Jeremiah Smith, Colin Simmons Lead Deep Roster of College Football's 2026 Statistical Leaders

Jeremiah Smith, Colin Simmons among college football's active statistical leaders entering 2026 season

College football enters 2026 with an unusually deep group of returning producers across every major statistical category

By Cody Nagel

May 16, 2026 at 10:49 am ET • 11 min read

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Even though the transfer portal continues to reshape rosters across the country , it hasn't reset the sport's statistical leaders. Many of the players who rank among the national leaders in career production at the FBS level are now doing so in new uniforms, while others remain in place and continue building on multi-year résumés that stretch back several seasons.

There are plenty of familiar names on these leaderboards, but also a few lesser-known players who have produced steadily at the Group of Six level, right there among the national leaders, too.

Below is a look at the active leaders in career FBS production entering the 2026 season across passing, rushing, receiving and defense statistics.

* denotes transfer

💪 Passing Leaders

Many of college football 's most experienced and productive passers from a year ago returned to school for another season, resulting in an unusually deep pool of veteran talent across the FBS. Ten quarterbacks enter 2026 with at least 30 starts to their name, while another 27 bring at least 20 -- and remarkably, 19 of those 37 are suiting up for a new school.

So, who leads the active career FBS passing yards list?

Career yards passing

Player Team Yards Games

1. Josh Hoover*

Indiana

9,629

36

2. Rocco Becht*

Penn State

9,274

42

3. Noah Fifita

Arizona

9,183

40

4. Jaylen Raynor*

Iowa State

8,694

37

5. Mikey Keene*

Arizona State

8,245

39 6. Jayden Maiva USC 7,997 34 7. Kevin Jennings SMU 7,709 39 8. Byrum Brown * Auburn 7,690 35 9. Anthony Colandrea* Nebraska 7,542 33 10. Owen McCown UTSA 7,461 37

There's a reason Indiana identified Josh Hoover as the man to step in and keep the program rolling after its national championship run. No active FBS quarterback has thrown for more career yards, and Hoover built that résumé over three seasons at TCU before transferring to Bloomington. But he has a bit of a decision-making issue that needs to be figured out. His 33 career interceptions also lead all returning quarterbacks, and his Whoopsy Daisy Rate (h/t Tom Fornelli) ranks ninth worst.

You'll notice the first nine players on this list are at Power Four programs, but five of them spent at least one season at the Group of Six level. Owen McCown is the outlier going the other direction. He was at Colorado in 2022 before quickly rising up the record books at UTSA.

Career passing touchdowns

Player Team TD Games

1. Noah Fifita

Arizona

73

40

2. Josh Hoover*

Indiana

71

36

3. Mikey Keene*

Arizona State

65

39

4. Rocco Becht*

Penn State

64

42

t-5. Byrum Brown

Auburn

61

35 t-5. Owen McCown UTSA 61 37 7. Brendan Sorsby* Texas Tech 60 35 8. Darian Mensah* Miami (FL) 56 27 9. Kevin Jennings SMU 55 39 10. Caden Veltkamp FAU 54 29

Noah Fifita quietly put up career-best numbers at Arizona last season, his third as the Wildcats' starter. His 29 touchdown passes against just six interceptions ranked eighth in the FBS among qualified quarterbacks (min. 300 attempts). A third year in the Seth Doege system could be his best yet. Fifita already owns the program record for career touchdown passes and needs just 823 yards to overtake Nick Foles for the all-time passing mark.

Brendan Sorsby is included on this list even though his eligibility for 2026 remains in question amid an NCAA investigation for illegal sports betting . The veteran transfer was set to lead the Texas Tech offense after two productive seasons at Cincinnati and previously Indiana, where he made seven starts.

Meanwhile, Darian Mensah gives Miami another proven quarterback as it eyes a return to the College Football Playoff National Championship Game. Mensah led the ACC with 34 touchdown passes last season at Duke before transferring to the Hurricanes.

