Few quarterbacks in the SEC are coming into 2025 with starting experience.

Texas quarterback Arch Manning is the betting favorite to win the Heisman; however, he only has two career starts under his belt.

But LSU’s Garrett Nussmeier is entering the 2025 season having played in 31 career games, including starting all 13 games for the Tigers in 2023.

At SEC Media Days, LSU head coach Brian Kelly’s comments about his starting quarterback shouldn’t go unnoticed as the fifth-year senior aims to win the 2026 National Championship.

It’s no secret that LSU has a track record of sending elite quarterback talent to the NFL. Joe Burrow has been a top quarterback in the league for years, and most recently, Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels was the NFL Rookie of the Year and took the league by storm in 2024.

In 2024 — his first full season as the starting quarterback — Nussmeier threw for 4,052 yards, 29 touchdowns and 12 interceptions. Now, Kelly is confident that his quarterback will take a similar leap to what Daniels made in his second season.

“Garrett Nussmeier will have a similar jump. It’s because you go on the road and it’s sold out, you play teams that are so well-coached and so balanced and have great players that you have no choice but to learn, develop, and get better, or you’re going to be left by the side,” Kelly said.

“So that’s why I’m so confident that experience in this league at the quarterback position is the most important thing. Could you come in and play as freshmen? Absolutely. But there will be those moments where you look like a freshman. You look like a first-year player. Garrett will tell that you. And he wasn’t a true freshman. He had seen it, been there.”

Despite having the second-best odds of winning the Heisman Trophy in 2025, Kelly said winning the award is not Nussemeier’s goal.

“All of our conversations with him aren’t about individual goals, they’re about how do I lead this football team to a championship,” Kelly said. “All we’ve seen is him leading, him being selfless. His selflessness is going to be the differentiator from last year to this year, as well as the experience he had playing against really good SEC teams.”

Kelly also highlighted Nussemeier’s mentality and willingness to learn and improve as a player as one of the reasons he believes his quarterback has what it takes to win in the SEC.

“Every day he comes to workouts, every day I come to practice, he’s looking for areas to improve on. I would tell you that experience is going to be his best teacher in the SEC. Having played a year in the SEC and seeing what needs to happen on a consistent basis is most important,” Kelly said.

“He brings the individual trait that coaches love because he wants to be taught, coached. He wants to be coached hard. He wants to be coached in a manner that gets him to be the best version of himself.”

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Arch Manning has taken college football by storm.

The Longhorns quarterback has only started two career games for Texas. Despite his inexperience, he’s widely expected to be in the Heisman conversation in 2025 as the starting quarterback in Austin, Texas.

While Manning has only started two career games, he has game experience under his belt. In 2024, when he served as the Longhorns’ backup quarterback behind Quinn Ewers, Arch Manning still saw the field in 10 games, where he had 90 pass attempts and 13 total touchdowns.

The 21-year-old quarterback said that experience will help him in 2025.

“Anytime you can get reps in the game and make an impact to help your team win, it definitely builds your confidence for the following year,” Manning said.

Many players come to college programs around the country and need time to mature. But Manning is far from a “typical” player, and Texas’ head coach Steve Sarkisian believes his maturity will help him succeed with the Longhorns.

“He’s got a very even keel about him, he’s very quick-witted, he’s got a great sense of humor about himself and he’s OK to laugh at himself,” Sarkisian said. “I think that’s a great quality to have.”

While Sarkisian said he understands the coaching staff has to do their part in putting him in a good position to win, he knows Arch Manning already has what it takes.

“He’s a great guy, he’s a great teammate and he has an unbelievable work ethic,” Sarkisian said. If he stays true to himself, that’s gonna help him navigate these waters as they present themselves.”

For Manning, the key to the offseason wasn’t necessarily on the football field. Instead, he wants to become a more vocal leader for his team.

“As much as it wasn’t always easy, those two years I feel like I got a lot of respect from the team,” Manning said. “Now, being more of a vocal leader, they know it’s coming from a place of love and I’m not just being a turd.”

With everything going for him, Sarkisian knows that when adversity strikes during the season, his starting quarterback will battle through.

“He’s prepared for the moment, but now it’s time for him to go do it,” Sarkisian said.

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A new SEC football documentary is set to premiere in just a few weeks.

SEC Football: Any Given Saturday, a Netflix Sports series that followed the conference in 2024, will premiere August 5. The show will feature eight, 45-minute episodes.

Netflix released the official trailer for the show on Monday.

“This series places viewers inside some of college football’s most storied programs in the SEC through unfiltered access to their coaches and players on and off the field: on the buses, in the locker rooms, at the barbershops, around the fire pits, running out of the tunnels, and more,” according to the original announcement on December 18, 2024. “We take an exclusive look at key matchups throughout the SEC season to show the passion and drama of college football’s leading conference.”

