Many of college football's top players are back with their same teams for another year.
Carter Bahns
It is far from uncommon in the transfer portal era for the best players on a given college football roster to seek opportunities at other schools. That makes multi-year starters at the same program all the more rewarding. With the roster turnover that occurs as a result of the portal, NFL Draft and expiring eligibility clocks, many of the top teams in college football have to turn to new faces at key positions on an annual basis.
The majority of the most exciting players for the 2024 season, however, are back on the teams with which they thrived last fall. Heisman Trophy-hopeful quarterbacks like Carson Beck and Quinn Ewers are now veterans with Georgia and Texas, and some of the top defensive players — like Michigan's Mason Graham andTennessee's James Pearce Jr. — are multi-year contributors at the schools with which they signed as high school recruits.
Consistency in one scheme and the advantages that come with working with the same coaching staff for multiple years often gives returning players a leg up on newcomers.
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Here are the top 25 returning players for the 2024 college football season:
25. LB Danny Stutsman, Oklahoma: In his All-American junior campaign, Stutsman led the Sooners in tackles (104) and tackles for loss (16). That came after he paced the Big 12 with 125 stops during a breakout 2022 season.
24. S Xavier Watts, Notre Dame: Seven interceptions led Watts to the Bronko Nagurski Trophy as the most outstanding defensive player in college football. If the takeaway production proves sustainable, Watts could flirt with the first round of the NFL Draft.
23. LB Jay Higgins, Iowa: Higgins' 171 tackles last fall led the Big Ten and ranked third nationally. He posted a 132-tackle increase from the year prior and has Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year potential if he repeats his production.
22. QB Jalen Milroe, Alabama: If he improves upon his accuracy as a passer this year, Milroe would further establish himself as the nation's premier dual-threat quarterback. That seems likely with new coach Kalen DeBoer aiding in his development.
21. LB Barrett Carter, Clemson: The Tigers kept half of their dominant linebacker duo intact as Carter elected to delay his draft entrance by a year. The former five-star recruit was one of college football's most disruptive players of the last two years.
20. WR Tre Harris, Ole Miss:Harris is a top-five receiver in college football whose yardage numbers actually increased with last year's move from Conference USA to the SEC. There is 1,000-yard, 10-touchdown potential in the top wideout in a loaded Rebels offense.
19. TE Colston Loveland, Michigan: With Brock Bowers out of the picture, the title of college football's top tight end is up for grabs for the first time in years. Loveland is the obvious choice to step into that role after his 649-yard sophom*ore season.
18. DL Deone Walker, Kentucky: Walker was a Freshman All-American two years ago and made major strides in Year 2 with his 12.5 tackles for loss and 7.5 sacks as one of the premier pass rushers in the SEC.
17. WR Emeka Egbuka, Ohio State:True freshman Jeremiah Smithcaptured all the attention in the Ohio State wide receiver room this offseason, but Egbuka is the top returning weapon in that group and should deliver on the potential that made him a five-star recruit in his own right.
16. QB Quinn Ewers, Texas: If he stays on his current trajectory, Ewers will finish his Texas career closer to the No. 1 spot among college football players. He made a 10-point increase in his completion rate from his first year to his second year as the Longhorns' starter.
15. RB Ollie Gordon II, Oklahoma State: The reigning Doak Walker Award winner is the unquestioned top running back in the land entering 2024. Gordon amassed more rushing yards (1,732) than any other player last year despite serving in a backup role for the first three weeks of the season.
14. LB Harold Perkins Jr., LSU: The move from the edge rusher spot to a more traditional linebacker role last season came with some growing pains, but Perkins still has the best tools of anyone at the position and should prove that in his second year as the heart of the LSU defense.
13. EDGE Abdul Carter, Penn State: Carter makes the opposite move to that of Perkins this year, switching from linebacker to defensive end. That should pay dividends in his pass-rushing production, and he has a strong foundation in that department on the heels of a 4.5-sack campaign.
12. S Malaki Starks, Georgia: Starks is the top safety in college football and a reigning consensus first-team All-American. His return to the Georgia defense is a boon to a group that experienced significant turnover, and he will be the heart of that unit after two remarkable years to open his career.
11. QB Shedeur Sanders, Colorado: That Sanders stood among the most efficient and productive passers in the nation last year despite the lack of protection he received from the Buffaloes' offensive line was remarkable. The former FCS star could turn himself into the No. 1 overall pick in next year's draft.
10. CB Benjamin Morrison, Notre Dame: Morrison narrowly earned four-star status as a recruit two years ago but is now one of the top defenders in college football. The lockdown corner batted down 10 passes and hauled in three picks last year, which is impressive given his assignments rarely got open enough to warrant targets.
9. WR Tetairoa McMillan, Arizona: The return of McMillan and his quarterback, Noah Fifita, ensures the Wildcats will be firmly in the Big 12 title race despite their coaching change. McMillan is a matchup nightmare at 6-foot-5 and racked up 93 grabs for 1,400 yards last season.
8. QB Carson Beck, Georgia: Beck is the betting favorite to win the 2024 Heisman Trophy. He crossed the 250-yard mark in 11-straight games last season and projects as the most consistently elite passer in college football as a second-year starter.
7. OT Kelvin Banks, Texas: Banks was a Day 1 starter when he arrived at Texas as a five-star prospect, and he handled the left tackle spot with tremendous success over his first two years on campus. He allowed just one sack last season in protection of Quinn Ewers' blind side.
6. WR Luther Burden III, Missouri: If there is one knock against college football's top receiver, it was his inconsistency at times during a breakout 2023 season. Still, he has the highest ceiling of any pass-catcher in the nation, as he proved with his five-straight games of 100 or more yards.
5. CB Will Johnson, Michigan: Johnson has top-three pick upside as the top corner in the land. He played some of his best football in Michigan's biggest games last year with interceptions in the rivalry showdown with Ohio State and the national championship game.
4. CB/WR Travis Hunter, Colorado: Hunter is a one-of-a-kind talent. He would be the top cornerback or receiver on most teams and has the durability and stamina to provide Colorado with elite production on both sides of the ball. If any non-quarterback has a shot at the Heisman Trophy, it might just be Hunter.
3. OT Will Campbell, LSU:There is not a single offensive lineman in the sport as reliable as Campbell, who did not allow a single sack last season and played a key role in Jayden Daniels' Heisman run as his blind side protector. He was a star from the earliest days of his college career.
2. DT Mason Graham, Michigan: The continuity on Michigan's defensive line makes the Wolverines one of the most feared teams on that side of the ball, and it all starts in the middle with Graham anchoring the front seven. The highlight of his career thus far came in overtime of the Rose Bowl when he logged a massive tackle for loss — one of 7.5 on the year — to set up the Wolverines' CFP semifinal victory.
1. EDGE James Pearce Jr., Tennessee:Pearce ranks in a tie for the fourth-most sacks among returning players after he racked up 10 last season as the SEC's top edge rusher. He is the early favorite to come off the board first at the 2025 NFL Draft.
