The road to a breakout season begins with spring practices. Mitch Trubisky was last year’s spring sensation and he delivered with an outstanding season for North Carolina. He put forth a fantastic college football season and as a result, ended up being the top quarterback selected in the 2017 NFL Draft.
Who will be this year’s breakout star? We’ve been keeping a close eye on the spring practices. Now that they’re done, we can recap and look at who really shined. Here is a look at the five biggest stars of the college football spring practices.
WR: Dez Fitzpatrick, Louisville Cardinals
Lamar Jackson will need some help if he wants to become the first player in more than 40 years to win back-to-back Heisman trophies. Fitzpatrick could be a major x-factor for the Louisville offense. Fitzpatrick redshirted last season but he drew high praise from head coach Bobby Petrino after a closed scrimmage and then put on a show at the Cardinals’ spring game. Fitzpatrick caught nine passes for 176 yards and two touchdowns including an 80-yard score in which he caught the ball over the middle at midfield and then outran the secondary to the endzone. There is no doubt about Fitzpatrick’s game-breaking ability. Don’t be surprised if he emerges as a star at Louisville this season.
DE: Rashan Gary, Michigan Wolverines
Gary took a backseat at Michigan last season behind a talented and experienced defensive line. However, the top recruit from the class of 2016 won’t wait much longer after spending the last year refining his technique for another year. Gary was extremely disruptive at the Wolverines’ spring game and defensive coordinator Don Brown had substantial praise for him after the scrimmage. Michigan ranked fourth in the nation with an average of 3.54 sacks per game last season. Don’t expect there to be a drop off with Gary ready for the spotlight.
DE: Daelin Hayes, Notre Dame Fighting Irish
The fact that pass rushers aren’t allowed to hit the quarterbacks in the spring game makes it difficult to grade their overall performance. However, Hayes was credited with three sacks in Notre Dame’s Blue-Gold game along with seven tackles. Head coach Brian Kelly had high praise for his sophomore defensive end after the game. The Fighting Irish ranked seventh-worst in the country in sacks last year with just 14. Notre Dame could desperately use a breakout season from Hayes coming off the edge.
WR: Jerry Jeudy, Alabama Crimson Tide
Jeudy is the latest in a long line of talented wide receivers that have lined up for Alabama over the years. The four-star recruit will be looking to follow in the footsteps of Amari Cooper, Julio Jones and Calvin Ridley this season. Jeudy put on a show in Alabama’s A-Day game when he caught five passes for 134 yards and two touchdowns to earn MVP honors. Considering Ridley caught 89 passes for 1,045 yards as a true freshman in 2016, it’s safe to say that expectations are high for Jeudy this season. The Crimson Tide has a talented wide receiver core in place. Jeudy might have the highest potential of that group heading in to 2017. We’ll just have to see how much Alabama wants to pass versus how much they want to run this coming season.
WR: Collin Johnson, Texas Longhorns
Texas desperately needs to take a substantial step forward in the Big 12 this season. With Shane Buechele looking to hang on to the starting quarterback job, it won’t be a surprise if he forces the ball early and often to his top target in Johnson. The 6’6’’ wide receiver finished with just 315 yards in his true freshman season but he has the potential to dwarf those numbers in his sophomore year. Johnson caught eight passes for 117 yards and two touchdowns in the Longhorns spring game. That shows that he has grown a little bit. He also had some good chemistry with the Longhorns quarterbacks.
If that is any indication of what is to come this season, then Johnson could transform in to a star at Texas in 2017.
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