What Are Passing Yards?
Passing yards count yards gained on completed forward passes. This table ranks college football players for the selected season and displays the applicable minimum qualifier where one is used.
College Football Passing Yards Leaders
| Player | Team | Pos | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Braden Atkinson |  | QB | 2583 | 347 | 1160 | 1794 | - | 1502 | 1081 |
| 2 | Tayven Jackson |  | QB | 2568 | 404 | 1058 | 1660 | - | 1256 | 1312 |
| 3 | Caden Veltkamp |  | QB | 2534 | 452 | 1109 | 1670 | - | 1174 | 1360 |
| 4 | Drew Mestemaker |  | QB | 2326 | 386 | 1055 | 1768 | - | 1331 | 995 |
| 5 | Jayden Maiava |  | QB | 2303 | 258 | 804 | 1407 | - | 1467 | 836 |
| 6 | John Alan Richter |  | QB | 2244 | 391 | 882 | 1367 | - | 1559 | 685 |
| 7 | Micah Alejado |  | QB | 2186 | 323 | 825 | 1392 | - | 1113 | 1073 |
| 8 | Sam Leavitt |  | QB | 2171 | 387 | 951 | 1439 | - | 1351 | 820 |
| 9 | Marcus Stokes |  | QB | 2161 | 320 | 790 | 1366 | - | 930 | 1231 |
| 10 | Darian Mensah |  | QB | 2151 | 387 | 940 | 1498 | - | 1303 | 848 |
| 11 | Ethan Grunkemeyer |  | QB | 2140 | 156 | 694 | 1275 | - | 1235 | 905 |
| 12 | Kevin Jennings |  | QB | 2082 | 223 | 629 | 1315 | - | 1430 | 652 |
| 13 | Jaden Craig |  | QB | 2066 | 372 | 853 | 1500 | - | 1462 | 604 |
| 14 | Keelon Russell |  | QB | 2057 | 311 | 643 | 1293 | - | 1437 | 620 |
| 15 | Conner Weigman |  | QB | 2052 | 282 | 867 | 1345 | - | 1007 | 1045 |
| 16 | Noah Fifita |  | QB | 2047 | 308 | 933 | 1555 | - | 1179 | 868 |
| 17 | Julian Sayin |  | QB | 2007 | 235 | 801 | 1409 | - | 1170 | 837 |
| 18 | Gio Lopez |  | QB | 1947 | 267 | 835 | 1372 | - | 927 | 1020 |
| 19 | Trey Owens |  | QB | 1940 | 309 | 897 | 1347 | - | 1106 | 834 |
| 20 | Davis Warren |  | QB | 1933 | 303 | 726 | 1258 | - | 1502 | 431 |
| 21 | Trinidad Chambliss |  | QB | 1926 | 250 | 704 | 1365 | - | 1165 | 761 |
| 22 | Lincoln Kienholz |  | QB | 1844 | 310 | 704 | 1205 | - | 973 | 871 |
| 23 | Ryan Browne |  | QB | 1822 | 273 | 687 | 1176 | - | 1189 | 633 |
| 24 | CJ Bailey |  | QB | 1763 | 256 | 870 | 1398 | - | 1148 | 615 |
| 25 | Austin Simmons |  | QB | 1756 | 339 | 826 | 1212 | - | 830 | 926 |
| 26 | Kenny Minchey |  | QB | 1755 | 203 | 607 | 1056 | - | 1073 | 682 |
| 27 | Owen McCown |  | QB | 1751 | 173 | 741 | 1192 | - | 1146 | 605 |
| 28 | Caden Creel |  | QB | 1746 | 109 | 634 | 1069 | - | 976 | 770 |
| 29 | Camden Coleman |  | QB | 1743 | 175 | 592 | 1026 | - | 851 | 892 |
| 30 | Josh Hoover |  | QB | 1741 | 81 | 640 | 1092 | - | 1146 | 595 |
| 31 | Alberto Mendoza |  | QB | 1714 | 186 | 739 | 1256 | - | 1111 | 603 |
| 32 | Malachi Singleton |  | QB | 1700 | 271 | 494 | 1142 | - | 965 | 735 |
| 33 | Noah Kim |  | QB | 1678 | - | - | - | - | 924 | 754 |
| 34 | Rocco Becht |  | QB | 1664 | 267 | 799 | 1125 | - | 886 | 778 |
| 35 | Landyn Locke |  | QB | 1653 | - | - | - | - | 985 | 668 |
| 36 | CJ Carr |  | QB | 1639 | 261 | 676 | 1147 | - | 907 | 732 |
| 37 | Deuce Bailey |  | QB | 1638 | 298 | 599 | 1062 | - | 942 | 696 |
| 38 | JJ Kohl |  | QB | 1637 | 179 | 572 | 969 | - | 796 | 841 |
| 39 | Luke Weaver |  | QB | 1620 | 91 | - | - | - | 733 | 887 |
| 40 | Ashton Daniels |  | QB | 1618 | 298 | 690 | 1291 | - | 734 | 884 |
