SDS' Top 100: Ranking the best college football players of 2023

More than 10,000 players will take the field for an FBS team in the 2023 college football season. These stars comprise the top 1 percent.– – –

Freshman corners tend to make for inviting targets, but quarterbacks who tested Morrison in 2022 tended to regret it. By the end of his rookie campaign he was entrenched as the Irish’s top cover man, allowing 5.8 yards per target on a team-best 43.1% completion rate in his direction. Meanwhile, he also tied for No. 2 nationally with 6 interceptions — all of them in November and December — including a game-clinching pick-6 against Clemson that solidified his status as a rising star. The only question over the next 2 years is just how high that ceiling goes.

Man for man, Deion Sanders’ offseason roster purge at Colorado attracted significantly more attention than top-shelf talent. With Hunter, however, he has at least one bona fide gem. As a prospect, Hunter was the subject of the most stunning recruiting coup in ages when he spurned every name-brand program in the country in favor of Sanders’ reclamation project at Jackson State. A year later, he’s leveling up to the FBS ranks with the hype intact after making a splash on both sides of the ball as a true freshman. (The majority of Hunter’s reps in the spring came at wide receiver, for what it’s worth, although he was primarily a corner at JSU.) Wherever he lines up, if the Buffs stand any chance of pulling off an overnight turnaround as dramatic as their new coach’s ambitions, his most gifted protégé must live up to the distinction.

Jackson started out as a highly-touted quarterback prospect at Texas, and quickly joined the long, undistinguished list of blue-chip Longhorn QBs who left Austin without leaving a trace. Instead, he washed ashore in Salt Lake City and found his true calling in 2022 as a jumbo-sized running back. After joining the rotation at midseason Jackson averaged an eye-opening 8.1 yards per carry with 7 touchdowns in the Utes’ last 5 games, flashing an intriguing combination of speed and power in the process.

Jaquinden Jackson calls game pic.twitter.com/g54e5dn97O

— Hemā Heimuli Jr. (@x_hems) December 3, 2022

Utah, a program that has produced 8 1,000-yard rushers in 11 years since joining the Pac-12, is not the kind of place where a 6-2, 227-pound thumper with a nose for the end zone has to worry about his talents going to waste. Quite the opposite: With Jackson due to pick up where he left off in a full-time role, the bigger concern might be resisting the temptation to run him into the ground.

Historically, a redshirt freshman d-lineman from a non-power conference who’s on the field for fewer than a third of his team’s defensive snaps is resigned to obscurity even among his own fan base. Such is life in the trenches. But that was before we had the film-eaters at Pro Football Focus, who grade every snap by every player on every D-1 team, and who singlehandedly elevated Corleone from the ranks of the All-Name Team last year by touting him as the nation’s highest-graded defensive player, full stop.

Suddenly the Bearcats’ backup nose tackle had the makings of a star: A first-team All-AAC pick, a fast favorite among scouts, and a plausible option for preseason All-America lists alongside guys with far better conventional résumés. An expanded role this fall, Cincinnati’s first in the Big 12, will serve either to solidify his reputation as an elite run stuffer or as a warning about getting too carried away over a small sample size.

Between his native Ontario, Canada, his senior year of high school in Clearwater, Fla., his freshman and sophomore campaigns at West Virginia, and his first season at The U, Mesidor might be the most well-traveled entry on this list. Among the d-linemen, he’s also one of the most versatile, with 25 TFLs and 74 QB pressures over the past 3 years as both a tackle and an end.

Despite his tweener size – Miami lists him, generously, at 6-3, 280 – Mesidor is the rare college pass rusher capable of turning up the heat from inside or out, combining an array of interior moves with a relentless motor off the edge. While scouts are scrutinizing his wingspan, opposing quarterbacks will be ducking for cover.

A Freshman All-American in 2021, Mukuba suffered the sophomore slump in ’22, playing through nagging injuries and allowing a team-high 5 touchdowns in coverage, per PFF. Altogether, he posted the worst overall PFF grade (50.2) of any full-time Clemson defender. Still, at full speed, the 6-0, 185-pound Mukuba is a prototypical athlete for the position, equally comfortable playing deep, in the box, or over the slot, and expectations remain high entering Year 3. Give them a solid rebound year, and draftniks will be happy to drop the notes on his growing pains in the spam folder.

McGlothern crossed the state line last year after 2 relatively nondescript seasons at LSU and looked right at home as a Hog. Entrenched from Day 1, he picked off 4 passes, broke up 10 more, and allowed just 1 touchdown in coverage (per PFF) on his way to a second-team All-SEC nod from league coaches. At 6-2, he also boasts the kind of long-limbed frame coveted by NFL scouts, who shouldn’t need to see much more than they already have to ensure McGlothern will hear his name called next spring.

Few coaches have been more aggressive on the transfer market than Lane Kiffin, and there were few bigger fish in the portal this offseason than Franklin, a 2-time All-Conference USA pick at UT-San Antonio whose commitment in early June addressed Ole Miss’ most glaring vacancy. Both of last year’s leading receivers, Jonathan Mingo and Malik Heath, left for the NFL, leaving the door wide open for Franklin — a former 2-star recruit who enters the season as the active FBS leader with 37 career touchdowns — to assume the role of WR1. Next on the agenda: Settling on a starting quarterback.

As a freshman, Gore was instantly enshrined into the canon of guys whose name alone evokes for fans of a certain age the grim inevitability of death. Now a senior, Junior is well on his way to establishing himself as a campus legend in his own right. Although undersized at 5-8, 185, he’s played in every game since arriving at USM, racking up more rushing yards (2,891) and missed tackles forced (166, per Pro Football Focus) over the past 3 seasons than any other returning D-I back.

His last time out, he set a rushing record for any bowl game with 329 yards against Rice in the (Random Sponsor) Bowl. In a pinch, he’s even served as the Golden Eagles’ most efficient passer, throwing 7 career touchdowns on 34 attempts for an offense that has yet to settle on a viable starting QB at any point in his tenure.

Frank Gore's son, who is also a Running Back, throws a DEEP touchdown pass?

pic.twitter.com/iZW5KN8GA9

— PFF College (@PFF_College) October 28, 2022

Lineage notwithstanding, nagging questions about Gore’s size and level of competition will likely limit his stock at the next level. In the meantime, the list of players more valuable to their team in ’23 is a short one.

McClellan is a rare bird in the portal era: A blue-chip back willing to wait his turn. In 2020, he was a little-used freshman understudy to Najee Harris. A bigger role awaited in ’21, until his campaign was cut short by a torn ACL. Back to full speed last year, his promotion to RB1 was thwarted again by the arrival of dynamic transfer Jahmyr Gibbs. Finally, it’s McClellan’s time. And, with the looming uncertainty behind center, it comes at a moment when the Tide could be banking on the ground game to carry a larger share of the offense than it has in years.

Compared to previous Bama workhorses, McClellan probably falls closer on the spectrum to, say, Brian Robinson Jr. than Harris or Derrick Henry. (Robinson being another example of a thickly built throwback who didn’t crack the starting lineup until his senior year.) But McClellan does have some big-play juice – he was responsible for the Tide’s longest run and longest reception in 2022 – and if a Playoff run is in the cards in the absence of a Heisman-caliber quarterback or wideout, they’re going to need every drop of it they can get.

As a freshman, Moore had palpable Next Big Thing energy, starting 11 games in the Tide’s 2020 national title run and generally looking like the latest in a long line of decorated Bama DBs under Nick Saban. It hasn’t quite played out that way. Moore regressed in Year 2, eventually getting passed on the depth chart by fellow sophomore Brian Branch, and didn’t see a single snap on defense in any of Alabama’s 3 postseason games. Last year, he came off the bench in every game but one, while his former classmate, Branch, played his way into an early exit for the NFL Draft instead.

Time for a reset. With all 3 of last year’s starting safeties gone, Moore is suddenly the wisened vet of the group, and his ability to man all 3 stations gives the Tide some flexibility in deciding who’ll play the other two. Ideally, he’ll be back in the nickel role (“Star,” in Sabanese), where he was at his best as a rookie. Regardless of where he lines up, Bama is counting on him to finish what he started.

Minnesota allowed the fewest touchdown passes in the country in 2022, and subsequently lost a pair of 5th-round draft picks on the back end. The best of the bunch, though, was Nubin, a second-team All-Big Ten pick who likely would have gone higher if he’d declared. Instead, he opted for another round on campus courtesy of the free COVID year, putting him on the short list of the nation’s top returning safeties. His 7 interceptions over the past 2 seasons (3 in 2021, 4 in ’22) are tied for the most of any returning FBS player.

Colson’s path from an orphanage in Haiti to the middle of Michigan’s defense is one of the sport’s most intriguing backstories, and based on his rapid improvement from Year 1 to Year 2 in Ann Arbor, he’s still just in the early stages of his ascent. He was the leading tackler in the Wolverines’ 2022 Playoff run, finishing with 101 stops vs. just 7 missed tackles, per PFF. Second-team All-B1G honors followed, along with big expectations for a more fully seasoned product in Year 3. The next step: Tightening up in coverage, where Colson allowed receptions on 31-of-33 targets at 10.3 yards a pop.

If you’re worried this feature is going to ignore the trenches, rest assured: There are more offensive linemen in the Top 100 than any other position. Just for the record, there are also more players from Ohio State than any other school. First up on both counts, we have Jones, 1 of only 2 current Buckeyes who actually started out under Urban Meyer. (If the Meyer era doesn’t strike you as that long ago, consider that in his first spring at OSU Jones shared a locker room with Joe Burrow and Nick Bosa. Dude’s been around.)

His patience paid off in 2022 with a second-team All-Big Ten nod in his first season as a full-time starter. As anonymous as interior linemen tend to be, Jones’ status as the steady old man of a front breaking in three new starters — not to mention a new quarterback behind them — makes him one of the most indispensable cogs in the Buckeyes’ annual Playoff push.

Most of the hype where Notre Dame’s o-line is concerned is reserved for junior Joe Alt, a future first-rounder with 21 consecutive starts at left tackle. But with a slightly different break or two, the spotlight might have just as easily fallen on Fisher, the gem of the Irish’s 2021 recruiting class, who initially won the starting LT job as a true freshman before suffering a torn ACL in his first college game. By the time he returned to the lineup, Alt was entrenched, relegating Fisher to right tackle and “other guy” status for as long as his former classmate is holding down the blind side.

In the meantime, Fisher reportedly practiced in the spring at a svelte 310 pounds, significantly lighter than his playing weight the past 2 years. With another healthy turn, there’s every reason to believe he’s on deck for the full first-round/All-American treatment in 2024.

Benson started last season as a relative unknown, having barely seen the field in 2 years at Oregon. He ended it as arguably the most elusive back in the country. In his first year as a Seminole, PFF credited him with 83 missed tackles forced on 166 touches, an elite rate, and with generating more than 70% of his 994 rushing yards after contact.

