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Projected · estimate · 625 rosters read · as of October 20, 2026

College Football Roster Openings 2026

Which college football programs are projected to lose the most players after this season, overall and at each position. Counted from the seniors and graduate students on 610 official rosters: an estimate to point your emails at programs that will need your position, not a promise of a spot.

Football: programs projected to lose the most playersProjected · estimate

#ProgramOn rosterSr + Gr (departing)ReturningSignal
1Tarleton State NCAA D1 TX1176750High
2Ottawa University Arizona NAIA AZ24863185Medium
3UC Los Angeles NCAA D1 CA1206159High
4New Mexico State NCAA D1 NM1055748High
5North Texas NCAA D1 TX1045252High
6Central Missouri NCAA D2 MO1255174High
7Liberty NCAA D1 VA1075156High
8the Incarnate Word NCAA D1 TX1025052High
9Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, New Brunswick NCAA D1 NJ1344985Medium
10Clemson NCAA D1 SC1214972High
11Baylor NCAA D1 TX1114961High
12Colorado Boulder NCAA D1 CO1014952High
13East Carolina NCAA D1 NC1214873Medium
14Florida Atlantic NCAA D1 FL1144866High
15Citadel NCAA D1 SC1074859High
16Jackson State NCAA D1 MS964848High
17Virginia NCAA D1 VA1224767High
18New Haven NCAA D1 CT16746121Medium
19Sacred Heart NCAA D1 CT1294683Medium
20Temple NCAA D1 PA1164670Medium

625 football rosters read for 2026; 610 have complete enough class and position data to be ranked. 15 low-confidence programs are left out of the rankings but shown on their own program pages.

Football openings by positionProjected · estimate: top 8 programs by departing players at each position

Defensive back DB

  1. Ottawa University Arizona NAIA AZ17 of 43 departing Medium
  2. UC Los Angeles NCAA D1 CA14 of 23 departing High
  3. Baylor NCAA D1 TX13 of 25 departing High
  4. New Mexico State NCAA D1 NM13 of 21 departing High
  5. North Texas NCAA D1 TX13 of 21 departing High
  6. Arkansas Fayetteville NCAA D1 AR12 of 27 departing High
  7. Tarleton State NCAA D1 TX12 of 21 departing High
  8. Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, New Brunswick NCAA D1 NJ11 of 29 departing Medium

Defensive line DL

  1. Florida Atlantic NCAA D1 FL13 of 23 departing High
  2. North Texas NCAA D1 TX13 of 22 departing High
  3. New Mexico State NCAA D1 NM13 of 19 departing High
  4. Oklahoma State NCAA D1 OK11 of 23 departing High
  5. Missouri Columbia NCAA D1 MO11 of 21 departing High
  6. Tarleton State NCAA D1 TX11 of 17 departing High
  7. Baylor NCAA D1 TX11 of 15 departing High
  8. Clemson NCAA D1 SC10 of 23 departing High

Offensive line OL

  1. UC Los Angeles NCAA D1 CA12 of 23 departing High
  2. New Haven NCAA D1 CT11 of 27 departing High
  3. Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, New Brunswick NCAA D1 NJ11 of 26 departing High
  4. Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute NCAA D3 NY10 of 24 departing High
  5. East Carolina NCAA D1 NC10 of 23 departing High
  6. Central Missouri NCAA D2 MO10 of 21 departing High
  7. Central Michigan NCAA D1 MI10 of 19 departing High
  8. Nebraska-Lincoln NCAA D1 NE10 of 19 departing High

Wide receiver WR

  1. Ottawa University Arizona NAIA AZ15 of 44 departing Medium
  2. Rhode Island NCAA D1 RI12 of 17 departing High
  3. Central Missouri NCAA D2 MO11 of 19 departing High
  4. Benedict NCAA D2 SC10 of 22 departing High
  5. Post NCAA D2 CT9 of 23 departing High
  6. Colorado Mesa NCAA D2 CO9 of 19 departing High
  7. Jackson State NCAA D1 MS9 of 15 departing High
  8. Tarleton State NCAA D1 TX9 of 14 departing High

Linebacker LB

  1. Tarleton State NCAA D1 TX15 of 23 departing High
  2. Georgia Southern NCAA D1 GA12 of 25 departing High
  3. Texas Tech NCAA D1 TX10 of 20 departing High
  4. Newberry NCAA D2 SC9 of 26 departing Medium
  5. North Carolina State NCAA D1 NC8 of 24 departing Medium
  6. Salve Regina NCAA D3 RI8 of 23 departing Medium
  7. Wisconsin-Madison NCAA D1 WI8 of 23 departing Medium
  8. Sacred Heart NCAA D1 CT8 of 21 departing Medium

