Ranking the top 100 college football players of the 2024-25 season

ByESPN ESPN logo
Wednesday, January 22, 2025
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Ohio State won the national championship.

Ohio State had the most talented roster in the country.

The first is a fact. The second is, technically, an opinion -- one shared by everyone on ESPN's committee selecting the top 100 players of the 2024-25 season -- but it'd be tough to come up with a compelling argument for someone else.

(ESPN's selection committee included Bill Connelly, David Hale, Chris Low, Max Olson, Adam Rittenberg and Paolo Uggetti.)

Indeed, 10% of our top 100 list is Buckeyes, and that is probably too conservative a judgement of Ohio State's roster. Our list doesn't include Quinshon Judkins, despite his 121 scrimmage yards and three touchdowns in the national title game. It doesn't include Cody Simon or Sonny Styles, who both had more than 100 tackles this season, or Denzel Burke, who was one of the better DBs in the country, and it includes just one member of an offensive line that owned the postseason.

But ranking the top 100 players is no easy task, and frankly, we had to make some room for the rest of the country.

So Ohio State carved out a huge chunk of real estate, with Jeremiah Smith, Will Howard and Jack Sawyer among the players who used the playoff to climb the list, but the 90 other slots included a plethora of big names (17 quarterbacks) and lesser-known players who had impressive seasons (11 Group of 5 players). We prioritized players who proved their greatness over the full season, which meant some tough injury-related cuts such asWill JohnsonandBenjamin Morrison, as well as shunning some clear-cut NFL prospects, such asLuther Burden IIIandMykel Williams, who just didn't put up the numbers in 2024 to warrant inclusion.

The result is a celebration of some of the most exciting players (Cam Ward and Travis Hunter), up-and-coming stars (Smith, Colin Simmons) and under-the-radar talents (Shaun Dolac, Desmond Reid). Read on and remember that if someone deserving didn't make the cut, it's Ohio State's fault.

-- David Hale

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100. Barrett Carter

Carter was Clemson's most versatile defender and defensive leader in 2024. He finished with 82 total tackles, 3.5 sacks, 10.5 tackles for loss and 8 QB hurries. Carter excelled as a pass rusher (13 pressures), a run defender (11 tackles for a loss or no gain on runs) and in pass defense, breaking up nine passes on 388 snaps in coverage. He finished his four-year stint at Clemson as one of the school's most prolific defenders, racking up 231 career tackles. -- Hale

99. Tre Harris

Harris was limited by a lingering groin injury this season, but when healthy, he was one of the most dynamic receivers in college football. The 6-3, 210-pound senior played in just eight games but still managed to lead Ole Miss with 60 catches and 1,030 receiving yards. Harris became just the sixth Ole Miss receiver in history to have 1,000 receiving yards in a season. -- Chris Low

98. Willie Lampkin

The winner of the ACC's top blocking award, Lampkin hardly looks the part of a star in the trenches, but he plays like a giant. Lampkin -- 5-11, 290 pounds -- arrived at UNC as a transfer from Coastal Carolina, and former head coach Mack Brown even admitted he doubted Lampkin could hold up against the bigger, stronger competition in the ACC. Not only did Lampkin hold his own, he thrived. Over 816 snaps at right guard, Lampkin allowed just three pressures and had just four blown run blocks, paving the way for a UNC offense that rushed for 182 yards per game and helped Omarion Hampton to become a finalist for the Doak Walker Award. -- Hale

97. Aireontae Ersery

There's a reason Ersery is projected to be a potential first-round draft pick. Though there wasn't much flashy about him or Minnesota this season, the Gophers' offensive tackle was a reliable force all season long. At 6-6 and 330 pounds, Ersery's mobility and ability to eliminate defenders, made him an easy All-Big Ten first team choice. -- Paolo Uggetti

96. Ja'Corey Brooks

Brooks arrived as a transfer from Alabama and immediately became Louisville's most dangerous player in the passing game. He caught at least four passes for at least 70 yards in nine of his first 10 games, and he finished the year with 61 catches for 1,013 yards despite missing the bulk of the Cards' final three contests. He was a big-play threat, with nine catches on throws 20 yards or more downfield, but also a physical runner who racked up the 11th-most yards after contact of any receiver in the country.-- Hale

95. Jarquez Hunter

Hunter finished his career fourth all time among Auburn's rushing leaders with 3,371 yards. The 5-10, 209-pound senior had a career-best 1,201 yards this season, which ranked second among all SEC players. Hunter rushed for 278 yards, the most by any FBS player on the season, in a 24-10 win over Kentucky on Oct. 27. He had 214 of those yards in the second half, which was a school record. -- Low

94. Desmond Reid

At 5-7, Reid was often dwarfed by the defenders tasked with bringing him down, but more often than not, he made them look foolish trying. Few players were as elusive in 2024, and few made a bigger all-around impact. Reid finished with 966 rushing yards, 579 receiving yards and 159 punt return yards, notching 10 total touchdowns -- including at least one each rushing, receiving and on returns. How unlikely is that stat line? In the past 20 years, former Clemson great C.J. Spiller is the only other FBS player with a 900/500/150 yardage split and a touchdown in each category in the same season. -- Hale

93. Andrew Mukuba

A Clemson transfer who helped Texas improve from 116th in pass defense in 2023 to first in the regular season this year, he was a physical player whose big hits stopped runners cold. His interception in the second overtime against Arizona State clinched a CFP quarterfinal win for the Longhorns. He had career highs in every major category this year despite missing a game with injury, with 69 tackles, 11 passes defensed and 5 interceptions, which tied teammate Jahdae Barron for the SEC lead.-- Dave Wilson

92. Jake Slaughter

Florida's offensive line improved steadily toward the latter part of the 2024 season when the Gators won their past four games, and Slaughter's play in the interior of that line was a big reason why. A redshirt junior, Slaughter announced that he would return for the 2025 season after allowing just one sack and one quarterback hit this past season, according to Pro Football Focus. -- Low

91. Quinn Ewers


QB, Texas, Junior

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