How high should Arch Manning be? What about Nico Iamaleava? Our biggest CFB QB Tiers debates

When we embarked on ranking all 136 FBS starting quarterbacks for the upcoming college football season, we knew there would be plenty of discussion about who was too high and who was too low.

We had those debates ourselves as we compiled the rankings.

Consulting with more than 40 coaches and staffers across the country helped our slotting efforts immensely, but it didnt solve every conundrum.

Coaches opinions varied on many of the QBs, especially the ones near the top, and so did ours.

And though much of the focus will be on the quarterbacks ranked the highest, we spent exhaustive efforts differentiating quarterbacks within their own conference.

Advertisement Heres a rundown of the biggest debates we came across while placing every teams projected starter into The Athletic s College Football QB Tiers .

Whos No.

1? Sam Khan Jr.: The top quarterback was not a slam dunk.

Clemsons Cade Klubnik and LSUs Garrett Nussmeier were our top two contenders, but we talked to a few who showered lofty praise upon Floridas DJ Lagway or South Carolinas LaNorris Sellers.

In the final week, I agonized over whether we should put Nussmeier at No.

1 or consider Sellers or Lagway, who both have elite athletic traits.

What do you think cinched it for Klubnik, Antonio? Antonio Morales: Klubnik doesnt check all of the boxes, but he checks a lot of them.

Hes a really strong deep ball thrower who is a solid athlete, too.

He had the best season of any of the players in Tier 1 when you balance individual performance and team success.

And hell have great receivers to throw to this season, which will be his third year with offensive coordinator Garrett Riley.

Its reasonable to expect the 2022 five-star prospect to take another leap this fall.

And people we really respect were very high on him.

Where to rank Arch Manning Khan: Im really high on Arch, and in our initial ranking, I had him at No.

5.

But you convinced me to slow down the hype train just a tad.

Why? Morales: I have little doubt Manning will be good, but Im a little hesitant to place him in the top five right now.

He has thrown 95 career passes, with 72 of those coming against UTSA (which went 7-6 last year), a sub-.500 Louisiana-Monroe squad and a horrible Mississippi State team.

Some have forgotten that Texas went to Manning against Georgia for a series during their regular-season meeting, and things looked like they were moving fast for him.

I believe hell be good, but I just want to see him play more against better competition before putting him that high.

Advertisement Khan: It would not surprise me if, by the end of the season, hes at or near the top of this list based on 2025 performance.

But we tried to balance career accomplishments with future projection when making this list.

To me, Mannings size, athleticism, arm strength, accuracy and intangibles all point to a star in the making.

Plus, hes coached by one of the best QB tutors in the game, Steve Sarkisian.

And the reviews weve heard this offseason have been strong.

But we havent seen as much of him as weve seen of Lagway or Sellers, which is why I felt comfortable placing him toward the bottom of Tier 1.

Where to rank Drew Allar Khan: Allar is another one I struggled with.

Scouts love the Penn State veterans traits, which is why The Athletic s Dane Brugler has mentioned he could find himself in the QB1 conversation next spring.

He took the Nittany Lions to the College Football Playoff semifinals (though his late interception is a hard image to shake).

But he hasnt wowed opposing college coaches in the way youd think someone with his ability might.

I dont think hes special or great, a Power 4 head coach told us.

On the other hand, Allar was in a new offense last year and had an underwhelming receiving corps.

Now that Penn State has loaded up at the position, will he take off? Morales: I dont expect his numbers to take a dramatic jump because Penn State has two high-quality running backs (Nick Singleton and Kaytron Allen) and will likely remain committed to the run.

Sure, on paper, the receivers look better, but tight end Tyler Warren was a pretty impactful pass catcher last season.

Allar has been disappointing in nearly all his big games, but he has also led his team to the playoffs, and not many returning quarterbacks can say the same.

The top three Big 12 quarterbacks Khan: I spent a lot of time trying to find the proper order for Arizona States Sam Leavitt, TCUs Josh Hoover and Baylors Sawyer Robertson (while also considering Iowa States Rocco Becht).

Hoover might be the best pure passer of the bunch.

Robertson basically saved Baylors season last year.

But Leavitt seems to be the total package with the highest ceiling, and that shone through in the Peach Bowl thriller against Texas.

If only allowed to choose one, most coaches we spoke with seemed to lean toward Leavitt.

Morales: I know you wrestled with that pecking order, but I agree with putting Leavitt at the top.

He really came along during the second half of last season, when the stakes were at their highest.

Im high on his physical traits as a passer and runner, too.

Advertisement What about Nico Iamaleava? Morales: This was a tough one for me.

Iamaleava was the starting quarterback for a Playoff team last season at Tennessee, but he will be surrounded by a worse supporting cast this season at UCLA, so even if he does improve, hell still have a tough road ahead.

And itll be easy to question his decision making after all the NIL holdout drama surrounding his departure from Knoxville this spring.

Do you think he shouldve been lower or higher than 19? Khan: I struggled with this, too, and was tempted to move him lower.

Iamaleava is immensely talented (quick release, strong arm, great size).

But the Vols great running game and defense carried the heaviest load last fall.

Coaches we spoke with offered a lot of skepticism about Iamaleava, and I have to imagine some of that is because of his failed contract renegotiation and the firestorm that followed.

If he can put it all together, he aint far away from being elite, one coach who faced him told me.

Hes got all the tools and talent, but I was a little underwhelmed when I saw him live.

The young first-time starters (Julian Sayin, Dante Moore, Demond Williams, etc.) Khan: One of the projects most challenging exercises was comparing guys who havent started or have only a little starting experience to guys with a lot more on their resume.

Morales: Moore was extremely inconsistent when we last saw him on the field at UCLA in 2023.

Sayin hasnt shown much of anything yet, but its really easy to believe in both players because the talent surrounding them at Oregon and Ohio State will be so good.

Williams is the one Im most excited to watch because of his mobility and creativity as a scrambler.

Are there any of the three that you have questions about? Khan: Moore is the one I got the most positive feedback on.

It seems like hes expected to break out in a big way this year.

Sayin is the one who intrigues me the most because theres so much unknown.

Weve seen less of him than the other two, but Jeremiah Smith had some high praise for his new quarterback .

At minimum, we know Sayin will have a great supporting cast.

(Photo of Nico Iamaleava: Saul Young / News Sentinel / USA Today Network via Imagn Images).

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