What Does Kick Return Average Measure?
Kick return average is kickoff-return yards divided by kickoff returns. This table ranks college football players for the selected season and displays the applicable minimum qualifier where one is used.
College Football Kick Return Average Leaders
| Player | Team | Pos | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jaylon Hawkins |  | WR | 34.8 | 29.0 | 32.2 | 35.5 | - | 33.5 | 36.9 |
| 2 | Darren James-Hamilton |  | S | 33.7 | 100.0 | - | - | - | 51.6 | 23.8 |
| 3 | Rahkeem Smith |  | WR | 28.1 | 23.8 | 21.7 | 22.6 | - | 31.9 | 17.4 |
| 4 | Brandon Hills |  | WR | 25.9 | 23.0 | - | - | - | 27.8 | 25.1 |
| 5 | Trequan Jones |  | RB | 23.6 | 24.5 | 20.4 | 19.4 | - | 32.1 | 15.1 |
| 6 | Bryson Graves |  | WR | 22.9 | 18.5 | 25.9 | - | - | 25.2 | 18.4 |
| 7 | Kenneth Williams |  | RB | 21.3 | 15.0 | 20.0 | 19.5 | - | 21.3 | 21.3 |
| 8 | Triston Morgan |  | RB | 20.9 | - | - | - | - | 19.2 | 25.5 |
| 9 | Chris Davis Jr. |  | RB | 20.5 | 14.5 | 21.0 | 20.8 | - | 20.6 | 20.4 |
| 10 | Alijah Cason |  | WR | 19.1 | 17.3 | 19.3 | - | - | 21.3 | 16.5 |
| 11 | Da'Realyst Clark |  | WR | 16.3 | 20.0 | 17.0 | - | - | 18.4 | 15.2 |
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Who leads college football in kick return average in 2026?
Through games played October 29, 2026, Jaylon Hawkins of San Diego State leads all college football players in kick return average with 34.8. Darren James-Hamilton of Ohio is second with 33.7, Rahkeem Smith of Georgia Tech third with 28.1, Brandon Hills of Akron fourth with 25.9 & Trequan Jones of Tulsa fifth with 23.6. Hawkins's average puts him 1.1 yards clear of second place & 18.5 ahead of the 11th-ranked player.
Darren James-Hamilton of Ohio is the highest-ranked safety on the board at 33.7 yards, second overall. Bryson Graves of Delaware is sixth with 22.9, Kenneth Williams of Michigan State seventh with 21.3, Triston Morgan of Kennesaw State eighth with 20.9, Chris Davis Jr. of Stanford ninth with 20.5, Alijah Cason of Sam Houston tenth with 19.1 & Da'Realyst Clark of Kent State 11th with 16.3. Six of the 11 are wide receivers; the only safety is James-Hamilton second; the four running backs are Jones fifth, Williams seventh, Morgan eighth & Davis ninth.
How this ranking is measured
The ranking above covers the top 11 of 11 college football players in the 2026 regular season. A minimum of 14 kick returns is applied. Kick return average is kickoff-return yards divided by kickoff returns. Figures are as of October 29, 2026 & are recalculated on StatRankings after each game's play-by-play is processed.