CFB Player Rank: Who should’ve made the list? Who could’ve been ranked higher?
ESPN’s college football postseason player rank is here, and it’s time to analyze the list.
With the caliber of talent on Ohio State’s roster, it comes as no surprise that the Buckeyes claimed 10% of the spots on this postseason list. The question: Should the Buckeyes have had more players on the list?
As this season showed us, anything is possible over the course of the four-month season. Who was projected to be a standout player this past season and didn’t live up to the hype? Which unranked players should have made the list?
Our college football reporters give their feedback on the postseason top 100 list and take a look at what the selection committee got right and where it went wrong.
(ESPN’s selection committee included Bill Connelly, David Hale, Chris Low, Max Olson, Adam Rittenberg and Paolo Uggetti.)
Jump to a section:
Changes to top 10 | Changes to top 25
Who could rise next season?
Unranked players | Biggest surprises
Who should have made the top 10?
Adam Rittenberg: Bowling Green’s Harold Fannin Jr., who appears at No. 12, had one of the best seasons for a tight end in college football history. Knock him for playing in the MAC if you’d like, but he lit up Penn State for 137 receiving yards and a touchdown on 11 catches, and then put up similar numbers at Texas A&M (8 catches, 145 yards, 1 TD). Fannin led the FBS in receiving yards with 1,555, well ahead of San José State wide receiver Nick Nash (1,382). He also led the nation in receptions with 117. Penn State’s Tyler Warren has truly unique skills, played in a tougher league and deserved to win the Mackey Award, but Fannin should have been a finalist for both the Mackey Award and the Biletnikoff.
Chris Low: What Xavier Watts has meant to Notre Dame this season, the way he has spearheaded the Irish defense, is hard to describe. He has 13 interceptions over his past two seasons, the most of any FBS player, and has been even better this year than he was a year ago when he won the Bronko Nagurski Award as the best defensive player in the country. Watts is a top-10 player nationally all day long.
Jake Trotter: I don’t know who Caleb Downs would replace in the top 10. But he has been the difference-maker for a defense that, since the Oct. 12 loss at Oregon, ranks No. 1 in a multitude of categories. The Buckeyes have unleashed Downs as a playmaking center fielder from the secondary. And as defensive coordinator Jim Knowles noted, Downs “sees the play before it happens.” The Buckeyes shut down everyone in the playoff. Downs, a unanimous All-American, is a major reason for that.
Mark Schlabach: There might be 10 more talented players than Tennessee running back Dylan Sampson, but he was definitely among the most valuable this season. He set UT single-season records for rushing yards (1,491) and touchdowns (22), earning him SEC Offensive Player of the Year honors. The Vols wouldn’t have reached the College Football Playoff if they had had to rely on their inconsistent passing game.
Ryan McGee: Diego Pavia is the face of modern college football. Vanderbilt won seven games, won a bowl game, beat a top-five team for the first time in 61 tries and was ranked in the Top 25 for the first time in 12 years. And he came from New Mexico State and did all of that I just listed in a stadium that was an active construction zone. I don’t understand why Disney+ hasn’t made a movie about him yet.
Max Olson: You can make a strong case that LSU offensive lineman Will Campbell (No. 23) is one of best and most valuable players in college football, and it wouldn’t be surprising if Campbell becomes a top-10 pick in the NFL Draft in April. The consensus All-American was a dominant force at left tackle throughout his run as a three-year starter for the Tigers.
What changes would you have made to the top 25?
Rittenberg: I helped craft the list, so not surprisingly I have fewer gripes, but I would have liked to see both Group of 5 pass catchers, Fannin and Nash, a bit higher. I could make a case for another Group of 5 star, Marshall defensive end Mike Green, who led the FBS in sacks with 17 and had 22.5 tackles for loss, three forced fumbles and 15 quarterback hurries. Green had a sack in all but three games and a tackle for loss in all but one.
