Mason Rudolph
Oklahoma State is considered a contender for the Big 12 title in 2017, largely due to their quarterback Mason Rudolph returning for his senior season. Mason's career as the Cowboys' starter began in their second-to-last regular season game at Baylor his Freshman year in 2014. His numbers have gone up each year since, as he looks to continue the trend for his final season at OK State.
In 2016, Rudolph led the Cowboys to a 10-3 season (lost to Central Michigan, Baylor, and Oklahoma) which ended with an impressive 38-3 win over Colorado in the Alamo Bowl. He had the eighth most passing yards in the nation with 4,091 and ranked 20th in passing touchdowns with 28. Most impressively, Rudolph only threw four interceptions all year. It'd be easy to credit subpar Big 12 defenses for that stat, but that'd be invalid considering Patrick Mahomes threw ten picks, Baker Mayfield had eight, and Kenny Hill tallied 13.
It will be interesting to see Rudolph and Baker Mayfield battle it out to be the Big 12's top quarterback. Their passing numbers should be in the same ball park by the conclusion of the season, but Mayfield's rushing numbers will be in another world as Rudolph isn't as much of a scrambler. Expect Rudolph's main target to be senior wide receiver James Washington.
Luke Falk
Luke Falk is undoubtedly the best quarterback to wear a Washington State uniform since the first overall pick of the 1993 NFL Draft, Drew Bledsoe. Falk finished his junior season with the fourth most passing yards in the nation with 4,468. He also had the seventh most touchdown passes in the country with 38. And to top it all off, Falk finished the season with the second highest completion percentage (70.0), trailing only Baker Mayfield (71.0).
I consider Luke Falk to be a very likable player, considering Washington State's relevance is a nice change of pace for college football. Also, he's a walk on, which always gets the people going. Living the American Dream, Luke Falk. Grinding your way to the top. "Like a goddamn pilgrim!" He also throws absolute darts, for entertainment's sake.
At the end of the day, Falk's numbers were incredible but the Cougars' 8-5 overall record, including a week one loss to Eastern Washington...not a good look boys. Their first big test will come in week two as they look to get revenge for last year's 31-28 loss to Boise State.
Derwin James
Per usual, the Florida State Seminoles are expected to have an excellent year, being a preseason contender for the ACC Championship and a playoff berth. Much of this offseason praise can be credited to the 'Noles defense. One staple of their defense is redshirt sophomore Derwin James. The 6'3" 211 pound defensive back absolutely lays the hammer. His lengthy build combined with pure athleticism make James one of the best defensive players in the country.
The 2016 season came to an unfortunate halt in week two against Charleston Southern, where he tore up his knee, eventually leading to him being granted a redshirt for the year. However in Florida State's Labor Day Weekend matchup against Ole Miss, James clearly established himself as an elite talent. Similar to last year's ACC/SEC opening weekend matchup, Florida State faces off against Alabama in week one and you're a fool of you're not counting down the seconds to that.
Ahmmon Richards
It's all about the U! Year in and year out, everyone who genuinely loves college football wants the Miami 'Canes to be in the mix of college football's elite. The U finished 2016 with a 9-4 record, with three of those losses being understandable: Florida State, Virginia Tech, and North Carolina. However, the loss to an atrocious Notre Dame squad was inexcusable. But in the end, things looked great for the U as they capped the season off with a 31-14 Russell Athletic Bowl victory over No. 14 West Virginia. In that game, Miami's star freshman receiver Ahmmon Richards had three receptions for 68 yards and a touchdown.
It will be interesting to see how Richards adjusts to not having Brad Kaaya throwing to him (drafted by Detroit Lions). But for what it's worth, Richards totaled 49 receptions for 934 yards and three touchdowns. He was listed as the 23rd best player going into the 2017 season by NFL.com.
Although the ACC is looking to be strong overall, Miami does avoid playing Clemson and Louisville. Not to mention their out-of-conference schedule is pretty weak: Bethune-Cookman, Arkansas State, Toledo. So they should be able to have a respectable record again this year, depending on how Kaaya's replacement connects with Ahmmon Richards. Who that quarterback will be is still up for debate, but the competition is looking to be between junior Malik Rosier and sophomore Evan Shirreffs. It will be fun to watch head coach Mark Richt bring this program back to, at the very least, some flashbacks of the glory days.
Derrius Guice
Leonard Fournette certainly left some massive shoes for junior running back Derrius Guice to fill. But Guice still got plenty of touches in his sophomore year due to Fournette's nagging ankle problems. Guice totaled 1,387 rushing yards and 15 touchdowns. He also caught nine passes for 106 yards, and had a receiving touchdown in LSU's 29-9 spanking of No. 13 Louisville in the Citrus Bowl. In that same game, he rushed for 138 yards and a touchdown on 26 attempts.
Derrius Guice is your prototypical SEC running back: he's strong, he's fast, he can pummel through defenders, and he's guaranteed to get a bountiful amount of carries each game. Just to give you a better idea of Guice's physical power, a video was recently making its rounds through the internet of him squatting 650 pounds:
— Aaron Moffitt (@AaronTMoffitt) June 23, 2017
Will this be the year that LSU takes down 'Bama as the kings of the SEC? Probably not, but Derris Guice will be appointment television regardless.
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