Ranking College Football’s Best Returning Centers for 2026 Season

The center position in college football has undergone a mental and physical evolution. As defensive fronts become more exotic with late-shifting pressures and simulated pressures, the man over the ball has become the de facto pilot of the entire offensive operation.

For the 2026 season, the returning class is bolstered by an unusual amount of veteran experience, as several of the country's top performers opted to return for their senior campaigns.

From Rimington finalists to versatile guards who will convert to the middle, these players represent the elite at the center position.

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Honorable Mentions

Dominick Giudice, Missouri Tigers

Graduate Senior in 2026; 6'4", 310 lbs.

Giudice started all 13 games at left guard for Missouri in 2025, posted a 98.4% pass-blocking efficiency, and did not allow a sack across the season while surrendering just two pressures. He earned Outland Trophy National Offensive Lineman of the Week and SEC Offensive Lineman of the Week honors, and was part of a line that helped Ahmad Hardy rush for 1,560 yards, the most in the SEC.

A Michigan transfer who was part of the Wolverines' national championship team, Giudice moves to center in 2026 to replace Connor Tollison. His versatility across guard and center positions made him the natural candidate for the position switch, and Missouri is counting on that experience to anchor an interior that must absorb significant turnover at tackle.

Braelin Moore, LSU Tigers

Redshirt Senior in 2026; 6'2", 301 lbs.

Moore started 12 games at center for LSU in 2025, allowed just one sack across 623 snaps, and earned SEC Offensive Lineman of the Week honors for his performance against Clemson. Across 40 career games and 36 starts at Virginia Tech and LSU, he has allowed only four sacks in 2,045 career snaps.

An ankle injury affected him at various points in 2025 but he remained in the starting lineup. He chose to return for his fifth season rather than enter the NFL Draft, rejoining a unit that has seen significant turnover this offseason. Moore and Weston Davis are the only two returning offensive linemen at LSU who logged starts in 2025.

Carson Hinzman, Ohio State Buckeyes

Graduate Senior in 2026; 6'4", 300 lbs.

Ohio State Buckeyes offensive lineman Carson Hinzman — Ohio State Buckeyes quarterback Julian Sayin (10) takes a snap from offensive lineman Carson Hinzman (75). | Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Hinzman started all 16 games at center for Ohio State's national championship team, logging 841 snaps on a line that ranked seventh nationally in tackles for loss allowed per game and 10th in fewest sacks allowed. He allowed just one sack on the season and enters 2026 with 35 career starts, the most of any returning offensive lineman on the roster.

A graduate student who earned his degree in April 2025 and chose to return rather than pursue the NFL, Hinzman has stepped into the primary leadership role on a line navigating significant roster turnover. He has been direct about the standard he is trying to set: "If you go ask Orlando Pace what the standard was back then being a Buckeye, you should have a little bit of that to you."

Ranking the Top 10 Returning College Football Centers for 2026

10. Joshua Bates, SMU Mustangs

Redshirt Junior in 2026; 6'3", 315 lbs.

Bates started all 13 games at center in 2025, earned All-ACC Honorable Mention, and did not allow a sack across 529 pass-blocking opportunities on a line that allowed only 19 total sacks, 29th nationally and fifth in the ACC. SMU averaged 416.9 total offensive yards per game, fifth in the conference, behind a line Bates anchored from the middle.

A four-star prospect out of Durango, Colo. who spent time at Oklahoma before transferring to SMU, he earned All-ACC Academic Team honors and landed on the Rimington Award Midseason Watch List. He enters 2026 as one of the younger starters on this list with two seasons of eligibility remaining.

9. Brady Small, Army Black Knights

Senior in 2026; 6'0", 315 lbs.

Army Black Knights offensive lineman Brady Small (51) warms up during the first half against the North Texas Mean Green. | Danny Wild-Imagn Images

Small has started at center for Army since his true freshman season, earning First-Team All-American Conference honors in 2025 on an offense that averaged 411 yards per game. He was part of the 2024 Joe Moore Award-winning line, the first Group of Five program to win the award, and has been the anchor of an Army offense that has consistently ranked among the nation's leaders in total yards and fourth-down conversion rate.

He enters his senior year as the longest-tenured starter on a unit that will rely heavily on his experience while a young defense finds its footing. Small addressed the offensive line's prospects for 2026 after the spring game, and while he stopped short of making any guarantees, his confidence in the group was evident.

8. Anthony Boswell, Houston Cougars

Sophomore in 2026; 6'2", 301 lbs.

Boswell started all 12 games at center for Toledo in 2025 as a redshirt freshman, earned First-Team All-MAC and The Athletic Freshman All-America honors, and did not allow a sack across 403 pass-blocking snaps. His run-blocking grade ranked third among all FBS centers per PFF, and his pass-blocking grade ranked 17th. Toledo finished first in the MAC in scoring, total offense, and passing offense behind a line he anchored from the middle.

He transferred to Houston to play for Willie Fritz, who called him one of the national leaders at the position and praised his 900-snap workload. At just a sophomore, he is the youngest player on this list by a significant margin and one of the more intriguing developmental pieces in the Big 12.

7. Drew Bobo, Georgia Bulldogs

Redshirt Senior in 2026; 6'5", 305 lbs.

