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College Football

Ranking the Top 100 college football players of 2024

Matt Hinton

By Matt Hinton

Published:

The 2024 college football season will feature more than 11,000 players on FBS rosters. Here’s Saturday Tradition’s countdown of the best of the best.
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100. Zachariah Branch | WR/KR, USC

The gem of USC’s 2023 recruiting class, Branch made an instant splash last August by accounting for 232 all-purpose yards and 2 touchdowns in his college debut, a romp over San José State. That was the high-water mark: Stuck in a crowded rotation and slowed by a mid-season injury, Branch’s impact was largely relegated to the return game, where he finished No. 2 nationally in punt return yards and was the only player to take a punt and kickoff return to the house. In Year 2, the path to the top of the depth chart is clear and expectations are intact. The only hurdles to a breakthrough are a) getting in sync with a new quarterback and b) remaining in one piece at 5-10, 175 pounds.

99. Derrick Moore | Edge, Michigan

Michigan pressured quarterbacks by committee in 2023, splitting snaps and sacks equally among four full-time edge rushers. The nominal starters, Braiden McGregor and Jaylen Harrell, both moved on. That leaves Moore, a former top-100 recruit entering his third year in the program, and fellow bookend Josaiah Stewart to assume more prominent roles under a new defensive coordinator, Don “Wink” Martindale. (Yes, like the old game-show host.) Neither projects as the second coming of Aidan Hutchinson, but then with rising stars Mason Graham and Kenneth Grant bringing the heat on the interior, they don’t have to be. As long as they stay the course, the d-line will remain the strength of a team hitting reset at nearly other position.

98. Alfred Collins | DL, Texas

Collins has been on breakout watch for so long now casual Texas fans can be forgiven for assuming his window of opportunity has closed. Far from it: After 4 years as the junior member of a rotation that featured T’Vondre Sweat and Byron Murphy II — both top-40 draft picks in April — Collins’ time as the clear-cut leader of the d-line has finally arrived. A 6-5, 320-pound freak of nature, his potential has never been in doubt. With the benefit of the free COVID year, it’s past due for his production to catch up.

97. Xavier Restrepo | WR, Miami

Restrepo was born to play the slot. Coming off 3 nondescript, injury-plagued campaigns in 2020-22, he owned his niche in ’23, setting a school record for receptions (85) and becoming just the 5th Miami receiver to crack the 1,000-yard mark in a season. Incredibly, he was also the first Miami receiver to earn first-team All-ACC from league coaches since 2010 (Leonard Hankerson). High expectations in ’24 are being fueled mostly by incoming transfers, especially wild-card quarterback Cam Ward. But if Ward is going to give the Canes their money’s worth, it’s going to be Restrepo cashing in on the receiving end.

96. Power Echols | LB, North Carolina

In his first 3 years at UNC, Echols was often cast as a sidekick to his older, more decorated teammate, Cedric Gray, who hogged the accolades and went in the 4th round of the NFL Draft. Now it’s Echols’ turn to play the entrenched vet. A confirmed ballhawk in his own right, he’s racked up triple-digit tackles each of the past 2 seasons with 91 “stops,” Pro Football Focus’ metric for a tackle that represents a failure for the offense based on down and distance; he’s also tacked on 2 interceptions and 3 forced fumbles. Whatever his limitations in space, in a race to the ball, you’re rarely going to catch him coming in second place.

95. Maxwell Hairston | CB,  Kentucky

Hairston, a Michigan native, arrived in Kentucky as one of the lowest-rated members UK’s 2021 recruiting class and spent his first 2 seasons idling in obscurity. In Year 3, he made his move. Promoted to the starting lineup, he seized the opportunity, picking off 5 passes, breaking up another 6 and earning second-team all-conference from SEC coaches. He housed a pair of INTs against Vanderbilt, making him the first player in school history with 2 pick-sixes in the same game.

Altogether, Hairston’s overall PFF grade for the season (81.8) was the best among returning SEC cornerbacks, with 7 of the 8 corners who graded out ahead of him going on to get drafted. That doesn’t exactly make him a household name, but rest assured that among the scouts who’ll decide his future he is squarely on the radar.

94. Rocket Sanders | RB, South Carolina

Sanders achieved liftoff in 2022, accounting for 1,714 scrimmage yards and 12 touchdowns in one of the most productive seasons in Arkansas history. In 2023, he never left the tarmac, grounded by foot and shoulder injuries that cost him half the season and visibly limited him for the other half. He hit the open market on the first day of the December portal window, joining a mass exodus from Fayetteville in the wake of a 4-8 collapse.

In 2024? TBD, to say the least. Sanders enrolled at South Carolina in January but skipped spring drills to rehab his surgically-repaired shoulder, extending lingering doubts about his health into the start of preseason camp. At full speed, he’s potentially the kind of full-service playmaker the Gamecocks have been missing in the backfield since … gosh, Marcus Lattimore? It’s been awhile. At any rate, with the offense in the hands of a fledgling quarterback, they need all the juice from the surrounding cast they can get.

93. Jarquez Hunter | RB, Auburn

Hunter has been on the breakout track since his first game in an Auburn uniform, and slowly but surely the train is chugging into the station in Year 4. He got off to a meh start in 2023 before hitting his stride in October, accounting for more than three-fourths of his 1,027 scrimmage yards after midseason. Extend that pace over a full schedule, and the wait is finally due to pay off in a monster year.

92. Barion Brown | WR/KR, Kentucky

There’s electric, and then there’s Brown, a high school track champ whose impact with the ball in his hands is more akin to a bolt of lightning. In 2 seasons at Kentucky, he’s scored 13 touchdowns on 151 touches, including 4 house calls on kickoff returns, establishing him as the premier “do not kick it to him under any circumstances” presence in America. Seriously: After watching him go coast-to-coast in consecutive games against Louisville and Clemson to close 2023, any kicker who allows Brown to bring one out in ’24 should immediately have his scholarship revoked.

Brown still has some work to do as a receiver with 11 career drops, per PFF. Once he’s got ahold of it, though, don’t blink.

91. Phil Mafah | RB, Clemson

High-volume, workhorse running backs are on the endangered species list, for good reason. In Clemson’s case, though, Dabo Swinney has made no secret that he’s counting on Mafah to carry the load. In part, that’s out of sheer necessity — between Will Shipley’s early exit for the NFL and Swinney’s refusal to acknowledge the existence of the transfer portal, Mafah is the only remotely seasoned back on the roster. But it’s also a reflection of Mafah’s role in turning Clemson’s season around last November. The Tigers were 4-4 when he replaced a banged-up Shipley in the starting lineup; they finished 5-0, including heavy-duty outings by Mafah against Notre Dame (36 touches), North Carolina (25) and South Carolina (20). At 6-1, 230 pounds, he’s certainly built for punishment, both dishing it out and taking it. Given the the depth chart behind him, the offense is banking on a lot more of the former.

90. Collin Oliver | LB, Oklahoma State

Oliver is in his final year of eligibility at OK State, and the rest of the Big 12 is going to be happy to see him go. Over 3 seasons, he’s accounted for 120 QB pressures, 39 tackles for loss, 5 forced fumbles and 3 consecutive all-conference ribbons from opposing coaches. (All of them second-team ribbons, but still.) In the process, he’s evolved from a pass-rushing specialist who lined up almost exclusively in an edge role in 2021-22 into an all-purpose defender who almost never came off the field in ’23. Oliver and his equally productive running mate, Nicholas Martin, formed arguably the best linebacker combo in the nation; in ’24, they may not have any serious competition for the title.

89. Princely Umanmielen | Edge, Ole Miss

Lane Kiffin’s emergence as the Portal Master has as much to do with upgrading the second and third lines on Ole Miss’ depth chart as it does with adding big-ticket starters. Umanmielen, a fifth-year vet from Florida, could work on either level: At worst, he’s a solid rotational piece at a position where depth is a priority; at best, he still has the potential to grow into a plausible first-rounder. At Florida, Umanmielen improved every year, culminating in 2023 with career highs for TFLs (12) and QB pressures (45) and a second-team All-SEC nod in a crowded year for edge rushers. He was the Gators’ best player with room to spare. Another step forward in Oxford, and a big payday awaits.

88. Dani Dennis-Sutton | Edge, Penn State

A former 5-star, Dennis-Sutton has waited out 2 relatively low-key seasons as the third man in a room headlined by a couple of outgoing draft picks, Chop Robinson and Adisa Isaac. In Year 3, it’s Dani’s turn, with all of the initial optimism over his ceiling at 6-5, 272 pounds still intact. Between Dennis-Sutton and his fellow bookend, converted linebacker Abdul Carter (see below), any opposing QBs who spent the offseason praying for a drop-off in Penn State’s pass rush are going to be sorely disappointed. And, well, just plain old sore.

87. Nic Anderson | WR, Oklahoma

Nagging injuries cost Anderson virtually all of his true-freshman campaign in 2022, forcing a reluctant redshirt. He more than made up for lost time in ’23: His 38 catches yielded 33 first downs, 10 touchdowns and an average gain of 21.0 yards, 4th-best nationally among wideouts with 30+ receptions. Even at Oklahoma, 6-4, 220-pound specimens with that kind of big-play pop don’t grow on trees. Targets will be at a premium on a crowded depth chart — Purdue transfer Deion Burks stole the show in the spring — but Anderson has already proven his ability to make the most of the balls that come his way, and he’s still just getting started.

86. Quincy Riley | CB, Louisville

Riley arrived on campus way back in 2019 as a marginal prospect with zero Power 5 offers. In Year 6, he’s poised to go out as one of the top corners in the the country. After 3 productive seasons at Middle Tennessee, he’s been a hit at Louisville, accounting for 6 interceptions and 14 PBUs over the past 2 years while allowing just 1 touchdown in coverage. By PFF’s accounting, he held opposing QBs below a 50% completion rate in his direction in both seasons, including a 36.5% rate in 2023, 2nd-best among all returning DBs nationally who faced at least 250 targets.

85. Emery Jones | OL, LSU

Jones arrived at LSU in 2022 looking the part of a next-level bookend but not quite ready to play it. He was thrown to the wolves as a freshman, getting dinged by PFF for an SEC-worst 39 QB pressures allowed over 12 starts at right tackle. (It didn’t help that while Jones was struggling his more touted classmate, Will Campbell, was an instant star on the left side.) Last year, the growing pains began to pay off: Pressures, penalties, and sacks at Jones’ expense plummeted as LSU’s offense as a whole achieved orbit. Now, as juniors, Jones and Campbell are the seasoned fixtures with early-round ambitions while question marks loom over the rest of the lineup. Jones may be doomed to be “the other guy” by comparison, but another leap forward in a prove-it year can still go a long way toward closing the gap.

84. Jamon Dumas-Johnson | LB, Kentucky

Dumas-Johnson’s bid to be the next great Georgia linebacker ended abruptly last November with a fractured forearm. A month later, he was in the portal, bound for Kentucky with 24 career starts under his belt and 1 more year of eligibility to burn. (He followed his 2021 classmate, QB Brock Vandagriff, who’d committed to the Wildcats almost immediately following UGA’s season-deflating loss in the SEC Championship Game. When Mark Stoops pled with UK fans last year to open the NIL faucet for players who could compete with the Bulldogs, apparently they got the message.) Obviously, cracking the starting lineup at Kentucky isn’t the near-automatic ticket to the next level that it is at Georgia, but Stoops has built a sturdy pipeline to the pros with 9 defenders drafted over the past 4 years. A healthy, drama-free senior season in the middle should be more than enough to add Dumas-Johnson’s name to the list.