Back-to-back fantastic runs by Trey Benson ?@FSUFootball | #ACCFootball

? ABC pic.twitter.com/7Zuy78y658

— ACC Football (@ACCFootball) November 26, 2022

Not coincidentally, the lion’s share of that total came over the course of the Noles’ 6-game winning streak to close the season, in which Benson emerged as the resident workhorse while averaging 6.7 yards per touch – only one of the many reasons the preseason FSU bandwagon is more crowded this summer than it has been in years.

Umanmielen was a bright spot in a bleak season for Florida’s defense, leading the team in sacks (6), TFLs (9.5) and QB pressures (27) in his first year as a starter. Given the mass exodus of edge-rushing talent across the SEC, that makes him one of the league’s few relatively proven pass rushers as a senior. And given the ongoing anxiety about the state of the roster, in general, it puts enormous pressure on the Gators’ best player to make good on that promise.

We’re squarely in the “well-tenured” stage of the proceedings now, where steady-but-unspectacular vets like Dorlus get their due. Another tweener type entering his 5th year at Oregon, Dorlus has logged 27 career starts, at every station on the d-line; in the process, he’s recorded 21 TFLs, posted consistently cromulent PFF grades, and picked up all-conference nods each of the past 2 seasons (first-team in 2021, second-team in ’22). There’s always the risk for established starters who pass on the draft that they’ve already maxed out their potential, but if he stays the course, Dorlus has the makings of a solid Day 2 pick.

A former top-100 recruit, McMillan was as reliable as they come in 2022, finishing with somewhere between 4 and 8 receptions in every game and accounting for 60+ yards in all but one. His 9 touchdown catches tied for the Pac-12 lead, all of them coming from the slot.

Jalen McMillan somehow didn’t let this ball hit the ground?

pic.twitter.com/C8M7HNWomQ

— PFF College (@PFF_College) December 30, 2022

At 6-1, 189, he is not quite as impressive a size/strength/speed specimen as his running mate, Rome Odunze, which might help account for why Pac-12 coaches tapped Odunze for all-conference honors over McMillan despite essentially identical stats. At any rate, for an offense that led the nation in passing yards per game finding enough balls to go around is the least of the Huskies’ concerns.

Cowing attended high school less than 100 miles from Tucson but flew well beneath the Wildcats’ radar as a recruit, earning a single FBS scholarship offer from UTEP. When his name resurfaced in the portal after 3 highly productive seasons in Conference USA, there was no way they were letting him get away again. As expected, Cowing made a smooth transition to the Power 5 last fall, leading all Pac-12 receivers in targets (122) and receptions (85) as part of a vastly improved Arizona offense. The mission in ’23: More big plays in the wake of explosive teammate Dorian Singer’s transfer to USC. Cowing didn’t have a single catch of 40+ yards last year – in contrast to his final season at UTEP, when he had 9 – and didn’t score a touchdown after Oct. 1.

At first glance, the 24-year-old Rising looks less like your typical college quarterback than the guy you grew up with who’s never been in fewer than 3 local rock bands at any given time since middle school. In fact, he plays a little bit like that guy, too: With an abandon that often verges on reckless. He’s missed time to assorted injuries in each of the past 3 seasons, including a season-ending shoulder injury in 2020 and a torn ACL in last year’s Rose Bowl – not to be confused with the previous year’s Rose Bowl, when he was knocked out with a concussion.

But then, you know, there’s a reason the man is playing in multiple Rose Bowls. When upright, Rising’s hard-charging style is a perfect fit for an overachieving outfit like Utah, where he’s overseen an 18-6 record as a starter the past 2 years en route to back-to-back Pac-12 titles.

He’s the only returning quarterback nationally who ranked in the top 10 of ESPN’s Total QBR metric in 2021 and ’22, a distinction he shared with No. 1 overall pick Bryce Young, No. 2 overall pick CJ Stroud, and 2-time national champ Stetson Bennett IV. Rising’s game may not translate as well to the next level, and he’ll probably have to lead a Playoff run against a loaded Pac-12 schedule to have any chance of being remembered in the same class as the Youngs, Strouds and Stetsons on this one. The fact that it’s well within the realm of plausibility speaks volumes to how much he means to the Utes.

Suamataia grew up more or less across the street from BYU’s campus, where he helped lead his high school to 4 straight state championships and was one of the most decorated recruits to come out of the state of Utah in the online ranking era. (A couple of his former prep teammates, Noah Sewell and Puka Nacua, also rank highly on that list, both of whom were just drafted by the NFL. God bless the ordinary teenage jocks of Utah who had the misfortune of overlapping with that bunch.) Following a redshirt year at Oregon, Suamataia transferred home in 2022, was immediately installed at right tackle and held down the position in every game. He didn’t allow a sack, per PFF, while becoming a favorite of o-line Twitter for his mean streak as a run blocker.

I think we’ll be talking about BYU RT Kingsley Suamataia as a 1st round prospect in a year or so…

Only RS-Freshman. 5-Star, Oregon transfer. Really strong season when you focus on him… pic.twitter.com/wlAUbtvXxl

— Ben Fennell (@BenFennell_NFL) December 21, 2022

Spring brought the obligatory switch to left tackle, manned the past 2 years by 4th-rounder Blake Freeland. When it’s Suamataia’s turn – which, with his enormous size and nasty disposition, could come as soon as next year – expect him to go much higher.

Anywhere else in America, Mims would already be a veteran fixture. In Athens, he’s just hitting the “Next Man Up” phase after biding his time the past 2 years behind three NFL-bound upperclassmen. He looked the part in a sixth-man capacity in 2022, playing more than 500 snaps with 2 starts at right tackle, and at 6-7, 330 he checks every box in terms of mass, length and athleticism with plenty of room to spare.

If his first year atop the depth chart goes according to plan, he won’t be around for a second.

In retrospect, it turns out that anointing a 19-year-old who’d yet to attempt a college pass as a legitimate Heisman candidate may have been slightly premature. Preseason hype aside, Ewers was just ordinary in 2022, landing squarely in the middle of the pack among Big 12 starters in efficiency, QBR and overall PFF grade. As a team, Texas’ scoring average slightly declined for the second year in a row on the way to an 8-5 finish. The Longhorns’ most prized QB recruit since Vince Young himself was not an overnight savior, and they were most decidedly not back.

Duly chastened, they’re resolved to hold their expectations in check in Year 2. Ha, no. Please. Ewers’ golden arm still inspires visions of big things to come. He enjoyed a fresh round of optimistic headlines about his growth and maturity in the spring – due at least in part to his showing up shorn of his trademark mullet – and Steve Sarkisian made a point of snuffing out any hint of a pending controversy between the incumbent and the freshly arrived Arch Manning. For now, anyway, it’s Ewers’ job, with all the opportunity, exaggeration and angst that comes with it. Still, too much more of the latter and rest assured the Manning bandwagon is all gassed up and standing by.

In the meantime, the most accomplished quarterback in Texas is just a short ride down I-35. Harris, 24, originally signed with UTSA in 2017, which in college football years makes him positively ancient – a beneficiary not only of the free COVID year, but also of multiple medical redshirts due to injuries that nearly derailed his career as an underclassman. On the other side of those setbacks, he has been one of the most consistently productive signal-callers in the game.

Harris has accounted for an FBS-best 96 touchdowns over the past 3 seasons (71 passing, 24 rushing, 1 receiving), while leading the Roadrunners to back-to-back Conference USA titles in the past 2.

Both Harris and his coach, Jeff Traylor, surely had opportunities to join Power 5 outfits last winter. Instead, they’re back to head up UTSA’s transition to the American Athletic Conference, along with the vast majority of last year’s lineup. (The notable exception being leading receiver Zakhari Franklin, who transferred to Ole Miss; see above.) The AAC is a step up in competition from CUSA, especially at the top, but for a well-seasoned UTSA outfit, that doesn’t mean it’s not ripe for the taking right out of the gate.

As grad transfers go, Newton – a former 2-star recruit coming off 4 nondescript years at UL-Monroe – was about as obscure as they come. Quietly, though, he was a vital piece of TCU’s miracle Playoff run, starting all 15 games opposite the Jim Thorpe Award winner, Tre’vius Hodges-Tomlinson, and more than holding his own as the season unfolded. Newton finished with 3 interceptions, a dozen PBUs and the top PFF coverage grade of any Big 12 corner, picking up a first-team all-conference nod in his own right. Now that the core of that team has mostly moved on, that makes him the most decorated Frog left in the effort to sustain as much of last year’s unlikely momentum as possible.

Anybody who cracks Ohio State’s full-time lineup as a freshman has “future pro” written all over him, and Burke is right on schedule. A Day 1 starter in 2021, he has been the only constant in the Buckeyes’ secondary over the past 2 seasons, holding down the job in 24 of 26 games with a minimum of drama. Barring disaster in Year 3, the boxes for size, athleticism and experience have already been checked. The most notable one that hasn’t: Ball skills. Burke’s lone career interception came way back in October 2021.

At Arizona, Singer left blisters on nearly every opposing secondary he faced in 2022 – including USC’s, which he burned for 141 yards and 3 touchdowns in a late-October shootout in Tucson. Lincoln Riley’s response: If you can’t cover ’em, convert ’em. Six weeks later, Singer was officially a Trojan.

DORIAN SINGER WITH ONE HAND ?

? @Pac12Network pic.twitter.com/sdraxTdQ18

— Arizona Athletics (@AZATHLETICS) October 29, 2022

Athletically, Singer’s high-flying skill set and slender build evokes obvious comparisons to departed first-rounder Jordan Addison, and he ended the spring as first among equals in the competition to replace Addison atop a loaded wide receiver depth chart. Even if USC’s abundance of talent at the position prevents any individual wideout from separating himself from the pack, the distinction of being Caleb Williams’ favorite target this fall should be a lucrative one.

The Bust Police were monitoring the situation last year after Sanders, a 5-star recruit with a legendary high school sizzle reel, barely saw the field as a true freshman. No such worries this time: Sanders was who he was supposed to be in Year 2, accounting for more yards (613) on more receptions (54) than any other Big 12 tight end, including a team-high 8 contested catches, per PFF. In keeping with the hype, his athleticism on a 6-4, 250-pound frame made him a threat from just about anywhere on the field, with 40% of his snaps coming in the slot or as a wideout. Considering he and Quinn Ewers were both just getting their feet wet, their combined potential in their second full season together is worth getting a little carried away.

The top-rated player in Georgia’s 2022 recruiting class, Williams was sized up as heir apparent to No. 1 overall pick Travon Walker before he even put on a UGA helmet. So far, so good. Although technically a backup — he came off the bench in all but 2 games — Williams led the Dogs’ ferocious d-line rotation as a freshman in snaps, sacks and QB pressures, effectively taking over as the main edge-rushing threat down the stretch following a midseason injury to OLB Nolan Smith.

