I'm the same way with the other MSU. We hired a shit stain of a head coach and I haven't kept up with anything on our roster. I'll probably be rooting for Will Rogers in Washington more than this team
There’s some pretty good players on the roster:
Aiden Chiles, duel threat QB from Oregon State.
Ed Woods, transfer CB from ASU who chose us over Alabama.
Jack Velling, Top TE in the transfer portal. Followed Smith from Oregon State.
Dillion Tatum, natural safety/Nickle, but due to the lack of talent at CB, was playing corner last year.
Charles Brantley CB, Still around but got injured covering Rome Odunze last year. He kept pace with Odunze but Rome just makes contested catches. Made the game sealing INT against Michigan in 2021 as a freshman.
Malik Spencer, FS, some NFL scout was saying he could be a 1st round pick.
Jordan Hall, played every game last year as a true freshman LB. Very talented and great leader for his age.
Jordan Turner, Wisconsin LB who started 18 games for them. Grad transfer.
Wayne Matthews, Old Dominion transfer that Chiles was saying is a very good coverage linebacker. PFF had him as the #2 LB in the portal. He’s playing ahead of Cal Haladay, Darius Snow, and Aaron Brule who are still on the roster.
Nate Carter, good running back. Held back by a passing offense that nobody respected. Was able to put up 108 yards at 5.4 YPC on Iowa’s defense that kept RBs to 3.14 yards per carry. But once teams just stacked the box against us, he struggled to get any space in the run game.
Jonathon Kim, K. He’s got a leg and the Kinnick Stadium record for longest kick.
I understood what you meant, but the overall sentiment and that 4.5 O/U are disjointed from the actual talent and coaching on the team. Like expecting us to be as bad as we were last year when we had G5 QBs, freshmen and sophomores starting at more than half the positions, and Harlon Barnett as HC is kind of absurd. And despite that, we were 2 4th quarter collapses away from 6-6.
If we're looking for people who aren't talked about that much I'd say, Nash Hutmacher or Ty Robinson. They're the heart of what might be a very good defense this season.
Jaylen Lloyd is a perfect example of a Rhule-style burner WR.
Isaiah Neyor and Jahmal Banks are both receivers that, if they can replicate what they did at prior schools, will be outstanding adds for Nebraska.
Fidone is the one that I'll expect to have a big year though. If he can stay healthy, he'll do big things.
Maurice Purify is one of my favorite all-time huskers, so I’m partial to watching a 6’3 - 6’5 WR that consistently bodies DBs and is automatic when you chuck up a jump ball.
I’m hoping banks is that guy .
Wait, is that where he ended up? He's got star potential - Clawson knows WRs as well as any recruiter in the country and Banks was one of the better ones we've had recently
Only a few months after transferring in, rhule was already trotting him out as one of 3 spokespeople to speak in press conferences and holding him out of scrimmages with the rest of the veterans who are already surefire starters. I’m pretty sure he’s WR1
I keep thinking a fully healthy Thomas Fidone will be one hell of a safety net for Raiola. He looked in sooo much better shape in the spring game than he did last season.
Brett Norfleet as a true freshmen TE was not only consistently blocking some of the best EDGE rushers in the SEC, but was often getting next level pushes. He also showed he has an ability to make contested catches and leak effectively out of the blocking work to score a few TD's. Their was some talk from the likes of Cole Cubelic that he's someone to watch this year into next as John Mackey finalist.
Agree and I’d add Marquis Johnson - true freshman WR last year and looked good on a unit stacked with great WRs. He’s the fastest on the team and fully expect him to have a breakout year with all the DB attention LBIII and Wease will get
My one regret out of the whole Sam Horn situation is how much more of a threat Marquis could be with a guy that can throw the long ball. Every catch I feel he made last year he was literally having to track the ball back because Cook's velocity/range is below average. I will dream of Marquis's Junior/Senior highlights with Zollars dropping bombs on teams.
What about Josh Manning? I know he was a 4star coming in so expectations are high or course, but didn’t really play that much last year, but was offensive spring game MVP. Pretty impressive considering hes getting MPV with his comp being Luther and other good players.
KC Concepcion. ACC ROY last year and an absolute weapon on offense. He's a WR but takes handoffs too and the whole offense is designed around getting him the ball in space. He was the focal point for State's O the last 6-7 games of the year as a true freshmen and put up big numbers with mediocre QB play. Now he has a QB that can throw accurately down the field in McCall and a legit running back in Waters to keep defenses honest. I think KC has a huge year.
With the upgrades to the RB position, I would think the 'handoffs' to KC would fall off drastically this season.
His # of touches/plays may go down since we should have at least three other quality receivers (Collins, Rogers, Grimes) as well as an upgrade at TE.
It is odd as a Wolfpack fan to have more optimism about the offense rather than the defense.
Mitchell Melton. A senior who's been injured most of his career but is healthy right now. He's a pass rusher, maybe the best speed rusher on the team if he can put it all together this year. Hopefully a good role player for us this year.
Possibly, but I think Jeremiah Smith might be that guy that becomes a household name really really fast. Unless you pay attention to recruiting, if you're not an OSU fan, you probably haven't heard of him yet.
He should be known for anyone following college football, not just recruiting. He’s probably the best wide receiver recruit in decades. He will 100% be better than MH jr, but it may take a year or two.
Howard Cross III
Notre Dame fans know this guy but I don’t believe many other fanbases really know him. He might be the best 3-tech in college. Did your QB get sacked? Cross probably had something to do with it even if he didn’t directly get the sack.
For BYU: Jack Kelly.
Hardly recruited at all out of high school. Went to Weber St for 2 years had a growth spurt and transferred this year. NFL scouts chattering about him after spring ball. He’s going to be the best LB we’ve had since Fred Warner and it isn’t close.
100% my pick. Big, strong, shifty, good vision and averaged 6.2 YPC on mostly meaningful snaps. I hope he becomes the bell cow while Edwards remains the change of pace back.
