By Brett Daniels
Every season some players are virtually unknown at the beginning and become household
names by the end. Johnny Manziel wasn’t the projected starter at Texas A&M prior to the 2012
season, much less a Heisman candidate, and became the first freshman to ever win
the trophy.
On the flip side are players who had great seasons the year before and enter the next
season on awards lists, preseason All-Conference and All-American teams, and high on mock
draft boards that don’t live up to the hype. Below are five players who had great 2023 seasons
and are poised to repeat or better those in 2024… or are they?
1. Quinn Ewers
QB at Texas
Quinn Ewers was outstanding in the 2023 season leading the Texas Longhorns to the Big 12
Championship and the first playoff appearance in program history. Throwing for 3,479
yards with 22 touchdowns against only 6 interceptions and a QBR of 78.3, Ewers was among the nation’s best. So far this offseason the Longhorn signal-caller has been mentioned as a Heisman candidate, one of the best (and according to some the best) QB in the SEC, and a potential first-round pick in the 2025 NFL Draft. With an
established season and all the preseason accolades, why is Ewers a candidate to take a
step back in 2024?
Texas had a record number of players drafted in the 2024 NFL Draft including seven
from the offensive side of the ball. WRs Xavier Worthy, Adonai Mitchell, and Jordan
Whittington, OT Christian Jones, RB Keilan Robinson and Jonathon Brooks, and TE
Ja’Tavian Sanders all heard their names called last April. Worthy, Mitchell, Sanders, and
Whittington were the top four pass catchers for Ewers. Likewise, Brooks accounted for
1,139 yards and 10 touchdowns with Robinson chipping in 134 yards and tree touchdowns.
Ewers was only sacked 27 times last season and Jones was a big reason for that.
Still, the Longhorns were active in the transfer portal nabbing WR Isaiah Bond and TE Amari
Niblack from Alabama, WR Matthew Golden from Houston, and WR Silas Bolden from
Oregon State with hopes to replace the departing production.
On the other hand, Texas will also have a
much more difficult schedule in 2024 and will face better defences. They become a member of the SEC and take a trip to Ann
Arbor to face the defending national champion Michigan Wolverines in the non-conference slate. In 2023 the highest-ranked defense that Texas and Ewers faced was
Alabama at #18 (Total Defense) with Iowa State (#52) the next highest on the list. Other
defenses on the schedule were Kansas State (#59), Kansas (#64), Oklahoma (#79),
Texas Tech (#81), TCU (#103), BYU (#109), Baylor (#113), Houston (#115) and
Oklahoma State (#125) in the Big 12 Championship Game. Things didn’t get any more
difficult in the playoffs with Washington checking in at #99.
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In contrast, the 2024 lineup
has Ewers and the Longhorns facing Michigan (#1), Georgia (#9), Texas A&M (#19),
Mississippi State (#41), Kentucky (#45), Arkansas (#47), Florida (#71) and Oklahoma
(#79). Ewers will have to play at a very high level to repeat or better his 2023 numbers.
2. Shedeur Sanders
QB at Colorado
Shedeur Sanders is another QB who had an outstanding 2023 statistically throwing for 3,230
yards and 27 touchdowns with only three interceptions and a QBR of 63.1. What makes
these numbers even more remarkable is Sanders was often running for his life behind a
sub-par offensive line that gave up a whopping 52 sacks on the year. Like Ewers,
Sanders is on all of the preseason awards lists, will most likely be the Big 12 preseason
All-Conference QB, and is in the top half of most 2025 NFL Mock Drafts. So what makes
Sanders a candidate to regress in 2024?
The offensive line will hold the key to how well Sanders individually and the Buffaloes’
offense perform in 2024. Constantly being under pressure and being sacked 52 times
will make even the most talented quarterback see ghosts. Colorado signed UConn
center Yakiri Walker and Houston guard Tyler Johnson out of the transfer portal, along
with five-star freshman tackle Jordan Seaton to bolster the offensive line. Seaton is expected to start at LT as a true freshman, which is a big task no matter how many
stars you have beside your name.