83. Tez Johnson | WR, Oregon

A productive but diminutive recruit, Johnson settled for a scholarship offer to Troy and quickly established himself as a productive but diminutive weapon in the Sun Belt. After 3 years as a Trojan, he moved to Oregon to reunite with his former high school QB and adopted brother, Bo Nix, and graduated from productive to prolific. Working almost exclusively out of the slot, Johnson finished among the top dozen Power 5 receivers in 2023 in catches (86), yards (1,182) and touchdowns (10); led the P5 in yards after catch (727); ranked 3rd in yards per route (3.45); and 6th in missed tackles forced (22). By now, his rep as a dynamo in space is secure. Still, with Nix off to the Denver Broncos, sustaining that chemistry with his replacement, Dillon Gabriel, presents a golden opportunity to expand it beyond the family connection.

82. Conner Weigman | QB, Texas A&M

Our first quarterback! Technically, Weigman is still on the green side with just 253 attempts across 9 career games. Taken with his 5-star pedigree, though, he’s well past due for a breakthrough. He was one of the headliners of Texas A&M’s exalted 2022 recruiting class, and his true-freshman campaign that fall ended on a high note, in an out-of-the-blue upset over LSU. In ’23, he was off to a fast start before suffering a season-ending foot injury in Week 4 — the third consecutive season the Aggies’ opening-day starter failed to make it out of the month of September. That was just Jimbo Fisher’s luck. Given a full season under a new staff, there’s every reason in Year 3 to believe Weigman is on schedule … just in time for the Mike Elko administration to reap the rewards.

81. Landon Jackson | Edge, Arkansas

Almost nothing went right for Arkansas in 2023 on the way to a 4-8 finish. At the top of the very short list of things that did was Jackson, an LSU transfer who looked right at home in his first year as a Hog. A huge, streaky presence on the edge, he turned in a dominant outing against Alabama (3.5 sacks, 10 stops); finished with a team-high 13.5 TFLs; and took first-team All-SEC from league coaches. At 6-7, 280, he’s an intriguing size/speed prospect and a reliable asset against the run. A few more displays of the pass-rushing juice he flashed against Bama, and first-round buzz awaits.

80. Jason Marshall Jr. | CB, Florida

2024 is a prove-it year for Marshall, whose first 3 seasons in Gainesville have been … eh, OK by normal standards, but not quite up to the 5-star hype that preceded him. Marshall has played a ton, with 32 starts and nearly 2,000 snaps under his belt; he’s also been on the wrong end of too many opponents’ highlights. PFF has him down for 7 career touchdowns allowed in coverage vs. just 2 interceptions. On the plus side, he’s allowed an impressive 46.8% completion rate in his direction with 21 PBUs — a portrait of a talented player with boom-or-bust tendencies. A mass exodus of the SEC’s top corners left an open lane for Marshall to make his move on all-conference honors as a senior. Limit the entries in the bust column, he can still go out with as much optimism about his future as he had coming in.

79. Patrick Payton | Edge, Florida State

Florida State lost one dynamic edge rusher, Jared Verse, to the NFL Draft, and for a brief but anxious moment last December appeared to be on the verge of losing another one when Payton posted on Instagram that he was mulling a transfer. The episode didn’t last long (Payton quickly retracted the post; his name never officially appeared in the portal), but he’d made his point: Of the handful of returning starters from last year’s ACC title run, he’s easily the one the Noles could least afford to let walk. A beanpole recruit who’s put on 50 pounds at FSU, Payton came into his own in 2023, logging a team-best 14.5 TFLs and uncoiling his enormous wingspan to swat down 10 passes at the line. Fully grown, he’s even more of a central-casting freak than Verse, who went with the 19th overall pick. Another step forward as a senior and Payton will be hot on his heels.

78. Blake Miller | OL, Clemson

Miller stepped directly into a starting role as a freshman and has been entrenched ever since, playing every meaningful snap over his first 2 seasons at right tackle. By snap count, that already makes him the second-most experienced player on Clemson’s roster in 2024, trailing only 5th-year OL Walker Parks, who’s coming off a medical redshirt; per PFF, Miller has allowed only 5 sacks in more than 1,000 pass-blocking reps while also grading out as the Tigers’ top run blocker in both seasons. In Year 3, he’s on the cusp of the highest honor in o-linehood: Allowing everyone watching to forget you’re there.

77. Jonah Monheim | OL, USC

We love our big uglies, folks. Up next, there’s Monheim, who has made the rounds at USC with 34 career starts at right guard, right tackle and left tackle. He started every game on the blind side in 2023, posting the top PFF grade on an otherwise porous Trojan front by a mile. In the spring, he moved one step closer to hitting for the o-line cycle by taking over as the starting center, one of the two stations he’s yet to man in a game. Putting him in the pivot makes sense: Besides being better suited to the interior, Monheim is easily the most experienced and indispensable piece of a rebuilding unit. Still, it couldn’t hurt to get him a few reps at some point at left guard, just so he can say he’s collected them all.

76. Mitchell Evans | TE, Notre Dame

Evans had the unenviable role in 2023 of replacing local idol Michael Mayer, and he was off to credible start until a torn ACL ended his season in late October. Before the injury, Evans was Notre Dame’s top receiver by such a wide margin that he led the team in catches (29) and was 2nd in yards (422) despite missing the last 5 games.

Since 2018, Notre Dame has had 5 tight ends drafted in the past 7 years, all but 1 of them in the top 4 rounds. A full season at full speed adds Evans’ name to that list with room to spare.

75. Jason Henderson | LB, Old Dominion

Linebacker is an imprecise tag these days, lumping together guys who play primarily in space and guys who primarily rush the passer and guys who do a little bit of all of the above. In Henderson’s case, though, he is exactly what it says on the label: A traditional middle ‘backer, period. Lining up almost exclusively in the box, he’s racked up more tackles (436) over the past 3 seasons than any other returning FBS player, ranking No. 1 nationally in 2022 and 2nd in ’23 despite missing ODU’s bowl game due to a knee injury. Lest you suspect that number represents a “Little Dutch Boy” situation on a porous defense, Henderson also ranked among the national leaders in ’23 in stops (61) and TFLs (19.5), racking up a handful of All-America notices in the process. Assuming his knee holds up — still an open question as of spring practice — you can go ahead and pencil in his name at the top of the charts again.

74. Hunter Wohler | DB, Wisconsin

Like a fireman or a food tester, safety is often the kind of job where the more boring it is, the better. Wohler was sufficiently boring in all phases in 2023, playing 859 of Wisconsin’s 874 defensive snaps with a minimum of drama at his expense. Per PFF, he was the Badgers’ highest graded defender as a tackler, recording a team-high 120 tackles vs. only 9 whiffs; he was also their highest-graded defender in coverage, allowing 1 touchdown with 2 picks. His overall 89.2 grade tied for No. 2 among all safeties nationally. Don’t expect much in the way of a sizzle reel, but don’t expect one from opposing offenses, either.

73. Kaytron Allen | RB, Penn State

To the rest of the country, Allen is often regarded as the junior partner in a backfield headlined by his 5-star colleague, Nick Singleton. From the start, though, their collaboration has remained on equal footing, with touches and output on offense split even-Steven: Allen (2,038 yards) and Singleton (2,206) are only the 3rd and 4th players in Penn State history to account for 2,000+ scrimmage yards over their first 2 years on campus, joining Curtis Enis and Saquon Barkley. The fact that they’ve done it at the same time, without any clear-cut distinction in their individual roles or skill sets, is a model for how to make a modern running back rotation work for everyone involved.

72. Peter Woods | DL, Clemson

Dabo Swinney gets a lot of grief these days for his steadfast refusal to covet his neighbor’s players via the transfer portal, most of it deserved. But credit where it’s due: As a recruiter, he can still go into Alabama’s backyard and come away with a talent like Woods, a consensus 5-star who spurned the Crimson Tide and showed up at Clemson last year looking fully grown at 18 years old. Consigned to understudy duty behind a pair of long-tenured seniors, Ruke Orhorhoro and Tyler Davis, Woods more than held his own alongside the vets, accounting for 20 stops, 20 QB pressures and the top overall PFF grade of any Clemson player on either side of the ball. In Year 2, Woods is the man, anchoring a front with 4 new starters, no veteran reinforcements, and as little patience for “rebuilding” as ever.

71. Kenneth Grant | DL, Michigan

From the outside, it was easy to mistake Grant for the third wheel in Michigan’s interior d-line rotation in 2023 behind a couple of entrenched starters, Kris Jenkins and Mason Graham. Actually, they all split snaps roughly evenly over the course of the year, with the 336-pound Grant handling nearly all of the “War Daddy” reps in the A-gap. His impact grew along with the stakes, with the majority of his 23 QB pressures and 17 stops coming in the last 6 games of the Wolverines’ national championship run.

Not many rotations could lose a second-round pick and realistically expect to get better, but this one might be an exception: Jenkins’ departure leaves room for Grant to expand his role alongside Graham, both of whom are still ascending entering their third year on campus. Good luck to opposing o-lines stuck with deciding which one gets the double team while the other feasts in your backfield.

70. Ashton Gillotte | DL/Edge, Louisville

Strictly from a size/speed perspective, the 6-3, 275-pound Gillotte falls under the most dreaded column of them all, the tweener: Not quite long enough to pass for a true edge, not quite heavy enough to hold up as a true tackle. Or so the thinking goes. From every other perspective — on paper, on film, on awards ballots — the results speak for themselves. Over 3 seasons at Louisville, Gillotte has been a menace inside and out, accounting for 31 career TFLs and 22 sacks; half of the latter number came on an ACC-best 11 sacks in 2023, when coaches made him the first Louisville d-linemen in a decade in the conference voted first-team All-ACC. After they’ve watched you drop the guy across from you in the quarterback’s lap a few times, whatever preconceived notions anybody has about whether or not you look the part tend to disappear in a hurry.

69. Kaimon Rucker | Edge, North Carolina

Rucker was an iron man in 2023, playing a grueling 894 snaps over 13 games. For context, only 1 other Power 5 defensive lineman nationally (edge or interior) managed to top that number, per PFF: Washington’s Bralen Trice, who played 925 snaps over 15 games — 7 fewer snaps per game than Rucker. No other DL was on the field for more than 750 snaps, or roughly the equivalent of 2 full games behind Rucker’s pace. That was his closest competition in the durability department. With that many opportunities, you’d better put up some numbers, and he did, finishing with 60 QB pressures, 8.5 sacks, and an 89.0 PFF pass rushing grade. His 19% “win percentage” on pass-rushing snaps was the best of any returning ACC defender.

68. Shemar Turner | DL, Texas A&M

An enormous man with enormous potential, Turner has logged his time at every station on the Aggies’ d-line. As a freshman in 2021, he was a standard 3-tech DT; in ’22, he took on a hybrid role, splitting his time between tackle and end; in ’23, he shifted outside full-time, turning in his best season to date with the vast majority of his snaps coming on the edge. In ’24, he’s going back to his roots, reportedly putting on 30 pounds over the offseason — “healthy, Chipotle, stuff like that” — in anticipation of moving back inside under a new coaching staff. Wherever he lines up, when he’s on the field the odds of a clean pocket go significantly down.

