Two out of the past five Heisman Trophy winners did not play quarterback, but smart money remains on a quarterback reclaiming the award this season. Quarterbacks won the Heisman in nine of the 10 years throughout the 2010s.

The Heisman favorite wears one of football’s most famous surnames on the back of his jersey. Texas quarterback Arch Manning enjoys 6-to-1 odds from BetMGM.

LSU quarterback Garrett Nussmeier (8½-to-1), Clemson quarterback Cade Klubnik (9-to-1), Ohio State wide receiver Jeremiah Smith (10-to-1) and Penn State quarterback Drew Allar (14-to-1) complete the top five of oddsmaker front-runners.

Give me a three-pack of Heisman picks, and I’d take Manning, Smith and Nussmeier.

Behind the front-runners are a few more quarterbacks and another wide receiver that stand out as Heisman sleepers. How do I define a sleeper? Their odds are worse than 15-to-1.

Full disclosure: I am a Heisman voter. I do not wager on the award.

Here are my top Heisman sleepers for the 2025 season:

Prime Heisman Trophy sleeper candidates

Carson Beck, Miami, QB

BetMGM odds: 25-to-1

Beck headlined the shortlist of Heisman front-runners last summer. Since then, he threw twice as many interceptions (12) in 2024 as he did the previous season, then he transferred to a worse program, he had his expensive cars stolen, and he split with his model girlfriend. Ouch! Never mind all that. He still can make throws most other quarterbacks can’t, and he should find ACC defenses to his liking. Cam Ward finished fourth for the Heisman after transferring to Miami before last season. Beck injured his elbow in December. He resumed throwing recently. If healthy, he retains Heisman-level talent.

EXPERIENCE MATTERS: Familiar faces top Big Ten QB rankings

TIME TO SHINE: Arch Manning headlines SEC QB rankings

LaNorris Sellers, South Carolina, QB

BetMGM odds: 18-to-1

Few quarterbacks outclassed Sellers by the end of last season. Ask Missouri about Sellers’ passing ability. Ask Clemson about his running ability. Dual-threat quarterbacks make for good Heisman contenders, and Sellers fits that billing. He’s an efficient passer, but he must reduce his turnovers after a redshirt freshman season filled with fumbles. A neat story helps a Heisman campaign. How’s this? Sellers signed with South Carolina as a three-star recruit who played in goggles. (He later switched to contacts.) His Heisman hopes will depend on the Gamecocks rekindling their 2024 success, when they reached the playoff’s doorstep.

Julian Sayin, Ohio State, QB

BetMGM odds: 18-to-1

Coach Ryan Day churns out successful quarterbacks. Sayin, a former blue-chip recruit, is next in line. If Sayin outperforms Manning in a season-opening clash of top teams at “The Horseshoe,” his Heisman stock will soar. Here’s your buy-low opportunity. Sayin should benefit from throwing to one of the nation’s best wide receiving corps. He might encounter Heisman competition from his teammate, Smith, but a big season for Smith probably also means a big season for Sayin. He played sparingly in 2024, but he’s got the arm to be a star. Sayin exudes upside, with a great supporting cast around him.

Long-shot sleeper to contend for Heisman Trophy

John Mateer, Oklahoma, QB

BetMGM odds: 25-to-1

Oklahoma needed a quarterback to lead a revival after the Sooners’ dismal first season in the SEC. Insert Mateer, who starred at Washington State, like Ward before him. Mateer’s offensive coordinator, Ben Arbuckle, preceded him to Oklahoma, so there’s no need for Mateer to learn a new system. Now, he just needs to prove himself in the SEC. He’s a dual threat with a bundle of playmaking skills. Oklahoma’s brutal schedule – it’s perhaps the nation’s toughest – will create a platform for Mateer to sink or shine.