The show followed the SEC throughout the 2024 season and allowed access to the conference that had multiple teams make the College Football Playoff and featured multiple historic upsets.

“This behind-the-scenes docuseries will bring all the drama and pageantry of Southeastern Conference Football to a worldwide Netflix audience,” SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey said after the original announcement of the documentary.   “Football in the SEC will be presented in a way never seen before through the elite storytelling skills of Box To Box, the content studio that has produced numerous award-winning Netflix docuseries. We are excited about this new delivery of content for SEC fans everywhere.”

Netflix’s sports lineup has grown immensely over the last few years, including NFL shows Quarterback and Receiver, Starting Five — which follows NBA players — and Full Swing, which features professional golfers.The production company for the SEC football documentary, Box To Box Films, is the same one that produced Full Swing.

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Fleck — the head football coach of the Golden Gophers — signed a contract extension with Minnesota that will keep him with the program through the 2030 season, the school announced Wednesday.

Since he was named head coach in 2017, PJ Fleck has compiled a 58-39 record, including 6-0 in bowl games. His 58 career wins are the fifth-most by a coach in program history.

In eight seasons at Minnesota, Fleck has led the Golden Gophers to four eight-win seasons, including an 11-2 campaign in 2019. The 11-win season was the most wins for a Minnesota team in over 100 years.

Most recently, the Golden Gophers went 8-5 in 2024 with a 5-4 record in the Big Ten. Minnesota ended its season with a win over Virginia Tech in the Duke’s Mayo Bowl.

Before becoming the head coach at Minnesota, PJ Fleck — a Sugar Grove, Illinois, native — played wide receiver at Northern Illinois University. As a senior, Fleck earned First-team All-MAC honors.

Upon graduation, Fleck signed an undrafted free agent deal with the San Francisco 49ers, where injuries limited his two-year NFL career.

Fleck then began his coaching career as a graduate assistant at Ohio State in 2006, before he was hired by Northern Illinois to be the program’s wide receivers coach.

Fleck spent two seasons in the same role at Rutgers before he became the wide receivers coach for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2012. In 2013, he was hired as the head coach at Western Michigan before taking over the Minnesota program four years later.

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Big 12 Commissioner Brian Yormark came out swinging at the conference’s media day on Tuesday.

During his introductory press conference at The Star in Frisco, Texas, Yormark shared some strong opinions about the Big 12 heading into the 2025 football season.

“I believe the Big 12 will be the deepest football conference in America,” Yormark said. “No league offers the competitive balance that we do. Last season the Big 12 led the nation in fourth quarter lead changes and go-ahead scores in the final minute of conference games.”

Yormark also highlighted the Big 12’s star power entering the 2025 season, especially at the quarterback position.

“The Big 12 returns nine starting quarterbacks who threw for over 2,400 yards last season,” Yormark said. “The rest of the power-four combined have just 11.”

Arizona State quarterback Sam Leavitt, Iowa State quarterback Rocco Becht and TCU quarterback Josh Hoover headline the Big 12 as key returners to their respective teams.

Leavitt — who led Arizona State to a Big 12 title and College Football Playoff appearance last year — totaled 3,328 offensive yards and 29 touchdowns. Leavitt was already named the conference’s preseason Offensive Player of the Year on Monday.

In addition, Becht is coming off a junior season in which he eclipsed 3,823 yards and 33 touchdowns for the Cyclones, followed by Hoover, who garnered 3,930 yards of offense and 31 touchdowns for the Horned Frogs.

In Arizona, Arizona State, Colorado and Utah’s debut season in the conference — and the Big 12’s first season with 16 teams — Arizona State, Colorado, Iowa State and BYU each finished with a 7–2 conference record.

Even with the overall success, the Big 12’s only team in the College Football Playoff was Arizona State, which had an automatic bid from its conference championship win.

Despite the Sun Devils’ double overtime loss to Texas in the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl, Yormark is confident this season’s playoffs will feature more teams from the Big 12.

“I expect the Big 12 to earn multiple College Football Playoff bids this year,” Yormark asserted.

On top of the returning talent and star power, Yormark pointed to the conference’s coaches who will help push the Big 12 to new heights.

“We also boast one of the nation’s top coaching lineups, from Hall of Famers to rising stars,” he said.

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With Big 12 media day Tuesday and Wednesday, Arizona State quarterback Sam Leavitt and Texas Tech linebacker Jacob Rodriguez were honored with preseason awards by the conference on Monday.