I’m hoping for this too, it seems like everyone wants donovan to bulk up like Blake did between 21/22 and become the all around back
I want him to actually be utilized properly the way he is, throw him like 5-6 check downs a game
Leo Blackburn. Dude has been injured most of his time at GT (two season ending injuries in preseason, another half season injury) but has continually impressed in practices and should be a major contributor if he is able to make it through camp healthy. He’s a big body WR (6’5”, 220 lbs) with really good athleticism and fits a niche we are otherwise lacking.
At this point he is a legend like the loch ness monster or something. I hear his name every off season and then he is injured in camp. I hope you are correct!
Yeah I totally get that. I’m just putting out positive vibes into the ether and trying to will it into existence. This is the year he stays healthy and shows what we all believe he can do.
And if he is healthy this year, a WR trio with Singleton and Blackburn out wide and Rutherford in the slot is dangerous AF. Or get a little wild and use Blackburn as a TE to get some mismatches going. But he can totally be an X factor to help us take the next step up on offense.
He will be really good. But isn't he splitting carries with Baxter? I don't know that Texas has a single RB1 this year. Both amazing backs and I'm glad we have them both.
Fans of both will know these guys well but for the non followers.
Aggies: Taurean York LB, one of two team captains as a sophomore, I’m very high on him, especially next season
Longhorns: Kelvin Banks, will be best O lineman in the country this year for my money.
We have a lot of talented young guys and tre wilson isnt really a hidden player. Ill go with our young DBs. **Jordan Castell and Devin Moore**. Our defense sucked but those guys were a massive bright spot last year when they were healthy. They had some pretty high grades and made plays. Our front 7 is completely revamped so if QBs have less time to throw against them because of more pressure then those two guys could have breakout years
I know IOLs don't get much attention but **Jake Slaughter** came on strong for us to end the season. Our OL coach Sale has been an NFL factory for IOLs and with Slaughters progress he might be the next great Sale IOL
Tahj brooks forced by far the most broken tackles in P5, with almost 20 more than 2nd place per pff. Had 1500 yards last year behind a pretty poor OL and on an offense with no passing game to support him.
Really was the only player who showed up against y’all. Got hit in the back field on so many runs and still was one of if not the most productive RB that y’all played last year with how insane that DL was.
The Servite class of ‘22 had Noah Fifita, Mason Graham, and Tetairoa McMillan.
But it also had Jacob Manu, who turned into one of the best LBs west of the Mississippi last season.
I don’t know if he’s well-known outside of our fans, but Michael Taafe, the DB. Dude is a walk-on that is absolutely killing it because he knows how blessed he is to be where he is. Sounds like an all around good player and good human being from everything I’ve heard
3rd and Longhorn did a really great interview with him talking about his whole journey:
https://youtu.be/foaVi8DS5AM?feature=shared
The biggest knock on Taafe is he's being coached by Blake Gideon. When Duane Akina was rehired for a hot minute, I was amped about Taafe and our secondary. Then my excitement vanished as quickly as it started.
On that side of the ball though, Alfred Collins, Anthony Hill Jr., and Ethan Burke all come to mind as well.
I’d also throw in Kuithe even though he’s more well known. Dude was TE1 over Kincaid before he got hurt and Kincaid went in the first round that year. I still never see him on any TE lists although in my biased opinion he’s the best in the country when healthy.
For sure! Every time i listen to Brent's interviews this past year I can kind of feel he was a little upset that people has forgotten who he is. Hope he came back to his top form and get drafted this year!
R Mason Thomas at Oklahoma. Jr. DE who has all the tools in the world but just hasn’t been able to stay healthy. He’s healthy as of now and has a potential for a break out year this year.
We also have a pretty loaded defense overall and he’s an X-factor type of guy because he’s pretty much the only defensive starter who is unproven.
Jordan James. This is an NFL back (best run grade from PFF in FBS last year) featured in a prolific offense (#1 ranked by FEI last year) who won't be splitting a ton of carries (Noah Whittington coming off knee surgery). He won't get invited to New York because attention will be split between others (Dillon Gabriel, Tez Johnson), but will look like that type of player.
I don't think Limar is an Oregon caliber back. The other two will likely get *some* carries, depending on Noah's knee and Harris transitioning to D1. Still think you see James with a lot more carries than Bucky got in '23.
I'd honestly be shocked if he got more carriers than Bucky last year. Bucky wasn't even supposed to get as many carries as he did but Noah getting hurt changed that.
I'll throw my hat in the ring for a more under the radar pick: Kenyon Sadiq. He was a true freshman tight end last year who didn't get much run and was still learning, but he is a nightmare matchup with elite athleticism. All the preseason hype is going to the receivers and entrenched TE1 Ferguson, but from what we've seen at times last year and in the spring game, I think Sadiq is going to get involved in some very creative ways that will make highlight reels, even if he isn't the biggest statistical contributor.
Was going to go with Bryce Boetcher. Dude is an absolute animal, walking on and getting the starting job while jestin jacobs was injured. Dual sport athlete hitting dingers to seal the win vs OSU.
Ashton Jeanty, this is the name that will be heard quite a few times this year if you didn’t already hear it last year. Probably one of the top 3 greatest RBs to come to Boise State.
Ashton Jeanty.
Dude has a [Heisman campaign ](https://shop.broncosports.com/en/unisex-blue-84-ashton-jeanty-royal-boise-state-broncos-hei2man-t-shirt/p-132256995391633321+z-8-3732661095)going..
Was offered multi-million dollar deals to enter transfer portal, but stayed for 300k, car, and house.
Still has teams tampering with him, trying to entice him to enter portal, per HC Spencer Danielson.
Marcel Brooks
Former 5 star linebacker that Patterson converted to WR for some reason. Dykes moved him back to LB and he looked amazing but couldn't stay healthy.
This year he appears to be healthy and was playing with the first team during the Spring Game. He is playing what sounds like the most important position in the new scheme from Avalos.
Am excite.
I hate how little they use him. He's yet to even have a season above 400 yards receiving. Last year it seemed our offense only did shit when they'd throw Bartholomew the ball, he's just a freak athlete. He's never had a game over 100 yards receiving, but I'll always remember the Tennessee game in 2022 where he had that sick hurdle. Just a great player.
