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More rankings: Players 1-25
50. QB Christian Ponder, Sr., Florida State
Ponder was enjoying a terrific second season as a starter when an injury to his throwing shoulder sidelined him in the ninth game. He enters 2010 looking to pick up where he left off. The 6-3, 217-pound future NFL draft choice wound up going 227-of-330 for 2,717 yards, 14 touchdowns, and seven interceptions, adding 179 yards and two scores on the ground. His completion percentage of 68.8 was the highest by a ‘Nole since Charlie Ward in 1993. More important, he looked fantastic in the spring, showing up in great shape, throwing with extra zip on his passes, and moving very well outside the pocket. He’s also a terrific leader for this offense and a player on the verge of introducing himself to the entire nation this fall.
49. SS Tyler Sash, Jr. Iowa
Sash went from being a good-hitting safety in need of a little polish to an All-America playmaker who finished third on the team making 85 tackles with six interceptions and 5.5 tackles for loss. Extremely clutch and great with the ball in his hands, he has amassed a whopping 350 career return yards on his 11 picks. On the short list for the Lott Trophy as one of the nation’s top defensive backs, his reputation is quickly growing. At 6-1 and 210 pounds he’s a big strong safety, hits like a ton of bricks, and has uncanny instincts, but he has to keep himself on the field after having problems this offseason with a shoulder injury.
48. RB Donald Buckram, Sr. UTEP
The singular bright spot in last year’s 4-8 campaign was the improbable eruption of the 5-10, 195-pound Buckram into a contender for national awards. Oft-injured throughout his career, he finally put it all together for a dozen games, rushing for a school-record 1,594 yards and 18 touchdowns on 259 carries. He also added 30 catches for 453 yards and three scores to lead the country in yards from scrimmage. One of the fastest players in El Paso, he’s a slasher, who isn’t afraid to run between the tackles and does a surprisingly nice job of bouncing off tacklers.
47. DE Aldon Smith, Soph. Missouri
46. QB Josh Nesbitt, Sr., Georgia Tech
After two seasons of running the spread option, the 6-1, 218-pound Nesbitt is set to contend for honors beyond just the ACC. The league’s first team quarterback, he ran for 1,037 yards and 18 touchdowns on 279 carries, while going 75-of-162 for 1,701 yards, 10 touchdowns and five picks through the air. A tough and physical runner, he has a knack for bouncing off would-be tacklers, and is constantly getting better with his pitches and decision-making. More of a big-play passer than an accurate one, he might not be the same threat through the air now that big-play WR Demaryius Thomas is a member of the Denver Broncos.
45. QB Andrew Luck, Soph. Stanford
It took just a single year for the 6-4, 234-pound Luck to become one of the hottest commodities at quarterback. And not just in the Pac-10. If he builds on his debut, the NFL is going to tempt him with first round projections at some point in December. One of the signature recruits of the Jim Harbaugh era, he failed to disappoint as a rookie, leading the Pac-10 in passing efficiency and connecting on 162-of-288 passes for 2,573 yards, 13 touchdowns, and four interceptions. Plus, for a hurler with a next-level arm, he also flashed tremendous athletic ability, scrambling for 354 yards and two scores. The son of former pro quarterback Oliver Luck, he’s the total package in terms of intangibles, sporting unparalleled poise and intelligence for such a young player. With RB Toby Gerhart now a Minnesota Viking, Luck is about to become the focal point of the Cardinal offense.
44. QB Dwight Dasher, Sr. Middle Tennessee
Dasher will be on the sidelines to start the season. He's serving an indefinite suspension for accepting a loan against NCAA rules. He'll be sorely missed. The big question going into last season was whether or not Dasher was ready to step up and become the star many in the program thought he could be. He was always a good rusher and a dynamic playmaker, but he was too inconsistent, didn’t practice well, and ended up splitting time when he should’ve made the team his. The concerns about his potential quickly went away as he blew past his sophomore slump to complete 55% of his passes for 2,789 yards and 23 touchdowns, while also leading the team with 1,154 yards and 13 scores, averaging 5.2 yards per carry. The 5-10, 202-pound senior throws too many interceptions (14 last year) and he’s used way too much for the ground game, but now he comes into the season as the best player in the Sun Belt and a leader expected to carry the team on his back. After running for 201 yards and two touchdowns in the New Orleans Bowl win over Southern Miss, and after leading the way to a big season, he’s the key to the Sun Belt race.
43. LB Nigel Bradham, Jr., Florida State
Though Dekoda Watson needs to be replaced, the core of the linebackers is back. The new leader will be the 6-2, 241-pound junior Bradham, who’s coming off a breakthrough year at weakside. A gem from the 2008 class, he led the team with 93 tackles, including 61 solos, adding 5.5 tackles for loss, and two sacks. Blessed with an ideal combination of speed, power, and crushing hits, he has an exciting second half of his career ahead of him.
