College Football Player Grades by Position

QB RB WR TE DL LB DB

Qualified: at least 5 targets per game against FBS teams, over two games or more. Show everyone

Ryan Coleman-Williams

Alabama · WR

98.6

Chris Marshall

Arkansas · WR

97.5

Deuce Alexander

Ole Miss · WR

92.4

#	Player	Team	EPA/play	Success%	Plays	Grade
1	Ryan Coleman-WilliamsAlabama · EPA 1.14	Alabama	1.141	77%	26	98.6
2	Chris MarshallArkansas · EPA 1.09	Arkansas	1.085	68%	22	97.5
3	Deuce AlexanderOle Miss · EPA 0.86	Ole Miss	0.862	77%	31	92.4
4	Anthony Evans IIIMississippi State · EPA 0.85	Mississippi State	0.851	64%	47	89.0
5	Donovan OlugbodeMissouri · EPA 0.88	Missouri	0.879	57%	23	86.2
6	Ryan WingoTexas · EPA 0.85	Texas	0.847	65%	26	85.6
7	Winston Watkins Jr.LSU · EPA 0.86	LSU	0.855	63%	24	85.0
8	Cayden LeeMissouri · EPA 0.59	Missouri	0.592	59%	29	69.2
9	Lotzeir BrooksAlabama · EPA 0.73	Alabama	0.730	58%	26	68.1
10	Junior SherrillVanderbilt · EPA 0.59	Vanderbilt	0.587	53%	36	61.9
11	Keshaun SingletonAuburn · EPA 0.49	Auburn	0.491	44%	34	50.6
12	Chas NimrodAuburn · EPA 0.44	Auburn	0.442	48%	31	47.2
13	Isaiah Sategna IIIOklahoma · EPA 0.38	Oklahoma	0.381	45%	29	45.5
14	Mario CraverTexas A&M · EPA 0.30	Texas A&M	0.304	50%	34	38.7
15	Nyck HarborSouth Carolina · EPA 0.41	South Carolina	0.414	47%	15	37.6
16	Emmett Mosley VTexas · EPA 0.36	Texas	0.357	55%	20	36.4
17	Isaiah HortonTexas A&M · EPA 0.31	Texas A&M	0.312	43%	30	34.2
18	Braylon StaleyTennessee · EPA 0.17	Tennessee	0.174	47%	19	15.0
19	Eugene Wilson IIILSU · EPA 0.13	LSU	0.126	38%	21	11.6
20	Mike MatthewsTennessee · EPA 0.03	Tennessee	0.034	38%	21	9.3

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.