Travis Hunter takes home the Heisman Trophy

• Travis Hunter wins the Heisman: ColoradoBecause of his dominance on both sides of the ball, the two-way superstar earns college football’s highest individual honor.

• Ashton Jeanty takes home the Doak Walker Award: Boise StateThe 2010 star tailback had one of the best seasons ever for a college running back.

• Unlock your benefit with a PFF+ subscription: Get full access to all of our seasonal fantasy tools including weekly rankings, WR/CB matchup charts, weekly forecastsThe Start seat optimizer and more. Register now!

Estimated reading time: 7 minutes

With the college football regular season now in the books, it’s time to turn our attention to who deserves college football’s highest individual honors.

Using PFF’s advanced metrics, here are 23 of college football’s top awards.

Heisman Trophy/Maxwell Award (Best Player): WR/CB Travis Hunter, Colorado buffaloit

Simply put, Hunter is the greatest two-way player in college football history. He leads the Power Four with 14 receiving touchdowns this season, while his 1,152 receiving yards surpasses only Tetairoa McMillan in that group. His offensive rating of 86.2 is fifth among all wideouts in the country.

Also on defense, Hunter’s coverage grade of 90.9 is the highest among all cornerbacks in the country. His 42.0 passer rating allowed ranks eighth among Power Four corners, while his four interceptions rank third in the same group.

Chuck Bednarik Award/Bronko Nagurski Trophy (Best Defensive Player): DI Mason Graham, Michigan Wolverines

Not much happened Michigan in their national title defense this season, as the Wolverines finished with a record of just 7-5. Their defensive line remained dominant, led by Graham in the middle. He led all interior defenders in the FBS this season with a 92.4 run defense grade while ranking third with 34 pressures.

Davey O’Brien Award (Best Quarterback): QB Cam Ward, Miami (FL) Hurricanes

Ward jumped up Draft boards with an outstanding season for the Hurricanes this season. The projected top-five pick leads all FBS quarterbacks with a 92.6 PFF grade and 36 passing touchdowns and ranks second with 4,123 passing yards. Ward’s 28 big throws also rank third among all signal-callers in the country.

Doak Walker Award (Best Running Back): RB Ashton Jeanty, Boise State Broncos

Jeanty is having one of the greatest seasons we’ve ever seen from a college running back, whether based on traditional stats or PFF’s advanced metrics. His 2,288 rushing yards are currently fifth all-time, while his 28 rushing touchdowns rank ninth. Jeanty’s has also set numerous PFF collegiate records.

Ashton Jeanty’s historic 2024 season in the PFF college era (2014-present)

Jeanty’s 1,695 yards after contact is more than the total rushing yards of any other FBS running back this season. Remember, he has at least one more game to add to his ridiculous season.

Biletnikoff Award (Best Receiver): WR Tetairoa McMillan, Arizona Wildcats

McMillan was one of the few things that went right Arizona this year in his disappointing 4-8 season. The projected top-five pick in the 2025 NFL Draft leads all Power Four players with 1,316 receiving yards, while his 18 contested catches are the most in the same group. McMillan was also incredibly dangerous after the catch, ranking third among FBS wideouts with 28 forced missed tackles on receptions.

John Mackey Award (Best Tight End): TE Harold Fannin Jr., Bowling Green Hawks

We split between fannin and Penn StateTyler Warren for this award as everyone had an incredible season. Bowling GreenThe ‘s star gets the nod here as he is second nationally with 1,342 yards receiving regardless of position. This mark is also just 10 yards shy of the all-time record for a tight end in a single season, set by Texas Techis Jace Amaro in 2013. Fannin could easily break that record if he decides to attend the Falcons’ bowl game.

His PFF grade of 95.8 is better than anyone else in college football. And anyone questioning Fannin’s level of competition should consider that he posted a receiving grade of 94.1 with 282 total receiving yards Penn State And Texas A&M this season.

Outland Trophy (Best Interior Lineman): DI Mason Graham, Michigan Wolverines

Rotary Lombardi Award (Best Lineman): DI Mason Graham, Michigan Wolverines

Rimington Award (Best Center): C Jake Slaughter, Florida Alligators

Slaughter’s had a grueling schedule this season, facing projected Day 1/Day 2 picks like Walter Nolen, Shemar Stewart, Deone Walker, Omarr Norman-Lott and Alfred Collins.