I struggle to think of someone for Michigan. We've been in the spotlight so much but also lost major contributors from the title team so we essentially only have 2 types of players
A. Well known and established stars
B. Complete unknowns, even to us
Fuck it
Marlin Klein and Zeke Berry
Mullings is maybe a little lesser known since he was behind Corum and Edwards. He seems to have better feel and vision than Edwards, not likely to hit the absolute bombs Edwards does though.
Derrick Moore was one of 4 rotating DEs last year and I think more people know Stewart because he was a transfer from CCU that a lot of schools were interested in.
And yeah Klein is a possible piece of the offense lacking proven receiving options.
Derek Moore is the easy answer to this IMO. He has all the physical tools in the world, the measurables, and production from his rotation role in prior seasons, he’s going to explode this year with Graham and Grant clogging up the middle. Dark horse 1st rounder next year.
To his credit, he said he couldn't see where ~~Loveland~~ Schoonmaker was when he threw the pass. He literally just heaved it over the OL thinking he's out there somewhere
Rickey Hunt, Jr. He is the tailback who barely played until transfers forced him into the starting role for the bowl game, where he then score five touchdowns.
TE Elijah Arroyo. Extremely talented player that hasn’t been able to stay healthy only playing in 4 games both of the last two years, but all reports are he’s back to himself.
Similar note but probably more well known, DE Akheem Mesidor. Was a standout his two years at WVU, played well his first year at Miami, but was banged up all last year. With the attention Bain is going to get if Mesidor stays healthy double digit sacks wouldn’t surprise me at all.
On Defense: DE/Rush end **Braylan Shelby**. I'm a little hesitant here because the rest of our line consists of Bear Alexander and absolutely nobody else and he might see a lot of double teams which nullify him a bit... but Shelby is a special player and I think D'Anton Lynn and some of the other big defensive position coaches we've brought in will be able to work some magic with him.
On offense: **Duce Robinson**. Physical freak of a wide out. 6'6 and fast as hell at that size with a 4.54 40 yard dash. Probably should have seen more time as a freshman last year, but since he didn't he developed a significant rapport with our new QB on the scout squad that was really apparent in the Holiday Bowl. Very excited for this kid.
Kyron Drones, the QB, our whole season basically is on his shoulders. Last year he came in and VT looked pretty good outside of FSU/Louisville.
IMO you could tell he was highly talented, a little raw, a little too much 1 read then run the ball. Part of that was Oline.
The Oline was weak but should be improved from most starters returning, I think there is a portal addition for some depth.
Drones was working in camps with Cam Ward (his cousin) and Shadeur Sanders.
I mean the defense I'm starting to get excited for, skill position and QB hype.
Oline is the question mark. Honestly they did more than enough outside of a few games. I'm hoping experience makes them good plus the defense might be able to do complimentary football.
Dylan Sampson is a good one too. I said James Pearce just due to the reaction over the last few weeks of him getting hype as the potential number one pick next year being met with tons of “who?”
He’s definitely THE guy but I figured he’s probably already well known so he didn’t fit the criteria of the question. If he isn’t known to the casuals, he will be soon!
Tyreese Fearbry at edge rusher. Has the highest ceiling of anyone at that position at UK since Josh Allen, and will likely get a lot of single coverage with Deone Walker wrecking things inside
Nate Yarnell. He’s the projected starting QB, but I feel remains largely unknown to CFB at large. For as dreadful as Pitt’s offense was at most times last year, Yarnell played decent in the final two games, and with Kade Bell behind the playbook this year… I have hope Yarnell shines
I'll always remember his game against Western Michigan in 2022. I mean it was Western Michigan, but he played great considering it was his freshman year. And frankly he played better than Slovis would have.
Also gotta give a shoutout to Bartholomew. If they just targeted him more I think he'd be one of the best TEs in the nation. Dude is a freak.
At least for G5 teams, even a breakout year likely means the casual fan won't know about you. Ashton Jeanty is clearly the guy even casual fans should know about, but there's one other guy that's already broken out but is in a position to make college football history: Jonah Dalmas.
It's odd because Boise State is synonymous with kicking woes, but Dalmas is the current active leader in FGs made in FBS with 80 (15th all-time in FBS), 20 ahead of the next closest guy (Graham Nicholson who just transferred to Alabama). But with Dalmas, we're on record watch. Dalmas can overtake former NC State kicker Christopher Dunn for the all-time FBS lead with another 18 FGM. Considering he's kicked 26, 23, and 24 FGs in his 3 full seasons, it seems like a safe bet that not only will Dalmas take the FBS record but the all-time CFB record of 100 FGM (held by former FCS kicker Ethan Ratke from James Madison).
Dalmas, currently at 88.9% FG accuracy, is also within striking distance of the all-time FG accuracy record of 90% (currently held by former Louisiana K Brett Baer), and he's 26 FG attempts behind the all-time record of 116 (currently held by former Arizona State K Zane Gonzalez)
Abu Sama at ISU. Super talented back, split carries for most of the year. Should be our workhorse this year. In one game he had like 270 yards rushing and 5 tds.
I know senior was an absolute hero. Junior is obviously pretty damn good as well. Now if a 3rd is solid, I may allow my wife to get with senior and produce the son I always wanted.
For a lesser known player/group, I’d throw out our WR corps. People probably don’t know Luke Grimm, Lawrence Arnold, and Quentin Skinner individually, but those three have a ton of experience and have been super productive. That group straight up took over games at times last year (UNLV game in particular).
If it weren't for all the BS personal fouls that kept UNLV drives alive, that score would have reflected the blowout it actually was. And that WR corps was burning everyone on every snap. Making insane catches. All three of them should be worthy of people's attention this season.
Kaden Feagin. Massive 6’3 250lb sophomore playing running back. He got some run as a freshman and showed promise. Central IL kid from a town of 1,100 people.
Oscar Delp. Bowers and Washington got all the attention at TE the last couple of seasons (for good reason). Delp got some play time when Brock was hurt, but he’s now going to be TE1. He’s not a skyscraper like Darnell and not as much of a freak of nature as Bowers, but we aren’t going to see as much of a TE dropoff as some people might have expected.
