College Football: Most Surprising Players of the 2019 Season so Far
College football's schedule is full of surprises every week, so it's only appropriate that we also feature the players who've come from nowhere to shock the sport.
Of course, plenty of high-profile players are on this list, including several quarterbacks, running backs and receivers. But defenders are turning heads too.
Some have taken long, winding roads to the cusp of stardom. Others are youngsters getting their first chance to shine and making the most of it. Some have endured injuries or elevated from reserve status to the spotlight.
Still another was expected to be a productive leader but blasted into superstardom.
They cover the college football landscape across all conferences, and this is by no means an all-inclusive list. So please make your additions in the comments section.
With a few weeks left in the season, let's take a look at some of the players you may not have known before 2019 who've surprised us all.
David Bell, Purdue Wide Receiver
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Before the season, Purdue receiver Rondale Moore was one of the most hyped players in the Big Ten and the entire nation, and for good reason.
In four games, the sophomore accumulated 387 yards and three touchdowns before he went down with a leg injury in late September. It was another in a long line of injuries for the tough-luck Boilermakers this year.
Moore's injury, however, opened the door for another young star to emerge.
That would be true freshman receiver David Bell, one of the biggest recruiting coups in last year's class for coach Jeff Brohm. He was always expected to be a contributor right away, but he's surpassed that.
The 6'2", 210-pound player from Indianapolis is fifth in the conference with 65 catches for 791 yards (fourth) and five touchdowns (ninth).
Bell is a budding star, and when he and Moore get on the field at the same time, perhaps later this year, Brohm will have a tandem of impressive pass-catchers. At 4-6, Brohm may be better off sitting Moore the rest of the season so a redshirt is on the table.
With the way he and Bell have played, though, seeing them both stay in school for four years may be a stretch.
Joe Burrow, LSU Quarterback
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It wouldn't have been a stretch to think Joe Burrow would be a top-tier SEC starter and a key cog in LSU's status as Alabama's biggest SEC West competition.
But most everybody should be surprised to see what Burrow has become: a bona fide NFL first-round pick and the runaway leader for the Heisman Trophy for the top-ranked Tigers.
The senior transfer from Ohio State has thrown for 3,687 yards, 38 touchdowns and six interceptions and has a passer rating of 202.7. In the team's biggest game in years, he completed 31 of 39 passes for 393 yards and three touchdowns in a 46-41 shootout win over Alabama.
It's possible Burrow went from a Day 2 pick to the top overall selection in next year's NFL draft.
He's turned receivers Ja'Marr Chase and Justin Jefferson into stars, and both are semifinalists for the Biletnikoff Award, which goes to the nation's top receiver.
Burrow's emergence has helped LSU become the country's biggest offensive threat, a far cry from the program that hadn't found a consistent quarterback in decades.
So, yeah, Burrow was already a gutsy performer, as evidenced by last year's heroic performance in a seven-overtime loss to Texas A&M. But he's taken those glimmers of greatness and turned in one of the best college football seasons ever.
Zach Charbonnet, Michigan Running Back
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When Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh landed stud running back Zach Charbonnet from Oaks Christian School in California, those who follow recruiting knew the prospect had a chance to be good.
But even with a crowded backfield in Ann Arbor, the true freshman has been one of the Big Ten's most impressive young runners, along with Ohio State backup Master Teague.
Charbonnet has been a short-yardage and goal-line specialist, but there have also been several games in which he's carried Michigan to victory, such as the early-season, double-overtime win over Army.
He has 589 rushing yards and 11 touchdowns. While his 4.8 average isn't dazzling, his vision will get better with age, and his knack for finding the end zone is impressive. He's 11th in the league in rushing yards but third in scoring runs (11).
The bruising runner broke the school record for freshman touchdowns two weeks ago. He's the power half of a formidable duo with redshirt freshman Hassan Haskins, and with Chris Evans expected to come back from academic suspension next year, that's a terrific trio.
Charbonnet will be a huge part of the Wolverines' future.
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Kenneth Gainwell, Memphis Running Back
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Memphis coach Mike Norvell will always have a stable of offensive playmakers, and this year's Tigers are no different.
But one dominant force, Kenneth Gainwell, wasn't even recruited by any Power Five programs until home-state Ole Miss went to Yazoo County High School with an offer that was too little, too late.
The 5'11", 191-pound Gainwell has carried the load for the Tigers since Darrell Henderson left for the Los Angeles Rams in the 2019 draft—and the redshirt freshman has become one of the most explosive players in college football.
