Arch Manning and Carson Beck were supposed to dominate 2025, but the final rankings tell a different story. Let's look at the 5 biggest college football stars who failed to live up to their preseason ESPN Top 100 hype.
Arch Manning and the 5 most overrated college football stars in the ESPN Top 100 originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
The 2025 college football preseason rankings felt like gospel in August, but by January, the script was completely flipped.
What promised a rich variety of promising future NFL quarterbacks, devolved into disappointments. Now only Heisman Trophy National Champion Fernando Mendoza stands as the lone "sure thing" first round QB pick. A player who was unranked on ESPN's Top 100 list back in the summer.
Here are five well known CFB stars who saw their stock plummet once the games started to count.
5. Carson Beck, QB, Miami
Preseason Rank: No. 29 | Final Rank: No. 49
The Georgia transfer arrived in Hurricanes country with "savior" expectations, but a 20-spot slide tells the real story. Despite a trip to the National Title, Beck’s individual efficiency cratered as he struggled with a career-high interception rate and inconsistency in the red zone. He's now largely seen as a future game manager and back-up type in the pros.
More: Beyond the top 100: 5 college football stars who shattered their 2025 preseason rankings
4. Arch Manning, QB, Texas
Preseason Rank: No. 23 | Final Rank: No. 58
Heavy is the head that wears the Manning crown. Despite the talent, the prodigy's first full year as the starter was defined by "sophomore jitters" and a 35-spot rankings drop as he struggled to maintain elite production against the gauntlet of the SEC. Manning improved as the year progressed, but returning to school in 2026 looks to be the right move longterm.
3. John Mateer, QB, Oklahoma
Preseason Rank: No. 16 | Final Rank: Unranked (Top 100)
Mateer entered the college year as an intriguing Top 20 prospect. He ended it completely out of ESPN's 100 ranked players. While battling a hand injury, the SEC’s defensive speed was a brutal reality check for the Sooners' signal-caller, whose turnover issues, led to a total disappearance from the national conversation.
2. Garrett Nussmeier, QB, LSU
Preseason Rank: No. 8 | Final Rank: Unranked (Top 100)
The hype train for "Nuss" was at full speed in August, however, a free fall out of the top 100 end of season college player rankings was shocking. In nine games the Tigers senior through just 12-TDs to 5-INTs, losing his last three games and battled injuries. The arm talent remains tantalizing, but this one time "lock" first round draft pick has tumbled to a Day 3 prospect.
1. Cade Klubnik, QB, Clemson
Preseason Rank: No. 4 | Final Rank: Unranked (Top 100)
After a breakout 2024, Klubnik entered 2025 as the No. 4 player in the nation and a Heisman frontrunner, only to completely fall out of the final Top 100. A disastrous 1-3 start and underwhelming 16-TDs/6-INTs stat line, turned his senior campaign into the bigges preseason rankings bust.
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