Players To Watch For This Season
QB
Last year heading into his redshirt sophomore season, Michael Hughes never expected to play. Late in the 2nd quarter of the Fiesta Bowl Ohio State’ senior starting QB went down with a torn ACL leaving Hughes to come in and lead the offense. The kid came out on fire racking up 257 yards along with 3 TDs in a little over 2 quarters to secure OSU’s 34-26 Fiesta Bowl win over #6 Georgia. With his hot hand Michael Hughes has gained supporters and comes in as a Preseason All-American.
Another redshirt sophomore from last season had to take over QB duties in the Big 10 Conference. Devin Johnson originally won the Michigan QB battle, but after inconsistent play through the first 7 games his job was lost to Nick Headley. Headley would go 6-1 in his games at Michigan which included wins over Ohio State (their first win over OSU under Harbaugh) and Northwestern to win the Big 10 Title. Many believe Nick Headley is the best QB in college football and were surprised he didn’t receive Preseason All-American honors.
Last season Tom Herman put Texas back on the map. The Longhorns finished with 13 wins and a spot in the College Football Playoff and would go on to win the National Championship. They will lose 10 starters heading into this year which includes their senior starting QB. That doesn’t seem to be an issue though as it seems the soon to be redshirt junior, Jay Turner will be the gem of his recruiting class. By signing day he was only the 17th ranked QB and sitting just outside of the top 300. Since then he has gone viral on social media for 75+ yard throws and chucking balls through tires that were 40+ yards away at practices. He has since received lots of praise from Herman and he dominated in Texas’ spring game.
RB
Clemson had a very underwhelming season last year, but Trey Green was their bright spot. As a sophomore he was able to grab the starting job and he wasted no time in making a name for himself. He was the first running back to reach 700 yards and 10 touchdowns, but he went down with an ankle injury that lingered with him most of last year and took him completely out of action in the last few games. If he can stay healthy he could very well end up as a 1st round selection.
LaTrey Murphy looks to add to the long list of dominant Georgia running backs. As a sophomore last season he wasn’t the main back but he did receive 100 or so carries along with 5.2 yards per carry. This year he will get the starting job and wants revenge after a loss to Ohio State last season in the Fiesta Bowl.
Last season Dandre Jones lead the nation in rushing yards and rushing touchdowns as a junior. He surprisingly announced that he was coming back for a 4th season after a bowl game loss which gave Oregon their 5th loss of the season. While he was dominate last year many scouts believe the offensive scheme and strong OLine had to do with it. He is still expected to at least be a day 2 pick and with another big season he could see his name called on day 1 when april comes.
WR
Notre Dame has the best WR duo in college football coming into this season and it might just be the best duo of all time at the position. Tyree Wilson and JT Atkins both took over starting jobs as sophomores and they now both enter their senior seasons. Both of them were able to rack up 900+ yards and they combined for 23 touchdowns, but didn’t seem as impressive in the postseason during Notre Dame’s loss to #1 seed Nebraska.
Dee Boyd out of Clemson looks to make a name for himself this season after a poor passing game last year with a lackluster QB. Dee in limited playing time was able to get about 550 yards and 4 touchdowns. Clemson will lose 2 starters at wide receiver which will open up a spot for Dee at the #1 spot. He is looking to make some noise heading into his redshirt junior season.
Kris Barber is an interesting player. He was the #11 WR in his recruiting class and committed to Georgia, but after his mother became ill he decommitted at the last second and flipped to FIU so he could live right near his mother. Since joining the FIU Panthers he has had an up and down career. In his 2 seasons of having playing time he has lost and gained starting jobs multiple times, but finally secured a starting spot late in the year. He was able to put up 780 yards over 9 games last season. This year he will control the #1 spot on the depth chart and looks to have a big junior season.
TE
Ever since Damien Sanders came on campus Washington has had dominate 2 TE sets. Damien is a solid blocker and a beast in the passing game. Sadly the Huskies haven’t helped Damien too much lately as they were pretty mediocre last season. He ended the year with 578 yards and only 1 drop. He looks to improve that this year after gaining All-American honors in the preseason.
Denzel Roberson came out of nowhere last year for the Hurricanes. It what was a down year for Miami, but Denzel was able to make the most out of it with 778 yards and 12 touchdowns. With his offensive production Miami was able to win its bowl game to finish 7-6.
After coming off a torn ACL nobody was expecting much out of Trevor Adams. He seemed to have other plans though heading into the season. He was able to rack up 1,100 yards and 9 touchdowns to help Old Dominion get into the top 25 last season. Because he comes from a smaller school he wasn’t looked upon as a top TE last year so he will return for his senior year.
OL
Notre Dame is known for putting out good OLine talent and this year will be no exception. Corey Carter returns for another season as ND’s starting LT and comes off a good year which included only 2 sacks allowed.
John Massey stepped up big time for USC last season after their senior starting RT went down with a torn ACL. His run blocking was a little suspect, but his pass protection was phenomenal.
Damien Owens had a lot of potential when he chose to come to Death Valley. He won the LT job at Clemson and made the most of it. With his size and strength he made defenders look silly.
Michigan looks to stay dominate this year as they have 2 great OLinemen returning in RG Andre Nunez and C Sean Watkins. Both were 1st year starters, but have built up great chemistry. If they continue to control the trenches we could see them both taken in the earlier rounds of the draft.
A returning member of the Texas Longhorns is Justin Kennedy. He was a huge factor in the run game last season at LG. His pass blocking needs to improve a bit if he wants to hve any chance of being selected on day 1 of the draft.