Gainwell is ninth nationally with 1,166 rushing yards, has scored 12 rushing touchdowns and is averaging 6.7 yards per carry. In the massive showdown against SMU in the Bluff City, the Mustangs keyed on Gainwell, and quarterback Brady White shredded the secondary.
"It helps me a lot (when opponents stack the box) because we have a lot of one-on-one (coverages) we can take advantage of," White told the Daily Memphian's Jonah Jordan. "You saw guys like [Antonio Gibson], Kedarian [Jones] and obviously Damonte [Coxie] then Calvin [Austin III] has come up big in some critical situations. It just puts them on an island. That's what I love about this offense."
Gainwell's emergence has put 9-1 Memphis in prime position to be the Group of Five representative in the New Year's Six.
Anthony Gordon, Washington State Quarterback
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That a Mike Leach pupil is tossing up humongous passing numbers isn't a shock, but everything about Anthony Gordon's season has been a feel-good story.
Last year, Washington State was the beneficiary of Gardner Minshew II's transfer from East Carolina, and he turned into an instant NFL star after one season in Pullman. This year, Eastern Washington transfer and former FCS star Gage Gubrud was supposed to take over.
That was in part because, after a year at City College of San Francisco, Gordon barely played while in Minshew's shadow. But Gordon has been one of the Pac-12's brightest stars in 2019.
How good is he?
"Right now," Leach told 247Sports' Jackson Gardner this week, "he's probably playing quarterback better than anybody in the country."
Making up for a nonexistent running game, the pass-only Cougars are staying afloat at 5-5 thanks to Gordon. He's completed 71.3 percent of his attempts for 4,314 yards, 39 touchdowns and 11 interceptions.
Gordon is first nationally in passing yards and touchdown passes and is seventh in completion percentage. Yes, the Leach system is quarterback-friendly, but Gordon has been an ideal fit.
Kolby Harvell-Peel, Oklahoma State Safety
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Oklahoma State isn't known for its running game, but that's changing thanks to dynamic Heisman Trophy candidate Chuba Hubbard.
Defensively, safety Kolby Harvell-Peel is also trying to flip the script.
The sophomore somehow left College Station, Texas, right under A&M's nose, and has turned into a star in Stillwater. As a freshman a season ago, he finished with 52 tackles, 5.5 for a loss, a sack and four pass breakups.
This season has been even better.
It's not surprising he's a starter, but he's turned into one of the Big 12's best defenders. It's possible he could be the conference's Defensive Player of the Year.
"I had a caller this morning on my Big 12 call who talked about All-Conference," OSU coach Mike Gundy told Tulsa World's Frank Bonner II this week. "I don't think, now with his numbers, that's any question. I think he may have even more than that with the numbers he's got. That's pretty phenomenal for the position he plays."
Harvell-Peel was all over the field in a Nov. 2 win over TCU, intercepting two passes and recovering a fumble. In last weekend's domination of Kansas, he picked off two more passes. He's been the Big 12 Player of the Week three times.
He is third nationally in passes defended and has caused seven turnovers. The ball-hawking sophomore is one of the country's best playmakers.
Javian Hawkins, Louisville Running Back
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Inheriting a bleak Louisville situation after the fallout from the Bobby Petrino era—in which it looked like the Cardinals quit on their former coach a year ago—new coach Scott Satterfield needed to find dependable players in a hurry.
Javian Hawkins stepped into the gap.
The Cardinals are 6-4 and 4-3 in the ACC, good enough for second in the Atlantic division, which is a remarkable feat. Of course, that's a testament to how good of a coach Satterfield is. He was brilliant at Appalachian State before he took this gig.
But he wouldn't have accomplished what he has without Hawkins, the centerpiece of the offense.
He's third in the league in rushing yards behind stars AJ Dillon and Travis Etienne, churning out 1,045 yards. Though he's only found paydirt six times, it's still been an impressive season for the 5'9", 182-pound jitterbug from Titusville, Florida. He teams with Hassan Hall for a great one-two punch.
"He's a workhorse," Satterfield told Cardinal Authority's Jody Demling.
"I'm so proud of him. He's a guy who never says a word. He just comes to work every day. He's strong. He's not really big, he's 185, 190 pounds. But he runs like he's a 210-pound back, and he's hard to tackle."
After just one catch and two carries in 2018, Hawkins came from nowhere, and he isn't going anywhere any time soon.
Jauan Jennings, Tennessee Wide Receiver
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After a terrific sophomore season in which he torched Florida and caught the Hail Mary touchdown to help the Vols upset Georgia in 2016, Tennessee receiver Jauan Jennings saw his career derailed in a major way.
