January 16, 200521 yr 1. Matt Leinart, QB USC Depending on who you want to go by, Leinart is coming back for his third (some say second) national title and can go down as, possibly, the greatest college quarterback of all-time with another championship. With the cachet of being the returning Heisman winner, the media market, the phenomenal supporting cast, the looks, the celebrity and the coaching staff, he'll be in for a huge season. 2. Adrian Peterson, RB Oklahoma The Heisman finalist was hailed as the best freshman running back since Herschel Walker and is set for a stellar year as the focal point of the Sooner offense. 3. Reggie Bush, RB USC If Leinart is Jordan, Bush is Pippen in this traveling circus. Several opposing coaches will be much more worried about Bush than any of the other Trojans. 4. Vince Young, QB Texas It's hard to come up with a more electrifying bowl-winning performance than VY's Rose Bowl against Michigan (remember, Michael Vick lost in the Sugar Bowl to Florida State). If he can turn his passing talents up a notch (and beat Oklahoma), he'll give Leinart a serious challenge for the Heisman. 5. Ted Ginn Jr., you name it, Ohio State The best defensive back, kick returner, wide receiver, runner, heck, maybe even quarterback on Ohio State will rival Bush as the nation's most versatile and electrifying player. 6. Laurence Maroney, RBs Minnesota Now that Marion Barber III is off to the NFL, the speedy Maroney will have to shine as the focus of the Gopher attack. He'll come through with a 1,500-yard season. 7. Mike Hart, RB Michigan With QB Chad Henne more experienced, the passing game should click even better taking the heat off Hart. The workhorse was every bit as good as Adrian Peterson during a long stretch last year. 8. Brad Smith, QB Missouri After a tremendously disappointing 2004, the Tiger quarterback should come back roaring in his senior year with a good receiving corps and three years of starting experience. 9. Chris Leak, QB Florida While not the runner Bowling Green's Josh Harris and Utah's Alex Smith were, Leak should be the next superstar under head coach Urban Meyer. 10. Omar Jacobs, QB Bowling Green He was one of the nation's most productive passers as a sophomore and should explode as a junior with Charles Sharon to throw to. 11. Reggie McNeal, QB Texas A&M McNeal had a fantastic rebound season and will be looking to do even more in his final year in Aggieland. For a time in 2004 he was college football's best quarterback. 12. Devin Hester, DB/WR/KR Miami Hester gives Bush and Ginn a run for the honor of college football's most breathtaking player. Now the question is where to play the all-around superstar. 13. Drew Tate, QB Iowa The gutty Tate was the Big Ten's most valuable player carrying the Hawkeyes to a share of the conference title despite a bizarre slew of running back injuries. Iowa is loaded with experience. 14. Mathias Kiwanuka, DE Boston College Just save everyone time and put the dude's name on all the awards possible for a defensive lineman. 15. Gerald Riggs Jr., RB Tennessee The Vols will be loaded in 2005 and Riggs will be the centerpiece of the attack. There's talk of the receiving corps being UT's best ever, so it'll be hard for Riggs to be a marked man. 16. Texas Tech QB possibly Cody Hodges The leader of the Mike Leach machine is sure to be among the nation's statistical leaders. Having Jarrett Hicks to throw to and Taurean Henderson to hand off to certainly helps. 17. Tyler Palko, QB & Greg Lee WR Pittsburgh The fiery Panther star quarterback will bomb away with sure-thing Biletnikoff finalist Lee for one of the Big East's most dangerous tandems. 18. Marshawn Lynch, RB California If you liked J.J. Arrington... 19. Bruce Gradkowski, QB Toledo Another year, another ridiculously high completion percentage and run for the MAC title. 20. Jamario Thomas and Patrick Cobbs, RBs North Texas The last two NCAA rushing leaders will be in the same backfield at times this year. 21. Garrett Wolfe, RB Northern Illinois It's now proven that the NIU running back will gain a bazillion yards. Wolfe is a deadly home-run hitter. 22. Wali Lundy, RB and/or Ahmad Brooks, LB Virginia Lundy, the touchdown machine, sort of fell off the map over the second half of last year, but he has the talent to be the leader of the Cavalier offense. Brooks should be the nation's best linebacker unless ... 23. A.J. Hawk, LB Ohio State ... the Buckeye star has another huge season. Virginia's linebacking corps will be solid, Iowa's will be phenomenal, Ohio State's will be next-level good. 24. Brian Brohm, QB Louisville The hot-shot recruit of 2004 will step into Stefan LeFors' spot and keep the Caridnal machine rolling. 25. Maurice Drew, RB UCLA This should be a resurgent year for the Bruins and Drew, the human pinball, and LBs Spencer Havner and Justin London will lead the way. Incomplete. DeAngelo Williams, RB Memphis Put him in the top five of this list if his broken leg is 100% healthy by the time the season stars. Incomplete. DonTrell Moore, RB New Mexico It's asking a lot for him to recover from a torn up knee in time to be a superstar in 2004, but Moore will certainly give it a go.
January 16, 200521 yr Hmmm Hawk is up there.....and I cant decipher their comment...are they saying that OSU will be in fact better than Iowa's Linebacking corps? :mischief
January 16, 200521 yr Author Still can't convince me! :mischief I'm sure if Greenway was in a tOSU uniform and Hawk was in an Iowa uniform, Greenway would be on the list..... :whistle
January 16, 200521 yr Still can't convince me! :mischief I'm sure if Greenway was in a tOSU uniform and Hawk was in an Iowa uniform, Greenway would be on the list..... :whistle 656899[/snapback] Makes no sense, Iowa was the better team last year too....
January 16, 200521 yr Author Just tryin to get on your nerves a little bit... BUT the media has a hard-on for the Buckeyes.. weren't they like 4th in the preseason polls last year? Kind of like the media and Notre Dame.. Big Ten will be VERY competitive next year.. I expect a dog fight between tOSU, UM and Iowa. Also, some people might be surprised to see Maroney that high on the list but he is a freak. With no Barber, he is going to go off... I wouldn't put 1800 yards out of the question.
January 16, 200521 yr yes, thats also the same tOSU that gets hammered anytime ESPN wants it to. I think OSU was like 9th. They peaked at the wrong time last year and showed in the Alamo Bowl how good they could have been...and how good they will be next year.
January 16, 200521 yr Chris Leak #9? Did anyone watch a Gators game this year? He was worse than last year and thats not a good thing. Hester should be above Leak. End of Story. :plain
January 17, 200521 yr 21. Garrett Wolfe, RB Northern Illinois It's now proven that the NIU running back will gain a bazillion yards. Wolfe is a deadly home-run hitter. 656884[/snapback] :thumbup :thumbup :thumbup
January 17, 200521 yr Hey look who #21 is, Garrett Wolfe! Good for Garrett see if he gets more respect during the next 2 years!
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