67. Tahj Brooks | RB, Texas Tech

Texas Tech has been drifting away from its Air Raid rep for a while now, but whatever lingering doubts there were about the Red Raiders’ willingness to run the dang ball, Brooks’ rugged 2023 campaign retired them for good. No Power 5 back logged more carries (292) or forced more missed tackles (96, per PFF), resulting in the best single-season output for a Texas Tech running back (1,538 yards) since 1998. In most of the intervening 25 years, the Raiders’ leading rusher hasn’t even made it halfway to that number. At 5-10, 230 pounds, Brooks is built for the grind. And barring a major revelation behind center, all signs are that he’s in for another one.

66. Damien Martinez | RB, Miami

At first glance, Martinez looks like he was born in the wrong decade: A 6-0, 232-pound, downhill thumper who hits the second level with authority, he would have been right at home in the old I-formation days of the 1980s and ’90s, wearing shoulder pads that rose up past his ears. The offense he played in the past 2 years, at Oregon State, had a distinctly throwback vibe, regularly employing an under-center QB, 2 tight ends and occasionally even an honest-to-god fullback. Martinez was an ideal fit there, racking up 2,167 yards and 16 touchdowns on 6.1 per carry in mostly rugged fashion — albeit with the occasional glimpse of explosiveness, too.

His transfer to Miami in the spring was a coup for a position that has been anonymous for far too long. Who is the last Hurricanes back worth remembering? They haven’t produced a 1,000-yard rusher since 2016 — 2 head-coaching changes ago. Over the past 5 years, they haven’t even come close, finishing in the bottom half of the ACC in rushing offense each season. If Martinez is as big an upgrade as expected, The U’s dark-horse Playoff ambitions get at least a little bit less dark.

65. Parker Brailsford | OL, Alabama

At (officially) 6-2, 275, Brailsford easily ranks among the runtiest o-linemen on the FBS level. But his size didn’t stop him from winning a starting job at Washington as a redshirt freshman, or from thriving in it: He started every game in the Huskies’ 2023 Playoff run, shifting from guard to center in the early going and posting the No. 2 overall PFF grade among Pac-12 interior OL. Opposing coaches singled him out in December as a second-team all-conference pick, no small feat for a freshman. Brailsford was one of the handful of Huskies who followed coach Kalen DeBoer to Alabama, where he’ll man the middle in a front whose other projected starters are all listed at 6-5 or taller and average 335 pounds. The image of his linemates towering over him in formation might be good for a viral image or two, but given Bama’s well-documented issues with the QB-center exchange in ’23, rest assured no one in Tuscaloosa will be taking basic competence at that position for granted.

64. Cameron Ward | QB, Miami

Ward began his college career as an overlooked, small-town product with zero FBS offers out of high school. How’s he going to end it? Based on his trajectory so far, it could be as a star — or, just as easily, as a gifted size/speed prospect who never quite played up to his ceiling. At his previous stops, Incarnate Word (’20-21) and Washington State (’22-23), Ward filled up the volume columns, accounting for nearly 15,000 total yards and 135 touchdowns across 44 career starts. On the other hand, as far as Miami’s bid to turn the corner into an ACC/CFP contender is concerned, he remains a wild card whose potential remains bigger than his production. In 2023, he ranked 41st nationally in efficiency and 50th in Total QBR on a team that went 2-7 in Pac-12 play, leaving plenty of room for interpretation.

Ward’s skill set is intriguing enough that he briefly flirted with the NFL last winter, when he initially declared for the draft before changing his mind at the deadline. Miami has had no shortage of would-be pro prospects over the years, including outgoing starter Tyler Van Dyke (now at Wisconsin), but it’s been a good long while since one of them actually panned out. Incredibly, the Hurricanes haven’t produced a QB drafted higher than the 6th round since Craig Erickson in 1992. If he’s a hit, Ward has a chance to break that streak by a mile. But Canes fans have heard that line often enough by now — over a 2-decade span featuring the likes of Kyle Wright, Jacory Harris, Stephen Morris, Brad Kaaya, D’Eriq King and Van Dyke himself — to understand all too well just how much weight that if is supporting.

63. DJ Uiagalelei | QB, Florida State

As heir apparent to Trevor Lawrence, Uiagalelei was a bust. His much-anticipated tenure as Clemson’s QB1 marked the end of the Tigers’ run as year-in, year-out national contenders, snapping a 6-year streak of CFP appearances under 3 different quarterbacks. After 2 frustrating seasons, Uiagalelei finally yielded to his understudy, Cade Klubnik, in the first half of the 2022 ACC Championship Game. The next day he was in the portal.

Uiagalelei opted for career rehab at Oregon State — about as far from Clemson as he could get without leaving the continental U.S. or a Power 5 conference — and immediately looked at home on the West Coast. Free from championship-or-bust scrutiny, his 2023 output improved across the board, most dramatically in Total QBR, where he leapt from 54th nationally in 2022 to 12th in his only season in Corvallis. (Meanwhile, back at Clemson, Klubnik finished a distant 69th.) With the dissolution of the Pac-12 and Oregon State’s power-conference status suddenly in limbo, Uiagalelei found himself back on the transfer market last December for the second year in a row, albeit this time with his stock back on the rise.

Short of re-enrolling at Clemson, resurfacing at the Tigers’ biggest conference rival is probably as close as Uiagalelei could get to a do-over. Just like last time, he’s replacing a local legend, Jordan Travis, who restored Florida State to national relevance after years in the wilderness. Almost everyone else who touched the ball last year is now on an NFL roster, putting the weight of a Playoff run squarely on the quarterback’s shoulders. The margin for error is thin. In Year 5, Uiagalelei is as healthy and gifted as ever, and significantly more experienced. If he’s ever going to be the guy he was supposed to be, now’s his chance.

62. Smael Mondon Jr. | LB, Georgia

Without ever laying eyes on Mondon, “multi-year starter at Georgia” would tell you just about all you needed to know to fill in the rest: 5-star recruit, sideline-to-sideline range, relentless finisher, no-brainer NFL future. Although he’s only played about two-thirds of the Dawgs’ total defensive snaps over the past 2 seasons — a substantially lower share than the guys who wind up at the top of the page when you pull up the leaders for tackles and TFLs — he’s been a standard-issue UGA ballhawk, racking up 154 tackles, 66 stops and 13 TFLs in the middle of a unit that’s led the SEC in total and scoring defense both years.

A point of emphasis as a senior is improving in coverage, where Mondon graded out as subpar in ’22 and ’23, though he’s hardly a liability. On the other hand, he’s been effective as a frequent blitzer, with 6 career sacks and 46 QB pressures. Once he has the coordinates, he’s on the shortest available route to inflicting pain.

61. Ajani Cornelius | OL, Oregon

It is very, very tempting to take an “old man yells at cloud” attitude toward the transfer portal, which among other things has added significant strain to my offseason workload. You used to be able to just copy and paste last year’s roster and update it in a few minutes! We were a proper country! But then there are guys like Cornelius: A hidden gem from New York City who back in the pre-portal days might have never been found. A zero-star recruit, he signed with the University of Rhode Island and spent 3 years toiling in the obscurity of the Colonial Athletic Association, where his easy dominance in 2022 eventually made him a prime target for a call-up. He settled on Oregon, moved to the opposite coast, and thrived in ’23, starting every game at right tackle without allowing a sack, per PFF. Another solid year on his résumé at a top-10 program, and Cornelius has all the makings of a Day 2 draft pick bound for a long career — all made possible by the portal. As inconvenient as the roster upheaval might be for fans, and especially for those of us in the business of keeping track, it’s useful to have reminders that amid the chaos there are real lives and livelihoods on the line.

60. Ricky White III | WR, UNLV

Big Ten fans may vaguely recall White’s name from his true-freshman season at Michigan State — specifically, from his 8-catch, 196-yard performance in an empty stadium in a pandemic-era win over Michigan. In fact, that’s all there is from that chapter of his career to remember: White recorded just 1 more catch as a Spartan before portaling out the following year. In the meantime, he’s rekindled the spark in Vegas. Coming off a solid turn in 2022, he hit the jackpot in ’23, setting UNLV records for receptions (88) and yards (1,487) and generally emerging as the best player on one of the best teams in school history. He was consistent and explosive, ranking No. 1 nationally in receptions of 40+ yards (10) and No. 2 in PFF’s metric for yards per route (3.83). In ’24, his chemistry with the Runnin’ Rebels’ highly touted new quarterback, Matthew Sluka, figures to be one of the primary variables that will decide the Mountain West.

59. Jaydn Ott | RB, Cal

For West Coast fans, Ott is like the local band you were into before they got big, back when they were playing under-attended but high-energy shows at a club that no longer exists. In his first 2 years in Berkeley, he accounted for 2,726 scrimmage yards and 25 touchdowns — the vast majority of them coming either too late at night to register with the rest of the country or, worse, on the obscure niche outpost that was the Pac-12 Network.

There’s not much good to say about the disintegration of the Pac-12 or Cal’s refugee status in the ACC (seriously, what are we doing here?), but at the very least it will have the benefit of exposing Ott to a wider audience at decent hours. If the Golden Bears have anything else going for them worth tuning in for, I guess we’ll all discover it together.

58.  Ricardo Hallman | CB, Wisconsin

This list is chock-full of allusions to all-conference teams, so let this entry stand as a reminder to take those distinctions with a grain of salt. Hallman was a conspicuous snub from the coaches’ All-Big Ten team in 2023, failing to earn first-, second- or third-team honors despite a) tying for the FBS lead with 7 interceptions; b) allowing a single touchdown in coverage, per PFF; and c) shutting out Marvin Harrison Jr. on 3 head-to-head targets in late October. Hallman’s overall PFF grade (83.5) ranked 4th among full-time B1G cornerbacks, higher than any of the 8 corners who made the cut at his expense.

And while we’re at it, yeah, take PFF grades with a grain of salt, too!  Judge for yourself. Call me old-fashioned here, but I’m giving the national INT leader the benefit of the doubt. Next!

57. Tory Horton | WR, Colorado State

Overlooked as a recruit, Horton began his career at Nevada under coach Jay Norvell. When Norvell left Reno for Colorado State at the end of the 2021 season, Horton’s decision to tag along barely even qualified as a footnote. Turns out, it was a coup. In 2 years as a Ram, Horton has roasted Mountain West secondaries to the tune of 2,267 yards and 16 touchdowns on 13.6 yards per catch, good for first-team All-MWC in both seasons; for good measure, he’s also taken a couple of punts to the house, just to prove he can.

The Rams know what they have and don’t care who else knows, either: In 2023, they targeted Horton 11.1 times per game, including 18 targets against Colorado (a double-overtime loss) and 21 targets against Boise State, when he accounted for 80 yards and a pass interference penalty in the final 6 minutes alone as part of an insane comeback. He doesn’t singlehandedly make Colorado State good, but singlehandedly making Colorado State fun has to be at least as impressive.

