Greg McElroy details why Arch Manning is already an early 2025 Heisman Trophy favorite

Texas quarterback Arch Manning is among the Heisman Trophy favorites as he enters his first year as the starting quarterback for the Longhorns. FanDuel’s latest Heisman odds have Manning with the second-best odds at +900, behind only LSU quarterback Garrett Nussmeier at +800.

ESPN college football analyst Greg McElroy joined SportsCenter Friday and explained why Arch Manning is one of the favorites to bring home the Heisman Trophy.

“It’s a little bit of a sign of the times,” McElroy said. “One, it’s very much a quarterback-centric award. It’s a very highlight reel-centric award. And it’s a lot about conversation. So those that have a lot of buzz and a lot of publicity, they’re naturally going to kind of gravitate towards the top of the list.

“It’s just there’s so many voters, and several of the voters don’t cover college football year-round. So Arch Manning is a name that everybody knows.”

It’s not that McElroy expects Arch Manning to struggle in 2025. In fact, he expects the opposite. That doesn’t necessarily mean that he should be one of the favorites to win the Heisman, though, based strictly on talent.

“You see the last name Manning, you already assume that this guy is phenomenal, without even watching anything from him so far this year,” McElroy said. “So I think it’s understandable given the fact that the Heisman’s become very much a popularity contest in college football, as much as it is about what you do on the field.”

While McElroy understands why Arch Manning is one of the favorites for the Heisman, he isn’t willing to bet on him just yet. He feels like bettors are paying a premium to vote for Manning because of his name.

“I think it makes a lot of sense, but at that price I’m not sure I’m willing to bite just yet,” he said.

Greg McElroy explains Arch Manning’s ‘heavy burden’ as Texas’ starting QB in 2025

Texas quarterback Arch Manning is already viewed as one of the top QBs in college football, despite having made just two starts in his college career. That’s understandable given the fact that he was the No. 1 recruit in the class of 2023 and is from the greatest quarterback family of all time.

ESPN college football analyst Greg McElroy believes that Arch Manning is worthy of all the hype he is receiving, but he also warned that Manning is carrying a heavy burden as he takes over the Texas starting quarterback job.

“Look, Arch has a heavy burden. Let’s just acknowledge. Because I think us as American sports fans, we acknowledge, we see the last name Manning, and we think he’s the next great American quarterback,” Greg McElroy said Friday on SportsCenter. “He’s the guy that is best positioned to challenge Patrick Mahomes at the next level, because why wouldn’t he be? That’s what I think people think.”

There is a big difference between being one of the best quarterbacks in college football and being ready to challenge Patrick Mahomes, but according to McElroy, some have that expectation of Manning.

McElroy feels like a portion of football fans are expecting too much from Manning.

“Now, I don’t know if that’s fair, because Arch needs to be Arch,” McElroy said. “He’s not today Peyton. He’s not today Eli. He just needs to be himself, and that’s a really heavy burden to deal with.”