The #6 overall pick in the NFL Draft versus true freshman Mykel Williams pic.twitter.com/5Zff1R77Bo

— Graham Coffey (@GrahamCoffeyDC) April 28, 2023

As a rule, Georgia’s sub-heavy, gap-oriented defense does not lend itself to individual box-score glory, especially the “big end” role, in which even an extraterrestrial specimen like Walker was largely tasked with stacking opposing linemen rather making splash plays in the backfield. Whatever the stats say, though, in an exercise like this one, Williams is the kind of talent with the potential to wreck the curve. This time next year he could easily be residing in the top 10.

LSU added Wingo, a transfer from Missouri, to shore up its depth on the d-line last season, not to play an every-down role. Then starter Maason Smith went down with a season-ending injury on the first series of the first game, leaving Wingo to play almost literally every down – his 821 snaps on the season led the nation among interior d-lineman, averaging out to roughly 2 full games more than any other interior DL in the SEC.

He was up to it, posting one of the conference’s top individual PFF grades against the run, flashing some pass-rushing chops as a situational edge, and generally playing his way onto draft boards despite his less-than-ideal stature (6-1, 295). Smith’s return to the rotation figures to make a significant dent in Wingo’s snap count, but not necessarily his impact. Together they project as the most disruptive interior combo in the country.

At 6-3, 285, Jenkins is not nearly as imposing as his dad, a former Pro Bowler known for his colossal size. He is, however, well on his way to a long and fruitful career as a run-stopper in his own right. His 82.5 PFF grade against the run in 2022 ranked 3rd in the Big Ten and 12th in the Power 5 among interior DL – just ahead of galactic teammate Mazi Smith, a first-round pick. Now it’s Jenkins’ turn to play the established vet alongside up-and-comer Mason Graham, who made a splash off the bench as a true freshman. Between them, the Wolverines’ front-line run D should remain a strength on a team thinking Playoff or bust.

Sawyer came to Ohio State with the highest possible expectations – local kid, elite prospect, explicit invocations of the name “Bosa” – and immediately cranked the hype to 11 by dominating the spring game as a true freshman. The real payoff has required a little more patience. Through 2 seasons, Sawyer has been largely relegated to third-wheel status in the Buckeyes’ stacked edge rotation behind starters Zach Harrison and JT Tuimoloau, recording 10 TFLs and 33 QB pressures in 502 snaps – respectable, hardly dominant.

Now, Harrison’s departure has finally cleared a path to the top of the depth chart, where Sawyer’s arrival as a full-blown star opposite Tuimoloau is as assured as ever. Right? He has certainly waited long enough to find out, and if that’s how it actually unfolds they have the potential to form the nation’s best edge tandem with no close second.

Two years ago, Latu’s football career was over. Coming off a solid freshman campaign at Washington in 2019, he suffered a neck injury that sidelined him for all of 2020, and the following spring he was ruled out permanently in what the school described publicly as a medical retirement. Not quite: Refusing to accept the verdict, Latu decided to make another go of it last year at UCLA, where he found a doctor willing to give him the green light. By the end of his first season in L.A., he’d re-emerged as possibly the Pac-12’s most relentless pass rusher, finishing with a dozen sacks, 65 QB pressures, 3 forced fumbles (1 of them coming on a strip sack against his former team), and a first-team all-conference nod from opposing coaches.

UCLA’s Laiatu Latu is having a big night against USC. Beats the Trojans LT here with a swipe for the sack.

Latu has been one of the biggest #NFLDraft risers this season. pic.twitter.com/Ar55lsLYBR

— Seven Rounds in Heaven (@7RoundsInHeaven) November 20, 2022

Technically, Latu came off the bench in every game but one behind twins Grayson and Gabriel Murphy, who combined for 99 pressures themselves. But the trio divvied up snaps roughly evenly, and at the end of the day, the pecking order matters a lot less than the fact that the Bruins can always count on having at least one fresh edge terror on the field at all times.

Gray led all Power 5 defenders in solo and total tackles in 2022, and before you say it, yes, “tackles” is indeed one of those old-fashioned counting statistics that is not necessarily as meaningful as the numbers imply. (Don’t get me started.) In Gray’s case, though, the leaderboard was an accurate reflection of his impact: He also ranked among the national leaders in PFF’s “stops” metric, which it defines as “tackles that constitute a ‘failure’ for the offense,” including a team-best 12 tackles for loss. Add 2 interceptions and 6 PBUs in coverage, and you’re talking about one of the most versatile and tenacious ball-hawks in the game.

It was an interesting offseason for McCall, the 3-time Sun Belt Offensive Player of the Year, who had a couple of big decisions to make last December after Coastal Carolina coach Jamey Chadwell packed his bags for Liberty. First, there was the draft – a pass. Then there was the matter of where McCall would spend his final season on campus. Initially, he entered his name in the transfer portal, inviting speculation over which high-profile vacancy he might fill. A few weeks later, though, he reversed course, announcing he intended to finish his career as a Chanticleer after all under the new head coach, Tim Beck.

Now for the really big question: Just how much of McCall’s success does he owe to Chadwell’s unique spin on the spread option, and vice versa? As it stands, McCall has accounted for 95 career touchdowns (78 passing, 17 rushing) vs. just 8 interceptions, a remarkable ratio that puts him within driving range of the FBS record for career passer rating, currently owned by Tua Tagovailoa. (McCall set the single-season record in 2021.) Regardless of how his tenure ends, more than any other active player he already embodies what it means to be a true “face of the program.”

The headlines were reserved for QB Spencer Rattler, but the real star of South Carolina’s 2022 transfer class was Wells, an under-the-radar addition from James Madison who emerged almost overnight as the Gamecocks’ top offensive weapon. He started strong, going off for 189 yards and 2 touchdowns in a breakout Week 2 performance against Arkansas, and finished stronger, with 3 100-yard games in November, including high-profile outings against Tennessee (177 yards) and Clemson (131 yards, 2 TDs) that clinched his reputation across the SEC. Coaches responded by anointing “Juice” as a first-team all-conference pick, nudging the bar even higher in what will likely be his final college season. After another offseason to hone his chemistry with Rattler, Wells is on track to be Carolina’s first 1,000-yard receiver since Pharoh Cooper in 2014.

This time last year, Nabers was just a name on LSU’s overcrowded wide receiver depth chart, and not nearly the most notable. By midseason, he’d clearly separated from the pack, finishing with more catches (72), yards (1,017), contested catches (13) and first downs (50) than the Tigers’ next 2 wideouts combined. The only column he didn’t dominate: Touchdowns. Nabers found the end zone only once in the regular season, against FCS Southern University, before finally hitting paydirt in the postseason on a couple of long gainers against Georgia and Purdue. If that was a sign of more explosive things to come, a monster year is on deck.

Oh hey, another familiar name for ’90s kids beginning to contemplate their mortality. Although Syracuse officially lists him as a tight end, the 6-5, 216-pound Gadsden worked almost exclusively at wide receiver in 2022, overwhelming smaller DBs from the slot (where he lined up about 80% of the time) and as a jump-ball target in the red zone. His production (61 catches, 966 yards, 6 TDs) was very good, but stats and bloodlines aside, it’s his towering frame and huge, reliable hands that are ultimately going to get him paid.

In another era, it would be easy to imagine the 6-5, 224-pound Williams being typecast as a headhunter, a species that has been effectively legislated out of existence by targeting. In this one, he’s yet to really find his niche at Miami, having had his issues over the past 2 years as a downhill thumper (24 missed tackles, per PFF) and in coverage (5 touchdowns allowed in 2022). It probably doesn’t help that he’s adjusting to his third new defensive coordinator in as many years, either.

Still, Williams had his moments as an underclassman, and the singular athletic profile that made him the No. 1 safety in his class makes him a prime candidate for a breakout junior season in the new scheme. At some point, a size/speed combo like that is just too rare for somebody not to eventually figure out what to do with it.

Bullard took over the starting nickel role in 2022 and quietly — well, as quietly as possible on a team ranked No. 1 nearly wire-to-wire — staked his claim as the most versatile player on the nation’s most talented defense. He earned the top PFF coverage grade of any full-time UGA defender, recorded 4 sacks as a blitzer and ranked 3rd on the team (behind the starting inside linebackers) with 26 stops. In the Playoff, he arguably put Georgia’s 4th-quarter comeback in the Peach Bowl into motion when he knocked Marvin Harrison Jr. out of the game, and capped the season with his first 2 career interceptions in the CFP Championship Game.

Javon Bullard with 2 sacks on the same drive against Tennessee. Bullard put the world on notice after this performance. (2022) pic.twitter.com/G4a05zGzN6

— Bryce (@brycemandala) March 28, 2023

Most of the depth chart projections this year have Bullard moving into the free safety position vacated by outgoing All-American Christopher Smith, where he’s a favorite to follow Smith in the distinction. No matter where he lines up, count on him to be in the immediate vicinity of the ball in a hurry.

Campbell and Banks were both among the top-ranked tackles in the 2022 class, both moved directly into the starting left tackle job for their respective teams on Day 1, and both held it down like seasoned vets, allowing a grand total of four sacks between them. Both came in for second-team all-conference notices in their respective leagues — a rare nod of respect for a true freshman o-lineman — and are already being sized up as top-10 prospects in the 2025 NFL Draft. Until then, they’re due for the highest honor any OL can be paid: Being so easily taken for granted most of the viewing audience never has any reason to think about them at all.

The Trojans are breaking in 3 new starters up front — all incoming transfers, most likely — but the 2 holdovers are arguably the top returning o-linemen in the Pac-12. Caleb Williams averaged an FBS-best 3.25 seconds to throw last year en route to the Heisman, and like any quarterback with an instinct for self-preservation he knows where his bread is buttered: Per PFF, neither Monheim nor Dedich was responsible for allowing a sack or a single QB hit in a combined 1,172 pass-blocking snaps.

Hall was on the breakout track over the first of half of 2022, until a mid-season shoulder injury significantly limited his snaps and his effectiveness down the stretch: 14 of his 16 QB pressures and all 8 of his tackles for loss came in the first 6 games. While not the biggest DT around, at full speed Hall is easily among the most disruptive, with twitchy speed for an interior lineman and pass-rushing juice to spare — a more valuable asset at the next level these days than raw size. A sustained return to his pre-injury pace should make him one of the most decorated d-lineman on the 2024 board.

The highest-rated back in the 2022 class, Singleton is the kind of talent best measured in the megatons: An elite combination of size, power, and breakaway speed in one highly explosive package. As a freshman, he averaged 6.8 yards a pop with 12 touchdowns and 9 runs of 30+ yards on just 156 carries — tied for the fewest of any player nationally who hit the 1,000-yard mark. Oh, and he took a kickoff to the house, just to show he can.

