The Pac-12 South division will be loaded once again with USC the favorite to win a conference championship and a strong cast of contenders looking to knock them off. The Trojans have enough talent to make some major noise on a national stage but they will need their best players to step up and help navigate an extremely difficult schedule. That slate will include the top teams within their own conference and ultimately the fate of the Pac-12 could be decided by a handful of key players. Here is a look at the four best preseason candidates to win Pac-12 South MVP.
CB: Adoree’ Jackson, USC Trojans
USC will return 14 starters this season, including nine on offense, but it’s hard to find a more important player on their roster than their star cornerback Jackson. The junior corner is easily one of the nation’s most indispensable players and while he is relied on as a lockdown cornerback, he also returned punts and play some offense. He saw significant snaps at wide receiver a year ago where he had 27 catches for 414 yards and two scores. The hope is that USC’s offense is far more functional this year and that they won’t need him in that regard, but as we’ve seen in recent years with the Trojans, they haven’t been the team we used to know.
The defending Pac-12 long jump champion and a track All-American is an absolutely incredible athlete. They’ll need him to show up big time in games versus Alabama, at Stanford, versus Oregon, at Washington and at UCLA. He will be the Trojans’ most important piece as a key figure on offense, defense and special teams.
QB: Josh Rosen, UCLA Bruins
The Bruins have to feel confident about their chances to contend in the Pac-12 with their star sophomore quarterback Rosen leading the way this coming season. USC has an incredibly difficult schedule this year, Oregon is clearly in rebuilding mode and Stanford could take a small step back. Stanford also has a tricky schedule as they have to visit UCLA, Washington, Arizona, Notre Dame and Oregon. That means there is an opportunity for UCLA to take the conference.
Rosen threw for 3,669 yards and 23 touchdowns compared to 11 interceptions in his true freshman year and his development in UCLA’s pro-style offense should lead to even better numbers in 2016. Rosen has all of the tools to become one of the nation’s top passers this coming season and the Bruins will lean heavily on him as their most valuable player.
RB: Demario Richard, Arizona State Sun Devils
Arizona State suffered some major losses on offense, including quarterback Mike Bercovici so they will need somebody to step up and lead the offense this coming season. This is a team that stumbled down the stretch as they lost five of their last seven games.
Richard is a prime candidate after he ran for 1,104 yards and seven touchdowns in his sophomore season, with an additional 32 catches for 309 yards and three scores. The Sun Devils will need to lean on their rushing attack while breaking in a new quarterback in 2016. Bercovici is gone and remember that Taylor Kelly has finished his stay as well. That makes Richard a prime candidate to lead the way as their MVP on the ground this season.
DT: Lowell Lotulelei, Utah Utes
The Utes are coming off a 10-win season in which their defense was absolutely dominant and they will rely on their stop units again to contend in the Pac-12 in 2016. Their sophomore defensive tackle Lotulelei earned first-team All-Pac-12 honors a year ago when he registered 26 tackles, five tackles for loss, a sack and a fumble. The expectations are even higher for him heading in to this season. He’s the brother of Star Lotulelei, who is one of the key cogs on the Carolina Panthers defensive line. The MVP-like blood runs through the family veins.
The 6’2’’, 310-pound run-stuffer is an absolute beast in the trenches and he will need to shine as Utah’s MVP in order for them to contend in the Pac-12 in 2016.
