10 Players Who Could Be Beat out by Freshmen for Starting Jobs in 2015
Two of the big buzz phrases that college football coaches spew out over and over again when talking about freshmen are how their arrival will help "build depth" and "fill needs" at the positions they play. What isn't mentioned much, though, is that many of them end up stealing a job away from an established starter.
Now that signing day has passed and spring practice is on the horizon, it's time for some players who were in the lineup last season to start looking over their shoulder—as well as get better—or find themselves bumped down the depth chart when action resumes in September.
More and more coaches are willing to throw true freshmen and redshirts into the fire early, and they're not reluctant to start them ahead of more experienced players if the newcomers show more upside. We've identified 10 players who started most or all of their team's games in 2014 and are in serious jeopardy of becoming a backup this fall.
Michael Brewer, QB, Virginia Tech
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People looked at Michael Brewer as somewhat of a savior when he transferred from Texas Tech to Virginia Tech last offseason. An experienced passer with a good arm, he would help the Hokies transition from the Logan Thomas days to the next wave of incoming freshman quarterbacks.
Brewer's time in that role might be coming to an end in 2015, as a slew of challengers are breathing down his neck to take his job this fall. Two sat out last season, and another is headed to Blacksburg in the summer.
Chris Durkin and Andrew Ford were 3-star recruits from the 2014 class who redshirted in order to get more acclimated with offensive coordinator Scot Loeffler's system. Now they're ready to contend for playing time, along with incoming freshman Dwayne Lawson, a 4-star signee who was the No. 9 pro-style passer in the country.
All three players have more size than the 6'0", 200-pound Brewer, who threw for 2,692 yards and 18 touchdowns last season but also had 15 interceptions and completed just 59.4 percent of his throws. Durkin (6'4", 235 lbs), Ford (6'3", 205 lbs) and Lawson (6'6", 207 lbs) have the advantage of being able to see over the line more; Brewer's shortcoming in this regard might have contributed to his accuracy issues.
Tim Crawley, WR, San Jose State
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San Jose State has been on a downward spiral since Mike MacIntyre left the program to take over Colorado in 2013. After the Spartans went 11-2 in 2012, they slipped to 6-6 the next season and 3-9 last fall.
Not coincidentally, their passing game has dipped in production with the graduation of prolific quarterback David Fales and receiver Chandler Jones after the 2013 season.
San Jose may have found its quarterback in Joe Gray, but the receiving corps is still light on talent. That is in line to change next season with the signing of Kanya Bell, a 4-star prospect from Long Beach (Calif.) Poly High School who figures to battle incumbent Tim Crawley for the No. 2 receiver spot.
Crawley had 35 receptions for 430 yards but only one touchdown last season, and at 5'7" and 175 pounds he figures to be the likely player that the 6'0", 160-pound Bell beats out. Bell, who played receiver and cornerback in high school, is coming in with big hype about his speed.
"One of those guys that you put the ball in his hands and you can just see the highlight reel go on and on and on," San Jose coach Ron Caragher told Jimmy Durkin of the San Jose Mercury News.
Michael Cummings, QB, Kansas
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New Kansas coach David Beaty may well blow up last season's depth chart and start over—partly because only nine starters return and partly because at 3-9 this team didn't do much to warrant many of the starters keeping their jobs.
This starts at the top with Michael Cummings, who as a junior took over the quarterback job in October from Montell Cozart not long after Charlie Weis was fired. But Cummings, who had also started games in 2012, managed to throw just nine touchdowns in his seven starts.
Now comes Ryan Willis, a 4-star recruit from Mission, Kansas, who committed to the program while Weis was still in charge but figures to get a shot in Beaty's system. At 6'4" and 195 pounds, he has the frame of a prototypical pocket passer but will need to bulk up some.
Kansas hasn't had a quarterback throw for more than 2,000 yards since 2009, when Todd Reesing had 3,616 yards as a senior.
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Davon Godchaux, DT, LSU
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LSU has to replace both starting defensive ends with Jermauria Rasco's graduation and Danielle Hunter's decision to turn pro after his junior year. The Tigers might be in line to overhaul the entire front four, as neither Davon Godchaux nor Christian LaCouture was particularly effective in 2014.
The pair only combined for 2.5 sacks and 5.5 tackles for loss, with the 6'4", 298-pound Godchaux making just 1.5 of his 42 tackles behind the line of scrimmage as a true freshman. Godchaux was forced into a starting role because of injuries as well as the academic issues of another member of LSU's 2014 class, Travonte Valentine.
A 4-star prospect from Florida, Valentine was rated as the No. 65 player in 2014 and the third-best defensive tackle. He looked like a strong candidate to start right away, but he was a late qualifier academically and didn't get to start practicing with the Tigers until October and was not allowed to play.
The 6'3", 335-pound Valentine is eligible to participate in spring practice, according to Jim Kleinpeter of NOLA.com, and by September he could take Godchaux's job.
Pig Howard, WR, Tennessee
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Pig Howard represents the old regime at Tennessee, and while his effort and dedication have been there for the past three seasons, the production has not. As the No. 1 receiver for the Volunteers in 2014, the 5'8", 187-pound junior had 54 receptions for 618 yards but only hauled in one touchdown, as junior college transfer Von Pearson and other younger wideouts brought in by current coach Butch Jones kept rising up the charts.
The next Jones recruit coming down the pike might end up forcing Howard out of the starting lineup, especially if Preston Williams plays with the flair and excitement he's shown off the field during the recruitment process.