NICK SINGLETON 100 YARD KICKOFF RETURN TD?

pic.twitter.com/OohNti8BXM

— PFF College (@PFF_College) November 19, 2022

Beyond the highlight reel, Singleton has some typical freshman stuff to iron out. He lost 3 fumbles, wasn’t heavily involved as a receiver, and like a lot of big-play threats he tended to be a bit boom-or-bust; in Penn State’s 2 biggest games, losses to Michigan and Ohio State, he averaged a meager 3.2 ypc with a long gain of 9. He also figures to share touches again with fellow sophomore Kayton Allen, keeping both of their stat lines relatively in check. Thus ends the caveats. If you’re putting money on any player to go all the way on any given play, Singleton is the best bet in America.

After 2 years backing up Blake Corum, Edwards is … still backing up Blake Corum, who decided to return for his senior year. Which poses probably the best problem any team in the country faces this season: How do the Wolverines continue to keep Edwards, who is long overdue now to be a feature back, happy and involved as RB2? Although his dual-threat skill set was hardly a secret last year, it wasn’t until Corum went on the shelf late in the season with an ankle injury that Edwards really broke through: Nearly half of his 1,191 scrimmage yards came in the final 3 games against Ohio State (225 yards), Purdue (189) and TCU (127).

Donovan Edwards. CONFIRMED ELITE.

TOUCHDOWN @UMichFootball ? pic.twitter.com/h6mTSvWo1o

— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) December 4, 2022

Obviously, he brings too much to the table to go back to being an insurance policy or “change of pace” as a junior, in what would normally be his shot at a star turn before going pro. Prior to Corum’s injury, his share of the workload over the first 11 games outstripped Edwards’ roughly 3-to-1; as long as they’re both healthy at the same time, expect that ratio this time around to come out closer to a 50/50 split.

Regardless of who’s carrying the rock, the o-line remains the heart and soul of Michigan’s resurgence. Three full-timers are back from last year’s group, led by Zinter, a first-team All-B1G pick with 30 career starts and a taste for blood that translates in any era. Among the regulars in 2022, he finished with the team’s top PFF pass-blocking grade and came in a close second as a run blocker to departed All-American Olu Oluwatimi. Assuming the beatings go on, all of Olu’s credits as the Face of the Front are set to accrue to Zinter.

Eichenberg is a throwback, a true Mike ‘backer who looks like he’d be just as at home colliding with fullbacks on a Jim Tressel outfit as he is in the middle of the Buckeyes’ defense in 2023. He made big strides last year, his second as a starter, setting the pace among all Big Ten defenders in solo tackles and PFF’s stops metric while earning top marks against the run. Another step forward in coverage, where he allowed a team-high 33 receptions at 9.0 yards a pop, and he’ll be the complete package in his (likely) final season.

Even a linebacker factory like Georgia is supposed to feel the absence of a tandem as special as Nakobe Dean and Quay Walker, but in most respects the drop-off from Dean and Walker to Dumas-Johnson and Smael Mondon Jr. in 2022 was barely perceptible. Although “Pop” gets the official designation here, in fact he and Mondon were essentially interchangeable, combining for 146 tackles, 75 stops, 49 QB pressures and 17 TFLs with a more or less identical split in each category. Neither came close to matching Dean’s elite marks in coverage — again, an impossible bar — but then, they were just a couple of true sophomores in their first round as starters. In Round 2, it’s their turn to set the bar aloft for whoever comes after them.

Gabriel is not a front-runner for the Heisman or a future franchise cornerstone, which by the lofty standard set for Oklahoma quarterbacks over the past decade makes him an underachiever. By almost any other standard, though, he was the least of the Sooners’ problems in 2022. While the team’s fortunes slumped, Gabriel still finished at or near the top of the Big 12 in every major category — including overall PFF grade, where he edged out Heisman finalist Max Duggan for highest marks in the league — at the helm of an attack that led the conference in total offense for the 6th year in a row. Four of his 6 losses as a starter came in nail-biters in which OU scored at least 32 points, including arguably his 2 best performances, against Kansas State and Texas Tech. And as disappointing as the record was with Gabriel in the lineup, his value was most obvious in the only game he wasn’t: A 49-0 humiliation at the hands of Texas.

Anyway, while Gabriel’s job is safe for the time being, there is a viable outlet for the fan base’s angst this time around in the person of Jackson Arnold, a 5-star freshman who instantly improved the backup situation in the spring. If all goes according to plan, Arnold will remain in the freezer until 2024. If not, memories of the Spencer Rattler/Caleb Williams ordeal of 2021 are all too fresh.

Daniels was efficient enough as a passer in 2022, finishing among the national leaders in interception rate with 3 picks in 388 attempts. What really distinguished him, though, was his legs: Excluding sacks, his 1,079 rushing yards, 45 runs of 10+ yards, and 54 missed tackles forced led all FBS quarterbacks in all three columns. More important, they led LSU — whose injury-plagued running back rotation behind him never gelled into a stable committee — by a mile. While not exactly a breakaway threat, Daniels’ short-area elusiveness as a scrambler and proficiency in the zone-read game were the keys that unlocked the Tigers’ offense at midseason, and his overtime touchdown scramble against Alabama was arguably the single biggest play en route to the SEC West crown.

Now, is that enough to make him a plausible bet for the Heisman? Eh. Making that case will require significantly more downfield juice, an area where Daniels was so conservative last year that at one point Brian Kelly openly urged him to take more risks. If he manages to level up on that front while continuing to account for an outsized share of the ground game, welcome to the conversation. At the very least, his title as the SEC’s most dynamic dual-threat seems safe.

Quiz time: Without looking it up, can you name the last Oregon wideout drafted higher than the 7th round? Yeah, I’m not holding my breath for too many hits on that one. But there is no mystery about the next one. A big fish in the Ducks’ 2021 signing class, Franklin made his move in ’22, turning in one of the best seasons by an Oregon WR in the past decade. In addition to the springy ball skills you’d expect from a guy listed at 6-3, 179, he’s a legitimate burner with deep speed to spare. Add to that the well-traveled right arm of QB Bo Nix, and it comes out to a monster junior year in the making.

Arguably no player anywhere put more heat on opposing quarterbacks in 2022 than Trice, whom PFF credited with an FBS-best 70 QB pressures in his first full season as a starter. (That number included an astounding 18 pressures against rival Washington State, easily a season-high for an individual defender in a single game.) And while that didn’t always translate to the official box score, where he registered “only” 9 sacks, rest assured opponents felt his presence on a regular basis.

Who wants to see Bralen Trice casually put a 320lb All-Pac 12 LT on their ass? pic.twitter.com/fo3XM1TFhh

— Joe DeLeone (@joedeleone) May 14, 2023

Down the road, Trice might project as more of a size/strength prospect at the next level than a guy who’s likely to blow up the quick-twitch drills at the combine. Until then, the trail of destruction he figures to leave across the Pac-12 should be all the proof of his explosiveness anyone needs.

A national target in the 2021 class, Robinson was a big recruiting win for Maryland when he opted to stay in his home state, and a big loss when he portalled out after just one season. Instead, his sophomore breakout came as a Nittany Lion, in a rotational role that yielded a team-best 48 pressures and the top PFF pass-rushing grade of any Power 5 defender. The only real question in the money year is whether there’s any room for that role to expand with 2 other blue-chip rushers, Adisa Isaac and Dani Dennis-Sutton, still vying for their fair share of snaps.

It’s a little bit hard to believe that Davis, a Freshman All-American all the way back in 2019, is still in school, especially coming off a healthy, productive senior season that should have resolved any lingering doubts about his injury-plagued campaigns in ’20 and ’21. Really, what could he possibly have left to show in Year 5 that he hasn’t shown over the course of 39 career starts?

Tyler Davis pic.twitter.com/YckWZ8Qk7c

— Seldom Used Reserve (@seldomusedres) November 2, 2022

At any rate, his return is an unexpected bonus for Clemson, which as usual boasts one of the nation’s deepest defensive fronts. The projected starters — Davis, Ruke Orhorhoro, Xavier Thomas and Justin Mascoll — are all 5th- or 6th-year vets and future pros who have logged more than 5,200 career snaps between them.

The best player on a team that pulled off 2022’s most dramatic turnaround. A fixture at left tackle, Barton earned the top PFF grades among ACC linemen for both run and pass blocking, good for the 6th-best overall OL grade nationally. He’s huge, he’s mean, he spent his summer interning in a local office for North Carolina senator Thom Tillis, he’ll be playing on Sundays for years to come. Next!

A born Mountaineer from a half-hour down the road, Frazier has started every game since he enrolled at WVU in 2020, and since shifting to center as a sophomore he hasn’t missed a single non-garbage-time snap over the past 2 seasons. Both campaigns ended with All-Big 12 notices (second-team in ’21, first in ’22); the next rung on the ladder as a senior is All-American.

At this fledgling stage of his career, it’s fair to say Fashanu remains a work in progress: He wasn’t an especially touted recruit, his first season as a starter was cut short by an injury, and by PFF’s accounting, he has a long way to go as a run blocker. But left tackles don’t get paid anymore to run block. They get paid to protect the quarterback, and on that front the scouts took one look at Olu’s 2022 tape and agreed by consensus that he has as bright a future as anyone playing the position.

watching LT Olu Fashanu from Penn State: what a strong, impressive athlete. his ability to recover and keep his feet/hips in front of defenders is special. pic.twitter.com/1Wc9BvuRzf

— Mike Golic Jr (@mikegolicjr) July 12, 2023

Fashanu didn’t allow a sack over 9 games, earning a second-team All-Big Ten nod from league coaches despite missing all of November — both feats for a redshirt sophomore who came into the season with minimal name recognition and (more important for his draft stock) didn’t turn 20 years old until December. With a little experience under his belt and a clean bill of health, he has “top-10 pick” written all over him.

For a 5-star talent in a high-profile position, McCarthy was easy to take for granted in 2022, presiding over a 13-1 record in classic “game manager” fashion. He embraced it, turning in the Big Ten’s 2nd-best efficiency rating behind only CJ Stroud. When the offense needed more late in the year, though, suddenly McCarthy was front and center: He connected on 3 long touchdown passes against Ohio State, added 3 more in the Big Ten title game, and threw for a career-high 343 yards on 10.1 per attempt in a wild semifinal shootout against TCU — a game in which he also flexed his underrated mobility.

That was also, yes, a game in which McCarthy threw 2 crippling pick-6 INTs after having thrown just 3 picks all year up to that point. There is a lot to unpack about the specifics of how that particular loss unfolded, but looking ahead the upshot is plain enough: The closer Michigan gets to a return trip to the CFP, the hotter the takes re: McCarthy’s big-game bona fides will be served. They’re out there, simmering. In the meantime, there remains very little doubt that he’s going to get the chance to address them, one way or the other.

Jefferson thrived under former offensive coordinator Kendal Briles, accounting for 60 total touchdowns in 2021-22 while finishing in the top 10 nationally in pass efficiency both years. As far as his draft stock is concerned, though, the transition to new OC Dan Enos might be for the best. Fairly or not, the Briles system has always been considered a very “college” offense that doesn’t ask its quarterbacks to master many of the concepts scouts ideally want to see from a top prospect. There certainly has never been any doubt about Jefferson’s physical tools or his production; if he has anything left to prove as a 5th-year senior that he hasn’t already, it’s all in the technical arcana of pre-snap recognition and post-snap reads.

