"Skim through the Heisman Trophy voting, and seven of the top 10 players will be on the field in this year's College Football Playoff. Our apologies to Jeremiyah Love, whom we'd love to see there, too, but that's an issue for Notre Dame and the ACC to work out. But that list only scratches the surface of the depth of talent that will be showcased in this year's playoff."
"We've left off a bevy of names that we'll no doubt come to regret -- Georgia's KJ Bolden, Oregon's Bear Alexander and Alabama's Germie Bernard and Kadyn Proctor -- but that's only another reminder of just how much star power will be on display in the coming weeks."
"But the bigger point here was to identify not only the players who put up the best numbers during the regular season or the biggest names on the teams most likely to make a deep run, but to find the best players, the ones who'll have a chance to have postseason star turns the way Will Howard, Cam Skattebo and Jack Sawyer did in 2024."
Seven of the top 10 Heisman vote-getters will play in the College Football Playoff, yet many other high-end talents populate the 12 playoff rosters. From Ohio State's depth to James Madison's upstarts, the teams contain future NFL draft picks, established college stars and under-the-radar prospects ready for breakout moments. An ESPN panel narrowed the 12 rosters into a ranking of the 50 best playoff players, weighing regular-season production, team context and postseason potential. The list purposefully highlights players most likely to deliver postseason star turns similar to Will Howard, Cam Skattebo and Jack Sawyer in 2024.
Read at ESPN.com
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