It’s the star players in college football that drive winning programs. While the best of the best get the majority of the time in the spotlight there are a number of underrated stars that make a tremendous impact that goes underappreciated. Here is a look at four under the radar star players for the top AAC teams that will make their mark this coming season.
South Florida: Marlon Mack
Running Back
Mack already ranked second on South Florida’s all-time rushing yards list with 2,442 yards to go with 17 touchdowns and the potential is there for him to build on those numbers heading in to his junior year. Head coach Willie Taggart has a ton of firepower on the offensive side of the football but Mack is the talented tailback that really drives the Bulls’ offense and he will be an important piece as South Florida looks to challenge for an AAC championship this coming season. Mack averaged a ridiculous 6.6 yards per carry in his sophomore season and if he continues to perform at a high level he certainly won’t fly under the radar for much longer.
Houston: Steven Taylor
Linebacker
Houston’s rise to the top of the mid-major ranks has been well documented with dual-threat quarterback Greg Ward Jr. reaching another level under head coach Tom Herman. The Cougars’ offense has been lights out but lost in last year’s success was the fact that the defense led the FBS with 35 forced turnovers. However, the defense wasn’t on point in a couple of key situations last year, including the game against UConn. Remember, UConn has mustered just seven points in the previous week at Tulane before scoring 20 on Houston and ending their perfect season.
Taylor was one of the stars of that group as he finished with 10 sacks, 92 tackles, 18.5 tackles for loss and two interceptions. Taylor has the talent to be one of the elite linebackers in the AAC once again entering his senior season and there is every reason to expect he will put up outstanding numbers in 2016. They’ll need him to shine as Houston has a number of key games this year that will decide whether or not they’re just an overhyped team from the AAC or whether they’re legit. We’ll know more in Week 1 when they face Oklahoma at a neutral location.
SMU: Courtland Sutton
Wide Receiver
The 6’4’’ wide receiver impressed in his redshirt freshman season a year ago when he matched Emmanuel Sanders’ school-record for most receiving touchdowns by a freshman with nine. Sutton led the Mustangs with 49 catches for 862 yards and many feel he has only started to tap in to his elite potential. Sutton has the prototypical size, speed, hands and football IQ to be an absolute force at the wide receiver position and he will undoubtedly be one of the underrated stars that will drive the SMU offense this coming season.
SMU is coming off a very ugly season where they won just two games. Those wins came against North Texas and Tulane, but every other team on the schedule proved to be a loss. There weren’t many bright spots on the season other than Sutton. However, if the team starts to improve, Sutton will get more acclaim as a quality player on a conference and national scale. As of right now, he’s just a very good player on a bad team, and few people are paying attention to him.
UConn: Jamar Summers
Cornerback
Summers broke out last year when he led the AAC with eight interceptions. The Huskies will once again be leaning on him to perform at a high level in 2016. UConn’s defense led the league in passing defense and scoring defense and they return a pretty impressive group of talent including Summers at the cornerback position. At 6’0’’, 185-pounds, Summers has the impressive size and length to compete in man situations with opposing wide receivers and another year of experience should help him along as he enters his junior year. He’s one of the reasons Connecticut appears to be on the upswing. Remember they started 2-3 last year before beating No. 19 Houston and finishing the year on a 3-2 run.
