10 College Football Players Under Unrealistic Pressure in 2016
For a sport that's still technically played by amateurs, college football sure does put a lot of pressure on its athletes.
The expectation to succeed is constant and comes from all directions, with little regard for what impact this might have on the players themselves. Being able to handle this pressure is what separates the good from the great and often impacts whether a player has a chance to succeed at the next level (where he'll actually get paid to do so).
While every college football player deals with at least some level of pressure, for a handful, the intensity is much greater. These are the players who, either because of what they've achieved in the past or what is expected of them in the immediate future, must deal with far more stress.
J.T. Barrett, QB, Ohio State
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J.T. Barrett's online bio doesn't list what his undergraduate major is, but if there's still time to change his degree choice, he'd be wise to pursue one in dealing with pressure. For the third season in a row, he'll be dealing with not just a high stress level but one that's different from most other players'.
As a redshirt freshman in 2014, he went from being a backup in the preseason to a first-time starter after Braxton Miller's shoulder injury. After some initial hiccups, he piloted Ohio State to a national title. A year later, he had the combination of trying to help the Buckeyes defend that crown and a high-profile position battle with Cardale Jones.
Though he ultimately won that prolonged competition, it wasn't until more than halfway through the season and not until after he went on a miniature rant about criticism of his arm strength.
"I guess since I'm not 6'5" and 250 that I didn't have a strong arm or something," Barrett said, per the Plain Dealer.
Now in 2016, Barrett's pressure is more that of what an experienced veteran normally faces but with a twist: He's one of the few returning starters for an OSU team that's brimming with talent and figures to still be highly ranked this fall. And because he was at the helm of a similarly inexperienced team in 2014, he can naturally repeat his performance from that season, right?
Jacob Eason, QB, Georgia
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The rookie phenom has become a stock character in sports, both college and professional—that first-time participant who bursts onto the scene with a huge performance right off the bat. What that player does after that initial wave of success, though, dictates whether he'll be remembered as a one-hit wonder or an all-time great.
Jacob Eason isn't your normal rookie, though. Some consider him the savior for a Georgia program that wins plenty but is always just outside the national championship picture. He and new coach Kirby Smart—who faces his own unique type of pressure—are unwittingly joined at the hip in this movement.
A 5-star recruit from Washington, Eason was the No. 5 prospect from the 2016 recruiting class. He enrolled early in hopes of getting a jump on his college career, and after a masterful performance during Georgia's spring game, he's in line to start for the Bulldogs in their season opener.
No pressure there, right?
If Eason starts and succeeds, the pressure is only going to increase. But if he struggles out of the gate, he could quickly be labeled a bust and the product of too much hype.
Derwin James, DB, Florida State
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Derwin James is coming off a tremendous true freshman season in 2015, one of the best in Florida State history. His 91 tackles were the third most in school history by a freshman and the most of any first-year player in coach Jimbo Fisher's tenure. That earned him Freshman All-American honors.
He did that amid a veteran Seminoles secondary—one that featured eventual first-round NFL draft pick Jalen Ramsey handling the toughest coverage assignments and other veterans surrounding him on the field. Now that Ramsey is gone, James goes from the newcomer to the face of the FSU back line.
James has huge expectations lumped on him for 2016, with SB Nation's David Visser labeling him as FSU's best hope to win the Thorpe Award (given to the country's top defensive back) since the early 1990s. He's on that short list of players who, if eligible for the 2017 NFL draft, would likely get picked over most juniors and seniors.
"Anybody in America would take him right now," Houston coach Tom Herman said, per ESPN's Jared Shanker.
As great as James was as a freshman, he has to be that much better as a sophomore. If not, it might seem like he peaked too early.
.jpg?w=256 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
Trevor Knight, QB, Texas A&M
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New team, same overwhelming pressure. Trevor Knight brought more than just his belongings with him when he transferred to Texas A&M from Oklahoma over the winter.
Knight made our list of the players with the most unrealistic pressure last year as well, with Bleacher Report's Greg Wallace noting how he had the double challenge of learning a new system (the Air Raid) and fighting off a challenger to his starting job (Baker Mayfield). Mayfield ended up winning that competition, putting up huge numbers and leading Oklahoma to a Big 12 title and the playoffs, while Knight was relegated to backup and appeared in just six games.
With Mayfield coming back for 2016, Knight needed a fresh start. Coach Bob Stoops gave Knight his full support to transfer elsewhere for his final season, saying everyone in the program "will be happy for him if he's able to find a good fit."
Texas A&M fits that description—a team in need of an experienced and accomplished quarterback, especially after prized recruits Kyle Allen and Kyler Murray both left (the latter effectively replacing Knight at Oklahoma). But those sudden departures also cast the Aggies and coach Kevin Sumlin in a negative light, which means Knight is jumping into a shaky situation.
Sumlin named Knight his starter two days after A&M's spring game, starting the clock on months' worth of hype for his final season.
Greg Little, OT, Ole Miss
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On the surface, knowing he had a starting job waiting for him before he ever set foot on campus had to be comforting for Greg Little—but also a little unnerving, especially when considering what such an early anointment means.
Little was the top-rated offensive lineman in the 2016 recruiting class, a 6'5 ½”, 305-pound stud who Ole Miss coach Hugh Freeze believes "has the best feet in America." And all signs point to those feet working on the left side of the Rebels line this fall—the same spot that first-round pick Laremy Tunsil operated in.
