College football is in full offseason mode. Topics surrounding the sport now include draft takes, season recaps, way-too-early projections, and offseason hot takes. In the spirit of honesty, I’m going to review and grade my projections for the best players in college football for this past season. Predictions like these can be tough, and oftentimes, production does not measure a player’s impact. Nevertheless, let’s dive in.
Caleb Downs, S, Ohio State
2025 Stats: 68 tackles, 5 TFLs, 1 Sack, 2 INTs, 2 PDs, 2 FFs
Downs is the prime example of tape outweighing numerical production. His production dropped from 2024 to 2025, but that can be a positive for defensive backs. Opposing offenses try their best to scheme away from Downs, but oftentimes they find Downs blowing up the play anyway. Ohio State fielded college football’s best defense, arguably in back-to-back seasons. The Buckeyes could not have done so without Downs as the leader.
Downs finished 9th in Heisman voting as a safety and made his 2nd straight All-American team. He’s now projected in the top 5-10 picks of the NFL Draft and was widely considered the best player in college football for two straight years. Downs was a no-brainer prediction for the nation’s best player.
Prediction Grade: A
Jeremiah Smith, WR, Ohio State
2025 Stats: 87 receptions, 1,243 yards, 12 TDs, 14.3 yards per catch
Carnell Tate is considered WR1 in the 2026 NFL Draft. Jeremiah Smith was so good that he managed to turn Tate into a second option. Teams have yet to figure out how to defend Smith. He beats defenses over the top, over the middle, and behind the line of scrimmage. Despite the Buckeyes losing to Miami in the college football playoff, Smith totaled 7 receptions for 157 yards and 1 TD. Smith’s worst performance was 3 catches for 40 yards against Michigan during a multi-week stretch in which he had a severe quad injury. Smith even totaled 8 catches for 144 yards against Indiana.
Smith finished 6th in Heisman voting and made his 1st All-American team. He will be a popular candidate for college football’s best player in 2026. Again, this was a fairly easy prediction for everyone.
Prediction Grade: A
Anthony Hill Jr, LB, Texas
2025 Stats: 69 tackles, 7 TFLs, 4 sacks, 2 INTs, 3 FFs
Heading into the season, I believed Hill Jr was the best front-seven player in college football. Hill Jr was coming off a season at Texas in which he totaled 113 tackles, 16.5 TFLs, and 8 sacks. Hill Jr. dealt with injuries that limited him to 10 games, and his production dipped in those games. He had just 3 games with double-digit tackles and 8 games with zero sacks.
Despite the drop-off in production, Hill Jr. still had a season that most linebackers would love to have. However, his draft projection has now dropped from the Top 10 in the preseason to the late 1st round or early 2nd round today. Hill Jr. went from having a historic off-ball linebacker season to becoming potentially LB4 in the NFL Draft. All in all, Hill Jr. experienced quite the fall.
Prediction Grade: C
TJ Parker, DE, Clemson
2025 Stats: 37 tackles, 9.5 TFLs, 5 sacks
As a collective unit, Clemson was horrible in 2025. Dabo Swinney had perhaps the most disappointing season of his Clemson coaching career. The Tigers started the season with 5 projected 1st-round draft picks and multiple other preseason All-ACC selections. I say this to say that Parker’s lack of production likely stems from the team’s total disappointment. Regardless, Parker was one of college football’s most disappointing players, and my prediction for him was severely off the mark.
After posting 19.5 TFLs, 11 sacks, and 6 FFs in 2024, Parker was projected to be a Top 3-5 pick in the 2026 NFL Draft. That projection has now fallen into the late teens or twenties.
Prediction Grade: D
Jeremiyah Love, RB, Notre Dame
2025 Stats: 199 carries, 1,372 yards, 18 TDs, 6.9 YPC, 280 Rec yards, 3 Rec TDs
If you’re familiar with Brooks Austin, you’ll know the term “wife scout,” or a player that is so great your wife could point out how great he is. Love falls into that category, as do some other players on this list. Love would’ve set many Notre Dame records if he received more handoffs. In fact, Love could’ve set the Notre Dame single-season rushing yardage record on just 209 carries. Against four ranked opponents, Love totaled 502 yards on 6.3 yards per carry.
