Spring practice has wrapped up, the transfer portal has shut and the college football season is just a short 106 days away from kicking off.
With rosters starting to settle down and the upcoming campaign coming into a better focus, who are the biggest impact players in the sport? Here are 20 of the top players in college football who can impact the game far beyond what might show up in the box score.
QB LaNorris Sellers, South Carolina Gamecocks
When Sellers was on the field for the Gamecocks, they were one of the toughest teams in the country to beat and a fringe College Football Playoff contender. When he was injured, the team was closer to the middle of the pack in the SEC. The dual-threat QB is among the most dangerous quarterbacks around when the play breaks down. If he can take the next step in the passing game, there will be plenty of talk about Sellers joining the Heisman Trophy conversation in 2025.
QB John Mateer, Oklahoma Sooners
It was worth it to stay up late in 2024 to watch the Washington State Cougars just to see what Mateer could do with the football in his hands. He was as capable of taking over a game with his arm and his legs as any signal-caller in throwing for 3,139 yards, rushing for 826 yards and scoring a whopping 44 times. He’s moved to Norman, Okla., to test his game at the next level in the SEC, and it’s not placing too much pressure on him to say that as Mateer goes, so do the Sooners. Not only will he have a significant impact on the team between the lines, but his play could determine whether there’s a larger reset at the program or if OU can get back to its normal position of winning double-digit games.
QB Diego Pavia, Vanderbilt Commodores
Pavia is the ultimate roll of a dice every time he takes a snap, as evidenced by him leading upsets over the Alabama Crimson Tide and Auburn Tigers last year (while also taking an inexplicable loss to the Georgia State Panthers). He racked up over 3,000 yards and nearly 30 total scores in his first year going up against SEC defenses and, thanks to a court ruling, is back for another go-around in Nashville. The schedule doesn’t get any easier in 2025, but that might not matter for the Dores given who they have running the offense.
RB Jeremiyah Love, Notre Dame Fighting Irish
Despite battling a knee injury late in the season, Love still finished with over 1,100 yards on the ground as a sophomore and averaged a robust 6.9 yards per carry to show why he was very much a home run hitter. His 98-yard touchdown run against the Indiana Hoosiers was the first signature moment of the 12-team College Football Playoff. He could be even more of a threat for the Irish moving forward as a focal point in this season’s offense.
RB Makhi Hughes, Oregon Ducks
No returning tailback in college football scored more touchdowns than Love and Hughes, who steps up a level to the Big Ten after being one of the top players in the transfer portal out of the Tulane Green Wave. He’s a workhorse between the tackles and capable of taking over (or closing out) games with his ability to pick up yards and burst through the lines for long runs. He’ll have an excellent offensive line to run behind in Eugene, Ore., and can also impact games as an impressive threat out of the backfield on passing downs.
WR Jeremiah Smith, Ohio State Buckeyes
The numbers as a true freshman were excellent last season for Smith (1,315 yards, 15 touchdowns receiving), but his true impact was seen front and center on the Buckeyes’ run to the national title as he was simply unguardable in just about any situation. He’s got NFL size and speed already. The scary thing for defenses is he’s still refining his craft to get even better. There’s not one defensive coordinator who thinks they’ve got the personnel to cover him with just one defender, so it’s safe to say Smith impacts the game far beyond him hauling in a pass.
WR Ryan Williams, Alabama Crimson Tide
Just flip on the Tide’s game against the Georgia Bulldogs to see what kind of an impact Williams can have on one contest. He’s not just a speed demon down the field, but he’s a ballerina in the air going up for (or coming down with) a catch and could be even more dangerous if Kalen DeBoer’s offense also takes a sophomore leap in 2025.
OT Isaiah World, Oregon Ducks
The Ducks are not looking to have a drop-off from last season’s excellent offensive line to this year’s thanks in part to World’s arrival from the Nevada Wolf Pack. He’s got tremendous upside and is already being eyed as a potential NFL pick who will have a significant say on what kind of ceiling Oregon’s offense will have this season.
