Cam Newton Award

 Byrum Brown, South Florida (2025)

   Fantasy Points: 479 (39.9 FPPG)

 2. Diego Pavia, Vanderbilt

 3. Colton Joseph, Old Dominion 

South Florida quarterback Byrum Brown takes home the hardware as the runaway winner of the Cam Newton award, given to the best college fantasy quarterback in the country, as he outscored the next closest quarterback by over 50 Fantasy Points (FPs). If the voting committee were also handing out a Comeback Player of the Year award, Brown would have come away with that trophy as well, rebounding from his season-ending injury that had some CFF drafters hesitant he would return to his 2023 form.

Brown was that and then some this season, scoring 23 or more FPs in 11 of 12 games played, including three-straight 50-point performances in the final three weeks, singlehandedly winning some folks their CFF leagues. Brown improved drastically as a passer from last year, completing over 66% of his passes with 28 touchdowns to just seven interceptions, and was one of four quarterbacks in the country to rush for over 1,000 yards during the regular season. Not to go unnoticed, South Florida’s improved pass protection played a monumental role in Brown’s resurgence this season, allowing just 17 sacks compared to 36 the year prior. A truly outstanding season from the South Florida quarterback, but now the wait begins to see where Brown could play in 2026, as he has one year of eligibility remaining, and perhaps, following his coach to the Plains at Auburn?

Though Brown was the clear winner, Diego Pavia's impressive season deserves recognition. Finishing second in the voting, he produced 426 FPs and averaged 35.5 FPPG, setting career-bests with 3,192 passing yards and 27 touchdowns, along with 826 rushing yards and nine scores. He produced over 40 FPs four times and, in eight games, exceeded 30 FPs. Pavia's standout performances, including 60.1 FPs in the CFF semifinals, evoke acclaim for his fantasy excellence. 

In third place, Colton Joseph also concluded the campaign with over 400 FPs and logged 34.3 FPPG. The Old Dominion field general was one of five FBS quarterbacks with over 1,000 rushing yards, while also crossing the finish line 13 times on the ground. He passed for 2,624 yards and 21 aerial strikes—all four of the aforementioned statistics were career-bests. Each of the three quarterbacks earned their rightful place among the elite CFF signal callers in 2025.

by Mike Bainbridge

 Jayden Daniels, LSU (2023)

   Fantasy Points: 566

 2. Bo Nix, Oregon

 3. Dillon Gabriel, Oklahoma

Last year’s Cam Newton Award recipient, Caleb Williams, outscored second-place vote-getter Austin Reed by a total of 31 fantasy points for the entirety of the season. So, it should be no surprise that we have a runaway winner for this year’s award with LSU quarterback Jayden Daniels, considering that he outscored CFF QB No. 2 Dillon Gabriel by a whopping 130.1 FPs. In the regular season, if readers prefer to look at FFPG instead of total FPs, Daniels holds a massive edge there as well, averaging 11 more FPPG than the next closest quarterback.

Two categories I personally look at when determining an award winner are consistency and CFF playoff performance. Daniels resoundingly checks both boxes. Consistency: 35 or more FPs in all but one game, with a season-low of just 26 FPs scored in the opener versus Florida State. Stupendous CFF Playoff performances: 68 points against Florida in Week 11, 74 points against Georgia State in Week 12, and 45 points in the finale against Texas A&M. This was as impressive a fantasy season as CFF diehards have seen from a quarterback in some time, and one that resulted in Jayden Daniels holding up the Heisman Trophy.

by Mike Bainbridge

 Bailey Zappe, Western Kentucky (2021)

   Fantasy Points: 630

 2. Brennan Armstrong, Virginia

 3. Kenny Pickett, Pittsburgh

Salt in the wound for me personally, having to write up Bailey Zappe as the top college fantasy quarterback for 2021. We knew the scheme coming to Western Kentucky under offensive coordinator Zach Kittley would likely light up the scoreboard, where defense is optional in Conference USA. Yet. We overthought it a bit when analyzing this offseason, ranking Zappe in the CFF QB 15-20 range.

