College Football Player Grades by Position

QB RB WR TE DL LB DB

Qualified: at least 5 targets per game against FBS teams, over two games or more. Show everyone

Jordan Shipp

North Carolina · WR

94.6

Malachi Toney

Miami · WR

94.1

Keenan Jackson

NC State · WR

91.8

#	Player	Team	EPA/play	Success%	Plays	Grade
1	Jordan ShippNorth Carolina · EPA 0.94	North Carolina	0.938	73%	22	94.6
2	Malachi ToneyMiami · EPA 0.99	Miami	0.989	75%	28	94.1
3	Keenan JacksonNC State · EPA 0.94	NC State	0.937	76%	17	91.8
4	Jordan AllenGeorgia Tech · EPA 0.99	Georgia Tech	0.989	72%	18	87.9
5	Carlos HernandezWake Forest · EPA 0.87	Wake Forest	0.871	60%	50	82.8
6	Duce RobinsonFlorida State · EPA 0.78	Florida State	0.779	58%	19	81.1
7	Justus Ross-SimmonsSyracuse · EPA 0.86	Syracuse	0.856	67%	15	80.5
8	Tre RichardsonLouisville · EPA 0.84	Louisville	0.842	61%	18	75.4
9	Jalen CooperSMU · EPA 0.78	SMU	0.777	77%	22	74.3
10	Dalen PensonGeorgia Tech · EPA 0.69	Georgia Tech	0.690	71%	17	65.8
11	Umari HatcherSyracuse · EPA 0.51	Syracuse	0.512	48%	33	54.0
12	TreyShun HurryLouisville · EPA 0.49	Louisville	0.494	60%	20	49.4
13	Kameron CourtneyVirginia · EPA 0.59	Virginia	0.588	53%	15	47.7
14	Cataurus HicksPittsburgh · EPA 0.49	Pittsburgh	0.485	43%	21	44.4
15	Yamir KnightSMU · EPA 0.47	SMU	0.467	57%	30	41.0
16	T.J. MooreClemson · EPA 0.32	Clemson	0.324	57%	28	35.9
17	Javarius GreenBoston College · EPA 0.36	Boston College	0.358	52%	27	31.9
18	Censere LeePittsburgh · EPA 0.25	Pittsburgh	0.249	57%	21	29.1
19	Ian StrongCalifornia · EPA 0.22	California	0.220	43%	23	28.0
20	Chase HendricksCalifornia · EPA 0.16	California	0.162	48%	21	21.8
21	Lawayne McCoyLouisville · EPA 0.24	Louisville	0.244	45%	22	18.9
22	Que'Sean BrownVirginia Tech · EPA 0.14	Virginia Tech	0.137	44%	34	17.8
23	Bryant Wesco Jr.Clemson · EPA 0.14	Clemson	0.144	42%	26	13.3

How college grades work

College grades use the same method as the NFL: every play's expected points added, adjusted for how good the defense was, ranked against every other player at the position. The play data comes from CollegeFootballData.com, with ESPN's play feed saying who threw, ran and caught the ball. Four things are different.

Only games against FBS teams count. A power-conference offense against an FCS defense tells us little about either, so those games show in the game log but aren't graded.
Garbage time is left out: plays with a lead of more than 38 points in the 2nd quarter, 28 in the 3rd, or 22 in the 4th. Blowouts are common in college, and backups piling up numbers against backups would otherwise count like starters.
No win probability or completion-percentage data. The college play feed doesn't have them, so grades rest on opponent-adjusted EPA and success rate (the share of plays with positive EPA).
Grades and leaderboards use a minimum workload: every grade is a percentile among the players who meet it, so a few plays can't skew anyone else's. Per game against FBS teams, 14 dropbacks for quarterbacks, 10 touches for running backs, 5 targets for receivers and 3 for tight ends, counted over at least two games. Defenders need to have played in half their team's games.

Defensive grades use the same box-score impact score as the NFL's, minus forced fumbles, which the college box score doesn't record.