WR Calvin Ridley

Alabama ran the ball more than two-thirds of the time in 2015, with Derrick Henry doing the bulk of that work en route to a school-record 2,219 rushing yards and 28 touchdowns as well as the Heisman Trophy. But when the Crimson Tide took to the air, it was Ridley who tended to be the main target.

As a true freshman, Ridley was outstanding, pulling in 89 catches for 1,045 yards and seven TDs. Those numbers were down from what Amari Cooper had done the year before, though that was as a junior; Ridley’s performance far exceeded what Cooper did in his first year of college.

Ridley wasn’t asked to stretch the field much, collecting only 11 receptions that went for at least 25 yards, but that was not how the offense worked in 2015. Expect more passing this fall, with Ridley being the most frequent target.

WR Tyrell Johnson

Coach Rich Rodriguez has a need for speed—the more the better. He wants his quarterbacks, running backs and receivers to run fast and for long periods of time.

No one scoots around as quickly as Johnson, a track star who averaged 18.1 yards on his 26 touches last season. Much of that was as a kickoff returner, though Johnson managed a few catches and carries in the seven games he appeared in when healthy.

At 5’7” and 160 pounds, speed is the one thing Johnson has going for him in a game that is dominated by big men. If he can get some space, either on special teams or with the offense, he’ll be gone.

WR Tim White

Arizona State has had a different player amass at least 1,700 all-purpose yards in three consecutive seasons, but Tim White can be the first to do so in back-to-back years as he builds off a strong junior campaign with the Sun Devils.

White averaged 27 yards on kickoff returns, bringing one back for a touchdown against Utah, while also scoring eight times on his 57 receptions. He had a pair of two-score games, including against West Virginia in the Cactus Bowl when he had 289 all-purpose yards on 13 touches.

ASU had three players catch at least 50 passes in 2015, but only White returns. Look for him to be the main target for the new quarterback.

WR Dominique Reed

As Brandon Allen came into his own within the passing game, Arkansas morphed from a smashmouth run team to one that could sling the ball with the best of them. The Razorbacks may end up staying that way if Allen’s younger brother, Austin, can perform just as well at the position, but it will also help to have a big-play receiver to make the aerial attack zip.

Reed had only 28 receptions in 2015, his first season with Arkansas after spending three seasons at Coffeyville Community College in Kansas, but his 19.1 yards per catch was tops on the team and second-best in the SEC. He was especially pivotal in the middle of the season, scoring all six of his touchdowns in a six-game span that included a seven-reception, 105-yard, two-TD effort against Ole Miss.

Add in his work as a kickoff returner, and Reed is the Hog most capable of breaking off a big play.

DB Johnathan Ford

Auburn’s offense was noticeably lacking in excitement last season, with the Tigers ranking 12th out of 14 SEC teams with just 49 scrimmage plays of at least 20 yards. Had they found a way to include Ford in the offense, he might have been able to provide a spark similar to his work on defense and special teams.

Auburn recruited to The Plains as a running back but converted him to cornerback as a freshman, and since then he’s played both corner and safety. He’s notched five interceptions the last two seasons, returning one for a touchdown last November against Idaho. In 2015 his 118 tackles were the most by an Auburn player in 14 years.

Ford averaged 28.7 yards on kickoff returns last season as a junior, ranking second in the SEC.

WR KD Cannon

No FBS team produced more plays of 30 or more yards in 2015 than Baylor, which did so 58 times in 13 games. Its 31 plays of 40-plus yards were second only to Bowling Green, which played an extra game.

A good helping of those long gains came from Cannon, who as a sophomore averaged 17.36 yards on his 50 receptions. While Corey Coleman was the Bears’ main attraction in the receiving game thanks to his 20 touchdown catches, it was Cannon who more frequently rocketed downfield to make the long catch.

Sixty percent of Cannon’s receptions went for at least 10 yards, and 30 percent logged at least 20 yards. At 17.57 yards per reception for his career, Cannon is fourth-best in Big 12 history.

WR Michael Walker

It was a woefully bad year for Boston College in 2015 on offense, as the team managed just 106 points in 10 games against FBS opponents. No player ran for more than 454 yards, and nobody tallied more than 233 yards in the receiving game.

To show just how rough it was for the Eagles, Walker’s 686 kickoff return yards by themselves were enough to lead the team on the all-purpose front. While the team didn’t often do much with the field position he provided, Walker’s 28.58 yards per return did rank second in the ACC.

Walker only logged two receptions and had one carry as a freshman, but if BC can get him the ball more on offense, it may fare better in 2016.

QB Taysom Hill

Hill’s career at BYU has been almost equal parts stunning individual plays and injuries. If he can find a way to stay healthy for all of 2016, the Cougars will have a superb senior to turn to on offense.

With 6,718 yards of total offense in his career coming in just 25 games, Hill manages to make a mark when he’s on the field. But only in 2013 did he play the entire season, throwing for 2,938 yards and rushing for another 1,344 with 29 total touchdowns.

Season-ending injuries limited his freshman season in 2012 to six games, while he lasted only five in 2014 and was knocked out by a foot ailment in the opening game of 2015. That opened the door for Tanner Mangum to take over as quarterback, but Hill’s 6’2”, 234-pound frame would make for a great change-of-pace weapon (possibly as a running back) to complement Mangum’s downfield passing.