Regardless of what else changes, one thing that will not: The enormous degree of difficulty in wrestling his 6-3, 242-pound frame to the ground. In the pocket or short-yardage, the man is a load. Jefferson has generated more than 75% of his 1,777 career rushing yards (excluding sacks) after contact, and 18 of his 19 rushing touchdowns from inside the red zone.

Judkins racked up more mileage in 2022 than any other SEC back, averaging a grueling 24 touches per game in conference play, and got more out of it for posterity, too: In addition to a clean sweep of the school rushing records, he also went in the books as the league’s first true-freshman rushing leader in 25 years (Jamal Lewis, 1997), with his 1,565 yards on the ground representing the best rookie number since Herschel freakin’ Walker. Nearly 60% of that total came after contact, per PFF, which credited Judkins with an SEC-best 76 missed tackles forced.

Since it is not 1997, the inevitable question now is whether Judkins is built to sustain that kind of workload over 2 more college seasons, and (more to the point) whether it’s advisable to find out. At 5-11, 210, he’s sturdier than the average back, but not exactly the second coming of Derrick Henry. And if the Rebels have a dark-horse run at the SEC West crown in them, they need their workhorse available for the long haul. After settling on a starting quarterback, managing Judkins’ wear and tear should be Lane Kiffin’s top offensive priority.

Irving fell on the opposite end of the spectrum: A dynamic young back who often wasn’t getting the ball enough. He spent most of his first season as a Duck in rotational duty, averaging fewer than 15 touches per game. Pound for pound, though, he was as productive as any back in the country, generating an elite 7.3 yards a pop as a rusher and receiver with 74 missed tackles forced, most in the Pac-12.

Bucky Irving is slippppppery pic.twitter.com/H77K55T15R

— Cam Mellor (@CamMellor) November 5, 2022

After a slow start, Irving accounted for 90+ scrimmage yards in 9 of Oregon’s last 11 games. At that rate, even a marginal uptick in his usage will put him on an All-America pace.

A former high school track champ listed at 6-3, 212, Odunze is a serious size/speed specimen with the production to back it up. His 1,145 receiving yards in 2022 led the Pac-12, and he joined Ohio State’s Marvin Harrison Jr. and Emeka Egbuka as the only Power 5 wideouts to average 15+ yards on 70+ receptions. He was consistent, recording at least 5 catches in 10 of 12 games, and explosive, with 11 that gained at least 25 yards. The only column where Odunze came up a little short for his stature: Contested catches, with only 4 in 16 attempts, per PFF. Adding “high riser” to the résumé would rest his case in the race to be the first non-Buckeye wideout off the board.

Wilson disappointed at his first stop, Arizona State, but in Tallahassee he’s back on track to fulfilling his destiny as one of the nation’s most imposing deep threats. A towering, 6-7 wideout in a power forward’s body, his long-striding style yielded an ACC-best 20.9 yards per catch in 2022, with 22 gains of 20+ yards, most in the Power 5. Still, for an up-and-comer who had more drops (6) than touchdowns (5), that was clearly just scratching the surface of his potential. With more consistency in ’23, the finished product could be straight-up unfair.

For most of his FSU career, Travis has been seen as a placeholder — an undersized, unheralded transfer marking time on losing teams until Mike Norvell (or the next coach) finally landed the blue-chip QB who would turn the thing around. As it turns out, Travis himself may be the one the Noles have been waiting for. Healthy and entrenched in 2022, he flourished, finishing as the ACC leader in pass efficiency and among the top 10 nationally in PFF grading and Total QBR. The offense as a whole achieved liftoff, averaging 42.2 ppg over the course of a 6-game winning streak to end the year.

Travis is not a Bryce Young-caliber prospect, but his combination of elusiveness and efficiency is in the ballpark, and there is a lot to be said for being a 23-year-old with 5 college seasons already under your belt. (See also: Hendon Hooker, Stetson Bennett IV.) Very few players who have ever made the kind of senior leap Travis made in Year 5 — or who ever will in the future, once the beneficiaries of the free COVID year eventually age out — also had the opportunity he has now to take the next step in Year 6. Finish the long, rocky climb back to national relevance, and the humble years will barely even register as a footnote.

Amid the sheer volume of talent on Georgia’s offense, Van Pran was often the most easily overlooked Dawg on the field the past 2 seasons. But he was out there for every meaningful snap, starting all 30 games in UGA’s back-to-back title runs at center and picking up a second-team All-SEC nod in 2022. As a senior, he’ll be the longest-tenured vet on the front and a very strong candidate to be the first center off the board in 2024, even if he’s not any more likely for the average fan to single out.

Ohio State is riding a streak of 8 consecutive years with at least 1 o-lineman drafted. Jackson is the safest bet to make it 9. A former 5-star, he held down the left guard spot in all 13 games last year between a couple of current pros, LT Paris Johnson (1st round) and center Luke Wypler (6th), picking up a second-team All-Big Ten nod along the way. That’s where he plans to stay this year, despite some speculation earlier in his career that he was being groomed to replace Johnson on the blind side and some uncertainty over who’s due to fill that vancacy. If Jackson shores up some nagging concerns about his potential in pass pro — PFF was particularly harsh on his Peach Bowl performance against Georgia — he’ll be ready to assume his place in the pipeline.

Iowa’s offense was such a laughingstock in 2022 that it was almost possible to take literally the joke that the Hawkeyes’ best offense was actually their defense. In fact, it wasn’t that much of an exaggeration: DeJean alone returned 3 of his 5 interceptions on the year for touchdowns, which was somehow 1 more touchdown than all of Iowa’s wide receivers combined.

COOPER DEJEAN CROSS COUNTRY PICK 6! pic.twitter.com/7ol7nLY35N

— Heavens! (@HeavensFX) September 24, 2022

Beyond his nose for the end zone, DeJean was solid across the board, earning stellar grades in coverage and against the run; on the latter front, he was credited with 25 stops, most in the Power 5 by an outside cornerback, vs. only 3 missed tackles. Factor in his versatility in the slot, and he has a solid claim on the title of most complete corner in the land.

For all of its problems on defense in 2022, USC excelled in one area: Theft. The Trojans led the Pac-12 with 28 takeaways, and they led the nation with a +21 turnover margin. No one played a bigger role in that trend than Bullock, whose 5 interceptions as a sophomore ranked 2nd in the conference (not to mention a 6th pick that was negated by a dubious penalty for roughing the passer), and whose 172 return yards off those picks ranked 2nd in the country.

Calen Bullock just iced this game with the pick ?pic.twitter.com/ss2TvFyL7i

— The Transfer Portal CFB (@TPortalCFB) October 2, 2022

Yes, Bullock did feature prominently in a couple of notorious lowlights as a tackler in the Pac-12 Championship Game, although he was generally solid on that front with only 3 missed tackles the rest of the year, per PFF. At 6-3, 190, he’s certainly capable of delivering the lumber. With that combination of size, ball skills, and legitimate centerfield range in coverage, he has a long career ahead of him.

Another beneficiary of the free COVID year, Hartman decided to take full advantage of his final season of eligibility by trading a victory lap at Wake Forest for one of the most heavily scrutinized positions in the sport. At Wake, he set every record in the book, racking up more passing yards (12,967) and touchdowns (110) than any other active FBS quarterback over the course of 45 career starts. He also put his body on the line to do it, rebounding from a career-threatening blood clot last summer to deliver his best season as a Demon Deacon. (Domers, get ready to learn more than you could possibly want to know about your new quarterback’s surgically removed rib.)

In South Bend, Hartman was greeted as the face of the program from Day 1, at the helm an offense replacing its only plus receiver (All-America TE Michael Mayer) and its coordinator, Alabama-bound Tommy Rees. The scheme will look nothing like the RPO-heavy, “slow mesh” system he mastered at Wake Forest. And coming off a meh debut for rookie head coach Marcus Freeman, there’s urgency to demonstrate some semblance of progress in Year 2. Last year, the injury-plagued situation behind center was a convenient outlet for fans’ frustration. This year, either Hartman proves to be a dramatic upgrade or the angst will be directed squarely at the sideline.

The Wolverines kept the gem of their 2022 recruiting class under wraps as long as they could, but once Johnson finally broke into the starting lineup in November it was obvious he wasn’t coming out again until his time on campus is up. In the last 5 games, he had 3 interceptions, held his own vs. Ohio State’s fleet of NFL-ready wideouts, and ended the season with the top overall PFF grade of any true freshman defender in the country. A fluid athlete at 6-2, he checks the “length” box with room to spare. Typically, an up-and-comer who breaks that late in Year 1 isn’t due to arrive on the All-America track until at least Year 3; in Johnson’s case, he already looks like he’s well ahead of schedule.

How seriously are we taking this Air Raid business? By all accounts, the Badgers are really going for it. New head coach Luke Fickell hired an Air Raid offensive coordinator (Phil Longo), landed a veteran Air Raid quarterback in the portal (SMU transfer Tanner Mordecai), and added a couple of younger Air Raid QBs from Oklahoma and Mississippi State, respectively, to groom for the future. They were all-in on Longo’s system in the spring, and subsequently added to their haul of incoming transfers at wide receiver.

All duly acknowledged. Personally, I’ll believe it when see it with my own two eyes, and even then I might give it another decade or two to really sink in. We are talking about Wisconsin here. A program that has set the old-school tone for the entire Big Ten West, and which as recently as last year still employed a full-time fullback. Badgers football is so synonymous with trench warfare tactics held over from the last century that updating the playbook seems roughly akin to changing the state flag or, like, banning cows.

If they actually go through with it, the big question is what the shift in philosophy will mean for Allen, a former linebacker turned between-the-tackles workhorse who more than held up his end of the bargain the past 2 years even as the rest of the offense played its way into the dustbin. At 6-2, 240, Allen is built for the grind, churning out 2,510 yards and 23 touchdowns to date on 6.0 per carry. He has been much less involved as a receiver, which has never really been part of the job description for Wisconsin running backs until now. Flashing some dual-threat capacity at his size could confirm Allen’s status as one of the most terrifying weapons in the country and send his draft stock soaring in turn. Otherwise, there could be significantly more snaps in store for his shiftier understudy, Chez Mellusi.

There are a few ways to explain how Illinois managed to field the nation’s No. 1 scoring defense in 2022, some of which, yes, involve competing in the offensively challenged Big Ten West. At the top of the list, though, there’s Newton, who leveled up from nondescript run-plugger as an underclassman to one-man wrecking crew on all fronts. He was elite against the run, finishing as the Big Ten’s highest-graded run defender at any position and pass rusher, generating a conference-best 59 QB hurries. In the official stats, his 13 tackles for loss tied for the B1G lead among interior linemen. All-America voters, faced with a surplus of worthy d-linemen to choose from, responded with a snub. But with all of the dudes who earned votes ahead of him currently on NFL rosters, this time around Newton is starting out at the front of the queue.

