as her preseason Heisman favorite on the same ESPN morning show as Finebaum.
Said Dinich: “I’m picking Jeremiah Smith to win the award. He’s only 19-years-old. 17.3 yards per catch, 15 touchdowns. When you look at his numbers in the College Football Playoff, 45 yards for one catch, 43 yards for another. I mean, he’s a big time playmaker. The award goes to the best player, not the best quarterback.”
Fellow ESPN college football announcer Louis Riddick threw his hat into a a purple and gold ring when he predicted LSU QB Garrett Nussmeier would win the Heisman on the same broadcast.
Considering that two of the past six Heisman winners have been LSU quarterbacks — Joe Burrow in 2019 and Jayden Daniels in 2023 — going with a Tiger signal caller is at the least a reasonable prediction.
Said Riddick: “I’m going to go with Garrett Nussmeier. He’s going to be the one who’s in control. He’s the one who has the ball in his hands every single play. He’s uber-talented. He’s super smooth, makes great decisions, really poised in the pocket and he’s in control of his own destiny. I kind of like that. I kind of like what he brings to the table.”
Nussmeier was fifth nationally in both passing yards (4,052) and passing yards per game in 2024 (311.7) and was second in completions and third in attempts while throwing 29 TDs.
On3 analyst J.D. PicKell went on a preseason limb to predict a quartet of Heisman finalists.
He selected new Oregon QB Dante Moore, South Carolina QB LaNorris Sellers, LSU’s Nussmeier and Ohio State’s Smith. He also picked Smith as the ultimate winner.
Again, you can see the logic. Oregon has produced back-to-back Heisman quarterback finalists while Smith, should he win, would be the third wide receiver since 2020, joining Alabama’s DeVonta Smith and Colorado’s Travis Hunter.
The folks at Saturday Blitz published a handful of “bold predictions” for the upcoming season and No. 1 was that first-year Oklahoma quarterback and Washington State transfer John Mateer would win the Heisman.
Mateer was a bit of a breakout star in 2024, leading the Cougars to an 8-5 season and an appearance in the Holiday Bowl.
Per Saturday Blitz: “Mateer has that Baker Mayfield type of play style that has swag and will get his teammates ready to run through a brick wall for him. Mix that in with his playmaking ability using his legs, and he has Heisman consideration written all over him. If he brings Oklahoma to win 9-10 games and make the CFP, then the writing is on the wall that he balled out, making a big name for himself in the process. Johnny Football 2.0? 2025 could be a huge year for Mateer.”
Speaking of longer shots, eight college football writers among the good folks at The Athletic selected 32 different Heisman hopefuls, in a snake draft, picking in order of Heisman favorites to dark horses.
The top eight predicted winners included, in order, Clemson quarterback Cade Klubnik, Smith, Manning, Notre Dame running back Jeremiyah Love, Nussmeier, Sellers, Auburn QB Jackson Arnold and Penn State QB Drew Allar.
Arizona State QB Sam Leavitt, Oregon’s Moore, Kansas State QB Avery Johnson and new Miami QB Carson Beck were among the next eight chosen. Former USC and now Louisville QB Miller Moss was among the third octet of names selected, as was new Alabama QB starter Ty Simpson and his top target, wideout Ryan Williams. The longest of long shots among the players chosen by The Athletic staff, pick 32 for a Heisman win, was SMU QB Kevin Jennings. Jennings helped lead the Mustangs to a perfect ACC season last year and a berth in the CFP playoffs.