RB Khalfani Muhammad

Cal understandably threw the ball quite a bit the past three seasons while it had No. 1 draft pick Jared Goff as its quarterback. Now that he’s moved on, coach Sonny Dykes’ desire to have a more balanced offense could finally happen, and Muhammad would be the best option to make the run game sizzle like the pass attack.

The speedy 5’9”, 170-pounder has averaged 6.02 yards per carry in his three seasons with the Golden Bears. Last year he led the team with 586 rushing yards despite having just 87 carries and never more than 11 in any game.

A track star who ran the 100-meter dash in 10.5 seconds this spring, Muhammad is capable of breaking off a long run every time he touches the ball.

QB Deshaun Watson

As amazing as Watson looked in 2015 in leading Clemson to the national title game, he did that only a year removed from having surgery to repair a torn ACL. And all he did was become the first player in FBS history to throw for 4,000 yards and rush for 1,000 more.

Watson was the most explosive playmaker on a team loaded with offensive weapons, and his work made it all click. He averaged 347.3 yards per game of total offense and accounted for 47 touchdowns, topping the 100-yard mark on the ground five times in the Tigers’ final seven games.

Clemson has another load of skill-position stars in 2016, though it will be Watson who remains the central figure. His sophomore year resulted in a third-place Heisman finish, and as the early Heisman front-runner, per Odds Shark, we’re in store for even more excitement from him.

RB Phillip Lindsay

His numbers might not show it, but Lindsay is a big play waiting to happen in a small package. Colorado just needs to get the ball to him in the right situation.

The 5’8”, 180-pound junior has more than 2,200 all-purpose yards in his two seasons with the Buffaloes, with most of that coming as a kickoff returner. Last year they made him their primary running back, which resulted in 653 yards and six touchdowns but only a 4.66 yards-per-carry average that included six runs of 20 or more yards.

Colorado has several capable wide receivers even with Pac-12 career leader Nelson Spruce graduating, but Lindsay could still make for an extra big-play target in the slot.

DB DeVon Edwards

An Achilles injury suffered by quarterback Thomas Sirk back in February has put his status for this season in doubt, hampering one of Duke’s best playmakers. It’s unlikely that Edwards would get called on to add offensive snaps to all the other work he does, but his numbers show he can make big plays when needed.

The 5’9”, 180-pounder has scored eight touchdowns in his career—six as a kickoff returner and two on interceptions. Last year he led the ACC with a 29.42-yard average in kick returns, including three TDs.

Overall, Edwards has recorded 2,164 all-purpose yards on just 78 touches.

WR Antonio Callaway

His status with the team remains uncertain, but there’s no doubt about how impactful Callaway is when on the field. His freshman year was full of explosive plays, both on offense and defense, and having him available in 2016 could be key to Florida being able to defend its SEC East title.

The 5’11”, 198-pounder led the Gators with 678 receiving yards on just 35 catches, with four touchdowns. He also returned two punts for scores, with his 15.54-yard average ranking fifth nationally.

But Callaway hasn’t been with the program since January, just like quarterback/receiver Treon Harris. Coach Jim McElwain hasn’t said whether it’s a suspension, though he acknowledged both players are still enrolled in classes and “they got what they needed” to Open Mike with Mike Bianchi (h/t Campus Insiders).

RB Dalvin Cook

He’s had a bum shoulder his entire career and played much of the 2015 season with a gimpy hamstring, yet Cook is on pace to be Florida State’s career rushing leader before this year is over. He’s already the single-season record holder, having gone for 1,691 yards and 19 touchdowns in less than 12 full games. Plus, he is the first Seminole with consecutive 1,000-yard seasons since the mid-1990s.

A shoulder injury suffered prior to his freshman season has lingered, resulting in surgery this spring that knocked him out of the last few practice sessions. Coach Jimbo Fisher has said Cook’s rehabilitation work is “going fine,” per Tom D’Angelo of the Palm Beach Post, and all signs point to him being ready for 2016.

Cook averaged 7.38 yards per carry last season, second-best in FBS among players with at least 200 rushes.

WR Terry Godwin

Running back Nick Chubb is progressing well in his road back from knee surgery last fall, but until he’s able to make a full go of it in practice, we have no idea if he can return to his old form. With that in mind, Godwin assumes the role of Georgia’s biggest playmaker for 2016 based on what he showed during a productive freshman year.

The two-sport athlete (who was drafted by the Atlanta Braves in June) did a little bit of everything last year for the Bulldogs. The 5’11”, 174-pound Godwin was second on the team with 35 catches for 379 yards, and with Malcolm Mitchell graduating, he’s their top returning receiver with two touchdown receptions.

Godwin added a rushing score during the season and threw a 44-yard TD pass in the TaxSlayer Bowl win over Penn State—a game that also saw him log his first career kickoff return for 27 yards.

QB Justin Thomas

The triple-option is all about finding weaknesses in a defense and getting the ball to the player who can do the most damage. The quarterback is the most essential cog in that machine, and Thomas has handled this role quite well in his two years as starter.

Thomas piloted Georgia Tech to the ACC title game in 2014 as a sophomore, but last year he struggled alongside the rest of the Yellow Jackets amid a 3-9 campaign. He still accounted for 19 touchdowns—six on the ground and 13 through the air with 17.9 yards per completion.