56. Malachi Moore | DB, Alabama

Moore’s career has been a journey, the full-circle kind. Anointed the next great Bama DB as a freshman, instead he found himself gradually nudged out of a starting job as a sophomore, and relegated to a situational role in Year 3. Eventually, his patience paid off: With all 3 starting safeties from the 2022 team off to the league, Moore was back on track in ’23, starting every game and generally returning to his freshman form. A beneficiary of the free COVID year, he’s due to complete his arc from phenom to grizzled vet in Year 5 as the lone holdover in an otherwise completely rebuilt secondary made up of transfers and freshmen.

55. Tacario Davis | CB, Arizona

Few traits are more coveted in this pass-happy era than “length,” and at 6-4, Davis boasts the kind of length on the outside that makes draftniks sit up straight in their seats. He has the production to back it up, too. After playing sparingly as a freshman, Davis was a revelation as a sophomore, breaking up 15 passes; holding opposing QBs to a 42.6% completion rate in his direction; and posting the best overall PFF grade (84.2) of any full-time Pac-12 cornerback. (Why did coaches relegate him to the “honorable mention” line on the all-conference team? Beats me.) He kept Arizona’s new coaching staff in limbo in the spring while he weighed his options in the portal, only to withdraw his name at the deadline — more than 3 months after several of his higher-profile teammates had already made the same call. Davis’ return didn’t come with the kind of headlines that the pass-catch combo of Noah Fifita and Tetairoa McMillan generated in January, but if the Wildcats are going to stake their claim on a Big 12 title in their first year in the league, keeping their best defender in the fold might turn out to be just as relevant.

54. Clay Webb | OL, Jacksonville State

Webb played high school ball less than a half-hour from Jacksonville State’s campus (in Alabama, for the record), but never had any intention of being a Gamecock: A 5-star prospect, he was the subject of a down-to-the-wire recruiting battle between Alabama and Georgia, ultimately won by Kirby Smart. But then, after 3 unproductive years in Athens, Webb realized there’s no place like home. In 2 seasons at JSU, he’s been rock solid, logging 20 consecutive starts at left guard while allowing just 6 QB pressures, per PFF. His 87.4 overall grade in 2023 ranked No. 1 nationally among interior o-linemen and No. 3 among all OL, trailing only a pair of first-round tackles, Notre Dame’s Joe Alt and Oregon State’s Taliese Fuaga. Pity the poor defenders in Conference-USA who have to endure another year on speed bump duty before Webb joins them.

53. Drew Allar | QB, Penn State

Allar rose to QB1 as a sophomore with high expectations, and largely met them while presiding over a 10-3 record. If all you saw of Penn State in 2023 was the losses, though, you’d hardly know it. The Ls came in the Nittany Lions’ 3 biggest games, by far — season-defining dates against Ohio State, Michigan, and Ole Miss in the Peach Bowl — with the passing game, specifically, looking bereft each time. The gap between Allar’s production in victory vs. defeat was a chasm.

The case for optimism in ’24 begins with Allar himself, a 6-5, 238-pound specimen with a big arm, functional mobility and an instinct for self-preservation: 2 interceptions on 391 attempts was good for the lowest INT rate in the nation (0.5%) among full-time passers. There’s a new coordinator, Andy Kotelnecki, straight from the miracle turnaround at Kansas. And there was a much-needed shake-up at wide receiver, where both of last year’s top wideouts (KeAndre Lambert-Smith and Dante Cephas) portaled out to make way for Ohio State transfer Julian Fleming, a former blue-chip who was eclipsed by a half-dozen future first-rounders in his 4 years as a Buckeye. The Lions are counting on Fleming to seize the role of the true No. 1 target the offense lacked last year. Allar has proven he can be trusted not to tank a big game with a killer gaffe; now he needs a playmaker he can actually win with.

52. Tyler Booker | OL, Alabama

Are linemen going to just keep on getting bigger, forever? The existence of dudes like Booker implies they very well might. Listed at a colossal 6-5, 352 pounds, he’s firmly in the category of behemoths pushing the limits of just how much sheer mass a human body can carry while remaining a fully functional athlete in a position that requires short-area explosiveness, agile footwork and every-down conditioning. The heaviest player on this list — although not on his own line; that distinction goes to 6-7, 360-pound sophomore Kadyn Proctor — Booker emerged in 2023 as a mainstay at left guard, where he’ll remain in ’24 as the most reliable player on a front that projects as Bama’s most reliable unit. If he can clean up some inconsistency in pass pro (exposed in a rough outing against Michigan in the Rose Bowl), his elite measurables and raw power will make him a strong candidate to be the first interior OL off the board next spring.

51. Billy Bowman Jr. | DB, Oklahoma

There’s are glitches in Bowman’s game, including his slightly less-than-ideal size for a safety (5-10/200) and, relatedly, an alarming missed tackle rate, per PFF. But let’s not lose sight of the forest for the trees here: When the ball is in the air, he wants it and knows what to do with it when he gets it. Bowman’s 9 interceptions over the past 2 seasons are tied for the most of any returning player in the country, including an FBS-best 3 pick-six touchdowns in 2023. His 100-yard house call against BYU in November represented a decisive swing in a 31-24 Oklahoma win; altogether, his 238 yards on INT returns marked the highest individual total in a season since 2016.

Just for the record, Bowman was also credited with the single biggest tackle of the Sooners’ season when he stopped Texas’ Xavier Worthy just short of the end zone on 4th-and-goal to seal a crucial goal-line stand in the fourth quarter of OU’s eventual 34-30 win over the Longhorns. Consistency is a legitimate question for the scouts; for the rest of us, the highlight reel speaks for itself.

50. Denzel Burke | CB, Ohio State

Our first Buckeye, but certainly not our last: With the notable exception of Marvin Harrison Jr., every other member of Ohio State’s epic 2021 recruiting class who had a chance to go pro passed in favor of an all-in senior season in Columbus. (Amazing how a sudden outbreak of school spirit coincided with the arrival of NIL.) Brace yourself. The most experienced of them all, Burke has been a fixture at corner from Day 1, starting all 35 games he’s played over the past 3 years with 26 pass breakups and a pair of INTs. 2023 yielded a career-high 80.2 PFF grade and a first-team All-Big Ten nod, setting up the kind of expectations in ’24 that anyone who’s made it to the status of 4-year starter at Ohio State should be well-prepared to meet.

49. Sebastian Castro | DB, Iowa

Iowa’s offense has been so putrid the past few years that it can be easy to overlook just how stellar the defense has been to keep the Hawkeyes in the black. No one played a bigger role in that effort in 2023 than Castro, who did a little bit of everything from his nickel role while rarely coming off the field. He was impeccable in coverage, picking off 3 passes, breaking up 8 more, and posting the top PFF coverage grade of any Big Ten defender; he was also solid against the run, finishing 3rd on the team in tackles and stops and tied for 2nd in TFLs. He scored on a pick-six, forced a fumble that resulted in a safety and won his fair share of collisions. At just a shade above 200 pounds, Castro is probably better described as a “fearless” hitter than a heavy one, but then again, the distinction may be lost on the guys on the losing end.

48. Abdul Carter | Edge, Penn State

As a linebacker, Carter excelled at creating havoc in opposing backfields but often struggled in space, both in coverage and as an open-field tackler. In 2023, PFF rang him up for the worst individual tackling grade in the Big Ten at any position. The solution: Lean into the havoc. Carter spent the spring working as a full-time edge rusher, a logical move based on his 6-3/259-pound frame, his hair-on-fire skill set, and the Nittany Lions’ glaring need for pass rushers following the departure of both of last year’s starting bookends to the NFL. He dominated the spring scrimmage, inspiring inevitable visions of the last heat-seeking Penn State linebacker who wore No. 11 and made the transition to an edge role, Micah Parsons. That’s unfair for a bunch of reasons, not least of which is the fact that Parsons didn’t fully commit to the edge until his second year as a pro. (Not to mention that, in college, he was every bit as elite in space as he was as a rusher; nobody really deserves to be compared to Micah freakin’ Parsons.) But Carter has embraced the comp, even working out with Parsons’ personal trainer over the summer. He certainly passes the eye test. If the on-field results follow, mock draft types are already sizing him up for a single-digit slot in 2025.

47. Isaiah Bond | WR, Texas

Bond drinks free for life in Alabama as the guy on the receiving end of “Gravedigger,” the game-winning, 4th-and-31 miracle that saved the 2023 Iron Bowl for the Tide. If he’d accomplished nothing else in a Bama uniform, that play alone would have ensured his name lived on in TV flashbacks, commemorative oil paintings sold at outlet malls across the state, and a generation of children conceived in the immediate aftermath.

In fact, that was only the most dramatic moment in a season full of them: Bond also struck for long-distance scores against Texas A&M and Tennessee, and accounted for 5 first downs on 5 catches in Bama’s CFP-clinching upset over Georgia in the SEC Championship, all of them coming on eventual scoring drives. By that point, he’d emerged from a crowded pack as Jalen Milroe’s go-to target down the stretch, driving up his stock just in time to justify calling his exit following Nick Saban’s retirement a “business decision.” At Texas, Bond made a quick impression in the spring and enters the season at the top of an equally crowded and unsettled depth chart. He isn’t going to replicate the raw, record-breaking speed that made outgoing Longhorn Xavier Worthy a first-round pick. But if Bond’s chemistry with QB Quinn Ewers translates to the fall, replacing Worthy’s production as the de facto WR1 is well within reach.

46. Walter Nolen | DL, Ole Miss

The biggest gap between Ole Miss and the SEC’s big dogs has always been in the trenches. The Rebels went a long way toward closing it when they landed Nolen, the most coveted d-lineman in the portal and the consensus gem of Ole Miss’ monster transfer class. At Texas A&M, Nolen played inside and out as part of a rotation that sharply limited the reps of any individual DL; he still managed to rank among the team leaders as a sophomore in stops (21) and TFLs (8.5). As a junior, getting his fair share of reps in his first (and potentially only) year in Oxford figures to be the least of his concerns.

45. Nicholas Singleton | RB, Penn State

As a freshman, Singleton earned a quick reputation as a breakaway threat whose main concern was consistency. In last year’s version of the Top 100, I even wrote, “if you’re putting money on any player to go all the way on any given play, Singleton is the best bet in America.” Caveat emptor and all, but to anyone who actually took that advice, condolences. As a sophomore, he was strictly a grinder, churning out 1,060 scrimmage yards and 10 touchdowns despite a long gain of just 24 yards on the ground. (That total does include a couple of explosive plays as a receiver, both coming in Penn State’s last 2 games.) Ideally, the Nittany Lions would love to see Singleton combine the explosiveness of Year 1 and the grit of Year 2 into a full-fledged breakthrough in Year 3. If they have to settle for another third-team All-B1G-type season as part of a 2,000-2,500-yard collaboration with Kaytron Allen, hey, things could be a lot worse.

44. Tyleik Williams | DL, Ohio State

Until very recently the idea of a DT who combines Williams’ colossal, run-stuffing size with the explosiveness to live in opposing backfields only existed in a d-line coach’s perverse fantasies, but the days of dismissing 330-pounders as immobile slobs are long gone. Williams flashed his disruptive potential in 2021 as a freshman, registering 7 TFLs (including 5 sacks) in a limited role, and bounced back from a minor sophomore slump in ’22 with 10 TFLs as a junior, tied for the team lead. He may not yet have the national name recognition of some of the other Ohio State seniors who passed on the draft, but the emphasis in that sentence is very much on the yet.

