Preview · 2026

Returning leaders entering 2026

Every 2026 season opens at the 1300 seed, so until games are played players are ordered by career rating through 2025 — the same career math as the boards. Only players on a scraped 2026 roster appear; an orange “via” marks an offseason transfer.

Quarterbacks

career through 2025 · top 25 returning · click the title for the full career board

#	Player	2026 team	Div	Class	Games	Pass	Dual	σ (pass)
1	Josh Hoover	Indiana via TCU	FBS	5th	34	10	10	+3.36
2	Jayden Maiava	Southern California	FBS	Redshirt Senior	31	10	10	+3.28
3	Kevin Jennings	SMU	FBS		34	10	10	+3.16
4	Dante Moore	Oregon	FBS	Senior	28	10.0	9.8	+2.99
5	Noah Fifita	Arizona	FBS	Fifth Year	38	9.9	9.6	+2.91
6	Trinidad Chambliss	Mississippi	FBS	Fifth Year+	32	9.9	10	+2.91
7	Demond Williams Jr.	Washington	FBS	Third Year	26	9.8	9.6	+2.87
8	Julian Sayin	Ohio St.	FBS	Junior	18	9.7	9.6	+2.77
9	LaNorris Sellers	South Carolina	FBS	Redshirt Junior	25	9.2	9.3	+2.50
10	CJ Bailey	North Carolina St.	FBS	Junior	24	9.2	9.2	+2.46
11	Gunner Stockton	Georgia	FBS	Fifth Year	22	9.2	9.2	+2.44
12	Drew Mestemaker	Oklahoma St. via North Texas	FBS	Redshirt Sophomore	17	9.1	9.1	+2.38
13	Dylan Raiola	Oregon via Nebraska	FBS	Junior	21	8.9	8.4	+2.27
14	Conner Weigman	Houston	FBS	Fifth Year	28	8.7	9.1	+2.13
15	Arch Manning	Texas	FBS	Senior	20	8.7	9.1	+2.11
16	Devon Dampier	Utah	FBS	Senior	24	8.7	9.5	+2.11
17	Caden Veltkamp	Florida Atlantic	FBS	Fifth Year	28	8.6	8.5	+2.09
18	Brad Jackson	Texas St.	FBS	R-So.	14	8.5	8.7	+2.03
19	John Mateer	Oklahoma	FBS	Fifth Year	12	8.5	8.5	+2.00
20	Taron Dickens	Northern Ill. via Western Caro.	FBS	Redshirt Junior	18	8.4	8.5	+1.96
21	Justin Lamson	Montana St.	FCS	Fifth Year	31	8.3	8.3	+1.84
22	Katin Houser	Illinois via East Carolina	FBS	Fifth Year	33	8.2	8.3	+1.82
23	Beau Brungard	Youngstown St.	FCS	Fifth Year	31	8.2	9.2	+1.80
24	Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele	California	FBS	Sophomore	12	8.2	7.9	+1.80
25	Anthony Colandrea	Nebraska via UNLV	FBS	Senior	24	8.2	8.5	+1.78

Running backs

career through 2025 · top 25 returning · click the title for the full career board

#	Player	2026 team	Div	Class	Games	Rating	σ
1	Isaac Brown	Louisville	FBS	Junior	22	10	+3.52
2	Jadan Baugh	Florida	FBS	Junior	25	10	+3.47
3	Kewan Lacy	Mississippi	FBS	Junior	21	10	+3.24
4	Antwan Raymond	Rutgers	FBS	Junior	22	10	+3.14
5	Darius Taylor	Minnesota	FBS	Senior	28	10.0	+2.99
6	Bo Jackson	Ohio St.	FBS	Sophomore	13	9.8	+2.89
7	Isaiah Simmons	Marist via Brockport	FCS	Graduate Student	32	9.6	+2.76
8	DeSean Bishop	Tennessee	FBS	Senior	23	9.6	+2.76
9	King Miller	Southern California	FBS	Redshirt Sophomore	11	9.6	+2.73
10	Devon Dampier	Utah	FBS	Senior	24	9.5	+2.68
11	Beau Brungard	Youngstown St.	FCS	Fifth Year	35	9.5	+2.66
12	Eli Gillman	Montana	FCS	Fifth Year	46	9.4	+2.58
13	Nate Sheppard	Duke	FBS	Sophomore	14	9.3	+2.56
14	Jordan Marshall	Michigan	FBS	Junior	14	9.3	+2.51
15	Caleb Hawkins	Oklahoma St. via North Texas	FBS	Sophomore	13	9.2	+2.50
16	Quintrevion Wisner	Florida St. via Texas	FBS	Senior	27	9.2	+2.48
17	Kennedy McGill	Western Ill. via Central Wash.	FCS	Fifth Year	37	9.2	+2.46
18	Cam Edwards	Michigan St. via Connecticut	FBS	Redshirt Senior	35	9.2	+2.46
19	Hollywood Smothers	Texas via North Carolina St.	FBS	Senior	22	9.2	+2.46
20	Colton Joseph	Wisconsin via Old Dominion	FBS	Redshirt Junior	21	9.2	+2.45
21	Jahiem White	North Texas via West Virginia	FBS	Senior	25	9.1	+2.40
22	Wayshawn Parker	Utah	FBS	Junior	13	9.0	+2.33
23	Luke Yoder	Lehigh	FCS	Senior	35	9.0	+2.32
24	Adam Jones	Montana St.	FCS	Senior	32	8.9	+2.28
25	Ismail Mahdi	Arizona	FBS	Fifth Year	44	8.9	+2.27

