One of the common themes in previewing an upcoming college football season is to favor rosters that have a lot of returning starters. The idea is that it takes time to develop talent, and when a team has veterans coming back, it will likely get the benefit of having players with better-developed skill sets.
That may be true in a general sense, but there are many cases where a team will actually get equal or better performance out of a talented backup player who is now getting a chance to be a full-time starter.
So who are some players who could go from second string to star in a single season who aren't a running back or quarterback (the most obvious options)?
Tharold Simon, CB, LSU Tigers (two starts in 2011)
There is no doubt that Morris Claiborne was one of the most talented players in college football last season, but in truth he was actually more of a ball hawk than a dominant coverage cornerback. Last season, Claiborne allowed 7.5 yards per attempt on 25 passes against the seven toughest passing teams LSU faced.
While Claiborne fell short of the 5.0 or fewer YPA mark that is considered the benchmark for excellence in that category, Simon easily topped it by racking up a 3.6 YPA on the 30 passes directed at him. Simon was equally effective against vertical passes (those thrown 11 or more yards downfield), as he gave up only 35 yards on 15 vertical targets. Simon also picked off two of those throws, so it is possible he could also take over some of the ball-hawk role Claiborne filled last year in notching six interceptions.
Zach Ertz, TE, Stanford Cardinal (three starts as second tight end in '11)
Andrew Luck isn't the only star in the passing game that the Cardinal have to replace. They also lost first-team All-Pac-12 tight end Coby Fleener to the NFL draft.
Stanford is actually in good shape to replace Fleener, as fellow starting tight end and honorable mention All-Pac-12 selection Levine Toilolo had across-the-board numbers that were quite close to Fleener's (11.4 overall YPA and 16.2 vertical YPA for Toilolo, 12.7 overall YPA and 18.4 vertical YPA for Fleener).
If Ertz's 2011 numbers are any indication, the Cardinal are also in good shape to replace Toilolo as the secondary tight end. Ertz racked up a 9.4 overall YPA on 33 targets and posted a 15.3 vertical YPA on 11 targets. If he and Toilolo can keep their productivity levels near where they were in 2011, Stanford should be able to absorb at least a portion of its significant personnel losses and find a way to possibly contend for the BCS title in 2012.
Martin Jenkins, CB, Clemson Tigers (two starts as nickelback in '11)
One of the main areas Clemson must improve this season is pass coverage. According to cfbstats.com, the Tigers gave up 26 passing plays of 30 or more yards, tied for 117th out of the 120 teams in the Football Bowl Subdivision.
Fixing an issue of this caliber is not something that can be achieved with one player, but Jenkins could fill one piece of the puzzle by being a big upgrade over former starting cornerback Xavier Brewer. Brewer had a horrible 10.3 YPA on 30 targets last season and a 16.9 YPA on 11 vertical targets.
Last season, Jenkins gave up only 5.3 YPA on the 20 targets directed his way, and he knocked down six passes. Even if Jenkins' YPA increased a couple of yards with the ascension to a full-time starting role, it would still take away one huge weakness in the Tigers secondary and could lead to a domino cascade of improved play across Clemson's coverage spectrum.
Jaxon Shipley, WR, Texas Longhorns (five starts in '11)
Shipley is a bit of an exception for this article, as he started five games during the 2011 season and probably would have started more if not for a knee injury suffered against the Kansas Jayhawks.
Having said that, the reason Shipley is being included is that he posted the following numbers in the Longhorns' games against BCS opponents:
To put these totals in perspective, consider that the 9.0 YPA would have ranked seventh on my list of the top 10 wide receivers in the 2012 NFL draft. Shipley's 12.8 vertical YPA would have ranked seventh also.
That Shipley was able to post numbers comparable to some of the best wideouts in a deep draft class for wide receiver speaks well to his abilities on its own, but it's even more impressive when considering his circumstances.
Shipley was a true freshman playing in an offense with two struggling quarterbacks and facing a slew of secondaries that were among the best in college football. If he could post metrics of that caliber with those factors working against him -- as well as the fact that he had to battle back from his knee injury -- it is not a stretch to say that he could be a strong candidate for All-Big 12 honors if he stays healthy for the entire 2012 season.