Breaking Down the Best Offensive Players in Each College Football Conference
Right now is a great time to be an offensive player in college football. The proliferation of the Air Raid and other spread, hurry-it-up offenses have taxed defenses and scoreboards across the nation and made the game far more fun to watch than the staid, by-the-book National Football League.
Players have freedom to thrive, make big plays and score lots of points. Wasn’t Alabama 45, Clemson 40 a lot more fun to watch than Alabama 21, LSU 0 in the 2012 national title game? Of course. There’s a wealth of offensive talent spread across the nation, and five of the top 10 Heisman Trophy vote-getters from 2015 will return this fall.
Want a preview of the best offensive players in America? Here’s a look at the top offensive players in each FBS conference. Agree or disagree? Let us know in the comments.
American Athletic Conference
1 of 10
Can a “Group of Five” team make a run at the College Football Playoff? We might find out in a few months. Tom Herman had a smashing debut with Houston. The Cougars went from mediocre to media darlings, finishing 13-1, winning the American Athletic Conference and beating the Florida State Seminoles in the Peach Bowl.
Quarterback Greg Ward Jr. was a perfect fit in Herman’s spread system. He passed for 2,828 yards with 17 touchdowns against six interceptions and was also Houston’s leading rusher, piling up 1,108 yards with 21 scores on the ground.
He is the very epitome of a dual-threat passer, stretching defenses by moving well and scrambling in the pocket and showing off good touch with his arm. Ward should be even better as a senior. He’s small at 5’11”, 185 pounds, but he can excel in a wide-open scheme like Herman employs and is the best player in the AAC.
Atlantic Coast Conference
2 of 10
In 2015, Clemson went from a good team to an elite program. The Tigers won their first 14 games of the season and were the nation’s No. 1 team from the first College Football Playoff Top 25 poll in October until losing a hard-fought decision to the Alabama Crimson Tide in the national title game. And there is no doubt much of the progression can be traced to Deshaun Watson’s improvement. Watson showed flashes of brilliance as a freshman, but his durability with a 6’2”, 210-pound frame was questionable as he missed parts or all of seven games with a broken finger and later a torn ACL.
Last fall, he was fully healthy, and it showed. He threw for 4,104 yards with 35 touchdowns and 13 interceptions and also topped 1,000 yards rushing, becoming the first player in FBS history to pass for 4,000 yards and rush for 1,000 in the same season. He finished third in the Heisman Trophy voting behind Alabama’s Derrick Henry and Stanford’s Christian McCaffrey.
Watson was at his best when his team needed him most, shaking off poor first halves against Florida State and Oklahoma to rally Clemson for crucial, season-making victories. He is a strong leader who also has a big arm and excellent mobility. NFL.com's Bucky Brooks says Watson could be comparable to Marcus Mariota.
What’s more, he’s surrounded by a talented offense led by Artavis Scott, Jordan Leggett, Wayne Gallman and Mike Williams, a 1,000-yard receiver in 2014 who redshirted last fall after suffering broken bones in his neck on the opening drive of the season against the Wofford Terriers.
Watson will be a major contender to win Clemson’s first Heisman Trophy and is clearly the best offensive player in the ACC.
Big Ten Conference
3 of 10
This fall, there’s no question, no controversy, no intrigue. J.T. Barrett is the man in Columbus, and the Ohio State Buckeyes will be better for it.
Barrett emerged as one of the nation’s best dual-threat quarterbacks after stepping in for an injured Braxton Miller as a freshman, throwing for 2,834 yards with 34 touchdowns against 10 interceptions. He broke his ankle in the regular-season finale against the Michigan Wolverines and watched as Cardale Jones led the Buckeyes to a national title.
Last fall, he lost a highly public quarterback battle to Jones but reclaimed the job full time by midseason. He threw for 992 yards and 11 touchdowns against four interceptions and rushed for 682 yards and 11 scores.
Barrett has excellent mobility and a strong arm, and coach Urban Meyer will lean upon him heavily for leadership with a roster trying to reload after losing 12 NFL draft picks, including nine underclassmen. His stats will look far more like 2014 than 2015, and if Ohio State makes another College Football Playoff run, it’ll do so with Barrett leading the way.
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Big 12 Conference
4 of 10
Recently, the Big 12 revised a rule that stripped a year of eligibility from players who transfer within the conference, per USA Today's George Schroeder. That was good news for the Oklahoma Sooners, but not so much for the rest of the league. It meant Baker Mayfield will be around for another season to torment league defenses.
Before the rule passed, this would have been Mayfield’s final season at Oklahoma. He began as a walk-on at Texas Tech and transferred to OU, but the Red Raiders blocked his transfer, costing him a year of eligibility.
Last fall, Mayfield made a major impact with new offensive coordinator Lincoln Riley and the Air Raid offense. He beat out incumbent Trevor Knight (who has since transferred to Texas A&M and emerged as the starter there), throwing for 3,700 yards with 36 touchdowns and seven interceptions and rushing for 405 yards and seven scores.
Mayfield showed attitude and great leadership, leading the Sooners to a 11-2 record, Big 12 title and a College Football Playoff berth. While Oklahoma needs a No. 1 receiver to emerge following Sterling Shepard’s graduation, the Sooners will pile up the points again with Mayfield at the offense’s controls. He’s clearly the league’s top offensive player.
