College Football's Best Returning Players for 2023
At any given moment of a college football Saturday, one of the best players in the nation is probably on the field.
After all, the Football Bowl Subdivision, which has grown to 133 programs for the 2023 season, is simply massive. There is never a shortage of top talent to watch around the country.
Because there are so many teams, though, you might not be familiar with top linemen or small-school standouts. If that's the case, don't worry about it. Since scanning the country is part of our job description, we have you covered.
Our list is subjective but focuses on players who excelled in previous years. NFL draft potential is not considered.
Quarterbacks
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When last season's Heisman Trophy winner is back, it's only natural to start the conversation with him. Caleb Williams earned the prestigious honor in 2022, finishing the season with 4,919 yards of total offense and 52 touchdowns.
The country's second-best quarterback is Drake Maye (North Carolina), who amassed 5,019 yards and 45 scores last year.
Also alongside Williams in the Pac-12 are Bo Nix (Oregon), Michael Penix (Washington) and Cam Rising (Utah). Each one guided their respective teams to a 10-win record in 2022.
More players to know are Jayden Daniels (LSU), Jordan Travis (Florida State) and Wake Forest transfer Sam Hartman (Notre Dame).
Within the Group of Five, top quarterbacks include Grayson McCall (Coastal Carolina), Kurtis Rourke (Ohio), Michael Pratt (Tulane) and Frank Harris (UTSA).
Running Backs
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Two divisions—the Big Ten East and SEC West—account for a strong majority of the best running backs.
Michigan duo Blake Corum and Donovan Edwards combined for 2,454 yards and 25 touchdowns on the ground last season. Corum could have landed an invite to the Heisman ceremony had a mid-November knee injury not ruined the rest of his campaign.
Also in the Big Ten is Ohio State pair TreVeyon Henderson and Miyan Williams. Henderson excelled as a true freshman in 2021, but his injuries cleared the path for Williams' strong year in 2022.
Meanwhile, the SEC West boasts Raheim "Rocket" Sanders (Arkansas) and Quinshon Judkins (Ole Miss). Both of them collected at least 1,400 yards and 10 touchdowns last year.
Will Shipley (Clemson) rounds out the list after ranking ninth with 1,748 all-purpose yards in 2022.
Receivers and Tight Ends
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How about a couple more tandems?
Ohio State returns Marvin Harrison Jr. and Emeka Egbuka, while Washington brings back Rome Odunze and Jalen McMillan. All four recorded no less than 74 receptions, 1,098 yards and seven touchdowns in 2022 as Harrison and Odunze secured AP All-America honors.
Behind them, key wideouts to know are Johnny Wilson (Florida State), Malik Nabers (LSU), Xavier Worthy (Texas), Dorian Singer (USC) and Malachi Corley (Western Kentucky).
At tight end, the clear headliner is Brock Bowers (Georgia). He's a two-time AP All-America selection with 1,824 receiving yards and 24 total touchdowns for the reigning champs.
Brevyn Spann-Ford (Minnesota), Ja'Tavion Sanders (Texas) and Brant Kuithe (Utah) are otherwise the best of the position.
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Offensive Linemen
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If your favorite NFL team needs a left tackle, you'll be hearing about Joe Alt (Notre Dame) and Olu Fashanu (Penn State). They headline the position, though JC Latham (Alabama) and Graham Barton (Duke) are also high-quality players, with Kelvin Banks Jr. (Texas) on the rise.
At guard, top talents are Beaux Limmer (Arkansas), Cooper Beebe (Kansas State) and Zak Zinter (Michigan).
Last year, Beebe landed AP All-America status along with Christian Haynes (UConn). Christian Mahogany (Boston College) and Donovan Jackson (Ohio State) also merit a mention.
Zinter will have a new teammate in Stanford transfer Drake Nugent, who's set to start at center for Michigan. Sedrick Van Pran (Georgia) and Zach Frazier (West Virginia) are excellent lynchpins, as well.
Defensive Linemen
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First up, the edge-rushers.
One of the more unanticipated players to forgo the 2023 NFL draft was Jared Verse (Florida State), who would have attracted first-round attention. He posted 17 tackles for loss with nine sacks last season after transferring from lower-division Albany.
Bralen Trice (Washington), Chop Robinson (Penn State) and Mykel Williams (Georgia) are each looking to build on a promising year and enter 2023 with considerable expectations.
Dallas Turner (Alabama) and J.T. Tuimoloau (Ohio State) are former elite recruits who could be in line for a terrific season, too.
In the middle, the conversation starts with Jer'Zhan Newton (Illinois). He amassed 60 tackles with 13 for loss in 2022.
Leonard Taylor (Miami), Kris Jenkins (Michigan) and Mekhi Wingo (LSU) should challenge for All-America recognition, as Newton, Wingo and Dontay Corleone (Cincinnati) did last season.
Linebackers
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If you haven't watched Harold Perkins Jr. (LSU), I'd suggest you take a moment to throw on a highlight reel.
Done? Great.
Perkins is a true purveyor of chaos in the middle of the defense and as a blitzer. During his freshman season, he amassed 73 tackles with 14 for loss and 8.5 sacks, adding four forced fumbles.
Otherwise, two programs have terrific duos. Georgia's Jamon Dumas-Johnson and Smael Mondon finished 2022 as the most prolific tacklers for the national champs, while Jeremiah Trotter Jr. and Barrett Carter helped Clemson win an ACC championship.
Cedric Gray (North Carolina), Tommy Eichenberg (Ohio State) and Jason Henderson (Old Dominion) each fit the "tackle machine" category. Henderson paced the FBS with 186 last year, while Gray accumulated 146 and Eichenberg tallied 120.
Defensive Backs
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It's a rough year to play quarterback in the Big Ten.
Cooper DeJean (Iowa), Will Johnson (Michigan) and Kalen King (Penn State) are worthy of top-five status among cornerbacks. Michigan State and Rutgers hold the inglorious honor of taking on all three, by the way.
Other top corners are Kool-Aid McKinstry (Alabama) and Benjamin Morrison (Notre Dame). McKinstry, who also ranked second nationally in yards per punt return, claimed AP All-America status in 2022 while Morrison emerged as one of the country's top freshmen.
At safety, Miami returns a fearsome duo in ballhawk Kam Kinchens and the imposing 6'5", 215-pound James Williams.
Malaki Starks (Georgia) secured a first-string role as a true freshman for the national champs, while Calen Bullock (USC) and Cole Bishop (Utah) are both approaching a third season as a key contributor.
.jpg?w=480 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
