10 Unheralded College Football Players Who Could Become Stars in 2016
Now that the 2015 college football season is (mostly) over, attention is already turning to the year ahead. Most of the game's top players are either seniors or draft-eligible underclassmen who will be pursuing a pro career, leaving spots open for younger guys to step into the spotlight.
Some of these players showed flashes of strong play this past fall, but in the upcoming season it will be their chance to take center stage and be the focal point. You might not know them now, but by the end of the 2016 season they could be household names.
Here's a list of 10 players you might be hearing a lot more of over the summer and into next season.
Jake Browning, QB, Washington
1 of 10
A record-setter at the high school level, quarterback Jake Browning started 12 games for Washington as a true freshman and had the kind of up-and-down season you'd expect from a first-year player. When he was at his best, though, it was something to see.
The 6'2", 206-pound Browning threw for 2,955 yards (fifth-most in school history) and 16 touchdowns with 10 interceptions for the year, topping the 300-yard mark three times and recording a pair of four-TD games. He completed 74.3 percent of his passes (55 of 74) during the Huskies' season-ending three-game winning streak, including a victory over Southern Mississippi in the Heart of Dallas Bowl.
At Folsom High School in California, Browning set national prep records with 91 TD passes as a senior and 229 for his career. He isn't apt to match those numbers in college but along with freshman running back Myles Gaskin could help form one of the top offensive duos in the Pac-12 in 2016.
Nick Fitzgerald, QB, Mississippi State
2 of 10
Dak Prescott has been credited with lifting Mississippi State to new heights during his career and rightfully so. The quarterback piloted the Bulldogs to 26 wins the past three seasons, including the Orange Bowl at the end of his junior year, and finished as one of just five players in SEC history with more than 11,000 yards of total offense and 100-plus total touchdowns.
That's a tough act for Nick Fitzgerald to follow, but MSU has faith he can be its next Dak, both in terms of performance and leadership.
"I think he’s a guy right now that getting to watch how Dak does stuff has really, I think, learned during the season how to prepare the right way," MSU head coach Dan Mullen said, per Michael Bonner of the Clarion-Ledger.
As a redshirt freshman, the 6'5", 227-pound Fitzgerald appeared in eight games and threw for 235 yards and three touchdowns (on 11-of-14 passing) and also ran for 127 yards and three scores. When Prescott missed most of an October win against Troy because of illness, Fitzgerald filled in and had three total TDs.
Charles Harris, DE, Missouri
3 of 10
Missouri's legacy of developing stout defensive linemen should continue even with longtime head coach Gary Pinkel retiring, as his replacement (Barry Odom) was the Tigers' defensive coordinator in 2015 and is a former Mizzou linebacker.
And the next great Tigers lineman, Charles Harris, plans to stick around for at least one more season.
Harris finished second to Texas A&M's Myles Garrett in the SEC in tackles for loss, with 18.5, but because the redshirt sophomore played on a losing team, he didn't get much national attention—at least not compared to previous Mizzou linemen such as Kony Ealy, Markus Golden, Shane Ray and Michael Sam.
Scouts know all about the 6'3", 255-pound edge-rusher, though. Bleacher Report's Matt Miller tweeted in November that Harris "is the real deal."
.jpg?w=256 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
Richie James, WR, Middle Tennessee
4 of 10
Richie James' 108 receptions this season tied him for second-best in FBS and were the most by a freshman since Michael Crabtree had 134 for Texas Tech in 2007. Had he been playing in a power conference, this feat would have drawn far more praise.
The 5'9", 171-pound slot receiver had 1,510 all-purpose yards and scored nine total touchdowns, including three times in the Blue Raiders' 45-31 loss to Western Michigan in the Bahamas Bowl. James had a penchant for strong performances in nationally televised games, catching 10 passes in a loss to Alabama and another 12 at Illinois, and he scored twice against Conference USA champion Western Kentucky.
He'll get a few more chances to shine on TV in 2016, as MTSU is set to play at Vanderbilt and Missouri.
Ronald Jones II, RB, USC
5 of 10
For all the great running backs USC has produced, none has gotten off to as promising a start as Ronald Jones II. His 987 rushing yards in 2015 were the most by a freshman in school history, topping the previous mark of 858 set by Charles White in 1976.
That's the same Charles White who would win the Heisman Trophy as a senior in 1979.
