Gamer rank roundtable: The snubs, the underrated and newbies to

Our top 100 college football players for the 2023 season list is live and as expected, Caleb Williams can be found in at No. 1, a position the Heisman Prize winner held at the end of last season.But as with any

ranking, not everyone is in precise agreement with how the results of our ballot ended up. So, which players are ranked too high? Who should have remained in the leading 10? Who was snubbed entirely? Our press reporters point out what they would have done differently.Jump to: Players who missed out on leading 10 |

Ranked too high Ranked too low|Unranked players
| Beginners to view Who should have been in the leading 10? Malaki Starks ranked at No. 40 in the preseason leading 100. Brandon Sloter/Icon Sportswire Chris Low: A case might be made that Ole Miss’Quinshon Judkins is the best running back in the country and yet he’s ranked fourth on our list, albeit behind 3 truly great players. Either way, Judkins warrants top-10 status overall. All he did last season was rush for more backyards as a freshman(1,567 )than anybody in SEC history not named Herschel Walker. Judkins had 8 100-yard games and will once again be the centerpiece of an Ole Miss offense that has actually balanced more than 200 hurrying backyards in each of Lane Kiffin’s three seasons. One of the important things that separates Judkins is he’s a breakaway danger but can likewise get the tough backyards in between the tackles.Adam Rittenberg: Notre Dame deal with Joe Alt(No. 11 )and Penn State deal with Olu Fashanu (No. 16) both are likely to hear their names called

in the leading 10 choices of the 2024 NFL draft. Alt has continued Notre Dame’s incredible run of offending linemen, becoming a starter early in his real freshman season and making first-team All-America honors last fall. If transfer quarterback Sam Hartman makes the effect the Irish hope he will, Alt’s blindside defense will be a big factor. Fashanu had a breakout season in 2022 for a resurgent Penn State line. He ended up being a sack-stopper on the edge and quickly might have entered the NFL prior to opting to return. Our leading 10 is a bit quarterback-heavy. Don’t forget the males securing them.Editor’s Picks 1 Related Mark Schlabach: I’m not sure Georgia safety Malaki Starks ought to be in the top 10 to start the season, however I wouldn’t be shocked if he’s among the 10 best players in the nation by the season’s end. In 2015, Starks played 847 snaps– one of the most of any Georgia protector– and was 3rd on the group with 69 takes on. He did all of that as a real freshman. At 6-1, 205 pounds, Starks is physical on the field. He was an option quarterback in high school. He led the Bulldogs with 7 passes safeguarded and had two interceptions. The Bulldogs lost another truckload of protective players to the NFL draft, but with Starks, Mykel Williams, Jamon Dumas-Johnson and Smael Mondon Jr. returning, they’re going to be simply great in 2023. Paolo Uggetti: There’s a world in which we reflect on this season and wonder how we didn’t have Michigan running back Donovan Edwards inside the top 10. Sure, Blake Corum is currently there and his decision to return to Ann Arbor will make Edwards’function this season a truncated one. And yet, given the flashes we saw from Edwards toward the

end of last season when Corum went down with an injury( 5 100-yard games, one 200-yard game in the last seven games)are enough to make me believe the sophomore has a real shot at ending up being not just a centerpiece of the UM offense, but a genuine star in the span of a few months.Who’s ranked too high? Are running backs overvalued in this year’s list? AP Photo/Noah K. Murray Hale: If running backs in the NFL can’t get a reasonable shake, at least the college guys are getting their due in our ranking. It’s no knock on the very best backs in the nation– Corum had a real shot at the Heisman in 2015 prior to hisinjury– but there’s a glut of runners in the top 25 that all feel a bit over-ranked. What men like Jordan Travis, Kool-Aid McKinstry or Cameron Increasing offer to their groups far surpasses the impact of Corum, regardless of his apparent skill. In all, we have eight tailbacks in our leading 33 players– consisting of two from Michigan– which is simply one less than the nine QBs we have actually ranked. Any group would like to have Judkins (No. 22), Will Shipley(26 )or Braelon Allen (31), however it’s tough to rationalize having all of them ranked so high.Rittenberg: Hale is right on the backs, although I disagree on Corum’s effect. Ask anyone around Michigan what he indicated to in 2015’s team and what they missed out on without him. Edwards certainly might be a bit lower, as could Shipley, Allen and Nicholas Singleton( No. 29). I also do not know if Jayden Daniels is a top-15 player just yet, although he regained his 2019 performance during his very first season at LSU. He can take another step as a passer before being branded really elite. Michigan’s Zak Zinter is a heck of a player, but not exactly sure lots of guards belong in a nationwide leading 20. Schlabach: I do not have an issue with Caleb Williams, Drake Maye and Michael Penix Jr. being ranked ahead of Notre Dame’s Hartman, but I’m unsure I ‘d desire Bo Nix, Daniels or Increasing rather of him. Hartman is about to start his 6th season in college football and initially with the Battling Irish. If it’s as great as the previous two, he’s going to be among the Heisman Prize contenders. In his last 2 seasons at Wake Forest, he