| 41 | Aidan Chiles |  | QB | 1617 | 219 | 717 | 1103 | - | 1098 | 519 |
| 41 | Rickie Collins |  | QB | 1617 | 206 | 590 | 1012 | - | 833 | 784 |
| 43 | Devon Dampier |  | QB | 1616 | 204 | 720 | 1179 | - | 1132 | 484 |
| 44 | Malik Washington |  | QB | 1615 | 263 | 581 | 1082 | - | 950 | 665 |
| 45 | Brad Jackson |  | QB | 1606 | 167 | 752 | 1264 | - | 1084 | 522 |
| 46 | Max Johnson |  | QB | 1601 | 29 | 605 | 1076 | - | 908 | 693 |
| 47 | Michael Hawkins Jr. |  | QB | 1598 | 79 | 762 | 1121 | - | 1102 | 496 |
| 48 | Kalieb Osborne |  | QB | 1594 | 173 | 744 | 1173 | - | 908 | 686 |
| 49 | John Mateer |  | QB | 1591 | 283 | 708 | 1177 | - | 888 | 703 |
| 50 | Roman Gagliano |  | QB | 1587 | 183 | 674 | 971 | - | 847 | 740 |
| 51 | Gunner Stockton |  | QB | 1570 | 272 | 816 | 1134 | - | 1174 | 396 |
| 52 | Anthony Colandrea |  | QB | 1569 | 164 | 665 | 1072 | - | 1193 | 376 |
| 53 | Will Hammond |  | QB | 1561 | 227 | 593 | 1074 | - | 1011 | 550 |
| 54 | Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele |  | QB | 1555 | 265 | - | - | - | 913 | 642 |
| 55 | LaNorris Sellers |  | QB | 1548 | 210 | 715 | 1182 | - | 1084 | 464 |
| 56 | Billy Edwards Jr. |  | QB | 1530 | 271 | 711 | 1054 | - | 723 | 807 |
| 57 | Bear Bachmeier |  | QB | 1514 | 257 | 810 | 1099 | - | 968 | 546 |
| 58 | JC French IV |  | QB | 1510 | 172 | 714 | 1188 | - | 968 | 542 |
| 58 | Arch Manning |  | QB | 1510 | 212 | 645 | 1010 | - | 1049 | 461 |
| 60 | Isaiah Marshall |  | QB | 1506 | 212 | 696 | 1092 | - | 1022 | 484 |
| 61 | Jared Curtis |  | QB | 1489 | 247 | 743 | - | - | 1043 | 446 |
| 62 | Nick Minicucci |  | QB | 1477 | 414 | - | - | - | 857 | 620 |
| 63 | Drake Lindsey |  | QB | 1472 | 137 | 521 | 929 | - | 1020 | 452 |
| 64 | Nathan Hayes |  | QB | 1470 | 198 | 475 | 872 | - | 710 | 760 |
| 65 | Kamario Taylor |  | QB | 1460 | 10 | - | - | - | 982 | 478 |
| 66 | Lunch Winfield |  | QB | 1457 | 299 | 608 | 946 | - | 558 | 899 |
| 67 | Maddux Madsen |  | QB | 1445 | 149 | 631 | 1043 | - | 673 | 772 |
| 68 | KJ Jackson |  | QB | 1444 | 251 | 517 | 1038 | - | 943 | 501 |
| 69 | Katin Houser |  | QB | 1440 | - | - | - | - | 983 | 457 |
| 69 | Walker Eget |  | QB | 1440 | 211 | 719 | 1103 | - | 764 | 676 |
| 71 | Dru DeShields |  | QB | 1434 | 294 | 682 | 1088 | - | 948 | 486 |
| 72 | Jay Kastantin |  | QB | 1418 | 217 | 548 | 975 | - | 715 | 703 |
| 73 | Demond Williams Jr. |  | QB | 1396 | - | - | - | - | 1198 | 198 |
| 74 | Jayden Mandal |  | QB | 1393 | 141 | 604 | 1000 | - | 744 | 649 |
| 75 | Jackson Arnold |  | QB | 1391 | 246 | 500 | 984 | - | 545 | 846 |
| 76 | Marcel Reed |  | QB | 1388 | 163 | 480 | 756 | - | 932 | 456 |
| 77 | Beau Pribula |  | QB | 1375 | 158 | 414 | 861 | - | 1070 | 305 |
| 78 | Taron Dickens |  | QB | 1364 | 171 | 527 | 1075 | - | 504 | 860 |
| 79 | Mason McKenzie |  | QB | 1363 | 101 | 604 | 888 | - | 831 | 532 |
| 80 | Byrum Brown |  | QB | 1362 | 160 | 469 | 880 | - | 1053 | 309 |
| 81 | Cutter Boley |  | QB | 1360 | 7 | 320 | 719 | - | 887 | 473 |
| 82 | Cameran Brown |  | QB | 1356 | 65 | 483 | 913 | - | 622 | 734 |
| 83 | DJ Lagway |  | QB | 1352 | 236 | 798 | - | - | 477 | 875 |
