Stanford bounced back from a season-opening loss at Northwestern to go 11-1 the rest of the way en route to a Pac-12 title in 2016. Fast-forward one year later and while the Cardinal have the talent to repeat as division champions they will need several players to step up after losing their starting quarterback Kevin Hogan among others. We took the time to break down Stanford’s roster along with a handful of other teams to predict which players will be the most important to their teams this coming season. Here is a look at the most important players in the Pac-12 North division heading in to the 2016 season.
Stanford: Christian McCaffrey
Running Back
Even with Kevin Hogan under center for the Cardinal a year ago there is no doubt that McCaffrey was their most important player. Now that Hogan is gone his presence will be that much more crucial. McCaffrey set the NCAA single-season record for all-purpose yards with 3,864 a year ago and he was the only FBS player to lead his team in rushing and receiving in 2015. Stanford will have an even tougher road to a Pac-12 championship in 2016 and it will be very interesting to see what McCaffrey has in store for an encore.
Oregon: Dakota Prukop
Quarterback
The graduate transfer out of Montana State was heavily recruited by both Alabama and Michigan before eventually joining Oregon and there is no doubt about how integral of a role he will play in the Ducks’ success this season. Oregon will return six of its top seven receivers from a year ago but it will be on Prukop to take advantage of the weapons around him as the leader of the offense.
Washington State: Gabe Marks
Wide Receiver
Marks led the entire Pac-12 with eight receptions per game in 2015 and returns for his senior season among the favorites to win the Biletnikoff Award as the nation’s top wide receiver. Marks caught 104 passes for 1,192 yards and 15 touchdowns at Washington State last season. Those numbers have to be considered the absolute floor for what his production will be in 2016. Washington State is now back in business as they’re a quality team in the Pac-12. They have a prolific offense and it’s not just Marks. He’s the star but defenses will have a tough time keying in on him with so many other options around him.
California: Chase Forrest
Quarterback
Star quarterback Jared Goff graduated to the NFL as the No. 1 overall pick in the 2016 Draft. While his production will be impossible to replace, that won’t change the fact that Forrest will be expected to step in as the Golden Bears’ most important player. The 6’2’’, 190-pound quarterback got his first taste of college action as a freshman last season when he completed 10 of 18 passes for 162 yards and a touchdown while making three appearances. He will be the guy at Cal in 2016 and while he won’t give them what Goff did, he will need to be great for the Bears to be relevant in the Pac-12. Head coach Sonny Dykes has been a quarterbacks guru in his tenure and he should mold Forrest into something special.
Washington: Budda Baker
Free Safety
Baker’s 111 career tackles and three interceptions don’t tell the whole story of how good he has been because offensive coordinators have simply learned to avoid throwing his way. One of the top safeties in the entire country should have more balls thrown his way this year with improved depth across the board and it will be very interesting to see how he responds with the opportunities to put up the best numbers of any season in his college career to this point.
Oregon State: Darrell Garretson
Quarterback
Garretson sat out all of last year after transferring from Utah State. He has the potential to put up big numbers as their No. 1 quarterback in 2016. Garretson has the arm to make all of the throws and a full year learning the Beavers offense should help his production in his first year as the starter at Oregon State. The challenge is that the Beavers are not a very good team around him. However, this could be where their turnaround starts.
