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?

K'vion Thunderbird

Fresno State · LB

93.7

Aiden Sullivan

Oregon State · LB

93.7

Takari Hickle

Oregon State · LB

90.5

#	Player	Team	Grade
1	K'vion ThunderbirdFresno State	Fresno State	93.7
2	Aiden SullivanOregon State	Oregon State	93.7
3	Takari HickleOregon State	Oregon State	90.5
4	Sione HalaSan Diego State	San Diego State	89.8
5	Oumar DiomandeColorado State	Colorado State	86.3
6	Boen PhelpsBoise State	Boise State	83.4
7	Asher CunninghamUtah State	Utah State	81.9
8	Tytus KhajaviFresno State	Fresno State	80.5
9	Gyriece GoodmanOregon State	Oregon State	79.8
10	Terrence Cooks IITexas State	Texas State	79.1
11	Tano LetuliSan Diego State	San Diego State	78.5
12	James JennetteUtah State	Utah State	77.4
13	Ayden JonesTexas State	Texas State	77.4
14	Dylan LayneOregon State	Oregon State	72.0
15	Keith BrownWashington State	Washington State	67.0
16	Antarron TurnerColorado State	Colorado State	61.8
17	Jaseim MitchellColorado State	Colorado State	59.3
18	DJ WarnerWashington State	Washington State	55.9
19	Bronson Olevao Jr.Utah State	Utah State	54.0
20	Logan BrantleyBoise State	Boise State	52.8
21	Cameron CooperSan Diego State	San Diego State	52.8
22	Jabari OdoemenemOregon State	Oregon State	51.5
23	Max StegeBoise State	Boise State	49.6
24	Jayden Virgin-MorganBoise State	Boise State	47.7
25	Jaylen KingColorado State	Colorado State	47.7
26	Isaiah HungWashington State	Washington State	47.7
27	Jarrel ComerOregon State	Oregon State	45.3
28	Niko BaumgartnerFresno State	Fresno State	45.3
29	Logan StudtFresno State	Fresno State	45.3
30	Chris JoeUtah State	Utah State	45.3
31	Will HaverlandOregon State	Oregon State	39.0
32	Bol BolBoise State	Boise State	39.0
33	Javante MackeyTexas State	Texas State	39.0
34	Kord ShawOregon State	Oregon State	36.9
35	Kenyon AgursColorado State	Colorado State	34.7
36	Tommy NixFresno State	Fresno State	32.2
37	Cole NillesTexas State	Texas State	27.9
38	Niklas FisherOregon State	Oregon State	27.9
39	Treylin PayneTexas State	Texas State	27.9
40	Harrison TaggartUtah State	Utah State	23.7
41	BJ DiakiteUtah State	Utah State	23.7
42	TJ BurkhalterTexas State	Texas State	23.7
43	Nylan BrownWashington State	Washington State	21.4
44	Jake RippBoise State	Boise State	18.7
45	Khamani PottsColorado State	Colorado State	18.7
46	Adonis JacksonUtah State	Utah State	18.7
47	Jordan PendletonUtah State	Utah State	18.7
48	Logan KnappOregon State	Oregon State	18.7
49	Raesjon DavisOregon State	Oregon State	16.6
50	Marc PrettoColorado State	Colorado State	14.3

Top 50 of 56. 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.