With 1,805 rushing yards for his career, Thomas is 1,001 behind Josh Nesbitt for the school’s all-time best by a quarterback.

RB Ke’Shawn Vaughn

It’s basically a clean slate at Illinois with former NFL head coach Lovie Smith coming on board in the spring, which means we could see some players in different roles than they held in 2015. Expect Vaughn to maintain his spot as the Fighting Illini’s go-to player when they need a big play, though.

Vaughn’s freshman year saw him emerge as a strong complement to Josh Ferguson at running back, and with Ferguson graduating, Vaughn can move into the starting role. He had a team-high 723 yards and six touchdowns but expects much more of himself this next season.

“I need to get over 1,300,” he told Bob Asmussen of the News-Gazette.

RB Devine Redding

Indiana has had quite a run of successful running backs the last few seasons, but Redding might end up being the best of the lot. That’s saying something, since in 2014 the Hoosiers had a 2,000-yard rusher in Tevin Coleman and last year got more than 1,200 yards from UAB transfer Jordan Howard in only nine games.

Redding topped 1,000 yards as well, with the bulk of that coming in relief of Howard late in the season. His season per-carry average was 4.48 yards, but during Indiana’s final three games (when he had nearly 36 percent of his rushes for the year), he gained 6.19 yards per run.

At 5’10” and 202 pounds, Redding is solidly built but also possesses good speed. Expect Indiana to tap into this as much as possible in his junior season.

CB Desmond King

King won the Thorpe Award last season as college football’s top defensive back, but that only covered part of his value to Iowa during its improbable regular-season run.

As a junior he had eight interceptions—tied for second-most in FBS—with an 88-yard return for a touchdown against Maryland. For his career, King has 11 picks.

Then there was King’s work in 2015 as a return man, as he averaged 24.41 yards on kickoffs and 14.18 on punts. His punt return average ranked second in the Big Ten.

RB Mike Warren

Not much went well for Iowa State in 2015, which ended with Paul Rhoads being let go following a sixth consecutive losing record. But there’s hope for the future in the form of Warren, the best young running back the Cyclones have had in quite some time.

Last year Warren ran for 1,339 yards as a redshirt freshman; it was the fifth-best season in school history and best by a first-year player. His tally was more than double that of any Iowa State player from 2012 to 2014 and the most since Darren Davis went for 1,388 in 1999.

Warren averaged 5.9 yards per carry for the season with six 100-yard games and 11 rushes of at least 20 yards.

WR Ryan Schadler

Looking for a silver lining in Kansas’ otherwise dismal winless 2015 season? How about Schadler, a former track star who walked onto the team last year and became its best special teams weapon?

The 5’11”, 185-pounder spent the 2014 season at Wichita State, where he ran track, before coming to the Jayhawks. He was a standout running back in high school but had no scholarship offers, yet that could change in the future if he can continue to produce for Kansas.

Schadler debuted with a bang last fall, returning a kickoff 91 yards for a touchdown in the season-opening loss to South Dakota State. He finished with a 22.73-yard average on 33 returns and also had 100 rushing yards on 20 carries.

WR Dominique Heath

Kansas State has been blessed with some dynamic multi-threat players of late, with Tyler Lockett now showing his stuff in the NFL and Morgan Burns opting for a career in ministry after an explosive 2015 campaign. Who knows what lies ahead for Heath, but if it’s more of what the Wildcats saw last year, they’re in luck.

Heath’s freshman year saw him contribute as a wide receiver, punt and kick returner and occasional ball-carrier. He finished with 533 yards on 57 touches, scoring three times on receptions, and his 28 catches were second-most on the team.

RB Stanley “Boom” Williams

His name alone indicates the potential for explosive plays, and Boom Williams hasn’t disappointed in this area. He has 2,088 all-purpose yards in two seasons, with most of that coming as Kentucky’s featured running back.

Last year saw the 5’9”, 196-pound Williams rush for 855 yards and six touchdowns on only 121 carries for a 7.07-yard average. He didn’t appear in two games, but when given at least 10 carries, he averaged 112.1 yards per contest.

Bleacher Report’s Barrett Sallee lists Williams as Kentucky’s best Heisman candidate this season, referring to him as a “home run hitter.”

QB Lamar Jackson

He was just as likely to throw an errant pass or get sacked, but when Jackson was able to convert during his promising freshman year, it was something to see. It’s also an indication of what Louisville has to work with at quarterback and in the run game.

Despite limited touches in a few games, Jackson finished as the Cardinals’ leading rusher in 2015, with 960 yards on 11 carries, aided by 412 yards and four touchdowns in their last two games. That includes 226 yards and two TDs in the Music City Bowl while also throwing for 227 yards and two scores.

Jackson was far from perfect, though, with eight interceptions (including on his first career pass). He was also sacked 26 times.

If he fix those mistakes and harness more of his open-field running ability, Jackson will be a force this season.

RB Leonard Fournette

Fournette did his best to be a one-man show for much of the 2015 season, when he set LSU’s single-season rushing record and nearly made it possible not to have an effective passing game. He did this not with a bunch of short runs that ate up clock but with big bursts of yardage that left a pile of bodies in his wake.

