On3 Biletnikoff Award Poll: Top 10 midseason player rankings

At the midway point of the 2025 season, the picture is becoming clearer on who some of the top players in America are. And the race for the Biletnikoff Award is heating up.

The Biletnikoff is given annually to the nation’s top receiver. There were some heavy favorites for the award going into the year — most notably Ohio State‘s Jeremiah Smith — but the race is pretty wide open at the moment.

On3’s national experts recently voted on the midseason player rankings for the Biletnikoff Award, giving you a better idea how the race is shaping up. Voting in the poll were Andy Staples, Ari Wasserman, Chris Low, Brett McMurphy, Pete Nakos, JD PicKell and Charles Power. Here’s how the results shook out.

1. Makai Lemon, USC – 40 points

2025 STATS: 48 catches for 758 yards, 6 TD
Lemon has been the star in the USC passing game, putting up huge numbers just about every weekend. He has already scored six times and, impressively, half of those touchdowns have come against ranked opponents.

The USC standout leads the current Biletnikoff Award poll, but he’s got a couple others hot on his heels. Outside of a game against Oregon later in the year, not many of his remaining contests will be marquee matchups. So he’s got to make them count when they come.

2. Chris Bell, Louisville – 35

2025 STATS: 44 catches for 638 yards, 6 TD
After a relatively ho-hum start to the season, Bell has absolutely exploded in the last few weeks. He has averaged 10 catches for 147 yards and two scores over the last three games.

Perhaps most importantly, Bell has posted his biggest results in some of the biggest games. He had 170 yards and two touchdowns in an overtime loss to ranked Virginia, then snagged nine catches for 136 yards and two touchdowns in an upset of No. 2 Miami. Big-time stuff.

3. Jeremiah Smith, Ohio State – 33

2025 STATS: 49 catches for 602 yards, 7 TD
Perhaps the most recognizable name at the receiver position going into the year, Smith had some built-in advantages when it comes to the Biletnikoff Award. And nothing he has done so far has invalidated those.

Smith has been lights out all year. Twice he has topped the 100-yard mark receiving. He’s also had two multi-touchdown games. Ohio State is No. 1 in the country, so Smith will enjoy quite a large spotlight the rest of the way.

4. Carnell Tate, Ohio State – 24

2025 STATS: 34 catches for 587 yards, 6 TD
Tate hasn’t snagged as many passes as some of his peers in this poll, but he’s been more explosive with his touches than most. He’s averaging 17.3 yards per catch so far through the first seven games of the season.

One of the real difficulties for Tate is that he shares the receiving corps with Smith. While both are downright elite, they might cannibalize each others’ numbers to a certain extent this season.

5. Elijah Sarratt, Indiana – 21

2025 STATS: 43 catches for 603 yards, 9 TD
Sarratt’s best quality might be his knack for getting into the end zone. He’s already got nine touchdowns through the first seven games. He’s had three multi-touchdown games, including a game with three scores in an early season non-conference win.

Like the previous two candidates on the Biletnikoff Award poll, Sarratt is going to benefit from the spotlight quite a bit. Indiana is ranked No. 2 in the country and doesn’t appear to be going anywhere anytime soon.

6. Jordyn Tyson, Arizona State – 16

2025 STATS: 57 catches for 628 yards, 8 TD
After racking up more than 1,100 yards and 10 touchdowns a year ago, Tyson entered the year firmly on the Biletnikoff Award radar. He’s one of the nation’s best receivers, and he continues to perform like it on a week in, week out basis.

He has scored in all but one game this season, already notching eight touchdown receptions in seven games. He’s also scored a rushing touchdown, so he has flashed some real versatility, as well.

7. Mario Craver, Texas A&M – 14

2025 STATS: 35 catches for 667 yards, 4 TD
One of the most explosive receivers on this list, Craver is currently averaging 19.1 yards per reception. He’s been a downfield safety valve of sorts for quarterback Marcel Reed, who has taken full advantage.

Interestingly, Craver hasn’t logged a touchdown reception in the last four games. He also hasn’t topped 100 yards in that span, so he had a fast start to the season and it’ll be interesting to see if he can recover that form again going forward.

8. Chris Brazzell, Tennessee – 4

2025 STATS: 39 catches for 602 yards, 7 TD
Brazell is right around the same production as a few others on this list, and it might take some breakout performances for guys like him to begin to separate. But the Tennessee receiver is certainly capable.

He was unreal in a narrow loss to Georgia, going for 177 yards and three touchdowns. However, in the last two games, Brazzell has been held to just eight catches for 71 yards. He needs to get going again in a hurry if he wants to remain in serious contention for this award.

9. Eric McAlister, TCU – 2

2025 STATS: 28 catches for 603 yards, 7 TD
Like Brazzell, McAlister’s production has been clustered into a few games. In games against SMU and Kansas State he combined for 410 yards and five touchdowns — about two thirds of his production on the year.

The thing about that is McAlister is capable of exploding on any given night. And if he can do it more routinely, he can vault his way right toward the top of this list.

10. Cooper Barkate, Duke – 1

2025 STATS: 39 catches for 647 yards, 4 TD
Barkate is coming off his best performance of the season, helping get him onto the Biletnikoff Award radar. In a loss to a ranked Georgia Tech team he had 13 catches for 172 yards.

He has scored four touchdowns in the last four games, so he’s coming around on that front too. The challenge for him will be that Duke isn’t going to be in the spotlight very much the rest of the way.