Average Size of College Football Cornerbacks (Height & Weight)
I’ve been a collegiate sports performance coach for 20 years. One thing I always loved doing was going through and checking out the sizes of the other teams in our conference.
It helped give me (and our staff) an idea of how we stacked up against our competition. It also could be used as motivation with our team both during the season and, often, during the following off-season.
So, this is essentially the same research I’ve always done, but now I’m sharing it with you. I took starting depth charts for each team in the FBS (a total of over 3000 players) going into the 2023 season and broke them down by position.
For this guide, I took an average of the heights and weights of the almost 300 starting Cornerbacks* across college football. In addition, I broke down the sizes of cornerbacks by conference and individual players.
Go ahead and impress someone today with your trivia bona fides.
Average Height of a College Football CB
The average height of a College Football Cornerback is 71.97 inches (pretty much right at 6’0″).
Average Weight of a College Football CB
The average weight of a College Football Cornerback is 185.83 pounds.
Want to see how college football Cornerbacks compare with the size of NFL Cornerbacks? Good news, I’ve also run the numbers on the guys at the next level.
Which Conference Has the Tallest Cornerbacks?
| Conference | Avg Height (Inches) |
|---|---|
| Pac 12 | 72.83 |
| SEC | 72.63 |
| Big 12 | 72.42 |
| Big 10 | 71.88 |
| ACC | 71.82 |
| Independents | 71.75 |
| Sun Belt | 71.72 |
| Mountain West | 71.68 |
| MAC | 71.61 |
| AAC | 71.43 |
| Conference USA | 71.39 |
Which Conference Has the Heaviest Cornerbacks?
| Conference | Avg Weight |
|---|---|
| SEC | 188.37 |
| Big 12 | 187.94 |
| Independents | 187.75 |
| Pac 12 | 187.55 |
| Big 10 | 187.55 |
| ACC | 186.82 |
| AAC | 185.6 |
| Sun Belt | 184.1 |
| Mountain West | 183.2 |
| MAC | 182.13 |
| Conference USA | 181 |
Who Are the Tallest Cornerbacks in College Football?
Cornerbacks are typically some of the smallest guys on the roster, but not all corners are small. Far from it.
There are almost 20 Cornerbacks listed at 6’3″, but only two are taller than 6’3″.
Here are both guys listed at 6’4″, the tallest in college football.
| Name | Height | Weight | School |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ephesians Prysock | 6’4″ | 190 | Arizona |
| Kolbey Taylor | 6’4″ | 190 | Wyoming |
Who Are the Shortest CBs?
If you have the skill set, you can be a highly effective corner while being ‘undersized’.
There are a dozen corners who are listed at 5’9″, but only 3 listed at 5’8″.
| Name | Height | Weight | School |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ridge Texada | 5’8″ | 181 | North Texas |
| Sean Fresch | 5’8″ | 175 | Rice |
| Torrie Cox Jr | 5’8″ | 172 | Ohio |
Who are the Heaviest Cornerbacks in College Football?
200 pounds is generally very big for a cornerback – only about 10% of all college corners are 200 pounds or more.
The 7 biggest cornerbacks are all over 205 pounds.
| Name | Height | Weight | School |
|---|---|---|---|
| Malik Dunlap | 6’3″ | 220 | Texas Tech |
| Ro Torrence | 6’3″ | 210 | Arizona State |
| Virdel Edwards II | 6’2″ | 210 | Hawaii |
| Cam Hart | 6’2″ | 207 | Notre Dame |
| Cooper DeJean | 6’1″ | 207 | Iowa |
| Ryan Watts | 6’3″ | 206 | Texas |
| Mishael Powell | 6’1″ | 206 | Washington |
Who are the Lightest?
On the other end of the spectrum, I was a little surprised to find 9 guys who all weigh less than 170 pounds.
| Name | Height | Weight | School |
|---|---|---|---|
| Keyon Martin | 5’9″ | 160 | Louisiana |
| Hezekiah Masses | 6’0″ | 160 | FIU |
| Romain Mungin | 5’9″ | 162 | Florida Atlantic |
| Yahsyn McKee | 5’10” | 162 | Miami (OH) |
| DJ James | 6’1″ | 164 | Auburn |
| Carlton Johnson | 6’0″ | 165 | Fresno State |
| JD Drew | 6’0″ | 165 | Utah State |
| Travis Hunter | 6’1″ | 165 | Colorado |
| Cormani McClain | 6’2″ | 165 | Colorado |
Important Notes
As a former sports scientist, I tend to take data pretty seriously so I must stress that these ‘averages’ should be used for entertainment purposes only.
Why do I say that?
There are multiple issues that can make all the data in this article flawed.
First and foremost, it’s pretty commonplace in athletics to lie about heights and weights. I once worked at a school where it was standard procedure to add an inch and 5 to 10 pounds to almost every player on the roster.
Why?
The best answer that I was ever given is that it could potentially help with NFL scouting. However, I can’t imagine in 2023 that anyone is fooling an NFL scout with the size listed in a program. I think the real answer is it’s just part of the culture in sports.
*I used the heights and weights of all the projected starters leading into Week 1. Whether it’s through injury or performance, starters can and will change throughout the season.
In fact, it took me a week to gather all these numbers and by the time I was done I would bet that there were at least a couple of starting positions that had already changed hands.
And, if a couple of 6’2″ 200-pound players are swapped out with a couple of 5’9″ 170-pound players, the sample size is small enough that this could substantially affect the overall averages.
Finally, I can tell you for a fact that players’ weights can fluctuate pretty wildly from week to week and sometimes even day to day and, especially, over the course of a season.
Just because a guy weighed 195 on the first day of camp when weights were put in the program, does not mean that’s what he weighs in Week 8.
So, have fun with the data above, but this is just a reminder to not take the numbers too seriously.
More Info
I also broke down the sizes of other position groups, like Linebackers and Safeties, across college football that you can check out.
Or, if you really want to have your mind blown, check out the ridiculous 40 times that cornerbacks have put up at the NFL Combine over the years.
Finally, you may not be able to control how tall you are, but you can control how hard you work and how smart you work. I can’t help you with your work ethic, but I have put together a Strength and Conditioning Guide for Football.
