Player Rank: Who should’ve made the top 10? What were the biggest surprises?
ESPN’s list of the top 100 college football players for the 2025-2026 season is here. The real question is: did our selection committee do it right?
Fernando Mendoza was a no-brainer for the top spot after winning the Heisman Trophy and finishing his college career with a national championship in what was a historic season for Indiana. Texas’ Arch Manning got off to a slow start but picked things up as the season progressed, but was his ranking justified?
Looking at the rest of the list, who could have been ranked higher? Are there any players who should have made the list but didn’t? Which players could climb the 2026 preseason rankings?
Our college football reporters weigh in.
(ESPN’s selection committee included Bill Connelly, David Hale, Adam Rittenberg and Max Olson.)
Access a section:
Top 10 changes
Other overlooked players
Unranked players | Surprises
Forecast for next year
Who should have been in the top 10?
Jake Trotter: Miami right tackle Francis Mauigoa has been absolutely devastating for the Hurricanes, especially during the playoffs. All season, Mauigoa has faded edge defenders in pass protection and buried them in the rush. He also allowed a pressure rate of just 1.3%, third best in the country among tackles. There’s a reason he’s the fourth-ranked prospect by ESPN analyst Mel Kiper Jr. No offensive lineman is in the top 10, but Mauigoa deserved consideration.
Marc Schlabach: Missouri running back Ahmad Hardy led the Power 4 with 1,649 rushing yards and 16 touchdowns. He averaged 6.4 yards per carry. He ran for 100 or more yards in eight games, 250 against Louisiana and 300 (on just 25 carries!) against Mississippi State. He has had at least 50 yards in every game this season. I don’t know how this sophomore was overlooked by so many other coaches coming out of high school. He began his career at Louisiana-Monroe, where he rushed for 1,351 yards as a freshman in 2024.
Adam Rittenberg: I don’t like having no offensive linemen in the top 10. I pushed for Outland Trophy winner Spencer Fano of Utah. He’s been a mainstay at tackling for the Utes, who surprisingly haven’t had an Outland winner before. He will be a top pick in April’s NFL Draft. As Jake notes, Mauigoa is another player who might be worthy of inclusion in the top 10. We debated with a few players for the final spots and took individual votes before deciding on this group.
What changes would you have made to the top 25?
Andrea Adelson: I would have had Miami freshman Malachi Toney in the top 25. He was arguably the Hurricanes’ most valuable offensive player this season, considering they had no returning starters at wide receiver before the campaign. Toney made his presence felt against Notre Dame and didn’t let up from there, finishing with 109 receptions for 1,211 yards and 10 receiving touchdowns, while adding a rushing touchdown and two passing touchdowns. His versatility sets him apart from the talented players ranked ahead of him; he lined up at every offensive position this year except the offensive line.
Schlabach: Another running back who was ranked too low, in my opinion, is Ole Miss sophomore Kewan Lacy. He was No. 3 in the FBS with 1,567 yards and No. 2 with 24 touchdowns. Quarterback Trinidad Chambliss had a fantastic season, but Lacy was just as valuable in the Rebels’ run to the CFP semifinals. Even after seriously injuring his left shoulder in a first-round CFP win over Tulane, Lacy ran for 98 yards and two touchdowns in a 39-34 win over No. 3 Georgia in the quarterfinals. He passed for 103 yards with just one score in a 31-27 loss to Miami in the semifinals.
Kyle Bonagura: Diego Pavia’s incredible season, guiding Vanderbilt to 10 wins, was good enough to put him second in Heisman Trophy voting. Despite this consensus, it fell to 9th here. The loss to Iowa in the Reliaquest Bowl likely factored into that drop, but more in an out-of-sight, out-of-mind way, as Pavie played well in that game.
Which unranked player should have been on the list?
Rittenberg: Michigan defensive end Derrick Moore was among the players we considered for the final spots in the top 100. He earned first-team All-Big Ten honors from the league’s coaches after leading the Wolverines in sacks (10) and forced fumbles (2). He finished fourth in the Big Ten in sacks and really flourished during a five-game stretch between October 4 and November 1, recording a total of seven sacks, two forced fumbles and one fumble recovery.
