There are some college football players that have been blessed with extraordinary abilities that allow them to perform feats most mere mortals couldn’t dream of accomplishing.
With another exciting weekend ahead of us, full of tantalizing conference battles, it’s time to hone in on a handful of dynamic players. These young men fit into the aforementioned category and should entertain the masses with outstanding performances.
Leonard Fournette, RB, LSU
If you haven’t watched an LSU game yet but are planning to do it this weekend because of Leonard Fournette, then you’re in for a treat. The rest of us who have witnessed his impressive play are just waiting to see what he’ll do next.
Since the Tigers missed Week 1 due to a violent lighting storm, Fournette has played in three games this year instead of four, but he’s still only 44 yards away from Indiana’s Jordan Howard for the national lead in rushing yards.
With 631 yards and eight touchdowns already, he’s on pace to finish the 2015 college football season with 2,314 yards and 29 touchdowns. Most football analysts see him as the front-runner to win this year’s Heisman Trophy, and he’s been endorsed by fellow LSU alumni Shaquille O’Neal.
The Tigers are hosting Eastern Michigan on Saturday on ESPNU. Fournette should go crazy against the Eagles, who feature the nation’s worst run defense.
Myles Garrett, DE, Texas A&M
The Aggies (No. 14) are hosting the Mississippi State Bulldogs (No. 21) on Saturday night at Kyle Field, and the biggest test for Texas A&M will be corralling quarterback Dak Prescott, who has been razor sharp this season, throwing seven touchdowns and no interceptions.
The best way to cause quarterbacks to make mistakes is by applying pressure, and that’s what Texas A&M defensive end Myles Garrett does best.
With 6.5 sacks already this year, Garrett has proven himself as one of the nation’s best pass-rushers. His sack/strip on Arkansas quarterback Brandon Allen late in the fourth quarter saved the Aggies and led to an overtime win, 28-21.
Garrett isn’t yet a complete player, but his tremendous athleticism is always on display. Watch out when it’s third-and-long and Prescott has to throw the ball this Saturday.
Josh Doctson, WR, TCU
There are actually two Horned Toads to watch out for when Texas visits TCU on Saturday night. Quarterback Trevone Boykin could easily have landed on this list, but instead we’ll focus on Doctson, who caught an outrageous 18 passes in last weekend’s thriller against Texas Tech.
For the season, Doctson has caught 35 passes for 593 yards (leading the nation) and six touchdowns.
At 6-foot-3 and 195 pounds, Doctson has NFL scouts drooling. He is a fluid runner, he runs decent routes, is physical, speedy and knows how to high-point passes, making him a dangerous threat anywhere on the field.
The upcoming contest against Texas, which is being broadcast nationally on ABC at noon ET, should provide an ideal platform for Docston to put on a show. The Longhorns haven’t been able to stop anyone from throwing the ball to date (No. 113 in the nation in passing yards allowed), and the Horned Frogs feature one of the most potent offenses in the nation every week.
C.J. Prosise, RB, Notre Dame
This is such an interesting story. Prosise was only called into duty because Tarean Folston tore his ACL against Texas in the first game of the season. He was formerly a safety and receiver, so he is an extremely raw prospect as a running back. Don’t let that fool you, though. He’s legit.
Head coach Brian Kelly credits running backs coach Autry Denson for the smooth transition.
“Autry Denson does a great job,” Kelly said of the Notre Dame running back coach. “He’s our all-time leading rusher here at Notre Dame. He’s able to have conversations about the position that are real — in a way that he’s played the position, so he can really impact him with a lot of knowledge, so that’s been very helpful in his learning curve.”
Since taking over for Folston, Prosise has rushed for 600 yards on just 74 carries, averaging an impressive 8.1 yards per carry while scoring six rushing touchdowns. He’s a dangerous weapon for The Irish (No. 6), and he’ll be highly utilized on Saturday night when they head into Death Valley to take on Clemson (No. 12).
Patrick Mahomes and Seth Russell, QBs, Texas Tech vs. Baylor
Just like we saw last weekend when TCU and Texas Tech put up basketball numbers on the scoreboard, Patrick Mahomes and the Red Raiders will be spitting fire on Saturday afternoon when they head into McLane Stadium to take on Seth Russell and the Baylor Bears (No. 5). This game is being broadcast nationally starting at 3:30 p.m. ET on either ABC or ESPN2, and it’s going to be a blast.
Texas Tech is scoring 53.8 points per game and Baylor is out in front of everybody with 64. Both teams can run the ball like crazy, and there are phenomenal athletes on both sides. That said, the two quarterbacks are the players that will determine the game.
Mahomes ranks No. 4 in the nation with 1,421 yards passing. He’s also thrown 11 touchdowns and only three interceptions. He comes into this contest a little banged up, having hurt his ankle in Week 4. Head coach Kliff Kingsbury says his injury is “day to day,” but it’s hard to imagine he won’t go in this one.
On the other side, Russell has been unbelievably efficient with his scoring opportunities. Already he has thrown 15 touchdowns, which ties Cody Kessler of USC for the national lead. Even better, Russell has only given the ball away four times.
Both quarterbacks will put on a show, making this one of the top games to watch in Week 5.