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?

Eli Coenen

Michigan State · DL

98.5

TJ Bush Jr.

Minnesota · DL

98.1

Dominic Nichols

Michigan · DL

97.4

#	Player	Team	Grade
1	Eli CoenenMichigan State	Michigan State	98.5
2	TJ Bush Jr.Minnesota	Minnesota	98.1
3	Dominic NicholsMichigan	Michigan	97.4
4	John Henry DaleyMichigan	Michigan	96.9
5	Kenny Soares Jr.Michigan State	Michigan State	96.6
6	Tobi OsunsanmiIndiana	Indiana	95.4
7	Sahir WestUCLA	UCLA	94.9
8	Jide AbasiriUSC	USC	94.4
9	Riley SunramMinnesota	Minnesota	94.4
10	Luke WafleUSC	USC	92.8
11	Karter MenzMinnesota	Minnesota	92.8
12	Bear AlexanderOregon	Oregon	91.0
13	Anthony SmithMinnesota	Minnesota	90.4
14	Kenyatta Jackson Jr.Ohio State	Ohio State	89.8
15	Tariq BoneyMichigan	Michigan	89.8
16	Nate MarshallMichigan	Michigan	89.1
17	Yvan KemajouPenn State	Penn State	89.1
18	Jacob LaneWashington	Washington	86.7
19	Jonah Lea'eaMichigan	Michigan	86.7
20	Jeremy LewisPurdue	Purdue	86.7
21	Williams NwaneriNebraska	Nebraska	85.4
22	Michael KilbaneNorthwestern	Northwestern	84.4
23	Hammond Russell IVWisconsin	Wisconsin	84.4
24	Isaiah WardWashington	Washington	84.4
25	Derek Colman-BrusaWashington	Washington	83.7
26	Sidney StewartMaryland	Maryland	83.7
27	Enow EttaMichigan	Michigan	82.8
28	Nahsir TaylorMaryland	Maryland	82.8
29	Breeon IshmailPurdue	Purdue	81.5
30	Trey PierceMichigan	Michigan	81.5
31	Jamaal JohnsonNorthwestern	Northwestern	80.0
32	Tyrique TuckerIndiana	Indiana	80.0
33	Jahsear WhittingtonNebraska	Nebraska	80.0
34	Zion EleeMaryland	Maryland	80.0
35	Riley Van PoppelNebraska	Nebraska	78.5
36	Ean RheaIllinois	Illinois	78.5
37	Ben RobertsMichigan State	Michigan State	78.5
38	Jason MooreOhio State	Ohio State	77.2
39	Charles PerkinsWisconsin	Wisconsin	75.7
40	Derrick LeBlancMaryland	Maryland	75.7
41	Stephen DaleyIndiana	Indiana	75.7
42	Mario LandinoIndiana	Indiana	75.7
43	Kameryn CrawfordUSC	USC	73.6
44	Nolan VilsWisconsin	Wisconsin	73.6
45	Darin ConleyWashington	Washington	73.6
46	Keanu WilliamsPenn State	Penn State	71.4
47	Keyshawn BurgosPurdue	Purdue	71.4
48	Naquan CrowderMinnesota	Minnesota	71.4
49	Isaac SmithMichigan State	Michigan State	71.4
50	Keahnist ThompsonMichigan State	Michigan State	71.4

Top 50 of 145. 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.