Western Kentucky was bringing in 10-plus transfers on offense, and I felt that it would likely take time to integrate all the new pieces into the roster. Zappe’s debut season with Houston Baptist didn’t necessarily yield the eye-popping results either. That analysis went out the window instantly as Zappe went on to throw seven touchdowns in his Hilltoppers debut, setting the tone for what would be a sensational year as he led the country in passing yards (4,968) and passing touchdowns (52). Bryce Young and Kenny Pickett—two quarterbacks in New York for the Heisman Trophy ceremony—threw 12 fewer touchdowns this season.

What do we look for in the perfect CFF prospect? Upside and consistency, and Zappe provided all of that. At least three touchdown passes in every game this season and topped 30-plus FPs every single week. Bailey Zappe wasn’t just the best fantasy quarterback this season, but the top CFF player in the country and a league-winner for many.

by Mike Bainbridge

 Kyle Trask, Florida (2020)

   Fantasy Points: 452

 2. Zach Wilson, BYU 

 3. Malik Willis, Liberty

Typically, in College Fantasy Football, sorting out the best quarterback is not a tricky proposition. Not the case this year, where we had three to five viable contenders with no standouts. Ohio State’s Justin Fields would have been a lock had the Buckeyes played a full season, but alas, he was limited to just five games with the condensed schedule and COVID cancellations. BYU’s Zach Wilson started on a scorched-earth pace but tapered off late in the year.

I went with consistency for the entire season and landed on Florida QB Kyle Trask, who averaged 32.6 FPPG. Only ranked fifth in FPPG, Trask's reliability over the course of the year was unmatched. His low-point total was 22.5 FPs against Kentucky, where he still threw for three scores. He scored 30-plus FPs in six of the 10 games played this season, and he topped 300-plus passing yards eight times. Higher ceilings with some other CFF quarterbacks, but Trask never had a down week the entire season.

by Mike Bainbridge

 Lamar Jackson, Louisville (2017)

   Fantasy Points: 577

 2. Mason Rudolph, Oklahoma State

 3. Baker Mayfield, Oklahoma and Nathan Rourke, Ohio

Save the nitpicking for NFL Draft analysts: Lamar Jackson's college fantasy game was once again unimpeachable. The consensus No. 1 overall pick in summer drafts, Jackson was easily the most valuable player in college fantasy football this year. Again. Outside of Jackson, no other player averaged 35 FPPG—and Lamar finished with over 40 FPPG for the second straight year (41.6). While obtaining L-Jax required being lucky enough to draw 1.1, Rudolph could be had in some drafts in Round 2. He finished the year as CFF's No. 2 QB, averaging a shade under 35 FPPG. In doing so, he outperformed players who were drafted ahead of him in the summer like Quinton Flowers, Baker Mayfield, J.T. Barrett, and Nick Fitzgerald. I ranked Rourke No. 3 because of his absurd return on investment. I ranked my top-75 fantasy quarterbacks in early July—Rourke did not make the cut. Undrafted in CFF leagues, he turned in a top-five CFF QB season. He did so by rushing for 21 touchdowns, the most among CFF QBs (four more than Lamar Jackson). Rourke scored 25 points or more in each of Ohio's last eight games. In some leagues, he won CFF championships.

by Thor Nystrom

 Patrick Mahomes II, Texas Tech (2015)

    Fantasy Points: 508

 2. Matt Johnson, Bowling Green

 3. Deshaun Watson, Clemson

Through October, Seth Russell, Trevone Boykin, Greg Ward, and Luke Falk were all no-brainer, MVP-worthy fantasy quarterbacks. Then, all of them went down to injury during the critical fantasy playoff push. So I’m throwing them all out the window. While those guys were making their fantasy owners pull their hair out when it mattered most, one guy seemed to get stronger with each passing week: Clemson’s Deshaun Watson. This classic dual threat was merely average in September (averaging 21 FPPG), but he picked up the pace in October (28 FPPG) and peaked during the money month of November (36 FPPG, third best in the nation). In this year of injury-riddled quarterbacks, Watson built momentum and was absolutely clutch at the end. He gets my vote. Nevertheless, the panel disagreed and selected Patrick Mahomes for the first annual Cam Newton Award. The Texas Tech dual-threat passed for over 4,600 yards and 36 touchdowns. He added 456 yards and 10 touchdowns on the ground, averaging 39.1 FPPG. While I disagree with the final results of the ballots, Mahomes is clearly deserving of the award after a great campaign.

by Todd DeVries