The 6'0", 185-pound Jones—known as the Texas Tesla because of his background as a sprinter in high school—benefited greatly from new head coach Clay Helton's push toward a heavier diet of run plays in the second half of the season. Though he split carries with Justin Davis, never rushing more than 19 times in a game, six of his seven games with double-digit carries came after Helton replaced Steve Sarkisian.
Jones also discovered a local fuel source to keep his engine revving, having complained early in the season about being homesick and unable to get Whataburger in California.
According to Greg Beacham of the Associated Press (via the Wakulla News), "Jones [learned] to survive on Five Guys burgers and the local Buffalo Spot wings-and-ribs chain."
Marlon Mack, RB, South Florida
6 of 10
Marlon Mack will enter the 2016 season needing 310 rushing yards to be the school's career leader. He'll be in his junior year.
The 6'0", 205-pound Mack has 2,422 yards in his first two seasons, including a school-record 1,381 this past fall. He averaged 6.58 yards per carry and had nine 100-yard rushing games, including in each of South Florida's final five contests.
With Mack carrying the rock and Quinton Flowers blossoming at quarterback, the Bulls made a major in-season turnaround and finished with eight wins, their most since 2010.
To this point Mack has been overshadowed by other great running backs in the sophomore class, but in September he'll go toe-to-toe with Florida State's Dalvin Cook at home.
Jeremy McNichols, RB, Boise State
7 of 10
Boise State has had running backs drafted into the NFL twice since 2012, with David Martin going in the first round that year and Jay Ajayi going in the fifth round this past May. Could Jeremy McNichols be the next Broncos ball-carrier to play in the pros?
Based off his monster sophomore year, this seems very possible.
The 5'9", 205-pound McNichols scored 26 touchdowns in 2015, tying with Louisiana Tech's Kenneth Dixon for the FBS lead. He had 20 rushing TDs and six as a receiver, finishing with 1,797 yards from scrimmage in 12 games and scoring at least twice in 10 different games.
Boise's four-loss season took it out of its normal national spotlight. But in 2016 it figures to return to form, and that will draw more eyes toward McNichols.
Devine Redding, RB, Indiana
8 of 10
Indiana has had quite a run of running backs the last few years, and Devine Redding should continue this trend in 2016. He's already shown he can carry the load for the Hoosiers, both as a backup and an injury replacement, and now the job is all his.
The 5'10", 202-pound sophomore ran for 1,012 yards and nine touchdowns this past season despite only starting a handful of games in place of junior Jordan Howard. Howard, a UAB transfer who has declared for the NFL draft, ran for 1,213 yards but missed all or part of seven games because of injury.
It was Redding who took over down the stretch, going for at least 100 yards in the Hoosiers' final three games, including road wins against Maryland and Purdue to become bowl-eligible. He then went for 227 yards and a TD on 35 carries in the controversial Pinstripe Bowl loss to Duke.
Campus Insiders rated that performance as the sixth-best during bowl season.
Jamar Summers, CB, Connecticut
9 of 10
While most coaches trying to rebuild programs tend to do it on the offensive end, Connecticut's Bob Diaco stuck to a defensive mindset while getting the Huskies into their first bowl since 2010. Jamar Summers was an integral piece of the nation's 33rd-ranked defense, intercepting eight passes as a sophomore.
The 6'0", 185-pound corner took over a starting job midway through the 2014 season, and in his five starts the secondary limited opponents to fewer than 170 passing yards per game. This year the Huskies allowed 189 passing yards per game and had 18 picks, tied for 11th in the country.
Summers' picks tended to come in key moments. He intercepted Houston's Greg Ward Jr. in the final minutes of UConn's upset win a week after his 67-yard pick-six gave the Huskies their only points in a 7-3 win at Tulane.
Tim Williams, LB, Alabama
10 of 10
It's hard to imagine anyone on Alabama could be considered unheralded, but Tim Williams might best fit that description because of what he's accomplished this season despite sitting way down on the depth chart.
The 6'4", 230-pound junior was listed third at the "Jack" linebacker position for the Cotton Bowl, in which he registered his fifth sack in the past three games. For the year he has 10.5 sacks, second-most on the team.
"He's something coach Nick Saban hasn't had since coming to Tuscaloosa in 2007: a third-down menace and [pass-rushing] specialist with the speed to blow by anyone," ESPN.com's Alex Scarborough wrote.
Williams will take aim on Clemson quarterback Deshaun Watson in the national championship game this coming Monday, and in 2016 he figures to take on a much bigger role with Alabama losing at least three starters from the linebacker corps.
Follow Brian J. Pedersen on Twitter at @realBJP.
.jpg?w=480 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
