10 College Football Players Who Will Exceed Preseason Expectations
Coming into 2014, who had TCU’s Trevone Boykin as the Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year?
Not many. In fact, his name wasn’t even mentioned anywhere on the 2014 Preseason All-Big 12 Team, which named Baylor’s Bryce Petty for player of the year and quarterback.
Once the dust finally settled, not only did Boykin capture both titles, but he also finished No. 4 in the Heisman voting.
Though he did improve from one year to the next, it didn’t hurt that TCU returned the third-most starters in the Big 12 and the 26th most in the FBS.
Exceeding expectations isn’t just about having talent—it’s about having lots of talented guys playing around you as well.
Zack Langer, RB, Tulsa
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Zack Langer was Tulsa’s leading rusher last season, racking up 801 yards and four scores on 196 attempts. Though he ranked No. 5 in the American Athletic Conference in total yards, he was No. 90 in the FBS, leading a rushing attack that also ranked a dismal 90th.
Everything changes in 2015 with new head coach Philip Montgomery, who is fresh off more than a decade of working for Baylor’s Art Briles including the last three seasons as the Bears’ offensive coordinator.
Though the change will mean an explosion in passing, don’t forget that Baylor ranked in the top 25 in the FBS in rushing yards from 2010 to 2013 and was No. 29 last season.
This means big things for Langer, especially with four starters on the offensive line back, along with quarterback Dane Evans.
Langer was a 2-star prospect from Jenks, Oklahoma, in 2011.
Ryan Switzer, WR, North Carolina
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With a team-leading 762 receiving yards and four touchdowns as a sophomore last season, it’s safe to say that North Carolina’s Ryan Switzer has high expectations to meet in 2015.
That said, his junior season has all the right stuff to blow everything out of the water.
A whopping 10 starters are returning to the Tar Heels offense, which finished 2014 ranked No. 38 in the FBS in scoring and No. 28 in passing yards.
Included in the deluge are the entire offensive line and quarterback Marquise Williams, who also led the team in rushing.
Speaking of Williams, he threw for 3,073 yards and 21 scores as a junior, earning a passer rating of 135.37. That was good enough for a No. 5 rank in the ACC and No. 51 overall.
The Tar Heels are locked and loaded on offense. It’s an attack that should be pass-happy, giving its top receivers a chance to shine on the national spotlight.
Switzer was a 3-star athlete prospect from Charleston, West Virginia, in 2013. He led the FBS in average punt return yards as a freshman (20.92).
Blake Frohnapfel, QB, Massachusetts
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Did you know that UMass had the No. 11-ranked passing offense in the country last season?
At 311.8 yards per game, the Minutemen finished sandwiched between No. 10 Oregon (312.5) and No. 12 Texas A&M (305.5).
Leading the charge was quarterback Blake Frohnapfel, who ranked No. 4 in the nation in yards per game (334.5).
Coming into 2015, he will be joined by the entire starting offensive line and the top five receiving targets including Tajae Sharpe, who finished last season ranked No. 9 in the FBS in yards per game (106.8).
Despite last season’s big numbers, expectations won’t be high for the team or its quarterback. UMass went 3-9 last season, its fourth-consecutive subpar .500 season. If the Minutemen manage to make it to their first major bowl game in history (they moved up to the FBS in 2012), look for Frohnapfel to be the hero.
He was a 2-star pro-style prospect from Stafford, Virginia, in 2011.
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Josh Rosen, QB, UCLA
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How high can expectations be for a guy who hasn’t even won the starting job?
With UCLA coming off back-to-back 10-win seasons for the first time since 1997-98, very high.
If Josh Rosen gets the nod to replace Brett Hundley as the starting quarterback—a scenario that looks even more likely with Asiantii Woulard’s transfer—he’ll need to play well to stop fans from wondering how Jerry Neuheisel would fare.
What will help Rosen stick is the return of the bulk of the starting offensive line, the top five receiving targets and running back Paul Perkins, who rushed for 1,575 yards in 2014 (No. 15 in the FBS).
It’s simple: He’s set up to succeed; he just needs to win the job.
Pig Howard, WR, Tennessee
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While much is being said about Tennessee running back Jalen Hurd's breakout potential, don’t forget about the passing game.
It starts with quarterback Joshua Dobbs, who led the Vols to a 4-2 mark down the stretch last season, completing 63.3 percent of his passes. Then there is the bulk of the starting offensive line coming back, a unit that led the No. 71-ranked passing attack versus a running game that ranked No. 92.
All roads lead to Pig Howard, last season’s top receiver, posting stats way beyond the 618 yards and one score on 54 catches he registered last season.
He caught 26 passes for 243 yards from Justin Worley in the first seven games in 2014 versus 28 for 325 from Dobbs in the final six. That’s an improvement of 20 yards per game and two yards per catch from one quarterback to the next.
Howard was a 4-star prospect from Orlando, Florida, in 2012.
Tavon Young, DB, Temple
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Temple is set to return a whopping 11 starters to a defense that finished last season tied for No. 4 in scoring. Only Clemson (16.7), Stanford (16.4) and Ole Miss (16) allowed fewer points per game than did the Owls (17.5) and LSU.
The unit's strength was against the pass, where it ranked No. 13 versus a No. 54 mark in rushing defense.
