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Ashton Jeanty takes home the Heisman Trophy

• Ashton Jeanty deserves the Heisman Award right now: Boise State running back could break every speed record in the book at that pace.

• Travis Hunter receives the Paul Hornung Award: Being the greatest two-way player, Colorado The star wide receiver/cornerback is an easy choice for college football’s most versatile player.

• Unleash your benefits with a PFF+ subscription: Get full access to all of our seasonal fantasy tools, including weekly ratings, WR/CB Matchup Schedules, weekly forecasts, Start-sit optimizer and much more. Register now!

Estimated reading time: 8 minutes


We’ve officially reached the halfway point of the 2024 college football season, and the best players and teams are separating themselves from the rest.

After opening PFF Midseason All-American Team Last week, let’s look at who would deserve all of college football’s top honors if the season ended today.


Heisman Trophy/Maxwell Award (Best Player)

Winner: RB Ashton Ginty Boise State

A player from a non-energy conference has not won the Heisman Trophy since 1990. BYU Defenseman Ty Detmertuk took home the award. A non-defensive player from a non-power conference hasn’t taken home a heavy-handed trophy since. Naval running back Jay Bellino in 1960. Suffice to say, the odds are stacked against Ashton Jeanty, but his absurd numbers this season make him the current favorite to do the unthinkable and win the Heisman.

Ashton Ginty’s historic first half of the season:
Category Ashton Zhanty Next closest RB Janty from 12 games step Current single season record
Hasty assessment 98.5 91.4 (Fluff Bothwell) 98.5 96.2* (Blake Choir2022)
Rushing yards 1248 1033 (Caleb Johnson) 2496 2628 (Barry Sanders, 1988)
Rushing Touchdowns 17 17 (Dylan Sampson) 34 37 (Barry Sanders, 1988)
Yards After Contact 914 687 (Omarion Hampton) 1828 1.355* (Jonathan Taylor2017)
Forced tackling miss 56 51 (Corey Kiner) 112 104* (Sesame Robinson2022)

*Since PFF began compiling college football rankings in 2014.

Keep in mind that its seasonal pace is for the regular season only. These numbers become even more ridiculous when you consider the fact that Jinty could be in the Mountain West Championship Game and the College Football Playoff/Bowl Game. He could break every FBS rushing record if he keeps up this pace and becomes the rare Group of Five player to take home the Heisman.


Chuck Bednarik Award/Bronko Nagurski Trophy (Best Defensive Player)

Winner: EDGE Josiah Stewart Michigan

Stewart’s 93.8 PFF grade ranks ahead of all cornerbacks in the country, regardless of position. His pass-rush win percentage (29.15%) is nearly eight points higher than the next-closest Power Four quarterback, and his run defense grade (90.2) ranks third in the country for his position.


Davey O’Brien Award (Best Defender)

Winner: QB Cam Ward Miami (Florida)

Miami has its highest ranking (sixth) in seven years thanks to the superstar’s transfer from Washington State. Ward’s 92.3 PFF grade leads all quarterbacks in the Power Four this season. He also leads the nation in passing yards (2,548), passing yards (24) and third in rushing yards (20).


Doak Walker Award (Best Running Back)

Winner: RB Ashton Ginty Boise State

Biletnikov Award (best receiver)

Winner: WR Tre Harris Ole Miss

Harris is currently the top wide receiver in America with a 90.3 grade. His 987 receiving yards are also 83 more than any other pass catcher in college football. Harris also leads all FBS receivers with 462 yards after the catch and 5.25 yards per carry. The next closest receiver in the last picture averages just 3.71 yards per route run.


John Mackey Award (Best Tight End)

Winner: TE Harold Fannin Jr. Bowling Green

Fannin is the highest-rated player in college football this year, earning a ridiculous 96.7 PFF grade. His 495 yards after the catch lead all players in the country, regardless of position. The junior’s 873 receiving yards are 279 more than any tight end in the country. He currently has a pace of 1,497 yards in the regular season alone. The current FBS record for a tight end is 1,352 receiving yards, set by Texas TechJace Amaro in 2013.


Outland Trophy (Best Inside Lineman)

Winner: OT Wyatt Milum, West Virginia

Milum has been a versatile player for the Mountaineers this season. He is the only offensive player in America with over 85 grades in both pass blocking and run blocking, and his overall grade of 92.1 is the highest in the country by nearly two points. Among FBS offensive linemen who didn’t give up a pass this season, Milum had 193 pass blockers, 46 more than anyone else. He also ranks second among all offensive tackles in run blocking grade (90.1). At this rate, Milum is working his way into the first round of the 2025 NFL Draft.


