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?

Dax Collins

Tulsa · LB

99.4

MarcAnthony Parker

Navy · LB

99.0

Muaaz Byard

UAB · LB

98.3

#	Player	Team	Grade
1	Dax CollinsTulsa	Tulsa	99.4
2	MarcAnthony ParkerNavy	Navy	99.0
3	Muaaz ByardUAB	UAB	98.3
4	Gavin WillisCharlotte	Charlotte	98.3
5	Marlin DeanUAB	UAB	98.3
6	Zach RuffinMemphis	Memphis	95.6
7	Curly OrdonezTemple	Temple	95.6
8	Chris Thompson Jr.Tulsa	Tulsa	94.7
9	Brandon TuckerUTSA	UTSA	94.2
10	Ike EsonwuneUAB	UAB	93.2
11	Zakye BarkerNorth Texas	North Texas	91.0
12	Kadin SchmitzCharlotte	Charlotte	89.8
13	Coleman CauleyNavy	Navy	89.1
14	Makai WilliamsTulane	Tulane	81.9
15	Darion WhiteUTSA	UTSA	79.8
16	Dickson AguTulane	Tulane	79.8
17	Aaron AlexanderNorth Texas	North Texas	79.1
18	Joseph Sipp Jr.Florida Atlantic	Florida Atlantic	77.4
19	Mike MontgomeryMemphis	Memphis	74.7
20	Owen PeweeUTSA	UTSA	74.7
21	Leon Hart Jr.Florida Atlantic	Florida Atlantic	72.0
22	Zavier HamiltonSouth Florida	South Florida	68.6
23	Eric StuartTemple	Temple	67.0
24	Julien DavisEast Carolina	East Carolina	64.1
25	Sam RobinsonSouth Florida	South Florida	64.1
26	Elijah WaltonArmy	Army	61.8
27	DJ Johnson Jr.East Carolina	East Carolina	61.8
28	Jackson BarkerEast Carolina	East Carolina	60.5
29	Austin HarnetiauxRice	Rice	57.8
30	Crews LawEast Carolina	East Carolina	57.8
31	Nate FischerFlorida Atlantic	Florida Atlantic	55.9
32	Jerry Wall IIICharlotte	Charlotte	55.9
33	Cooper KingRice	Rice	54.0
34	Brenden ReeseNorth Texas	North Texas	51.5
35	Bryce GraysUTSA	UTSA	51.5
36	Stone CombsRice	Rice	49.6
37	James Walley Jr.UTSA	UTSA	45.3
38	Jaquavious MossArmy	Army	45.3
39	Ashton MosleySouth Florida	South Florida	42.7
40	Christian JohnsonNavy	Navy	42.7
41	Sam StoneTulsa	Tulsa	42.7
42	Rodney HillSouth Florida	South Florida	40.8
43	JJ ClaytonMemphis	Memphis	39.0
44	Camron CooperUTSA	UTSA	34.7
45	Eze OsonduUTSA	UTSA	34.7
46	Cade LawEast Carolina	East Carolina	32.2
47	Marcus BleazardNavy	Navy	32.2
48	Kadan SpratlingMemphis	Memphis	27.9
49	Cedric RobertsNorth Texas	North Texas	27.9
50	Chris RodgersTulane	Tulane	27.9

Top 50 of 73. 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.