College Football Player Grades by Position

Qualified: played in at least half of their team's games against FBS teams. Show everyone

Defensive grades use box-score stats, not play-level attribution, so they carry lower confidence than offense grades. Why?

Thomas Davis

Tulsa · DL

99.7

Kyran Duhon

Tulsa · DL

98.7

Elijah Kinsler

Memphis · DL

98.5

#	Player	Team	Grade
1	Thomas DavisTulsa	Tulsa	99.7
2	Kyran DuhonTulsa	Tulsa	98.7
3	Elijah KinslerMemphis	Memphis	98.5
4	AJ BrownRice	Rice	96.1
5	J'Mond TappMemphis	Memphis	93.8
6	Aiden LyczekNavy	Navy	93.8
7	Tylin JacksonUAB	UAB	92.8
8	David OnuohaNorth Texas	North Texas	91.6
9	DJ BurgessCharlotte	Charlotte	89.1
10	Kieran DavisEast Carolina	East Carolina	89.1
11	Ed Smith IVTulane	Tulane	88.2
12	Michael Williams IISouth Florida	South Florida	85.4
13	Taylor BurtonMemphis	Memphis	84.4
14	Jaylon JohnsonCharlotte	Charlotte	83.7
15	Blake BurrisFlorida Atlantic	Florida Atlantic	83.7
16	Torin BrazellEast Carolina	East Carolina	82.8
17	Griffen WillisNavy	Navy	80.0
18	Aquantis ClemmonsRice	Rice	80.0
19	Kendrick DuJourEast Carolina	East Carolina	78.5
20	Levi SmileySouth Florida	South Florida	78.5
21	Devin AncrumCharlotte	Charlotte	78.5
22	KJ MilesMemphis	Memphis	77.2
23	Kameron HamiltonTulane	Tulane	75.7
24	Udoka EzeaniNorth Texas	North Texas	75.7
25	Jaylen GeorgeTulsa	Tulsa	75.7
26	C.J. HicksSouth Florida	South Florida	75.7
27	Xavyer ArringtonNavy	Navy	73.6
28	Dillon StowersArmy	Army	71.4
29	Reshad SterlingTulane	Tulane	71.4
30	Will UpshawTulsa	Tulsa	71.4
31	Tai NewhouseTulsa	Tulsa	71.4
32	Warren Roberts Jr.Tulane	Tulane	69.3
33	Geordan GuidryTulane	Tulane	69.3
34	Chris SpencerUAB	UAB	67.5
35	Cam CunninghamUAB	UAB	65.3
36	Davion RhodesNorth Texas	North Texas	65.3
37	Braden BaysRice	Rice	65.3
38	Jasiyah RobinsonEast Carolina	East Carolina	65.3
39	Justin BentonNorth Texas	North Texas	65.3
40	Asani RedwoodSouth Florida	South Florida	65.3
41	Jo ChavezRice	Rice	63.1
42	Jamil DavisCharlotte	Charlotte	63.1
43	Joseph Head Jr.Memphis	Memphis	61.0
44	Wilky DenaudFlorida Atlantic	Florida Atlantic	61.0
45	Sterling SandersUAB	UAB	61.0
46	Arias NashTulsa	Tulsa	58.7
47	Enyce SledgeFlorida Atlantic	Florida Atlantic	56.7
48	Shaku SangarieCharlotte	Charlotte	54.5
49	Tai LeonardUTSA	UTSA	51.9
50	CJ Doggette Jr.Florida Atlantic	Florida Atlantic	51.9

Top 50 of 109. Pick a conference to see more.

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.