The Pac-12 is absolutely loaded with talent with a new class of stars ready to carry the torch. Every team has at least a handful of players with the elite talent to shine on the national stage this season and we have narrowed down the best of the best to identify the players with the highest potential for a breakout performance in 2016. Here is a look at the four potential breakout players to watch from the Pac-12 this season.
RB: Bryce Love, Stanford Cardinal
Christian McCaffrey returns as one of the nation’s top players but he can’t do it alone and a transition at the quarterback position could open the door for Love to get some work out of the Cardinal backfield. Love rushed for just 226 yards and two touchdowns last fall including an average of 7.8 yards per carry and he has the potential to far surpass those numbers this season if he gets more touches. Love’s 4.30 40-yard dash speed is a testament to his straight-line speed but he is also a very elusive back that has the ability to be a home run threat every time he touches the football. There’s no question that McCaffrey will get plenty of carries to start the year but he’s the team MVP. It would be wise for head coach David Shaw to mix in some carries for Love to keep his main man fresh and protect a young quarterback. If that’s the case, Love will be one of the Pac-12 breakout players this year.
WR: Darren Carrington, Oregon Ducks
The Ducks own one of the most dangerous offenses in the entire country and they have the potential to be very explosive once again this season. Head coach Mark Helfrich has said he is confident in either one of his quarterbacks to start and one of the reasons for it is the cast of weapons his passer will have around him. Carrington is one of those weapons as a receiver with an elite combination of size, speed and hands. Carrington missed the first six games of the 2015 season because of a drug suspension but he made 32 receptions for 609 yards and six touchdowns in seven games following his return to the field and he is primed to top those numbers in 2016. Carrington has all of the weapons to be an elite Pac-12 receiver and it won’t be long before he becomes one of the breakout players of the season and a household name.
DT: Malik Dorton, USC Trojans
New head coach Clay Helton brought in defensive coordinator Clancy Pendergast with the idea of revamping a defense that was far too leaky last season. USC lost three starters on the defensive line but Pendergast will still have a ton of talent to work with including the sophomore defensive tackle Dorton. The 6’2’’, 280-pound Dorton arrived at Southern California as an outside linebacker but after putting on some serious size he will make the transition to the defensive tackle position. Dorton has the potential to be a disruptive force against both the run and pass and it will be interesting to see if he can live up to his potential as a key cog in the Trojans’ defense.
RB: Joe Williams, Utah Utes
Williams spent much of 2015 biding his time behind star running back Devontae Booker at Utah but he put on an absolute show over the final three games after the Utes’ No. 1 was sidelined with an injury. Williams ran for 121 yards against UCLA, 187 yards and a touchdown against Colorado and then 91 yards and two touchdowns in the Las Vegas Bowl against BYU. Utah is excited about Williams’ potential over the course of an entire season and he appears primed for a breakthrough performance in 2016. With some of these breakout player projections, we have nothing to go on other than some practice film and spring games. With Williams, we’ve already seen a small sample. As long as Utah’s offensive line is respectable, he’s going to be a problem for Pac-12 teams next season and one of the conference’s breakout players.