Low: Ohio State defensive end Jack Sawyer would have been higher than No. 22 after the way he played in helping to steer Ohio State to the national championship. A senior and one of the strongest leaders on the team, Sawyer took his game to another level in the postseason, and the rest of the team followed. As the top interior defensive lineman in the country, Michigan’s Mason Graham belonged solidly in the top 10, and Ole Miss quarterback Jaxson Dart (No. 36) was ranked too low. He led the country in total offense (4,279 passing yards and 495 rushing yards).
Schlabach: I can’t believe we couldn’t fit a few more Ohio State players on the list. There are only 10, and I’m sure we could have squeezed a few more in. Seriously, how did that Buckeyes team lose to Michigan in the regular-season finale?
McGee: I am very much with Adam on Fannin and Nash. If either one of them played for a Power 4 program, or even just east of the Mississippi, everyone would know their names. Then again, I also think that somehow Tyler Warren is still underrated and he checks both of those boxes. He’s the Swiss Army knife of college football.
Olson: I agree with Kyle that McMillan finished too low in these rankings at No. 28, and Jake is right that No. 18 feels a little too low for Downs and the impact he made for the No. 1 defense in college football. But the most egregious problem with this top 100 that we ended up with 16 quarterbacks ranked ahead of Texas’ Quinn Ewers. While I didn’t expect Ewers to lock up a spot in the top 25, putting him all the way down at No. 91 is just straight-up disrespectful.
Which player could jump up in next season’s preseason rank?
Rittenberg: Notre Dame running back Jeremiyah Love (No. 27) has provided enough highlights, especially during the team’s College Football Playoff run, to bolster a significant national profile entering the 2025 season. I would be surprised if he isn’t in or closer to the top 10, although the fact he shares carries with two other running backs set to return — Jadarian Price and Aneyas Williams — might limit how much he moves up. Quarterback John Mateer finished 37th in our rankings at Washington State, but if he can replicate his production at Oklahoma under the same coordinator (Ben Arbuckle), he will be much closer to the top 10.
Low: Anthony Hill Jr. was one of the country’s most impactful and well-rounded linebackers in 2024 as a true sophomore and an absolute force on a Texas defense that finished third nationally in scoring (15.3 points) and fourth in yards per play allowed (4.4). The 6-foot-3, 235-pound Hill is poised to be a high selection in the 2026 draft, as his best football is ahead of him. That’s even more impressive when you consider how productive he was this season with 113 total tackles, 16.5 tackles for loss, eight sacks and four forced fumbles — all team highs. Hill will easily be one of the top three returning defenders in college football in 2025.
David Hale: The player I loved this season who I think has been woefully underappreciated is Pitt linebacker Kyle Louis. He put up numbers that rivaled any LB in the country, did everything well, and was, at times, a complete game-changer for the Panthers. Unfortunately, after a 7-0 start to the season, Pitt fell off a cliff amid a host of injuries on the offensive side of the ball, losing six straight. While that wasn’t reflective of a cratering of Louis’ game, he tends to be lumped in with the rest of the team as a second-half disappointment. But make no mistake, Louis is a beast, and he’ll be given a chance to build on his fantastic 2024 season with a potentially better supporting cast in 2025.
Trotter: Texas quarterback Arch Manning obviously didn’t crack the top 100 as the backup to our 91st-ranked player, Longhorns quarterback Quinn Ewers. But next year Manning will be the man behind center in Austin. Given his talent, potential and recruiting pedigree, he could jump all the way into the top 10 if he meets lofty expectations.
Schlabach: Can we just start the 2025 preseason rankings with Manning at No. 1? If you had told me back in late September that Alabama receiver Ryan Williams would finish the season at No. 71, I would have laughed. After Williams hauled in six catches for 177 yards with one touchdown in a 41-34 victory against Georgia, he looked like the next great Alabama wideout. But then Williams seemed to hit the freshman wall, and quarterback Jalen Milroe couldn’t figure out a way to get him the ball. If the next Alabama quarterback is a better passer, Williams will finish the 2025 in the top 25.