Hail Mary sleeper to contend for Heisman Trophy

Ryan Williams, Alabama, WR

BetMGM odds: 35-to-1

How’s this for a Heisman narrative: Williams, at 18 years old, would be the youngest player to win the award. He introduced himself on the scene with a 177-yard receiving game against Georgia. He’ll need to find more consistency as a sophomore to emerge as a contender. Alabama will have a new starting quarterback, and it’s unclear whether that will help or hamper the pass game. Williams’ Heisman hurdles include proving himself as the nation’s best receiver within a landscape that includes Smith from Ohio State. Williams enjoys an advantage in playing for Alabama, which has produced four Heisman winners since 2009.

Blake Toppmeyer is the USA TODAY Network’s national college football columnist. Email him at BToppmeyer@gannett.com and follow him on X @btoppmeyer.

Jayden Daniels and Jared Verse not only won the NFL’s Rookie Offensive and Defensive Player of the Year awards last season, but they were also the most explosive rookies.

Daniels passed for 3,568 yards and set an NFL rookie record with 891 rushing yards. Meanwhile, Verse led all rookies with 18 quarterback hits, 77 pressures and 56 hurries.

Which rookies will generate fireworks in 2025?

Fireworks are a tradition across the country on Independence Day. In the spirit of the holiday, USA TODAY Sports’ Tyler Dragon provides his take on the four most explosive rookies this upcoming season:

Most explosive 2025 NFL rookies

Ashton Jeanty, RB, Raiders

Teams led by Pete Carroll have traditionally had stout running games. Under Carroll, the Seahawks boasted top-five rushing attacks from 2012-15. Jeanty is slated to be the feature running back in Las Vegas.

“He’s doing great. He really is. He’s right on point with everything that we’re doing. He’s studying really hard. He’s been really diligent about all aspects. There’s nothing that he doesn’t find important,” Carroll said of Jeanty this offseason. “We’re not holding anything back on him. He’s getting a lot of plays.”

It wouldn’t be a surprise if Jeanty eclipsed 1,000 yards as a rookie. He compiled 2,601 rushing yards in his final year at Boise State, the second-most ever in a single season in FBS history.

Travis Hunter, WR/CB, Jaguars

The two-way player is expected to line up on both sides of the ball in Jacksonville, although most of his snaps are likely to come on offense in Year 1.

Hunter played over 86% of Colorado’s offensive snaps and 82% of the team’s defensive snaps. 

‘We know he’s going to be able to do both,’ Jaguars head coach Liam Coen told the media. ‘We feel that in our bones. We’re going to set that up that way from a schedule, from an operations standpoint, the way that we’re going to operate for him, to set him up to have the most success that he can, then help the Jacksonville Jaguars become the best version of ourselves.’

Hunter has an opportunity to have a significant impact as a rookie. Brian Thomas Jr. was Jacksonville’s only player with more than 450 receiving yards and the club had the league’s worst pass defense last year.

Matthew Golden, WR, Packers

Golden’s 4.29 40-yard dash speed makes him a logical option as the Packers’ vertical threat, especially while Watson is sidelined.

Golden led Texas with 987 receiving yards last year. He averaged 17 yards per catch.

‘I’m ready. I’ve been waiting for this moment my whole life and to be here,’ Golden said, per the team’s official website. ‘I’m gonna be present, but I’m gonna let my presence be known and I’m gonna come in here and compete.’

Tyler Warren, TE, Colts

Warren fills a major need in Indy. The Colts had the worst tight end production in the NFL last season.

The 6-foot-5, 256-pound Penn State product was the top tight end prospect in this year’s draft. He possesses good ball skills, can run after the catch and doesn’t mind blocking. He’ll provide a security blanket for whoever starts at quarterback for the Colts.

Warren’s 104 receptions last season were tied for second in the FBS and were a Penn State school record.

“Any time you get a dynamic player of what he was able to do in college, to add that competition and add that presence and his athletic ability to our team is big for sure,” Colts coach Shane Steichen said of Warren.

Follow USA TODAY Sports’ Tyler Dragon on X @TheTylerDragon.

PHILADELPHIA — Philadelphia Phillies right-hander Aaron Nola remains on track with his rehab process.

That latest step towards to the mound for the veteran, who has been out since May 16, has taken place across the last few days at Citizens Bank Park with agility work and throwing on the ground in the outfield ahead of each game of the Phillies’ three-game series vs. the San Diego Padres.