The 6’1”, 230-pound Fournette gained 1,953 yards on 300 carries in 2015, scoring 22 times while also catching 19 balls for 253 yards with a TD. His sophomore year didn’t include any work as a kickoff returner, but that’s already been proved as a viable option after he averaged 26.04 yards in 2014 that included a return TD against Notre Dame in the Music City Bowl.

Nearly 20 percent of Fournette’s rushes last season went for at least 10 yards; 18 of them went for 20 or more.

CB William Likely

Likely is one of the most versatile players in the country, and he’s not afraid to let you know. Though the tweets no longer exist, in April he declared he was “pound for pound the best DB/returner in college football” (h/t The Score).

This might be debatable, but what isn’t up for discussion is his value to Maryland as an all-around playmaker. Whether it was returning kicks, playing in the secondary or getting touches on offense, he was one of the Terrapins’ few bright spots in 2015.

Likely averaged 17.8 yards per play last season as a junior, tied for seventh nationally, thanks to two punt return touchdowns and an 18.22-yard average that was second in FBS, as well as a kickoff return score. He’s also intercepted seven passes in his career, including six in 2014, with two pick-sixes.

DB Corn Elder

The ball didn’t end up in Elder’s hands often last season, but when it did, big things tended to happen. And we’re not just referring to his role as the final piece of Miami’s thrilling kickoff return touchdown at the end of its controversial win at Duke.

Elder ran the final 87 yards of that play, weaving in and out of traffic for the score, which helped him average nearly 21 yards per touch on punt and kickoff returns or interceptions. He also scored on a punt return in the season opener against Bethune-Cookman, and his pick against Nebraska in overtime resulted in the game-winning field goal after he returned the interception 47 yards.

LB Jabrill Peppers

Michigan seems determined to play Peppers in as many positions as possible, but based on the results so far, it can’t hurt to see what he can do in various roles. He’s on to his third spot on defense, as he is now working at linebacker after starting out as a cornerback and safety. He also continues to be involved on offense and in special teams.

Last year, Peppers’ first full season after missing much of 2014 because of injury, he had 568 all-purpose yards that included 417 on returns and 151 on offense. His two scores came as a running back.

Michigan is moving Peppers to linebacker so he can impact more of the game, which might lead to his first career interception or sack.

WR R.J. Shelton

Explosive plays weren’t a big part of Michigan State’s offense in 2015, as it ranked in a tie for 118th nationally with just 16 gains of at least 30 yards. Shelton accounted for three of those, but otherwise he spent his junior year mostly as a possession receiver.

That included 11 first downs on 12 third-down receptions, which helped the Spartans rank 10th in FBS in third-down conversion rate.

The 5’11”, 195-pound Shelton is the most veteran receiver on MSU’s roster, which will mean he’ll have to continue to be a reliable target but also one who can make big plays.

RB Shannon Brooks

Minnesota isn’t exactly known for its explosive plays, with only 152 gains of 10 or more yards on 873 offensive snaps. Yet when the Golden Gophers needed something big to happen, they realized quickly who to get the ball to.

Brooks emerged as the best option on offense, finishing with a team-high 709 rushing yards and seven touchdowns in 2015 as a freshman. His 5.96 yards per carry ranks third among freshmen in school history, behind only Marion Barber III and Laurence Maroney, per his online bio.

Of his 119 carries, 18 went for at least 10 yards, and four of his TD runs went for 35 or more yards—the most since Maroney had four such long TDs in 2005.

WR Fred Ross

Dak Prescott was not only the unquestioned leader of Mississippi State’s offense but also its most big-play producer during his storied career. Now that he’s moved on, the Bulldogs have to find others to turn to in key situations, and while this duty figures to get spread around, Ross is in line to be the main target.

Last year the 6’2”, 207-pound Ross led MSU with 88 catches and 1,007 yards but had only five touchdown catches, half as many as De’Runnya Wilson. He also brought back a punt for a TD against Troy and scored on a 33-yard run in the Belk Bowl against North Carolina State.

DE Charles Harris

Try as we might, there was no one on Missouri’s offensive depth chart who rose to the level of being called “explosive.” That could change once we see how the Tigers look under new coach Barry Odom, but for now all the playmakers are on defense.

And the best of the lot is Harris, who in his sophomore year broke out for a monster season. The 6’3”, 255-pounder had seven sacks and 18.5 tackles for loss as a sophomore, forcing two fumbles in the process.

With Harris doing his part, Missouri was able to lean on its defense enough to win five games despite receiving little help from the offense.

WR De’Mornay Pierson-El

Even though Nebraska averaged better than six yards per play and 32.8 points per game last season, a certain something was missing from the attack. That’s the impact Pierson-El’s absence had on the Cornhuskers, who didn’t have anyone else to handle big plays in his absence.

A preseason foot injury kept him out until October, and then five games later he tore an ACL and was done for the year. In between he had 12 receptions with a touchdown and averaged 12 yards on punt returns, but it wasn’t the same as what he did as a freshman in 2014.

That’s when Nebraska got the full Pierson-El, the one who returned three punts for TDs, had four TD catches and threw a TD pass.

“Those days are coming,” Pierson-El said when asked if he can return to that form in 2016, per Steven M. Sipple of the Lincoln Journal-Star.