42. DE Allen Bailey, Sr., Miami
41. DE Ryan Kerrigan, Sr. Purdue
The star on the Boilermaker line, and possibly the team, is Kerrigan, a pass rushing terror who earned All-America honors last season after making 66 tackles with 13 sacks, seven forced fumbles and 18.5 tackles for loss. At 6-4 and 263 pounds he’s a big end who came to Purdue as a tight end and is becoming one of the school’s all-time greatest defenders with 21 career sacks, good for fifth all-time, and with the high motor and the quickness to shoot up the charts. If he can get help from the line and if he isn’t double-teamed on a regular basis, he should once again be an all-star and he should be a mortal lock for at least ten sacks.
40. LB Mike Mohamed, Sr. California
There’s a need for more linebackers in Berkeley, especially at a school that operates out of the 3-4. The one constant on the inside is the 6-3, 238-pound Mohamed, who’ll enter 2010 on a lot of Preseason All-America teams and watch lists. In his first season as the cover boy of the group, he broke out by parlaying a league-high 112 tackles, eight tackles for loss, two sacks, and three picks into a spot on the All-Pac-10 first team. While he has the requisite speed and size, he also harbors the instincts and field awareness to usually be in the right place at the right time.
39. OT Matt Reynolds, Jr. BYU
Reynolds has been one of the Mountain West’s best blockers over the last few seasons as the anchor of the strong line. At 6-6 and 329 pounds, he has prototype NFL size and tremendous talent at left tackle. One of the best offensive line prospects the program has ever brought aboard, the former Utah Gatorade Player of the Year has lived up to the hype and more. While he hasn’t been impossible to get by, most pass rushers haven’t been able to get to the quarterback. He’ll once again be the blocker everything works around.
38. S Mark Barron, Jr. Alabama
Barron had one of the best under-the-radar seasons of anyone in America. The 6-2, 214-pound safety is the only returning starter in the secondary, and he’s a great one finishing second on the team with 76 tackles with seven interceptions and 11 broken up passes. He has the speed, size, and tackling ability to have a long career at the next level, but first he’ll be on the short list for everyone’s All-America team and should be in the hunt for the Thorpe Award.
37. DT Jerrell Powe, Sr. Ole Miss
Returning as the Rebels’ anchor is the 6-2, 330-pound Powe, a big, strong talent who’ll be in the NFL next year at this time. The crown jewel of the 2005 Rebel recruiting class, it took a few years to finally get academically eligible, and now the Second Team All-SEC performer is living up to his immense potential. While he came up with 34 tackles as a tough run stuffer, he also showed the quickness to be a dangerous interior pass rusher with three sacks and 12 tackles for loss. When his motor is running, he’s among the nation’s best tackles.
36. S Deunta Williams, Sr., North Carolina
35. QB Jake Locker, Sr. Washington
When Locker decided to return for his senior year rather than declare for the NFL Draft, it represented one of the most important developments in the recent history of Husky football. He’s a game-changer, who’s good enough to elevate an entire program that’s been floundering for a decade. At 6-3 and 226 pounds, he’s uncommonly athletic, breaking containment and barreling into the defense with the force of a fullback and quickness of a tailback. As a passer, he made a quantum leap in his first year under the guidance of head coach Steve Sarkisian and assistant Doug Nussmeier as he became more consistent, more accurate, and simply better after struggling at times over the first part of his career. There’s more room for growth, but the strong-armed dual-threat looked like a different player, going 230-of-394 for 2,880 yards, 21 touchdowns, and 11 picks, adding 388 yards and seven scores on the ground.
34. QB Jerrod Johnson, Sr. Texas A&M
The hope was for Johnson to grow into a consistent bomber after getting a little bit of experience under his belt, and then … KABOOM. The 6-5, 243-pounder finished third in the nation in total offense and led the Big 12 averaging 314 yards per game completing close to 60% of his passes for 3,579 yards and 39 touchdowns with eight interceptions while adding 506 rushing yards and eight touchdowns. When he was on, he was unstoppable including an incredible final two games throwing for 342 yards and four touchdowns, and running for 97 more, and chucking for 362 yards and two scores against Georgia. However, A&M lost both of those games and lost four of his six 300-yards games (with the two wins coming against New Mexico and Utah State). A legitimate pro prospect with his size, arm, and mobility, he could grow into a Josh Freeman-like first rounder who can up his stock immeasurably if he can start leading the team to more big wins and if he can stay healthy; he has had problems with his shoulder.
33. LB Alex Wujciak, Sr., Maryland
The headliner in the middle of a great Terp linebacking corps will once again be the 6-3, 245-pound Wujciak, a first team All-ACC performer, with All-America potential. For the second straight year, he led the team with 131 tackles, adding 8.5 tackles for loss, two interceptions, and two forced fumbles. First to the ball, he has tremendous instincts to go along with the range and size to be a force in run defense.
