Player Rank: Who should’ve made the top 10? What were the biggest surprises?

ESPN’s college football top 100 player rank list from the 2025-26 season is here. The real question is, did our selection committee get it right?

Fernando Mendoza was a given for the top spot after winning the Heisman Trophy and ending his college career with a national championship title in what was a historic season for Indiana. Texas’ Arch Manning had a slow start but picked things up as the season went on, but was his ranking justified?

When looking at the rest of the list, who could’ve been ranked higher? Were there any players who should’ve made the list but didn’t? Which players could jump in the 2026 preseason rankings?

Our college football reporters give their thoughts.

(ESPN’s selection committee included Bill Connelly, David Hale, Adam Rittenberg and Max Olson.)

Jump to a section:Top 10 changesOther players overlookedUnranked players | SurprisesPredictions for next year

Who should’ve made the top 10?

Jake Trotter: Miami right tackle Francis Mauigoa was an absolute mauler for the Hurricanes, especially during the playoff. All season, Mauigoa made edge defenders disappear in pass protection and buried them in the run. He also allowed a pressure rate of just 1.3%, third best in the country among tackles. There’s a reason he’s ESPN draft analyst Mel Kiper Jr.’s No. 4-ranked prospect. No offensive lineman made the top 10, but Mauigoa deserved consideration.

Editor’s Picks

2 Related

Mark 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 yards or more in eight games, 250 against Louisiana and 300 (on only 25 carries!) against Mississippi State. He had at least 50 yards in every game this season. I’m not sure how the sophomore was overlooked by so many other coaches coming out of high school. He started his career at Louisiana-Monroe, where he ran for 1,351 yards as a freshman in 2024.

Adam Rittenberg: I don’t love having no offensive linemen in the top 10. I pushed for Utah’s Spencer Fano, the Outland Trophy winner. He has been a mainstay at tackle for the Utes, who amazingly had not had an Outland winner before. He will be among the top picks in April’s NFL draft. As Jake notes, Mauigoa is another player possibly worth including in the top 10. We debated a few players for the final spots and took individual votes before settling on this group.

What changes would you have made to the top 25?

Andrea Adelson: I would have had Miami freshman standout Malachi Toney in the top 25. He was arguably the most valuable offensive player for the Hurricanes this season, considering they had zero returning starters at wide receiver going into the campaign. Toney made his presence felt against Notre Dame and did not let up from there, finishing with a whopping 109 receptions for 1,211 yards and 10 receiving touchdowns, while adding a rushing touchdown and two passing TDs. His versatility makes him stand out among the skill players ranked ahead of him; he lined up at every position on offense this year except offensive line.

Schlabach: Ole Miss sophomore Kewan Lacy is another running back who was ranked too low, in my opinion. 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 badly injuring his left shoulder in a CFP first-round victory against Tulane, Lacy ran for 98 yards and two touchdowns in a 39-34 upset of No. 3 Georgia in the quarterfinals. He had 103 yards with 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 land him at No. 2 in the Heisman Trophy voting. Despite that consensus, he fell to No. 9 here. The loss to Iowa in the Reliaquest Bowl probably factored into that fall but more in an out-of-sight, out-of-mind sort of way because Pavia played well in that game.

Which unranked player should’ve made the list?

Rittenberg: Michigan defensive end Derrick Moore was among the players we considered for the last few 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 thrived during a five-game stretch between Oct. 4 and Nov. 1, recording a combined seven sacks, two forced fumbles and a fumble recovery.

All of ESPN. All in one place.

Watch your favorite events in the newly enhanced ESPN App. Learn more about what plan is right for you. Sign Up Now

Trotter: Penn State had a miserable year, given its preseason expectations. But running back Kaytron Allen still had a terrific final season, rushing for 1,303 yards and 15 touchdowns. He also averaged 6.2 yards per carry, despite Penn State’s offensive issues. In turn, Allen broke the Nittany Lions’ all-time career record with 4,180 rushing yards. As one of the top backs in the country and a consistently productive player, Allen warranted a spot.

Schlabach: If Arkansas’ Taylen Green didn’t play on such a bad team (the Hogs went 2-10 this past season), he probably would have been in the top 100. There are 17 quarterbacks on the list, and I think it could be argued that Green is as talented as at least half of them. He simply 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 ran 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 from the list?

Bonagura: Arch Manning ranked No. 17 in QBR (78.0), No. 17 in touchdown passes (26) and No. 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’m having trouble justifying having him at No. 58. Take away the name recognition and he barely cracks this list, if at all.

Trotter: Four Texas Tech defenders in the top 30. That doesn’t mean defensive end David Bailey, linebacker Jacob Rodriguez, defensive tackle Lee Hunter and cornerback Brice Pollock weren’t deserving. The opposite, in fact. It just underscores the Red Raiders’ dramatic turnaround defensively in recent years. From the turn of the century up until 2022, Texas Tech would perennially field one of the worst defenses in college football. Those days are over.

Schlabach: Following Trotter’s lead, how about the fact that there are eight Indiana players in the top 100? That would have been unheard of only a few seasons ago. Even better, 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 coming out of high school, so even he was on Cignetti’s radar.

Adelson: I was pleasantly surprised to see Rueben Bain Jr. at No. 2 in our ranking. Bain was dominant in the CFP, and he was dominant for most of the season, but because his game does not fill up the stat sheet, he was not even a finalist for the Bednarik Award — given to the best defensive player in college football. It takes only a few minutes of watching him play to understand his impact at Miami, and I fully support his spot at No. 2.

Which player could make the top 10 in the preseason rankings?

Adelson: Toney or his teammate, Miami running back Mark Fletcher Jr. Fletcher turned heads with his performance in the College Football Playoff, rushing for 507 total yards and averaging 6.8 yards per carry. His two second-half touchdown runs got Miami back into the national championship game against Indiana. Miami has no plans 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 overhyped to begin this season. But after the rough start, he came on strongly down the stretch. That culminated with a brilliant performance in Texas’ win over Michigan in the Cheez-It Citrus Bowl, where he threw for 221 yards, rushed for another 155 and totaled 4 touchdowns. Manning will have a true No. 1 receiver next season, as well, in Auburn transfer Cam Coleman. Manning will actually warrant the hype next time around.

Bonagura: Darian Mensah’s 3,973 yards ranked second in FBS, and he led Duke to the ACC title. There are questions about where he’ll be next year, but the expectation is that he could be a Heisman candidate in the right situation. So, a top-10 spot feels reasonable.

Schlabach: Coleman caught 93 passes 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 him passes in 2026. At 6-foot-3, Coleman is a matchup nightmare because of his blazing speed, body control and ability to outjump 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 of Ryan Wingo, he should flourish in Steve Sarkisian’s offense.