College football recruiting · the 2027 cycle

Every roster has openings. Find yours.

Depth Chart reads every FBS and FCS roster to show which programs need which positions for 2027, which ones recruit players from your path, and exactly who to contact. Free for players. Built for programs.

Create a free player profile → I recruit for a program

266 FBS and FCS programs29,010 players on 2026 rostersFree for players

Projected 2027 openings by position

459

Tight end spots open for 2027Projected across FBS from 2026 rosters, seniors and typical attrition.

242 seniors leaving995 on 2026 rosters25 overstocked rooms

How 2026 rooms at this position were filled

2026 transfer pipelines

The landscape

Recruiting is roster management now.

The portal, roster limits, revenue sharing and new eligibility rules mean every program rebuilds part of its roster every year. The question changed from "who is the best player" to "who fills the spot we actually have open." Rankings can't answer that. Roster data can.

7in 10

For every 10 high school freshmen who joined a 2026 Division I roster, 7 Division I transfers joined too (3,921 transfers and 5,567 freshmen across the 244 programs with complete rosters in 2025 and 2026).

459

FBS tight end spots are projected open for 2027. Every position at every level has a number like this, and it's different at every school.

5.8%

of Power 4 newcomers in 2026 came from JUCO or non-D-I programs. At FCS scholarship programs it was 22.4%. The doors exist. You have to know which ones.

01 · Transfer portal

Turnover every year

Players now move every off-season. 3,921 Division I transfers landed on 2026 rosters at the 244 programs we can track both years.

A roster is never finished. Every room gets re-recruited every winter.

02 · Roster limits

Every spot is budgeted

At schools that opted in to the House settlement, scholarship limits gave way to roster limits, 105 players in football, starting in 2025-26.

Programs need to know exactly which positions are short, and by how much.

03 · Revenue sharing and NIL

Every spot has a price

Opt-in schools can now pay athletes directly, up to a per-school annual cap. Third-party NIL deals of $600 or more go through the College Sports Commission's NIL Go review.

Fit beats hype. Nobody can afford to pay for the wrong player.

04 · Five-year eligibility

New math on experience

Adopted June 23, 2026: an age-based model with up to five years of eligibility and no redshirts or season counts. It applies fully to students who first enroll in fall 2027 and is being challenged in court.

Remaining eligibility is counted differently, and every depth chart shifts with it.

Where 2026 newcomers came from

The path changes everything about the odds.

A JUCO player and a high school senior with the same size and film face very different markets. At Power 4 programs, transfers filled almost as many spots as freshmen. At FCS scholarship programs, more than 1 in 5 newcomers came from JUCO or non-D-I programs. Based on the programs with complete rosters in 2025 and 2026.

High schoolDivision I transferJUCO or non-D-I

How it works

From roster data to a real conversation.

STEP 1

Tell us who you are

Players add position, size, film, testing and stats. Coaches pick their program and the positions they recruit. It takes about five minutes.

STEP 2

See where you fit

Every program is ranked against its own level on real need at your position, size against its current room, openness to your path, and geography.

STEP 3

Reach out and track it

Published staff contacts, official X and Instagram accounts, the recruiting questionnaire or camp link for each program, private messaging, a shareable prospect page, and a tracker that tells you who to follow up with today.

Example profile · JUCO tight end

The overlooked
tight end

6'7"Height

250Pounds

NCHome

Depth Chart Rating 62Size 90 · taller than 90% of Power 4 tight ends. Add stats and testing to raise confidence.

Best fit at every level

Power 4

Clemson

TE need 77 · 3.7" taller than their TE room · 150 mi

Depth to start

Group of 6

Georgia State

TE need 99 · 3 senior TEs · takes JUCO players

Contact ready

FCS

Delaware State

TE need 84 · added a JUCO TE in 2026

Contact ready

Coach view

Your 2027 gaps, by position.

Room size, seniors leaving, typical attrition for your level, and the rating of the players you'd be replacing. Then the players who fit.

Try it now · no sign-up

Where would you fit?

Pick a position, a path and a home state. This preview runs on the same 2026 roster data as the full product and shows the top programs at each level.

A simplified preview. The full product adds weight, film, testing and stats to the fit, a Depth Chart Rating, a projection against every room, and the staff to contact at each school.

See all 266 programs →

Who it's for

Everyone in the recruiting room.

Recruiting has a lot of people in it, and most of them work from incomplete information. Depth Chart gives each of them the same picture of who needs what.

Why Depth Chart

Built for fit, not hype.

	Rankings and recruiting media	Paid exposure services	Depth Chart
Who it covers	The top few hundred recruits	Families who pay	Every FBS and FCS roster, and every path in: high school, JUCO, transfer
What it tells you	Star ratings and commitments	That your profile was sent out	Which programs need your position, how you fit their room, and who to contact
Who pays	Subscribers and advertisers	Families	Programs and optional family tools. Matching and visibility are free for players.
For coaches	Coverage of prospects they already know	More email	Need forecasts by position and matched, size-qualified players
Built on	Scouting opinion	Volume	2022 to 2026 rosters, 31,953 tracked roster arrivals, published staff contacts

Pricing

Free for players. Built for programs.

Visibility should never be for sale. Families and programs pay only for tools that save time. Early pricing, subject to change.

PlayersFree$0Forever

Matches at every level, a prospect page with film and photos, the Player Board, messaging and a tracker.

Create a profile

FamiliesFamily Pro$19A month, or $149 a season

One-click outreach to matched staff, named coach views, a verified measurables badge and priority placement.

Join the early list

JUCO and high schoolProgram license$500+A year, $500 to $2,000 by roster size

List your whole roster, a coach dashboard, a branded team page and Pro tools for every player.

Join the early list

FBS and FCS staffsCollege subscription$3k+A year. Opens after an NCAA compliance review.

Need forecasts, a portal watch on overstocked rooms, a prospect CRM and seats for the whole staff.

Request early access

FAQ

Straight answers.

Is Depth Chart really free for players?

Yes. Matches at every level, a public prospect page, the Player Board, private messaging and the recruiting tracker are free. Families can add Family Pro for outreach and analytics, and programs pay for licenses.

How do you know which programs need a position?

For every program and position, Depth Chart starts from the 2026 room, removes seniors, applies the typical non-senior attrition for that level, and compares the result with the median room at that level. The gap is the projected need for 2027, shown as a 0 to 100 index within FBS or FCS.

Where does the data come from?

Division I rosters from 2022 to 2026 and play-by-play stats come from the open cfbfastR dataset, which is built from ESPN listings. Staff contacts, questionnaires, camp links and social accounts come from each program's official athletics site; only published details are shown. Roster and stats data refresh every night; last refresh October 12, 2026.

What is the Depth Chart Rating?

A 0 to 100 rating built from size, production adjusted for level of competition, program level and experience, plus speed and strength for players who add testing. Every rating shows a confidence level, and self-reported numbers are labeled as self-reported.

Can players under 18 use it?

Yes, they can be listed and see their matches. Coaches contact them through a parent or their high school coach, and messaging is limited to adults and parent-managed profiles.

Is this NCAA compliant?

Players and families can use Depth Chart today. College subscriptions open only after compliance counsel reviews the service against NCAA rules on recruiting services and contact with prospects.

Start now

The openings are already on the board.

Rosters for 2027 are being planned right now. See where you fit before the portal opens.

Create a free player profile →See the position market Programs and pricing