Wide receivers

career through 2025 · top 25 returning · click the title for the full career board

#	Player	2026 team	Div	Class	Games	Rating	σ
1	Jeremiah Smith	Ohio St.	FBS	Junior	29	10	+4.85
2	Ian Strong	California via Rutgers	FBS	Senior	29	9.7	+2.78
3	Duce Robinson	Florida St.	FBS	Senior	29	9.5	+2.64
4	KJ Duff	Rutgers	FBS	Junior	23	9.4	+2.59
5	Nico Brown	Stanford via Yale	FBS	Redshirt Junior	10	9.4	+2.57
6	Isaiah Sategna III	Oklahoma	FBS	Fifth Year	25	9.2	+2.45
7	Bryant Wesco Jr.	Clemson	FBS	3	18	9.2	+2.45
8	Amare Thomas	Houston	FBS	Senior	35	8.9	+2.27
9	Danny Scudero	Colorado via San Jose St.	FBS	Fourth	23	8.8	+2.18
10	Nick Marsh	Indiana via Michigan St.	FBS	3rd	23	8.6	+2.06
11	Charlie Becker	Indiana	FBS	3rd	12	8.5	+2.00
12	O'Mega Blake	Arkansas	FBS		32	8.5	+1.97
13	T.J. Moore	Clemson	FBS	3	27	8.5	+1.97
14	Marquis Buchanan	Rhode Island	FCS	Redshirt Senior	38	8.4	+1.95
15	Andrew Marsh	Michigan	FBS	Sophomore	9	8.4	+1.95
16	Braylon Staley	Tennessee	FBS	Junior	15	8.4	+1.93
17	Larenzo Fenner	Cincinnati via South Dakota	FBS	Redshirt Junior	14	8.4	+1.93
18	Nyck Harbor	South Carolina	FBS	Senior	26	8.4	+1.90
19	Emmett Mosley V	Texas	FBS	Junior	18	8.4	+1.90
20	Jared Richardson	Duke via Penn	FBS	Post Baccalaureate	29	8.3	+1.88
21	Joseph Williams	Colorado	FBS	Third	17	8.3	+1.83
22	Nyziah Hunter	Nebraska	FBS	Junior	24	8.1	+1.77
23	Braden Pegan	Utah via Utah St.	FBS	Senior	13	8.1	+1.72
24	Ryan Wingo	Texas	FBS	Junior	27	8.0	+1.67
25	Nate Rembert	Jackson St.	FCS	Fifth Year	23	8.0	+1.65

Tight ends

career through 2025 · top 25 returning · click the title for the full career board

