College Football 2012: Which Players Will Outperform Their Phil Steele Ranking?

Every year college football junkies wait for our own summertime Christmas—a Steelemas, if you will.

Phil Steele's all-encompassing bible for the upcoming college football season is a must-have for fans and media alike. Thanks to the glory of the Internet, we are able to get small doses of Steele's greatness when he releases his preseason all-conference and All-American teams. Over at the website the all-conference teams are out, and Steele has also released the All-American team. 

As always, Steele does a bang-up job on his teams. He finds guys from all over who are poised to either continue performing at a high level or that are poised to break out into the spotlight in the upcoming season. Big names like Barrett Jones, Matt Barkley and Manti Te'o highlight the All-American team.

One thing that Steele does special is run his list all the way out to four full teams and skips the amorphous "honorable mention" that comes after most third teams.

There are a couple of guys on his list that are poised to do a little better than their preseason projection expects of them. Names like Jonathan Brown and Kenny Stills jump off the page as guys who could step into the spotlight of the main team. However, in looking at the list, five guys jumped off the page as players with the real potential to claw their way on to the first and second teams.

Robert Lester, Alabama

Lester has spent his career at Alabama as "the other safety," playing opposite first-round draft pick Mark Barron. Lester was good enough to leave for the NFL and be an early-round pick this year, but he elected to return to Tuscaloosa for the Tide.

Lester is going to be playing with a stellar defensive unit, and he'll have the opportunity to be the playmaker for the Crimson Tide in the back end now that Vinnie Sunseri is going to be "the other safety" in 2012.

Listed as a third-teamer by Steele, Lester has a shot to outpace Bacarri Rambo, his SEC safety-mate.

Jordan Poyer, Oregon State

Poyer is likely the best player on the Beavers' roster entering 2012, and he will have ample opportunity to showcase his skills in a Pac-12 that features several teams that like to throw the ball around the yard.

He is a complete cornerback, capable of playing zone, man and stopping the run when he has force assignments.

Outside of the interception-machine David Amerson, there are no truly great Morris Claiborne-type cornerbacks entering this season. Poyer—with a few more interceptions, deflections and shutting down of the Pac-12's gang of elite wide receivers—definitely could climb into the spot opposite Amerson.

Braden Hansen, BYU

The big guard for BYU is one of the nation's best players at the position.

Chance Warmack of Alabama is likely going to be an All-American as the Tide look to lean on their offensive line in every way. However, the other three players ahead of him—Jonathan Cooper, Omoregie Uzzi, Larry Warford—offer opportunity for upward mobility. Cooper is playing in a brand new offense that will test how quickly the big kid from Wilmington can adjust to the new style.

Uzzi is in a Georgia Tech option attack that makes it difficult to gauge the true quality of the lineman. As for Warford, Kentucky is going to be playing some serious monsters in the SEC this year, performing at a high level is not a given.

If Hansen can do his job—open up holes and protect Riley Nelson—he can slide into the top spot opposite Warmack. 

William Gholston, Michigan State

Seeing Gholston on the third team was, to put it bluntly, a bit jaw-dropping. He is one of the best defensive players in the nation and is one of those physical freaks that is about as close to unblockable as any other player in the nation. The kid balls hard. He's got a mean streak about him, and he is versatile enough to play with his hand up or his hand down, causing problems for offenses.

Even with the loss of Jerel Worthy, Gholston is going to be a force in Pat Narduzzi's unique, aggressive scheme. Gholston is a name I expect to see on everyone's All-American list.

And going into 2012, the Big Ten—with John Simon at Ohio State—has a legitimate shot at sweeping the defensive end spot on the first team.

Jadeveon Clowney, South Carolina

Another physical freak like Gholston that I was surprised to see this far down the list.

Like Gholston, Clowney loses his interior running mate, but Clowney brings back Devin Taylor on the opposite end spot for the Gamecocks. That's a big deal as both guys will be working to hold meetings with the quarterback in 2012.

With threats on both sides you can bet that South Carolina will have some synergy on the defensive line, very much akin to what Florida State has with Brandon Jenkins and Bjoern Werner.

Clowney will likely climb up this list as the season goes, especially as he enters year two with more understanding of how to get the job done in the SEC.