He played in just one game in a tumultuous 2017 campaign, which was former head coach Butch Jones' last in Knoxville. He was then dismissed from the team by interim coach Brady Hoke after an expletive-laced social media blowup where he ripped UT coaches.
When Jeremy Pruitt took over as Tennessee's head coach and Phillip Fulmer as the athletic director, they allowed Jennings to return. But nagging injuries limited him to 438 receiving yards and three touchdowns a year ago.
The Juice Man may be college football's Comeback Player of the Year this season.
He was on the Biletnikoff Award watchlist and has led UT's second-half resurgence as the go-to target for all the quarterbacks in the 5-5 Vols' carousel. Jennings has 50 catches for 771 yards and seven touchdowns, and has been a terror as a Wildcat quarterback.
When the Vols need tough yards, they go to Jennings, as he is a tackle-breaking force who has willed Tennessee to wins throughout his career. Through a tough stretch for the program, he's achieved legendary status among fans for his heroics in big moments.
Now, the stats are backing up just how valuable he is, and NFL teams will take notice.
Jake Luton, Oregon State Quarterback
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Before this season, Oregon State's Jake Luton was a quarterback with NFL potential trapped in obscurity in his third program.
Amid Jonathan Smith's surge toward a potential Pac-12 Coach of the Year consideration, the 6'7" senior quarterback is no longer muddling through a vagabond career. He's thriving in an upstart offense that just gained its biggest win of the year, against Arizona State.
If the Beavers can upset Washington State or Oregon in the season's final two weeks, they'll make a bowl game. The fact that they're even in this position has a ton to do with Luton, who's become a more solid NFL prospect.
"He's got that arm strength that those guys are looking for," Oregon State offensive coordinator Brian Lingdren told HeraldNet.com's Nick Patterson. "He can make all the throws at that level. I think the question for him was, 'Can he stay healthy?' That's the thing that hampered him his whole career. But he's healthy now, and those guys were waiting for a season like this."
This year, he's thrown for 2,306 yards, 23 touchdowns and just two interceptions. Burrow has helped himself more than any collegiate quarterback this year, but the Oregon State senior may be second on that list.
This week, he returns to Pullman, where he broke his back in 2017—an injury that cost him playing time and nearly much more. Winning that game would mean a ton to Luton and the program he's helping rebuild.
Verone McKinley III, Oregon Safety
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Everybody wants to talk about the glitzy quarterback who returned for his senior year and has Oregon on the cusp of the Pac-12 Championship Game and perhaps so much more.
But Justin Herbert may not be the biggest story on his team.
The defense has traded spots with Utah for the conference's top unit throughout the year, and the unit is a massive part of Oregon's transformation into one of the top two teams in the Pac-12 and a national contender.
A big part of that has been redshirt freshman safety Verone McKinley III. The Carrollton, Texas, native is yet another transplant from a football-rich state who is helping the young Oregon defense be elite. He can play anywhere in the secondary too.
After arriving as a cornerback, he moved to nickel but switched to safety earlier this season. He looks like he's there to stay and is part of a six-way tie for the conference lead with four interceptions. He can step up in the box against the run as well.
He has come a long way since the season opener when Auburn's Seth Williams caught the game-winning touchdown with McKinley guarding him. Two weeks ago, he intercepted Kedon Slovis in a huge win over USC.
Like a lot of his unit mates, McKinley is early in his career and will only get better.
Tanner Morgan, Minnesota Quarterback
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Few bigger surprises exist in college football than P.J. Fleck's one-loss Minnesota Golden Gophers.
A big reason for the success is sophomore quarterback Tanner Morgan, who is having a brilliant season helping Tyler Johnson and Rashod Bateman become two of the biggest pass-catching stars in college football.
Before Fleck left Western Michigan to coach in Minneapolis, Morgan was set to sign with the Broncos. No offense to the MAC program, but that level of talent doesn't always translate into the rugged Big Ten. But Morgan is proving he is a legit college quarterback on any level.
He's perfect for Fleck's system.
In nine games a season ago, he completed 58.6 percent of his passes for nine touchdowns and six interceptions as a true freshman. This year, he's broken out, completing 68.1 percent of his passes for 2,468 yards, 22 touchdowns and just four interceptions.
Morgan wasn't heavily recruited out of high school, but he's showing he should have been.
"A lot of schools missed out," Ryle High School coach Michael Engler told the Courier Journal's Hayes Gardner.
