The task of projecting which college football freshmen will become stars is anything but easy. Recruiting battles and actual recruits are hyped all the time, and only sometimes do they even come close to living up to the billing. There’s a big difference between being a stud in high school and then standing up to the pressure on Saturdays in front of 90,000 people and a national TV audience. View all these predictions with a grain of salt, but if some freshmen do stand out from the crowd, here are the ones:
Cam Akers, Florida State Seminoles
The recruiting war which got a lot of attention this past cycle was between Florida State and Ole Miss for Akers. Ole Miss was walking under a cloud of NCAA investigations, a cloud which got even darker in recent weeks. That had to have played a role in Akers’ decision to go to the Seminoles, which proved to a wise one in light of Ole Miss’ bowl ban for the 2017 season. Akers has been talked up by a lot of talent evaluators who believe he’ll be ready to replace Dalvin Cook. If a player is worthy of replacing Dalvin Cook, who came up with an unforgettable run in the Orange Bowl against a very talented Michigan defense, he must be very, very good. Akers deserves everyone’s attention. He’ll be part of a fairly young Florida State squad that is expected to make some noise next year. On paper, they’re probably the best team in the ACC and the conference’s best bet to challenge for a College Football Playoff spot.
Walker Little, Stanford Cardinal
There are certain programs which have a way of producing certain kinds of stars. USC is a great quarterback and running back school. Penn State was a great linebacker school for a long time. Miami produced great athletes in the secondary. Oklahoma, a decade ago, churned out great defensive linemen. For Stanford, the position is offensive lineman. The Cardinal play big, burly boys up front and impose a power game on opponents. If Walker Little is receiving advance billing as the next great Stanford offensive lineman, that’s a very revealing indicator of what people think of his talents.
Ty Jones, Washington Huskies
When the Huskies lost John Ross, they needed a new pass catcher to help out Dante Pettis. Jones is walking into a great situation in two ways: First, he has Jake Browning (who almost made the Heisman Trophy ceremony last year) as a seasoned quarterback. He will have a passer who understands the game and can see the field well. The other benefit for Jones is that with Pettis still in the UW receiver corps, the entire burden to make plays won’t fall completely on Jones’ back. He will have some help, but he’ll still be in situations where he can make plays in isolation. It’s a good mix for him.
Donovan Peoples-Jones, Michigan Wolverines
There has been a need for Michigan to get a next-level receiver, someone who can shake up the game in ways previous Michigan receivers have not. Enter Peoples-Jones, whom just about everyone views as the difference-making threat on the outside Jim Harbaugh needed. If Peoples-Jones comes even close to that standard, he will have done a great job. This will be one of the key college football storylines to watch with the Wolverines in 2017.
Jeffrey Okudah, Ohio State
When the Buckeyes played Penn State and its great receivers, Ohio State’s secondary did well last season. However, OSU loses starters in that secondary, so the next man up is Okudah. If the consensus is that he’s ready for the challenge as a freshman, he probably is. Ohio State’s veteran safeties set a high level for performance, so anyone who can step in right away and match that is doing something right. We know that the Nittany Lions offense is going to be big time next season, so it will be up to players like Okudah and the defense to balance out the team and help them compete for another Big Ten title in 2017.
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