(Note: We picked 11 players on offense and defense but did not limit numbers per position.)<\/p>\n
OffenseQB Max Johnson, Georgia Southern<\/p>\n
First season of college football: 2020<\/p>\n
Johnson, who led this team last season as well, is now on his fourth school in seven years after spending two seasons each at LSU, Texas A&M and North Carolina. Injuries have repeatedly derailed the one-time SEC starter (his best season came in 2021 at LSU), who has played in just 17 games over the past four seasons. By year\u2019s end, though, he\u2019ll be able to say he was coached by all of the following: Ed Orgeron, Jimbo Fisher, Mack Brown, Bill Belichick and Clay Helton.<\/p>\n
QB Billy Edwards Jr., North Carolina<\/p>\n
First season of college football: 2021<\/p>\n
Edwards returns to the state where he began his career six years ago, at Wake Forest. He did not play in his one season there, transferring to Maryland, where he eventually ascended to the starting job in 2024. Edwards then left for Wisconsin and became the Badgers\u2019 Week 1 starter but unfortunately suffered a season-ending injury in the first game. Now he\u2019s Belichick\u2019s hand-picked guy to replace Gio Lopez, who himself is now at \u2026 Wake Forest.<\/p>\n
QB Avery Johnson, Kansas State<\/p>\n
First season of college football: 2023<\/p>\n
Yes, he\u2019s only entering his fourth college season, but the Kansas native first made headlines in 2022 as the rare blue-chip QB to commit to K-State. His status as unofficial anointed savior helped cause then-incumbent Will Howard to transfer to Ohio State in \u201924. The now-third-year starter has yet to live up to the hype, ranking outside the top 60 in passer rating the past two seasons, but he\u2019s reunited with one of his former position coaches, now head coach Collin Klein.<\/p>\n
QB Noah Fifita, Arizona<\/p>\n
First season of college football: 2022<\/p>\n
Fifita\u2019s long tenure as QB1 feels like it has spanned more eras than Taylor Swift. Act I: The then-redshirt freshman teams with star receiver Tetairoa McMillan to lead Jedd Fisch\u2019s final Arizona team to a surprise 10-win season. Act II: After Fisch leaves and Brent Brennan replaces him, McMillan and the Wildcats regress to 4-8. Act III: Predicted to struggle again, Fifita and Arizona bounce back to go 9-4. Stay tuned for this season\u2019s album release.<\/p>\n
QB Noah Kim, Eastern Michigan<\/p>\n
First season of college football: 2020<\/p>\n
The seventh-year senior earned his undergraduate degree three years ago and will turn 25 during the season. Kim was very briefly a Big Ten starting quarterback \u2014 for five games at Michigan State in 2023. He was even the Big Ten Player of the Week for his Week 2 performance against Richmond. An injury cut his season short, after which he left for Coastal Carolina, spending one season there as a backup. But he finally found a home last year at EMU, where he threw for a MAC-leading 2,817 yards.<\/p>\n
QB Mitch Griffis, East Carolina<\/p>\n
First season of college football: 2020<\/p>\n
We\u2019ve come to our second former Wake Forest quarterback. Griffis spent his first four seasons there, culminating in a rocky nine-game stint as starter in 2023. After initially committing to Marshall that offseason, Griffis announced in June \u201924 that he was retiring from football \u2014 and he did, taking a job pouring concrete. But then he suddenly resurfaced last season as a third-stringer at Texas Tech. Now he\u2019s in the American, competing for ECU\u2019s starting job with another (brief) 2023 ACC starter, Miami\u2019s Emory Williams.<\/p>\n
![\"Alton](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/GettyImages-2245226320-scaled.jpeg\")
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\n Alton McCaskill has missed an entire season and enrolled at three schools since rushing for 16 touchdowns as a true freshman at Houston. (Brian Murphy \/ Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)<\/p>\n
RB Alton McCaskill, Sam Houston<\/p>\n
First season of college football: 2021<\/p>\n
McCaskill is a textbook case of \u201cWhatever happened to that guy?\u201d As a true freshman at Houston in 2021, he ran for 961 yards and 16 touchdowns to earn American Athletic Conference Rookie of the Year. It\u2019s been rough sledding since. After missing the next season to injury, he joined Deion Sanders\u2019 first Colorado team but shut it down after four games. From there, it was on to Arizona State, where he notched just seven carries in 2024. Then to Sam Houston, where he ran for 370 yards last season. Then, for once, he stayed put.<\/p>\n
TE Rocky Beers, Oklahoma<\/p>\n
First season of college football: 2021<\/p>\n
Admittedly, Beers made this list mostly because of his name. Google \u201cRocky Beers real name?\u201d (Yes, it is.) On the field, the 24-year-old has bounced from Air Force, where he barely played, to FIU, where he caught 18 passes in 2023 before missing nearly the entire 2024 season. He wound up at Colorado State, where he finally broke out last year with 388 receiving yards and seven TDs. Now he finally gets a P4 shot, at the alma mater of his sister, WNBA rookie Raegan Beers.<\/p>\n