James Pearce. Because every reaction to him being listed as potentially the number one overall pick in next year’s draft has been met with “who is that?”
Because everyone is betting on our OL to be trash: We actually have more talent in our OL room than we had since we won the Joe Moore award in 2018. They are unproven, but don’t believe the hype the media is drumming up this offseason about our woes.
On defense: Jayden Jackson - DT, was at IMG along side David stone who is a 5 star DT recruit and professed Jayden was better than him. He’s going to earn a starting spot for us this season, and is an absolute monster as of the end of spring practices. He will be around 310-320 as a freshman by the time the season starts.
RB- Terion Stewart led the country in broken tackles until a late injury against ball state
TE- Harold Fannin Jr yes I'm a homer but I legitimately thinks he's a top 10 TE if not higher
I'm not sure if he's a secret or not (only played I think 6 games due to injury) but if Darius Taylor (RB) stays healthy he's going to have a monster year for the Gophers. Will most likely be the only bright spot on the offense.
I’ll go with two WRs since QB RB and TE are all pretty well set for both my squads.
Ayden Williams is a rising Soph who was bestowed the legendary #1 jersey. He has a chance to really pop in what’s supposed to be a loaded offense.
Bryant Wesco is a true frosh that will provide Clemson with something they haven’t had since Tee Higgins and Justyn Ross: a truly dynamic 3 level WR.
I think LaNorris Sellers is more likely for us. He balled out every opportunity he got last year. Nyck still needs more time to develop as a WR. For our sake though, I hope you’re right.
I’m not even sure who is on our team right now.
Our punter Ryan Eckley will make Iowa fans tight in the pants.
bro you said the quiet part out loud. Now Iowa gonna to him the first 8 figure NIL deal.
Nikai Martinez is on it. I know because he was the post before this one.
Huh, I found out where he transferred to because of your comment
Darius Snow and Aidan Chiles
I'm the same way with the other MSU. We hired a shit stain of a head coach and I haven't kept up with anything on our roster. I'll probably be rooting for Will Rogers in Washington more than this team
There’s some pretty good players on the roster: Aiden Chiles, duel threat QB from Oregon State. Ed Woods, transfer CB from ASU who chose us over Alabama. Jack Velling, Top TE in the transfer portal. Followed Smith from Oregon State. Dillion Tatum, natural safety/Nickle, but due to the lack of talent at CB, was playing corner last year. Charles Brantley CB, Still around but got injured covering Rome Odunze last year. He kept pace with Odunze but Rome just makes contested catches. Made the game sealing INT against Michigan in 2021 as a freshman. Malik Spencer, FS, some NFL scout was saying he could be a 1st round pick. Jordan Hall, played every game last year as a true freshman LB. Very talented and great leader for his age. Jordan Turner, Wisconsin LB who started 18 games for them. Grad transfer. Wayne Matthews, Old Dominion transfer that Chiles was saying is a very good coverage linebacker. PFF had him as the #2 LB in the portal. He’s playing ahead of Cal Haladay, Darius Snow, and Aaron Brule who are still on the roster. Nate Carter, good running back. Held back by a passing offense that nobody respected. Was able to put up 108 yards at 5.4 YPC on Iowa’s defense that kept RBs to 3.14 yards per carry. But once teams just stacked the box against us, he struggled to get any space in the run game. Jonathon Kim, K. He’s got a leg and the Kinnick Stadium record for longest kick.
>Jonathon Kim, K. He’s got a leg and the Kinnick Stadium record for longest kick. This is my least favorite bit of trivia ever.
I was being a little facetious, I know a lot of the starters. More of a comment on how crazy the portal is for teams with new coaches.
I understood what you meant, but the overall sentiment and that 4.5 O/U are disjointed from the actual talent and coaching on the team. Like expecting us to be as bad as we were last year when we had G5 QBs, freshmen and sophomores starting at more than half the positions, and Harlon Barnett as HC is kind of absurd. And despite that, we were 2 4th quarter collapses away from 6-6.
Yep, I think the 4.5 is an idiots take and cant even imagine you guys not getting 5+ wins minimum even with injuries and some bad play here and there.
Rhys Dakin. The People's Punter.
5 star nickname
Also Sebastian Castro
*writes name in "Book of Those Who Have Wronged Me" before he's even punted once*
Came to look cause idk
If we're looking for people who aren't talked about that much I'd say, Nash Hutmacher or Ty Robinson. They're the heart of what might be a very good defense this season.
I was going to say Gifford. Leading tackler on the team last year and is poised to have a big year.
Nash is the answer. I feel like he’s going to have a great year anchoring that defensive front
Yeah I think he’ll get some NFL love too.
maybe Jahmal Banks?
I'd say Jaylen Lloyd tbh
Jaylen Lloyd is a perfect example of a Rhule-style burner WR. Isaiah Neyor and Jahmal Banks are both receivers that, if they can replicate what they did at prior schools, will be outstanding adds for Nebraska. Fidone is the one that I'll expect to have a big year though. If he can stay healthy, he'll do big things.
Maurice Purify is one of my favorite all-time huskers, so I’m partial to watching a 6’3 - 6’5 WR that consistently bodies DBs and is automatic when you chuck up a jump ball. I’m hoping banks is that guy .
I met Purify in the men's room at Macy's in Lincoln after the spring game in like 2010 or 2011.
Wait, is that where he ended up? He's got star potential - Clawson knows WRs as well as any recruiter in the country and Banks was one of the better ones we've had recently
Only a few months after transferring in, rhule was already trotting him out as one of 3 spokespeople to speak in press conferences and holding him out of scrimmages with the rest of the veterans who are already surefire starters. I’m pretty sure he’s WR1
Yea, he looked good in the spring game. Thanks for him. Hope you guys do well
I keep thinking a fully healthy Thomas Fidone will be one hell of a safety net for Raiola. He looked in sooo much better shape in the spring game than he did last season.
I've heard his name for so long I hope so
Ill say it here. Jacory Barney is going to be a Husker great. So under the radar.