Paolo Uggetti: Quarterback John Mateer got a big bump from all of us given the season he had at Washington State (over 4,000 all-purpose yards and 44 touchdowns) and he could be bound for an even bigger encore next year on a bigger stage. The sophomore entered the portal after the season finished and soon after committed to Oklahoma. The Sooners needed a sure thing at quarterback heading into next season and Mateer, aided by the hire of West Virginia’s Ben Arbuckle as offensive coordinator, could shoot up the rankings as the hype around his versatility continues to build.
McGee: When South Carolina’s LaNorris Sellers is at his best, there aren’t much better. He is shockingly big in person. If we see the guy we saw from the second half of the Clemson game on the regular, he’ll be part of the national conversation very quickly. But if we get a lot of the guy who was stuck in second gear for most of the Citrus Bowl loss versus Illinois, ranked 65th will feel pretty spot-on.
Olson: I wouldn’t have been shocked if Oregon wide receiver Evan Stewart had declared for the draft, but he’s coming back for another season with the Ducks. Stewart had a big showing against Ohio State (seven catches for 149 yards and a TD) but only one other 100-yard performance on the year, and he missed the Rose Bowl loss with a lower back injury. Tez Johnson and Traeshon Holden going pro should clear the way for Stewart to have a breakout season as Dante Moore’s No. 1 target.
Which unranked player should’ve made the list, and who should they have replaced?
Rittenberg: We were heavy on running backs, so while I would have loved to have seen Kansas’ Devin Neal and Oregon’s Jordan James make the list, we needed to cut things off at some point. Several defensive linemen just missed the cut — Michigan’s Josaiah Stewart, South Carolina’s Dylan Stewart and Georgia’s Mykel Williams. I could have seen one or more sliding in for perhaps Auburn’s Jarquez Hunter.
Low: We always sleep on the big guys. Western Michigan’s Addison West was one of the nation’s top offensive guards, even if he didn’t play for a blue-blood program. He has started every game since the 2022 season and didn’t give up a single sack this season. He’s as dominant a run-blocker as he is skilled as a pass-protector. There are six running backs among the final 20 selections on the list. West could replace any one of those.
Trotter: Oklahoma State receiver Brennan Presley didn’t get the love he deserved because he played on the worst team in the Big 12. Presley still had 90 receptions, and with 315 in his career, he broke the Oklahoma State receptions record (the same school that produced Biletnikoff winners James Washington and Justin Blackmon). With a better team (and with far better quarterback play) around him, Presley would’ve been on this list and probably supplanted one of the last receivers to make it.
Schlabach: It’s difficult to figure out why Texas safety Michael Taaffe isn’t on the list. The former walk-on was one of the top three or four safeties in the FBS — and certainly one of the best stories. According to Pro Football Focus, Taaffe’s 91.3 PFF coverage grade led all safeties. He allowed only 12 catches with 78 tackles, two sacks, a forced fumble, fumble recovery and two interceptions. He was the leader of a UT defense that ranked fourth in the FBS in scoring defense, allowing just 15.3 points per game.
Olson: Neal was the one who stood out to me. If you watched the Jayhawks’ all-time leading rusher absolutely destroy Colorado’s defense in November, you know he’s the real deal. He burned the Buffs for 207 rushing yards, 80 receiving yards and four total TDs and closed out his senior season with a career-best 1,520 yards from scrimmage. Neal was truly a program-changing player for Kansas and just as deserving as the playmakers who grabbed the final spots on the list.
Uggetti: Far be it from me to make a case for a punter, but here I am doing just that. USC’s Eddie Czaplicki was just that good. It’s never a good sign for a team if your punter is getting as much attention as Czaplicki was, but he was the Ray Guy award winner after all. Every time Czaplicki lined up to punt, there was almost no doubt that USC would be able to flip the field and give its defense a leg (pun very much intended) up. And yes, I want to live in a world where the best punter in the country can be celebrated as one of the best 100 players of the year in college football.