That's the most critical spot on the line, a position responsible for protecting quarterback Chad Kelly's back side and often dealing with opponents' best edge-rushers. As well-regarded as Little was at the high school level, he wasn't facing guys like Alabama's Jonathan Allen and Tim Williams or Texas A&M's Myles Garrett on a weekly basis in Texas.
Christian McCaffrey, RB, Stanford
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The "what have you done for me lately?" crowd loves to follow around players coming off huge seasons, particularly ones in which major awards were won or records were set. Christian McCaffrey didn't win the Heisman Trophy but did finish second, doing so thanks to his annihilation of the FBS all-purpose-yards mark.
McCaffrey's sophomore year saw him run, catch and return his way to 3,864 all-purpose yards, surpassing Barry Sanders' 1988 record by 614 yards. Yes, he did it in 14 games instead of the 11 that Sanders' mark came in, but that didn't change his all-around dominance with everything he did in 2015.
And it doesn't lessen the expectations he faces his junior year, one in which he'll be working with a new quarterback and be the only experienced pass-catcher on Stanford's roster. Oh, and don't forget his status as an early Heisman contender, according to Odds Shark.
"The hardest task in college football in 2016 belongs to Christian McCaffrey," Sports on Earth's Matt Brown wrote. "He has to somehow figure out a way to put together an encore after his nearly unmatchable accomplishments of 2015."
Dakota Prukop, QB, Oregon
7 of 10Dakota Prukop and Vernon Adams will forever be linked in college football history, either as pioneers of a new trend or a cautionary tale about how all standout FCS quarterbacks don't turn into good ones at the FBS level.
A year after Adams went from success at Eastern Washington to the same at Oregon, Prukop is attempting the same path. He excelled at FCS Montana State and, after seeing what Adams achieved with the Ducks, decided to follow him to Eugene. That's where the similarities could end, depending on what Prukop is able to accomplish in 2016.
Prukop's entering a better situation than Adams did a year ago simply by the time of his arrival. Adams didn't complete his degree at Eastern Washington until the summer, showing up at Oregon at the start of training camp, while Prukop was able to enroll in the winter and participated in spring practice.
In theory, that means he shouldn't experience the same early bumps that Adams had in learning the Oregon offense. It also means any shortcomings he does experience won't have a built-in excuse.
Josh Rosen, QB, UCLA
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It's great that Jim Mora thinks so highly of his talented young quarterback, but might the outspoken UCLA coach have gone too far last month?
While appearing on the NFL Network's Rich Eisen Show in May (h/t NFL.com), Mora said that had Josh Rosen been draft-eligible, he would have been "the best quarterback in the draft, and he would've gone first." Mora later quantified this statement by saying he has to continue to improve to prevent that from being a "pipe dream," but the message doesn't change.
Rosen is a superstar, despite just one year of college under his belt, and for UCLA, he's what will make or break this upcoming season.
The 2015 debut was a masterful one, with Rosen throwing for 3,670 yards and 23 touchdowns. But he was also intercepted 11 times and had eight games in which he failed to complete 60 percent of his throws.
And that was while working with a veteran group of skill players, most of whom have graduated or turned pro. This fall, he'll be tasked with guiding a new set of receivers and ball-carriers. Because of his lofty status, if that group doesn't produce, the blame will fall mostly on him.
Bo Scarbrough, RB, Alabama
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The physical similarities between Bo Scarbrough and Alabama's running back from a year ago, Derrick Henry, are quite scary. It's what's inside the package that should matter most, yet Scarbrough is heading into 2016 with the expectation that he can do everything Henry did last season.
In case you forgot, Henry ran for an SEC- and school-record 2,219 rushing yards. He also won the Heisman Trophy and carried the Crimson Tide offense to a national title.
With Henry doing almost all the running, Scarbrough managed just 18 carries as a redshirt freshman, yet according to ESPN's Alex Scarborough, "he’s expected to be as good as his predecessor."
At 6'2" and 230 pounds, Scarbrough is a massive physical presence, but so far, that's all he is. His freshman carries were all in mop-up duty or against FCS competition, while Henry posted 100-yard games against Arkansas and Oklahoma in his freshman year in 2013.
Deshaun Watson, QB, Clemson
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Clemson went into the 2015 season knowing the health of its quarterback would dictate the direction it headed. Deshaun Watson in no way looked like a player coming off major knee surgery, instead producing the first-ever season with 4,000 passing yards and 1,000 rushing yards.
Health is no longer an issue for Watson, but winning is. He got the Tigers to the precipice of a national championship as a sophomore, winning 14 straight games before falling to Alabama in the title game. Anything short of winning it all during his junior year will feel like a letdown.
There's also the Heisman hype to deal with. Watson, who finished third in last year's voting, is the early favorite, per Odds Shark, to be Clemson's first recipient.
Clemson returns almost all of its offensive weapons but has to replace most of the defense. That will put more pressure on Watson and his targets to produce.
"The sky is the limit," Watson told Will Vandervort of the Clemson Insider. "We can be the best ever in college football."
All recruiting information courtesy of 247Sports, unless otherwise noted. All statistics provided by CFBStats, unless otherwise noted.
Follow Brian J. Pedersen on Twitter at @realBJP.
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