Six players who could go from being appreciated only by close watchers to staples of the highlight reels:
1) DeMarco Murray, RB, Oklahoma: Sooners coach Bob Stoops says Murray reminds him of Adrian Peterson … except he’s better at catching passes out of the backfield. So he should be interesting to watch this season, huh?
2) Arrelious Benn, WR, Illinois: He’ll naturally be Juice Williams’ favorite downfield target, but the lanky sophomore has been lining up in the backfield in practice quite a bit, too.
3) Macho Harris, CB, Virginia Tech: Sure, he picked off five passes and returned a kick 100 yards last season. This year there’s talk of bringing him in to play offense and cranking up a Heisman campaign. Can he be the second defensive back to win the Heisman, after Charles Woodson 11 years ago?
4) Zac Robinson, QB, Oklahoma State: If he’s a poor man’s Tim Tebow, that man probably isn’t doing too poorly: Robinson and Florida’s Heisman winner were the only BCS conference QBs to pass for more than 2,000 yards and run for more than 800. Robinson and the Cowboys could be poised for a big year.
5) Travis Beckum, TE, Wisconsin: It’s not as if Beckum wasn’t a good player last season, when he led the Badgers with 982 yards receiving. In Wisconsin’s already TE-heavy offense, he’ll be an even worse matchup nightmare than he was last season.
6) Jevan Snead, QB, Mississippi: Transfer from Texas has three years of eligibility left to prove himself after getting beat out by Colt McCoy in Austin. Might as well start now. The Rebels’ will need points aplenty with a suspect defense already hurt by injuries.
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