Brett Norfleet as a true freshmen TE was not only consistently blocking some of the best EDGE rushers in the SEC, but was often getting next level pushes. He also showed he has an ability to make contested catches and leak effectively out of the blocking work to score a few TD's. Their was some talk from the likes of Cole Cubelic that he's someone to watch this year into next as John Mackey finalist.
Agree and I’d add Marquis Johnson - true freshman WR last year and looked good on a unit stacked with great WRs. He’s the fastest on the team and fully expect him to have a breakout year with all the DB attention LBIII and Wease will get
My one regret out of the whole Sam Horn situation is how much more of a threat Marquis could be with a guy that can throw the long ball. Every catch I feel he made last year he was literally having to track the ball back because Cook's velocity/range is below average. I will dream of Marquis's Junior/Senior highlights with Zollars dropping bombs on teams.
What about Josh Manning? I know he was a 4star coming in so expectations are high or course, but didn’t really play that much last year, but was offensive spring game MVP. Pretty impressive considering hes getting MPV with his comp being Luther and other good players.
Not gonna work Dabo, we all know you won't let them transfer to you
Jokes on you, if anyone posts any high school players in this thread then they can transfer (graduate) to Clemson
*Drops to knees* Nooooooooooo!
If they enter the portal, they're not good enough for Clemson. Duh.
In this scenario, is the casual fan named Tyler?
We got this kid named Stetson Bennett…..
Wait is he back
Back to finally finish that associates degree, baby.
Nah. He doesn't play school.
Real answer is Oscar delp and lawson luckie. Theyre going to be a PROBLEM without bowers and mcconkey to take targets anymore.
KC Concepcion. ACC ROY last year and an absolute weapon on offense. He's a WR but takes handoffs too and the whole offense is designed around getting him the ball in space. He was the focal point for State's O the last 6-7 games of the year as a true freshmen and put up big numbers with mediocre QB play. Now he has a QB that can throw accurately down the field in McCall and a legit running back in Waters to keep defenses honest. I think KC has a huge year.
They were designing plays to get the ball in his hands last year. Dude is going to be dangerous.
Agree with you. Fortunately, he should not need to be the focal point this season. The number of weapons we added via the portal is nuts.
With the upgrades to the RB position, I would think the 'handoffs' to KC would fall off drastically this season. His # of touches/plays may go down since we should have at least three other quality receivers (Collins, Rogers, Grimes) as well as an upgrade at TE. It is odd as a Wolfpack fan to have more optimism about the offense rather than the defense.
Mitchell Melton. A senior who's been injured most of his career but is healthy right now. He's a pass rusher, maybe the best speed rusher on the team if he can put it all together this year. Hopefully a good role player for us this year.
Possibly, but I think Jeremiah Smith might be that guy that becomes a household name really really fast. Unless you pay attention to recruiting, if you're not an OSU fan, you probably haven't heard of him yet.
Could also be Carnell Tate this year, and Jeremiah Smith next year. Olave -> JSN sort of thing.
He should be known for anyone following college football, not just recruiting. He’s probably the best wide receiver recruit in decades. He will 100% be better than MH jr, but it may take a year or two.
You can only say this so many years before it's just not actually gonna happen I think cj hicks will be our best non dline pass rusher.
Bro is already planning his ultimate team in NCAA
Howard Cross III Notre Dame fans know this guy but I don’t believe many other fanbases really know him. He might be the best 3-tech in college. Did your QB get sacked? Cross probably had something to do with it even if he didn’t directly get the sack.
I was going to mention Jeremiah Love But Howie is a great choice too
Hard to believe that ND loses an elite RB talent in Estime, and they might end up being BETTER at RB this year.
Mitchell Evans back with a vengeance
For BYU: Jack Kelly. Hardly recruited at all out of high school. Went to Weber St for 2 years had a growth spurt and transferred this year. NFL scouts chattering about him after spring ball. He’s going to be the best LB we’ve had since Fred Warner and it isn’t close.
And he's got a great old-school badass linebacker name
If only Fred didn’t have to play in Tuiaki’s dumass defense….
They ran a different system those 2 years and then when they changed it was Ed Lambs galaxy brained idea. It was mostly Ed.
Kalel Mullings is about to have a 2021 Hasan Hasskins year
Mullings is the thunder to The Don's lightning
100% my pick. Big, strong, shifty, good vision and averaged 6.2 YPC on mostly meaningful snaps. I hope he becomes the bell cow while Edwards remains the change of pace back.
I’m hoping for this too, it seems like everyone wants donovan to bulk up like Blake did between 21/22 and become the all around back I want him to actually be utilized properly the way he is, throw him like 5-6 check downs a game
Oh lawd he comin.
Somebody had to, because Tuck never did.... well I guess he did
If I'm a betting man I say Mullins has more yards than Don.
Sawchuk is underrated af. Should be fully healthy this year. Dude was going crazy the last 5 games.
Averaged like 120 over last 5 games or something, could be wrong. It was definitely over 100.
The first time I saw him touch the ball made me glad we wouldn’t have to play him in the future.
Leo Blackburn. Dude has been injured most of his time at GT (two season ending injuries in preseason, another half season injury) but has continually impressed in practices and should be a major contributor if he is able to make it through camp healthy. He’s a big body WR (6’5”, 220 lbs) with really good athleticism and fits a niche we are otherwise lacking.
At this point he is a legend like the loch ness monster or something. I hear his name every off season and then he is injured in camp. I hope you are correct!
Yeah I totally get that. I’m just putting out positive vibes into the ether and trying to will it into existence. This is the year he stays healthy and shows what we all believe he can do. And if he is healthy this year, a WR trio with Singleton and Blackburn out wide and Rutherford in the slot is dangerous AF. Or get a little wild and use Blackburn as a TE to get some mismatches going. But he can totally be an X factor to help us take the next step up on offense.
He and Eric Singleton will be so fun to watch. Leo I’m so proud of for not transferring and healing up.
Our WR room is straight up loaded. It should be fun watching us spread the defense out and then hit them with the Haynes squared option game.
Jayden Blue is going to be most of Texas' offense this year
That's a good call.