If all you saw of Tuimoloau last year was his breakout game against Penn State, this position probably seems much too low. He wreaked havoc against the Nittany Lions, forcing 4 turnovers — including the game-clinching pick-6 — in the season’s most dominant defensive performance. If you watched the rest of his sophomore campaign, you were left wondering where that guy was on a weekly basis. The Buckeyes will gladly trade a single monster afternoon for more sustained production in Year 3, which barring disaster figures to be Tuimoloau’s last. For a player with his potential, on a perennial championship contender, there are much more enduring memories to be made.

King was overshadowed in 2022 by his more decorated counterpart, Joey Porter Jr., who just missed becoming the first Penn State defensive back drafted in the first round by the narrowest possible margin. (Porter was the first pick of Round 2.) Now the mission falls to King, coming off a season in which he snagged 3 INTs, led the Big Ten in passes defended and allowed a meager 45.8% completion rate on targets in his direction. A Nittany Lion DB is going on Day 1 sooner or later; a repeat performance as a junior should make it much, much sooner.

In Carter’s case, “linebacker” is strictly a term of convenience: Although he does line up frequently in the box, you’re just as likely to find him on any given snap applying his free-range skill set to nickel or edge roles, and making plays wherever he goes. He was the only FBS player in 2022 to hit double-digits in tackles for loss (10.5) and passes defensed (10), and one of a very small handful with at least 100 snaps as a run defender, a pass rusher, and in coverage to earn PFF grades of 75+ in all 3 columns.

Leave the “tweener” debate for the next level, where the jury is still out on the last Clemson defender hyped for his versatility, Isaiah Simmons; on this one, Carter is just a hell of a player.

Taylor, a former 5-star and aspiring first-rounder, can hardly be said to have flown under the radar the past 2 years. But the circumstances haven’t exactly been ideal for a breakout, either. Although he was a full-time starter in 2022, Miami’s d-line rotation limited Taylor to fewer than 30 snaps per game, and the malaise that settled over the season early on meant that hardly of them came in a game the rest of the country had any interest in watching. Down for down, though, he was every bit as disruptive as his credentials implied, tying for the team lead in tackles for loss and ranking 10th nationally among interior DL in PFF’s pass rush grade. A maxed-out Taylor in Year 3 has a chance to be the most dominant defensive force in the ACC. As long as he has gas in the tank, the Canes should resolve that he gets the reps to make sure everybody knows it.

A Freshman All-American in 2021, Worthy was one of the Big 12’s most targeted receivers in ’22, and one of the most inconsistent: His 52.2% catch rate on 113 targets ranked near the bottom of the conference, per PFF, exacerbated by untimely drops and inconsistent QB play. What really made his sophomore slump so frustrating, though, were the frequent flashes of his enormous gifts. Worthy’s 9 touchdown receptions still led the league for the 2nd year in a row, and his reputation as a filthy route-runner and elite vertical threat remained intact.

Quinn Ewers with a DIME of a deep ball ??

The @TexasFootball offense is heating up ? pic.twitter.com/Exjg29EwrM

— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) September 10, 2022

It’s been an astonishingly long time since Texas, which has had just 1 wide receiver drafted in any round in the past decade, has kicked off a season with a wideout widely acknowledged as a first-round talent. (We have to go back probably 20 years to Roy Williams on that one.) Worthy is on that level, inconsistency and all. But as ever with the Longhorns, preseason optimism hinges on the prospect of a leap forward at quarterback. If Worthy and Quinn Ewers get their chemistry right in their second full season together — one of the biggest ifs of the season — the sky’s the limit.

A 6-2, 237-pound running back nicknamed “Rocket” is required by gridiron law to maintain a minimum threshold of awesomeness. Sanders clears the bar with ease: Beyond the spectacle of his raw size/speed blend, his sophomore campaign in 2022 was the most productive by an Arkansas RB since Darren McFadden’s Heisman runner-up season in 2007, yielding an SEC-best 1,714 scrimmage yards on 6.9 per touch. He can run with power; he can take it the distance; he boasts the dual-threat potential of a former high school wideout. With a couple of big games against the right opponents to put Arkansas in the running in the SEC West, he’ll be a Heisman candidate in his own right.

Shipley is not the biggest back, or the fastest, or the most creative in the open field. But as a combination of all of the above, he might be the most complete: Sturdy enough at 5-11, 205 to break tackles and handle a full-time workload, explosive enough to wreck pursuit angles on his way to the end zone, and perfectly capable of leaving tacklers grasping at air.

we might watch this a million times. not joking. pic.twitter.com/Ngv37LtCgZ

— Clemson Football (@ClemsonFB) November 13, 2022

As a sophomore, he was also Clemson’s primary kick returner, a frequent receiving target out of the backfield, a dogged blocker and a beast in short-yardage, while finishing 2nd in the ACC in all-purpose yards and touchdowns (15). As a junior, he may still be the only skill player the Tigers can count on week-in, week-out. Keeping him upright is indispensable to their bid to return to the Playoff.

Kinchens was one of the Hurricanes’ few bright spots in 2022, cementing his reputation as an up-and-coming ball-hawk with an ACC-best 6 interceptions and eye-opening range on the back end.

#Miami safety Kamren Kinchens.

Centerfield range. On the ball production. Pro traits. pic.twitter.com/fXmXXez8vs

— Matt Bowen (@MattBowen41) June 5, 2023

Like the other Miami safety on this list, James Williams, Kinchens’ consistency as a tackler is a work in progress. Between them, though, you won’t find a more athletic safety tandem playing on Saturdays.

Alabama’s streak of 5-star, first-round bookends ended this year, the first since 2018 that didn’t feature a Crimson Tide tackle on Day 1 of the draft. (Last year’s starting LT, Vanderbilt transfer Tyler Steen, didn’t come off the board until Round 3.) With Latham reaching eligibility in 2024, the interruption should be brief. The only question is which end of the line he’ll hold down. In the past, Bama has always shifted its rising stars to the left side, a transition that Jonah Williams, Alex Leatherwood and Evan Neal all handled in stride. Latham, however, spent the entire spring in his familiar seat at right tackle, where he started every game in 2022, even as the still-undecided competition to replace Steen was well underway on the left. Given the many other question marks on offense, maybe Nick Saban just wants to go to bed at night knowing there’s at least one position he can count on.

It took 4 years and a 2,600-mile cushion between himself and Auburn, Ala., but the Bo Nix Experience finally lived up to the hype. After 3 maddening seasons in the SEC, Nix was a new man in 2022 — accurate, efficient and steady under pressure. He rebounded from a miserable opener against an old nemesis, Georgia, to finish among the national leaders in completion percentage, passer rating and Total QBR, all areas in which he’d consistently come in below average at Auburn, and accounted for more touchdowns (43) than his former school managed as a team (35).

pic.twitter.com/2m19kQhEJA

— Random Guy (@orezjc) October 22, 2022

As a longtime Nix skeptic in his Auburn days, it’s tempting to imagine the old, self-combustible Bo still lurking around the corner. More likely, the version that emerged last year at Oregon was the natural end point for a young QB who was a little too hyped at the start of his career, thrust into the spotlight a little too soon and judged a little too harshly for what amounted to normal growing pains. (OK, maybe way too harshly.) The finished product arrived more or less on schedule. If he had to move two time zones away to get there, more power to him.

Like Nix, Penix thrived in fresh colors in 2022 following an undergraduate career that ran the gamut the physically and emotionally. At Indiana, his enormous promise was derailed by season-ending injuries in 4 consecutive seasons. Also like Nix, who transfered to Oregon to play for his original offensive coordinator at Auburn, Kenny Dillingham, Penix’s re-emergence in the Pacific Northwest followed his reunification with former Indiana OC Kalen DeBoer, the new head coach at Washington. Together, they resolved to air it out: Penix stayed healthy, averaged 43 attempts per game, broke the school record for passing yards, and led the nation in total offense, nearly doubling the Huskies’ 2021 scoring average in the process.

With essentially his entire surrounding cast back, last year’s stat line is just the starting point for expectations in ’23. Penix’s top receivers, Rome Odunze and Jalen McMillan, are both featured on this list. But don’t overlook his offensive line, which was vital in keeping its injury-prone QB upright: Penix faced one of the lowest pressure rates in the country, taking just 4 sacks on 576 dropbacks.

Beebe is a typical K-State success story — small-town hoss turned overachiever — with as decorated a résumé entering his 5th year as any returning o-lineman in the country. In 2021, he was a first-team All-Big 12 pick after starting every game at left tackle; in ’22, he repeated the honor at left guard, his more natural position, and added a handful of All-America notices to the ledger after paving the way for the Wildcats’ run to the conference title. He didn’t allow a sack in either season, per PFF, and ranked 2nd in the conference in overall OL grading in both. Huge, athletic, consistent, the best interior lineman in the college game.

Henderson landed with a splash in 2021, breaking Maurice Clarett’s school records for scrimmage yards (1,560) and touchdowns (19) by a freshman. Facing enormous expectations in Year 2, he looked like a shadow of his dynamic rookie self, dimmed by a nagging foot injury that cost him all of 5 games and limited him in several more. Two looming questions in Year 3: 1), how close will Henderson be to 100% after sitting out spring practice; and 2), how many touches will he be forced to concede in the Buckeyes’ crowded backfield rotation to Miyan Williams and Dallan Hayden? At full speed with a full plate, he’s still due for another monster year before moving on.

When it’s all said and done, Ohio State’s 2021 wide receiver room is going to go down as one of the legendary units of any era. The starters, Chris Olave, Garrett Wilson and Jaxon Smith-Njigba, have already given the Buckeyes first-round wideouts in consecutive seasons, with the former 2 making an immediate impact in the NFL as rookies.

Next up, Marvin Harrison Jr. and Egbuka, who bided their time as freshmen on the ’21 team before making their move in ’22. Although he didn’t challenge Harrison’s primacy in the viral highlight department — few ever have — Egbuka was stride-for-stride in terms of production, finishing just a tick off Harrison’s All-America pace for catches (74), yards (1,151) and touchdowns (10); he ranked 5th among Power 5 receivers in yards after catch and yards from the slot, where he settled in for an injured Smith-Njigba. Smooth, versatile, and consistent, any opposing secondary foolish enough to treat him like “the other guy” is going to find out otherwise in a hurry.