WR Ryan Switzer

Switzer set the bar high for himself with an outstanding freshman season, one that saw him tie the FBS single-season record for punt returns with five in 2013. The two years since haven’t been as explosive by his standards, but they’re still big when compared to others across the country.

The 5’10”, 185-pound Switzer enters his final year with some stellar career numbers: 147 receptions for 1,791 yards and 13 TDs as a wideout, along with seven punt return TDs and an 11.8-yard average. With one more score on a punt, he’ll tie the FBS all-time mark held by former Texas Tech standout Wes Welker and ex-Oklahoma star Antonio Perkins.

Switzer needs 59 catches and 1,050 yards this season to also become UNC’s career receiving leader in both categories.

FB/TE Jaylen Samuels

North Carolina State couldn’t decide where to play Samuels last season, so it just let him go back and forth between being its largest ball-carrier and most sizable receiver. Either way he was the playmaker the Wolfpack turned to most often in 2015.

Samuels’ 16 touchdowns as a sophomore were third-most in the ACC and tied for third-most in school history with Torry Holt in 1998. The 5’11”, 235-pounder had seven of those as a receiver (on 65 catches) and nine more on the ground on 56 carries. Eight of his TD runs were in the red zone, though he did break off runs of 48 and 66 yards along the way while notching seven catches of at least 25 yards.

LB Anthony Walker

When Northwestern had the ball on offense, it did its best to chew up as much clock as possible with its power run game, but it still lost the time-of-possession battle in most games. That put even greater pressure on the Wildcats defense, but that unit kept coming through.

Walker was instrumental to that defensive effort, producing 120 tackles (including 20.5 for loss) as well as a forced fumble, an interception and two fumble returns as a sophomore. Undersized for a linebacker at 6’1” and 235 pounds, Walker made up for it with hard hits that almost always resulted in a takedown on first contact.

RB Josh Adams

It was wide receiver Will Fuller who had a stranglehold on Notre Dame’s “playmaker” role in 2015, with 14 touchdowns on 62 catches and a 20.58-yard average. But he wasn’t the only Fighting Irish player capable of being explosive, as Adams showed once he had the chance to shine.

The freshman had three of his four 100-yard rushing games after taking over the starting job in November. More than 68 percent of his 838 yards and half of his six touchdowns came in those final games, highlighted by a 98-yard TD run against Wake Forest that was the longest run in school history.

That helped Adams average 7.22 yards on his 116 rushes—the best rate of any player with at least 100 carries during coach Brian Kelly‘s Notre Dame tenure.

QB J.T. Barrett

From a statistical standpoint, Barrett’s 2014 season was much better than what he accomplished last year. But if you take into account how Ohio State looked on offense in 2015 when Barrett wasn’t in the game, his sophomore year showed his value even more than that freshman performance.

The Buckeyes’ push for a repeat national title was hampered by inconsistent play on offense, though when Barrett began to get the bulk of the snaps at quarterback, things became more consistent. With a full offseason of working as the No. 1 quarterback, the hope in Columbus is that he and the entire offense can return to the level of 2014 when Barrett set numerous school records despite missing all of the postseason.

“Barrett has already proved capable of carrying the load for a national championship-caliber offense, having done so as a redshirt freshman two years ago,” Bleacher Report’s Ben Axelrod wrote.

QB Baker Mayfield

Oklahoma’s return to an Air Raid offense in 2015 wasn’t going to work if it didn’t have the right guy running the show. A year working with the Sooners’ scout team (following his transfer from Texas Tech) was the start of getting Mayfield prepared for this role, but no one could have predicted he’d be this successful.

Mayfield threw for 3,700 yards and 36 touchdowns on 68.1 percent passing, adding seven rushing TDs in the process. He helped Oklahoma average 43.5 points per game, its best rate since 2008, and win the Big 12 title en route to a playoff bid.

Though he only averaged 2.87 yards per carry when factoring in sack yardage, Mayfield could break off long runs when needed. Six runs went for at least 20 yards.

WR James Washington

Oklahoma State has had some big-play receivers in recent years, producing the likes of Justin Blackmon and Dez Bryant. But nobody in school history gets the most out of his catches as Washington, particularly in 2015 when he averaged 20.51 yards per reception as a sophomore.

That was the best average of any player with at least 50 catches in FBS, as he recorded 1,087 yards and 10 touchdowns. He had five 100-yard games and was the only player in the country with four TDs of 70 or more yards.

At one point last season, Washington had a run of four consecutive touches that resulted in at least 48 yards gained.

QB Chad Kelly

He arrived at Ole Miss as a question mark, having been booted from Clemson in the spring of 2014 and then running afoul of the law in his hometown that winter. But once Kelly got on the field for the Rebels, the concerns were gone and replaced by exceptional play on a consistent basis.

Kelly set a slew of school single-season records in 2015, helping Ole Miss to its first 10-win season in 12 years and its first Sugar Bowl victory since 1970. His marks included those for passing yards (4,042), total offense (4,542) and total touchdowns (41).

His 65.1 percent completion rate for the season was the result of a five-game stretch of completing at least 70 percent of his throws. In five contests, including the win over eventual national champion Alabama, he averaged better than 10 yards per throw.

RB Taj Griffin

Oregon has more skill guys capable of breaking off big plays than most other FBS teams—the product of its system and a penchant to recruit players with a mix of speed and power. Griffin falls into that category, particularly on the speed end, as he showed during a freshman season that only touched on his abilities.