Running back RB

  1. New Mexico State NCAA D1 NM7 of 7 departing High
  2. Citadel NCAA D1 SC6 of 9 departing High
  3. Grand View NAIA IA6 of 8 departing High
  4. Grove City NCAA D3 PA5 of 18 departing Medium
  5. Arizona Christian NAIA AZ5 of 15 departing Medium
  6. Campbellsville NAIA KY5 of 14 departing Medium
  7. North Dakota State NCAA D1 ND5 of 11 departing High
  8. Arkansas State NCAA D1 AR5 of 9 departing High

Tight end TE

  1. Nicholls State NCAA D1 LA5 of 11 departing High
  2. Sioux Falls NCAA D2 SD5 of 10 departing High
  3. Ball State NCAA D1 IN5 of 8 departing High
  4. Kansas NCAA D1 KS5 of 8 departing High
  5. Michigan NCAA D1 MI5 of 8 departing High
  6. Eastern Kentucky NCAA D1 KY5 of 7 departing High
  7. Toledo NCAA D1 OH5 of 6 departing High
  8. Illinois Urbana-Champaign NCAA D1 IL4 of 10 departing High

Quarterback QB

  1. Delaware State NCAA D1 DE5 of 6 departing High
  2. Northern Colorado NCAA D1 CO4 of 7 departing High
  3. Ottawa University Arizona NAIA AZ4 of 7 departing High
  4. Syracuse NCAA D1 NY4 of 7 departing High
  5. Case Western Reserve NCAA D3 OH4 of 6 departing High
  6. Capital NCAA D3 OH3 of 8 departing Medium
  7. Chapman NCAA D3 CA3 of 8 departing Medium
  8. Mary NCAA D2 ND3 of 8 departing Medium

Kicker K

  1. Colorado State University Pueblo NCAA D2 CO3 of 4 departing High
  2. Dartmouth NCAA D1 NH3 of 4 departing High
  3. Dordt NAIA IA3 of 4 departing High
  4. Misericordia NCAA D3 PA2 of 9 departing Medium
  5. North Central NCAA D3 IL2 of 7 departing Medium
  6. Bryant NCAA D1 RI2 of 6 departing Medium
  7. Dayton NCAA D1 OH2 of 6 departing Medium
  8. Illinois Wesleyan NCAA D3 IL2 of 6 departing Medium

Long snapper LS

  1. Colorado Boulder NCAA D1 CO3 of 5 departing High
  2. U.S. Military Academy NCAA D1 NY2 of 6 departing Medium
  3. Grove City NCAA D3 PA2 of 5 departing High
  4. Alabama NCAA D1 AL2 of 4 departing High
  5. Michigan NCAA D1 MI2 of 4 departing High
  6. Sacred Heart NCAA D1 CT2 of 4 departing High
  7. Indiana Bloomington NCAA D1 IN2 of 3 departing High
  8. Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, New Brunswick NCAA D1 NJ2 of 3 departing High

Punter P

  1. Southern California NCAA D1 CA2 of 5 departing High
  2. Texas A&M College Station NCAA D1 TX2 of 4 departing High
  3. Bentley NCAA D2 MA2 of 3 departing High
  4. Michigan NCAA D1 MI2 of 3 departing High
  5. Tennessee Knoxville NCAA D1 TN2 of 3 departing High
  6. Abilene Christian NCAA D1 TX2 of 2 departing High
  7. Colorado Boulder NCAA D1 CO2 of 2 departing High
  8. Kentucky NCAA D1 KY2 of 2 departing High

Athlete ATH

  1. Macalester NCAA D3 MN1 of 2 departing Medium
  2. Missouri Southern State NCAA D2 MO1 of 2 departing Medium
  3. Adrian NCAA D3 MI1 of 1 departing Medium
  4. East Stroudsburg University of Pennsylvania NCAA D2 PA1 of 1 departing Medium
  5. Greensboro NCAA D3 NC1 of 1 departing Medium
  6. Mount Marty NAIA SD1 of 1 departing Medium
  7. Utah NCAA D1 UT1 of 1 departing Medium
  8. Williams NCAA D3 MA1 of 1 departing Medium

How to use this

How the openings estimate works

Estimate: departing = players listed as seniors or graduate students at that position; signal compares them with everyone at the position whose class is listed (high: at least 2 and at least 40% departing; medium: at least 1 and at least 20%; low: fewer). Based only on the published roster.

  • Does not account for transfers, early departures, injuries, walk-ons or players already committed.
  • Seniors without a stated redshirt may still have a year of eligibility left; the roster page does not say.
  • Coaches recruit for need and fit; an opening is not an offer.

Counts come from the official roster page as published; individual players are never stored or shown here. Open the official roster for names.

A program losing three starters at your position will read your email differently than one that is set for two years. Email the position coach now, say which spot you are aiming for, and link your film. Head coaches and position coaches for every program are in the football coaches directory.

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Aggregate counts from each program's official roster page; no player names or personal details are stored or shown. Rosters change through the year. Report a problem.