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?

Tony Rojas

Penn State · LB

99.9

Sammy Omosigho

UCLA · LB

99.8

Troy Bowles

Michigan · LB

97.9

#	Player	Team	Grade
1	Tony RojasPenn State	Penn State	99.9
2	Sammy OmosighoUCLA	UCLA	99.8
3	Troy BowlesMichigan	Michigan	97.9
4	Jalen WoodsUCLA	UCLA	97.3
5	Mason PosaWisconsin	Wisconsin	96.6
6	Braydon BrusNorthwestern	Northwestern	96.1
7	Maverick BaranowskiMinnesota	Minnesota	95.3
8	Kooper EbelPenn State	Penn State	95.1
9	Nathaniel StaehlingMichigan	Michigan	93.2
10	Cooper CatalanoWisconsin	Wisconsin	92.8
11	Devon JacksonOregon	Oregon	91.4
12	Riley PettijohnOhio State	Ohio State	90.5
13	Sebastian CheeksWisconsin	Wisconsin	89.1
14	Kobie McKinzieNorthwestern	Northwestern	87.8
15	Rolijah HardyIndiana	Indiana	87.8
16	Isaiah JonesIndiana	Indiana	87.8
17	Cam BuffingtonIowa	Iowa	87.8
18	Caleb BaconPenn State	Penn State	84.6
19	Teitum TuiotiOregon	Oregon	83.4
20	Charles CorreaPurdue	Purdue	81.9
21	Matayo UiagaleleiOregon	Oregon	81.9
22	Joey GerlachMinnesota	Minnesota	81.9
23	Moses WalkerRutgers	Rutgers	80.9
24	Jordan HallMichigan State	Michigan State	80.9
25	Desman Stephens IIUSC	USC	79.1
26	Deven BryantUSC	USC	78.5
27	Payton PierceOhio State	Ohio State	77.4
28	Jacob ManuWashington	Washington	77.4
29	Carlton SmithMaryland	Maryland	77.4
30	Ismael KanteIllinois	Illinois	75.9
31	Daniel WingateMaryland	Maryland	75.9
32	Jayden MontgomeryIowa	Iowa	75.9
33	Caleb WheatlandMichigan State	Michigan State	72.0
34	Dion CrawfordMichigan State	Michigan State	70.1
35	Chase TaylorMichigan	Michigan	70.1
36	Christian AlliegroOhio State	Ohio State	70.1
37	Will HolmesIllinois	Illinois	67.0
38	Jerry MixonOregon	Oregon	67.0
39	Scott TaylorUCLA	UCLA	65.5
40	Brady PretzlaffMichigan State	Michigan State	65.5
41	Tarvos AlfordOhio State	Ohio State	64.1
42	Cael BrezinaPenn State	Penn State	63.0
43	Dexter FosterNebraska	Nebraska	60.5
44	Dawson MerrittNebraska	Nebraska	59.3
45	Trey ReddickMaryland	Maryland	57.8
46	Landyn Van KekerixIowa	Iowa	55.9
47	Jojo HaydenPurdue	Purdue	55.9
48	Ty MorrisRutgers	Rutgers	54.0
49	Aisea MoaMichigan	Michigan	54.0
50	Tyreese FearbryWisconsin	Wisconsin	52.8

Top 50 of 95. 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.