Hidden beneath the layers of a 6-6 finish was defensive back Tavon Young, who scored four interceptions for 153 return yards and one score last season. He also broke up nine passes and returned a fumble 63 yards for a score in the upset win over East Carolina.
Young finished tied for No. 6 in the American Athletic Conference in interceptions and pass breakups. He also earned a No. 5 mark in the FBS in interception return yards.
In 2015, he’ll join the entire starting secondary from a year ago for what should be one of the best units in the nation.
Young was a 2-star cornerback prospect from Oxon Hill, Maryland, in 2012.
Isaac Rochell, DL, Notre Dame
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Notre Dame defensive end Isaac Rochell started all 13 games as a sophomore last season. He racked up 39 tackles, 7.5 tackles for a loss, 2.5 sacks, three broken-up passes, 10 quarterback hurries and a blocked field goal in the narrow bowl win over LSU.
He finished tied for second on the team in tackles for a loss, third in sacks and first in quarterback hurries.
By comparison, Rochell scored four more quarterback hurries than did Clemson’s Vic Beasley, five more than Missouri’s Shane Ray and six more than Ohio State’s Joey Bosa.
In 2015, he’ll be one of the less sexy names on an Irish defense that returns nearly every member of the starting front seven. So while you’ll hear more preseason hype about Sheldon Day and Jarron Jones, Rochell might be the guy who pumps out the best performance.
Rochelle was a 4-star strong-side defensive end prospect from McDonough, Georgia, in 2013.
Marcus Cox, RB, Appalachian State
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Another solid performer from a smaller school that lacks huge expectations, Appalachian State running back Marcus Cox finished last season ranked No. 21 in the FBS in yards per game (117.92).
Only a sophomore in 2014, he rushed for 100-plus yards in eight of his 12 outings including posting 250 in a win over Georgia State and 229 in a victory at Arkansas State.
Cox finished No. 1 in the Sun Belt and No. 10 in the FBS in rushing touchdowns (19). It tied him with Nebraska’s Ameer Abdullah and put him one up on Ohio State’s Ezekiel Elliott (18).
This season he’ll join 10 offensive starters, including all but one member of the line, from a unit that ranked No. 26 in the FBS in scoring and No. 18 in rushing yards. It’s the same O-line that finished ranked No. 4 in the nation in sacks allowed, tying with Michigan State, Georgia Tech and Air Force with only 11.
Cox, a 2-star prospect from Dacula, Georgia, in 2013, is set to have one of the best rushing seasons in the nation.
Jacoby Brissett, QB, N.C. State
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Once a 4-star recruit whom Rivals.com rated as the No. 3 dual-threat prospect after Braxton Miller and Brett Hundley, Jacoby Brissett knows all about high expectations.
After transferring from Florida to N.C. State, Brissett finally became a starter last season, leading the Wolfpack to an 8-5 finish.
His career track has caused anticipation to slip, as h went from being a potential superstar at one of the most successful programs in the SEC to one flying well under the radar in the ACC.
That said, he’s still the same athlete with tons of potential. And he completed 59.7 percent of his passes as a first-year starter and finished with a passer rating of 136.7. That was enough to earn him a No. 5 mark in the ACC in completion percentage and a No. 4 rank in rating.
In 2015, he’ll return with most of the offensive line and the entire receiving corps, a group of young guys who were all underclassmen last season.
Even better, he plays for head coach Dave Doeren, who led Northern Illinois to No. 12 and No. 13 rankings in scoring offense in 2011 and 2012, respectively. The 2012 team was led by none another than Jordan Lynch, a dual-threat quarterback who passed for 3,138 yards and rushed for 1,815 more.
Christian Hackenberg, QB, Penn State
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What may finally make Christian Hackenberg look like the quarterback many folks thought he could be has nothing to do with offense.
No, it’s all about Penn State’s emerging defense.
Hackenberg threw for about the same number of yards in 2014 that he did in 2013, but his passer rating slipped from 133.99 to a dismal 109.44. What drove the number down was a 55.8 percent completion rate and only 12 touchdowns versus 15 interceptions.
While the return of nine starters on offense—including most of the line, the top two receiving targets and the No. 1 rusher—won’t hurt, defense could ultimately help Hackenberg even more.
When James Franklin took over at Penn State in 2014, he transformed a defense that ranked No. 58 in scoring the year before to a No. 7 rank last season.
Franklin’s stunning success at Vanderbilt (2011 to 2013) tells a similar tale of defense driving success rather than offense. Take a look at the Commodores' national rank in scoring defense versus offense from 2010 to 2014.
| Defense Rank | Offense Rank | Coach | W/L | |
| 2010 | 94 | 112 | Caldwell | 2-10 |
| 2011 | 29 | 61 | Franklin | 6-7 |
| 2012 | 15 | 55 | Franklin | 9-4 |
| 2013 | 44 | 56 | Franklin | 9-4 |
| 2014 | 106 | 119 | Mason | 3-9 |
Think about it this way: If Hackenberg improves, even marginally, while at the same time Penn State hits double-digit wins for the first time since 2009, he’ll look better than he is.
Hackenberg was a 5-star recruit from Fork Union, Virginia, in 2013. Rivals.com ranked him No. 2 among pro-style prospects.
Statistics courtesy of CFBstats.com. Star ratings courtesy of Rivals.com. Returning starter data courtesy of Phil Steele.
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