Throughout the long college football offseason, we rank a lot of things. Teams. Coaches. Quarterbacks. Transfers. Freaks. But there’s always room for more.Today, The Athletic ranks the top 100 players in college football.It’s a fun, yet difficult task that has no true correct answers. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Our goal was to rank the players based on their abilities, their past production and the impact they project to have on their teams in 2026. It is not an NFL Draft ranking; we evaluated them as college football players, though the physical traits that make them attractive to pro teams are factored in. We also took into account feedback from coaches, general managers and scouts we’ve spoken to throughout the offseason.Let’s get to it.Note: Snap counts, off-target rate, contested catches, drops and drop rates, sacks allowed, pressures, pass rush win rate, missed tackle rate, forced incompletion rate, yards per reception allowed, allowed completion rate and NFL passer rating against are from Pro Football Focus. Reception rates are from TruMedia.No. 1: Jeremiah Smith, WR, Ohio StateAs a receiver, Smith has it all. He’s big (6-foot-3, 224 pounds), freakishly athletic (38.5-inch vertical, 23.5 miles per hour on the GPS, according to Bruce Feldman’s Freaks List), and most importantly, he’s elite on the field. Whenever the ball comes in Smith’s direction, you can bet he’s coming down with it — no receiver with at least 100 targets last year caught a larger share of them (80.6 percent). He had just two drops and the third-lowest rate among receivers with triple-digit targets. Despite getting the lion’s share of attention from opposing secondaries, he still led the Big Ten in catches (87) and receiving yards (1,243) and was third in touchdown catches (12). He makes difficult plays look effortless.No. 2: Leonard Moore, CB, Notre DameMoore, a 2025 Thorpe Award finalist, enters 2026 as college football’s best defensive player and has all the desired traits of an elite cornerback. He has good size and length, is sticky in coverage, anticipates well and has terrific ball skills. The junior ranked in the top 10 among Power 4 corners in interceptions (five), fewest yards allowed per reception (7.7), forced incompletion rate (21 percent) and NFL passer rating against (45.9).No. 3: Trinidad Chambliss, QB, Ole MissChambliss, who ranked No. 1 in The Athletic’s College QB Tiers, went from Division II national champion at Ferris State to College Football Playoff semifinalist in his first year at Ole Miss. Though he lacks elite size (6-0, 205), the sixth-year senior is accurate, poised and dynamic when escaping the pocket — just ask Georgia. Chambliss threw for 3,937 yards, 22 touchdowns, three interceptions and rushed for 527 yards and eight more scores last season.No. 4: Colin Simmons, edge, TexasSimmons is synonymous with speed and has been a menace to opposing backfields since arriving in 2024. The junior led the SEC with 12 sacks last year, and his 93 combined pressures against Power 4 opponents the last two seasons are more than any returning edge rusher in the country.No. 5: Malachi Toney, WR, MiamiYou don’t get a nickname like “Baby Jesus” without being that dude, and Toney — who’s 5-11, 192 — might be the best pound-for-pound player in the game. He’s an elite receiver (he led the nation in receptions with 109, for 1,211 yards and 10 scores as a true freshman), was the team’s primary punt returner (he was 17th nationally in yards per return), is smart, fast, tough and is a ferocious blocker. “He’s like Spider-Man,” Miami coach Mario Cristobal said of the sophomore this spring.Bruce Feldman's 2026 Freaks ListBruce FeldmanNo. 6: Dante Moore, QB, OregonMoore, the second-ranked passer in College QB Tiers, could have been a high draft pick in April but chose to return for one more year with the Ducks. The fourth-year player ranked fourth nationally in completion percentage (71.8) and threw for 3,565 yards and 30 touchdowns with only 10 interceptions. Coaches and staffers have called Moore “phenomenal,” “electric,” and “franchise-quarterback good.”No. 7: Dylan Stewart, edge, South CarolinaStewart, a junior, has freaky athletic ability at 6-5, 250. He has tremendous closing speed and twitch and more power than one might expect from his leaner-looking frame. A nagging back injury last season kept his snap count well below that of other top edge rushers, but he was still plenty productive with 37 pressures and 12 tackles for loss. His combined 88 pressures over the last two seasons are the second-most, behind Simmons, among returning edge rushers who played in the Power 4 both seasons.No. 8: Carter Smith, OT, IndianaGetting Smith, a 2025 consensus All-American, back for one more year was a huge boost for the Hoosiers. He has a ton of experience — 41 consecutive starts at left tackle dating back to 2023 — and allowed only nine pressures in 483 pass-blocking snaps last year. He didn’t allow a sack until the 16th game of the 2025 season, when NFL Draft picks Rueben Bain Jr. and Akheem Mesidor each notched one in the title game against him. Smith is strong, smart, consistent, reliable and moves well both in pass protection and as a run blocker.No. 9: CJ Carr, QB, Notre DameCarr impressed in his starting debut as a redshirt freshman in 2025. He displayed plenty of arm talent, accuracy and poise while throwing for 2,741 yards, 24 touchdowns and six interceptions for the 10-2 Fighting Irish. The ball jumped out of Carr’s hands, and he showed maturity beyond his years in his grasp and control of Notre Dame’s offense. “One of the best in the country,” a Power 4 general manager said. “I think he’s a stud.”