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?

Tre Fulton

UNLV · DB

99.8

Kona Moore

Hawai'i · DB

99.1

Max Mustell

Air Force · DB

96.6

#	Player	Team	Grade
1	Tre FultonUNLV	UNLV	99.8
2	Kona MooreHawai'i	Hawai'i	99.1
3	Max MustellAir Force	Air Force	96.6
4	Matagi ThompsonHawai'i	Hawai'i	93.7
5	Jake PopeUNLV	UNLV	93.7
6	Darius GivanceNorth Dakota State	North Dakota State	93.2
7	Jones ThomasWyoming	Wyoming	91.0
8	Austin BrawleyNew Mexico	New Mexico	89.0
9	Kyon ConyersNorthern Illinois	Northern Illinois	87.9
10	Denver HarrisUNLV	UNLV	85.3
11	Elijah PalmerHawai'i	Hawai'i	84.3
12	Caleb WomackSan José State	San José State	83.3
13	Mumu Bin-WahadUNLV	UNLV	83.3
14	Taylen EadyNorth Dakota State	North Dakota State	79.8
15	Justin ContentUTEP	UTEP	79.8
16	Xavier SmithUTEP	UTEP	78.3
17	Yassine FalkeNorthern Illinois	Northern Illinois	78.3
18	Tavian CombsNew Mexico	New Mexico	78.3
19	Tuli Tagovailoa-AmosaSan José State	San José State	78.3
20	Quandarius KeyesUNLV	UNLV	74.7
21	Drew SpeechNew Mexico	New Mexico	68.9
22	Aiden WalkerNevada	Nevada	66.8
23	CJ McBeanNew Mexico	New Mexico	66.8
24	Kaleb MilesUTEP	UTEP	63.5
25	Brooklyn CheekWyoming	Wyoming	63.5
26	Desman HearnsWyoming	Wyoming	61.6
27	Jaylon EdmondHawai'i	Hawai'i	61.6
28	Larry Turner-GoodenNevada	Nevada	61.6
29	Therman WilliamsWyoming	Wyoming	59.5
30	Jayden RobertsonSan José State	San José State	59.5
31	Marion MooreNorth Dakota State	North Dakota State	57.1
32	Frankie Edwards IIINew Mexico	New Mexico	54.4
33	Ian BellWyoming	Wyoming	54.4
34	Korey JohnsonAir Force	Air Force	52.2
35	Isaiah JordanNevada	Nevada	52.2
36	Zion JonesNevada	Nevada	52.2
37	Jeremiah HughesHawai'i	Hawai'i	48.5
38	Esteban GuilloryUTEP	UTEP	48.5
39	Tony-Louis NkubaUNLV	UNLV	48.5
40	Elijah GipsonHawai'i	Hawai'i	46.0
41	Bryson SnellingNevada	Nevada	46.0
42	Avery JonesNorthern Illinois	Northern Illinois	46.0
43	Roger Jones Jr.Air Force	Air Force	46.0
44	Decorian ThompsonUTEP	UTEP	46.0
45	Marshall WashingtonNorthern Illinois	Northern Illinois	43.3
46	Landyn ClevelandUNLV	UNLV	43.3
47	Malik ArmstrongNorthern Illinois	Northern Illinois	40.9
48	Ormanie ArnoldNew Mexico	New Mexico	40.9
49	Bishop TurnerNevada	Nevada	40.9
50	DJ VoltzNorth Dakota State	North Dakota State	38.6

Top 50 of 86. 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.