Quinn Ewers, the quarterback of the Texas Longhorns, tops the list of prospective top-impact players for next year. His incredible 2023 season included 3,479 yards and 22 touchdown passes, and he led his team to a record of 12-2 and a place in the college football playoffs as one of the top four teams in the nation. He also completed over 69% of his passes with only six interceptions.
By returning for his third season at the helm for the Longhorns, Ewers will be one of the top athletes projected in the running for the Heisman Trophy award but more than that, he looks to lead Texas back to the promised land. Only time will tell as Texas moves into the all-powerful SEC league, which has produced the national champion 13 times in the past 18 years. Look for Quinn Ewers to make a big splash for Texas again!
Dillon Gabriel quarterbacked the Oklahoma Sooners for the past two years (two years at UCF prior to that). He decided to use his “extra” year at the collegiate level and determined to transfer to the University of Oregon to become a Duck for the 2024 season. He is a top hopeful for the Heisman Trophy based on his recent success. He was fourth in the nation in passing for the 2023 season with an incredible 30 touchdowns and only six interceptions while completing 69.3% of his passes.
Wow doesn’t come close to describing his numbers. His 3660 yards passing moved him up to 8th on the all-time passing list for the NCAA. Another big year could vault him into the top three passers ever! But that is secondary for Gabriel as he has high hopes of leading the Ducks to the playoffs. Gabriel will be a huge impact player for a new team in the playoff hunt, the Heisman Trophy, and for career passing yards in history. Simply amazing.
Carson Beck is hungry. Hungry for a National Championship that eluded him and the Bulldogs this past season. Many pundits agree that Georgia was the “best” team in the nation this past season, but a 3-point loss in the SEC championship game cost them a place in the playoffs. It is easy to see why they were successful. Beck was 5th in the nation in passing with a blazing 3,941 yards passing along with 24 touchdowns (on a power running team, no less) and only six interceptions.
He completed a whopping 72.4% of his passes, showing incredible skill and accuracy. 2024 provides a golden opportunity for Carson to set career marks, break Bulldog records, win a Heisman, and, most importantly to him, win a National Championship as the top impact player on the team.
Cam Ward looks to impact a new team this season. After putting up video game numbers for Washington State last year, Ward looks to take the Hurricanes back to prominence. He will be a 5th year senior, and that experience should pay dividends for the Miami quarterback. He passed for 3,735 yards, 25 touchdowns, and only seven interceptions on a 66.6% completion rate.
He has passed for a career total of 13,874 yards so far (albeit two years at Incarnate Word University keep those passing numbers from placing him in the top 15 all-time in NCAA passing yards.) Cameron Ward now plays for a major contender and hopes to make his mark. His impact could take Miami back where they “belong”.
Ollie Gordon II is our first non-quarterback on the list. His rushing numbers are incredible. But if you play for OSU, it is expected, having seen the likes of Hall of Famers Barry Sanders and Thurman Thomas set records for your university. He led the Cowboys to a 10-win season plus a bowl win over Texas A&M. He rushed for an astounding 1,732 yards and 21 touchdowns on a 6.1 yards per carry average.
His big showing was five touchdowns in a thrilling double-overtime win over nationally ranked BYU. Now Gordon looks to help Oklahoma State replace the departed Texas Longhorns as conference champions and make their way into the college football playoffs.
Jalen Milroe is the returning starting quarterback of the Alabama Crimson Tide. His decision to forego the NFL draft points to a few things. The biggest item would seem to be the idea of getting the sour taste of a last-minute defeat in the college football playoffs. The only way to do that is to win a national championship.
But Jalen wants to put that loss behind him. He looks to improve upon his outstanding season in which he finished in the top 15 in the nation with 2,834 yards, 23 touchdown passes, and only six interceptions on a 65.8% completion rate and an unbelievable 10 yards per pass. Jalen Milroe wants to have the biggest impact on leading the historically great Alabama football team back to the championship.
1,541 yards and ten touchdowns on a 5.3 yards per carry average. That was Tahj Brooks in his breakout season for the Red Raiders. It was his fourth season and second as a starter. He also demonstrated flexibility as he caught 29 passes out of the backfield. At 230 pounds, Brooks is a competent blocker as well. Brooks looks to have even bigger numbers in the 2024 season.
