After gathering input from every Power 5 head coach in the past month, Insider is ready to project the top 50 breakout players in college football for the 2016 season.
The countdown continues today with Nos. 10-1, a group that includes an NFL All-Pro’s brother making a name for himself in the Big Ten, the country’s top freshman and a pair of ACC quarterbacks ready to make a splash.
2015 stats: eight tackles (1.5 for a loss)
Watt is replacing All-American Joe Schobert at outside linebacker for the Badgers. And, yes, he’s also J.J. Watt’s little brother. But his coach seems to think he can handle the pressure that comes along with his surname.
“You can’t say he’s J.J., but he’s got that relentless work ethic,” Badgers second-year coach Paul Chryst said of 6-5, 245-pound junior. “He’s a guy that could become a difference maker. He’s wired. He works.”
Between Watt, Vince Biegel, T.J. Edwards and Jack Cichy, the Badgers have no shortage of athletic linebackers who can quickly get to ball carriers and quarterbacks. Then again, that’s typical of Wisconsin.
9. Rashan Gary, DT, Michigan
One coach told Insider when the 6-4, 290-pound Gary signed with Michigan in February that he would “have the same impact that Leonard Fournette had, just as a defensive lineman.”
Like Fournette, Gary was ESPN’s No. 1 overall prospect in his respective recruiting class.
Hyperbole? Reality? It’s probably more the latter.
Gary's position coach Greg Mattison, the veteran who took his first defensive line job in 1977, says maturity is key. And Gary has it, as various coaches noted during their recruitment of the New Jersey product.
“There are a lot of freshman who could [physically] play early, but they’re just not mature enough,” Mattison told reporters at Michigan’s media day. “He seems to be ready.”
With talent such as Chris Wormley, Ryan Glasgow and Taco Charlton around him, the Wolverines should be able to plug in Gary and let him go.
8. LJ Scott, RB, Michigan State
2015 stats: 699 rushing yards, 11 touchdowns
The Michigan State staff has talked this year about getting back to having a primary back. Entering his sophomore season, Scott has the earmarks of being that kind of player.
His running style reminds his coaches of former MSU All-American Le’Veon Bell, whom offensive coordinator Dave Warner thought played too heavy (240 pounds) his senior year. Coach Mark Dantonio said recently that Scott is at 224 pounds heading into preseason camp.
“He’s just scratching the surface,” Dantonio told colleague Adam Rittenberg earlier this year. “He can be a dominant football player.”
7. Jacob Eason, QB, Georgia
Those close to the program expect two quarterbacks to play for Georgia in the opener against North Carolina. Veteran Greyson Lambert will likely start, but most everyone expects to see Eason, the talented freshman, at some point.
It would not at all be surprising to see the 6-5 native of Washington state win the job outright by UGA’s trip to Ole Miss in Week 4 or the big home game against Tennessee the following week.
Coaches are typically slow to start true freshmen -- even Clemson initially went with Cole Stoudt over Deshaun Watson -- but talent eventually wins out. Georgia’s staff has said there’s no comparison when it comes to that area; Eason uncorks jaw-dropping passes every day at practice, those close to the program say. But, they add, he also makes plenty of mistakes.
So it goes with a first-year starter, especially a young one. Even so, look for Eason to be this season’s version of Josh Rosen, which bodes very well for the Bulldogs in 2017 and 2018. Kirby Smart and his assistants did a nice job of holding on to Eason’s commitment amid the coaching change.
5. & 6. Damien Harris and Bo Scarbrough, RBs, Alabama
2015 stats: 157 rushing yards, one touchdown (Harris); 104 rushing yards, one touchdown (Scarborough)
Alabama running backs feel like a safe breakout pick, though this is a different progression plan for the position that we’re used to seeing.
This is the first time since Nick Saban arrived (in 2007) that Bama does not return at least one of its top two rushers from the previous season. That goes back to the Glen Coffee days.
It didn’t seem to overly concern Saban when we visited with him this summer. He pointed out that Harris and Scarbrough are sophomores. Despite having Heisman winner Derrick Henry and Kenyan Drake, they still managed to get a combined 64 carries. (Harris received 46 of them.)
