College football · 2026

Season grade leaderboard

Every FBS player judged play by play against FBS opponents, updated after every game. How is this calculated?

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?

#PlayerGrade
1Armorion SmithToledo98.4
2Jason MarshallEastern Michigan98.0
3Anthony PinnaceBall State97.3
4Bryce LlewellynEastern Michigan96.0
5Sterling SmithBall State94.4
6DJ WalkerOhio93.7
7Kal-El PascalBowling Green91.6
8Rayquan AdkinsEastern Michigan89.9
9Nicholas ThompsonToledo89.0
10Israel PetiteToledo89.0
11Quentavius ScandrettBall State87.9
12JT HaskinsOhio86.6
13Joey PopeWestern Michigan85.3
14Boogsie SilveraSacramento State84.3
15Caleb DobbsEastern Michigan84.3
16Joel CordobaKent State84.3
17Amari WallaceSacramento State83.3
18Preston EstoEstaBowling Green81.8
19John KeoughBuffalo80.9
20Miles GreerBuffalo79.8
21Justin TaylorCentral Michigan76.4
22Tairan Davis Jr.Akron76.4
23Darrell Bryant Jr.Central Michigan76.4
24Kaleb MartinMiami (OH)74.7
25Joshua FranklinWestern Michigan73.0
26Zeraun DanielMassachusetts73.0
27Cam JonesToledo71.2
28Kaleb HutchinsonToledo71.2
29Juan SalasEastern Michigan71.2
30Jaion JacksonCentral Michigan68.9
31Willizhuan YatesBall State68.9
32Warren Smith Jr.Sacramento State66.8
33Ronnell DavisBuffalo66.8
34Isaiah ReedMassachusetts65.2
35Ronald Jackson Jr.Ohio65.2
36Mo ContehToledo65.2
37Rodrick HunterAkron63.5
38Kendall BannisterOhio63.5
39Jahmad HarmonMassachusetts61.6
40Darren James-HamiltonOhio61.6
41Jarvarius SimsWestern Michigan61.6
42Aamii BranchAkron59.5
43Donovan WatkinsToledo59.5
44Daeh McCulloughWestern Michigan59.5
45Dionte ThorntonSacramento State59.5
46Norey JohnsonKent State57.1
47A'tiq MuhammadKent State57.1
48Cedric Franklin IIBall State57.1
49Drey BraxtonBowling Green54.4
50Kobi BlackwellBuffalo54.4

Top 50 of 121. 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.