Griffin averaged 7.4 yards on 77 carries last year, which was all he could get behind workhorse back Royce Freeman. His 5’10”, 175-pound frame was a perfect change of pace next to the 230-pound Freeman, and it resulted in several runs of 30 or more yards.

WR Victor Bolden

Oregon State is coming off one of its worst seasons in the past two decades, going 2-10 overall and winless in the Pac-12 under first-year coach Gary Andersen. He was working with one of the youngest rosters in the country, particularly on offense, but also had a savvy veteran in the junior Bolden.

Not surprisingly, Bolden ended up as the Beavers’ top all-purpose player in 2015 with 1,304 yards. That came via rushes, receptions and returns, as he scored five times overall.

Bolden had three TD catches among his 46 catches, averaged 25.2 yards on kickoffs with a score against Washington and finished the season with a 78-yard punt return score against rival Oregon.

WR Chris Godwin

Penn State struggled to throw the ball downfield last year with Christian Hackenberg constantly running for his life. When the QB had time, though, Godwin was a deep threat who could pull in the long pass.

Godwin averaged 15.96 yards on his 69 receptions as a sophomore; 27 went for at least 15 yards, while 14 that resulted in 25 or more yards. His 1,101 receiving yards were second-most in school history.

RB James Conner

A knee injury robbed Conner of nearly all of his 2015 season, and then in December he was diagnosed with cancer. He announced Monday he was in remission, putting him one step closer to being able to return to the football field.

If the 6’2”, 240-pound bruiser can come anywhere close to the form he had as a sophomore in 2014, it’s time for Pittsburgh’s opponents to prepare themselves for what lies ahead.

Conner had 1,765 rushing yards and 26 touchdowns that year, going for 10-plus yards on 51 of his 298 carries.

RB Markell Jones

Purdue didn’t realize what it had in Jones until midway through the 2015 season, when it started to give him more carries and make him the focus of the run game. Assuming the Boilermakers stay with this course for all of the next season, they might actually make some progress out of the Big Ten’s basement.

The 5’11”, 211-pound Jones had a team-best 875 rushing yards and 10 touchdowns as a freshman, with about 61 percent of his carries coming in Purdue’s final six games. That’s when he had the bulk of his seven 20-yard runs and began to build his case as the Boilermakers’ back of the future.

This was reinforced by the recent news that D.J. Knox, Purdue’s second-leading rusher, tore his ACL in the spring game and is out for 2016.

WR Janarion Grant

Try as it might, Rutgers couldn’t get the ball to Grant enough in 2015. Had it done so, the Scarlet Knights might not have finished with eight losses for the first time in five years.

Grant managed to wreak havoc as a running back, receiver and return man, averaging at least 10 yards in all three categories. He scored three touchdowns on kickoffs, finishing with a 24.6-yard average, along with TDs on a reception and punt return.

Against Washington State he had both punt and kickoff return scores, finishing the year with a 16.7-yard average on 95 total plays.

LB Skai Moore

South Carolina’s new coaching staff is hoping it can find another do-everything player like the previous regime had with Pharoh Cooper. There’s no issue about who that guy is on defense, not with Moore back for his senior year.

Moore was all over the field in 2015, leading the Gamecocks in tackles (111, including 69 of the solo variety), tackles for loss (6.5), interceptions (four) and forced fumbles (three). Two of those picks came against North Carolina in last year’s season-opening win, arguably the high point of the year.

With 260 tackles and 11 interceptions for his career, Moore is well on his way to finishing as one of South Carolina’s best defensive players.

RB Christian McCaffrey

Simply put, McCaffrey put together the most prolific all-purpose season in FBS history in 2015. That came as the result of consistent play throughout the year but also plenty of big plays—more than the rest of Stanford’s team combined.

As a sophomore, McCaffrey obliterated Barry Sanders’ all-purpose yardage record by going for 3,864 yards. He had 2,019 as a running back, averaging just less than six yards per carry with 19 runs of 20 or more yards. He also led the Cardinal in receiving with 45 catches for 645 yards and five touchdowns.

McCaffrey’s big-play ability was most noticeable on special teams, where he averaged 28.92 yards on kickoffs (including a TD against California) and added a punt return score in the Rose Bowl blowout of Iowa. And just to drive home his dominance, McCaffrey also threw TD passes against Colorado and in the Pac-12 title game win over USC.

If not for Clemson’s Deshaun Watson, McCaffrey would be the odds-on favorite to win the Heisman Trophy. There’s no debate, though, about who is the most versatile player in the country.

WR Brisly Estime

New Syracuse coach Dino Babers hopes to be able to transfer the high-octane attack he had at Bowling Green to the Orange. That would bode well for Syracuse’s chances in a tough ACC Atlantic Division, since Bowling Green had 123 more plays of 10-plus yards in 2015.

The lone big-play threat Syracuse had a year ago was Estime, though it didn’t make enough use of him. As a junior, he had 1,247 all-purpose yards on 68 touches, with his 18.3-yard average ranking fourth in FBS.

Take away his 17 yards on six rushes and the 5’9”, 178-pound Estime’s rate jumped to 19.8 yards, with two punt return touchdowns and a pair of receiving scores.

