And now for the second half of my list of players to get excited for in the 2016 college football season. If you missed part one, check it out here. As I said in my previous post, this list is not in any particular order and features running backs and quarterbacks. Part one consisted of Deshaun Watson (Clemson), Christian McCaffrey (Stanford), Baker Mayfield (Oklahoma), Leonard Fournette (LSU), and Josh Rosen (UCLA). Now let's get on with the list.
Josh Dobbs
With high hopes of the Tennessee Volunteers returning to their former glory, senior quarterback Josh Dobbs has plenty of eyes on him. NFL.com lists Dobbs as the No. 8 college football player in their top 100 list for the 2016 season. Dobbs and the Vols finished the season 9-4 after rolling over Northwestern 45-6 in the Outback Bowl. Dobbs' stats through the air last season include 2,291 yards, 15 touchdowns, and a passer rating of 127. His passing numbers certainly weren't topping any of the leader charts, but his athleticism allowed him to impress in the rushing game with 671 yards and 11 touchdowns on 146 attempts. His 11 touchdowns put him just inside the top 15 nationwide for quarterbacks. Dobbs is viewed as mainly a scrambler, but he has the football IQ and accuracy to do damage with his arm. There's no doubt that facing off against SEC defenses makes things more difficult for Dobbs, but that also means that his potential success will draw plenty of national attention. I expect Josh Dobbs to get off to a hot start in 2016, matching up with Appalachian State, Virginia Tech, and Ohio before in-conference play starts.
Chad "Swag" Kelly
Not only is Chad Kelly one of the more exciting players in college football, but one of the more intriguing personalities as well. To put it simply, Chad Kelly is an absolute moron. To say his off-the-field decision making is foolish would be an extreme understatement. Kelly, the nephew of Buffalo Bills' legend Jim Kelly, was dismissed from the Clemson football team after repetitive behavior that "is not consistent with the values of [Clemson's] program," as Dabo Swinney put it. Kelly then spent some time dominating at Eastern Mississippi Community College (check out Last Chance U on Netflix if you haven't already) before heading to Ole Miss. A few weeks after committing to play for the Rebels, Kelly had a bit of an incident outside of a Buffalo night club which included a brawl with some bouncers and a claim that he would get his AK-47 from his car and "spray this place." Yikes.
But aside from Chad Kelly's character issues, he is one hell of a football player. The 2015 Ole Miss season was highlighted by a 43-37 upset over No. 2 Alabama, which was No. 15 Ole Miss' first win on the road against the Tide since 1988. Chad Kelly completed 18 of 33 passes for 341 yards and three touchdowns with no interceptions. Kelly did what he could on the ground that game, rushing for 21 yards and a touchdown on eight attempts. Kelly's season was much more than that win over Alabama, as he threw for 31 touchdowns (tied for 9th most in the country) and 4,042 yards (10th most in the country). Much like Dobbs, Kelly has the ability to scramble against the opposing SEC defenses, finishing 2015 with 500 rushing yards and 10 touchdowns. It will be interesting to see how Chad Kelly adjusts this season without standout receiver Laquon Treadwell, who was drafted by the Vikings this past spring.
Bo Scarbrough
Now I wouldn't be shocked if you told me that "You Don't Know Bo," as the Alabama running back recorded stats in only four of the Crimson Tide's games last season. I'm not necessarily excited to watch Bo play because of a lasting impression from 2015. Can you blame him for not getting many reps behind Heisman winner Derrick Henry? However, I feel a big year coming from the 6'2", 240 pound freak of nature. In the four games that Scarbrough played in last season, he ran for 104 yards and one touchdown on 18 attempts with an average 5.8 yards per carry. But based off of his highlights from the athletically prestigious IMG Academy, this kid can play ball. At IMG he rushed for 1,332 yards and 22 touchdowns. A player this big that can move this fast is bound to be a human highlight reel. And if I've learned one thing over the years from watching college football, I never have doubts about a big-bodied running back in an Alabama uniform. The sophomore running back only carried the ball nine times for 22 yards in Alabama's spring game, but the defense did hold the offense to only 131 total yards. Going up against the Crimson Tide defense is difficult for anyone, so perhaps Bo could be putting up Leonard Fournette-esque number against other defenses around the country.
DeShone Kizer
The performance of Notre Dame's DeShone Kizer obviously depends on head coach Brian Kelly's decision of whether to start Kizer or Malik Zaire under center for the 2016 season. Kizer took over the Irish offense after Zaire went down with a broken ankle against Virginia last season, and doubts for the Notre Dame season started to flood in. However, Kizer did a magnificent job of stepping up, coming close to earning the Fighting Irish a spot in the college football playoff. I'm sure that we will see plenty of both quarterbacks throughout the 2016 season, but I think Kizer is a safer bet in big time situations. Kizer is a more quiet, poised player whereas Zaire is an electric, highly-confident athlete. Despite only starting 11 of Notre Dame's 13 games, Kizer finished 2015 in the top 40 for both passing yards and touchdowns, with 2,884 and 21, respectively. Kizer is definitely a pass-first type of guy (kid throws more dimes than Jordan Belfort throws 100s), but is certainly athletic enough to scramble and successfully run the read option. The Toldeo, Ohio product reminds me somewhat of an Aaron Rodgers type of quarterback, whereas his throwing ability is top tier but he can use his legs just as well, making it difficult for defenses to contain him if they do indeed force some pressure. Kizer obviously utilizes the ground game much more than Rodgers, as college play books feature a lot more option plays. Kizer rushed for 520 yards and 10 touchdowns last season. The Irish will have their first legitimate chance to silence the many Notre Dame haters on September 17th as they are set to battle a Big 10 defense in South Bend against Michigan State.
Dalvin Cook
First things first, any highlight tape that has "Panda" as the audio is guaranteed to impress. But Dalvin Cook is the real deal, with or without Panda. The Florida State running back had the sixth most rushing yards in the country last year (1,691) and was tied for the eighth most rushing touchdowns (19) while having the fourth highest average yards per carry (7.4). I can't fail to mention that he achieved these impressive stats while sitting out due to an ankle injury against Syracuse, a game that he would have most likely torched the opposing defense. The Seminoles are out for revenge this year after Clemson took over the ACC throne, something that belonged to FSU in 2012, 2013, and 2014. Cook failed to record triple digits in rushing yards only three times last year, one of those games being against Boston College which allowed the least total yards last season. It should be taken into consideration that in another one of Cook's double digit rushing yard games against Georgia Tech (82 yards), he only carried the ball six times during the second half. Cook ran the ball well most noticeably against South Florida (266 yards, 3 touchdowns) and Miami (222 yards, 2 touchdowns). The Seminoles' running back is also able to use his speed to get open in the passing game, as he caught the ball 24 times for a total of 244 yards last season, getting into the endzone once against in-state rival Miami. NFL.com has Dalvin Cook ranked as the No. 16 best college football player for the 2016 season.
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