100 players to watch for in 2016: Teams 89-85

Posted on June 28, 2016

With spring ball wrapped up and summer practices starting soon, it’s time to start looking towards the college football season. Many stars from last season such as Derrick Henry, Corey Coleman, Ezekiel Elliott, Laquon Treadwell, and Jared Goff have all graduated or left school, leading to much intrigue and excitement for this season. In this series I will go through my personal top 100 teams entering this college football season, and highlight one player to watch from each team. For some teams, they may not be the most well know players (such as Christian McCaffrey on Stanford or Leonard Fournette on LSU), but rather players who could be potential stars this year or later in their career. Let’s start out with team’s number 89 through 85.

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Purdue – Markell Jones, RB, Sophomore

With Purdue only winning two games last season, not many people paid attention to freshman running back Markell Jones. Jones had an excellent season, rushing for 875 and 10 touchdowns, catching 34 passes, and averaging 5.2 yards per rush. That is an extremely impressive season for a true freshman in a Power Five conference, and no one is talking about Jones right now. At 5-foot-11 207 pounds, he has a solid build and can likely add more muscle mass to his frame in the coming years. He’s one of the more underrated backs in his class, and is a name to keep an eye on this year.

Kansas State – Skylar Thompson, QB, Freshman

A three star prospect and the Wildcats highest ranking recruit, Thompson looks to be Kansas State’s quarterback of the future. The number 11 dual threat quarterback in the country, he will look to bring the team back to relevance and contention in the Big 12. At 6-foot-2, 195 pounds he has a slight build but can easily add weight in college. Thompson ran a 4.72 forty yard dash, and had a 29-inch vertical jump, so he is clearly a good athlete. I can see Thompson making an impact as early as this season, as he enrolled in the spring and should have a shot to start sometime this fall.

East Carolina – Isaiah Jones, WR, Senior

Isaiah Jones should expect to be drafted next year, and it’s easy to see why. At 6-foot-1, 207 pounds Jones has a solid frame that NFL teams look for. He also has had excellent production over the past two seasons, posting 98 receptions (tied for sixth nationally) last season, and 81 receptions (18^th nationally) in 2014. However, Jones’ .28 dominator rating last season is lower than what you want from a top receiver, but hopefully these numbers will improve this season. He is currently ranked as CBS Sports number eight wide receiver for 2017, and analyst Rob Rang had high praise for him stating:

“Though he has another year of eligibility remaining, Jones already sports the tapered frame NFL scouts are looking for, with broad shoulders, long arms and fluid athleticism. He was consistently able to generate separation from UCF’s defensive backs, showing savvy as a route-runner with varied gaits, shoulder fakes and the body control to make tough receptions look easy.”

Central Michigan – Cooper Rush, QB, Senior

This will be Cooper Rush’s fourth year as a starter for Central Michigan, which is quite an impressive feat for a player regardless of competition level. Rush has improved his completion percentage, passing yardage, and touchdown to interception ratio in each of his first three years as a starter. At 6-foot-3, 227 pounds he possesses prototypical size for an NFL quarterback. Mel Kiper Jr. currently has Rush ranked as his number five senior quarterback entering this year, behind Davis Webb, Mitch Leidner, Chad Kelly, and CJ Beathard. This list isn’t exactly a bunch of first-round prospects, so don’t be surprised if Rush is one of the first few senior quarterbacks taken next year. I’d expect him to be a later round pick and settle in as a team’s backup quarterback for a few years.

Rutgers – Robert Martin, RB, Junior

The entire Rutgers program will be overhauled by new coach Chris Ash, and the team really lacks a lot of talent. With the loss of Leonte Carroo to the NFL, the team will search for new playmakers as they transition to a run based spread scheme, and Robert Martin should help lead the charge. At 6 feet, 205 pounds with good speed, Martin could end up as one of the Big 10’s best running backs this year. He has above average movement skills and wiggle, and also had excellent stats last season. Martin has had over five yards per carry and six touchdowns in each of his first two seasons, and had excellent performances against Michigan and Indiana last season, and had 100 yards against North Carolina to end his freshman season. It’s unlikely that Martin declares after this year, so keep an eye on him for a potential target in deep devy drafts next year.