| 84 | Baylor Hayes |  | QB | 1343 | 262 | 779 | - | - | 700 | 643 |
| 84 | Brayden Roggow |  | QB | 1343 | 275 | 738 | 1112 | - | 478 | 865 |
| 86 | Aaron Philo |  | QB | 1341 | - | - | - | - | 940 | 401 |
| 87 | Mason Heintschel |  | QB | 1304 | - | - | - | - | 1191 | 113 |
| 88 | Avery Johnson |  | QB | 1301 | - | - | - | - | 1009 | 292 |
| 89 | Keldric Luster |  | QB | 1300 | 234 | 638 | - | - | 714 | 586 |
| 90 | Michael Van Buren Jr. |  | QB | 1266 | 193 | 575 | 927 | - | 798 | 468 |
| 91 | Alessio Milivojevic |  | QB | 1263 | - | - | - | - | 1037 | 226 |
| 92 | Jackson Sharman |  | QB | 1257 | 187 | 401 | 860 | - | 775 | 482 |
| 93 | Colton Joseph |  | QB | 1256 | 58 | 269 | 866 | - | 738 | 518 |
| 94 | Broc Lowry |  | QB | 1251 | 207 | 512 | 834 | - | 579 | 672 |
| 95 | Deshawn Purdie |  | QB | 1226 | 176 | 447 | 874 | - | 447 | 779 |
| 96 | Landry Lyddy |  | QB | 1196 | 164 | 688 | 1125 | - | 612 | 584 |
| 97 | Ryder Burton |  | QB | 1184 | 262 | 532 | 850 | - | 690 | 494 |
| 98 | Goose Crowder |  | QB | 1162 | - | - | - | - | 641 | 521 |
| 99 | Blake Baker |  | QB | 1160 | 303 | 800 | - | - | 854 | 306 |
| 100 | Tyler Hughes |  | QB | 1131 | 113 | 423 | 679 | - | 662 | 469 |
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Who leads college football in passing yards in 2026?
Through games played October 29, 2026, Braden Atkinson of Oregon State leads all college football players in passing yards with 2,583. Tayven Jackson of North Texas is second with 2,568, Caden Veltkamp of Florida Atlantic third with 2,534, Drew Mestemaker of Oklahoma State fourth with 2,326 & Jayden Maiava of USC fifth with 2,303. Atkinson's total puts him 15 yards clear of second place & 827 ahead of the 25th-ranked player.
Only 432 yards separate first from tenth. John Alan Richter of Toledo is sixth with 2,244, Micah Alejado of Hawai'i seventh with 2,186, Sam Leavitt of LSU eighth with 2,171, Marcus Stokes of Memphis ninth with 2,161 & Darian Mensah of Miami tenth with 2,151.
Eighty-two yards separate 21st from 22nd, the widest single step anywhere below the top four. Ethan Grunkemeyer of Virginia Tech ranks 11th with 2,140, Kevin Jennings of SMU 12th with 2,082, Jaden Craig of TCU 13th with 2,066, Keelon Russell of Alabama 14th with 2,057, Conner Weigman of Houston 15th with 2,052, Noah Fifita of Arizona 16th with 2,047, Julian Sayin of Ohio State 17th with 2,007 & Gio Lopez of Wake Forest 18th with 1,947.
Eight players sit inside 114 yards of each other from ninth to 16th, the tightest stretch of the ranking. Trey Owens of Arkansas State is 19th with 1,940, Davis Warren of Stanford 20th with 1,933, Trinidad Chambliss of Ole Miss 21st with 1,926, Lincoln Kienholz of Louisville 22nd with 1,844, Ryan Browne of Purdue 23rd with 1,822, CJ Bailey of NC State 24th with 1,763 & Austin Simmons of Missouri 25th with 1,756.
How this ranking is measured
The ranking above covers the top 25 of 366 college football players with at least one recorded passing attempt in the 2026 regular season. No minimum attempt threshold is applied. Passing yards count yards gained on completed forward passes. Figures are as of October 29, 2026 & are recalculated on StatRankings after each game's play-by-play is processed.