TE Ty Thompson, Tulane<\/p>\n
First season of college football: 2021<\/p>\n
What a blast from the past for anyone who remembers Oregon\u2019s quarterback room from 2021-23. The former five-star recruit never seriously contended for a starting job there, what with Dan Lanning bringing in Bo Nix before Thompson\u2019s second season. He then transferred to Tulane, where he was widely expected to start in 2024 but lost the job to the then-unknown Darian Mensah. At that point, Thompson moved to tight end but unfortunately missed the 2025 season due to injury. He\u2019s hopeful his final year will finally be the year.<\/p>\n
OL Jake Renfro, Illinois<\/p>\n
First season of college football: 2020<\/p>\n
Remember way back in 2020 when Luke Fickell\u2019s Cincinnati team went to the Peach Bowl and nearly upset Georgia? And then the next year when the Bearcats reached the Playoff? Renfro was the starting center on both teams, earning all-conference honors in \u201921. Injuries cost him most of the next two seasons, but he returned to start for Fickell at Wisconsin in \u201924 before injuries cut last season short. Now, in a full-circle moment, he\u2019ll play for the school where his father, Rick, won a Big Ten title with the Illini in 1983.<\/p>\n
OL Geirean Hatchett, Washington<\/p>\n
First season of college football: 2020<\/p>\n
Just how old is Hatchett? The in-state recruit committed to Washington in July 2019 when Chris Petersen was still the Huskies\u2019 coach. He would go on to play for both Petersen\u2019s short-lived successor, Jimmy Lake, as well as Lake\u2019s replacement, Kalen DeBoer. When DeBoer left for Alabama, Hatchett left for Oklahoma but suffered a season-ending injury in the Sooners\u2019 opener. Last year, he returned to Washington to play for his third Huskies coach, Jedd Fisch, and became the starting right guard, reuniting with his brother and starting center, Landen.<\/p>\n
DefenseDL Bear Alexander, Oregon<\/p>\n
First season of college football: 2022<\/p>\n
Alexander is in his fifth season, but his career feels a lot longer. The former top-50 recruit became social media fodder for playing at four high schools in four years before eventually signing with Georgia. He played in a reserve role as a freshman, seeing only 178 snaps, before transferring to USC. He started in 2023, earning honorable mention All-Pac-12 honors, but had a reduced role in 2024 and redshirted after three games to preserve a year of eligibility. He resurrected his career at Oregon, earning second-team All-Big Ten honors in 2025.<\/p>\n
DL Stephon Wright, Colorado State<\/p>\n
First season of college football: 2019<\/p>\n
Wright has, uh, been around a while. He was the second-ranked recruit in Herm Edwards\u2019 2019 Arizona State class \u2014 behind Jayden Daniels. Wright played in four games that season and two in 2020. He then transferred to SMU, where he didn\u2019t play in 2021 or 2023 and had his 2022 cut short by injury after five games. He has finally found his footing the last two seasons, playing 10 games at Texas Southern in 2024 and starting nine last season at UConn. For his eighth season, he followed coach Jim Mora to Fort Collins.<\/p>\n
![\"Former](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/GettyImages-2248252026-scaled.jpeg\")
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\n A redshirt year and two injury-waiver seasons limited former UCLA defensive lineman Siale Taupaki, now at Penn State, to just nine games in his first four seasons. (Brian Murphy \/ Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)<\/p>\n
DL Siale Taupaki, Penn State<\/p>\n
First season of college football: 2019<\/p>\n
Taupaki arrives at Penn State following seven years at UCLA, where he signed just after Chip Kelly\u2019s first season there. A redshirt year and two injury-waiver seasons limited Taupaki to just nine games in his first four seasons. He finally took off in 2023, playing seven games before appearing in all 12 of the Bruins\u2019 games in each of the past two seasons, including eight starts. The 6-foot-2, 326-pounder will add some size and strength to the Penn State defensive line this year.<\/p>\n
Edge Brandon Mack, Houston<\/p>\n
First season of college football: 2019<\/p>\n
Mack signed with Ole Miss when Matt Luke (!) was still the head coach. He spent four years there, redshirting his first season and suffering a season-ending injury in training camp in 2021. Mack transferred to Houston before the 2023 season, but suffered another season-ending injury after two games. Now he has become a key contributor for the Cougars, starting 19 games and compiling 11 tackles for loss in the past two seasons. His five sacks last year were second on the team.<\/p>\n
LB Justin Flowe, UNLV<\/p>\n
First season of college football: 2020<\/p>\n
Flowe has been in the college football consciousness for nearly a decade \u2014 his first scholarship offer arrived in February 2017. The five-star chose then-Oregon coach Mario Cristobal over USC and Clay Helton, but injuries limited him to just one game each of his first two seasons. After logging just 199 snaps in 2022, he transferred to Arizona, where he played 17 games in two seasons in a rotational role. Flowe then transferred to UNLV in 2025 but posted just 14 tackles. He entered the portal in January before returning to UNLV for his final season.<\/p>\n
