College football Week 2: 15 players to watch

It only seems as if Blackman has been at Florida State forever ... and I'm sure it feels that way to him, too. He has fought off a sudden ascension to become a freshman starter, a benching, grad transfers, injuries and now his third head coach in Tallahassee ... and he's still a redshirt junior! He is the starter for new coach Mike Norvell as the 'Noles attempt to revamp the program. Blackman isn't the most dynamic QB but he lets the ball fly and has a nice group of receivers to haul in his passes. Look for Norvell to allow Blackman to do just that in 2020 and against a rebuilding Georgia Tech squad this week. 

That historic game I was referring to? Notre Dame hosting Duke. This will be the first time the Irish will play a conference game as they are making a one-year trip as a member of the ACC. Book was solid again last year and ended the season on quite a roll. In his final four games of 2019, he completed 65% of his passes for 1,025 yards, 13 touchdowns and zero interceptions. As a senior (he has a 20-3 record as a starter) he has full control of the offense. Book and the Irish begin their ACC season hosting Duke. 

Usually it is the quarterback position that gets the love in the Big 12 but the running backs will be making a lot of noise in 2020. Brooks has rushed for over 1,000 in each of his first two seasons in Norman and will run behind one of the best lines in the nation. He ended the 2019 regular season on a roll (534 yards in four games) but struggled in the Big 12 title game against Baylor and the College Football Playoff game against LSU (he did score in both games, however). He may be overshadowed by some of the other runners in the conference -- and the state -- but Brooks is poised to have a big year. First up is Missouri State. 

Is this finally the year? Is this the year the Longhorns put it together and win their first Big 12 title since 2009? This is Ehlinger's senior season of a Texas career that has watched him put up big numbers and look good in big games ... just not good enough. He was right there with Joe Burrow and LSU last year before losing. Same thing against Oklahoma and Iowa State or against the Sooners in the 2018 Big 12 title game. Ehlinger's arm gets the press but he ran for 663 yards last year and in 2018 rushed for 16 TDs. 

While Tyler Lawrence gets most of the publicity, Etienne may be the best player in the country. He is coming off back-to-back 1,600 yard rushing seasons where he's totaled 43 rushing and 6 receiving touchdowns. He has been named the ACC Player of the Year the past two seasons and is less than 600 yards from becoming the conference's all-time leading rusher (bet you didn't know NC State's Ted Brown holds that mark).

Hawkins had a fantastic freshman season, setting the Cardinals school rushing record (1,525 yards) and 9 touchdowns. He ended last season with 480 yards and three touchdowns in the Cards' final three games, which has now landed him on a lot of preseason award lists. Hawkins spent the summer bulking up for the grind of a workhorse season and becoming a team leader. Louisville should be involved in some shootouts this year, so expect Hawkins to rack up a lot of yards again. 

There is a huge buzz in Chapel Hill entering this season and a lot of it is because of quarterback Sam Howell. Howell threw for 3,611 yards and 38 touchdowns (just 7 picks) ... setting the FBS record for touchdowns by a true freshman QB. It wasn't just the raw stats that turn heads but how Howell performed in the clutch. The Tar Heels, who won just two games two years ago, are now in the mix to head to the revamped ACC championship game.

Hubbard broke out with over 2,000 yards rushing last season (plus 21 touchdowns) and finished 8th in the Heisman Trophy voting. He would skip the NFL Draft and stay in college at least one more season, which became a question mark during the offseason when he threatened to leave due to a shirt worn by head coach Mike Gundy's. All is reportedly good now in Stillwater and the Cowboys are looking for a Big 12 title. Up first: Tulsa.

With a light schedule this week, you get a Coastal Carolina player! When the Chanticleers play Kansas at Lawrence on Saturday night (on national television) take notice of Tarron Jackson. The fifth-year senior led the Sun Belt with 10 sacks last season and enters this season on the Nagurski and Bednarik award lists. He surprised many by electing to come back to school and putting his NFL dreams on hold. Last year, Coastal Carolina beat the Jayhawks in Kansas and hope that history repeats itself. So end a long day of watching college football with Jackson and the 'Cleers.

King took a rather interesting approach to his first game as a Miami Hurricane. After a sensational junior season at Houston, King shut his senior season down early in 2019 in order to save eligibility for one more season -- this season -- by using the new redshirt rules. He transferred to Miami where he will take over a talented program that hasn't met expectations since starting the 2017 season 10-0. King is a dual-threat quarterback who has an accurate arm as well as the ability to create plays with his legs. In that 2018 season, he threw for 2,982 yards, 36 touchdowns and ran for 674 yards and 14 more scores. He hopes to give the 'Canes the stability they've needed behind center. The U open up their season on Thursday night against UAB's solid defense. 

It is all sitting there for Lawrence. Clemson is the favorite to bring home their third national championship in five years and Lawrence is among the favorites to win the Heisman Trophy and the odds-on pick to be the No. 1 overall selection in the 2021 NFL Draft. All he has done at Clemson is win 25 of his first 26 games, win a national championship and suffered his only loss to LSU in last year's national title tilt. He's thrown for nearly 7,000 yards in two seasons, 66 touchdowns and just 12 interceptions. He's also shown a more vocal side during the offseason. Enjoy these Saturdays with Trevor for one final season. This week the Tigers travel to Wake Forest, who the Tigers have beaten by a combined score of 115-6 over the last two years. 

Last season, Purdy became just the second Iowa State quarterback to make the first or second team All-Big 12 squad (Seneca Wallace was the other) last season as he led the conference in passing yards per game. Last year's Cyclones set program best marks for touchdowns, points and average yards. Purdy began his Iowa State career as the third string quarterback but ascended to the job midway through the season and has been one of the best quarterbacks in the league. Purdy will begin his junior season at home against Louisiana.

The Stills brothers may be the brightest spot in another year of transition at West Virginia. Darius (#56), a senior, was all-Big 12 last season with a team-leading seven sacks and 14.5 tackles for loss. Actually, Darius tied for the team lead in sacks with his younger brother Dante (#55). Both interior linemen are up for various conference and national awards and will be very important navigating the Mountaineers through a brutal slate of offenses. This week is dealing with Eastern Kentucky.

Thomas is arguably the best player in the Group of Six (or Group of Five with no MAC) this season. In 2019, he threw for over 2,700 yards, 28 yards and 6 interceptions while rushing for seven touchdowns. He also returns receivers Corey Sutton, Thomas Hennigan and Malik Williams so this offense should be ready to roll right out of the gate. App State went 13-1 last season and with the possibility for a Group of Six team reaching the College Football Playoff at its highest, there are lofty goals in Boone, NC. The Mountaineers host in-state foe Charlotte on Saturday.  

Kansas football rarely gets a buzzworthy player but Williams deserves his due. He's rushed for over 1,000 yards in each of his first two seasons in Lawrence, though he's only ran for 10 total touchdowns. That isn't his fault as much as it is the fault of playing for a program that tends to find itself in big deficits. He's averaged nearly 6 yards per carry in his career and has shown up huge in some big games. Last year he lit up Oklahoma (137 yds), Texas (190 yds) and Iowa State (154 yds) -- all losses. The Jayhawks open up against Coastal Carolina this week, a team Williams ran for 99 yards on a year ago.