The Athletic's Stewart Mandel is a preseason Penn State believer, placing the Nittany Lions atop his too-early top 25 for 2025. "I'm skeptical they can actually pull it off," Mandel writes, "but on paper, James Franklin's team deserves that status given how many players are returning."

Ohio State had the most talented roster in the country. The first is a fact. The second is, technically, an opinion -- one shared by everyone on ESPN's committee selecting the top 100 players of the 2024-25 season -- but it'd be tough to come up with a compelling argument for someone else.

Year 2 of the 12-team College Football Playoff era in the 2025 season. In the way-too-early top 25, you shouldn't need formal introductions. We are referring to the stars of tomorrow, today. Arch Manning (finally) takes over at quarterback for Texas as the Longhorns sit as out preseason No.