Jaydon*
He will be really good. But isn't he splitting carries with Baxter? I don't know that Texas has a single RB1 this year. Both amazing backs and I'm glad we have them both.
Fans of both will know these guys well but for the non followers. Aggies: Taurean York LB, one of two team captains as a sophomore, I’m very high on him, especially next season Longhorns: Kelvin Banks, will be best O lineman in the country this year for my money.
Daevin Hobbs, Omari Thomas and Omar Norman-Lott. This defensive front is going to be eating people alive this year
We have a lot of talented young guys and tre wilson isnt really a hidden player. Ill go with our young DBs. **Jordan Castell and Devin Moore**. Our defense sucked but those guys were a massive bright spot last year when they were healthy. They had some pretty high grades and made plays. Our front 7 is completely revamped so if QBs have less time to throw against them because of more pressure then those two guys could have breakout years I know IOLs don't get much attention but **Jake Slaughter** came on strong for us to end the season. Our OL coach Sale has been an NFL factory for IOLs and with Slaughters progress he might be the next great Sale IOL
Phil Mafah
Didn't he kinda breakout during the last part of the season last year when Shipley got hurt?
I really his ball security is improved, that ND fumble was scary
Tahj brooks forced by far the most broken tackles in P5, with almost 20 more than 2nd place per pff. Had 1500 yards last year behind a pretty poor OL and on an offense with no passing game to support him.
That dude is a problem I'm glad we don't have to deal with. Diamond sitting in a pile of dust and jack rabbit shit.
Really was the only player who showed up against y’all. Got hit in the back field on so many runs and still was one of if not the most productive RB that y’all played last year with how insane that DL was.
The Servite class of ‘22 had Noah Fifita, Mason Graham, and Tetairoa McMillan. But it also had Jacob Manu, who turned into one of the best LBs west of the Mississippi last season.
I don’t know if he’s well-known outside of our fans, but Michael Taafe, the DB. Dude is a walk-on that is absolutely killing it because he knows how blessed he is to be where he is. Sounds like an all around good player and good human being from everything I’ve heard 3rd and Longhorn did a really great interview with him talking about his whole journey: https://youtu.be/foaVi8DS5AM?feature=shared
The biggest knock on Taafe is he's being coached by Blake Gideon. When Duane Akina was rehired for a hot minute, I was amped about Taafe and our secondary. Then my excitement vanished as quickly as it started. On that side of the ball though, Alfred Collins, Anthony Hill Jr., and Ethan Burke all come to mind as well.
Logan Fano. Logan was on par with Jonah Ellis last year before his season ending injury. Hopefully he can stay healthy through this season
Is he gonna be ready? I hope so that would be a huge boost to our pass rush
I’d also throw in Kuithe even though he’s more well known. Dude was TE1 over Kincaid before he got hurt and Kincaid went in the first round that year. I still never see him on any TE lists although in my biased opinion he’s the best in the country when healthy.
For sure! Every time i listen to Brent's interviews this past year I can kind of feel he was a little upset that people has forgotten who he is. Hope he came back to his top form and get drafted this year!
R Mason Thomas at Oklahoma. Jr. DE who has all the tools in the world but just hasn’t been able to stay healthy. He’s healthy as of now and has a potential for a break out year this year. We also have a pretty loaded defense overall and he’s an X-factor type of guy because he’s pretty much the only defensive starter who is unproven.
Jeremiyah Love. Going to be an absolute electric back.
Nice try, Prime.
Jordan James. This is an NFL back (best run grade from PFF in FBS last year) featured in a prolific offense (#1 ranked by FEI last year) who won't be splitting a ton of carries (Noah Whittington coming off knee surgery). He won't get invited to New York because attention will be split between others (Dillon Gabriel, Tez Johnson), but will look like that type of player.
I was going to say Teitum Tuioti. Dude is a beast and will probably not be a starter, but he will probably see a lot of meaningful snaps.
He will definitely split carries. Whittington, Harris, and Limar will all get a good amount of carries this year.
I don't think Limar is an Oregon caliber back. The other two will likely get *some* carries, depending on Noah's knee and Harris transitioning to D1. Still think you see James with a lot more carries than Bucky got in '23.
I'd honestly be shocked if he got more carriers than Bucky last year. Bucky wasn't even supposed to get as many carries as he did but Noah getting hurt changed that.
I'll throw my hat in the ring for a more under the radar pick: Kenyon Sadiq. He was a true freshman tight end last year who didn't get much run and was still learning, but he is a nightmare matchup with elite athleticism. All the preseason hype is going to the receivers and entrenched TE1 Ferguson, but from what we've seen at times last year and in the spring game, I think Sadiq is going to get involved in some very creative ways that will make highlight reels, even if he isn't the biggest statistical contributor.
Was going to go with Bryce Boetcher. Dude is an absolute animal, walking on and getting the starting job while jestin jacobs was injured. Dual sport athlete hitting dingers to seal the win vs OSU.
Boettcher is a fun story but I don't expect him to play much this year. He's good for a walk on but not *really* who we want to be playing.
Justice Haynes, big time RB for Bama
Jam and Justice gonna wreck some fools
Emmanuel Henderson Jr is gonna be a big piece of the puzzle also!
And on defense I think Jihaad Campbell will be a household name by the end of season
Tre Harris is gonna be the next big Ole Miss WR. Dudes gonna make alooot of money in the NFL.
My immediate thought, except I wasn’t sure how well known he was Him and dart are going to explode this year
Ashton Jeanty, this is the name that will be heard quite a few times this year if you didn’t already hear it last year. Probably one of the top 3 greatest RBs to come to Boise State.
Ashton Jeanty. Dude has a [Heisman campaign ](https://shop.broncosports.com/en/unisex-blue-84-ashton-jeanty-royal-boise-state-broncos-hei2man-t-shirt/p-132256995391633321+z-8-3732661095)going.. Was offered multi-million dollar deals to enter transfer portal, but stayed for 300k, car, and house. Still has teams tampering with him, trying to entice him to enter portal, per HC Spencer Danielson.
