headtopics
Big Ten Standout Tops College Football QB Rankings After 3,600-Yard Season With just under two months remaining until kickoff, Dalton Wasserman and Max Chadwick of Pro Football Focus unveiled the 50 best college football players enteri Ohio State quarterback Julian Sayin runs with the ball against UCLA on Nov.
15.
| USA TODAY Network via Reuters ConnectMany quarterbacks stand out because of their capabilities as runners, elusiveness in the backfield or overall grit.
However, Pro Football Focus has its own analytical grading system for players, so many of its rankings are not congruent with other pundits because intangibles are not always taken into account.
Sayin's efficiency is the reason Pro Football Focus holds him in such high regard.
The 6-foot-1, 208-pounder finished 2025 with 3,610 passing yards, 32 touchdowns and eight interceptions, all while leading the nation in completion percentage.Of the four 2025 Heisman Trophy finalists, Sayin is the only one returning to college in 2026."The redshirt freshman completed 77.0% of his passes, the third-highest completion percentage in college football history, trailing only the 77.4% marks posted by Bo Nix in 2023 and Mac Jones in 2020," Wasserman and Chadwick wrote.
"Sayin's 74.2% accurate throw rate also set the PFF College single-season record.
"Sayin's path to Ohio State was an unorthodox one.He committed to Alabama as the No.
3 quarterback prospect in the class of 2024, holding the commitment for over a year and eventually signing with the Crimson Tide.
Just over a week after Sayin enrolled at Alabama, Nick Saban announced his retirement from college football coaching.
Sayin entered the NCAA transfer portal and headed to Ohio State toward the end of January.Sayin redshirted his freshman year of college, sitting behind Kansas State transfer Will Howard during the Buckeyes' national championship run.
Across four games, Sayin completed five passes for 84 yards and a touchdown while rushing for 24 more yards on two attempts.
Sep 21, 2024; Columbus, Ohio, USA; Ohio State Buckeyes wide receiver Jeremiah Smith runs the ball in for a touchdown against the Marshall Thundering Herd in the second half at Ohio Stadium on Saturday.| USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect, Jeremiah Smith, is the No.
1 player on Pro Football Focus' list.
Widely considered a generational talent, Smith hauled in 87 receptions for 1,243 yards and 12 touchdowns from Sayin in 2025.
Moore is widely considered the best cornerback in college football; he is coming off a 2025 campaign in which he logged seven pass breakups and five interceptions, earning unanimous All-America honors.Simmons has been one of the most dominant edge rushers in the country over the last two seasons.
The 12 sacks Simmons finished with in 2025 were tied for fifth-most in FBS, and like Moore, he received All-America nominations across multiple publications.
Tucker Harlin is a passionate sports fan and journalist covering college sports.
His work can be found on Vols Wire of the USA TODAY Sports Media Group and The Voice of College Football Network.He graduated from the School of Journalism and Media at the University of Tennessee in 2024 and is based in Nashville.