43. Donovan Edwards | RB, Michigan

2023 was set up to be a breakout year for Edwards coming off a high-octane finish in ’22 in place of an injured Blake Corum. Instead, he was the forgotten man. Edwards remained the clear RB2 throughout the first 14 games while offering few glimpses of the explosiveness that made him a minor cult figure in Michigan as an underclassman, averaging a meager 3.5 yards per carry with a long gain of 22. Then came Game 15, and a nation’s memory was jogged.

It took just 2 carries in a span of 10 minutes to reset Edwards’ big-play rep, and to leave no doubt about his status as the resident workhorse in 2024. (Not to mention to land him on the cover of the much-anticipated NCAA Football reboot.) This time around, Corum’s 18-20 touches per game are all there for the taking, a number that figures to rise along with the stakes on any given Saturday. Given that the rest of the offense is essentially starting over from scratch at almost every other position, there is no Plan B.

42. Evan Stewart | WR, Oregon

One of the biggest fish in Texas A&M’s blockbuster 2022 recruiting class, Stewart was on breakout watch in College Station from Day 1. He never quite got all the way there, limited by an ad hoc QB situation, a mildly concerning drop rate and an ankle injury in 2023 that derailed his sophomore campaign. (On that note, he couldn’t help taking a parting shot at A&M’s training staff last winter on his way out.) Still, when he was on the field he was the Aggies’ best receiver in both seasons, and he entered the portal with Next Big Thing status intact. At full speed, Stewart is smooth as a freshly opened carton of ice cream, combining natural jets, elusiveness after the catch and ball skills galore on contested catches.

At Oregon, he’s scheduled to move into the vacancy left by last year’s resident deep threat, Troy Franklin, an All-Pac-12 pick who went in the 4th round of the draft. Strictly in terms of raw potential, Stewart is an upgrade for a team thinking Playoff-or-bust. After their first spring together, he also called Oregon’s new QB, Dillon Gabriel, the best quarterback he’s ever played with — an easy claim to make in August. If he’s still saying the same thing after the weather turns, then you’ll know the Ducks are for real.

41. Tre Harris | WR, Ole Miss

Harris spent the first 3 years of his career at Louisiana Tech, where he was a first-team All-Conference USA pick in 2022. In his first season at Ole Miss, he wasted no time introducing himself to a wider audience, accounting for 5 touchdowns in the Rebels’ first 2 games. Slowed by injury, the rest of his campaign was up-and-down — but when it was up, it was off the charts. Harris went off in 3 of Ole Miss’ biggest SEC wins, over LSU (8 catches for 153 yards, 1 TD), Auburn (4 for 102), and especially Texas A&M, where he hauled in 11 catches for 213 yards in an instant-classic performance in Oxford.

Even at full health, targets will be that much harder to come by in ’24 opposite incoming transfer Antwane “Juice” Wells Jr., a former All-SEC pick at South Carolina whose ’23 season was scuttled by injury. (Wells checked in at No. 64 on last year’s edition of this list.) If they can stay on the field at the same time, Harris/Wells is up there with the most imposing 1-2 receiving combos in the country. If not, whichever one of them is good to go on any given Saturday is more than capable of handling full-time match-up nightmare duty in his own right.

40. Nic Scourton | Edge, Texas A&M

A late-blooming recruit, Scourton (formerly Nic Caraway) grew up within shouting distance of Texas A&M’s campus but didn’t generate much interest from the Aggies or any other big-time program despite being rated as a consensus 4-star prospect and invited to play in the Army All-America Bowl. (Locally, at least, it didn’t help that he happened to be coming out in 2022, the same year that A&M signed the most loaded d-line class on record.) Instead, he accepted his only Power 5 offer, to Purdue, and made the most of it. His breakthrough sophomore campaign in 2023 yielded a Big Ten-best 10 sacks, 42 QB pressures, an elite PFF pass-rushing grade, and a sizzle reel guaranteed to open almost any door in America.

Scourton came home in the spring to an A&M front stacked with former blue-chips but lacking in proven production. The Aggies’ returning sack leader, Shemar Turner, is shifting inside from end to tackle (see above), making way for Scourton on the edge. Finally, he’ll have every opportunity to prove that while the Jimbo Fisher administration was casting its nets far and wide for the best pass rush money could buy, they never actually had to leave their own backyard.

39. Danny Stutsman | LB, Oklahoma

First and foremost, Stutsman is an old-school tackle machine, clocking in the triple digits in total tackles each of the past 2 seasons. But then, not all tackles are created equal. He’s generated his fair share of havoc, too: In the same span, Stutsman has 101 stops, 39 QB pressures, 27 tackles for loss, 3 interceptions and 8 PBUs for a defense that made strides from 2022 to ’23. In a year of looming uncertainty at Oklahoma — new conference, new quarterback, major turnover in the trenches, brutal schedule — his veteran presence is one of the few assets the Sooners can take to the bank.

38. Rueben Bain Jr. | Edge, Miami

A hometown product, Bain showed up in 2023 looking exactly like a 275-pound blue-chip freshman named “Bain” ought to look. He ended his freshman campaign as Miami’s highest-graded full-time defender, per PFF, and as one of the highest-graded pass rushers in the ACC, recording 46 QB pressures and 7.5 sacks (tied for the team lead) while running away with ACC Defensive Rookie of the Year.

The question in Year 2: How high is Bain’s ceiling? His rocked-up build on a 6-3 frame suggests he may have been closer to maxed out athletically than most freshmen, but if he continues his ascent he has a chance to grow into one of the most imposing presences in the country.

37. Mykel Williams | Edge, Georgia

Georgia’s pass-rushing ethos under Kirby Smart has always emphasized generating pressure from as many different directions as possible rather than relying on a dominant individual rusher — a luxury for a unit that’s usually stocked with 3 or 4 potentially dominant rushers at any given time. In 2023, though, the absence of an every-down edge threat capable of routinely putting opposing tackles in a blender was a sore point. Can Williams be that dude? The Dawgs hope so, experimenting in the spring with shifting him from the “heavy end” position he occupied as a sophomore (more of a hand-in-the dirt, stack-and-shed role) to “Jack,” a stand-up outside linebacker role better suited to turning up the heat. Come fall, his duties will likely shift based on the situation, and pending the emergence of another viable option on the edge from a group of touted-but-green underclassmen. Of course, Williams was once a touted underclassman himself, arriving as the top-rated player in UGA’s 2022 recruiting class; 2 years later, he’s well on his way to going out as a top pick in 2025 based mainly on the same elite athletic profile. In his last year on campus, his team is staking a big part of its championship pursuit on his production rising to the hype.

36. Howard Cross III | DL, Notre Dame

As a rule, nose tackles are supposed to take up more space on film than they do in the box score, but even a casual glance at the ledger makes Cross’ impact in 2023 plain: He finished 2nd on the team in total tackles (66), 3rd in tackles for loss (7) and among the top 10 interior d-linemen nationally in QB pressures (39), stops (32) and overall PFF grade (89.8). As a rule, nose tackles listed at 6-1, 288 pounds don’t get drafted, either. But for a second-generation player with Cross’ pass-rushing juice, exceptions can and very likely will be made.

35. Jack Sawyer | Edge, Ohio State

A local product whose recruiting profiles tended to explicitly invoke the name “Bosa,” Sawyer enrolled early in 2021 and immediately dialed the hype to eleven with a splashy effort in the spring game. The opportunity to do it for real required more patience: He spent his first 2 seasons at OSU in limbo, the odd man out in a rotation that was not exactly running roughshod over Big Ten offenses in the meantime. Finally promoted to the top line in ’23, Sawyer made a strong case that he should have been elevated sooner, leading OSU in QB pressures (27), TFLs (10), sacks (6.5) and overall PFF grade (89.5). As much an old-school edge-setter as he is a sleek modern pass rusher, he was also the Buckeyes’ highest-graded defender against the run. In fact, there is very little sleek, rangy, or bendy about Sawyer’s game, which might limit his rise up draft boards in 2025. Until then, his only mission is ensuring that when it comes time to face those questions he’s doing it with a ring on his finger.

34. Quinshon Judkins | RB, Ohio State

At Ole Miss, Judkins was a straight-up 1980s-style workhorse, racking up more touches over the past 2 seasons (582) than any other FBS player, by far. In 26 games as a Rebel, he logged 20+ touches 17 times, and 25+ touches 11 times; at one point last September, he shouldered 33 carries against LSU in a game he was reportedly questionable to even play in due to sore ribs that had limited his duties the previous 2 weeks. He left Oxford ranked No. 3 in school history in career touches in just 2 years’ worth of work.

Did any of that play any role in Judkins’ surprise decision to transfer to Ohio State? Not as big a role as the NIL bag, surely. But if putting too many miles on the odometer is a concern, transferring into the same backfield with an entrenched running mate like OSU’s TreVeyon Henderson was a pretty shrewd way to address it. Henderson has had the opposite problem, battling nagging injuries that have kept him relatively in check the past 2 years. Judkins is much too good to be considered anybody’s insurance policy, but adding a volume eater who can assume half the load without a drop-off, and potentially all of the load at times if Henderson remains too fragile to make it through a full season, was a major coup for Ryan Day. Now, just how committed is Day as a play-caller to actually getting back to running the dang ball?

33. Jaxson Dart | QB, Ole Miss

After a deflating finish in 2022, Lane Kiffin put Dart on notice by bringing in a pair of high-profile transfers to compete for his job in ’23. Dart rose to the occasion: He fended off the competition in the offseason, started every game, improved his production across the board, and cut his interceptions in half. Ole Miss set a school record for wins (11) and logged its best finish in the AP poll (9th) since 1969.

Dart’s return and a loaded transfer class have the Rebels thinking Playoff in 2024, but taking the next step will not be as simple as putting one foot in front of the other. Their only losses last year were both double-digit defeats against the best teams on the schedule, Alabama and Georgia — the latter coming in a sobering November blowout — making the gap between Ole Miss and the SEC’s real national contenders all too clear. Not coincidentally, they were also 2 of Dart’s least efficient games as a passer and lowest-graded outings per PFF. The Rebels avoid Bama this time but still face Georgia and LSU while adding Oklahoma, all in a 5-week span in October and November. As it stands, Dart can already take his status as one of the top QBs in school history to the bank. Whether he goes out on top depends largely on those 3 Saturdays.

32. Jabbar Muhammad | CB, Oregon

Muhammad started out at Oklahoma State, where he spent 3 respectable but unsung years before transferring to Washington, but he made a much bigger impression in his lone season as a Husky than he ever did in Stillwater. He was arguably the top cover man in the Pac-12 in 2023, finishing with 3 interceptions, a conference-best 15 passes broken up, and one of the most memorable individual performances of the season in a soggy, freezing, must-have November win at Oregon State. Per PFF, that was the first of 3 big games down the stretch in which Muhammad didn’t allow a reception at his expense, followed by the Pac-12 Championship Game against Oregon and the CFP title game against Michigan.

A beneficiary of the free COVID year, he portaled to Oregon in the spring with more career snaps to his credit than any other Oregon defender or returning defensive back in the Big Ten. Landing him was a coup for the Ducks, who were in the market for a new No. 1 corner, and for Muhammad himself, who joins a program with a track record of turning one-and-done senior transfers into draft picks in their lone season in Eugene. (Christian Gonzalez in 2022, the late Khyree Jackson in ’23.) Muhammad will be next, barring disaster; the only question is how high he can potentially rise on a 5-10,185-pound frame.