Trotter: Penn State has had a miserable year, considering its preseason expectations. But running back Kaytron Allen still had a tremendous final season, throwing for 1,303 yards and 15 touchdowns. He also averaged 6.2 yards per carry, despite Penn State’s offensive woes. In turn, Allen broke the Nittany Lions’ all-time career record with 4,180 rushing yards. As one of the best defenders in the country and a consistently productive player, Allen deserved a spot.
Schlabach: If Arkansas’ Taylen Green hadn’t played on such a bad team (the Hogs went 2-10 last season), he probably would have been in the top 100. There are 17 quarterbacks on the list, and I think you could argue that Green is as talented as at least half of them. He just didn’t have enough help from the rest of the Razorbacks. Green completed 60.7% of his attempts for 2,714 yards with 19 touchdowns and 11 interceptions. The former Boise State starter also rushed for 777 yards with eight scores. He was No. 7 in the FBS with a total QBR of 83.1.
What was the biggest surprise on the list?
Bonagura: Arch Manning ranked #17 in QBR (78.0), #17 in touchdown passes (26), and #27 in yards for a team that finished outside the top 10. He was good late in the year, but over the course of the season I have a hard time justifying him being at #58. Take away his name recognition and he barely makes this list, if at all.
Trotter: Four Texas Tech defenders in the top 30. That’s not to say defensive end David Bailey, linebacker Jacob Rodriguez, defensive tackle Lee Hunter and cornerback Brice Pollock weren’t deserving. Quite the contrary. This only highlights the Red Raiders’ dramatic turnaround defensively in recent years. From the turn of the century until 2022, Texas Tech would continually field one of the worst defenses in college football. Those days are over.
Schlabach: Like Trotter, what about the fact that there are eight Indiana players in the top 100? This would have been unheard of just a few seasons ago. Better yet, cornerback D’Angelo Ponds, linebacker Aiden Fisher and receiver Elijah Sarratt all followed coach Curt Cignetti from James Madison to IU. Defensive end Stephen Daley chose Kent State over JMU out of high school, so even he was on Cignetti’s radar.
Adelson: I was pleasantly surprised to see Rueben Bain Jr. ranked second in our rankings. Bain was dominant in the CFP, and he was for most of the season, but because his play didn’t fill up the stat sheet, he wasn’t even a finalist for the Bednarik Award – given to the best defensive player in college football. It only takes a few minutes of watching him play to understand his impact in Miami, and I fully support his spot at No. 2.
Which player could be in the top 10 in the pre-season rankings?
Adelson: Toney or his teammate, Miami running back Mark Fletcher Jr. Fletcher turned heads with his performance in the College Football Playoff, totaling 507 rushing yards and averaging 6.8 yards per carry. His two touchdowns in the second half helped Miami get back into the national championship game against Indiana. Miami doesn’t plan to shy away from establishing the run, so if he continues on the upward trajectory he showed late in the season, Fletcher has the potential to be a 1,500-yard back.
Trotter: Despite his name, talent and recruiting buzz, Arch Manning was overrated to start this season. But after a difficult start, he came back strong throughout the home stretch. This culminated with a brilliant performance in Texas’ victory over Michigan in the Cheez-It Citrus Bowl, where he threw for 221 yards, rushed for another 155, and totaled 4 touchdowns. Manning will also have a true No. 1 receiver next season in Auburn transfer Cam Coleman. Manning will actually justify the hype next time.
Bonagura: Darian Mensah’s 3,973 yards ranked second in the FBS and he led Duke to the ACC title. There’s some question as to where he’ll be next year, but the expectation is that he could be a Heisman candidate in the right situation. A place in the top 10 therefore seems reasonable.
Schlabach: Coleman caught 93 passes over the past two seasons while playing on two offensively challenged Auburn teams (he caught passes from five different starting quarterbacks). Imagine what he’ll do with Manning throwing passes to him in 2026. At 6-foot-3, Coleman is a nightmare because of his blazing speed, body control and ability to outrun defensive backs for the ball. There’s a reason he was the No. 5 overall recruit in the 2024 ESPN 300 and the No. 2 player in Max Olson’s transfer portal rankings. Playing opposite Ryan Wingo, he should thrive in Steve Sarkisian’s offense.
