UDD’s Top 20 FCS Offensive Players for 2026

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All of our preseason Top 20 lists for the FCS have been difficult to compose this year but none have been harder than the offensive players. The subdivision truly has offensive talent coming out of its gills in 2026 giving shape to what could be a historically productive year. The quarterback crop is as deep as it’s ever been and there are legitimate pro hopefuls strewn across every other position on that side of the ball as well. Here’s our final verdict on who the best of the best will be on FCS offenses this fall:

Honorable Mentions: Chedon James, WR (Idaho State), Greyton Gannon, TE (South Dakota State), Roy Alexander, WR (Incarnate Word), Ty Pennington, QB (Northern Arizona), Ja’breil Mace, RB (Villanova)

20. Aidan Palmer, G – Lehigh

Lehigh guard Aidan Palmer will be one of the top offensive lineman this seaosn. He started all 13 games last year for the Mountain Hawks and played a pivotal role in the rushing attack that ranked fourth in the country. He was a major player in the team going undefeated in the regular season and earning a first-round playoff bye. Palmer went from an All-Patriot League second-team player in 2024 to a first-team player last fall. He only allowed one sack and two hits in 2025 per PFF and grades as one of the better blockers in all of FCS football. He will be a cornerstone of the Lehigh offensive line again this year as they chase a second straight conference championship and return trip to the postseason.

19. Dylan Lord, WR – Illinois State

Those who didn’t know who Dylan Lord was before last year’s national championship game certainly do now. On the biggest stage the young Illinois State receiver shined as bright as any, catching 13 passes for 161 yards and two scores in the Redbirds narrow OT loss. Lord, an incoming redshirt sophomore, finished last season with 734 yards on 74 catches and did that behind Daniel Sobkowicz. After initially entering his name into the transfer portal, Lord withdrew it to come back to Normal and he should be the center piece of the passing attack this year. He is an up-and-coming star at the position in the FCS and if ISU can retain him, they have a good chance to have a really lethal offense for years to come.

18. Desmeal Leigh, OT – Youngstown State

With three seasons as a starter at left tackle, Youngstown State’s Desmeal Leigh is one of the more experienced offensive lineman coming into the 2026 campaign. Last year he was tremendous anchoring the Penguins up front, allowing no sacks or hits and just six hurries. He was a key piece on the offense that averaged 203.4 rush yards per game last fall and put up gawdy point numbers on almost every opponent they faced. Leigh, standing at 6-7, 325 pounds, was named a third-team All-American by FCS Football Central and was a second-team All-Missouri Valley selection.

17.Samuel Gbatu Jr, WR – UC Davis

Even with a new quarterback running the show the UC Davis passing attack should be pretty good again and that’s because senior receiver Samuel Gbatu Jr. is back. Gbatu is one of the best pass catchers in the Big Sky. He hauled in 70 passes a year ago and racked up a career-best 1,169 yards along with 11 touchdowns. Gbatu has steadlily improved during each of his four seasons with the Aggies and now is primed for what could be an all-time campaign as a fifth-year senior. He comes into 2026 averaging nearly 16 yards per reception and was good for 5.4 catches per game last year. Gbatu should see lots of looks this year for a UC Davis squad that is expected to make another deep postseason run.

16. Andrew Body, QB – Alabama State

When it comes to HBCU quarterbacks, Andrew Body is the cream of the crop right now and Alabama State is reaping the benefits. Body led ASU to a 10-2 overall record last year and came so close to having the Hornets in the SWAC championship for the first time since 2010. He’s been named the 2026 Preseason Offensive Player of the Year for the conference and rightfully so. Body threw for 1,770 yards and 20 touchdowns last year while also running for over 500 yards and tacking on another four scores on the ground. Now a redshirt senior, Body is in line to be not just one of the best passers in the SWAC but also the nation and Alabama State is an early pick by some to get to their first Celebration Bowl ever because he’s leading the charge.

15. Victor Dawson, RB – Illinois State

One of the biggest contributors to Illinois State’s run to the national championship game last year was the elevated play of Victor Dawson. Down the stretch, Dawson was terrific for the Redbirds, running for over 100 yards in all but one of ISU’s five postseason games. Dawson finished 2025 as the ninth-best runner in the FCS with 1,377 yards. He also had five touchdowns, two of which came in the playoffs as well. Dawson is as hard a runner as you’ll find at any level. He’s a true bruiser out of the backfield and should be in line for another stellar year.