WR KaVontae Turpin

It seemed like every playmaker TCU had dealt with at least one injury in 2015, yet somehow Turpin avoided that fate. In the process he established himself as a big-play generator in quite a small package.

Turpin, who is generously listed at 5’9” and 153 pounds, managed a team-best 1,675 all-purpose yards and 15.4 yards per touch. His breakout game came in the blowout win over Texas, when he set a Big 12 freshman record with four touchdown catches among his six catches and 138 yards.

He finished with 45 catches for 649 yards and eight TDs along with a punt return TD against Kansas. He also averaged 27 yards on kickoffs, ranking second in the conference.

QB Joshua Dobbs

Tennessee’s record has improved each year under coach Butch Jones, and each of those seasons has seen Dobbs become more integrated into the offense. His best season yet came in 2015, when he was starter from the outset instead of taking over the job midway through, and the Volunteers finished with their best record since 2007.

Though his 59.6 percent completion rate needs improvement, when Dobbs lets his legs do the work, big things happen. He’s scored 20 rushing touchdowns in his career—tied for 13th in school history and second-most among Vols quarterbacks.

Dobbs need help from his receivers to improve the passing aspect of his game, but with another offseason to tinker and tweak, he’s set for a big finish.

QB Jerrod Heard

Texas’ offensive scheme remains in flux, with the Longhorns shifting to the spread before 2015 and making further tweaks this offseason thanks to new coordinator Sterlin Gilbert. The team made these moves to maximize the quarterback position and the abilities that Heard showed at times last year as a redshirt freshman.

Heard started 10 games, taking over for Tyrone Swoopes in the home opener against Rice and holding the gig until getting hurt in the Thanksgiving loss to Texas Tech. In between he averaged 176.1 yards per game and 6.27 yards per play of total offense. His breakout performance came against Cal, as he had 527 total yards with 163 rushing yards and three touchdowns.

A shoulder injury shut Heard down during the spring, which also jeopardizes his role in 2016. If healthy, though, his mobility and penchant for big plays (17 passes of 25-plus yards and seven runs of 20-plus yards) will get him on the field.

WR Christian Kirk

Texas A&M had as much trouble holding onto its blue-chip quarterback prospects in 2015 as the Aggies’ opponents did with trying to contain Kirk. If not for the play of this explosive freshman, a disappointing season would have been even worse.

Kirk ranked 14th nationally in all-purpose yards with 1,789 and was the top freshman in the country. That total is nearly 1,000 more than Christian McCaffrey had in his first season at Stanford, which bodes well for what the 5’11”, 200-pound Kirk could be in for in 2016.

He had seven touchdown catches and returned two punts for scores, leading to a 24.36-yard average that would have been tops in FBS had he had enough returns to qualify.

QB Patrick Mahomes II

Mahomes was the national leader in total offense in 2015, averaging 393 yards per game as a sophomore. To put that in perspective, on his own he would have ranked as the 70th-best offense in FBS.

Texas Tech needed every single bit of Mahomes’ 4,653 passing yards, 456 rushing yards and 46 total touchdowns since it was constantly trying to make up for a porous defense that allowed 43.6 points per game. Because of this, the 6’3”, 219-pound Mahomes often tried to go the extra mile and ended up stubbing his toe with 15 interceptions and 27 sacks.

Even with those miscues, though, Mahomes had a monster 2015 season. The Red Raiders have to get that again in order to be competitive this fall.

WR Soso Jamabo

Quarterback Josh Rosen is by far UCLA’s best player and one who is in line to be the No. 1 draft pick in a year or two if he continues to develop. But the ceiling could be even higher for Jamabo based on what we saw during his freshman campaign.

The 6’3”, 210-pound Jamabo is the back of the future for the Bruins, one who should thrive in the offense that new coordinator Kennedy Polamalu has installed. Under Noel Mazzone’s guidance, Jamabo ran for 403 yards and four touchdowns but only had one game with double-digit carries; however, now that Paul Perkins has gone to the NFL, he’s going to get a lot more work.

WR/DB Adoree’ Jackson

Having seemingly run out of ways to show off his speed and agility on the football field, this offseason Jackson has turned his attention to trying to qualify for the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio. Whether he makes it or not shouldn’t affect what he does with the Trojans this fall, though.

If anything, it could somehow enhance the already strong skill set that Jackson has shown in two years of football, during which he’s started at both cornerback and receiver (including in the same game) while also starring on special teams. The 5’11”, 185-pound Jackson has scored touchdowns on receptions, interceptions and both punt and kick returns.

Jackson has 2,292 all-purpose yards in his career on just 125 plays.

DE Hunter Dimick

Utah’s offense is going to have quite a different look this season with longtime starting quarterback Travis Wilson and running back Devontae Booker having graduated and leading receiver Britain Covey off on a two-year LDS mission. Any playmakers who emerge will be new ones, but that’s not the case for the defensive side.

That’s where Dimick will again be front and center with his work coming off the edge, where he’s logged 15 sacks and 24 tackles for loss in three seasons. His big year was in 2014 as a sophomore, while last fall injuries limited him to only seven games.

His shoulder is in better shape than at any point in 2015, and Dimick is ready to make up for lost time.

“It threw off a lot of plans I had, to tell you the truth,” he told Kyle Goon of the Salt Lake Tribune.