tossed for 7,929 yards with 77 goals. He finished 63.1% of his pass efforts in 2022. He threw for 12,967 yards at Wake Forest, which ranks 2nd in ACC history to Philip Rivers’ 13,484 at NC State, and set the conference record with 110 touchdowns.Who’s underrated? Brant Kuithe missed out on most of 2022 with an injury. Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports Low: Johnny Hodges is a cool story, but he’s likewise one heck of a football player with the abilities, impulses and durability to be among the most productive linebackers in the country this season for TCU. He started his career at Navy (initially to play lacrosse), practically quit football and was then a late transfer to TCU prior to the 2022 season. He led the team with 87 takes on, consisting of 9.5 for loss. The 6-2, 240-pound junior was the Big 12 Defensive Newbie of the Year in his first season with the Horned Frogs in helping to lead them to the national championship game. His stock will just increase in 2023. Rittenberg: Brant Kuithe’s season-ending injury in late September need to have made a lot of citizens forget simply how great he has been for Utah. On a team doing not have elite wide receivers, Kuithe has actually been the top target for quarterbacks Tyler Huntley and Rising. Kuithe led Utah in receptions in 2019 and 2020 and was the group’s receiving yards leader in 2021. He easily could be in the NFL if not for the injury, and enters his final season with 148 profession receptions. Kuithe isn’t Brock Bowers, however 78 spots should not separate the two tight ends in these

rankings.Wilson: There was a strong case for Jaylan Ford to be in 2015’s Big 12 Protective Gamer of the Year, after finishing with 119 tackles (the most by a Texas player because 2014 ), a team-leading four interceptions, 10 tackles for loss, 2 sacks, 3 forced fumbles, two fumble recoveries, 2 quarterback hurries and 2 pass breakups. He was a third-team AP All-American, first-team All-Big 12 and is the preseason choice for conference DPOY. Yet he’s 16th amongst linebackers– fourth among Huge 12 Pounds alone– in this list.Schlabach: I’m unsure Alabama offensive deal with JC Latham shouldn’t be amongst the top 25

players in the country heading into the season. There’s no chance he’s the 54th-best player in the FBS. The Crimson Tide’s offending line was listed below its lofty requirements last season, permitting 22 sacks and stopping working to dominate most challengers up front. It wasn’t Latham’s fault. According to Pro Football Focus, Latham earned an 84.5 pass-blocking grade on true pass sets, which was 4th among takes on. On 486 pass-blocking snaps, according to PFF, he enabled simply one hit and didn’t give up a sack. Duke offensive take on Graham Barton is also criminally low on the list at

No. 90. Uggetti: Hear me out here: Spencer Rattler. I know there are lots of reasons that Rattler has actually gone from a preseason Heisman competitor to an afterthought in the college football landscape, however I decline to think the hype was totally unwarranted. And I decline to believe he’s the 93rd finest player in the sport. Rattler’s decision to move to South Carolina last year gave him a fresh start and he capitalized, throwing for over 3,000 backyards and 18 goals. A 2nd year on Shane Beamer’s team should give Rattler an even better opportunity to try and fulfill at least some of that possible he was believed to have before that eventful year at Oklahoma.Which unranked players should be on the list? Kelvin Banks Jr. returns as one of the best true sophomores in the nation. John Rivera/Icon Sportswire Low: This is a simple one. There’s no chance there are 100 much better players in college football than Texas offensive deal with Kelvin Banks Jr. He started all 13 games last season as a true freshman at left take on and returns as one of the best true sophomores in the country at any position. He played against four first-round pass-rushers as a freshman and held his own against all 4, quiting simply one sack in 456 pass-blocking snaps. Go turn on the tape of his efficiency against Alabama’s Will Anderson Jr., who went No. 3 general in the 2023 NFL draft. Banks didn’t give up a sack or quarterback

