Pitt transfer linebacker Rasheem Biles was highly sought-after in the portal.
The player BiteScore was carefully crafted using AI-written equations that favor statistical game averages while factoring opponent strength and player experience.
Any writer can give you their subjective player rankings. But we strive to deliver ours with real numbers and no opinions. Here’s our top-10 returning players for the 2026-27 college football season:
(Note that we do not rank offensive lineman or tight ends due to a lack of available blocking stats).
1. Rasheem Biles – Linebacker, Texas
10.00 BiteScore
Biles averaged a ridiculous 10.1 total tackles and 1.7 tackles for loss per game in 2025 while still posting great numbers in coverage. The Pitt transfer broke our system.
2. Xavier Atkins – Linebacker, Auburn
10.00 BiteScore
Atkins posted 7 total tackles and nearly a sack per game in 2025. Alex Golesh is inheriting a stud at linebacker.
3. Leonard Moore – Cornerback, Notre Dame
10.00 BiteScore
Moore is everything you could want out of a cornerback, tallying 0.5 picks and 0.7 passes defended per game in 2025. The Fighting Irish are returning a stacked defense.
4. Jeremiah Smith – Wide Receiver, Ohio State
9.74 BiteScore
This was the obvious one. Smith caught 6.69 passes and went for 95.6 yards per game in 2025. One can argue that he’s been the best receiver in the nation since his high school graduation.
5. John Henry Daley – EDGE, Michigan
9.65 BiteScore
Henry Daley was a force to be reckoned with at Utah, averaging over a sack a game in 2025. He should feast in Ann Arbor.
6. Sammy Brown – Linebacker, Clemson
9.60 BiteScore
NFL defensive coordinators have to be thrilled about this linebacker class. Like Biles and Atkins, Brown had a tackle for loss a game in 2025 while averaging 8.15 total.
7. Ahmad Hardy – Running Back, Missouri
9.57 BiteScore
Hardy averaged 126.8 yards per game and 6.4 yards every time he touched the ball in 2025. Not to mention a 300-yard performance against Mississippi State.
8. Colin Simmons – EDGE, Texas
9.53 BiteScore
Simmons is regarded by many as the top returning defender. 0.92 sacks and 1.19 tackles per loss a game in 2025 explains the hype.
9. Justice Haynes – Running Back, Georgia Tech
9.49 BiteScore
Haynes appeared in only seven games last year, but made the most of it with 122.4 yards per game on 6.8 yards per touch. He will thrive in the run-heavy Yellow Jacket offense.
10. Will Echoles – Defensive Tackle, Ole Miss
9.37 BiteScore
Echoles was an immovable object last year for the Rebels, making 0.77 tackles for loss a game in the interior. Pete Golding is lucky he kept this guy around.
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