LB Zach Cunningham

Vanderbilt averaged only 15.2 points per game last season, fourth-worst in the country, so there wasn’t much use in finding someone on that unit that could be considered “explosive.” The Commodores averaged fewer than 12 plays of 10-plus yards per game.

The defense allowed just under 13 such plays per game in 2015, which ranked 20th in FBS, the result of strong play across the board but most notably from Cunningham in his first season as a regular starter. After taking over for Nigel Bowden, he finished the year with 16.5 tackles for loss, the most by a Vandy player since 1999, per his online bio.

The 6’4”, 230-pound Cunningham also had 103 tackles and forced four fumbles.

RB Taquan “Smoke” Mizzell

Sure, it’s hokey to bring up the common phrase “when there’s smoke, there’s fire” when describing Mizzell’s play for Virginia. But sometimes even the corniest lines are the most fitting, as is the case with the Cavaliers’ best weapon.

The 5’10”, 195-pound Mizzell had 1,481 all-purpose yards last season as a junior, the most by a Virginia player since 2004. That production was a blend of rushing and receiving, and his 75 receptions were second-most in school history.

Mizzell is one of five Cavaliers to have more than 1,000 rushing and receiving yards in his career.

WR Isaiah Ford

To call Ford’s 2015 season the best ever by a Virginia Tech wide receiver is a major understatement. Before him, no other Hokie had caught 75 passes, had 11 touchdowns or topped the 1,000-yard mark, let alone get to 1,164 yards.

Now the 6’2”, 190-pound junior could be in line for an even bigger season with new coach Justin Fuente taking over the program. Fuente’s Memphis team averaged 40.2 points per game in 2015 compared to Virginia Tech’s 31-point average.

Ford finished on a high note with three of his four 100-yard games in November or December, capped by a 12-catch, 227-yard performance in the Independence Bowl win over Tulsa.

QB Kendall Hinton

Wake Forest began and ended the season with John Wolford as its quarterback, but in between the door opened for Hinton to show what he could do running the offense. His passing numbers weren’t good enough to keep Wolford from taking back the starting job, but if the Demon Deacons want to get big plays from the run game, they know who to turn to.

Hinton’s 390 rushing yards as a true freshman were second-most on the team, and he was responsible for seven of the 12 rushing TDs. He scored twice in three different games, tallying 101 rushing yards and both of Wake’s TDs in a September win over Army.

Wake coach Dave Clawson expects to use Hinton as much as possible in 2016, telling Conor O’Neill of the Burlington Times-News “I don’t see us getting through the whole year without needing” both quarterbacks.

WR John Ross III

Washington enters the 2016 with higher expectations after its young offense came together down the stretch with three straight wins. The sophomore duo of quarterback Kurt Browning and running back Myles Gaskin is an exciting one, but to complete the package the Huskies have to find a go-to receiver to replace senior Jaydon Mickens.

Enter (or, rather, re-enter) Ross, who was poised to be Washington’s big-play threat on offense last season before tearing knee ligaments in the spring. That robbed him of the 2015 season, but he was back at full speed this spring, telling Adam Jude of the Seattle Times “I feel amazing.”

Translation: He’s ready to get back to what he started in 2014, when as a sophomore he averaged 21.8 yards on 17 receptions (with four touchdowns) and brought back two kickoffs for scores.

WR Gabe Marks

For a team that gained more than 5,000 yards through the air and scored 30 or more points seven times, Washington State’s offense in 2015 wasn’t that dependent on big plays. The Cougars only had five plays go for more than 40 yards, tied for second-fewest in FBS.

Instead, Washington State moved the ball quickly and efficiently and always knew who it was best to turn to in key situations. Marks handled a lot of that responsibility, pulling in 104 catches and scoring 15 touchdowns as a junior.

He had eight catches that went for 25-plus yards, including three among his 18 third-down catches that moved the chains.

WR Shelton Gibson

Gibson is coming off an all-or-nothing sophomore year in which he nearly led the nation in yards per catch despite having two games where he failed to record a reception and two others when he had only one apiece. The rest of the time, though, there weren’t many better big-play receivers in the country.

Overall, the 5’11”, 188-pound Gibson caught 37 passes for 887 yards and nine touchdowns, recording four 100-yard games including in two of the Mountaineers’ last three. His final outing saw him catch four balls for 143 yards including a 59-yard TD catch in the Cactus Bowl win over Arizona State.

Gibson also averaged 32.8 yards on 11 kickoff returns, bringing one back 100 yards for a TD against Baylor.

RB Corey Clement

High expectations were placed on Clement’s shoulders heading into the 2015 season, when he was set to build off a strong sophomore year in which he nearly ran for 1,000 yards as a backup. But injuries got in the way, holding the 5’11”, 219-pounder to only four games of action.

He still managed to score five times on 48 carries, including three times in his return from a nearly two-month absence while recovering from sports hernia surgery. That gives Clement 23 touchdowns in his career.

Clement looked like his old self in Wisconsin’s spring game, which should mean the Badgers’ run attack will return to form after a lackluster 2015.

All recruiting information courtesy of 247Sports, unless otherwise noted. All statistics provided by CFBStats, unless otherwise noted.

Follow Brian J. Pedersen on Twitter at @realBJP.