Urban Meyer has made a bold pick for the winner of the 2025 Heisman Trophy. Texas Longhorns quarterback Arch Manning is the favorite to win the sport’s most prestigious individual trophy. But Meyer is going with someone else to win the award – a non-quarterback.
Arch Manning has yet to be Texas’ full-time starting quarterback. He’ll be making that jump in 2025. While Arch Manning has only played a handful of snaps of college football, he’s already emerged as the favorite to win the 2025 Heisman Trophy.
The former five-star recruit, whose uncles are Peyton and Eli Manning, is a +700 favorite to win the 2025 Heisman Trophy. Texas is expected to be really good in 2025 – possibly opening the season at No. 1 in the country – and typically, the quarterbacks for the best teams in the country are frontrunners for the award. So, Arch Manning isn’t a bad bet.
However, Urban Meyer is going with a different pick.
Big Ten Network.
Meyer, a three-time national title-winning head coach at Ohio State and Florida, is going with a wide receiver to win the 2025 Heisman Trophy.
The 60-year-old former coach turned TV analyst is picking Ohio State wide receiver Jeremiah Smith, who will be a true sophomore in 2025, to win the Heisman Trophy.
“Well, the best player in the country in maybe the last decade is Jeremiah Smith. He’s the best player. If I had to say it’s only +1200. Arch Manning’s number one at +700 as far as the betting. I’m gonna say Jeremiah Smith’s gonna be the first receiver in a while to win the Heisman Trophy,” Meyer explained on his Triple Option podcast with Rob Stone podcast.
Colorado Buffaloes star Travis Hunter won the 2024 Heisman Trophy. While he played wide receiver, he also played defensive back. It was his two-way skill that won him the award.
Only three true wide receivers have won the Heisman Trophy – DeVonta Smith of Alabama in 2020, Desmond Howard of Michigan in 1991 and Tim Brown of Notre Dame in 1987.
Smith, who had 76 catches for 1,315 yards and 15 touchdowns during Ohio State’s national championship season in 2024, is expected to be next on that list.
Ohio State doesn’t have a starting quarterback penciled in for the 2025 season yet – which Meyer admits will obviously be important – but the Buckeyes have other important factors, too.
“I will say this though, for everyone to understand though. As important as a quarterback is, that is number one. But who’s the Emeka [Egbuka] on the other side? You can take away a good receiver. You can’t take away two,” Meyer explained.
“When I had Louis Murphy and Percy Harvin. When I had Terry McLaurin and Michael Thomas. You can’t take away two because you can’t rotate the coverage. So, will Carnell Tate develop enough to take the heat off Jeremiah?”
Tate, a former five-star recruit, recently announced that he would be returning to Columbus for his junior season. The Buckeyes will need a big year from him if Smith is going to have a shot at winning the Heisman Trophy.