💨 Rushing Leaders

Fourteen of the 20 leading rushers from last season are back, setting the stage for another loaded year on the ground. That group is headlined by a pair of Doak Walker Award finalists in Missouri 's Ahmad Hardy and Ole Miss ' Kewan Lacy . The duo finished No. 1 and No. 2, respectively, in the SEC and established themselves among the nation's elite.

Also back in the mix is Cam Cook , who led the FBS with 1,659 rushing yards last season before transferring to West Virginia . His total marked the lowest by an FBS rushing leader in a full season (excluding 2020) since 1992, when San Diego State 's Marshall Faulk finished with 1,630. That sets up a bigger-picture question heading into this year: will college football see just its second 2,000-yard rusher in seven seasons, after four players hit the mark back in 2019?

Career yards rushing

Player Position Team Yards Games

1. Ahmad Hardy

RB

Missouri

3,000

25

2. Makhi Hughes*

RB

Houston

2,849

32

3. Jalen Buckley

RB

Western Michigan

2,716

38

4. Cam Edwards *

RB

Michigan State

2,690

36

5. LJ Martin

RB

BYU

2,541

33 6. Ayo Adeyi* RB Oklahoma State 2,480 41 7. Jai'Den Thomas RB UNLV 2,457 40 8. Darius Taylor RB Minnesota 2,455 28 9. Devon Dampier QB Utah 2,329 33 10. Mark Fletcher Jr . RB Miami (FL) 2,313 36

It is hard to argue that Hardy isn't the top returning running back in college football, but the focus right now is less on what he's done on the field and more on his health and recovery. The Missouri star was released from the hospital and began rehab after suffering a gunshot wound to his upper leg at a concert in Mississippi last weekend , an incident that required emergency surgery. Missouri officials have expressed strong support for Hardy and his family, with the program fully behind him as he begins the long road back.

On the field, Hardy has built one of the most productive early-career résumés in the sport in just two seasons, beginning at Louisiana Monroe in 2024 before transferring to Missouri ahead of last year, where he immediately emerged as the SEC's top back and the Power Four rushing leader.

Elsewhere, Makhi Hughes returns to a familiar system with Willie Fritz after a brief stop at Oregon , where he appeared in just six games and totaled 70 yards on 17 carries. Prior to that, Hughes put together two of the most productive single seasons in Tulane history in 2023 and 2024.

Career rushing touchdowns

Player Position Team TD Games

1. Devon Dampier

QB

Utah

33

33

2. Byrum Brown*

QB

Auburn

31

35

3. Jai'Den Thomas

RB

UNLV

31

40

4. Ahmad Hardy

RB

Missouri

29

25

5. Jalen Buckley

RB

Western Michigan

28

38 6. Cam Edwards* RB Michigan State 27 36 t-7. Mark Fletcher Jr. RB Miami (FL) 26 36 t-7. John Mateer QB Oklahoma 26 36 t-9. Braydon Bennett* RB Eastern Michigan 25 47 t-9. Cam Cook* RB West Virginia 25 34 t-9. Caleb Hawkins* RB Oklahoma State 25 13

Yes, the top two returnees for career FBS rushing touchdowns are quarterbacks. Devon Dampier had 19 as a sophomore at New Mexico in 2024 when he matched the single-season program record. He added 10 more in his first year at Utah in 2025 and looks to build on that production despite a new offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach.

Byrum Brown takes his production to the Power Four level following coach Alex Golesh from South Florida to Auburn. The dual-threat quarterback has consistently been a scoring force, posting double-digit rushing touchdowns in each of his past two full seasons (he was limited for much of 2024 due to injury). Brown also trailed only Heisman Trophy winner Fernando Mendoza in total offensive touchdowns last season.

He now enters a new stage of his career as one of the most dynamic statistical profiles in recent memory. Brown is also one of only six FBS quarterbacks in the past 11 years to throw for at least 3,000 yards and rush for at least 1,000 yards in a single season, joining Deshaun Watson (2015), Lamar Jackson (2016, 2017), Kyler Murray (2018), Jalen Hurts (2019) and Jayden Daniels (2023).