Love entered the season as RB1 for the NFL Draft and held that ranking consistently. Love is currently projected inside the Top 8-12 picks of the draft. Given that Notre Dame limited his carries, Love did as much damage as he could.
Prediction Grade: A
Arch Manning, QB, Texas
2025 Stats: 61.4%, 3,562 total yards, 36 total TDs, 7 INTs
Manning is the first player on this list who was a first-year starter in 2025. After a rocky start to the season, Manning finished his final eight games with 20 total TDs and 2 INTs. Manning led the Longhorns to a 3-2 record against Top 10 teams. Manning finished 6th in the SEC in passing yards, 3rd in passing TDs, and 4th in INTs amongst qualified starters.
Despite Arch’s great performances in the 2nd half of the season, I have to knock this prediction for his first-half performance: 170 yards against Ohio State, 114 yards against UTEP, and 132 yards against Kentucky.
Prediction Grade: B
Ryan Williams, WR, Alabama
2025 Stats: 49 receptions, 689 yards, 4 TDs, 14.1 yards per catch
Well, this is the worst prediction on the entire list. Fortunately, I wasn’t the only person who missed a Ryan Williams prediction. Williams’ production dropped from 865 yards to 689 yards and from 8 TDs to 4 TDs. His yards per catch also dropped from 18 to 14.1. With the addition of Isaiah Horton, Alabama moved Williams into the slot for half of his reps. Williams’s smaller stature caused him some problems inside.
With the additions of Ty Simpson and Ryan Grubb, it seemed easy to predict an elite season from Williams. However, Williams finished as WR2-3 on his own team. Williams also had one of the worst drop rates in college football and was frequently left on the sideline.
Prediction Grade: F
Suntarine Perkins, LB, Ole Miss
2025 Stats: 81 tackles, 12.5 TFLs, 4.5 sacks, 1 INT, 6 PDs, 3 FFs
Perkins saw a 20-tackle increase from his previous season. He deflected 6 more passes and forced 3 more fumbles. However, he saw a 1.5 TFL decrease and a 6 sack decrease. His impact behind the line of scrimmage decreased, while his impact beyond the line of scrimmage dramatically increased. His missed tackle percentage improved by 3%.
However, in an era where pressure and sacks reign king, Perkins recorded 11 games without a sack. That’s too many empty games for a player who recorded 541 snaps on the line of scrimmage.
This is still an above-average prediction, as Perkins wasn’t making massive headlines before the season. Perkins’ impact was felt all over the field, just not as much at the QB as Ole Miss would’ve liked.
Prediction Grade: B
Colin Simmons, EDGE, Texas
2025 Stats: 43 tackles, 15.5 TFLs, 12 sacks, 3 FFs
A rising star in 2024 transformed into college football’s best speed rusher in 2025. Simmons doubled his QB hurries from 2024, improved his missed tackle percentage by 3 points, and nearly doubled his total tackles. His pass rush grade on PFF was a whopping 91.1. Simmons totaled 9.5 sacks in SEC play. It only took Simmons a few games to claim the throne as the SEC’s best pass rusher.
Simmons will be EDGE1 in the 2027 NFL Draft. He’ll be right back on my 2026 predictions for college football’s best players and will likely rank in the Top 3.
Prediction Grade: A
Leonard Moore, CB, Notre Dame
2025 Stats: 31 tackles, 5 INTs, 7 PDs
After a great freshman season, Moore was bound for stardom. Considering Christian Gray was the CB opposite of Moore, it was almost impossible for teams to avoid Moore. After intercepting 2 passes in 2024, Moore intercepted 5 in 2025. He earned an elite coverage grade of 92.5 from PFF, allowed just 7.7 yards per catch, and allowed just a 45.9 passer rating.
It’s safe to say that Moore is currently the best CB in college football and is on pace to be CB1 in the 2027 NFL Draft. At 6’2 195 pounds, Moore is the prototype on the outside. He’ll appear on this list against next season.
Prediction Grade: A
