New College Football Starters Poised for Breakout Season in 2015
The only thing more exciting than the returning stars in college football are the new ones who emerge each year.
It's an annual occurrence, as players who are new to a program or who were backups the year before step into a starting role and run with it without skipping a beat. It's what coaches hope for from their replacements, but until they get into that new position, there's still plenty of uncertainty in most cases.
But not with these guys. We've identified 10 players who will be starting on a full-time basis for the first time this season. Some have seen spot duty as a starter in the past, usually in place of an injured or suspended player, but 2015 will be their first opportunity to start from the outset.
Mike Bercovici, QB, Arizona State
1 of 10
Year: Senior
Height, weight: 6'1", 204 lbs
Mike Bercovici may not win any national awards this season, but he would be a prime candidate for the honor given to the most patient player in the country if such a thing existed.
Beat out for Arizona State's starting job in 2012, ultimately redshirting that year, Bercovici served as Taylor Kelly's backup for two seasons rather than look elsewhere for an opportunity to play. That loyalty paid off last season when he was thrust into the spotlight for a month after Kelly went down with a broken leg.
Bercovici went 2-1 as an injury replacement starter, throwing for 488 yards in his first start and then 510 yards with five touchdowns a week later in a road win over USC that included Bercovici hitting Jaelen Strong for a game-winning Hail Mary pass. He moved back to the bench after Kelly returned, but the way he looked during his time on the field provided a great glimpse of what the Sun Devils would have to work with in 2015.
Corey Clement, RB, Wisconsin
2 of 10
Year: Junior
Height, weight: 5'11", 219 lbs
If you didn't watch a Wisconsin game the past two seasons but then took a look at Corey Clement's statistics, it would be hard to believe he hadn't been at least a part-time starter in the past. In reality, he was actually the nation's top backup skill position player who figures to be one of the most surefire locks to shine now that he's in a starting role.
Clement has rushed for 1,496 yards and 16 touchdowns in his career, including 949 yards and nine TDs last season while backing up Doak Walker Award winner (and eventual NFL first-round draft pick) Melvin Gordon. That yardage tied for eighth in the Big Ten despite Clement only making one start and getting fewer than 10 carries in half of the Badgers' games.
Wisconsin has had a player rush for at least 1,600 yards in each of the past four years, capped by Gordon's massive 2,587-yard output in 2014. Clement figures to keep that streak going, assuming he can handle the expanded workload and the Badgers' re-tooled offensive line can create holes.
Malik Jefferson, LB, Texas
3 of 10
Year: Freshman
Height, weight: 6'3", 232 lbs
There will be dozens of true freshmen starting right away in college football this season, but not many have the look of an instant star like Malik Jefferson does.
Rated by 247Sports as the No. 10 prospect in the 2015 recruiting class, Jefferson enrolled early at Texas and immediately made his presence felt during spring practice. He was dominant during the spring game, despite playing middle linebacker rather than his normal outside slot, and according to Zach Shelton of Bleacher Report, he had "the play of the game, chasing down and destroying Daje Johnson to force a fumble that was returned for a touchdown."
Jefferson has yet to play in an official game for the Longhorns, but he's already become one of the faces of Charlie Strong's program and the kind of intense player that defines the culture Strong is trying to establish in Austin.
Jeremy Johnson, QB, Auburn
4 of 10
Year: Junior
Height, weight: 6'5", 240 lbs
The 42 players that appeared this week at SEC Media Days included some of the top returners in the conference, if not the country, as well as plenty of key contributors from last season. Yet the player that drew the most attention through the first three days was a guy with two career starts under his belt.
Jeremy Johnson steps into Auburn's starting quarterback spot after two seasons backing up (and twice replacing) Nick Marshall, starting the clock on a career that's been anticipated to be a big one since the moment he arrived on campus in 2013. And despite his limited experience, he's become the face of the Tigers' program.
"We feel very good about where he's at, and [he's] really a leader of our team," Auburn coach Gus Malzahn said Monday at SEC Media Days, per Bleacher Report's Justin Ferguson.
Johnson has a big, strong arm that will allow Auburn to be a far more balanced offense than under the guidance of the run-first Marshall, though he told reporters at SEC Media Days "they might be a little surprised" at how well he runs with the ball.
Christian Kirk, WR, Texas A&M
5 of 10
Year: Freshman
Height, weight: 5'11", 200 lbs
Christian Kirk signed early with Texas A&M and enrolled in January with the hope of being able to get a jump on competing for playing time in the Aggies' loaded receiver unit. Instead, he ended up moving himself toward the top of the list.
The fourth-rated wide receiver prospect in the 2015 recruiting class, per 247Sports, Kirk is listed first on A&M's preseason depth chart at one of the receiver spots as well as at kick returner. This doesn't reflect players who joined the program over the summer, but it also wasn't an order-by-default because of attrition at the wideout position.