The 6'4", 191-pound Williams is rated No. 48 overall in the 2015 class. The Georgia native picked the Volunteers in September 2013 but still made his visits to other schools, such as Auburn and Georgia. During his Auburn visit in late January, he reportedly showed up in Tennessee gear and actively recruited other prospects about joining him in Knoxville, according to Wesley Sinor of AL.com.
Then, on signing day on Feb. 4, Williams broke out some sweet threads that included a Tennessee mini-helmet/hat.
Williams has already endeared himself to the fanbase with these antics, and assuming he recovers fully from a knee injury suffered in late October, he's in line to take Howard's spot this fall.
Maty Mauk, QB, Missouri
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Despite filling in admirably for James Franklin during Missouri's run to the 2013 SEC East title and then leading the Tigers to the divisional crown last year, Maty Mauk just hasn't lived up the expectations placed upon him. And with Mizzou bringing in a top-flight quarterback this summer, Mauk's days may be numbered.
Drew Lock, a 4-star prospect from Lee's Summit, Missouri, threw for 2,697 yards and 28 touchdowns while also rushing for six scores last season in high school. His best attribute is accuracy on short and intermediate routes, something Mauk struggled with most of last season.
"Lock is the future at Missouri, and if Mauk can't get things going in 2015, he could become the present," Bleacher Report's Barrett Sallee wrote.
Mauk completed only 53.4 percent of his passes and threw 13 interceptions in 2014, going three straight games without tossing a touchdown at one point.
Cyler Miles, QB, Washington
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Cyler Miles hasn't set any records as Washington's quarterback, but he is in jeopardy of being passed over for a national record-breaker.
Jake Browning comes to the Huskies from Folsom, California, where the 4-star recruit threw for a national prep record 91 touchdowns in 2014. He had 229 TDs for his career, also a national record, while going 44-2 as a starter and winning a state title as a senior.
"He has an uncanny feel for the game, and toughness and anticipation, all those things," Browning's high school coach, Troy Taylor, told Christian Caple of the Tacoma News-Tribune.
Compare that to Miles, who as a redshirt sophomore last season threw for 2,397 yards and 19 touchdowns with only four interceptions while completing 66.6 percent of his passes. Those are not bad numbers, but Miles regularly struggled in the red zone and in situations where passing was Washington's best option.
Browning has been compared favorably to Kellen Moore, the wildly efficient quarterback that Washington coach Chris Petersen had at Boise State.
Paul Perkins, RB, UCLA
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Paul Perkins led the Pac-12 in rushing last season yet somehow managed to be one of the most underrated players in the country. That's hard to do when gaining 1,575 yards and averaging more than six yards per carry, but so it went for the sophomore who was playing in the shadow of mobile quarterback Brett Hundley.
Hundley is gone, and UCLA will likely go with a more pro-style passer this season, which would figure to give Perkins more touches and attention. Instead, he likely will be in a fight for his life to hold onto his job against a highly touted incoming freshman.
Soso Jamabo, a 5-star running back from Texas, picked UCLA over Texas and others after rushing for nearly 2,400 yards and 44 touchdowns as a senior. The 6'2.5", 210-pound back told Chris Foster of the Los Angeles Times that he'd be willing to make a position change. "I want to be at next level, whether as a receiver or a running back," he said, but he seems more suited to running the ball.
It's Perkins' job to lose, and of all the players on this list, he's the least likely to see that happen. But he could end up having to split carries, similar to how it was with Hundley's designed runs.
Gimel President, DE, Auburn
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The signing day boon for Auburn that included landing the nation's top defensive end, Byron Cowart, was great news for pretty much every member of the Tigers. Except, maybe, Gimel President.
President started Auburn's last nine games in 2014 at one defensive end spot opposite junior DaVonte Lambert, but the 6'4", 259-pound sophomore wasn't that effective. He had one sack and five tackles for loss among his 30 takedowns, part of a front line-wide problem of ineffective pass rushing.
And that's where Cowart comes in. The 6'4", 250-pound Florida native runs the 40-yard dash in 4.6 seconds and had 11 sacks and 21 tackles for loss last season. Auburn as a team only had 21 sacks.
"We feel very good about him being able to come in immediately and help us rushing the passer," Auburn coach Gus Malzahn told James Crepea of the Montgomery Advertiser.
Along with the return of Carl Lawson, who missed all of last year after tearing his ACL, the Tigers have far more options at the defensive end spot in 2015. With Cowart being a big part of that equation, in order to get him time on the line, it's likely going to drop President down the depth chart.
Shadrach Thornton, RB, North Carolina State
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Dave Doeren has made a quick turnaround of things at North Carolina State, going from 4-8 in his first season to winning eight games in 2014. And he's been doing it with mostly players who were around before he took the job, including running back Shadrach Thornton.
Thornton has been serviceable as a No. 1 rusher, slightly improving his yards per attempt and total yardage each season with the Wolfpack. But now that Doeren has one of his guys heading to Raleigh, the veteran's days could be numbered.
N.C. State managed to flip 4-star prospect Johnny Frasier late in the recruiting process, getting the in-state player to back out of a commit to Florida State and join the Wolfpack. At 5'10" and 229 pounds, Frasier is a bowling ball of a runner similar to former Mississippi State star Josh Robinson who works as a perfect complement to mobile quarterback Jacoby Brissett.
Thornton has never been looked at as an every-down back, averaging roughly 15 carries per game throughout his career. With Frasier coming in, that average could drop significantly.
All recruiting information courtesy of 247Sports.
Follow Brian J. Pedersen on Twitter at @realBJP.
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