👐 Receiving Leaders

The race for the 2026 Biletnikoff Award begins with Ohio State standout Jeremiah Smith as the clear early favorite, but there are plenty of others with a chance to chase him down. Ten of the top 16 leading receivers in college football from last season are back for another run, including four of the top five, a group that -- alongside Smith -- features Colorado's Danny Scudero , Texas State 's Beau Sparks , Miami's Malachi Toney and Oklahoma State's Wyatt Young .

There's a similar trend at wide receiver as there was at running back, with production more spread out than in past years. Scudero's FBS-leading 1,297 receiving yards last season were also the lowest total for a national leader since 1987. Will the trend continue in 2026, or will a few receivers break away at the top?

Career yards receiving

Player Team Yards Games

1. Jeremiah Smith

Ohio State

2,558

29

2. Easton Messer

FAU

2,373

44

3. Pofele Ashlock

Hawaii

2,288

37

4. Amare Thomas

Houston

2,073

37

5. Eric Singleton Jr.*

Florida

2,002

36 6. Jayce Brown * LSU 1,972 33 7. Duce Robinson Florida State 1,828 36 8. Chase Sowell* Penn State 1,823 38 9. Trent Walker* Houston 1,790 36 10. Evan Stewart Oregon 1,776 31

Smith has already cemented himself as one of the best receivers in Ohio State history and could further entrench his place in the record books with another productive campaign in 2026. He lived up to his billing as 247Sports' No. 1 overall prospect in the 2024 recruiting class, shattering Buckeyes freshman records with 76 receptions for 1,315 yards and 15 touchdowns, then matched that level of production in 2025 to move within striking distance of Ohio State's all-time marks in all three major receiving categories.

He needs just 43 receptions to surpass Emeka Egbuka (205, 2021-24), 341 receiving yards to overtake Michael Jenkins (2,898, 2000-03) and nine touchdowns to pass Chris Olave (35, 2018-21) as the program's career leader before an expected early departure for the 2027 NFL Draft .

Career receiving touchdowns

Player Team TD Games

1. Jeremiah Smith

Ohio State

27

29

2. Pofele Ashlock

Hawaii

23

37

3. Amare Thomas

Houston

23

37

4. Devin McCuin*

Ohio State

16

32

5. Chrishon McCray

Michigan State

16

31 t-6. Easton Messer FAU 15 44 t-6. Coy Eakin Texas Tech 15 40 t-6. Javon Tracy Minnesota 15 44 t-9. Victor Snow* NC State 14 35 t-9. Kenny Odom* South Florida 14 23 t-9. Isaiah Horton* Texas A&M 14 42

There are also some less prominent names near the top of this list, beginning with Pofele Ashlock, who has been a consistent playmaker for Hawaii over the past three seasons and now enters 2026 looking to reach double-digit touchdown receptions for the first time in his career. Amare Thomas is another name to watch after emerging as one of the best wideouts in the Big 12 in his first year at Houston in 2025.

Devin McCuin could be an important next piece in Ohio State's passing game after Carnell Tate went No. 4 overall in the 2026 NFL Draft. McCuin caught eight touchdown passes at UTSA last season, matching his combined total from the previous two years and giving the Buckeyes another proven red-zone option.

Texas A&M also turned to the transfer portal to replace lost production, landing Isaiah Horton from Alabama . Horton likewise posted a career-high eight touchdown catches last season.

🛡️ Defensive Leaders

The defensive side of the ball typically doesn't draw the same attention as offense, where most of the highlight plays -- and most of the popular names in college football -- tend to live. But that doesn't mean defensive production is any less important heading into 2026. So who are the sport's most proven returning defenders entering this season?

Career tackles

Player Position Team Tackles Games

1. Ben Roberts

LB

Texas Tech

280

_Originally reported by [CBS Sports](https://www.cbssports.com/college-football/news/jeremiah-smith-colin-simmons-college-footballs-most-productive-players/)._