Leavitt — a redshirt sophomore — was named the Big 12 2025 preseason Offensive Player of the Year, while Rodriguez — a senior — was dubbed the conference’s preseason Defensive Player of the Year.

Leavitt transferred to Arizona State after redshirting in his freshman season at Michigan State. In his first full season with the Sun Devils, Leavitt led Arizona State to a Big 12 title in the program’s first season in the conference.

Leavitt finished his first season in Tempe, Arizona, as the school’s new record holder for most total yards by a freshman with 3,328. He threw for 2,885 yards, 24 touchdowns and six interceptions in 13 games.

Jacob Rodriguez, on the other hand, led Texas Tech’s defense in 2024 with a team-high 127 total tackles, five sacks and 10.5 tackles for a loss. At season’s end, Rodriguez was named to the All-Big 12 first team by conference coaches and the Associated Press.

After losing an overtime heartbreaker to Texas in the first round of the College Football Playoff last year, Leavitt seeks to lead Arizona State to the playoffs for a second consecutive season.

Meanwhile, Rodriguez serves as a vital piece of consistent leadership on the Red Raiders, who are bringing in the No. 2 transfer portal class in the country.

In addition to Leavitt and Rodriguez, Utah junior quarterback Devon Dampier was chosen as the Big 12’s preseason Newcomer of the Year. 

The full All-Big 12 team is below. Texas Tech and Iowa State each lead the conference with three selections each.

Preseason All-Conference Team (Offense)

Quarterback: Sam Leavitt, Arizona State, Redshirt Sophomore

Running Back: Bryson Washington, Baylor, Redshirt Sophomore

Running Back: Jahiem White, West Virginia, Junior

Fullback/Halfback: Will Swanson, Kansas State, Senior

Wide Receiver: Eric McAlister, TCU, Senior

Wide Receiver: Chase Roberts, BYU, Redshirt Senior

Wide Receiver: Jordyn Tyson, Arizona State, Redshirt Junior

Tight End: Joe Royer, Cincinnati, Redshirt Senior

Offensive Lineman: Ben Coleman, Arizona State, Graduate

Offensive Lineman: Spencer Fano, Utah, Junior

Offensive Lineman: Bryce Foster, Kansas, Redshirt Junior

Offensive Lineman: Caleb Lomu, Utah, Redshirt Sophomore

Offensive Lineman: Jordan Seaton, Colorado, Sophomore

Place Kicker: Will Ferrin, BYU, Redshirt Senior

Punt Returner/Kick Returner: Josh Cameron, Baylor, Redshirt Senior

Preseason All-Conference Team (Defense)

Defensive Lineman: David Bailey, Texas Tech, Senior

Defensive Lineman: Dontay Corleone, Cincinnati, Redshirt Senior

Defensive Lineman: C.J. Fite, Arizona State, Junior

Defensive Lineman: Lee Hunter, Texas Tech, Senior

Defensive Lineman: Domonique Orange, Iowa State, Senior

Linebacker: Jacob Rodriguez, Texas Tech, Senior

Linebacker: Austin Romaine, Kansas State, Junior

Linebacker: Keaton Thomas, Baylor, Redshirt Junior

Defensive Back: Xavion Alford, Arizona State, Redshirt Senior

Defensive Back: Bud Clark, TCU, Senior

Defensive Back: Jeremiah Cooper, Iowa State, Senior

Defensive Back: DJ McKinney, Colorado, Junior

Defensive Back: Jontez Williams, Iowa State, Redshirt Junior

Punter: Palmer Williams, Baylor, Junior

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Early access for EA Sports College Football 26 is just one day away, and the worldwide launch of the video game is set for this Thursday.

The new and improved video game will have more than 2,800 new plays, over 10,000 players and at least 300 real-world coaches, the first time that EA Sports has included college football coaches in the series.

The game will also feature “new situation and stadium-specific music, fight songs, and dynamic commentary,” according to EA Sports’ website.

As college football fans across the country wait to play with their favorite teams and players, we have already taken a look at how each team stacks up. While each team’s full roster with overalls won’t be known until the game’s release, here’s a peek at the highest-rated player at every offensive and defensive position in EA Sports College Football 26.