Jermaine Peoples may go to the small school of New Mexico, but he has proven himself in his little national exposure. He had a good season at LG last year, but scouts aren’t sure if he is good enough for the pros. If he improves this year some teams may take a chance on him.
Jeremiah Archer was a huge surprise for Ohio State last season. C looked to be a major hole on the OLine, but the red shirt freshman came in and consistently dominated interior DLinemen. He could very well go pro after only his 3rd year with OSU.
DL
Michigan State has fallen off the map but the one and only bright spot is Latrell Carter. At DE the kid is a monster and looks to continue his dominance this season before going pro. He was able to sack the QB 7 times last year and force 3 fumbles.
Gabe Johnson was once the prize recruit for Stanford, but has since transferred out because of playing time and became a member of Fresno State. Since stepping on the field he has been very good as he easily powers through the OLine.
Tyrese Dent came up big for Texas A&M last season. At DE the kid is an athletic freak, but he might be at a setback after a knee injury in the offseason. It is unknown if he will be ready for the season or if he will come back strong.
Quinn Reed coming to Wisconsin was a major surprise a few years ago. He grew up in Michigan and his dad is a former Wolverine, but he decided to not stay in state. Quinn has been a great presence in the interior line. His most notable game just so happened to come against Michigan when he forced 2 fumbles and sacked Nick Headley 2 times.
The “U” is trying to build their program back up and they are doing just like they did in the past… building up the defense. Dominic Wideman brings in a dominant presence and a lot of swagger to this Miami team. He barrells right through his opponents and takes down running backs quickly.
Michigan also has a pair of studs on the DLine in DTs Cody Graham and Pat Stallworth. Both are returning starters who are not just big, but they are quick. They help build up possibly the best defensive line in college football. They were able to combine for 33 tackles for loss last year and they look to improve that number this year.
OLB
Florida State had a younger team last year and a couple of stars were brought out. One of them is Alexander Miller. The kid has a great combo of speed and strength. He was able to rack up 5.5 sacks, 4 forced fumbles and a couple of INTs. Now heading into his junior year he is looking not just to improve, but to win a championship.
Derrell Morris from UCLA was a guy who wasn’t expected to play as well as he did last year. UCLA switched over to a 3-4 defense and this forced Morris to turn into more of a pass rusher roll and he picked it up quick. His coverage skills weren’t as good as UCLA hoped, but when you can get to the QB 9 times in a season it’ll be alright.
Derek Woods is one of the toughest players in college football. He has had 3 injuries in his 3 years at Arkansas, but has bounced back each time. His last injury came early last year when he broke his hand, but he played through the injury. He also intercepted a couple of passes and made a one handed sack with his broken hand.
MLB
Matt Gore is ready to lead the new look Crimson Tide out onto the field this year after Nick Saban retired. Gore hasn’t received too much playing time in his 2 years at Bama, but last year was his breakout year. In limited playing time he had 2 sacks and an interception. He was only the #9 MLB in his class, but with some teachings from Saban the past 2 years he has really become a high profile MLB.
Going back to Miami’s defense we have Javar Hansford. He got the chance to start as a sophomore last year and he really showed off his skills. Any receiver that tried to catch a pass over the middle would go on to regret it a second later or an hour later… depends when they woke back up. Also his name rhymes with LaVar… so he’s gotta be the best right?
Bryan Wooten is an interesting player. The kid from Appalachian State has improved a lot since transferring out from USC. He really made a name for himself in week 1 vs Virginia Tech when he broke the ribs of their starting running back with a hit that seemed effortless. He followed it up with a pick 6 just 2 drives later. Since then people have seen how good he is.
CB
Jaden Greene is one of the best college corners that we have seen in recent years. The kid at Cal has great coverage ability that allowed him to grab 6 interceptions last season with a dozen deflections. He also has solid tackling ability for a corner. He should have a great year once again and go in the 1st round of the draft.
Jeff Swan was one of, if not the best gem of his class. He wasn’t even a top 40 CB in his class. He was one of the top CBs last year though, as he picked off 4 passes and locked every WR he went against. It will be interesting to see how much he improves this year and maybe he could take Greene’s spot as top CB.
Darren Couch was another Alabama player to get solid playing time as a sophomore and he looks to dominate this year as the expected #1 CB on the depth chart. He earned freshman all-american honors 2 years ago. Last year he intercepted a couple of passes and picked up a couple of sacks as CB #4. This year should be a big year for him with a much bigger role.
FS
Trae Collins is set to return to lead the Wolverine defense this year. He is coming off a phenomenal sophomore season that included a couple of INTs and a pick six. He started to take a leadership role last season as the main guy on defense and should be ready to try and lead Michigan to a national championship.
Penn State really fell off last year, especially defensively. Nadir Franklin was a bright spot though. In his first year starting he used his speed to make plays and never let receivers get behind him. He was able to force a few turnovers and come up with big deflections.
SS
Darius McCray surprisingly didn’t go pro last year after his junior season. He is known as a good locker room guy and a hard hitter on the field. His coverage is solid, but it needs to get a little better. Darius picked off 1 pass last season along with a forced fumble.
Tyrel Lillard is heading into his 4th year starting for the Rutgers Scarlet Knights. This improvement every year has been great. He wasn’t even the best SS in his class as Rutgers was able to land the #2 SS in the same class in Ronnie Kilpatrick, who was moved to FS after being beat out by Lillard. This is a nasty safety group because by no means is Ronnie a bust. They combined for 7 interceptions last season and you will both see them in this years draft.
08-07-2018, 11:35 AM
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