Following college football is an annual discovery of new stars.
It’s the nature of the sport’s transience. Players only stay in college for a few seasons. They emerge, shine brightly and then move to the NFL or graduate. It’s a churn that’s the sport’s lifeblood. Many casual fans had no idea who Fernando Mendoza and Arvell Reese were at this time last year. Just 12 months later, they were foundational pieces for College Football Playoff runs and top five NFL Draft picks.
Those are the type of players we’ve tried to identify at 247Sports in an offseason survey of contacts across the Power Four.
247Sports checked with dozens of sources across the Power Four with a simple question: Who are some of the lesser-known players on your roster ready for a breakout season?
Many names came up, and they’ve been whittled down to 100 names, 25 from each conference, you have to know ahead of the 2026 season.
