The final weeks of the 2021 college football regular season are upon us, so let's look at who has a shot to set PFF College (2014-) records for the highest grades at every position.
Most players at the top of the rankings have just one more week to better their grades, but some will play in conference championship games and bowls to improve their marks. PFF College era records could very well be broken here down the stretch.
Here are the top-graded players after Week 12 of the 2021 season.
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Quarterback
Power Five: Bryce Young, Alabama Crimson Tide | 92.6
Young’s former teammate Mac Jones holds the highest-graded season by a Power Five quarterback, a mark he set in 2020 (95.8). Young’s 2021 campaign currently ranks seventh in the PFF College era, and a few other star signal-callers are on his tail. Pittsburgh’s Kenny Pickett is tied for ninth, and Louisville‘s Malik Cunningham is tied for 12th overall.
As of now, four ACC 2021 quarterback seasons rank in the top 16, with the others being Virginia’s Brennan Armstrong (15th) and Wake Forest’s Sam Hartman (16th).
Group of Five: Grayson McCall, Coastal Carolina Chanticleers | 92.9
McCall is on track to finish as the highest-graded Group of Five quarterback in the PFF College era. He probably won’t top Zach Wilson’s 2020 season (95.4) at BYU, but his 2021 and 2020 campaigns rank second and third, respectively. Dustin Crum’s 91.4 grade has him tied for ninth among the best Group of Five seasons in the PFF record books.
Running Back
Power Five: Dameon Pierce, Florida Gators | 91.8
Javonte Williams posted a 94.3 grade in 2020 with North Carolina, a record that probably won't be threatened this year. Pierce had a chance to keep climbing up the rankings, but a 60.5 grade in Florida’s loss to Missouri sees him fall to seventh in the PFF College era.
Group of Five: Titus Swen, Wyoming Cowboys | 89.1
Swen ranks 11th in running back grade since 2014, but there’s no guarantee he stays here to finish out the year due to all the movement we've seen on this leaderboard. BYU’s Tyler Allgeier has climbed back up the rankings after leading here last season. His 2020 season ranks second all-time, and his 2021 season is now 15th.
Wide Receiver
Power Five: Drake London, USC Trojans | 91.3
DeVonta Smith’s Heisman winning 2020 campaign (94.9) sits at the No. 1 spot in the PFF College era. London might have had an outside chance if not for his unfortunate injury. He’ll finish with the eighth-highest single-season grade in this category. The only other 2021 campaign in the top 20 right now is Wan’Dale Robinson’s 89.9 grade.
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via Anthony Treash
Group of Five: Brandon Lewis, Air Force Falcons | 92.3
Service academy players tend to do well in these rankings, and Lewis has moved ahead of two Air Force grads to slot into third all-time. He passes Jalen Rowell’s 2016 and Geraud Sanders‘ 2019 seasons. He’s behind Navy’s Tyler Carmona from 2015 and Massachusetts' Andy Isabella from 2018.