On Thursday, ESPN released their list of the top 100 players in college football for the upcoming 2024-25 season and a pair of Jayhawks made the cut.
Kansas football quarterback Jalon Daniels and cornerback Cobee Bryant were both named as two of the best players in the country. Daniels was ranked No. 40 overall, while Bryant came in at No. 77.
According to the article, players were ranked based on “past contributions on the field, along with their anticipated roles for 2024, their recruiting pedigrees and their draft stocks, and formulated a reasonable expectation for this coming season.”
Rankings were compiled among a panel of ESPN experts who went through several rounds of voting to determine the final list. Here is what they said about each KU player.
Cobee Bryant: “A lockdown corner who doesn't get a lot of passes thrown in his direction, Bryant is a two-time first-team All-Big 12 selection who returned for his senior season. He is eighth in school history with nine career INTs and his two pick-sixes are tied for the most at KU all-time.”
Jalon Daniels: “Last year's Big 12 Preseason Offensive Player of the Year was sidelined with back problems after just three games. When healthy, Daniels is one of the most dynamic quarterbacks in the country, and he is currently the career leader for completion percentage in Kansas history (63.6%). In 2022, he led Kansas to its first bowl game since 2008, then threw for 544 yards and five TDs and ran for another in the AutoZone Liberty Bowl.”
Both Daniels and Bryant are clearly deserving of this recognition as they are two of the best at their position in the Big 12 and the country.
However, there is one Jayhawk who was noticeably absent from this list.
Running back Devin Neal surprisingly did not make the list despite rushing for more than 1,200 yards and 15 touchdowns last season. In fact, Neal has rushed for more than 1,000 yards in back-to-back seasons, while also adding 214 yards receiving and a touchdown through the air in 2023.
Heading into the 2024-25 season, Neal has been named Preseason All-Big 12 and Preseason All-American by Phil Steele and Athlon. He is also on both the Maxwell Award and Doak Walker Award watch lists – given to the best all-around player and best running back in college football respectively.
It’s hard to imagine how a player with those accolades and preseason projections playing in a premier conference in college football doesn’t make a list of the top 100 players.
But after having been left off of the Big 12 Media Preseason Team as well, it seems this has only added fuel to the fire for Neal for this upcoming season in which he has a great chance at becoming KU’s all-time leading rusher.
— Devin Neal💨 (@Dev_Neal23) August 15, 2024