The best teams in college football are able to consistently reload with top talent on an annual basis. It is one thing to become a conference champion but another thing entirely to stay at the top and become a perennial contender not just within a conference but on the national stage as well. Stanford managed to put together an impressive season while winning the Pac 12 championship a year ago but they weren’t good enough to reach the College Football Playoff and will face a tough road ahead if they want to repeat as conference champions. Here is a look at the top incoming freshman that could make the biggest difference in the Pac-12 this season.
LB – Mique Juarez, UCLA Bruins
Jim Mora Jr. has staked his reputation on developing linebacker prospects that are ready for the NFL and he seems to have found another stud prospect in Juarez. Myles Jack is projected to be a high first-round pick in this year’s NFL Draft and Juarez might be the ideal replacement as one of the top linebackers in the class of 2016. At 6’1’’ and 231 pounds, Juarez has the size, strength and speed to make plays from sideline-to-sideline. Mora has talked about slotting him in at outside linebacker this season but it might be only a matter of time before he is moved to the middle of the field. A lot will depend on how quickly he learns the defensive system on the field but it’s only a matter of time before Juarez becomes a star at UCLA.
DE – Oluwole Betiku, USC Trojans
The Trojans are the consensus top team in the Pac-12 heading in to the 2016 season but they face a tough schedule with plenty of obstacles in their path to contending for a conference title and more. The biggest area of improvement will have to be a defense that ranked No. 65 in the country last season with head coach Clay Helton and defensive coordinator Justin Wilcox in charge of turning things around. The lack of a consistent pass rush was a major issue a year ago but Betiku could really help in that area as one of the nation’s top rush defensive end prospects. Betiku had 70 tackles, 28 tackles for a loss and 17 sacks as a high school senior and he has home run potential as a freshman at USC this season. The 6’3’’, 240-pound end has all of the weapons to make an immediate impact so keep an eye out for Betiku this year.
CB – Jackie Jones, USC Trojans
The Trojans will also get some help at cornerback with the arrival of the Jones from Long Beach. The talented defensive back spent time at wide receiver and as a punt return specialist in high school and he could follow in the footsteps of junior cornerback Adoree’ Jackson at USC. His declaration of signing in a video with Snoop Dogg was fun for the fans but they should be more excited about what he brings to the table at his position. Jones isn’t the biggest cornerback at 5’10’’ but he is a scrapper with excellent speed and quickness that should challenge for a starting job in his freshman season.
With so much talent on both sides of the ball, there won’t be much room for failure in Clay Helton’s first official year as head coach of the team. They better deliver results – including a big bowl win – or there are going to be some real question marks as to why they removed his interim tag.
WR- Simi Fehoko, Stanford Cardinal
Stanford’s focus on offense will remain its elite rushing attack with Christian McCaffrey leading the way but that doesn’t mean Fehoko can’t have an immediate impact as a freshman. The top recruit out of the state of Utah has incredible potential and could factor in to the mix at a position of need for the Cardinal. The 6’4’’, 186-pound wide receiver posted a 4.5 in the 40-yard dash and his combination of size, speed and elite hands make him an excellent fit to step in right away in the Stanford offense.
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