‘It’s going smooth so far,’ Nola told USA TODAY Sports. ‘I’ve thrown probably seven times, no problems. Haven’t really gotten on it super hard yet. Hoping today goes well again and having tomorrow off to recover and back at it on Friday. It is going smoothly.’

Prior to his stint on the injured list on May 16, Nola was in an uncharacteristic rut for the Phillies, who signed him to a new seven-year, $172 million dollar contract in 2023. In nine starts this season, Nola had a 1-7 record with a career-high 6.16 ERA in 49 ⅔ innings pitched.

The Phillies entered Wednesday, July 2 with a two-game lead over the New York Mets in the National League East.

Here’s the latest updates on Nola’s injury and when the Phillies might expect their All-Star right-hander back:

Aaron Nola injury update

Nola went on the injured list for the first time — for a non-COVID injury — since 2017, on May 16 with a right ankle sprain that he sustained while doing agility work ahead of a May 9 road start vs. the Cleveland Guardians.

He pitched with the injured ankle vs. the Guardians and then again on May 14 against the St. Louis Cardinals, two starts in which he’d give up a combined 13 runs on 18 hits and five home runs.

‘I’m just blessed that it’s nothing season-ending or anything huge. But yeah, it’s been a while obviously since we’ve been on the [IL], but it’s part of baseball,’ Nola said, on the injured list for a lengthy period for the first time in his career. ‘A little speed bump that I got to get over and I believe I’m going to get over it and hopefully come back strong and have a fresh arm hopefully.’

Nola said over the last few days, he has been able to continue doing some running and agility work in the outfield, along with getting some tossing in. As for how his arm has responded to the throwing, Nola said it’s ‘feeling good.’ He also said his stress-fractured rib cage is progressing well.

‘We’re doing a good job of planning everything out and I’ve been feeling good every time I’ve thrown. I’m not trying to push it too quickly because I don’t want any setbacks,’ Nola said. ‘Obviously have some days that are a little sore just in the arm because we’re not throwing for three weeks, but that’s just normal.’

He was scheduled to run and toss a bit ahead of Game 1 of the Phillies’ doubleheader vs. the Padres on July 2, and then throw again in two days, where he hopes to get back near the mound.

‘Just to throw a couple up off the mound to feel the slope and feel the push off with my ankle and stuff like that since I haven’t been (doing that) in a little while,’ Nola said. ‘That’s kind of the progression right now.’

In his pregame availability with the media on July 2, Phillies manager Rob Thomson said the hope is to get Nola on the mound for a full bullpen session by the end of the weekend. Thomson also said that once Nola begins to ramp up his throwing program, the Phillies will treat it like a second spring training.

‘I’d say pretty close, yeah, starting over really,’ Thomson said.

Nola reiterated that plan, building up to bullpen sessions on the mound and then getting a few rehab starts — maybe two or three — to get his pitch count up. He additionally said he’s still hopeful for a target date of late July, early August, though he couldn’t tell ‘a date or a week’ for that return.

‘Honestly, trying to take it day by day and pushing the envelope just a little bit more every day I throw and run and work out,’ Nola said. ‘That’s kind of the way it’s going right now.’

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T.J. Watt has spent all eight of his NFL seasons with the Pittsburgh Steelers since being selected in the first round of the 2017 NFL Draft. Could that change during the 2025 NFL offseason?

Watt and the Steelers are in the process of negotiating a potential long-term extension. The 30-year-old is entering the final year of a four-year, $112.01 million contract he signed in 2021, but is due a raise after Cleveland Browns star Myles Garrett reset the NFL’s edge rusher market with a four-year, $160 million deal earlier this offseason.

Thus far, Watt and the Steelers have not been able to bridge the gap. The veteran skipped Pittsburgh’s mandatory minicamp amid the negotiations, leading many to wonder whether the two parties would eventually be able to reach a deal.

The Steelers remain focused on keeping Watt and signing him to an extension and would prefer not to trade him. As such, it stands to reason they will eventually agree to a new contract that keeps the 2021 NFL Defensive Player of the Year in Pittsburgh long-term.