31. Jay Higgins | LB, Iowa

Under Kirk Ferentz, “under-recruited Iowa linebacker who leads the Big Ten in tackles” is one of college football’s most enduring stock characters. In 2023, the role was played by Higgins, a former 3-star who had zero Power 5 offers other than the Hawkeyes and spent his first 3 seasons in Iowa City in obscurity. He not only led the Big Ten in tackles in Year 4: He led the nation, playing nearly every snap and outpacing the nearest B1G defender by nearly 3 full tackles per game. He ranked No. 3 nationally in PFF’s “stops” metric, with 62, and No. 4 among P5 linebackers in overall PFF grade (89.4), thanks in large part to even higher marks in coverage than against the run.

The Hawkeyes stoned a QB sneak on the ensuing fourth down there, for the record, and went on to win 10-7. Just a mediocre offense, that’s all they’re asking.

30. Shedeur Sanders | QB, Colorado

The tabloid vibe surrounding the Sanders family tends to blur the line between Shedeur as a promising young quarterback and Shedeur as a promising young branding opportunity, and the numbers don’t help. In his first season at the FBS level, he finished 57th nationally in Total QBR (meh) but 25th in efficiency (decent). He endured an FBS-worst 52 sacks (yikes), but threw just 3 interceptions in 430 attempts (impressive). Colorado’s season visibly disintegrated down the stretch, resulting in a last-place finish in the Pac-12 standings as well as in total offense in conference play. For his part, though, Sanders’ overall PFF grade (88.4) still ranked 15th nationally among quarterbacks, and his PFF passing grade (89.4) ranked No. 9.

In spite of everything, the consensus has remained mostly bullish. Scouts are mixed, forecasting Sanders as anywhere from the No. 1 overall pick in 2025 to a mid-round project, but tend to lean toward the former. (Again, finding an honest scouting report amid the infinite scroll of headlines generated by Deion Sanders openly promoting his son’s stock is a chore. But clearly many front-office types are true believers.) EA Sports made Shedeur the top-rated QB in the long-awaited College Football 25 video game, which had a whiff of catering to his viral clout … but then, was not totally indefensible, either, given his combination of arm talent, experience, and mobility and the absence of a clear-cut headliner at the position entering the season. His rapid ascent last September during the Buffs’ 3-0 start offered the entire country a glimpse of his ceiling, which seems to have made a stronger impression than their 1-8 finish. The crash was largely chalked up to everyone except Shedeur, especially a ramshackle and overmatched o-line.

All of which is to say: The talent is there, but the jury is out. Still desperate to upgrade the surrounding cast, Colorado replaced half of last year’s roster with 42 incoming transfers, including four wide receivers and nine offensive linemen. If the substance is as real as the hype, it’s time for the results to back it up.

29. Colston Loveland | TE, Michigan

As a rule, big-time programs typically don’t invest much time scouting rural Idaho, a state that’s produced only a handful of 4-star recruits in the online rankings era. Loveland was an exception: A natural receiver in a rapidly embiggening body, his ritual humiliation of his fellow children of the spuds earned him 4-star billing and serious interest from the likes of Alabama, LSU and Michigan, where he signed with high expectations in 2022. He made his move late in his freshman campaign, announcing his arrival on a 45-yard touchdown catch that sparked the Wolverines’ second-half comeback at Ohio State. From that moment on, he was entrenched.

Loveland was an equal partner in last year’s receiving rotation alongside the starting wideouts, Roman Wilson and Cornelius Johnson, each of whom put up virtually identical numbers in terms of targets and receptions. Lining up primarily in space, he finished No. 2 on the team in receiving yards (649) and touchdowns (4), with a first-team All-Big Ten nod to show for it. He has vertical juice to spare against linebackers and safeties, and looms over corners on jump balls. Even if the entire lineup returned intact this fall, Loveland would project as the Wolverines’ most reliable target and the only tight end nationally being sized up as a potential first-rounder entering the season. The fact that he’s the sole returning starter on offense from the CFP Championship Game only makes him that much more indispensable.

28. Donovan Jackson | OL, Ohio State

OK, the Buckeyes are coming in fast and furious now. This year snapped an 8-year streak of at least 1 Ohio State offensive lineman hearing his name called in the NFL Draft, albeit strictly as a result of Jackson’s decision to stay in school. A former 5-star with 26 consecutive starts at left guard, he’s come in for All-Big Ten recognition each of the past 2 seasons (second-team in ’22, first-team in ’23) while playing nearly every snap. Next stop: All-American, followed by the resumption of the draft streak next year.

27. Tate Ratledge | OL, Georgia

Georgia has had at least 1 o-lineman drafted in every year of Kirby Smart’s tenure. Ratledge looks like a lock to continue the streak. A 2-year starter at right guard, he was the best player on arguably the nation’s best front in 2023, and not only in his capacity as a certified mauler in the run game: He also earned the SEC’s top individual PFF pass-blocking grade while shutting out opposing rushers on 399 pass-blocking snaps. Enormous, experienced, and unapologetically hirsute: The perfect guard.

26. Barrett Carter | LB, Clemson

In 2022, Carter was the model of the modern “spacebacker,” splitting his reps between the slot, the edge, and conventional off-ball linebacker. He was significantly less likely to roam in ’23, lining up in the box on a little more than three-fourths of his total snaps. As far as opposing offenses are concerned, it’s a distinction without a difference: Regardless of where he lines up, he’s a full-service playmaker who’s going to find his way to the ball by any means necessary.

Statistically, Carter’s output reflects his range: 135 tackles, 20 TFLs, 45 QB pressures, 3 INTs and 13 PBUs over the past 2 years. With the exception of safety RJ Mickens, he also has more than twice as many career snaps under his belt than any other returning Clemson’s defender, making his experience even more valuable than his versatility.

25. Xavier Watts | DB, Notre Dame

No matter what else he does in an Irish uniform, the first line on Watts’ college résumé will always be his breakout game against then-undefeated USC last October, the night that he picked off Caleb Williams twice, forced a fumble and returned another fumble for a touchdown in an emphatic, 48-20 blowout in South Bend. A nationally televised pantsing of the reigning Heisman winner in a rivalry game will do that for you. But his star turn against the Trojans was only the high note in a breakout season. In his first year as a starter, Watts tied for the FBS lead in interceptions (7), didn’t allow a touchdown in coverage (per PFF) and was honored as a consensus All-American.

That’s the kind of season that, on paper, usually dooms the encore to looking like leftover casserole by comparison. One note in Watts’ favor, momentum-wise, is that he’s still relatively new to the position, having arrived at Notre Dame as a wide receiver and only converted to defense in 2021. The arrow is still pointing up, whether the viral reel and the INT column continue to reflect it or not.

24. Ashton Jeanty | RB, Boise State

As much as any running back in the country, Jeanty is ideally adapted for the modern game: Short, thick, durable, versatile, and slipperier than a greased balloon. Per PFF, he led the nation in 2023 in missed tackles forced, eluding 106 tackles on 263 touches as a rusher and receiver. On the ground alone, he averaged 4.5 yards per carry after contact, 3rd-best nationally among backs with 100+ carries, accounting more than 70% of his rushing production. Tack on his 569 receiving yards out of the backfield — the most of any FBS running back — and that ratio was even higher.

Altogether, Jeanty accounted for 100+ scrimmage yards in 10 of 12 games, including all 3 of Boise State’s dates against Power 5 opponents (Washington, UCF and UCLA) as well as a 225-yard, 2-touchdown outing against the best statistical defense on the schedule, Air Force. If the Broncos have a path to the guaranteed Group of 5 Playoff slot, it begins and ends with the ball in his hands.

23. Wyatt Milum | OL, West Virginia

West Virginia fended off some heavy hitters to keep Milum in-state, and he’s repaid the investment with interest. It took him barely a month to break into the starting lineup as a true freshman, where he’s remained for 32 consecutive games in the kind of workmanlike obscurity all o-linemen aspire to. Since moving from right tackle to left in 2022, Milum has yet to allow a sack over 2 full seasons, per PFF, and given up a single QB hit. Shoot, for good measure he’s been All-Big 12 on the academic side each of the past 2 years, too. The only concern in Year 4 is thinking about how to replace him after he moves on.

22. Omarion Hampton | RB, North Carolina

Hampton was due for a breakthrough sophomore campaign in 2023, and delivered in the most literal sense possible: By breaking through tackles at a furious pace. Per PFF, he churned out an FBS-best 1,072 yards after contact, accounting for more than two-thirds of his total output on the ground. Altogether, Hampton’s 1,726 scrimmage yards went down as the 2nd-best single-season total in UNC history. Given looming question marks at quarterback and receiver, he should have every opportunity to go for the top line again in ’24.

21. JT Tuimoloau | Edge, Ohio State

Ohio State fans have been waiting for Tuimoloau to put it all together over a full season … and waiting … and, well, the wait ends in 2024, one way or another. It’s a strange thing to say about a confirmed dude voted first-team All-Big Ten two years in a row, but as solid as he’s been to date Tuimoloau still leaves the impression that he’s barely scratched the surface. At his best, he’s capable of singlehandedly taking over a game, which he very memorably did in a monster 2022 performance at Penn State in which he recorded 2 sacks, forced a fumble (which he also recovered), picked off 2 passes, forced a 3rd pick on a tipped pass, and scored the game-clinching touchdown. For one afternoon, he was a d-line god.

The rest of the time? A mere mortal. Taken as a whole, Tuimoloau’s production the past 2 years has fallen squarely into the “good not great” range — 69 QB pressures, 17.5 TFLs, 8.5 sacks, zero forced turnovers outside of the ones clipped above — which would be much easier to swallow if not for the original expectation that he would be, and the subsequent evidence that he can be, great. He doesn’t necessarily have to ascend to the Bosa/Chase Young tier on a weekly basis to continue racking up accolades on the strength of his reputation, but the odds of the Buckeyes fulfilling their championship mission look a lot better if he does.

20. Emeka Egbuka | WR, Ohio State

Egbuka’s talent has never been in doubt, but for one reason or another, the spotlight has always managed to miss him. As a freshman, he was stuck biding his time behind 3 future first-rounders. As a sophomore, his breakout campaign was eclipsed by his extraterrestrial classmate, Marvin Harrison Jr. As a junior, he was limited by an injured ankle. Even in the spring, he was out-hyped by the consensus No. 1 incoming freshman at any position, Jeremiah Smith, who I will bet $10 is on this list next year. Make no mistake, though: 2024 is Egbuka’s time. A smooth route runner, sure-handed target in the slot, high riser in traffic, and home-run threat after the catch, he’s a complete package and the natural heir to OSU’s run of elite wideouts under Ryan Day. Assuming his health holds up and the new quarterback is worth his salt at all, Egbuka is overdue to cash in.

19. Jalen Milroe | QB, Alabama

In retrospect, the panic over Milroe’s shaky start last September looks faintly ridiculous. At the time, though, it was very real — real enough that Nick Saban briefly decided to his explore his options while Milroe chilled on the bench, and that even after he was restored to QB1 it took roughly half the season for Bama fans to stop holding their breath every time the ball left his hand. But then, week by week, the wins kept adding up: 11 in a row, all the way through a galvanizing win over LSU, a miracle finish at Auburn, and an SEC Championship upset over Georgia that recast a season on the brink as a triumph over adversity. In the process, Milroe’s arc from scapegoat to MVP of the season’s biggest win confirmed him as a rising star.