Bobo started 11 games at center in 2025, earned Second Team All-SEC recognition from both the AP and coaches, and was placed on the Rimington Trophy Watch List. Georgia ranked first nationally in fourth-down conversion rate and third in first downs behind an offense Bobo directed from the middle. Kirby Smart was direct about his value after losing him: "Drew makes all the calls. Drew makes all the decisions."

A foot injury late in the season cost him the final two games, and his availability for the start of 2026 is a genuine question. Georgia opens against Tennessee State and Western Kentucky before facing Arkansas and Oklahoma in back-to-back weeks in late September, giving the Bulldogs some runway if Bobo needs additional time to get right.

6. Coleton Price, Kentucky Wildcats

Senior in 2026; 6'3", 308 lbs.

Price started all 13 games at center for Baylor in 2025, allowed just one sack across 526 pass-blocking snaps, earned All-Big 12 Second Team honors, and was placed on the Rimington Trophy Watch List. He enters his final season with 30 career starts at center, having held the starting job at Baylor since the second half of 2023.

He transferred to Kentucky this offseason as the top-ranked interior offensive lineman in the portal per 247Sports Composite, giving the Wildcats an immediate anchor in the middle of a line replacing every starter from 2025. A preseason All-SEC selection is expected heading into the fall.

5. Bruce Mitchell, BYU Cougars

Redshirt Senior in 2026; 6'4", 305 lbs.

Mitchell started all 14 games at center in 2025, earned First-Team All-Big 12 honors from both the coaches and Pro Football Network, landed on the Rimington Trophy Watch List, and served as team co-captain. BYU ranked 13th nationally in sacks allowed, averaged 178.1 rushing yards per game, and produced a 1,000-yard rusher in LJ Martin behind a line Mitchell anchored from the middle.

The backstory is unusual. Mitchell spent his first seasons at BYU on the defensive line before converting to center in 2024 under injury-forced circumstances. By 2025, after his first full offseason to prepare at the position, he was one of the best at it in the Big 12. His teammates have been straightforward about what they think of him, with defensive tackle Keanu Tanuvasa calling him "the best offensive lineman in the country" to go against in practice daily.

4. Sheridan Wilson, Texas Tech Red Raiders

Senior in 2026; 6'5", 300 lbs.

Wilson started all 14 games at center in 2025, ranked fifth among all centers nationally per PFF, and has not allowed a sack across 1,087 career offensive snaps. He was placed on the Rimington Trophy Watch List and allowed only four total pressures across 505 pass-blocking opportunities, one of the cleanest pass-protection profiles at the position in the country.

Now in his third consecutive season as the starter in Lubbock, Wilson enters 2026 as the anchor of a Texas Tech line that reached the Big 12 Championship game in 2025. He was among the finalists for ESPN's Way-Too-Early All-America team at center, finishing just behind Iowa's Kade Pieper.

3. Iapani "Poncho" Laloulu, Oregon Ducks

Senior in 2026; 6'2", 325 lbs.

Laloulu started all 15 games in 2025, earned Associated Press and PFWA All-America third-team honors, was named to the All-Big Ten second team by coaches, and was a Rimington Trophy finalist. He did not allow a sack and gave up just 11 pressures across 442 pass-blocking opportunities on a line that helped Oregon rank second nationally with 2,822 rushing yards and 5.9 yards per carry.

Now in his third year as the starting center, he has made 27 consecutive starts and is the longest-tenured member of an Oregon line that has lost several starters to the NFL in back-to-back offseasons. Dan Lanning has been direct about what Laloulu provides beyond his production, calling him a vocal leader whose voice has grown throughout his time in Eugene.

2. Justin Evans, Nebraska Cornhuskers

Senior in 2026; 6'2", 315 lbs.

Nebraska Cornhuskers offensive lineman Justin Evans — Nebraska Cornhuskers assistant coach Donovan Raiola talks with offensive lineman Justin Evans (51) during the first quarter against the Colorado Buffaloes. | Dylan Widger-Imagn Images

Evans started all 13 games at center in 2025 after moving from left guard, where he had started all 13 games the year before. His run blocking was a driving force behind Emmett Johnson winning first-team All-American and Big Ten Running Back of the Year honors. Evans enters his final season with 31 career starts across center and guard, and OL coach Geep Wade was direct about what he brings: "He's probably one of the better centers I've ever coached."

A three-time Academic All-Big Ten honoree from East Orange, N.J., Evans is the veteran anchor of a Nebraska line that projects as one of the more experienced units in the Big Ten heading into 2026.

1. Kade Pieper, Iowa Hawkeyes

Junior in 2026; 6'4", 290 lbs.

Pieper started all 13 games at right guard in 2025, earned PFF First-Team All-America honors, and graded out as the fifth-best starting guard in the FBS. He was part of an Iowa line that won the Joe Moore Award and has produced NFL centers at a consistent rate under Kirk Ferentz, including Logan Jones, who was named the nation's best center last season before departing for the NFL.

This spring Pieper is making the move to center to replace Jones, a transition Jones himself endorsed at the NFL Combine, citing Pieper's daily work ethic and the progress he has made since arriving as an underrecruited prospect. He enters 2026 on ESPN's Way-Too-Early All-America team at center and as the early favorite for the Rimington Trophy.

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