Nonetheless, teams will continue to inquire about Watt’s availability. It is still possible, although unlikely, that the two sides could reach an impasse and part ways.

Who would be Watt’s top suitors if that happens? Plenty of contenders would be interested in his services, while the Steelers would likely prefer to send him to the NFC if their relationship deteriorates.

Philadelphia Eagles

Could Watt stay in Pennsylvania even if he and the Steelers can’t reach an agreement? Howie Roseman has never been afraid to make aggressive trades, has $30.8 million in cap space available and could use another playmaker on the edge.

The Eagles lost several edge rushers during the offseason, as Josh Sweat signed with the Arizona Cardinals in free agency, Bryce Huff was traded to the San Francisco 49ers and Brandon Graham retired. Philadelphia still has some young talent at the position in Nolan Smith Jr. and Jalyx Hunt, but adding a proven veteran like Watt would help keep its Super Bowl window open.

Detroit Lions

Detroit is one of just three NFL teams with more than $40 million in cap space for the upcoming season, making it relatively easy for Brad Holmes to fit Watt into the team’s financial plan.

Green Bay Packers

The Packers spent a first-round pick in the 2023 NFL Draft on Lukas Van Ness, hoping he could develop into a quality starter across from Rashan Gary. That plan hasn’t yet come to fruition.

Watt would be a quality partner for Gary and would allow Van Ness to remain in a top backup role while he continues to develop. Green Bay has $35.5 million in available cap space – the fifth-most in the NFL – so the Packers could easily afford to swing a deal for the All-Pro.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

The Buccaneers signed Haason Reddick to a one-year deal during the 2025 NFL offseason but that won’t preclude them from pursuing a talent like Watt. Calijah Kancey led Tampa Bay with 7.5 sacks last season, but the Buccaneers could use a legitimate double-digit sack threat on the outside.

Watt would qualify, and the Buccaneers – who have won three consecutive NFC South titles – have a respectable $26.6 million in cap space for the upcoming season.

Los Angeles Rams

The Rams have plenty of young talent on the defensive line, including reigning Defensive Rookie of the Year Jared Verse. Los Angeles could choose to roll with what it has at the position, but there’s little doubt Watt and Verse would make a fierce pass-rushing duo, much like the one Von Miller and Aaron Donald formed during the Rams’ Super Bowl 56 win.

Les Snead has never been afraid to trade draft picks for proven players, and Matthew Stafford is entering his age-37 season. That should put Watt firmly on Los Angeles’ radar.

As college football fans well know, having the best quarterback in the league does not guarantee a championship. But it certainly helps, and having an experienced hand directing the offense is a huge advantage, especially in the era of the portal.

It therefore should come as no surprise that the two teams that squared off for the ACC title last season and appeared in the inaugural 12-team playoff, both of which have incumbent signal callers in place, can be found at or near the top of our ranking of each team’s QB situation with fall practice getting underway in just a few weeks. Of course, transfers are part of the picture as well, with programs seeking to maintain upward trajectory or reverse their tumbling fortunes. Here’s how we rank the ACC starters.

1. Cade Klubnik, Clemson

The Tigers needed Klubnik to improve in his second season, and he did just that as he threw for 3,639 yards and 36 TDs in 2024 as part of a run to the ACC title and College Football Playoff. If he continues to progress, Clemson fans can think about not just making the playoff again but sticking around a while.

2. Haynes King, Georgia Tech

When healthy King was outstanding, tossing 14 TD passes with just two picks. He was also a productive runner with 587 yards and 11 scores. But his aggressive style led to some nagging injuries during much of the season, so keeping him protected will be a major priority for the Yellow Jackets.

EXPERIENCE MATTERS: Familiar faces top Big Ten QB rankings

TIME TO SHINE: Arch Manning headlines SEC QB rankings

3. Kevin Jennings, SMU

Jennings was a revelation after assuming the starting job early last season. Unfortunately, he had his the worst day of an otherwise outstanding campaign in the Mustangs’ first-round playoff loss to Penn State. But now with a full year under his belt he should keep SMU in the league title hunt once again.

