College Football

Louisville Football: ESPN Releases Final 2016 Player Rankings

Updated Mar. 4, 2020 10:37 p.m. ET

Fansided, Derek Snyder/FanSided via Big Red Louie

We take a look at ESPN’s final player rankings of the college football season and which Louisville football players made their list.

The 2016 college football season has come and gone, which should make all of us scratch our heads and wonder where the time went. The Louisville football program took a huge step forward this season with Lamar Jackson winning the Heisman Trophy, but having the team inside the top ten for most of the season has fans wanting more.

With that being said, there were many guys on Louisville who had great performances this year. Players like Jaire Alexander and Jaylen Smith have us looking forward to the future, but guys like Cole Hikutini and DeVonte Fields will make us miss their presence in 2017.

Of all the players on the team, only Lamar Jackson was lucky enough to make ESPN’s final top 50 college football players from the 2016 season:

6. Louisville Cardinals: QB, Lamar Jackson
Preseason rank: 51

The reigning Heisman Trophy winner struggled at the end of the season thanks in part to a shaky offensive line, but that shouldn’t take away from the monster performance he had: 51 total touchdowns, 1,571 yards rushing (No. 10 nationally) and 3,543 yards passing in a breakthrough season. — Andrea Adelson

Honestly, I’m not surprised that Jackson fell from his number one ranking, which he had for most of the season. ESPN actually chose Deshaun Watson as the best player in football this season and he was deserving since they beat Alabama for the National Championship.

Not to mention, there were seven different Clemson Tigers that made the final cut.

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If the Louisville football program wants to be in the College Football Playoff conversation every year, then they must start recruiting high-level football players. I do see the program heading in that direction, but they still have a little ways to go before they have the depth of a Clemson or Florida State program.