Conference USA
5 of 10
The Southern Miss Golden Eagles will begin 2016 with a new coach. Just before signing day, Todd Monken bolted a C-USA division champion and up-and-coming program for an assistant role with the NFL’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers, leading USM to pluck Alcorn State coach and former Golden Eagles assistant Jay Hopson to run the program.
Hopson should have an easy transition. Monken left behind one of the nation’s most productive quarterbacks in Nick Mullens. Mullens threw, threw and threw some more in a wide-open offense, passing 521 times and throwing for 4,476 yards with 38 touchdowns against 12 interceptions. He took a big leap forward from a sophomore season that saw him throw for 2,470 yards, 12 touchdowns and nine picks.
Mullens threw for at least 300 yards 10 times and torched the Nebraska Cornhuskers for 447 yards and two scores in a 36-28 defeat. He finished sixth nationally in passing yardage and will be the third-best passing yardage leader returning this fall behind Texas Tech’s Patrick Mahomes and Washington State’s Luke Falk. Expect Mullens’ numbers to rise as he’ll be even more comfortable as a senior. He’s clearly Conference USA’s top offensive threat.
Mid-American Conference
6 of 10
Over the past few years, Antonio Brown has proved you can find talented receivers anywhere. The Central Michigan Chippewas and Mid-American Conference product has emerged as one of the NFL’s most productive, exciting receivers while catching passes from another MAC product, Ben Roethlisberger.
Across the state, another receiver from a Michigan directional school is showing he’s ready for a bigger stage. Corey Davis has put together two excellent seasons for the Western Michigan Broncos offense. As a sophomore, he caught 78 passes for 1,408 yards and 15 touchdowns.
Last fall, he caught 90 passes for 1,436 yards and 12 scores, finishing fifth nationally in receiving yards and No. 12 in receptions. Running mate Daniel Braverman is in the NFL, but WMU still has quarterback Zach Terrell, who passed for 29 touchdowns against nine picks as a junior.
The Broncos hope to build on an 8-5 season that was capped by the first bowl win in program history. With Davis running routes, they stand a solid chance of doing so. He’s the best offensive player in the MAC.
Mountain West Conference
7 of 10
Want proof good things come in small packages sometimes? Look no further than Donnel Pumphrey. The San Diego State Aztecs' senior tailback measures in at only 5’9”, 180 pounds, but he has outsized impacts on every game he plays in.
Last fall, Pumphrey keyed the Aztecs’ charge to a Mountain West title and 10-3 record, rushing for 1,653 yards and 17 touchdowns. He also showed promise as a receiver, making 28 catches for 416 yards and three touchdowns.
SDSU suffered through a three-game losing streak against nonconference foes but went unbeaten in MWC play. Pumphrey rushed for at least 100 yards in all eight regular-season games. He has excellent speed and big-play ability. The Aztecs play somewhat under the college football radar on the West Coast, but he makes their games worth seeking out.
Pac-12 Conference
8 of 10
At this time last year, Christian McCaffrey was a trendy player to watch thanks to a strong end to his freshman season. This summer, if you haven’t heard of McCaffrey, you just aren’t paying attention. The Stanford Cardinal running back overcame playing on the West Coast and enjoyed a breakout season, winding up as the Heisman Trophy runner-up.
He keyed Stanford’s run to a Pac-12 title and led the nation in all-purpose yardage. McCaffrey rushed for 2,019 yards with eight touchdowns and also led Stanford in receiving yardage and receptions, catching 45 passes for 645 yards and five touchdowns.
His versatility out of the backfield makes him the Cardinal’s most valuable player and the best player in the Pac-12. He can beat opposing defenses in a variety of ways with excellent speed and agility. With Derrick Henry gone to the NFL, McCaffrey has to be considered a favorite to win the Heisman in 2016.
Southeastern Conference
9 of 10
The Southeastern Conference is known for rugged, hard-hitting defenses, but here’s guessing linebackers with LSU on their schedules are counting the days until Leonard Fournette leaves LSU. In two seasons with the Tigers, the junior tailback has emerged as one of the nation’s best runners.
He has a powerful, bruising, nasty style and is capable of running around opposing tacklers or past them just as easily as running through them. Last fall, he rushed for 1,953 yards and 22 touchdowns, separated from a 2,000-yard season only by the cancellation of the season opener against the McNeese State Cowboys due to storms.
Fournette began 2015 with a seven-game streak of 150-yard rushing efforts and was the Heisman Trophy front-runner until being held to 122 yards total in losses to Alabama and Arkansas. Regardless, he topped the 200-yard mark four times.
If Fournette can stay healthy, he’ll stake his claim as the best back in college football, especially with Heisman winner Derrick Henry now in the NFL. Enjoy him while you can, college fans.
Sun Belt Conference
10 of 10
The Sun Belt recently announced the Idaho Vandals and New Mexico State Aggies would be leaving the league following the 2017 season. That’s unfortunate, if only because SBC fans won’t get the opportunity to watch the next guy like Larry Rose III play for the Aggies.
Rose is probably the most productive tailback you’ve never heard of. Last fall, he rushed for 1,651 yards and 14 touchdowns. He was No. 8 nationally in rushing yards and averaged an impressive 6.9 yards per carry.
Rose surpassed 200 yards three times, including a 260-yard, three-score effort in a loss to the rival New Mexico Lobos. The Aggies went 3-9, but that was certainly no fault of Rose’s, at all. He stands only 5’11”, 184 pounds, but he has speed and skills that make him play bigger. We’ll see that this fall, and maybe if you’re lucky, you can see him on your television screen as well.
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