4. Carson Beck, Miami (Fla.)

In arguably the splashiest move of the early transfer cycle, Beck left Georgia after two seasons as the team’s starter. He will look to pick up where No. 1 draft pick Cam Ward left off for the Hurricanes. But while his stint with the Bulldogs was largely successful, his resume does not include a national championship and he his health remains a question after an arm injury in the SEC title game.

5. Darian Mensah, Duke

The fact that the Blue Devils were able to gain the services of the highly sought after Tulane transfer indicates how serious the school is about not just being a basketball destination. Mensah threw for 2,723 yards and 22 touchdowns while leading the Green Wave to a nine-win campaign as a freshman. His sophomore campaign will be a step up in competition, but he seems ready for it.

6. Chandler Morris, Virginia

The well-traveled Morris was most recently putting up lofty passing numbers at North Texas (3,774 yards, 31 TDs). He wasn’t nearly as productive at his previous Power Four locations (Oklahoma and TCU), but he might be the experienced hand the Cavaliers need to recharge their program.

7. Max Johnson or Gio Lopez, North Carolina

Johnson’s season was over before it really got started when he was injured in last year’s opener at Minnesota, and he was still unable to participate in spring drills for new Tar Heels coach Bill Belichick. That might give the edge in the competition to Lopez, who transfers in from South Alabama, where he led the Jaguars to the program’s first bowl win.

8. Miller Moss, Louisville

As a promising season as the replacement for Caleb Williams at Southern California drifted into mediocrity, Moss lost his starting job and entered the portal. Cardinals coach Jeff Brohm’s track record with transfer quarterbacks suggests the results here will be good given the physical tools Moss brings to the table.

9. Thomas Castellanos, Florida State

As Florida State fans know all too well, not every quarterback transfer is a home run. The DJ Uiagalelei experiment was part of a disappointing two-win season last year. They hope this one will work out better, although Castellanos’s tenure at Boston College was a mixed bag as he ultimately wound up on the bench at the end of the season. His mobility and moxie should help bring improvement to the Seminoles offense.

10. Kyron Drones, Virginia Tech

Drones had highlight moments for the Hokies, but he also made his share of mistakes as the team went through a subpar season after high expectations. Consistency from the offense would go a long way toward cooling coach Brent Pry’s potentially warm chair.

11. Robby Ashford or Deshawn Purdie, Wake Forest

New Demon Deacons coach Jake Dickert has also demonstrated the ability to develop transfer QBs. Both Ashford and Purdie have starting experience at Auburn and Charlotte, respectively, though neither posted eye-popping numbers. The competition is expected to extend deep into training camp and might now be fully decided before the opener.

12. Pittsburgh, Eli Holstein

Holstein’s first season at Pitt was going swimmingly until it wasn’t, as a 7-0 start was followed by the team’s six-game losing skid. Multiple injuries sidelined him for most of the last four games. He returns after posting a respectable 61.9% completion rate with 17 scoring throws, though he must manage more accomplished defenses better.

13. Grayson James, Boston College

James started the last four games for the Eagles after replacing Castellanos in the starting lineup. He finished with solid numbers – 1,202 yards passing and six TDs – and ran for three more scores. The offense is his now, and he should be able to negotiate the Eagles’ early schedule before things heat up in October.

14. Rickie Collins, Syracuse

After seeing limited action in two seasons at LSU, Collins moved north with the Orange needing a replacement for Kyle McCord. Collins was officially named the starter by coach Fran Brown coming out of the spring. He’s a huge wildcard on this list with significant talent but few live reps.

15. C.J. Bailey, North Carolina State

Pressed into service ahead of schedule as a freshman when Grayson McCall was injured, Bailey posted solid stats with 2,413 yards and 17 TDs. He was intercepted 10 times, a number that must be reduced if the Wolfpack are to get back to the league’s upper tier. A full offseason as the starter should serve him well

16. Devin Brown, California

Cal faithful are hopeful that signing a guy who has been in Ohio State’s quarterback room works out as well as McCord did at Syracuse. Brown completed just 11 passes on 20 attempts with a touchdown in mop-up duty behind Will Howard on the Buckeyes’ title team.