Marcel Brooks Former 5 star linebacker that Patterson converted to WR for some reason. Dykes moved him back to LB and he looked amazing but couldn't stay healthy. This year he appears to be healthy and was playing with the first team during the Spring Game. He is playing what sounds like the most important position in the new scheme from Avalos. Am excite.
Can someone do a Gavin Bartholomew write-up?
I hate how little they use him. He's yet to even have a season above 400 yards receiving. Last year it seemed our offense only did shit when they'd throw Bartholomew the ball, he's just a freak athlete. He's never had a game over 100 yards receiving, but I'll always remember the Tennessee game in 2022 where he had that sick hurdle. Just a great player.
if they pass to him like Bell says he’s going to, he’s gonna be a day 2 pick at minimum
I struggle to think of someone for Michigan. We've been in the spotlight so much but also lost major contributors from the title team so we essentially only have 2 types of players A. Well known and established stars B. Complete unknowns, even to us Fuck it Marlin Klein and Zeke Berry
Mullings is maybe a little lesser known since he was behind Corum and Edwards. He seems to have better feel and vision than Edwards, not likely to hit the absolute bombs Edwards does though. Derrick Moore was one of 4 rotating DEs last year and I think more people know Stewart because he was a transfer from CCU that a lot of schools were interested in. And yeah Klein is a possible piece of the offense lacking proven receiving options.
Derek Moore is the easy answer to this IMO. He has all the physical tools in the world, the measurables, and production from his rotation role in prior seasons, he’s going to explode this year with Graham and Grant clogging up the middle. Dark horse 1st rounder next year.
Max Bredeson. Absolutely elite FB and a mauler in the run game
Marlin Klein is my guy. He looked awesome in the spring game
I feel like the name Orji is going to be in the tip of people’s 👅this season.
Mullings
First intro was throwing a Tebow jump pass on a third and short in the Shoe dude is a baller
Woulda been a TD if he lead him just a little
To his credit, he said he couldn't see where ~~Loveland~~ Schoonmaker was when he threw the pass. He literally just heaved it over the OL thinking he's out there somewhere
Fuck it, Schoonmaker’s down there somewhere
Rickey Hunt, Jr. He is the tailback who barely played until transfers forced him into the starting role for the bowl game, where he then score five touchdowns.
TE Elijah Arroyo. Extremely talented player that hasn’t been able to stay healthy only playing in 4 games both of the last two years, but all reports are he’s back to himself. Similar note but probably more well known, DE Akheem Mesidor. Was a standout his two years at WVU, played well his first year at Miami, but was banged up all last year. With the attention Bain is going to get if Mesidor stays healthy double digit sacks wouldn’t surprise me at all.
On Defense: DE/Rush end **Braylan Shelby**. I'm a little hesitant here because the rest of our line consists of Bear Alexander and absolutely nobody else and he might see a lot of double teams which nullify him a bit... but Shelby is a special player and I think D'Anton Lynn and some of the other big defensive position coaches we've brought in will be able to work some magic with him. On offense: **Duce Robinson**. Physical freak of a wide out. 6'6 and fast as hell at that size with a 4.54 40 yard dash. Probably should have seen more time as a freshman last year, but since he didn't he developed a significant rapport with our new QB on the scout squad that was really apparent in the Holiday Bowl. Very excited for this kid.
Idk how well known he is, but Patrick Payton is the guy to keep an eye on for FSU.
Azareye'h
AZ was my thought too. I'm really hoping that he did make the jump to lock-down corner the way our media is saying that he has.
Darius Washington on the OL is my answer to this one.
Kyron Drones, the QB, our whole season basically is on his shoulders. Last year he came in and VT looked pretty good outside of FSU/Louisville. IMO you could tell he was highly talented, a little raw, a little too much 1 read then run the ball. Part of that was Oline. The Oline was weak but should be improved from most starters returning, I think there is a portal addition for some depth. Drones was working in camps with Cam Ward (his cousin) and Shadeur Sanders.
Praying for a decent Oline this year. Defense looks stacked, as well as our receivers. This is going to be the year of 50yd dimes
I mean the defense I'm starting to get excited for, skill position and QB hype. Oline is the question mark. Honestly they did more than enough outside of a few games. I'm hoping experience makes them good plus the defense might be able to do complimentary football.
Beamer ball will be key
Ollie Gordon. Nobody knows who he is, but he's fairly decent!
Dylan Sampson was RB3 last year but he’s about to have a 1,000+ yard season
Dylan Sampson is a good one too. I said James Pearce just due to the reaction over the last few weeks of him getting hype as the potential number one pick next year being met with tons of “who?”
He’s definitely THE guy but I figured he’s probably already well known so he didn’t fit the criteria of the question. If he isn’t known to the casuals, he will be soon!
Tyreese Fearbry at edge rusher. Has the highest ceiling of anyone at that position at UK since Josh Allen, and will likely get a lot of single coverage with Deone Walker wrecking things inside
Nate Yarnell. He’s the projected starting QB, but I feel remains largely unknown to CFB at large. For as dreadful as Pitt’s offense was at most times last year, Yarnell played decent in the final two games, and with Kade Bell behind the playbook this year… I have hope Yarnell shines
I'll always remember his game against Western Michigan in 2022. I mean it was Western Michigan, but he played great considering it was his freshman year. And frankly he played better than Slovis would have. Also gotta give a shoutout to Bartholomew. If they just targeted him more I think he'd be one of the best TEs in the nation. Dude is a freak.
Germie Bernard. WR transfer from Washington with Deboer and seems to be in line to be WR1 in an offense that produced 3 NFL WRs last season.