A mediocre turn in the Tide’s semifinal loss to Michigan took some of the wind out of his sails entering the offseason. Still, Milroe’s ceiling remains as high as any returning starter in the country, beginning with his singular combination of home-run speed and home-run arm strength at 6-2, 220 pounds. As a playmaker, he has nothing left to prove. Assuming his early struggles with pocket presence and ball security are behind him, the next step to becoming a complete package is making the routine throws look more … well, routine.

18. Benjamin Morrison | CB, Notre Dame

There are more imposing corners on this list, but none more productive than Morrison, whose first 2 seasons in South Bend have already established his reputation as a first-rate ballhawk. His 9 interceptions over the past 2 years are tied for the most of any returning player in the country, including a game-clinching pick-six against Clemson in 2022; he also led the Irish in 2023 with 10 PBUs, 2 of them coming in a money-making performance opposite Marvin Harrison Jr. An inch or two taller, and Morrison would be a virtual lock to go out as the first Notre Dame corner drafted in the first round since 1994. At the rate he’s going, he might play his way into the distinction anyway.

17. TreVeyon Henderson | RB, Ohio State

Henderson was a star pretty much from the moment he set foot at Ohio State, arriving with 5-star hype and breaking free on a 70-yard touchdown reception in his first game. He accounted for 1,560 yards and 19 touchdowns as a freshman, breaking OSU records set by Maurice Clarett. Since then, the only question has been keeping him on the field. His 2022 campaign was derailed by a broken foot; in 2023, an undisclosed injury cost him 3 games at midseason, significantly curbing his output in a season in which he averaged 115.5 scrimmage yards in the 10 games he played.

It’s possible to view the offseason addition of Quinshon Judkins as a threat to Henderson’s chances of going out on a monster senior year. Judkins will certainly siphon his fair share of carries. But then, that’s largely the point: Beyond the “thunder and lightning” dynamic, limiting wear and tear on Henderson makes it more likely he’ll be available at full speed in the games that will define Ohio State’s season in November, December and January. (Ditto for Judkins; see his entry above.) The Buckeyes are hugely invested in this season, from Ryan Day’s job security to a decorated senior class determined to beat Michigan and play for a national title before it moves on. Their primary big-play threat is an essential piece of the equation. Doing everything they can to ensure he’s there when it counts is just good business.

16. Dillon Gabriel | QB, Oregon

Yes, Gabriel is still in school, and yes, he’s played a lot of football for a guy who still has a year of eligibility to burn. In fact, no other returning quarterback has started more games, taken more snaps, or thrown for more yards or touchdowns at the FBS level. Over 5 seasons at UCF and Oklahoma (including the free COVID year in 2020 and a medical redshirt in ’21), Gabriel’s career totals rank 7th all-time in total yards and 4th in total touchdowns and 8th in TD passes (125, 30 shy of Case Keenum’s mark), leaving him within plausible striking distance of breaking all 3 marks in Year 6. Longevity has its perks.

Of course, Oregon didn’t recruit him to only break records. It recruited him to take the baton cleanly from Bo Nix, whose hyper-efficient output over the past 2 seasons set a high bar for whoever came next. In many ways Gabriel profiles as a slightly smaller version of Nix, who also brought a lot of prior experience to the job — Nix left with an FBS-record 61 career starts, another mark Gabriel (49 starts) has in his sights — and also profiled as more of a well-rounded technician than a primo athlete. Beyond the volume stats, Gabriel ranked 3rd among Power 5 quarterbacks in Total QBR in 2023, behind only Nix and Jayden Daniels; he’s the only returning QB in the country who ranked in the top 20 each of the past 2 years.

On the other hand, Gabriel is unlikely to follow Nix as a high draft pick, if only due to his marginal height. But if that winds up being the biggest difference between them, the Ducks should feel like they got their money’s worth.

15. Ollie Gordon III | RB, Oklahoma State

It took almost a full month in 2023 for Oklahoma State to settle on Gordon as its meal ticket, by which point the Cowboys’ season already had the whiff of desperation. As soon as he got the chance, though, he put the offense on his back. Coming out of an open date in late September, Gordon exploded for 1,773 scrimmage yards and 20 touchdowns over the last 10 games, averaging 6.4 yards per touch on a grueling 27.7 touches per game. In the same span, OSU went 8-2, beat Oklahoma, punched its ticket to the Big 12 Championship Game, and turned a limp, 2-2 start prior to the open date into a top-20 finish.

Gordon made the wrong kind of headlines in July over a misdemeanor charge for driving while intoxicated, which got an extended run in the news cycle after coach Mike Gundy embarked on a rambling, ill-advised explanation to reporters of why his All-American workhorse will not be suspended. (Not to rehash the whole thing here, but suffice to say a 56-year-old authority figure delivering the line “I’ve probably done that a thousand times in my life” in regards to drinking and driving did not go over well.) Of course, Mike Gundy creating unnecessary trouble for himself is nothing new. If Gordon picks up where he left off, the entire episode will be relegated posthaste to a line or two in the “Controversies” section of Gundy’s Wikipedia page.

14. Caleb Downs | DB, Ohio State

Downs has only played 1 season of college football, but already qualifies as a decorated vet. A Day 1 starter at Alabama — let me repeat that for emphasis: a Day 1 starter at Alabama — he led the Tide in 2023 in both defensive snaps and tackles while flashing his 5-star ceiling in versatile fashion: A pair of interceptions; a forced fumble; an 85-yard house call on his first career punt return; and plain old feats of “my god, a freshman” strength.

Downs finished as the SEC’s highest-graded safety per PFF and a first-team all-conference pick per league coaches, neither of which was strictly necessary to make him the most sought-after player in the portal when he put his name in following Nick Saban’s retirement. The Buckeyes won the sweepstakes, instantly upgrading a position where they haven’t had a player drafted in the first 3 rounds since 2017. (A drought by Ohio State standards; draft gaps in Columbus are measured in of dog years.) He won’t be eligible until 2026, by which point he’ll be the college DB equivalent of Yoda.

13. Deone Walker | DL, Kentucky

Contrary to popular belief, the arrival of pay-for-play via NIL is not just a means for the rich to get richer. The money has opened up channels for talent to flow in more unexpected directions, too. Take Walker: A 6-6, 345-pound behemoth from Detroit, he was one of Kentucky’s first big recruiting wins of the NIL era, opting for Lexington at the last minute over Michigan and Georgia. Two years in, he’s been worth every penny, emerging right on schedule as the kind of unblockable force in the middle of the Wildcats’ d-line that you’d traditionally expect to see battling for reps at, well, Michigan or Georgia.

At Kentucky, Walker gets all the reps he can handle. He was a mainstay in opposing backfields in 2023, playing more than 80% of UK’s defensive snaps and leading all interior DL nationally with 51 QB pressures. At times, he was flat-out dominant, logging 4 TFLs against Missouri, 8 stops against South Carolina, and 8 QB pressures (including 2 sacks) against Clemson in the Gator Bowl. His 12.5 TFLs easily led the team, a rarity for any defensive tackle, much less one who commands a steady diet of double teams. Huge, nimble and durable, he’s a textbook specimen for the position. Slightly more consistency in Year 3, and the sky’s the limit.

12. James Pearce Jr. | Edge, Tennessee

Pearce began last season as a relative unknown who’d barely seen the field in 2022. Within weeks, he was climbing the ranks of feared SEC edge rushers, humiliating opposing tackles on a regular basis while recording 7 sacks in Tennessee’s first 7 games. By November, his reputation as a confirmed menace preceded him.

Despite cooling off a bit down the stretch — and despite continuing to share snaps in Tennessee’s “Leo” role, due to his less imposing presence against the run — Pearce finished tied for the SEC lead in sacks (10), ranked 3rd in QB pressures (52), and graded out as the conference’s top full-time pass rusher per PFF (91.9). A few mock draftniks have already gotten in on the ground floor of his campaign to be the No. 1 overall pick in 2025 based on his raw size/strength/speed profile alone at 20 years old. With a little refinement, it won’t be long before he commands a consensus.

11. Malaki Starks | DB, Georgia

Starks makes far too many plays to qualify for the “boring” column, with 5 interceptions and 14 PBUs to his credit over his first 2 seasons at Georgia. As a tackler, though, he’s about as boring as they come: PFF marked him down for a grand total of 3 missed tackles in 2023, good for the lowest missed tackle rate of any SEC safety at 4.8%. Combine that with his exceptional range and ball skills in coverage at 6-1/205, and you’ve got the blueprint for the most NFL-ready safety in the college game.

10. Tetairoa McMillan | WR, Arizona

In any year, Arizona landing a recruit of McMillan’s caliber would have qualified as a coup: Per 247Sports’ composite rating, he’s the highest-rated prospect to sign with the Wildcats in the entire database, dating back to 2002. Landing that signature in December 2021, hot on the heels of a 1-11 train wreck of a season under first-year coach Jedd Fisch, was something else altogether. It implied momentum at a program left for dead, generating buzz that the on-field product at that point could not remotely justify. And if anything, McMillan’s first 2 seasons in Tucson exceeded those expectations.

He made a big first impression in 2022, averaging 18.0 yards per catch with 8 touchdowns and too many Freshman All-American notices to count. In ’23, he was borderline unstoppable, reuniting with his former high school quarterback, Noah Fifita, to the tune of 1,402 yards and 10 TDs on 15.6 per catch. A looming, 6-5 presence with a pillow-soft hands, McMillan hauled in a preposterous 17 contested catches, per PFF, versus just 2 drops. After Fifita’s promotion to QB1 in late September, the once-lowly Wildcats averaged 38.6 points over the course of a 7-game win streak to close the year.

There’s a new head coach in 2024, Brent Brennan, following Fish’s departure to oversee the rebuilding job at Washington. With Fifita and McMillan back in the fold, though, the momentum is as palpable as ever, and the Big 12 is wide open for the taking in Zona’s first year in the league. In years past, a prolific pass-catch combo in the desert would be little more than a late-night curiosity to the rest of the country. Now, a sustained Playoff push that lends national relevance to their long-running chemistry is just one more example of why the expanded Playoff has the potential to be one of the best things that’s ever happened to the sport.

9. Kelvin Banks Jr. | OL, Texas

Texas accumulated a whole bunch of dubious streaks during its years in the wilderness, and its resurgence under Steve Sarkisian has already brought a lot of them to an end. Another one due to fall: 22 years and counting since the Longhorns last had an offensive lineman drafted in the first round. Banks, a former 5-star, arrived as part of Sarkisian’s first full recruiting class with that bar squarely in his sights. In Year 3, he’s well on his way to clearing it. A Day 1 starter as a freshman, he’s held down the left tackle job in all 27 games the past 2 seasons, earning second-team All-Big 12 in 2022 and first-team in ’23. He barely came off the field during last year’s Playoff run while allowing a single sack, in the season opener. At 6-4, he comes in slightly below the towering, power forward-esque ideal for a modern blindside protector; in every other respect, the most important boxes are already checked — mean streak included.