OT Spencer Fano, Utah Utes
There’s a decent case to be made that Fano is the best run-blocking tackle in the country this season and that takes nothing away from what he can do when he drops back into pass protection. The Utes offense should be much improved under a new coordinator this season, and Fano’s presence on the outside will play a massive role in returning the program back near the top of the conference standings.
OC Jake Slaughter, Florida Gators
Gators QB DJ Lagway’s ability to stay upright this season will partially come down to the play of Slaughter in the middle. On top of being one of the best interior offensive linemen in the country, he plays a big role in making sure the rest of the line is on the same page and can quickly adjust to some of the pressure that comes their way on every snap.
DL Caleb Banks, Florida Gators
Banks gets to go against Slaughter in practice, and it’s clear that iron is sharpening iron with the way he gets up field in a hurry. He’s excellent at splitting double teams and can bring a ton of pressure even without getting a sack on passing downs. If he can round out his game to be as disruptive against the run as he is the pass, Florida has a defender that can fully take over a game.
DL Peter Woods, Clemson Tigers
Woods is capable of lining up at nearly every spot on the defensive line and can bring it from pretty much everywhere when he wants to get after the quarterback or shut down a running lane. He benefits from some talent around him, but is the No. 1 obstacle for Clemson’s opponents to stop on every play.
Edge Dylan Stewart, South Carolina Gamecocks
It’s hard to believe Stewart will be just a sophomore given how he performed during his first season on campus for the Gamecocks, recording 6.5 sacks and nearly 10 TFLs despite being eased into the lineup. He is a first-round NFL talent capable of ruining a series single-handedly and amazingly still has a chance to be even more disruptive in 2025.
Edge Keldric Faulk, Auburn Tigers
Faulk is a freak athlete and was part of a Tigers defense last season that carried the team for long stretches. He can get into the backfield from pretty much any spot in the front seven and has a rare combination of size, burst and the ability to overpower opponents.
Edge Suntarine Perkins, Ole Miss Rebels
If you made a whole defense out of 11 versions of Perkins, you probably would wind up making the CFP given his ability to influence the outcome of a series from a number of different spots. While versatility is key to his game, his ability to quickly identify a play and use his elite burst to chase down the ball is a good reason why he should exceed the 10.5 sacks he had in 2024.
LB Kyle Louis, Pitt Panthers
An easy preseason candidate to be ACC Defensive Player of the Year, Louis stuffs the stat sheet in pretty much every way imaginable. He blocks kicks, he returns pick-sixes, rushes the passer and racks up double-digit tackle games with ease.
LB Sonny Styles, Ohio State Buckeyes
Styles has evolved from an oversized safety playing linebacker to a real all-around threat in the front seven for the reigning national champions. His coverage skills are naturally very good, but he’s very much a modern weapon on defense with his ability to blitz, take out running lanes or blow up a ball carrier with a massive hit.
LB Anthony Hill Jr., Texas Longhorns
The former five-star has played like one of the best players in the country since arriving in Austin and enters 2025 as the favorite for the Butkus Award as the defensive yin to Arch Manning’s yang at Texas. He had an incredible 16.5 TFLs to go with topping the century mark in total tackles and fills pretty much every role needed for the Longhorns.
DB Caleb Downs, Ohio State Buckeyes
Even as a freshman with Alabama, you could tell that Downs was special, and he’s pretty much been the best defensive player in the country for much of the past two seasons. He hunts the ball when it’s in the air and isn’t afraid of coming up to the line to get after the quarterback or put a running back on his back if needed.
DB Koi Perich, Minnesota Golden Gophers
Every Big Ten quarterback is well aware of just where Perich is on the field—and sometimes that doesn’t even matter. He was phenomenal as a true freshman (five interceptions, zero touchdowns allowed in coverage) and continues to impact the game all over with his ability to find the ball and react quickly.
This article was originally published on www.si.com as College Football’s Top 20 Impact Players for the 2025 Season.