Reacting to On3's Top 100 Players in College Football

In honor of the college football season being 100 days away, On3 released its top 100 players for the 2023 season on Thursday morning. On3’s Charles Power and Clark Brooks had the impossible task of assembling and ranking the top 100 players in the sport.

Essentially every fan base will think either their player is too low or their team should have more guys on the list, but that’s what offseason content is for. Let’s see where LSU players landed on their list and what we think.

Here’s the full rankings: https://www.on3.com/news/top-100-players-in-college-football-for-the-2023-season-caleb-williams-drake-maye-marvin-harrison-jr-brock-bowers-jared-verse/ 

No. 6 LB Harold Perkins

Clark Brooks: “Harold Perkins is the top defensive dynamo in college football. His motor runs red hot, he is active and he is destructive. Though he might operate more as a stack linebacker for LSU moving forward, his ability to conjure havoc was far beyond the levels of a first-year. Almost 9% of his defensive reps consisted of either a sack, QB hit, pressure, batted ball, forced fumble, or interception. No other qualifying LB topped 6.8%. Plenty of foes suffered from his dark arts and were left shouting, “What is this magic!?” as he took over ball games. Additionally, Perkins logged 35 defensive stops. Again – all as a true freshman in the Land Where it Just Means More. His coverage skills need some work. But at bare minimum, the Bayou’s Berserker walks into this year as one of the most impactful pass rushers.”

Perkins at No. 6 is a good spot for me. Jared Verse, the Florida State DE, is the only defensive player above him at No. 5. I wrote about Perkins’ potential ceiling this season earlier this week and why he’s potentially the best defensive player in the country and this supports that. I still believe the Tigers need him to be a disruptor first and foremost, but it will be fascinating to see him in a more conventional role this season. His impact will be tangible no matter where he lines up. 

No. 53 WR Malik Nabers

This list has Nabers as the No. 6 receiver in the country, which is a bit low to me with Xavier Worthy and Johnny Wilson over him. Still, I think the 40-50 range overall would have been fair. Nabers is going to put up impressive stats, but we’ll have to see how he and Jayden Daniels connect on intermediate-to-deep routes this season. He’ll be the lead receiver on a top 10 team in the country and that alone merits consideration to be in the top 50.

No. 57 OT Will Campbell

When I first saw this, I thought it felt high. Campbell was really good as a true freshman, but a top 60 player in the country and the No. 7 offensive tackle is praise that I wasn’t expecting so quickly.

The talent is obvious, though. He held his own as a freshman and will be expected to get even better this year and next year before comfortably being a first round draft pick in 2025. This is really good foresight from the guys to have Campbell as a top 60 player before his second season. An All-SEC season is essentially expected this year.

Who didn’t make the list?

QB Jayden Daniels

This shocked me. Joe Milton is at No. 81. Devin Leary is at No. 96. I mean Alabama wide receiver Malik Benson is at No. 85 and he played in Junior College last year. Daniels not only has the production from last year to be on this list, but also projects to be even better on a top 10 team in the country — potentially a playoff team.

Sam Hartman is at 52, J.J. McCarthy is at 70, and Quin Ewers is at 75, but neither Daniels nor KJ Jefferson made the list. 

DT Maason Smith

I get it, he didn’t play last year, so how can you put him on a top 100 list? At the same time, there’s a lot of projections on this list already and simply saying a player who is supposed to be a first round pick if he plays well this year is a top 100 player isn’t stretching very far. At his peak, Smith will be one of the best defensive linemen in the country. Even if he doesn’t reach his full potential he could still be a top 100 player with impressive stats on one of the better defenses in the SEC.

DT Mekhi Wingo

While I don’t think Wingo’s ceiling is as high as Smith’s, he’s a known commodity and a returner that was All-SEC last year. Wingo’s stats may not jump off the page, but he’s a huge part in the success of LSU’s defense in 2023. I’m OK with Wingo not being on the list, but still worth considering.