"The Rest" Top 10 Players

Author:
SI Staff
Publish date:
Aug 26, 2009

"The Rest" Top 10 Players

Jan Jorgensen

The three-year starter is already the Mountain West's career sacks leader with 22.5, but he took a step back last season as he bulked up, finishing with five QB takedowns. He's shed 15 pounds in hopes of returning to his 2007 form in which he was fifth nationally with 13.5 sacks.

MiQuale Lewis

The diminutive back (5-6, 193 pounds), is coming off a school record 1,736 yards and 22 touchdowns, but duplicating those numbers could be difficult as the Cardinals offense breaks in a new quarterback and four new starters on the line.

Rusty Smith

He struggled early last season, getting the Owls off to a 1-5 start as he tired to follow up his Sun Belt Offensive Player of the Year run as a sophomore. But he did end the season with 306 yards and two touchdowns in a Motor City Bowl win and has 6,913 yards and 56 TDs in the past two seasons.

Antonio Brown

As a sophomore, he became the first player in NCAA history to earn first-team all-conference honors in three positions in one season (All-MAC receiver, kick returner and punt returner). He was the nation's leader in punt return yardage (20.5 per return) and was fourth nationally in all-purpose yards per game (178.1).

Colin Kaepernick

In his first full year running Chris Ault's pistol offense, the gangly 6-foot-6, 210-pounder was named WAC Offensive Player of the Year and became the fifth player in FBS history with 2,000 yards passing and 1,000 rushing in a season.

Damion Fletcher

The undersized back (5-10, 178) is the returning national leader in four rushing categories, including yards (4,287), yards per game (112.8), carries (790) and carries per game (20.8).

Jimmy Clausen

He's coming off the third-most prolific season in Irish history, in which he passed for 3,172 yards and 25 touchdowns, including 401 yards and five scores in the Hawaii Bowl, both team records. Still, the third-year starter needs to improve on his decision-making, having thrown 23 interceptions in 23 games.

Dan LeFevour

The dual-threat QB has long been called "Tim Tebow lite" but it's LeFevour that enters his senior season as the nation's active career leader with 11,702 total yards, 3,275 more than the '08 Heisman winner. If he averages 300.1 yards per game, he'll finish his career ranked third all time in total offense.

Jerry Hughes

The 6-3, 257-pound all-state high school tailback thought he'd be competing for a spot in the offensive backfield when he arrived on campus, but he has emerged as one of the nation's premier rush ends, totaling a nation's best 15 sacks and six forced fumbles and earning first-team All-America honors.

Max Hall

He racked up 3,957 yards and 35 touchdowns last season, completing 69.1 percent of his passes. The Cougars' last 10 senior quarterbacks to make it through an entire season have all won conference titles. Whether Hall's next hinges on the protection abilities of a line that's replacing four starters.