32. QB Andy Dalton, Sr. TCU
Dalton has grown from a nice player who was a caretaker for the offense to one of the school’s greatest statistical quarterbacks. His job has been to not screw up and let the defense win games, and he has been able to do that with 24 career interceptions in 1,001 attempts, but he grew into more of a playmaker last year as the Mountain West Offensive Player of the Year completing 62% of his passes for 2,756 yards with 23 touchdowns and eight interceptions, and he ran for 512 yards and three scores. Of his eight picks, three came in the Fiesta Bowl loss to Boise State and he didn’t throw more than one interception in any game and threw for 200 yards or more eight times. While the 6-3, 215-pounder isn’t a high-powered passer and doesn’t have a next-level arm, but he has been a perfect leader for the Horned Frog offense.
31. DT Jared Crick, Jr. Nebraska
There’s simply no replacing Ndamukong Suh, one of the most productive and decorated defensive tackles in college football history. However, it’s not like his running mate, Crick, was along for the ride. A superstar who’d have the spotlight to himself just about anywhere else, the 6-6, 285-pound junior finished fourth on the team with 69 tackles with 9.5 sacks and 17 quarterback hurries in a First Team All-Big 12 season. Incredibly quick off the ball, he gets into the backfield in a hurry and is tremendously active as a tough run stopper. A perfect 3-4 end at the next level, he’ll put up his share of stats again this season on the inside. However, he has to prove he can hold up and be the main focus of blocking schemes without No. 93 next to him.
30. DE Cliff Matthews, Sr. South Carolina
29. WR Julio Jones, Jr. Alabama
As the famous saying went, the only person who could consistently stop Michael Jordan was Dean Smith. The 6-4, 211-pound Jones has NFL franchise, No. 1 wideout written all over him if, and it’s a big if after having a few problems in his first two years staying healthy. He has the size, he has the elite speed (being named the Alabama Track and Field Athlete of the Year three years ago), and he has the attitude. Not a diva, he’s a driven football player who’ll make himself better, but again, he has to prove he can produce through the nicks and bumps and he also has to show he can be consistently unstoppable. However, even though he doesn’t put up huge stats, he takes plenty of attention away from everyone else and is a whale of a downfield blocker. A player with top-five overall talent should do more than catch 43 passes for 596 yards and four touchdowns in a national title season, and while the style of offense that Nick Saban runs (along with the injury issues) might be the way to keep him under wraps, it’s time to blow up and be truly special instead of having all-world talent with honorable mention All-SEC production.
28. RB Daniel Thomas, Sr. Kansas State
Thomas went from being a top JUCO transfer into a possible first round draft pick. The 6-2, 228-pounder is getting a long look as one of the top next-level NFL prospects after running for 1,265 yards and 11 touchdowns averaging 5.12 yards per carry while also adding 25 catches for 257 yards. With size, speed, and workhorse ability, he’s also a passing threat after serving as a dual-threat option at NW Mississippi JC. The Wildcats were 4-1 when he ran for 100 yards or more last season, and he’ll be the focal point of the attack once again. The key will be able to produce when he’s the focus of the entire opposing defensive game plan. Of his 100-yard games, none came against a team that went to a bowl, two were against the FCSers (UMass and Tennessee Tech), and the other three were against Louisiana, Colorado, and Kansas.
27. QB Ricky Dobbs, Sr. Navy
Option quarterbacks have never made much noise in the Heisman race, but Dobbs is no ordinary option playmaker. He set the NCAA record for touchdown runs by a quarterback scoring 27 times and running for 1,192 yards with seven 100-yard games, and he even threw a little bit completing 53% of his passes for 1,031 yards and six touchdowns with three interceptions. Making the season and the stats even more impressive was that he missed the Wake Forest and was limited against Temple with a knee problem. Had he been 100% in those three games, he would’ve been a mortal lock for more than 30 rushing scores.
26. RB LaMichael James, Soph. Oregon
In one of the strangest developments of 2009, the 5-9, 180-pound James turned the opening day suspension of LeGarrette Blount into his personal launching point to stardom. Who could’ve imagined? Thrust into the starting role, he responded with 1,546 yards and 14 touchdowns on 230 carries, adding 17 catches for 168 yards. A model of consistency, he went over 100 yards nine times, shredding rival Oregon State for 166 yards and three scores. Like a missile coming out of the backfield, he hits the hole with authority, runs with great vision, and can make defenders look silly with his shake-and-bake in the open field. Oh, and don’t be fooled by his size. He’s tougher than he looks and won’t be brought down by arm tacklers. Now a sophomore, he’ll begin vying for national honors after serving a one-game suspension for a domestic violence charge.
More rankings: Players 1-25