hit versus Anderson.Hale: What if I informed you there was a cornerback who had a better protective QBR than McKinstry(No. 11), gave up fewer touchdowns and 20-yard completions than Kalen King(No. 45 ), permitted a lower completion portion than Cooper DeJean(No. 46 )and less yards-per-target than Fentrell Cypress II(No. 65)? That player would be NC State’s Aydan White, who has a strong case as one of the very best lockdown corners in the country, yet he didn’t break our leading 100. Chalk it as much as the voters under-appreciating an elite Wolfpack defense, but odds are, White’s skill won’t go unnoticed by opposing QBs in 2023. Rittenberg: Great players on bad groups get overlooked in some cases, and Cal linebacker Jackson Sirmon may fit into that category. The Washington transfer earned first-team All-Pac-12 bestow 104 deals with, 3 pass breaks up, a forced fumble and a fumble return for a goal. Oklahoma State’s defense took a step back in 2022 but Kendal Daniels and Mason Cobb (now at USC )both stood out to me. Daniels, ESPN’s No. 172 overall recruit in 2021, had 71 takes on and 3 interceptions in just five starts to make Big 12 Defensive Freshman of the Year honors. The top-100 is wide receiver heavy, however it’s surprising not to see Western Kentucky’s Malachi Corley, who has 174 receptions over the past two seasons for the country’s leading passing offense.Schlabach: Notre Dame cornerback Benjamin Morrison must be on the list. He was a freshman All-American after choosing off six passes, which tied for seventh in the FBS. His six interceptions were the most by a Notre Dame defender because Manti Te’o had seven in 2012. He also had 33 takes on and 4 pass breakups.Uggetti: USC included a multitude of protective transfers this offseason, however none may be more impactful than linebacker Mason Cobb, who showed up in Southern California by way of Oklahoma State where he had 58 solo tackles, two sacks, one forced fumble and an interception last season. Cobb has already garnered plenty of appreciation from his teammates throughout camp, and Lincoln Riley really chose him to represent USC at Pac-12 media days alongside Williams. The Utah item looks to be primed to begin and be among the centerpieces of an unit that the Trojans terribly require to enhance this year.Newcomer who will make the list by the end of year? Chandler Morris initially won the starting QB task for TCU before getting injured. Chris Jones-USA TODAY Sports Hale: Clemson defensive tackle Peter Woods has already developed himself as something of a Paul Bunyan-esque character for the Tigers. He’s 6-2, 315 pounds and does things takes on coach Nick Eason stated he’s never ever seen anyone that size do on a football field. To put it simply, Woods is generally a legend before he’s played his very first snap. And sure, Clemson has a couple of talented interior D-linemen atop the depth chart already, however it’s tough to see a situation in which Woods doesn’t get sufficient snaps this season, and the Tigers have a long history– from Christian Wilkins to Dexter Lawrence to Tyler Davis to Bryan Bresee– of freshmen DTs making a huge impact right off the bat.Low: Alabama has produced a long list of gifted protective backs under Nick Saban, and freshman safety Caleb Downs is next in line. He rapidly established himself as one of the best defensive backs on the roster in the spring, and Saban likes his maturity and capability to make huge plays against both the pass and run. The 6-foot, 203-pound Downs was a luxury possibility out of Hoschton, Georgia, and has whatever it takes to bloom into among the leading safeties in college football this season.Wilson: TCU quarterback Chandler Morris is a best fit for the Frogs ‘up-tempo, quick-game offense with Kendal Briles at the helm and he’s surrounded by ability talent. In his very first start in 2021 versus a Baylor team that won the Huge 12, he appeared like Johnny Manziel(on the field, that is ), completing 29 of 40 passes for 461 lawns and two touchdowns and ran 11 times for 70 backyards and another rating. He vanquished Heisman Trophy finalist Max Duggan last season for the beginning task before suffering an MCL injury in the first game and giving way to Duggan, who held onto the task the rest of the year. However TCU coaches were still extremely high up on Morris last fall in practice, and are eager to see him with another year under his belt.Uggetti: The wide-open quarterback competitors at UCLA might go the way of one of the 2 veterans, but if Chip Kelly chooses to name Dante Moore the starter, the real freshman appears primed to breakout as one of the sport’s next fantastic quarterbacks. Colleagues are currently singing his praises from fall camp and it’s significantly seeming like it refers when, not if, for Moore’s time under center for the Bruins.