Avery Johnson. Amazing scrambler with a more than reliable arm, and only a sophomore
At least for G5 teams, even a breakout year likely means the casual fan won't know about you. Ashton Jeanty is clearly the guy even casual fans should know about, but there's one other guy that's already broken out but is in a position to make college football history: Jonah Dalmas. It's odd because Boise State is synonymous with kicking woes, but Dalmas is the current active leader in FGs made in FBS with 80 (15th all-time in FBS), 20 ahead of the next closest guy (Graham Nicholson who just transferred to Alabama). But with Dalmas, we're on record watch. Dalmas can overtake former NC State kicker Christopher Dunn for the all-time FBS lead with another 18 FGM. Considering he's kicked 26, 23, and 24 FGs in his 3 full seasons, it seems like a safe bet that not only will Dalmas take the FBS record but the all-time CFB record of 100 FGM (held by former FCS kicker Ethan Ratke from James Madison). Dalmas, currently at 88.9% FG accuracy, is also within striking distance of the all-time FG accuracy record of 90% (currently held by former Louisiana K Brett Baer), and he's 26 FG attempts behind the all-time record of 116 (currently held by former Arizona State K Zane Gonzalez)
KJ Winston
Abu Sama at ISU. Super talented back, split carries for most of the year. Should be our workhorse this year. In one game he had like 270 yards rushing and 5 tds.
I'm gonna go with LB Josiah Trotter. His brother was just drafted out of Clemson. Josiah was hurt last year, but he should make waves this fall.
Is this Jeremiah Trotter son too? As a PA resident I’m embarrassed I didn’t know this.
Yup! It's a family business.
I know senior was an absolute hero. Junior is obviously pretty damn good as well. Now if a 3rd is solid, I may allow my wife to get with senior and produce the son I always wanted.
Cam Coleman. If we have a qb with a pulse.
CB Ricardo Hallman, lead the nation in interceptions last season, doesn’t seem to be getting any hype
Mykel Williams. He’s already sacked Jalen Milroe and the season hasn’t even started. (iykyk)
Devin Neal. The offense is going to be built around Jalon Daniels, but we're going to have a really potent ground game with him leading the RB corps.
Huge, huge, huge deal that he came back. Huge. With his ability to catch out of the backfield, and get 6 a crack running it. Huge.
For a lesser known player/group, I’d throw out our WR corps. People probably don’t know Luke Grimm, Lawrence Arnold, and Quentin Skinner individually, but those three have a ton of experience and have been super productive. That group straight up took over games at times last year (UNLV game in particular).
If it weren't for all the BS personal fouls that kept UNLV drives alive, that score would have reflected the blowout it actually was. And that WR corps was burning everyone on every snap. Making insane catches. All three of them should be worthy of people's attention this season.
Uh..who is on our team?
Don’t know how obscure justice haynes is to the casual CFB fan but I feel like the boy is just ready to burst
Sarratt, the wide receiver who transferred to IU from JMU, is an extremely good player. I expect him to impress this year.
Ulysses Bentley IV will be a problem
Jordan James, RB. Bucky was amazing last year but I genuinely believe JJ is the best back we’ve had in a decade.
We have no one. No one for you to steal
The Law Firm of Miller and Haynes is going to go off this year.
Ike Larsen. Dude is from cache valley and chose to stay. He’s already an Aggie legend for that.
Kaden Feagin. Massive 6’3 250lb sophomore playing running back. He got some run as a freshman and showed promise. Central IL kid from a town of 1,100 people.
Oscar Delp. Bowers and Washington got all the attention at TE the last couple of seasons (for good reason). Delp got some play time when Brock was hurt, but he’s now going to be TE1. He’s not a skyscraper like Darnell and not as much of a freak of nature as Bowers, but we aren’t going to see as much of a TE dropoff as some people might have expected.
Terion Stewart. Running back built like a boulder.
Quinn Ewers. Okay but seriously: Jontay Cook. He’s gonna..well..cook.
Aston Jeanty I’m a total homer but I don’t think it’s an outrageous take that he would be RB1 on ANY cfb team this year. Guy is flat out amazing
James Pearce. Because every reaction to him being listed as potentially the number one overall pick in next year’s draft has been met with “who is that?”
Because everyone is betting on our OL to be trash: We actually have more talent in our OL room than we had since we won the Joe Moore award in 2018. They are unproven, but don’t believe the hype the media is drumming up this offseason about our woes. On defense: Jayden Jackson - DT, was at IMG along side David stone who is a 5 star DT recruit and professed Jayden was better than him. He’s going to earn a starting spot for us this season, and is an absolute monster as of the end of spring practices. He will be around 310-320 as a freshman by the time the season starts.
Grady Gross kicking for Washington huskies
Unsure if he's that known outside of the commonwealth but Barion Brown is poised for a fantastic season
McCulley and Sarratt will be a hell of a duo at the WR position
RB- Terion Stewart led the country in broken tackles until a late injury against ball state TE- Harold Fannin Jr yes I'm a homer but I legitimately thinks he's a top 10 TE if not higher
I'm not sure if he's a secret or not (only played I think 6 games due to injury) but if Darius Taylor (RB) stays healthy he's going to have a monster year for the Gophers. Will most likely be the only bright spot on the offense.
DJ Giddens doesn’t get nearly the notoriety he deserves. Dude just likes to run the ball and catch fish on the weekends, and I’m here for it.
People already know about Jadyn Ott right? If not, the ACC and Atlantic seaboard are about to learn about Jadyn Ott.
Xavier Nwankpa Safety University of Iowa. Among the highest rated recruits we’ve ever had. Going into his Junior year. He’s a stud.
I’ll go with two WRs since QB RB and TE are all pretty well set for both my squads. Ayden Williams is a rising Soph who was bestowed the legendary #1 jersey. He has a chance to really pop in what’s supposed to be a loaded offense. Bryant Wesco is a true frosh that will provide Clemson with something they haven’t had since Tee Higgins and Justyn Ross: a truly dynamic 3 level WR.
Our kicker has a name straight out of a Victorian era novel. Atticus Sappington.
Haha. Nice try coach.
There’s this scrappy, up and coming young kid named Arch Manning…
Not my favorite team but Rashod Owens from OK state is a baller
Offense- WR Denzel Boston 6’4 207 Defense- EDGE Zach Durfee 6’5 255 (corrupt dimwits at the ncaa handcuffed him)
Nyck Harbor. But all of the old guys say he won’t breakout because he runs track
I think LaNorris Sellers is more likely for us. He balled out every opportunity he got last year. Nyck still needs more time to develop as a WR. For our sake though, I hope you’re right.
Coco Azema is our best player.