Additionally, Sanders has the distraction of social media spats and other public conflicts associated
with Colorado Football. The schedule doesn’t do the Buffaloes’ any favors opening the
season against FCS powerhouse North Dakota State followed by games at Nebraska, at
Colorado State, Kansas State at home, and at Arizona. Starting the season 0-5 is a very
real possibility for Sanders and CU.
3. Donovan Edwards
RB at Michigan
While not posting overwhelming statistics in 2023 (497 yards rushing/249 yards
receiving/5 TDs), Edwards had two huge runs in the National Championship game
against Washington (41 and 46 yards, 104 total yards/2TD’s) helping the Wolverines to
their first undisputed national title since 1948 (1997 was split with Nebraska). With Blake
Corum off to the NFL it will be Edwards as the feature back for Michigan in 2024. An increased workload and a clear path to more carries should be an indication of better
numbers, but will Edwards be able to capitalize on this opportunity?
Michigan will have a lot of new faces around the building and some old faces in new
positions. Offensive Coordinator Sherrone Moore will be the new Head Coach replacing
Jim Harbaugh who left to coach the Los Angeles Chargers. The offensive line will be
completely new with six players with starting experience departing for the NFL along with
QB JJ McCarthy, WR Roman Wilson and Cornelius Johnson, and TE AJ Barner.
Edwards will be the focus of an offense that could struggle early with all the new pieces.
In addition, the schedule gets significantly harder with the addition of Oregon, Washington, and
USC to the Big 10 along with a non-conference match-up against Texas and the
traditional season-ending game versus Ohio State.
4. Travis Hunter
CB/WR at Colorado
Travis Hunter is an electrifying two-way player the likes we have not seen in college football in
a long time. He has the talent to be a first-round draft pick as a WR or a CB. In 2023
despite missing three games Hunter played 1,002 combined snaps between offense
(436) catching 57 passes for 721 yards and five touchdowns, defense (566) with five pass
breakups, three interceptions, and two tackles for loss, and special teams (30). But Hunter’s
versatility may be his undoing in 2024.
Colorado will lean on the young superstar to be a playmaker on offense and a lockdown
corner on defense. While he did show exceptional stamina and conditioning in 2023,
Hunter also missed three games due to injury. Football has taken steps to shorten
games and reduce the number of plays overall for health and safety concerns across the
board. It would stand to reason that the more exposure a player subjects himself to by
playing 100+ plays per game the likelihood of injury goes up which would limit Hunter’s
contribution to the Colorado football team for the second consecutive year.
5. Jalen Milroe
QB at Alabama
The Crimson Tide QB had a rocky start to the season with a rough game against Texas
and being benched against South Florida before catching fire and leading Alabama to
the SEC Championship and a berth in the College Football Playoff. Milroe finished the
season with 2,834 yards/23 TD/6 INT passing and 531 yards/12 TDs rushing for a QBR
of 80.5. Entering 2024, Milroe is mentioned with the best QBs in the SEC and is a dark-horse Heisman candidate. However, this season may not be as kind to the Alabama QB
as last year.
Nick Saban retired following the loss to Michigan in the Rose Bowl and was replaced by
Washington Head Coach Kalen DeBoer. DeBoer did not retain Tommy Rees and instead
hired Nick Sheridan as Offensive Coordinator so Milroe will be learning a new offensive
system. The offense will also be replacing its top three pass catchers with Jermain Burton off
to the NFL and Isaiah Bond and Amari Niblack opting to transfer.
Milroe
will be the team’s returning rushing leader with Jase McClellen an Atlanta Falcon and
Roydell Williams transferring to Florida State. Alabama’s offensive line also ranked last
in the SEC in sacks allowed with 49 (3.5 sacks/game). The Crimson Tide will welcome
Georgia to Bryant Denny Stadium on September 28 and has road games against
Tennessee, LSU, Oklahoma before finishing the season at home against Auburn. All of that could make it difficult for Milroe to perform the same way as in 2023.