8. Harold Perkins Jr. | LB, LSU

Perkins remained tethered to the mortal plane in 2023, turning in a merely very good sophomore campaign that never quite captured the magic of his late-season breakthrough in 2022. Still, by any other standard, he was a star. While the rest of LSU’s defense collapsed around him, Perkins held up his end of the bargain, leading the team in solo tackles, tackles for loss, sacks, QB pressures and forced fumbles en route to a second-team All-SEC nod from league coaches. He was the Tigers’ best pass rusher, by far, and arguably their best player on the back end, too, posting a team-high 81.1 PFF coverage grade. (His lone interception on the year was a clutch one, initiating LSU’s comeback from a double-digit deficit to beat Missouri.) As advertised, there was nothing they could ask him to do that he couldn’t handle in a pinch.

If there is a concern heading into what will surely be his final season on campus, it’s that Perkins has yet to shed the reputation of “jack of all trades, master of none.” As a pure speed rusher off the edge, he might be unmatched in the college game. At (officially) 6-1, 220 pounds, though, he’s much too light in the pants to consistently hold up in the trenches against the run — LSU tried him as a full-time, every-down edge defender just once last year, against Ole Miss, and the result was one of the worst defensive performances in school history. There was also the fact that the secondary as a unit was so flammable that Perkins’ coverage chops were indispensable. On paper, this year’s lineup looks like more of the same, minus much-maligned coordinator Matt House. Again, getting the most out of Perkins’ unique skill set will likely mean never leaving him in the same place long enough to get comfortable.

7. Carson Beck | QB, Georgia

Were there ever any doubts about Beck as a worthy successor to Stetson Bennett IV? If there were, they dried up in a hurry. After 3 uneventful seasons as a backup, Beck slid seamlessly into the spotlight in 2023, enjoying all the benefits of being QB1 at Georgia — reliable protection, an arsenal of mostly interchangeable playmakers, a defense that afforded him plenty of margin for error — while putting up a virtually identical stat line to Bennett’s in ’22. UGA finished un the top 5 nationally in total and scoring offense, and the 6-4, 220-pound Beck emerged as the kind of NFL-ready pocket presence that the diminutive Bennett was constantly being compared against.

Bennett, of course, boasts a pair of ace cards that Beck does not: Back-to-back championship rings. Georgia’s 27-24 loss to Alabama in the SEC title game abruptly ended a 29-game winning streak, a 24-week run at the top of the AP poll, and the bid for a three-peat. It also guaranteed Beck would be back for his final year of eligibility under the banner of “unfinished business.” Georgia remains the safest bet to win it all in the first year of the expanded Playoff, which by default makes Beck the safest bet to win the Heisman. Anything less than a December trip to New York for the award ceremony ahead of a January trip to Atlanta for the CFP title game will go down as another sorely missed opportunity.

6. Quinn Ewers | QB, Texas

A blue-chip Texas quarterback who actually lives up to the hype? College football really has changed. After a lost decade in Austin, Ewers arrived with messianic expectations and is on right on schedule to meet them.

That certainly wasn’t the case a year ago, coming off a sobering, injury-riddled debut in 2022 that left Ewers’ status in doubt on the same depth chart as the equally exalted Arch Manning. Up to the challenge, he came back in ’23 looking leaner and more mature, shorn of his trademark mullet, and significantly more in sync with Steve Sarkisian’s offense. Ewers wasted no time reminding the rest of the country why he was touted as highly as he was in a 349-yard, 3-touchdown ambush of Alabama in Week 2, the catalyst for a vastly improved sophomore campaign across the board. He finished with best single-season passer rating (158.6) and QBR (78.7) for a Texas quarterback since Colt McCoy’s Heisman runner-up campaign in 2008; the Longhorns finished in their first Playoff game. Manning’s name barely came up.

On the scouting side, Ewers is not generally considered a no-brainer prospect on the order of Trevor Lawrence or Caleb Williams at the same stage of their careers, or even the top quarterback in a consensus-defying 2025 class. There are lingering questions about his consistency and accuracy, which still has a tendency to come and go. But there is no doubt about his raw tools, or, given the leap from Year 1 to Year 2, his capacity for growth. Another step forward in Year 3 will put him within range of the Heisman, a deep Playoff run, and the top of the draft. If the final product is as good as advertised, it will be well worth the wait.

5. Will Campbell | OL, LSU

Campbell’s career to date has been one green light after another: Blue-chip recruit, instant starter, Freshman All-American in Year 1, first-team All-SEC in Year 2, maximum expectations in Year 3. He’s missed just 1 game due to injury (a midseason loss to Tennessee in 2022) and didn’t allow a sack as a sophomore while playing every meaningful snap. As a junior, he’s pegged as a consensus preseason All-American and a no-brainer first-round pick in 2025, most likely as the first o-lineman off the board. He has the size (6-6, 323), the tape and the durability. One more year in line with the past 2, and he could find himself in the running to go No. 1 overall.

4. Luther Burden III | WR, Missouri

Burden was the kind of supernova recruit who could have gone literally anywhere he wanted — that is, the kind of recruit who rarely ends up at Mizzou — and his decision to sign with the Tigers in December 2021 was the first signal that coach Eli Drinkwitz might not be resigned to merely treading water. After a respectable but frustrating debut in 2022, Burden was everything he was supposed to be in ’23 right from the jump: A high-volume presence in the slot, must-see TV in the open field, and the face of one of the most dramatically improved teams in America.

Just as important, he was healthy, starting every game and finishing among the Power 5 leaders in targets (120), receptions (86), receiving yards (1,209), yards after catch (724), yards per route (3.29) and receptions of 20+ yards (22). His explosives alone included a pair of long touchdowns in the September win over Kansas State that launched Missouri’s ascent; a 39-yard touchdown against Georgia; and a season-saving, 4th-and-17 conversion against Florida that set up the game-winning field goal in a game Mizzou had to have to secure a New Year’s 6 bowl. Fingers crossed for continued good health, the maxed-out version in 2024 has legendary potential.

3. Mason Graham | DL, Michigan
2. Will Johnson | CB, Michigan

Inevitably, the story of Michigan’s offseason was about how much the defending champs lost. By the time they sobered up from the post-CFP hangover, the exodus from Ann Arbor included the head coach, most of his staff, a first-round quarterback, and 19 of 22 starters in the CFP Championship Game, 13 of whom went on to get drafted. But then, when the holdovers include a pair of confirmed dudes like Graham and Johnson, even historic waves of attrition have their limits.

When his motor is revved, Graham’s presence in the trenches is akin to a live grenade, routinely blowing up opposing blocking schemes even when the scheme is specifically designed to neutralize his impact. He’s 1 of 4 returning interior DL nationally who earned PFF grades of 80+ against both the run and pass in 2023, and the only one whose overall grade cracked the 90s. Like any big man worth his salt, though, Graham’s conventional output on paper (29 QB pressures, 28 stops, 7.5 TFLs, 3 sacks) paled in comparison to the sheer number of bodies he left strewn in his wake.

On the back end, Johnson’s highlight reel is shorter, for the very good reason that opponents tend to give him as few opportunities to shine as possible. Nothing good is likely to come of it if they do. Long, smooth, intelligent and fearless, Johnson is as close as you’re going to get to a true “shutdown corner” in the modern college game. He faced just 37 targets in 2023, intercepted 4 of them, and didn’t allow a touchdown at his expense. In Michigan’s 4 biggest games down the stretch — vs. Penn State, Ohio State, Alabama and Washington — opposing QBs were a meager 6-for-18 for 104 yards in Johnson’s direction, the vast majority of that number coming via Marvin Harrison Jr. (And much of it coming on a single absurd catch). Bama hardly bothered testing Johnson; Penn State and Washington managed long gains of 8 and 11 yards, respectively. If your only realistic chance to get one over on this guy is to be arguably the most NFL-ready wide receiver of your generation, well, good luck with that.

Zooming out: Graham and Johnson are proven difference-makers, but just how much difference are we talking about on a team in full-on rebuilding mode at nearly other position? The coaching staff, quarterback, offensive line, receivers, and the rest of the back seven on defense are all essentially a blank slate, and the schedule is significantly steeper over the first half of the season than the cruise control-friendly slates the Wolverines have enjoyed the past 2 years. Forget a repeat — if they’re going to remain relevant in the Playoff race past midseason, it’s up to the headliners to hold it down while the rest of the team learns to put one front of the other.

1. Travis Hunter | WR/CB, Colorado

Is he the best wide receiver? No. (See Burden, McMillan and Egbuka.) Is he the best cornerback? Again, probably not. (See Will Johnson.) Is there anyone else quite like him in the past quarter-century of big-time football, college or pro? Not even close.

I limit that statement to a quarter-century out of respect for 3 of Hunter’s elders from the late 1990s. There’s Champ Bailey, who in his final season at Georgia in 1998 pulled double duty as an All-American corner on defense and the Dawgs’ leading receiver on offense. Bailey, of course, was inspired, by Charles Woodson’s dual-threat role en route to the Heisman in ’97; Woodson himself was an echo of Deion Sanders going both ways for the Dallas Cowboys in ’96. But defining a category manned exclusively by stone-cold Hall-of-Famers is just another way of underlining the point: If “elite talent simultaneously playing offense and defense at a high level” has been done, man, look at the other guys who have done it. And look at the many, many guys in the intervening generation who never even tried.

Frankly, even if Hunter hadn’t panned out, his place in history would have been secure as the coveted recruit who spurned every major program in America to sign on to Sanders’ rebuilding project at an FCS Jackson State. No offense to Jackson State, but dude was No. 1 recruit in the nation. That’s the kind of surreal moment they make “30 For 30” episodes about years later whether the player in question is ever heard from again or not. The fact that Hunter has turned out to have the juice — such a surplus of juice, in fact, that he has enough to fuel the equivalent of two full-time jobs — only confirms his uniqueness. In 9 games in 2023, his first season on the FBS level, he played 1,044 snaps (an average of 116 per game), scored 5 touchdowns on offense, picked off 3 passes on defense, and was tabbed as a consensus All-American in the “all-purpose” slot, which in the future may as well bear his name like an endowed chair.

All-purpose bona fides firmly established, the question now is how much longer before the novelty begins to wear thin. A hard-up outfit like Colorado can certainly use Hunter’s skill set in whatever capacity he’s willing to offer it, but as his NFL future begins to come into view the pressure to settle down on one side of the ball is likely to mount. None of the legends he styles himself after — not Champ, not Woodson, not Deion — played both ways with any kind of regularity for more than a single season. Beyond the inevitable wear and tear that comes with playing 100+ snaps per game, Hunter also missed 3 games last year with a lacerated liver as the result of a big blind-side hit in Week 3, and didn’t always look like his usual dynamic self after his return. (His first game back, a Friday-night date against Stanford, was his worst in coverage, by far … although arguably his best as a receiver, to be fair.) And assuming he’s going to focus on one position at the next level, surely scouts would prefer to see him working to refine it.

But there will be plenty of time for all that later, when the mock draft industrial complex gets ahold of him next year and comes to its own conclusions. (Which will be inescapable, no matter how hard you try.) For now, we can still appreciate Hunter for what he is: A talent too big to be confined to the categories that define everyone else and unwilling to be sanded down to fit. It might not last, but here’s guessing it won’t be another 25 years before another supremely gifted young greyhound decides they’ve got it in them to transcend borders, too.

Matt Hinton