In no particular order…
- D’Eriq King – QB – Houston – D’eriq King showed a ton of promise last year as he came off the bench and outplayed former 5-star recruit, Kyle Allen. King is a dual-threat QB who should only improve especially since Houston hired offensive coordinator Kendal Briles (son of Art) over from Florida Atlantic. Briles in just one year at Florida Atlantic had the Owls offense dominating and now he has a whole offseason to develop King. Watch out.
- Adrian Martinez – QB – Nebraska – Scott Frost is the new coach in Lincoln, Nebraska, and Frost did pretty damn well with a young QB named Milton McKenzie at UCF (Who won a national championship last year! Yep). Martinez looked great in the spring game going 10-13 for 114 yards and a score in the air and 14 rushes for 60 yards and three touchdowns on the ground and the offense isn’t even at full speed yet. Just wait until September rolls around.
- McLean Carter – QB – Texas Tech – Who are we kidding right? This has been a plug and plays QB system for like 20 years almost. Not taking anything away from Carter but the system will have Carter putting up video game-like numbers. Last year Carer complete 23 of 46 for 359 yards with 2 TDs & 2 ints. Sure he’ll need to improve the completion percentage and the TD/INT ratio but last year was his first year in the system and this year he knows he’ll be the man under center.
- Travis Etienne – RB – Clemson – Last season Etienne was a true freshman and he sure didn’t play like it. Etienne had 766 yards and 13 touchdowns on just 107 carries. The workload should increase and Etienne should only get better so watch out ACC. The guy has all the intangibles and should be one of the many reasons why Clemson is predicted to be in many experts preseason playoff predictions.
- Shawn Robinson – QB – TCU – Kenny Hill is gone and now it’s time to turn to sophomore Robinson. Robinson played a bit as a true freshman and even started a game. He’s a dual-threat quarterback who is a much better runner than Hill was. He’ll have to improve on the accuracy front but I’m sure that’s all part of the process. The kid should be ready to show himself when Ohio State comes to Dallas in Week 3.
- Juwan Washington – RB – San Diego State – Our gals! You know I had to put San Diego State somewhere on this list but let me warn you this is not a shameless hometown plug Washington is legit. Two years ago San Diego State had Donnel Pumphrey and he just won a super bowl with the Eagles. Last season it was Rashaad Penny who was just a first-round draft pick with the Seahawks. Now, it’s time for Juwan Washington who in his brief time in the backfield has looked the part. Washington has 1,200 yards on 182 carries at a nice 6.6 yards per carry plus the guy has 3 kick returns for touchdowns and now he’s getting the full work load. Watch out Mountain West.
- D’Andre Swift – RB – Georgia – If you are a heavy Georgia or SEC fan than this name is already well known. Swift was a freshman last year who saw limited action but boy did he impress. Last season Swift had just 81 carries but for 597 yards! That’s a 7.6 yards per carry average and if you took note of Swift then you know this kid is pretty electrifying. Chubb and Michel are gone and Georgia always has a stud running back. You can bet your retirement on Swift being a household name by the end of next season.
- Miles Sanders – RB – Penn State – Saquon Barkley is now in the NFL and well Sanders is just a five-star recruit and the number 1 running back recruit of the 2016 class. Sanders in brief time last season averaged 7.4 yards per carry on just 25 attempts but don’t worry the carries are coming. Sanders will be a huge part of the offense that returns Trace McSorley and the offensive line should be much improved from a year ago.
- Dwayne Haskins – QB – Ohio State – Haskins was just a freshman last season and boy Michigan fans can tell you this kid sure can throw the ball. Ohio State was most likely going to lose to Michigan before JT Barrett went down with an injury and Haskins stepped in and dissected the Wolverine defense. I know that was a small sample size but that had me sold. I haven’t seen a QB at Ohio State be able to throw that good in quite some time. The downside is that Haskins isn’t nearly as much a runner as Barrett but I’m sure Myer will find a way to make it work.
- Kyler Murray – QB – Oklahoma – This one has me really excited to watch Oklahoma this year. Oklahoma has probably never had a dual threat QB like this. Murray is not just fast the dude is an athlete. He’s not only a good football player but the kid is a stud on the baseball field who might have a career on the next level. The real concern is that Oklahoma is replacing a ton especially on the offensive line but one way to hide an inexperienced offensive lines weaknesses is having a dual-threat QB like Murray. It should be interesting to see how Lincoln Riley will cater the offense to Murray and his team’s strengths.