14. Titan Fleischman, OT – Montana State

The top offensive lineman coming back in the FCS this season is Montana State tackle Titan Fleischman. Last year he held down a front that blocked for one of the nation’s best run games. MSU ran for 226.2 yards per contest and scored 47 touchdowns on the ground with Flieschman spearheading the trenches. He is a back-to-back All-Big Sky performer with starting experience at both the right tackle and right guard positions. He surrendered just one sack and four hits last year per PFF and is even receiving some slight NFL buzz prior to this year. If Flieschman continues to perform at the level he has been, then there’s no reason to believe he won’t be the best big man by the end of the season as well.

13. Lofton O’Groske, WR – South Dakota State

Lofton O’Groske is a star in the making at South Dakota State and if he can get a full season under his belt with no injuries, then there’s no telling just how good he can truly be. O’Groske’s 2025 campaign was shortened due to an injury but before he went down he was averaging over 13 yards per catch and already had four touchdowns through six games. He is expected to be the primary receiver this year as a junior and made the preseason Missouri Valley watchlist. O’Groske should really shine at SDSU now that starting quarterback Chase Mason also returns and it would be a real surprise if he isn’t among the top FCS pass catchers when the season ends.

12. Luke Yoder, RB – Lehigh

Lehigh experienced one of the best seasons in program history last year and running back Luke Yoder was a big reason why. Yoder has been a staple of the Mountain Hawks offense for several years now but 2025 was something special. He ran for 1,409 yards and 15 touchdowns as a junior and took home the Patriot League’s Offensive Player of the Year honors. Yoder also landed on several All-American lists and was a finalist for the Walter Payton Award. He chose to stick around for his senior year and that will be huge in Lehigh’s quest to win another conference title and return to the playoffs. Yoder is a special talent and should be one the FCS’s premier backs again when the dust settles.

11. Chris Parson, QB – Austin Peay

Austin Peay’s retention of quarterback Chris Parson may end up being one of the more significant things to happen in the entire FCS this offseason. Parson was electric for the Governors offense last year as he led the team in both rushing (743 yards and 14 touchdowns) and passing (3,003 yards and 23 touchdowns). On top of those impressive stats, he also only threw five picks all year. Parson was a big reason why the Govs delivered the most lopsided FCS-over-FBS win of the season in their 34-14 whipping of Middle Tennessee and why they actually held strong with Georgia just a few weeks later. Parson is a playmaker by every definition of the term and the fact that he came back for another go makes Austin Peay a real contender to get out with a UAC championship in 2026.

10. Adam Jones, RB – Montana State

Adam Jones was one of the two running back named to the preseason All-American first-team this year by STATS Perform and looking at the trajectory of his career at Montana State tells the story as to why. Jones has been sensational for the Bobcats over his first two seasons, rushing for 2,317 yards in that span. He was the 2024 runner-up for the Jerry Rice Award and has been a feature piece in MSU’s run-heavy offense. Jones has excellent burst and speed making him one of the harder backs to catch if he gets in open space. He is already 10th all-time in school history for rushing yards and he’s only a junior. Jones, a Montana native, is also the only player in Bobcat history to rush for over 1,000 yards in both his freshman and sophomore seasons.

9. Marquis Buchanan, WR – Rhode Island

One of the best wide receivers in the FCS right now is Rhode Island’s Marquis Buchanan and he’s back for one more go with the Rams. Buchanan finished atop the subdivision in 2025 with 1,337 receiving yards. He also posted eight touchdowns and helped bring URI another CAA championship and got them to the second round of the postseason again. Buchanan was a first-team All-American who had at least five catches in all but one game last year. He might have the best combination of elusiveness, speed and hands of any wideout in the country and he should be an NFL Draft prospect come next spring if he stays healthy. Rhode Island is the odds-on favorite to snag another conference title this year and Buchanan will surely be a major player in it if they do.

8. D.J. Williams, QB – Southern Illinois

One of the top dual-threat quarterbacks in the country, SIU’s D.J. Williams returns for his senior season. It’s been an up-and-down career for Williams who spent much of 2024 on the bench with an injury to his throwing hand. In spite of that, however, he bounced back nicely last fall, throwing for 2,846 yards and running for 847 (setting a program record by a QB). He finished tied for fifth among all FCS players for rushing touchdowns last year with 18 and he came in eighth in voting for the Walter Payton Award. If Williams can stay healthy this season then he has a good shot at ending up even higher in those categories. He is arguably the most elusive signal caller in the subdivision and Southern Illinois should be a playoff team if he plays up to his potential.

7.Charles Pierre Jr, RB – South Dakota

An injury kept Charles Pierre Jr. out for most of last season but when healthy he is one of the best running backs in the country. In 2024, Pierre was a first-team All-Missouri Valley performer who ran for 1,244 yards and 16 touchdowns. He also caught 19 passes for 190 yards and two scores that season as well. He only appeared in two games last fall before suffering a knee injury but he’ll be back this year for the Coyotes. Pierre is as tough as any back on this list to bring down, especially in one-on-one situations and he is capable of taking it the distance on any given play. Now with several of the big names gone from the USD offense too, it feels like Pierre will be expected to take on an even heavier workload this season in Vermillion.