A&M returns five players who had at least 29 receptions last season, but after producing more than 3,000 all-purpose yards as a high school senior and then impressing during spring, Kirk is in line to start the Aggies' 2015 opener against Arizona State (the Scottsdale, Arizona, native's hometown school) in Houston.
Shaq Lawson, DE, Clemson
6 of 10
Year: Junior
Height, weight: 6'3", 275 lbs
After two seasons of putting up starter-like numbers from a reserve role, Shaq Lawson becomes a more prominent piece of a Clemson defense that led the nation in yards allowed but has to replace seven starters, including two NFL first-rounders. That includes Vic Beasley, the monster pass rusher for the Tigers that Lawson in effect will be stepping in for.
Lawson was second on the team in sacks (3.5) and tackles for loss (11.5) in 2014, despite playing fewer than 23 snaps per game. Now he'll likely be an every-down player but will be expected to contribute at the same level he has in the past.
Seth Russell, QB, Baylor
7 of 10
Year: Junior
Height, weight: 6'3", 220 lbs
Is Baylor's offensive success the last several years a product of the players or the system? Seth Russell is the latest quarterback whose performance this season will be judged on this scale, but based on past results, it's hard to imagine he won't put up big numbers with the Bears.
Just look back to Russell's lone start in 2014, in relief of an injured Bryce Petty, when he threw for 438 yards and five touchdowns on 16-of-25 passing in just one half of a blowout win over Northwestern State. Yes, the opponent was an FCS school (and not a particularly good one) but Russell's performance was still masterful.
Russell hasn't officially won Baylor's starting job yet, as he still is battling highly touted freshman Jarrett Stidham for that gig. But assuming he gets the nod, thanks to a wealth of talent around him at the skill positions, there's nothing to suggest Russell won't be the Bears' sixth straight quarterback to throw for at least 3,500 yards.
Tee Shepard, CB, Ole Miss
8 of 10
Year: Junior
Height, weight: 6'1", 195 lbs
Tee Shepard's picture could be used in the dictionary as a visual description of the word "potential," since we've been hearing his name mentioned for years. But when he hits the field for Ole Miss in its Sept. 5 opener against Tennessee-Martin, it will be his first action outside of junior college football since 2011.
Originally a Notre Dame signee who enrolled early in 2012, Shepard left that program before ever playing a snap and spent the 2013 season at Holmes Community College in Mississippi. He was the top-rated JUCO cornerback in the country that year, per 247Sports, and was a big piece of Ole Miss' 2014 recruiting class who was expected to contribute heavily last season.
But a torn toe ligament suffered last summer knocked Shepard out for the year, keeping him from being part of the Rebels' vaunted "Landsharks" defense that led the nation in scoring allowed.
Shepard now gets to be one of the guys who get to replace star defensive backs Senquez Golson and Cody Prewitt, and he gave Ole Miss fans a glimpse of what he can do by intercepting a pass during the spring game.
"Shepard is incredibly athletic, has a great nose for the ball and has quality speed to help him stay in line with the elite receivers in the league," ESPN's Edward Aschoff wrote.
Solomon Thomas, DE, Stanford
9 of 10
Year: Redshirt freshman
Height, weight: 6'3", 256 lbs
To this point in his college career, Solomon Thomas has become best known for his unique way of announcing he would play for Stanford via a small tree and "nerd" glasses rather than a hat or shirt on signing day. After sitting out his freshman year, though, expect Thomas to establish himself as more than just a joker but also a fierce defensive force.
Thomas was the 25th-ranked player and the No. 2 strong-side defensive end in the 2014 recruiting class, per 247Sports, but Stanford was loaded on the defensive line, and that allowed Thomas to get a year to develop and settle into the Cardinal's system. The entire line has moved on, which puts Thomas in position to be a key player for a unit that has ranked in the top 30 for five straight seasons and was third-best in FBS in 2014.
Malik Zaire, QB, Notre Dame
10 of 10
Year: Sophomore
Height, weight: 6'0", 222 lbs
Malik Zaire thought he would be Notre Dame's breakout star in 2014, declaring before that season he would be the starting quarterback for the opener against Rice. That didn't happen, as Everett Golson won the job and held it throughout the regular season before Zaire got the start in Notre Dame's bowl game.
That was our first chance to see what Zaire, his teammates and coaches already knew, that he was the dual-threat weapon the Fighting Irish offense was missing.
Zaire carried the momentum of his play in that Music City Bowl win over LSU into the spring, performing well enough in practice to move ahead of Golson on the depth chart and prompt Golson to transfer to Florida State for his final season. It's Zaire's show now, and with Notre Dame returning nearly every other starter from last year, he's facing high expectations for a first-time starter.
Follow Brian J. Pedersen on Twitter at @realBJP.
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