He responded by being rated as the best center in the Power Four, earning a grade of 82.6 that year. Slaughter’s 79.1 run-blocking grade is also the best in the Power Four and he has allowed pressure on just 2.3% of his pass-blocking snaps.

Ted Hendricks Award (Best Defensive End): EDGE Abdul Carter, Penn State Nittany Lions

Due to his incredible season, Carter is currently one of the top five prospects on the PFF NFL Draft 2025 Big Board. According to PFF, he is currently the most valuable edge defender in the country and ranks fourth in pass rushing rating (91.0) . Keep in mind that this was Carter’s first season as a full-time edge rusher after spending his first two years as an off-ball linebacker.

Butkus Award (Best Linebacker): LB Jay Higgins, Iowa Hawkeyes

Higgins was both the highest-rated and most valuable Power Four linebacker this year as measured by PFF’s Wins Above Average. He led the nation with a 93.9 coverage grade, while his four interceptions were the most in the Power Four.

Jim Thorpe Award (Best Defensive Back): CB Travis Hunter, Colorado buffaloit

Paul Hornung Award (Most Versatile Player): WR/CB Travis Hunter, Colorado buffaloit

Lou Groza Award (Best Placekicker): K Ben Sauls, Pittsburgh Panthers

Sauls led the nation in field goal/extra point percentage this season at 95.5. He completed five of his six attempts from over 50 yards and converted all 41 of his extra point attempts. Sauls was also perfect from 39 yards, completing all six of his attempts.

Ray Guy Award (Best Punter): P Brett Thorson, Georgia Bulldogs

Thorson’s 93.3 punting grade was more than three points higher than any other player in America that year. He led the nation with an average hang time of 4.53 seconds, while his average net yardage of 44.2 yards ranked fourth in the country.

Johnny “The Jet” Rodgers Award (Best Return Specialist): WR Keelan Marion, BYU Cougars

Marion was the only Power Four player and one of two players in America with multiple return touchdowns this season. This season he forced 10 missed tackles on just 18 returns.

Shaun Alexander Freshman of the Year Award: WR Jeremiah Smith, Ohio State Buckeyes

Considering Smith was the highest-rated wide receiver recruit of all time, it should come as no surprise that he hit the ground running in Columbus. The top overall recruit in the high school class of 2024 leads all true freshmen with 930 receiving yards and 10 touchdown catches this year. According to PFF, he is the eighth most valuable receiver and the only true freshman in the top 10 at his position.

Burlsworth Trophy (Best player who began his career as a walk-on): LB Shaun Dolac, buffalo Bulls

A strong argument can be made that Dolac also deserves the Butkus Award. His 92.2 PFF grade tops all FBS linebackers, as do his five interceptions and 99 plays on which he made first contact with the ball carrier. Dolac’s 21 tackles for loss/no gain also ranks second among all linebackers.

Joe Moore Award (Best Offensive Line): Texas Longhorns

TexasThe offensive line has an offensive line grade of 95.2 this year, six points higher than any other FBS front five. The Longhorns also rank sixth among Power Four offensive lines with a run-blocking grade of 80.7. Their pressure rate of 11.6% also ranks fourth in America. These numbers are even more impressive when you consider Texas has faced some elite defense fronts like Michigan, Oklahoma, Georgia And Texas A&M.

Home Depot Trainer of the Year Award (Best Trainer): HC Curt Cignetti, Indiana Hoosiers

From 2021 to 2023, Indiana only had a 9-27 record. In their first year under Cignetti, the Hoosiers are 11-1 and will be in the College Football Playoff. The former James Madison coach completely revamped the roster in one offseason, signing 31 new players, many of whom became key contributors. Indiana was second among FBS schools in offensive rating, defensive rating, offensive EPA per game and defensive EPA per game.

Frank Broyles Award (Best Assistant Coach): DC Pete Kwiatkowski, Texas Longhorns

Many thought so TexasThe offense would have to carry a defense that lost two superstar defensive tackles Byron Murphy II and T’Vondre Sweat. Instead, the opposite was true. The Longhorns lead the FBS with a defensive rating of 94.6, while their -0.314 EPA per game is also easily the best in America.

Breaking News

Dellupodisabato