6. Eli Gillman, RB – Montana

Montana has one more year with probably the greatest running back they’ve ever had. Senior Eli Gillman is on pace to shatter the UM all-time rushing record this season and brings with him one heck of a resume into the year. Gillman, the 2023 Jerry Rice Award winner, has rushed for 3,677 yards throughout his decorated career with the Grizzlies. His 49 touchdowns on the ground also currently has him at third all-time in Montana’s record books in that department and he needs just four more to make it to #1 there as well. He is as special a talent as there is the FCS right now. He took home Big Sky Offensive Player of the Year accolades in 2025 after carrying the ball 250 times for 1,540 yards and 21 TDs. The production is off the charts and with one season to go, Gillman is very surely going to end up being the all-time leader at Montana.

5. Justin Lamson, QB – Montana State

Justin Lamson transferred in last season and, in his first fall with the Bobcats, took them to the mountain top. Few QBs were more efficient than Lamson in 2025. He completed 71.6% of his throws and only had three interceptions on the entire year. During MSU’s playoff run alone he tossed six touchdowns and had over 800 yards through the air. Lamson also ran for 734 yards on the year and totaled 42 touchdowns between his arm and his legs. No signal caller in the country seemed to make the big plays in the biggest moments the way #8 did down the stretch. He took home the Big Sky’s Newcomer of the Year award for those efforts and another season like that should land him among the all-time greats in Montana State history. With just one season of eligibility left, Lamson opted to return to MSU in the hopes of chasing back-to-back national titles.

4. Chase Mason, QB – South Dakota State

An injury sidelined Chase Mason for a crucial stretch of the season last year and his absence made it clear just how important he is to South Dakota State’s offense. When he played, SDSU won eight of nine games. When he was out they lost four of five. Mason is one of the best quarterbacks in the subdivision and is slated by many to be one of the FCS’s top NFL Draft prospects next year. He’s ran for 822 yards and thrown for 2,404 on his three-year career in Brookings so far. Learning under Mark Gronowski was something that served Mason well as he came into the starter role. When he was healthy in 2025 he averaged 13.7 yards per pass and 222.8 yards per game through the air. If he can stay upright for a full season then there’s a real chance SDSU ends up playing for all the marbles in Nashville come January.

3. Taco Dowler, WR – Montana State

It’s hard to say there is another receiver out there that is more impactful on a game-to-game basis than Taco Dowler at Montana State. When you come down with the clinching touchdown catch on fourth and ten in the national title game in overtime, you get elevated to a different level. Dowler, though, is no stranger to making big plays and for the Bobcats he’s made a lot of them over the years. He comes into 2026 with 1,873 yards and 18 receiving touchdowns. He’s also a special teams dynamo. Basically Dowler is a home run threat whenever and wherever he gets the ball in his hands. Last fall he secured second-team All-Big Sky honors and this year it would be a shock if he didn’t make first-team on that list, even on an offense that likes to pride itself on running the ball.

2. Keali’i Ah Yat, QB – Montana

Usually when there is a coaching change as notable as the one that has gone down at Montana this offseason, there’s a lot of worry and uncertainty. That is not necessarily the case for the Griz right now, though, largely because star QB Keali’i Ah Yat is back. No one threw for more yards (4,070) last season than Ah Yat and his career season helped lead UM back to the semifinals for the second time in three seasons. Ah Yat is an All-Big Sky and All-American talent that pilots one of the most dynamic offenses in the country. He was responisble for 41 touchdowns by way of the run and the pass plus he completed his throws at a nearly 70% clip. The fact that he’s back in maroon and silver is a huge deal for new head coach Bobby Kennedy. The Grizzlies may have a lot of questions to answer elsewhere but at QB they are set and appear to be for a while.

1. Beau Brungard, QB – Youngstown State

It’s hard not to give the top spot to the defending Walter Payton Award winner. Youngstown State signal caller Beau Brungard can and has done it all for the Penguins offense. Last year his record-setting season saw him account for over 4,700 all-purpose yards. He led the team in both rushing (1,468 yards) and passing (3,234), finished seventh in the country in passing yards and had a total of 53 touchdowns. Brungard led an offense that averaged 36.6 points and nearly 460 yards per contest in 2025. The numbers alone make him one of the best out there but there is also arguably no one more valuable to their team as a whole than the fifth-year senior QB. Brungard’s Penguins are starting to appear in the early preseason Top 10 in many FCS polls and his presence under center is a huge reason why.

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