• Travis Hunter wins the Heisman: Colorado’s two-way superstar takes home college football’s highest individual honor due to his dominance on both sides of the ball.
• Ashton Jeanty runs away with the Doak Walker Award: Boise State’s star tailback had one of the greatest seasons ever by a collegiate running back.
• Unlock your edge with a PFF+ subscription: Get full access to all of our in-season fantasy tools, including weekly rankings, WR/CB matchup charts, weekly projections, the Start-Sit Optimizer and more. Sign up now!
Estimated reading time: 7 minutes
Now that the college football regular season is 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’s who we would give 23 of college football’s major awards to.
Heisman Trophy/Maxwell Award (Best Player): WR/CB Travis Hunter, Colorado Buffaloes
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 are second to only Tetairoa McMillan in that group. His 86.2 offensive grade is fifth among all wideouts in the nation.
On defense, Hunter’s 90.9 coverage grade is also the highest among all corners in the country. His 42.0 passer rating allowed is eighth among Power Four corners while his four interceptions are tied for third in that same group.
Chuck Bednarik Award/Bronko Nagurski Trophy (Best Defensive Player): DI Mason Graham, Michigan Wolverines
Not a lot went right for Michigan in its national title defense this season, as the Wolverines finished with just a 7-5 record. Their defensive line stayed dominant, headlined by Graham in the middle. His 92.4 run-defense grade led all FBS interior defensive linemen this season while his 34 pressures were tied for third.
Davey O’Brien Award (Best Quarterback): QB Cam Ward, Miami (FL) Hurricanes
Ward launched himself up draft boards with a stellar 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 while placing second with 4,123 passing yards. Ward’s 28 big-time throws are tied for third among all signal-callers in the nation as well.
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 collegiate running back, whether it be by the traditional stats or PFF’s advanced metrics. His 2,288 rushing yards are currently fifth all-time while his 28 rushing touchdowns are tied for ninth. Jeanty’s also already set numerous PFF College records.
Ashton Jeanty’s historic 2024 season in the PFF College era (Since 2014)
Jeanty’s 1,695 yards after contact are more than any other FBS running back’s total rushing yards this season. Keep in mind that he still 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 for Arizona this year in its 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 tied for the most in that same group. McMillan was also incredibly dangerous after the catch, placing third among FBS wideouts with 28 forced missed tackles on receptions.
John Mackey Award (Best Tight End): TE Harold Fannin Jr., Bowling Green Falcons
We were splitting hairs between Fannin and Penn State’s Tyler Warren for this award, as each turned in incredible seasons. Bowling Green’s star gets the nod here as his 1,342 receiving yards are second in the nation, regardless of position. That figure is also just 10 yards away from the all-time single-season record for a tight end, set by Texas Tech’s Jace Amaro in 2013. Fannin could easily break that record if he decides to play in the Falcons’ bowl game.
His 95.8 PFF grade is higher than anyone else in college football. And for those questioning Fannin’s level of competition, keep in mind that he posted a 94.1 receiving grade with a combined 282 receiving yards against 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 Gators
Slaughter’s had a murderer’s row of a 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 grading as the Power Four’s best center, posting an 82.6 mark this year. Slaughter’s 79.1 run-blocking grade is also the best in the Power Four and he’s only allowed a pressure on 2.3% of his pass-blocking snaps.
Ted Hendricks Award (Best Defensive End): EDGE Abdul Carter, Penn State Nittany Lions
Carter is currently a top-five prospect on PFF’s 2025 NFL Draft big board due to his incredible season. He’s currently the most valuable edge defender in the nation according to PFF’s wins above average metric and fourth in pass-rushing grade (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-graded and most valuable Power Four linebacker this year according to PFF’s wins above-average metric. He led the nation with a 93.9 coverage grade while his four interceptions were tied for the most in the Power Four.
Jim Thorpe Award (Best Defensive Back): CB Travis Hunter, Colorado Buffaloes
Paul Hornung Award (Most Versatile Player): WR/CB Travis Hunter, Colorado Buffaloes
Lou Groza Award (Best Placekicker): K Ben Sauls, Pittsburgh Panthers
Sauls led the nation with a 95.5 field goal/extra point grade this season. He nailed five of his six tries from 50-plus yards while converting all 41 of his extra-point tries. Sauls was also perfect from inside of 39 yards, making all six of his tries.
Ray Guy Award (Best Punter): P Brett Thorson, Georgia Bulldogs
Thorson’s 93.3 punting grade was over three points higher than anyone else in America this year. He led the nation with an average hangtime of 4.53 seconds while his average net yardage of 44.2 yards was 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. He forced 10 missed tackles on just 18 returns this season.
Shaun Alexander Freshman of the Year Award (Best Freshman): WR Jeremiah Smith, Ohio State Buckeyes
Considering Smith was the highest-rated wide receiver recruit ever, it shouldn’t be any surprise that he hit the ground running in Columbus. The top overall recruit in the 2024 high school class leads all true freshmen with 930 receiving yards and 10 touchdown catches this year. He’s the eighth-most valuable receiver according to PFF’s wins above average metric, the only true freshman in the top-10 of his position.
Burlsworth Trophy (Best player who started his career as a walk-on): LB Shaun Dolac, Buffalo Bulls
One can make a strong argument Dolac deserves the Butkus Award as well. His 92.2 PFF grade leads all FBS linebackers as do his five interceptions and 99 plays where he made first contact on the ball carrier. Dolac’s 21 tackles for loss/no gain are also tied for second among all linebackers as well.
Joe Moore Award (Best Offensive Line): Texas Longhorns
Texas’ offensive line has a 95.2 offensive line grade this year, six points higher than any other FBS front five. The Longhorns are also sixth among Power Four offensive lines with an 80.7 run-blocking grade. Their 11.6% pressure rate is also fourth in America. Those numbers are even more impressive considering Texas has faced some elite defensive fronts like Michigan, Oklahoma, Georgia and Texas A&M.
Home Depot Coach of the Year Award (Best Coach): HC Curt Cignetti, Indiana Hoosiers
From 2021 to 2023, Indiana had just 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 remade the roster in one offseason, bringing in 31 new players with many becoming key contributors. Indiana was second among FBS schools in offensive grade, defensive grade, offensive EPA per play and defensive EPA per play.
Frank Broyles Award (Best Assistant Coach): DC Pete Kwiatkowski, Texas Longhorns
Many thought Texas’ offense would have to carry a defense that lost a pair of superstar defensive tackles in Byron Murphy II and T’Vondre Sweat. Instead, it’s been the opposite. The Longhorns lead the FBS with a 94.6 defensive grade while their -0.314 EPA per play figure is easily the best in America as well.