Defensive positional overalls

Free Safety: Caleb Downs, Ohio State (96 overall)

Middle Linebacker: Anthony Hill Jr., Texas (95 overall)

Left Defensive End: T.J. Parker, Clemson (95 overall)

Right Defensive End: Dylan Stewart, South Carolina (94 overall)

Cornerback: Jermod McCoy, Tennessee (94 overall)

Defensive Tackle: Peter Woods, Clemson (94 overall)

Strong Safety: Dillon Thieneman, Oregon (93 overall)

Right Outside Linebacker: Suntarine Perkins, Ole Miss (93 overall)

Left Outside Linebacker: Gabe Jacas, Illinois (92 overall)

Offensive positional overalls

Wide Receiver: Jeremiah Smith, Ohio State (98 overall)

Halfback: Jeremiyah Love, Notre Dame (95 overall)

Left Tackle: Kadyn Proctor, Alabama (94 overall)

Right Tackle: Spencer Fano, Utah (94 overall)

Right Guard: Ar’maj Reed-Adams, Texas A&M (93 overall)

Tight End: Eli Stowers, Vanderbilt (93 overall)

Quarterback: Cade Klubnik, Clemson (92 overall)

Left Guard: Cayden Green, Missouri (92 overall)

Center: Jake Slaughter, Florida (92 overall)

A full list of the top 100 players in EA Sports College Football 26 is here.

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Five-star offensive line prospect Felix Ojo put on a Texas Longhorns hat on Friday as the crowd in attendance screamed in excitement.

But Ojo took the hat off and tried to calm the crowd down.

Twenty seconds later, he made a historic announcement while picking up a hat from underneath the table.

Ojo, the No. 5 prospect in the 2026 recruiting class, committed to Texas Tech over Ohio State, Texas, Florida and Michigan and will receive a blockbuster fully guaranteed revenue-sharing contract with the Red Raiders, a three-year, $5.1 million deal, according to multiple reports.

“A new ERA of CFB is coming either jump on the train or get left behind,” Felix Ojo told Rivals’ Hayes Fawcett.

Ojo’s contract is higher than fellow offensive lineman Jackson Cantwell’s deal with Miami and is one of the richest revenue-sharing deals under the federal settlement, which was approved June 6, which allows programs to directly pay their athletes.

Ojo’s pledge also makes history for Texas Tech as he’s now the highest-rated recruit the program has ever landed. At 6-foot-7, 285 pounds, Ojo is the No. 4 offensive tackle and second-best recruit from Texas in the class with legitimate potential to play on Sundays for a long time.

Ojo was a multi-year starter at Lake Ridge High School in Mansfield, Texas, and will head roughly 350 miles west to Lubbock, Texas.

For the Red Raiders — who are looking to contend in the Big 12 this season —they’ve significantly improved their roster this offseason after an 8-5 record in 2024. Texas Tech has the No. 2 transfer portal class in the country, only behind the LSU Tigers.

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A year ago at this time, college football fans around the country were counting down the days to get on the sticks and play EA Sports College Football 25, the first release of the video game in over a decade.

Now, fans are looking forward to playing as their favorite teams for a second straight year when EA Sports College Football 26 is released between July 7 and July 10.

Here are the 10 best teams, by overall, in EA Sports College Football 26:

10.  LSU — 86 overall

9. Oregon — 86 overall

8. Texas A&M — 88 overall 

7. Clemson — 88 overall

6. Georgia — 88 overall

5. Notre Dame — 88 overall

The Fighting Irish were one game away from capturing their program’s 12th national title last season and will have a mixture of new players and proven production in 2025—26. A new quarterback will be at the helm following the departure of Riley Leonard to the NFL. However, running back Jeremiyah Love will return as one of the best tailbacks in the country, as well as wide receivers Jaden Greathouse and Jordan Faison. Defensively, Notre Dame has a new defensive coordinator in Chris Ash, who replaced Al Golden.

4. Penn State — 88 overall

The Nittany Lions, led by quarterback Drew Allar, are going to face immense pressure to make a run at a national championship this season. Penn State is returning not only Allar but its elite running back duo in Nicholas Singleton and Kaytron Allen. As a program that always prides itself on defense, the Nittany Lions brought in Jim Knowles from Ohio State as their defensive coordinator, a strong move that could propel them to the top of college football.

3. Ohio State — 88 overall

The defending National Champion Buckeyes lost 17 players to the NFL, but are reloaded and ready to make a run to go back-to-back. Ohio State will have a new quarterback in 2025 and will be surrounded by young talent on both sides of the ball, including receiver phenom Jeremiah Smith and do-it-all safety Caleb Downs.

2. Texas — 88 overall

The Longhorns are one of the favorites to win the National Championship in 2025—26 after falling to Ohio State just one game short of a national title game appearance. With quarterback Arch Manning ready to take the reins at quarterback, it should be no surprise that the video game is buying into the well-deserved hype.

1. Alabama — 89 overall

The Crimson Tide, who are coming off a disappointing 9-3 regular season record, are the video game’s highest-rated team. Alabama has seven players rated in the game’s top 100, including wide receiver Ryan Williams, a 95 overall, who is one of the game’s cover athletes and the fifth-best player.

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