College Football: Players to watch in 2017 (Part 1 of 5)

To help get everyone pumped up for the 2017 college football season, I will be doing a five-part series of posts, each post featuring five players to watch for this fall. Some players on this list are so obvious that you don't need a reminder to watch them, some could be busts, and there will certainly be players outside of these 25 that will have impactful seasons. Also, I must add that the order in which these players are listed is not a ranking system. Without further ado, part one of five:

Lamar Jackson

Lamar Jackson is easily the most obvious player on this list, as last year's Heisman winner is back for his junior season. There's always the looming possibility of a Heisman hangover, partially due to so much previous exposure to every defensive coordinator in the country. However, I think Lamar Jackson is simply too athletic to let last year's success negatively affect his play in 2017. I mean, it's not like opposing coaches were unaware of the most dangerous offensive weapon in the country. They just didn't know how to stop him.

The only thing resembling a Heisman hangover for Jackson this year that I could see happening, is him still having an excellent season that doesn't quite reach a bar set way too high. Jackson can still put on an elite performance without reaching the numbers he did last year; his sophomore season stats were simply out of this solar system. In 2016, Jackson passed for 3,543 yards and 30 touchdowns. He was the only quarterback within the top ten for total rushing yards, tallying 1,571. He also had the fifth most rushing touchdowns in the country with 21.

I think Lamar Jackson is capable of repeating as the Heisman Trophy winner, but he'll definitely need some impactful wins in order to help this cause. More specifically, Louisville needs to come out of the Florida State and Clemson games with at least one win. Louisville's record didn't really affect Jackson's Heisman hopes last year because his numbers were so wildly impressive. But with expectations so high in 2017, he'll need some big time wins if he wants to repeat as college football's most outstanding player.

Ed Oliver

I refuse to believe Ed Oliver is five years younger than me

— Caleb Blackmur (@CalebBlackmur) November 18, 2016

The Houston Cougars were by far my favorite team outside of a Power Five Conference to watch in 2016. I found a few things to be extremely likable about them (one of which is now in Austin), and freshman defensive tackle Ed Oliver was certainly one of those likable aspects. The 6'2", 290 pound mobile beast should put on another stellar performance for his sophomore season.

NFL.com's Chad Reuter has Ed Oliver ranked as the No. 1 best player heading into the 2017 season. Oliver's most notable games last year included the opening weekend upset over Oklahoma (seven total tackles, two sacks), and Houston's first loss of the season to Navy, where he recorded 11 total tackles.

To put Oliver's freshman performance into perspective, his list of honors/awards is screen-shot worthy because it'd take too long to type out:

All of that accomplished by a true freshman, truly incredible. 

Sam Darnold


Even if you didn't particularly make an appoint to watch USC games last season, you know Sam Darnold. The Trojan quarterback's freshman year was highlighted by saving Southern Cal's season and leading them to the second most exciting Rose Bowl of all time. (Amazing game but if you think it was better than USC/Texas with the National Title on the line....you're wrong.) Darnold broke Vince Young's record (467) for most total yards in the Rose Bowl by putting up 473. And for the cherry on top, he threw for five touchdowns.

It took until USC's fourth game of the 2016 season at Utah for Darnold to be named the starter. Although the Trojans lost that one 31-27, it would be their final loss due to Sam Darnold absolutely going on a tear. As a starter, Darnold averaged 295 passing yards per game. He also had the ninth best completion percentage (67.2) in the country, while only three of the QBs (Mayfield, Falk, Trubisky) ahead of him in that statistic played in a Power Five conference.

If you don't trust Darnold's numbers, or his skill from the tapes, at least this video from his Instagram shows off his pinpoint accuracy:

Heads up Trojan nation. I think we may have found our next great receiver @seanmorrissey 🤙🏼

A post shared by Sam Darnold (@samdarnold) on Jun 18, 2017 at 2:39pm PDT

Many people believe that Darnold will end up being the top quarterback prospect in the NFL Draft, and I don't think people are crazy for believing that. However, that is all dependent on how he plays this season. For the Trojans, 2017 is filled with a lot of hype coming from the thriller of a Rose Bowl, a difficult in-conference schedule with a seemingly strong Pac 12, a legit non-conference schedule (Western Michigan, Texas, Notre Dame), and potential Heisman hopes from their sophomore quarterback. I think Sam Darnold`has enough composure to take all of this on, and I'll admit college football is a little more fun when the Trojans are relevant. I, for one, will be tuning into more USC games than I have in previous years.

Calvin Ridley



Definitely look for junior wide receiver Calvin Ridley to be making some noise down in Tuscaloosa. Ridley is crazy athletic; the Amari Cooper comparisons are both abundant and valid. Ridley's numbers last year weren't overly impressive (72 receptions, 769 yards, 7 TDs) but he certainly has great playmaking ability. That's usually how things go with SEC wide receivers; they're underutilized freaks.

When the play calling does get the ball in Ridley's hands, it's fun to watch. He's fast enough to straight up burn defenders downfield on a streak, but he's also shifty enough to get some extra yardage on shorter, quicker patterns. There was not a single game during Ridley's sophomore campaign in which he didn't record a catch.

Alabama's first game of the season will be against the Florida State Seminoles at neutral-site Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, and what a wild game that should be. FSU is supposed to have an awesome defense this year, and it'd be a great way for Ridley to put his talent on display.

Saquon Barkley


Another star player featured in the aforementioned second best Rose Bowl of all time, Saquon Barkley is arguably the best running back in the country entering the 2017 season. In his sophomore season, Barkley put up some impressive numbers, landing himself a spot in the top 15 for total rushing touchdowns (18) and total rushing yards (1,496). The only defenses on Penn State's 2016 schedule that prevented Barkley from getting into the end zone were Michigan and Ohio State.

In the legendary Rose Bowl game that we were all so privileged to witness, Barkley ran the ball 25 times for 194 yards and two touchdowns. Barkley's 79 yard TD run in the third quarter was simply outrageous:
 

Sequin Barkley is much stronger than guys who are as shifty as him. Or he can break off for big plays  more than guys who are as powerful as him. Depending on which way you look at it. Regardless, the junior running back has a lethal combination of attributes that will make for some excellent football, especially against some of the BIG 10 defenses.