Rotary Lombardi Award (Best Lineman)

Winner: EDGE Josiah Stewart Michigan

Rimington Award (Best Centre)

Winner: Jacob Gardner State of Colorado

Gardner’s PFF grade of 89.0 is more than five points higher than any other center in the country this season. His pass-blocking grade of 86.6 is second at the position, and his pass-blocking grade of 84.8 is the highest by 5.5 points. He allowed no sacks or hits in 214 pass-blocking snaps while only giving up pressure once.


Ted Hendricks Award (Best Defensive End)

Winner: EDGE Josiah Stewart Michigan

Butkus Award (Best Midfielder)

Winner: L.B.J. Higgins Iowa

Higgins is the most valuable linebacker in college football based on PFF wins above average, thanks in large part to his outstanding coverage abilities. His 94.3 coverage rating is more than three points higher than any other linebacker, and his two interceptions are the best among the top four at his position.


Jim Thorpe Award (Best Defensive Player)

Winner: CB Jade Barron Texas

Barron has played primarily as a corner throughout his career, but this year the transition to the outside looked to be seamless. His 89.2 PFF grade leads all FBS corners, and he trails only a 28.2 passer rating when targeted. For reference, hitting the ball on every play produces a passer rating of 39.6.


Paul Hornung Award (Most Versatile Player)

Winner: WR/CB Travis Hunter Colorado

This is perhaps the easiest award to give, as Hunter is arguably the greatest two-way player in the history of the sport. His 82.4 receiving grade ranks in the top 20 among all receivers in the country, while he is tied for 18th in receiving yards (604) and 17th in receiving touchdowns (six). Hunter’s 82.8 defensive grade is 13th among FBS corners, and he is one of only three corners in the country with over 80 grades in coverage and as a run back. The most promising prospect on PFF’s 2025 NFL Draft Big Board his passer rating was just 44.0 this year and he picked off two passes.


Lou Groza Award (Best Kicker)

Winner: K. Ben Sauls Pittsburgh

Sauls has made all 10 of his field goals and all 28 of his extra point attempts this season. He completed all three of his attempts from 50-plus yards, including a career-long 58-yard effort against California this set a program record.


Ray Guy Award (Best Player)

Winner: P. Brett Thorson Georgia

Thorson’s 94.2 punting grade is more than three points higher than anyone else in the country. Only three of his punts were returned for a total of -9 yards. 14 of his 22 punts have landed inside the 20-yard line, and he also leads the FBS with an average hang time of 4.64 seconds.


Johnny “Jet” Rogers Award (Best Return Specialist)

Winner: CB Rayshawn Pleasant Tulane

Pleasant’s 92.0 yield is nearly six points higher than anyone else in the country. Although the cornerback returned only six punts, two of them were for touchdowns. In fact, he is still the only player in America with multiple return touchdowns.


Sean Alexander Freshman of the Year Award (Best Freshman)

Winner: WR Ryan Williams Alabama

While the fact that Ryan Williams is only 17 years old has been repeated ad nauseum on air, it doesn’t make what he did this year any less funny. He’s already become the clear No. 1 option for the Crimson Tide and leads all true freshmen in the country with 649 receiving yards, 100 more than anyone else. Despite being so young in his career, he already has a legendary performance in an instant classic win over Georgia.


Burlsworth Trophy (Best player to start his career as a player)

Winner: S. Will Brooks Tennessee

Brooks ranks third among Power Four safeties this year with an 88.5 coverage grade. He allowed only three first downs in his coverage while picking off two passes and allowing two more incompletions.


Joe Moore Award (Best Offensive Line)

Winner: Iowa Hawkeyes

IowaThe offensive line is the only unit in the FBS to have top-10 grades in both pass blocking and run blocking, ranking ninth in both categories. In fact, no other offensive line even ranked in the top 15 for either team. They helped Caleb Johnson rush for 357 yards before contact, more than any other running back in America.


Home Depot Trainer of the Year Award (Best Trainer)

Winner: HC Curt Cignetti, Indiana

Indiana Last year the team finished 3-9, its third straight season with four wins or fewer. In Cignetti’s first year, the Hoosiers are 7-0 and ranked 13th in the country. If Indiana can win four of its last five games, it should earn a berth in the College Football Playoff. It’s quite a turnaround for a program whose last bowl game was four years ago.


Frank Broyles Award (Best Assistant Coach)

Winner: OK Andy Kotelnicki Penn State

Kotelnitsky made a complete revolution. Penn StateThe offense is in his first year as offensive coordinator, which is the main reason the Nittany Lions have their highest ranking in seven years (third). Despite losing serious talent to the NFL Draft and transfer portal, Penn StateThe team’s offense ranks eighth in EPA per game after ranking 27th last year. Meanwhile, Kansasthe school he left ranks 28th in EPA per game after finishing fifth in the 2023 class, despite returning most of its star players from a year ago.

Penn State also ranks seventh in the rankings this season after ranking 81st the year before. The Nittany Lions are using pre-shifts or motions in 63.3% of their games after doing so just 45.7% of the time last season.

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