By Mark Pszonak
College football is all about developing players to become important playmakers. Every week numerous players make that jump. Some are expected while others come as a surprise, so here are five who took that leap this weekend:
LB Triston Newson – Missouri
The skinny: The junior college signee enjoyed the best game of his first season with the Tigers on Saturday during a 36-7 victory over Tennessee. Newson finished with seven tackles, one tackle for a loss and a forced fumble as Missouri continues to be one of the surprise stories of the college football season. He is playing his best football of the season at the right time as wins against Florida and Arkansas will likely have the Tigers playing in a New Years Day bowl game.
DB Kevin Winston – Penn State
The skinny: While the outcome did not go as Penn State had hoped against Michigan, the defense once again shined. Aside from the usual top performers, the Nittany Lions also saw Winston have the best game of his collegiate career. Finishing with career-high 12 tackles and .5 tackles for a loss, the sophomore continues to improve and should be a major part of the secondary next season.
WR Savion Williams – TCU
The skinny: Coming off their magical run to the National Championship game last season, the Horned Frogs are now 4-6 and battling for bowl eligibility. Highlights have been sparse, but on Saturday, during a hard-fought loss to Texas, Williams gave the fans something to be excited about. He finished with career highs in receptions (11) and yards (164) to provide a spark for the TCU offense. That spark will need to continue if the Horned Frogs hope to gain bowl eligibility by beating both Baylor and Oklahoma in their final two games.
WR Kamdyn Benjamin – Tulsa
The skinny: Now at 3-7, this has been a season to forget for the Hurricanes. However, that almost changed on Saturday when they threw a huge scare into ranked Tulane before losing 24-22 on the road. One of the main reasons for this near win was Benjamin, who finished with eight receptions for 157 yards and two touchdowns, which were all career highs. Now with five straight losses, Tulsa needs players like Benjamin to continue to fight during their final two games of the season.
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DB Ephesians Prysock – Arizona
The skinny: Playing against Colorado, a defense knows that their secondary will be tested. Prysock rose to the occasion on Saturday during a last-second victory when he finished with a career-high nine tackles and one pass breakup. Arizona is a surprising 7-3 this season with the help of talented young players like Prysock who have become the foundation of the program.