#	Player	2026 team	Div	Class	Games	Rating	σ
1	Terrance Carter	Texas Tech	FBS	Fifth Year	35	9.2	+2.46
2	Garrett Oakley	Kansas St.	FBS	Fifth Year	25	8.9	+2.27
3	JJ Buchanan	Michigan via Utah	FBS	Sophomore	11	8.5	+2.00
4	Jamari Johnson	Oregon	FBS	Senior	21	8.2	+1.82
5	Dorian Fleming	Maryland	FBS	Redshirt Junior	23	8.2	+1.82
6	Dorian Thomas	New Mexico	FBS		12	8.2	+1.82
7	Juice Vereen	Colorado St. via Connecticut	FBS		9	8.0	+1.69
8	Brody Foley	Louisville via Tulsa	FBS	Redshirt Senior	11	8.0	+1.69
9	Grant Hollier	Georgia St.	FBS	Sophomore (2nd)	8	7.6	+1.39
10	Ryder Kurtz	Cornell	FCS	Senior	19	7.5	+1.33
11	Lawson Luckie	Georgia	FBS	Senior	22	7.4	+1.27
12	Luke Hasz	Mississippi	FBS	Senior	13	7.4	+1.27
13	Rocky Beers	Oklahoma via Colorado St.	FBS	Sixth Year	18	7.3	+1.18
14	Donovan Green	LSU	FBS		10	7.2	+1.14
15	Jaden Platt	Arkansas	FBS		13	7.2	+1.11
16	Cole Rusk	Arizona via Illinois	FBS	Sixth Year	19	7.1	+1.08
17	Zack Marshall	Michigan	FBS	Senior	8	7.1	+1.05
18	Randy Pittman Jr.	SMU via Florida St.	FBS		20	7.0	+1.02
19	Decker DeGraaf	Washington	FBS	Third Year	21	7.0	+1.02
20	Landon Morris	Wake Forest via California	FBS	Redshirt Senior	10	6.9	+0.96
21	Luke Lindenmeyer	Nebraska	FBS	Senior	13	6.9	+0.96
22	Hunter Tipton	Memphis via Middle Tenn.	FBS	Redshirt Senior	12	6.9	+0.93
23	Kaelan Chudzinski	Boston College	FBS	Sophomore	11	6.9	+0.93
24	Joshua Long	Eastern Mich.	FBS	Y-3	12	6.9	+0.90
25	Kaleb Edwards	Alabama	FBS	Sophomore	8	6.8	+0.87

Defensive line

career through 2025 · top 25 returning · click the title for the full career board

#	Player	2026 team	Div	Class	Games	Rating	σ
1	Rasheem Biles	Texas via Pittsburgh	FBS	Senior	24	10	+5.45
2	Suntarine Perkins	Mississippi	FBS	Senior	38	10	+5.18
3	Colin Simmons	Texas	FBS	Junior	26	10	+4.89
4	Teitum Tuioti	Oregon	FBS	Senior	41	10	+4.65
5	Sammy Brown	Clemson	FBS	3	25	10	+4.59
6	Rolijah Hardy	Indiana	FBS	3rd	25	10	+4.22
7	Kip Lewis	Oklahoma	FBS	Fifth Year	38	10	+4.17
8	Keaton Thomas	Mississippi via Baylor	FBS	Fifth Year	25	10	+4.01
9	Kam Robinson	Virginia	FBS		25	10	+3.90
10	Trey Lathan	Kansas	FBS	Redshirt Senior	33	10	+3.76
11	Whit Weeks	LSU	FBS		23	10	+3.74
12	Clev Lubin	Louisville	FBS	Redshirt Senior	23	10	+3.74
13	Amare Campbell	Tennessee via Penn State	FBS	Senior	33	10	+3.68
14	Isaiah Jones	Indiana	FBS	5th	31	10	+3.60
15	John Henry Daley	Michigan via Utah	FBS	Senior	14	10	+3.60
16	Ben Roberts	Texas Tech	FBS	Fifth Year	41	10	+3.52
17	Austin Romaine	Texas Tech via Kansas St.	FBS	Senior	28	10	+3.52
18	Maverick Baranowski	Minnesota	FBS	Fifth Year	34	10	+3.50
19	Yhonzae Pierre	Alabama	FBS	Senior	19	10	+3.47
20	Will Echoles	Mississippi	FBS	Junior	15	10	+3.47
21	Patrick Payton	LSU	FBS		46	10	+3.44
22	Ty Morris	Rutgers via Rice	FBS	Senior	25	10	+3.36
23	Dylan Stewart	South Carolina	FBS	Junior	20	10	+3.36
24	Jonathan Thompson	Cincinnati	FBS	Redshirt Senior	30	10	+3.34
25	Jayden Virgin-Morgan	Boise St.	FBS	Fifth Year	27	10	+3.34

Linebackers

career through 2025 · top 25 returning · click the title for the full career board

