• Ole Miss places three players in the Nos. 41-50 range: Quarterback Jaxson Dart, edge defender Princely Umanmielen and wide receiver Tre Harris all crack the PFF College 50.
• Michigan’s Kenneth Grant headlines the first reveal: The rest of the PFF College 50 will be released throughout the week, but for now, the interior defender leads the way at No. 41.
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Estimated Reading Time: 5 minutes
Last month, PFF unveiled the NFL’s top 50 players entering the 2024 season. Now, it’s time to do the same for college.
With less than two weeks to go until kickoff, here’s a look at our top 50 players in college football entering this season.
Editor’s note: The PFF College 50 will be released throughout the week, starting with Nos. 41-50 on Monday, Aug. 12. The top 10 players will drop on Friday, Aug. 16.
41. DI Kenneth Grant, Michigan
Grant is the sixth-most valuable returning Power Five interior defensive lineman, according to PFF’s wins above average metric. That’s despite his playing in a rotational role on Michigan’s defensive line. The sophomore’s 78.4 PFF pass-rushing grade in 2023 was a top-15 mark among defensive tackles, as well. With Kris Jenkins gone, Grant should only shine more as a full-time starter next to Mason Graham.
42. QB Jaxson Dart, Ole Miss
This is the year for Jaxson Dart and the Rebels to make a playoff run. Dart is a perfect fit for Lane Kiffin’s offensive system. His 92.5 PFF play-action grade ranked fourth in the nation last season. He is also arguably the best quarterback in the country when throwing at or outside the numbers. Armed with a loaded skill group that includes Tre Harris, Antwane “Juice” Wells Jr. and Caden Prieskorn, Dart could be a Heisman Trophy candidate.
Top SEC Passing Grades | 2023-24
43. EDGE Princely Umanmielen, Ole Miss
Ole Miss was one of the biggest winners from the transfer portal this offseason, and the headliner of its class is Umanmielen. The former Florida edge defender ranked fourth among Power Five edges in pass-rush win rate in 2023 (22.2%). Since 2022, his 42 run-defense stops are tied for second among that same group. He has an excellent understanding of when to use counter moves and has great bend at 6-foot-5 and 254 pounds.
44. CB Jabbar Muhammad, Oregon
Muhammad will play for his third school in as many years this upcoming season, after transferring from Washington to Oregon in January. The junior led all cornerbacks in 2023 with 19 forced incompletions, 17 of them coming in single coverage.
While not the biggest player, at just 5-foot-10 and 183 pounds, he has excellent burst for the position and brings a feisty, ultra-competitive approach to his game.
45. WR Tre Harris, Ole Miss
Harris made the jump from the Group of Five level to the Power Five this past season, transferring in from Louisiana Tech. Harris looked even better as a Rebel than he did as a Bulldog. The senior’s 89.6 PFF receiving grade tied for sixth among FBS receivers this past season and was more than nine points higher than his previous mark in 2022 (80.5). He averaged 3.17 yards per route run in 2023, placing ninth among all receivers in college football.
46. WR Xavier Restrepo, Miami (FL)
Restrepo is the most productive returning slot receiver in college football. His 1,074 receiving yards from that alignment in 2023 were the second most among FBS receivers, behind only Virginia’s Malik Washington, who is now in the NFL. The junior finished this past season with an 87.5 PFF overall grade, ranking seventh among Power Five receivers. He is a reliable chain-mover who should be new quarterback Cam Ward’s best friend.
47. TE Mitchell Evans, Notre Dame
Evans looked like one of the best tight ends in the country before a torn ACL ended his 2023 season after just eight games. Before going down, his 422 receiving yards stood fourth among all tight ends in college football. Evans’ 10 forced missed tackles in that span trailed only Brock Bowers among FBS tight ends, as well. As long as he can regain his pre-injury form, Evans should be the ultimate security blanket for new Fighting Irish quarterback Riley Leonard next year.
48. WR Elic Ayomanor, Stanford
No game encapsulates how critical Ayomanor is for Stanford more than its school-record 29-point comeback victory over Colorado this past season. After being held without a catch in the first half, Ayomanor exploded for 13 catches, 294 yards (program record) and three touchdowns in the second half and overtime. Making that performance even more jaw-dropping is that seven of those catches and two of his touchdown grabs came against Colorado’s Travis Hunter, a player who will appear much higher on this list.
49. DI Peter Woods, Clemson
Woods ranked third among FBS defensive tackles in pass-rush win rate (17.1%) and seventh in PFF run-defense grade (88.6) last season. His 87.6 PFF overall grade was the third-best mark by a true freshman interior defensive lineman since PFF began charting college football in 2014. The only two above Woods were Dexter Lawrence and Ed Oliver in 2016, two of the 25 best defensive tackles in the NFL.
Expect Woods to become much more of a household name as a full-time starter in 2024.
50. T Wyatt Milum, West Virginia
Milum has been a starter for all three of his years in Morgantown, spending his freshman campaign at right tackle before flipping to left tackle for the past two seasons. His 74.2 PFF pass-blocking grade in 2021 ranked second among true freshman Power Five tackles, trailing a future top-five pick in Joe Alt. This past season, his 89.6 PFF pass-blocking grade on true pass sets placed second among FBS tackles, behind only now-NFL player Patrick Paul.