LB Mohamed Toure, Miami<\/p>\n
First season of college football: 2019<\/p>\n
Toure, the Hurricanes\u2019 2025 tackles leader with 84, was part of the final recruiting class at Rutgers for Chris Ash (8-32). He was quite the find, emerging into a productive player (168 tackles, 22.5 tackles for loss, 13.5 sacks) and team captain for the Scarlet Knights, but had his 2022 and 2024 seasons wiped out by injuries. He transferred to Miami in 2025 and became a key cog in a team that was on the cusp of a national title. He returns to help the Canes make another run.<\/p>\n
LB Devin Hightower, Tulsa<\/p>\n
First season of college football: 2020<\/p>\n
Our second member of Cincinnati\u2019s 2021 CFP team, Hightower is on his fifth stop, which came via Tulsa\u2019s portal house<\/a>. The former Michigan State signee\u2019s first career game for then-coach Mel Tucker came against Justin Fields-led Ohio State in 2020. He then spent two seasons at Cincinnati, but played just four games in 2021 and none in 2022. He started at Rhode Island in the FCS in 2024, notching 10 tackles for loss, and led UAB with 81 tackles in 2025. Tulsa will mark his third stop in the American conference.<\/p>\n LB Darius Snow, Texas<\/p>\n First season of college football: 2020<\/p>\n Another former Michigan Stater, Snow spent six seasons in East Lansing. He started nine games and was third on the team in tackles (87) during the Spartans\u2019 11-2 run in 2021. An injury limited him to just one game in 2022. After redshirting in 2023, he became a spot starter and key special-teamer the last two seasons, playing all 12 games and logging more than 300 snaps each season. Now he\u2019ll finish up at Texas, adding veteran depth to the linebacker corps and likely playing special teams, too.<\/p>\n CB Denver Harris, UNLV<\/p>\n First season of college football: 2022<\/p>\n Harris is still on his original five-to-play-four track, but it feels much longer. He was one of eight five-stars in Jimbo Fisher\u2019s top-ranked 2022 recruiting class at Texas A&M but didn\u2019t last long, getting suspended twice as a true freshman for a combined seven games. He transferred to LSU, but played only five games before transferring again. He played 11 games (starting three) at UTSA in 2024 before joining Dan Mullen\u2019s Last Chance U-esque UNLV portal class. This is the first time Harris has returned to the same school for a second year.<\/p>\n UNLV is really just a modern day Last Chance U pic.twitter.com\/62aIQ4OmJK<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 CFBTalkDaily (@CFBTalkDaily) August 8, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n S Rod Moore, Michigan<\/p>\n First season of college football: 2021<\/p>\n The man who \u201ccalled game\u201d<\/a> with a victory-sealing interception against Ohio State in 2023 is running it back one more time. After three strong years to start his Michigan career (including third-team All-Big Ten honors in 2023), he suffered a knee injury in spring 2024 that took two surgeries to recover from and caused him to miss the season. He returned last season against Nebraska<\/a> but was limited to just three games and needed a third surgery to clean up scar tissue. He\u2019s optimistic about his chances of staying on the field this season.<\/p>\n S Preston Zachman, Indiana<\/p>\n First season of college football: 2020<\/p>\n This list wouldn\u2019t be fitting without a Hoosier. Zachman spent his first five seasons at Wisconsin but had two cut short by injury (in 2022 and \u201925). The last time he played a full season, in 2024, he amassed a career-high 58 tackles along with two interceptions, three tackles for loss and four pass breakups. Zachman had two interceptions last year despite playing only three games (both picks in the season opener against Miami of Ohio). Now he\u2019ll spend his last year with the reigning champs.<\/p>\n SpecialistsK Peyton Woodring, Georgia<\/p>\n First season of college football: 2023<\/p>\n Kickers don\u2019t need to be in school for six years to feel like they\u2019ve been there for an eternity. Woodring, an All-SEC honoree the past two seasons, has been the Bulldogs\u2019 primary placekicker since the first game of his freshman season, when he was named a Lou Groza Award semifinalist. He\u2019s made 59 of 67 career field goals \u2014 including 6 of 10 from 50 yards \u2014 and all 173 of his extra points.<\/p>\n P Daniel Sparks, Virginia<\/p>\n First season of college football: 2020<\/p>\n Sparks is the rare seventh-year senior who\u2019s never missed a season to injury. He was the starting punter at Louisiana-Monroe in 2020, then redshirted at Minnesota in 2021 before becoming Virginia\u2019s punter in 2022. You may recall that season ended prematurely for the Cavaliers after a tragic shooting that killed three members of the team. Players like Sparks were granted an extra year of eligibility, which he will use this season after averaging 47.2 yards per kick last season for Virginia\u2019s breakout 11-win team.<\/p>\n