#	Player	2026 team	Div	Class	Games	Rating	σ
1	Rasheem Biles	Texas via Pittsburgh	FBS	Senior	24	10	+4.91
2	Suntarine Perkins	Mississippi	FBS	Senior	38	10	+4.60
3	Sammy Brown	Clemson	FBS	3	25	10	+4.50
4	Keaton Thomas	Mississippi via Baylor	FBS	Fifth Year	25	10	+4.40
5	Ben Roberts	Texas Tech	FBS	Fifth Year	41	10	+4.27
6	Kip Lewis	Oklahoma	FBS	Fifth Year	38	10	+4.17
7	Trey Lathan	Kansas	FBS	Redshirt Senior	33	10	+3.99
8	Kam Robinson	Virginia	FBS		25	10	+3.99
9	Teitum Tuioti	Oregon	FBS	Senior	41	10	+3.83
10	Whit Weeks	LSU	FBS		23	10	+3.78
11	Colin Simmons	Texas	FBS	Junior	26	10	+3.78
12	Rolijah Hardy	Indiana	FBS	3rd	25	10	+3.68
13	Austin Romaine	Texas Tech via Kansas St.	FBS	Senior	28	10	+3.63
14	Maverick Baranowski	Minnesota	FBS	Fifth Year	34	10	+3.58
15	Amare Campbell	Tennessee via Penn State	FBS	Senior	33	10	+3.53
16	Isaiah Jones	Indiana	FBS	5th	31	10	+3.32
17	Jacob Manu	Washington	FBS	Fifth Year	20	10	+3.27
18	Alex McLaughlin	Washington	FBS	Fourth Year	20	10	+3.27
19	Jonathan Thompson	Cincinnati	FBS	Redshirt Senior	30	10	+3.25
20	Bray Hubbard	Alabama	FBS	Senior	26	10	+3.25
21	Myles Graham	Florida	FBS	Junior	23	10	+3.25
22	Cole Kozlowski	West Chester via UCF	D2	Sports Wagering Education	17	10	+3.22
23	Jack Puckett	Oklahoma St. via Central Okla.	FBS	Redshirt Senior	32	10	+3.20
24	Will Echoles	Mississippi	FBS	Junior	15	10	+3.20
25	Taye Brown	Arizona	FBS	Senior	26	10	+3.17

Defensive backs

career through 2025 · top 25 returning · click the title for the full career board

#	Player	2026 team	Div	Class	Games	Rating	σ
1	Khalil Barnes	Georgia via Clemson	FBS	Senior	32	10	+3.95
2	Sammy Brown	Clemson	FBS	3	25	10	+3.74
3	Ben Roberts	Texas Tech	FBS	Fifth Year	41	10	+3.49
4	Jordan Lovett	Troy via Kentucky	FBS	Sophomore	42	10	+3.42
5	Kam Robinson	Virginia	FBS		25	10	+3.42
6	Ashton Hampton	Clemson	FBS	3	21	10	+3.28
7	Whit Weeks	LSU	FBS		23	10	+3.25
8	Rasheem Biles	Texas via Pittsburgh	FBS	Senior	24	10	+3.21
9	Keaton Thomas	Mississippi via Baylor	FBS	Fifth Year	25	10	+3.04
10	Alex McLaughlin	Washington	FBS	Fourth Year	20	10	+3.00
11	Rod Moore	Michigan	FBS	Graduate Student	38	10.0	+2.97
12	Bray Hubbard	Alabama	FBS	Senior	26	10.0	+2.97
13	Suntarine Perkins	Mississippi	FBS	Senior	38	9.9	+2.93
14	Patrick Payton	LSU	FBS		46	9.8	+2.90
15	Trey Lathan	Kansas	FBS	Redshirt Senior	33	9.8	+2.90
16	Jardin Gilbert	LSU	FBS		29	9.8	+2.86
17	James Jackson	Virginia	FBS		30	9.8	+2.86
18	Jamel Johnson	TCU	FBS	Senior	34	9.7	+2.79
19	Malcolm Hartzog Jr.	Arizona via Nebraska	FBS	Fifth Year	23	9.6	+2.76
20	Jordan Rogers	Texas Tech via Pittsburg State	FBS	Fifth Year	37	9.6	+2.76
21	TJ Metcalf	Tennessee via Michigan	FBS	Senior	25	9.6	+2.72
22	Mister Clark	Purdue via FIU	FBS	Junior	12	9.6	+2.72
23	PJ Woodland	LSU	FBS		19	9.5	+2.69
24	KP Price	Boston College	FBS	Senior	32	9.5	+2.65
25	Jacob Manu	Washington	FBS	Fifth Year	20	9.5	+2.65