Practice reps indicate that Scarbrough, a local high school legend, is ahead of Harris. At 6-2 and 230 pounds, he compares favorably to Henry. Those close to the program believe he can be every bit as effective.
“Nick is replacing 5-star [recruits] with 5-star [recruits]?” one of the coaches said. “I’m sure they’ll be OK. I’m not crying for him.”
4. Mitch Trubisky, QB, North Carolina
2015 stats: 555 passing yards, 6 touchdowns (0 interceptions); 101 rushing yards, three touchdowns
Veteran Marquise Williams was pressing early last season, and coach Larry Fedora knew it. So he called on Trubisky to calm the offense against FCS opponent Delaware. All the sophomore did was complete 17 of 20 passes, four of them for touchdowns.
“When his name was called, he went out and performed,” Fedora told us this summer. “He has the respect of his teammates. He’d never tell you this, but he believed in his heart that he was the best quarterback. Being ready to play, that was him being a great teammate.”
So Trubisky, now the unquestioned starter, has the intangibles to go with a well-rounded skill set. Fedora said that Trubisky likely will not run as much as Williams did (158 carries in 2015), but that Trubisky might actually be a bit faster.
“I’m as comfortable as I can be with a new quarterback,” Fedora said. “We’ve taken our time and brought him along. He’s walking into a really good situation.”
3. Sam Hubbard, DE, Ohio State
2015 stats: 28 tackles (eight for a loss, 6.5 sacks)
Hubbard got a taste of filling Joey Bosa’s shoes when Bosa was suspended for last season’s opener at Virginia Tech. The redshirt freshman, who put on 30 pounds after arriving on campus, registered his first sack.
Bosa’s now gone; it’s Hubbard’s turn to become the team’s primary pass-rush threat.
“He can come in being the Bosa-type player that we need, a dominant force at the defensive end position, setting the edge like all great defensive ends do, always staying effective,” linebacker Raekwon McMillan said.
As a freshman, 23 percent of Hubbard’s tackles were sacks.
“Although he had a good year last year,” Buckeyes coach Urban Meyer said, “I think he could exceptional.”
2015 stats: 41 tackles (6.5 for a loss, five sacks)
Defensive coordinator Dave Aranda left his stable, steady gig at Wisconsin to jump aboard a wild ride of a program that sometimes resembles one of those meandering, roaring machines in "Mad Max."
Why? Money helps, sure. But the inherited talent, coaches and friends say, was a huge, huge factor.
“He watched some tape and figured out that no one in the country has players like that. No one,” said one coach who has known Aranda for years.
Key was one of the players that stood out most. Aranda arrived on campus to find a lean, rangy defensive end who would be a perfect fit for the “buck”/hybrid linebacker in his 3-4 scheme. The shift theoretically negates the concern that Key would not be able to put on enough weight to stand up to the SEC’s offensive tackles. Now the 6-6, 238-pound sophomore can be moved around the field, and the staff thinks he’s nearly as comfortable in coverage as he is rushing the quarterback. That’s a weapon.
1. Lamar Jackson, QB, Louisville
2015 stats: 1,840 passing yards, 12 touchdowns (eight interceptions); 960 rushing yards, 11 touchdowns
A head coach texted Insider this summer after watching some of Louisville’s offense on film. Jackson’s play had jumped off the screen.
“He’s the next big thing in college football,” the Power 5 coach said. “He’s going to blow up this year. Knew he was really good, but he’s a freak show talentwise.”
Jackson rushed for 412 yards and four touchdowns in wins against Kentucky and Texas A&M to cap his freshman season. But a 12-8 TD-to-INT ratio and a 55 percent completion mark left coaches wondering about Jackson’s ceiling as a passer.
Cardinals coach Bobby Petrino told us that the arm strength is no issue whatsoever. He said Jackson, who is up 15 pounds to 220, has made large strides this spring and summer in terms of his footwork.
“He’s going to be a much more accurate passer,” Petrino said. “He’s a guy who knows the offense better, too.”
Jackson’s 519 yards and eight touchdowns in the spring game seemed to indicate definitive progress. We’ll know early in the year how far he has come: Louisville hosts Florida State in Week 3.