Will Anderson Jr. was the best Bama pass rusher of the Nick Saban era, by far, a distinction he’ll likely hold forever once Saban hangs it up in the (presumably) very near future. But his heir apparent has the potential to significantly close the gap. A top-10 recruit in the 2021 class, Turner has supplemented Anderson’s elite production the past 2 years with 13 sacks and 62 QB pressures off the opposite edge; in Year 3, he’s past due to be a headliner.

pic.twitter.com/NIPzcazc0H

— metalurgico (@metalurgico144) August 5, 2023

One thing you’ll occasionally see Turner do that Anderson almost never did: Drop into coverage. Turner spent nearly of 15% of his total snaps in coverage in 2022 (compared to about 3% for Anderson), fulfilling a more traditional 3-4 outside linebacker role. Not that Alabama or any other defense actually spends much time in a true 3-4 look anymore, but it’s one more tool in the box when it’s called for.

Yet another son of a former Pro Bowler, Trotter was born and raised to be the model of a modern middle ‘backer. On top of a breakout season on paper, his sophomore highlight reel boasted instincts in coverage, sideline-to-sideline range on the hoof, closing speed as a blitzer, and the explosiveness to leave o-linemen grasping at air en route to the backfield. The market for off-ball linebackers who line up almost exclusively between the tackles isn’t what it used to be, but then 230-pounders with Trotter’s spread-oriented skill set don’t grow on trees, either. A maxed-out junior campaign stands to make him a no-brainer All-American and a first-round lock.

More than any other player, Verse is the poster child for just how dramatically the free-transfer era has changed the sport for late bloomers. How many overachieving talents have been overlooked or written off over the years playing out their college careers in obscure outposts like the University of Albany? Fortunately for Verse (and for the beleaguered quarterbacks of the Colonial Athletic Association) the portal has rendered the question academic. After 2 dominant seasons at the FCS level he made a seamless transition in 2022 from hidden gem to headliner, emerging as an instant hit in Florida State’s spring session, the ACC’s most productive edge rusher in the fall, and, with his decision to return for another year, the early favorite to be the first edge off the board in 2024. Whatever questions still exist about his game by then, his initial detour coming out of high school won’t be among them.

A former high school tight end, Alt initially profiled as a developmental type who’d need a redshirt year or 2 to beef. Instead, he took over as the Irish’s starting left tackle barely 3 months after enrolling and has been solid as a rock since. He started every game in 2022, didn’t allow a sack, excelled as a run-blocker, finished as PFF’s highest-graded OT nationally, and duly landed on a handful of All-America teams. In ’23, he’s a default preseason pick on every All-America team, boosted by his emergence as a consensus top-10 prospect in mock drafts.

Joe Alt is an impressive dude! He can protect that outside shoulder well. Especially when he uses his wingspan to his advantage.

Battle for OT1 is going to be wild!! #RoadTo2024 pic.twitter.com/59RRYrjPOs

— Full-Time Dame ? (@DP_NFL) May 24, 2023

Alt’s dad, John, was ahead of his time as a 6-8 offensive lineman in the ’80s and ’90s. Today, a 6-8, 315-pounder with the polish and athleticism to handle speed off the edge and sustain leverage in the run game is the holy grail for the position. Another year like the last one, and the younger Alt may come as close to that ideal anyone we’ve seen yet.

Maye took the baton from the most prolific passer in UNC history, Sam Howell, and never looked back, setting school records for total offense and touchdowns with room to spare as a redshirt freshman. By year’s end, even a nosedive in his production over the course of an 0-4 finish wasn’t enough to curb his surging stock: He turned down lucrative transfer opportunities in favor of another year in Chapel Hill, and – like his predecessor – enters Year 3 on the short list for the Heisman and the No. 1 overall pick next spring.

In Howell’s case, his final season on campus in 2021 fell well short of those lofty expectations, largely for reasons beyond his control. Maye’s bid for local immortality hinges on an as-yet unproven supporting cast as well. The Tar Heels lost their top 2 receivers and best pass blocker to the draft, while the running back-by-committee approach left Maye himself as the team’s leading rusher even after subtracting for negative yardage on sacks. A nice line to have on the résumé again come awards season, sure. But the only way to guarantee he remains relevant at that point on the calendar is to make sure he remains in one piece.

You can’t go around calling yourself “Kool-Aid” and then turn out to be just another replacement-level corner. McKinstry has lived up to both the handle and the hype. As a sophomore, he faced more targets than any other SEC defender, most of which resulted in the ball clanging harmlessly to the turf: Opposing QBs connected on just 46.3% of those attempts, per PFF, yielding 4.4 yards per attempt, a long gain of 27 yards, and an FBS-best 16 passes broken up.

Kool-Aid McKinstry is excellent in soft press coverage. Teach tape. Outstanding footwork and active hands. He plays with great patience and is able to mirror and match wide receivers. pic.twitter.com/stCdmW0H00

— Kendell Hollowell (@KHollowell_) April 11, 2023

In addition to fulfilling his destiny as the next elite Bama corner, McKinstry was a dynamic presence in the return game, ripping off 4 punt returns of 40+ yards in September alone before punters stopped giving him a chance; no other punt returner nationally had more than 2 40+ yard returns all season. In general, the wisest course of action when he’s on the field is to avoid aiming the ball in his direction altogether.

Perkins spent the first half of his freshman campaign learning the ropes, and the second half breaking out as one of the singular talents in the college game: A dynamic edge rusher, off-ball linebacker and nickel defender rolled into one ball-hawking package. In the defining stretch of LSU’s season — a 4-game winning streak against Florida, Ole Miss, Alabama and Arkansas — he accounted for 24 QB pressures, 15 stops, 6 sacks and 2 forced fumbles in the span of a single month, seizing the attention of the entire country in the process.

This is a freshman LB!! Harold Perkins showing ELITE flexibility as a pass rusher off the edge. pic.twitter.com/yGq06CutGM

— Cole Cubelic (@colecubelic) November 12, 2022

Predictably, that pace wasn’t quite sustainable for an 18-year-old down the stretch. It was more than enough, however, to secure postseason accolades (Freshman All-American, second-team All-SEC per league coaches) and to establish Perkins as a rising star with no ceiling in sight. The only uncertainty in Year 2 is exactly how he’ll be deployed after splitting his time among multiple stations. Although he’s significantly undersized for the box at 6-1, 220, Perkins was at his best last year coming off the edge, where his initial burst and elite closing speed made up for his less-than-ideal frame. It’s also possible that with more experience he’ll be more comfortable over the slot, where he spent more time as the season wore on. Regardless, he projects as a premiere playmaker in any capacity.

For decades, a star running back volunteering for a 4th year on campus has been almost unheard of. Since 2000, exactly 2 draft-eligible RBs coming off a consensus All-America season have opted to stay in school: Wisconsin’s Montee Ball in 2012, and now Corum in 2023. (Go ahead and add Travis Etienne and Najee Harris in 2020 to the list, too, although neither met the All-America criteria in 2019; the point still stands. As a rule, a decorated, veteran back is as good as gone.)

In Corum’s case, his decision to return to Michigan was explicitly about finishing what he started as a junior, before an ankle injury sidelined him for the Wolverines’ last 3 games. By deferring an NFL payday, he is quite literally as invested in winning a national championship as any player in the country.

To that end, his numbers are largely beside the point. Prior to the injury, Corum was among the national leaders at 132.5 rushing yards per game, and ended the season as PFF’s highest-graded player at any position (96.2). This year, the priority is ensuring he’s available for the winter grind, which likely means a larger role for the more-than-capable Donovan Edwards. (See above.) If that’s what it takes to keep him on the field against Ohio State and beyond, sacrificing some fraction of the stats is a small price to pay.

As a freshman, Harrison was notable mainly for sharing a name with his dad, one of the most decorated receivers of all-time. As a sophomore, he was a full-blown revelation: An unrivaled combination of size, body control, and flawless hands that made him a weekly highlight machine throughout the season. Eighteen of Harrison’s 77 catches in 2022 were of the contested variety, per PFF, making him not only one of the nation’s most productive receivers but also the most viral.

Marvin Harrison Jr. is a witch. pic.twitter.com/TUis0W1XMv

— Kevin Harrish (@Kevinish) November 12, 2022

The Buckeyes will be ruing the hit that knocked Harrison out of their 42-41 semifinal loss to Georgia for as long as their thirst for a national crown goes unquenched. Would Ohio State have hung on to its double-digit lead if he’d finished the game? Impossible to say. But up to that point, UGA hadn’t had any better answers for Harrison than the overwhelmed secondaries of the Big Ten: He had 106 yards and 2 touchdowns in 3 quarters. The blame for OSU subsequently getting outscored 18-3 in his absence in the 4th lies mainly with the defense. (Along with possibly the most clutch timeout ever called.) Anytime the margin in a game of that magnitude is that thin, though, a variable as big as losing the nation’s premier wideout is inevitably going to linger.

Describing Bowers as a “tight end” doesn’t come close to doing his all-purpose skill set justice. He might be the ultimate tight end: Equally functional as a blocker and receiver, explosive in the open field, powerful after the catch, a nightmare in the red zone, a mismatch waiting to happen in almost every conceivable scenario. The man is a weapon.

As a freshman in 2021, Bowers set Kirby Smart-era highs for receptions (56), receiving yards (882) and touchdowns (13); as a sophomore, he eclipsed his own marks in the first 2 categories (63 for 942) while adding another 7 TDs in the third. Even when he’s covered, he’s open.

HOW?!?!

TIP DRILL TOUCHDOWN FOR THE DAWGS pic.twitter.com/lomEZdruSN

— CBS Sports (@CBSSports) October 29, 2022

Three potential changes could affect Bowers’ trajectory in Year 3: 1), the arrival of a new offensive coordinator, Mike Bobo, in place of the NFL-bound Todd Monken; 2), the promotion of an untested quarterback, Carson Beck, in place of the unflappable Stetson Bennett IV; and 3), the departure of the Bulldogs’ other blue-chip tight end, the colossal Darnell Washington, who held down the traditional inline role while freeing up Bowers to roam all over the field. Neither Monken, a first-rate play-caller, nor Washington, a one-of-a-kind figure himself, can be replaced as easily as “next man up,” even at Georgia. (Bennett … to be determined.) But then, with an athlete like Bowers, there’s pretty much nowhere you can ask him to line up where he won’t excel.

Who else? Williams’ ascent has been foreshadowed and confirmed every step of the way: Top billing as a recruit, instant success as a freshman, Heisman coronation in Year 2, undisputed Face of the Sport in Year 3. A near-perfect prospect, he’s essentially a bigger, stronger-armed version of Bryce Young — elusive, efficient, creative — with identical production.

In his first season as a Trojan, Williams led the nation in touchdown passes; ranked in the top 5 in total offense, pass efficiency and Total QBR; and posted the top PFF grade on pressured dropbacks, by far, throwing 14 TDs and 0 interceptions under duress. (Only 2 other quarterbacks in the PFF database, dating to 2014, have graded out better in the pressure metric: Kyler Murray in 2018 and Joe Burrow in ’19.) No single player is actually worth tanking for, but if your team is getting to the point of no return … then yeah, this is the dude actually worth tanking for.