17. Elijah Brown or Ben Gulbranson, Stanford

Brown, the former four-star recruit out of perennial prep power Mater Dei, is the lone remaining quarterback on the Cardinal roster with any live reps. Interim coach Frank Reich might instead turn to Gulbranson, a late portal arrival from Oregon State, to ease the transition from a chaotic offseason.

There are plenty of reasons Caitlin Clark was ranked so low by her fellow WNBA players, and jealousy isn’t one of them.

The injuries that have limited her to nine games. Her turnovers. Her shooting slump. Her continued struggles defensively. Even players recognizing Clark was almost certain to win the fan vote and wouldn’t need the boost that their teammates might.

All of these were far more likely to have been factors in players ranking Clark as the ninth-best guard than a league’s worth of green-eyed monsters.

But there’s a good number of Clark fans who are, how to put it nicely? irrational, incapable of seeing her and her game through an objective lens. Sure enough, within hours of the WNBA releasing the All-Star starters, the howling was in full throat, led by men’s college basketball analyst Dick Vitale, who claimed that ‘PURE JEALOUSY’ was to blame for Clark’s low ranking.

‘Some day they will realize what she Has done for ALL of the players in the WNBA,” Vitale huffed. ‘Charted planes – increase in salaries-sold out crowds – improved TV Ratings.’

This conspiracy theory about fellow W players resenting Clark is tired, and does a disservice to both her and the rest of the league.

There is no question Clark is a transcendent athlete, and her arrival has supercharged what was already exploding interest in women’s sports. But the W did not begin the day Clark was drafted or played her first game, and to insist the league and its players show her deference or gratitude is absurd. It ignores the foundation on which Clark stands, of course. But it also treats the W as if it’s some carnival act or reality TV show rather than a real sport. As if it would fall apart without Clark propping it up.

Shop Caitlin Calrk’s Wilson basketball line

It also diminishes Clark as an athlete. Clark is as competitive as they come, and this idea that she needs to be given things or that her game shouldn’t be evaluated honestly is insulting. We don’t do that to male athletes. Stop doing it to women athletes.

No one understands this better than the other players in the W, who have fought their entire careers to be taken seriously as athletes and earn the respect they deserve. Now that they’re finally getting it, they’re not about to turn around and start handing out participation trophies or pats on the head. They’re going to judge Clark’s game critically and, this season, there are places where it’s wanting.

Let’s start with the injuries. After never missing a game in her four years at Iowa, Clark will miss her eighth game of the season Tuesday night, ruled out for the championship of the Commissioner’s Cup between the Indiana Fever and the Minnesota Lynx.

Even before the strained quad that cost her five games, though, Clark’s shooting numbers had dipped. She was 31% from 3-point range in her first four games of the season, and had her first game without a 3 since her sophomore year at Iowa.

She’s had two more 0-fers since then, and was just 1 of 23 from 3-point range in her last three games before she was sidelined by her current groin injury.

Overall, Clark is shooting 39% from the floor. She also leads the league with 5.9 turnovers per game, 2.5 more per game than anyone else. It’s not a secret to anyone in the league that she can’t go left and her defense is, if not a liability, a weakness.

And while Clark bulked up during the offseason, she still can’t match the physicality of an Allisha Gray or a Skylar Diggins.

That’s not to say Clark is not deserving of being an All-Star. Her passing alone is worth paying money to watch — she is second to Alyssa Thomas with 8.9 assists per game — and her connection with Aliyah Boston is a joy to watch. Even if her 3-point accuracy is down, she’s still making 2.6 per game and almost every one of them is a banger.

But the bottom line is, all of this is irrelevant!

Clark got the most votes from fans, which makes her not only a starter but a captain along with Minnesota’s Napheesa Collier. Whether other players ranked her ninth or 19th, it wasn’t going to change that. It’s also an All-Star Game, not the WNBA Finals.

But no one wants to hear that. Creating Clark drama is a new favorite pastime for pundits and some fans. This is just the latest example.

Follow USA TODAY Sports columnist Nancy Armour on social media @nrarmour.