"Coach said there were a lot of coaches that told him I was a little bit short, but it is what it is," Morgan, listed at 6'2", told the Courier Journal. "And I'm very thankful that it happened because it all led to me being here and being at the elite University of Minnesota."
Andrew Parchment, Kansas Wide Receiver
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Les Miles' feel-good Kansas Jayhawks have hit a wall recently after being one of college football's best stories.
Quarterback Peyton Bender has enjoyed a good season, and most people have heard of running back Pooka Williams Jr., but you may not be familiar with receiver Andrew Parchment.
You should be.
After starting his career at Northern Illinois, the Fort Lauderdale, Florida, native had just one catch for six yards in his first season before he left that program. He then transferred to Kansas by way of Iowa Central Community College, and the 6'2", 180-pound junior has become a star.
He's fifth in the Big 12 with 52 catches for 702 yards and six touchdowns. That's a far cry from a player who had just one FBS catch throughout his career coming in. With the cupboard basically bare in Lawrence, Parchment got his opportunity, and he is making the most of it.
"He has spectacular ball skills," Miles said, according to 247Sports' Scott Chasen. "He can turn and snap a ball, put a ball away as fast as anything I've seen."
That's impressive praise, considering Miles has coached dynamic receivers such as Odell Beckham Jr. and Jarvis Landry. Parchment may not be in that group yet, but he has been a great find for the Jayhawks.
Gregory Rousseau, Miami Defensive End
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There, among a forest of upperclassmen who inhabit nation's sack leaders, sits a redshirt freshman.
That would be Gregory Rousseau, a 6'6", 251-pound athlete who has transformed his body and built himself into one of the most fearsome pass-rushers in college football in two years with the Miami Hurricanes.
The Coconut Creek, Florida, native wasn't the most highly rated recruit, but programs such as USC, LSU and Oregon wanted him. He elected to play for the Hurricanes, and he's developing into an elite pass-rusher under the tutelage of Manny Diaz.
Earlier this season, Rousseau had a three-sack game against the Pittsburgh Panthers, and he followed it up with an incredible four-sack game against rival Florida State. He's sits fourth overall with 12.
"He's difficult to block," Diaz said simply after that game against the Seminoles, according to 247Sports' David Lake.
The Hurricanes haven't had a player with double-digit sacks since 2006, and even with all the good defenders they've had recently, Rousseau may wind up being the best.
He hearkens back to the glory days of The U.
Kedon Slovis, USC Quarterback
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When JT Daniels went down in the season opener with a torn ACL, it wouldn't have been too dramatic to think the USC Trojans' season and perhaps Clay Helton's coaching career at the program were over.
Instead, they found a savior in a former 3-star quarterback.
That would be Kedon Slovis, who learned from Kurt Warner while he served as the quarterbacks coach and offensive coordinator at Desert Mountain (Arizona) High School, where Slovis starred.
The 6'2", 200-pound freshman has developed nicely under offensive coordinator Graham Harrell. The Trojans have overcome youth, injuries and inexperience on both sides of the ball to surge to 7-4, and Slovis has been a huge part of it. He has thrown for 2,727 yards, 24 touchdowns and just nine interceptions.
Now, it's far from a guarantee this is Daniels' team when he returns next year.
Slovis is a poised competitor who looks destined for greatness. "As he grew," Helton told the Los Angeles Times' Ryan Kartje, "I knew our team would grow."
USC has done just that, and it's an important reason Slovis is one of college football's biggest surprises. Nobody expected he would play for the Trojans, and he's proved the doubters wrong all season.
Kyle Trask, Florida Quarterback
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Speaking of players who weren't originally in teams' plans, quarterback Kyle Trask has helped Florida surge to the No. 11 ranking and a 9-2 record.
This was supposed to be Feleipe Franks' team. Instead, a season-ending ankle injury on Sept. 14 opened the door for Trask, and he has been a big story in the SEC.
Last year, Franks was about to relinquish his job to Trask when the latter was hurt in practice. Franks went on to have a monster final few games to cement his status as the Gators' 2019 starter. Trask also backed up Houston signal-caller D'Eriq King at powerhouse Manvel High School in Texas.
Now, he is starring in Gainesville under the tutelage of Dan Mullen. He's thrown for 2,293 yards, 21 touchdowns and six interceptions, and he's not only saved Florida's season, he's elevated it.
Trask has been a backup for years, but he's defied the odds and turned into a dynamic passer for one of the nation's top teams.
If that isn't one of the greatest stories you'll hear in college football, what is? He is probably the most surprising player in the country.
Recruit rankings via 247Sports unless otherwise noted.
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