Hey there, I've got a bit of an inside joke going with some friends about which college football teams have the most players returning next year. I've dug around a bit, but no luck. Anyone here have the intel?
That's a tough one, since the number of returning starters can vary greatly from year to year and depends on a variety of factors, such as the number of players graduating, players leaving early for the NFL, and injuries. The exact roster details would most likely be on each team’s official athletic website, in articles from sports journalists, or in individual team previews leading up to the new season.
However, I do have some general knowledge from observing college football over the years. Typically, a solid NCAA Division 1 football program will have around 8-15 returning starters each year across both offense and defense. Smaller teams and those that were rebuilding the previous season might have more, as their younger players will now have more experience.
Unfortunately, specific, current numbers require real-time data and are rather difficult to pull together, hence why you're probably not finding any easy charts or lists online. Your best bet is to pick a few teams you and your friends are most interested in, and then dig into the details for those.
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