What was the biggest surprise from the preseason player rank to postseason?
Hale: There were a number of guys whose talent clearly marks them as top-10 or top-20 players, but because of injuries, didn’t see enough action this season to make the cut, including Michigan’s Will Johnson, Eastern Carolina’s Shevon Revel or Notre Dame’s Benjamin Morrison. Then there were guys who are NFL talent but who didn’t produce big-time numbers this season, including Missouri’s Luther Burden III, Georgia’s Mykel Williams or Notre Dame’s Howard Cross III. Then some players who made the list — Ole Miss’ Tre Harris or Arizona State’s Jordyn Tyson, for example — aren’t ranked nearly as high as they would’ve been had they played a full season. It’s all a good reminder that the best ability is availability.
Trotter: Arizona State running back Cam Skattebo went from unranked to the No. 4 player. The bruising rusher showed why he was one of college football’s top playmakers in the CFP quarterfinal loss to Texas. Against a defense loaded with future pros, Skattebo rushed for 143 yards on 30 carries with two touchdowns while leading the Sun Devils with 99 receiving yards and eight catches. He also tossed a 42-yard touchdown pass, which fueled Arizona State’s fourth-quarter comeback that sent the game to overtime. Skattebo went from relative anonymity to absolute superstar.
Rittenberg: Georgia quarterback Carson Beck went from No. 7 on the preseason list to unranked. He projected as the top draft-eligible quarterback but instead will spend another season in college — with another team in Miami. Beck didn’t have an awful season, but 10 interceptions during a four-game stretch set off alarms. The Tennessee contingent is interesting, too, as preseason No. 1 player James Pearce Jr. was No. 41st, quarterback Nico Iamaleava (No. 92 preseason) didn’t finish in the top 100, while running back Dylan Sampson went from unranked in the preseason to No. 16 after an excellent performance.
Low: Cam Ward was on the plus side of what happened to Beck. In his only season at Miami after transferring from Washington State, Ward vaulted from No. 56 on the preseason list to No. 3. And, yes, it’s hard to believe that he had nine quarterbacks ranked ahead of him back in August. Among them: Cam Rising, Jalon Daniels, Quinn Ewers, Jalen Milroe and Beck. There’s no such thing as a sure thing in the portal, but Ward wound up being about as close as it gets. He put up monster numbers and was one of four finalists for the Heisman Trophy. He set a Miami record with 4,313 passing yards and tied for the FBS lead by accounting for 44 touchdowns.
Schlabach: Along with Beck, Missouri receiver Luther Burden III is proof that sometimes it’s not all about you. Beck was plagued by dropped passes and poor protection. Burden was ranked No. 5 in the preseason, and deservedly so after he finished with 86 catches for 1,212 yards with nine scores in 2023. But Burden wasn’t nearly as productive in 2024, hauling in 61 passes for 676 yards with six scores. Quarterback Brady Cook threw only 11 touchdown passes in 2024, as he was plagued by pressure.
Bonagura: Remember when there was a real conversation about whether Ewers would declare for the 2024 NFL draft? Now, here we are with the 2025 NFL draft upcoming. and it’s debatable whether Ewers should have been on this list at all, and the general consensus is that Texas is better off moving on from him. He is a good player. Texas had a great year. That doesn’t change the perception that he hasn’t lived up to his billing.
Olson: It’s still hard to believe how badly Oklahoma State fell apart during the 2024 season. We had Cowboys running back Ollie Gordon II in the No. 8 spot in the preseason top 100, after putting up more than 2,000 yards from scrimmage as a sophomore for a team that won 10 games and played for a Big 12 title. Gordon finished ninth in the Big 12 in rushing this season (880 yards, 13 TDs) at the end of a brutal 3-9 season.