More magic from Caleb Williams #USC pic.twitter.com/2zdSAteR8M

— Trevor Booth (@TrevorMBooth) November 27, 2022

Like all the great ones, Williams’ legacy on campus will hinge significantly on his ring finger (currently bare), and like all prolific Lincoln Riley quarterbacks he will have to overcome an atrocious defense to get even within sniffing distance of the Playoff.

In USC’s 3 losses in 2022, he averaged 431 yards per game with 13 touchdowns; the Trojans scored 42, 24, and 45 points. (The 24-point outing, you’ll recall, coming with Williams limping badly throughout the second half of the Pac-12 Championship Game against Utah after lighting up the Utes in the first half.)

Not enough.

Heisman winners and No. 1 overall picks come and go; carrying a Riley outfit to a national crown opposite a typical Riley D would be a truly singular achievement.

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Travis Hunter won’t ever be sh!t. He’s just a money grabbing, lying, POS. “iM a nOlE” yea my fat white @ss you are.

About 1.3% of women in the United States will be diagnosed with ovarian cancer in her lifetime.2 Although this is much lower than the lifetime risk for developing breast cancer,3 there is no recommended test to screen for ovarian cancer, so unlike breast cancer, ovarian cancer is rarely diagnosed early. When ovarian cancer is found early, a woman has nearly a 93% chance of surviving at least 5 years after she is..diagnosed____ onlineworkingathome7.blogspot.com/

Why does SDS allow these spam items?

That’s an ignorant statement.

Brock Bowers for Heisman!!!

Interesting list. I would like to see the same list at the end of the season for any changes. You know there will be some, either movement or additions/deletions.

At the end of the season I suspect 1 – 85 will be UGA Bulldogs…maybe more if our walk-on RBs get some garbage time…Kidding!

The list will look a lot different by the end of the year. No question.

No Tennessee players? What a surprise.

The article ends with a bashing of Riley and his outfit…

classy!

Hey, Matt, you would have taken what they gave Riley if they had offered it to you…

It’s a Kirby Smart era now…

lmfao

More like the last year of the CFP SEC bias b u l l s h i t era when the national champion was determined by who got INVITED to dance in the end of the year party!

The Invitation Era…

fixed it for you Matt!

More like this is the last year of the CFP SEC bias b u l l s h i t era when the national champion was determined by who it was that got an invitation to dance with the teams (plural) from the SEC!

The Invitation Era!

Fixed it for you Matt!

Invites are awarded by the product on the field. Winning takes care of bias…nah-mean?

It’s an invitation…

that’s what it is!

One year from now, the most popular baby name for boys will be Mertz. The most popular name for girls? Mertzarina. Why? Because the singularity known as The Mertz will have stunned the world and annihilated all who dare to oppose him. He will be named Greatest Player in the History of the universe. Yet, he doesn’t make your pathetic little list?

Fool!

No problem with the top two. I’d have Harold Perkins third and Harrison fourth.

Cam Rising is overrated, especially coming off ACL surgery.

Bo Nix at 16th? Seriously? His “huge breakthrough” came against PAC-disintegrating opposition.

Yes, J.T. Tuimoloau is ranked too low.

J.J. McCarthy is too low. Quinshon Judkins is too.

Hot take

Maye > Williams

Anytime the margin in a game of that magnitude is that thin, though, a variable as big as losing the nation’s premier wideout is inevitably going to linger.

A variable as big as…

not getting the correct call on the illegal hit on Marvin Harrison Jr. was a game changer; didn’t get the correct call even after using replay, wonder why?

Bro, even the “rules expert” on the ESPN broadcast said it wasn’t targeting.

Here’s a friendly reminder:

2021 NATIONAL CHAMPIONS2022 NATIONAL CHAMPIONS

A 3-peat is looking promising. I suggest you learn to love it.

It does’t take a “rules expert” to let us know what we saw wasn’t targeting…

a bias SEC Georgia fan telling us…

we all suffer from the brain’s ability to trick us into believing things that aren’t true. Our own eyesight, the sense that guides us as we move about the world and allows us to gather information, can’t even be trusted. To rely on your senses alone is a costly mistake.

A “rules expert” ruled we didn’t see what we saw!

The referees, when it happened, saw it, but then the “rules expert” let them know that wasn’t what they saw; that’s funny!

As for the 3-peat prediction…

with the SEC bias in the corrupt CFP working to make that happen, one would be a fool to bet a 3-peat won’t happen.

The”Awesome Possum” “maraschino cherry” Kirby Smart deserves to be at no other place than the very top of the heap; if I had a 200 grand to burn, I’d burn it, in a New York minute, on a bet that the “maraschino cherry” will be right where he belongs when the season ends, on top.

All targeting is reviewed, and half are overturned. Field refs rule on the side of safety. They know the play will be reviewed in slo mo, and the call will be adjusted. The refs got it right. Your bias refuses to accept this.

Oh, they got the call right… replay booth overturned the call!

Javon Bullard signing a shirt with a picture of Javon Bullard’s hit on Harrison with the words “Night Night” inscribed on it is a classless act, Bullard! You got away with not being called for targeting BECAUSE you play for a Georgia team that is a member of the SEC; that is the only reason you didn’t have to leave that game and that is the only reason you didn’t have to sit on the bench in the first-half of the TCU game; I’ll repeat that, using other words…

the only reason Bullard’s targeting call was reversed is because Bullard plays for the SEC team Georgia PERIOD

The reason that call got overturned is because the CFP is the SEC’s bias private party “outfit” and it was gross negligence for that heinous hit, that was correctly called when the hit happened, to get overturned by the same CFP SEC bias b u l l s h i t c r a p “outfit” we have dealt with for over ten years now.

* Note: Was able to use Hinton’s Riley bashing word (outfit) twice in this post.

Freaking cry baby. Didn’t lead with his helmet, no helmet to helmet contact. You want him to just sit back and not make a play? Hit was 100% legal!

Really, you’re telling me their helmets didn’t hit…

what game were you watching!

Didn’t lead with his helmet. Incidental contact.

Harrison was defenseless!

So is every receiver. It’s football. The defense should have a right to make a hit.

Here are the rules. Initial contact was shoulder to shoulder…so the review was correct:Launch — a player leaving his feet to attack an opponent by an upward and forward thrust of the body to make forcible contact in the head or neck areaA crouch followed by an upward and forward thrust to attack with forcible contact at the head or neck area, even though one or both feet are still on the groundLeading with helmet, shoulder, forearm, fist, hand or elbow to attack with forcible contact at the head or neck areaLowering the head before attacking by initiating forcible contact with the crown of the helmet

you’re absolutely right, it was clearly targeting. had that hit happened in any other game, it’s upheld as targeting. bullard’s actions after the game have been entirely disrespectful, and have served to motivate the best player in college football. uga had better hope they don’t have to face the Buckeyes this season. Ohio State was down 3 of their 4 top receivers, and their top 3 rb’s and was still a missed fg away from winning that defacto uga home game. as we saw with a healthy bama in 2021 and Ohio State last year, teams with explosive downfield passing games can shred that uga defense, and the Buckeyes will have the most dangerous passing game in the country next season. hope to see you again uga.

Wow…Maybe all that will get you by Michigan this year! Probably not though.

I would have Jarquez Hunter over half the RBs on this list. Nehemiah Pritchett should also be on here.

The best RB I’ve seen is Singleton at Penn State. Now that he’s RB1, I expect him to be a top 10 player by end of year.

10 Buckeyes to 7 skunk weasels. let’s hope that translates to the field this year. Go Bucks! and eff that school up north!

Harbaugh is Ryan Day’s daddy.

Day is 2-2 against hairball. Day has 2 bowl wins in 4 years – both major bowls, hairball has 1 bowl win in 8 years – a second tier bowl – citrus. Day has a cfp win, the rest of the big 10 coaches combined – including hairball – 0 cfp wins. Day has 2 b10 championships in 4 years, hairball has 2 in 8 years.

OSU is 5-13 against SEC teams. Pretty dang poor little buckeye. Go cry some more about how you didn’t have this and that, and Bullard plays too tough for your little guys. Yeah, it was the ref’s fault. Geesh.

Ohio State is 23-15-3 against the schools of the sec.

go cry some more? uga fans are some of the whinniest fans on the planet. y’all give xichigan fans a run for their money. that blown call by the replay official cost Ohio State a national championship. are you going to tell me that had the situation been reversed, and Ohio State beat uga on a blown call from the refs, uga fans would’ve moved on? is that what you’re trying to tell me? because if so, you’re lying. uga fans would be like those miami fans still complaining to this day about the 2002 fiesta bowl. just take your tainted title and move on, billy.

Blown call my A Z Z, go look up the rules bucknut. Initial contact was shoulder. Freakin cry baby

Oh yeah, go Google that record again. OSU is 5 -13 according to Google against the SEC. You know as much about the record as you do the rules…bucknut.

look up the rule? ok…leading with helmet, SHOULDER, forearm, fist, hand or elbow to attack with forcible contact at the head or neck AREA….. kind of sounds exactly like the hit on Marv, don’t it. throw in some helmet to helmet contact, launching, and upward thrust while you’re at it. it doesn’t say head or neck, it says head or neck AREA. last i checked, the shoulders are squarely in the head and neck area, and considering it gave Marv a concussion, that hit with the shoulder, while launching himself at a defenseless player in the head and neck area, is the very definition of the rule. the ground didn’t cause that concussion, bullard’s illegal hit did.

oh yeah…google Ohio State’s record yourself, billy. Ohio State is 23-15-3 against the schools of the sec.

i’m a bit of a philanthropist, billy, so there will be no charge for the education i’ve now bestowed upon you. i consider it a public service. you’re dismissed lil’ billy, and take that tainted title with you.

I got your record from the Sporting News. Go tell them they are wrong then. There was no launch. I posted the rule above from the NCAA website. Clearly a legal hit, as most sports announcers outside of Ohio have confirmed. Sure your right and the refs are wrong. Cry me a river.

if that’s where you got the record, then the sporting news is wrong too. let me ask you, what’s Ohio State’s record against xichigan, according to sporting news?

the refs weren’t wrong. they threw a flag for targeting. they called it correctly. the replay official is the one who got it wrong. and there was a launch, which is why bullard’s feet were in the air after the illegal hit. it’s on video, you can rewatch it yourself. but the launch is only one part of it. there were other aspects of that tackle that fit the definition of targeting.

i know that you don’t want to admit it was targeting, because then you’d have to admit the title is tainted.were you an impartial, objective observer however, you’d agree that hit fit the definition of targeting. if the situation were reversed, and a Buckeye defender laid that exact same hit on stetson bennet, you’d absolutely call it targeting; but because it won the game for your team, you don’t want to admit it. that’s ok bill, no one’s going to take the title from your team if you display some integrity and call that play what it was. you can just admit it, keep your integrity intact, and still be able to celebrate the title. what do you say?

He was running across the field. He led with the shoulder and neither foot left the ground prior to the hit. Let me know where to send you a tissue.