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?

Elijah Melendez

Auburn · LB

99.7

Xavier Atkins

Auburn · LB

99.5

Rasheem Biles

Texas · LB

98.1

#	Player	Team	Grade
1	Elijah MelendezAuburn	Auburn	99.7
2	Xavier AtkinsAuburn	Auburn	99.5
3	Rasheem BilesTexas	Texas	98.1
4	Yhonzae PierreAlabama	Alabama	97.9
5	Caleb WoodsonAlabama	Alabama	97.3
6	Nick RinaldiVanderbilt	Vanderbilt	96.6
7	Luke MetzAlabama	Alabama	95.6
8	Tyler LockhartMississippi State	Mississippi State	94.7
9	Jayden WoodsFlorida	Florida	94.7
10	Arion CarterTennessee	Tennessee	94.2
11	Owen HeineckeOklahoma	Oklahoma	94.2
12	Raylen WilsonGeorgia	Georgia	93.2
13	Chris ColeGeorgia	Georgia	92.8
14	Grant GodfreyKentucky	Kentucky	92.2
15	Bryan LongwellVanderbilt	Vanderbilt	90.5
16	Whit WeeksLSU	LSU	89.5
17	Luke FerrelliOle Miss	Ole Miss	89.1
18	Nicholas RodriguezMissouri	Missouri	88.6
19	Keaton ThomasOle Miss	Ole Miss	87.8
20	Amare CampbellTennessee	Tennessee	86.3
21	Jalen SmithMississippi State	Mississippi State	85.6
22	TJ DotteryLSU	LSU	84.6
23	Justin CryerTexas	Texas	84.6
24	Tah'j ButlerOle Miss	Ole Miss	81.9
25	Ja'Quavion SmithArkansas	Arkansas	78.5
26	Suntarine PerkinsOle Miss	Ole Miss	77.4
27	Robert Woodyard Jr.Missouri	Missouri	77.4
28	Justin WilliamsGeorgia	Georgia	75.9
29	Justin OkoronkwoSouth Carolina	South Carolina	74.7
30	Myles GrahamFlorida	Florida	73.6
31	Ben BogleArkansas	Arkansas	73.6
32	Fred JohnsonSouth Carolina	South Carolina	72.0
33	Xavier GriffinAlabama	Alabama	68.6
34	Ray ConeyTexas A&M	Texas A&M	68.6
35	Jeremiah TelanderTennessee	Tennessee	68.6
36	Noah MikhailTexas A&M	Texas A&M	65.5
37	Aaron ChilesFlorida	Florida	64.1
38	Gabe Harris Jr.Georgia	Georgia	60.5
39	James NestaOklahoma	Oklahoma	59.3
40	Bryce CowanVanderbilt	Vanderbilt	57.8
41	QB ReeseAlabama	Alabama	57.8
42	Justin HillAlabama	Alabama	57.8
43	Sam GreeneKentucky	Kentucky	57.8
44	Quintavius JohnsonGeorgia	Georgia	54.0
45	Kip LewisOklahoma	Oklahoma	54.0
46	Jaden RobinsonFlorida	Florida	52.8
47	Edwin SpillmanTennessee	Tennessee	51.5
48	AJ KruahGeorgia	Georgia	51.5
49	Alex Afari Jr.Kentucky	Kentucky	49.6
50	Davhon KeysLSU	LSU	49.6

Top 50 of 85. 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.