News/Commentary

Which Football Players Will Shine This Season

September 4, 2024 by Staff

Let's face it - every season in college football is a banner year for discovering new talent. We start off the season predicting who the key players will be, trying to handicap the competition for the Heisman Trophy, and looking at the props options to determine who they are betting will be the No. 1 NFL Draft pick the following spring.

Last year, LSU quarterback Jayden Daniels won the Heisman. Then, he and the next four top vote-getters all landed in the NFL - quarterbacks Michael Penix Jr., Bo Nix and Jordan Travis. and wide receiver Marvin Harrison, Jr.

Before the 2023 season began, the top Heisman candidates were quarterbacks Caleb Williams (USC) and JJ McCarthy (Michigan). As it trend out, Williams didn't make the top ten for the Heisman, but was the over-all No. 1 NFL Draft Pick by the Chicago Bears. McCarthy only finished 10th in the Heisman voting, but his team won the National Championship.

Daniels was in the top five of most lists, along with Quinn Ewers of Texas who is a solid Heisman favorite in 2024.

The good news is that some of the top ten vote-getters from a year ago are back for another season of college ball, including the nation's second-leading rusher, Ollie Gordon II of Oklahoma State.

Let's start there with a list of some of this season's top players to watch, both in the college ranks and the NFL. Don't be mad that we left people out as we could easily just keep naming names. But time, and attention spans, are short. The names listed are also not in any particular order.

College - Ollie Gordon II, Oklahoma State

Gordon won the Doak Walker Award as the nation's top running back after he racked up 1,732 yards and 21 touchdowns a year ago. What people outside of Stillwater may not know is that he is also a reliable pass catcher out of the backfield as he added 39 receptions for another 330 yards and a score.

Unfortunately, he spent the offseason making headlines for a DUI arrest. Coach Mike Gundy reportedly had a sit-down and discussion with him about the incident and ultimately decided to not enforce any type of a suspension. Fortunately, no one was injured or worse. Hopefully, the lesson has been learned.

Naturally, Gordon is on every applicable preseason watch list for 2024.

College - James Pearce Jr, Tennessee

2024 could be the year of the EDGE rusher and Pearce is expected to be one of the first players off the big board on the first day of the draft in Green Bay on April 24, 2025.

As a sophomore, Pearce collected 14.5 tackles for loss with 10 sacks, 2 forced fumbles and a pick. PFF (Pro Football Focus) says he has "generated 58 QB pressures in his two previous seasons". Pearce is the SEC’s returning statistical leader in both tackles for loss and sacks.

College - Shedeur Sanders/Travis Hunter

Sanders last night  threw for 445 yards and 4 touchdowns in the 31-26 win over North Dakota State. Hunter played offense and defense for 129 snaps. On offense, he had 7 catches for 132 yards, with 3 TD receptions, including a ridiculous catch in the front corner of the endzone while draped by a defender.

He had 3 of Sanders' TD passes, including this score:

College Backup Plan - Pick a Quarterback

Carson Beck (Georgia), Quinn Ewers (Texas), Jaxson Dart (Ole Miss), Dillon Gabriel (Oregon). There are a lot of college QB's in varying styles (dropback, duel-threat), and those we listed are among the best. But don't be shocked if someone under the radar emerges in the first few weeks of the season and comes from virtually out of nowhere to claim the hardware.

NFL - Caleb Williams, Chicago

To us, this is the most interesting rookie to watch as the Bears dumped Justin Fields for whom they traded up to the No. 11 overall selection in 2021. This year, the Bears took Williams with the No. 1 over-all pick. Daniels went 2nd to the Washington Commanders. Williams was named the starter on May 10. Daniels was named the starter on August 19.

NFL - Bo Nix

Nix was unexpectedly named the starter for the Denver Broncos after 'winning' the job with a solid preseason performance. PFF says "On 59 preseason snaps, he earned a 78.4 PFF passing grade with more than 200 passing yards, a 70%-plus completion percentage, one big-time throw and no turnover-worthy plays.

NFL Backup Plan - Watch Anyone

It's the NFL. There are NO bad players, but it is sometimes amazing how great college players can pale in comparison to their NFL counterparts once they enter the league. Making the roster of an NFL team is extremely difficult, and surviving the crushing blows of muscular 200-to-400 pound behemoths is physically daunting.

The bottom line is that the players listed in this article can ALL PLAY, and will be fun to watch. But it will be just an entertaining and interesting to see who we know about in December that we weren't even thinking about today.