Texas Tech is known as a “passing” school, but with his impressive campaign, the Red Raiders have a more balanced offense and can look to improve upon their mediocre 7-6 record. They did it on a high note with a convincing 34-14 Independence Bowl win over California. Tahj looks to play a bigger role and hopefully impact the Red Raiders in their bid to climb the conference standings.
TreyVeyon Henderson is a running back for Ohio State. That has typically meant playing for National titles. But last year, the Buckeyes fell short, losing to arch-rival Michigan, then followed that with a loss to Missouri in the Cotton Bowl. Henderson had subpar games in each of those two losses. Henderson looks to make the difference this year and atone for those performances.
Looking deeper into the numbers, Henderson had an outstanding season. He rushed for 926 yards and 11 touchdowns. He had a phenomenal 5.9 yards per carry and caught 19 passes for an additional 229 yards. If he looks to be impactful at the next level, he will have to perform at an elite level in big games in the upcoming season.
Jaxson Dart is the 6’2”, 220lb quarterback for the Ole Miss Rebels. He led them to an 11-2 record, a runner-up to Alabama in the SEC West division, and a 38-25 victory over Penn State in the Peach Bowl, which allowed the Rebs to finish the season top 10 in the nation. How did he accomplish so much in the toughest conference in the nation?
He did it by passing for 3,364 yards, 23 touchdowns, and only five interceptions, along with a 65.1% completion rate and an astounding 9.4 yards per pass. Going into his fourth season as the leader for Ole Miss, he looks to top this past season by leading the Rebels to the top of the SEC West and hopeful for a playoff bid.
Shedeur Sanders is a big hit on ESPN and has put up big career numbers over the past three years, amassing over 10,000 yards passing. In his second year as the Colorado quarterback, Shedeur hopes to lead the team out of the cellar. He puts up great numbers, but his team lacks success. He hopes to change all of that.
He had 3,230 yards passing in 2023. He had an almost unreal 27 touchdowns to three interception ratio. He also completed 69.3% of his passes for 7.5 yards per pass. If a complete team can be built around him in the off-season retool, Sheeur looks to take Colorado to new heights. Buffalo fans will be keeping their watch on him.
Trey Moore is our first defensive player on the impact list. And what an impact. He was the best defensive small college player in the nation last year and has transferred to the Texas Longhorns. What a get for Longhorn Nation. He plays the edge, and he plays it with reckless abandon. His stat lines may not look like the offensive players listed, but his impact on any game is just as noticeable.
He had 14 sacks last season to go along with his 30 solo tackles, his forced fumble, and an interception. Opposing coaches must game plan to stop his ferocious attack as he lays waste to the opposing quarterbacks and disrupts any drive with his uncanny ability to get to the backfield.
Xavier Watts is an athlete, pure and simple. He wreaks havoc on opponents with great coverage in the secondary, powerful hits, and forcing turnovers. He is the epitome of the perfect collegiate safety. His statistics include seven interceptions, one forced fumble, four passes deflected, and 30 solo tackles.
And that is with teams trying to avoid him in their game plans. Watts looks to use his tools and athleticism to impact the Fighting Irish to higher heights in the upcoming season. That is a tall order, considering that the team won 10 games in the 2023 season, including a 40-8 demolition of Oregon State in the Sun Bowl.
Billy Bowman is a playmaker on the defensive side of the ball. He makes things happen and completely changes what opposing offenses try to do. He is fast and has great instincts for the ball. He can play safety or cornerback with his speed. Just know that throwing in his vicinity is instant danger. He had six interceptions, four passes defended, and 63 tackles.
But his three touchdowns and 238 yards off of those interceptions prove what kind of threat he really is. He led the Sooners to a 10-3 record, which seems good on the outside looking in. Oklahoma fans have much higher aspirations. They are still licking their collective wounds after an embarrassing 38-24 Alamo Bowl loss to Arizona.
Jay Higgins will be a fifth-year senior with high ambitions and great expectations to make a huge impact in 2024. Higgins led Iowa to a 10-4 record. He had 171 tackles, two sacks, one forced fumble, and one interception on the season. That would be fantastic if the season had ended differently. The Hawkeyes ended their regular season winning the Big 10 West division, leading to a berth in the Big 10 Championship game against #1 ranked Michigan and the opportunity to get into the 4-team college football playoffs.
That 26-0 debacle was painful, to be sure, but paled in comparison to the 35-0 shellacking they took from Tennessee in the Cheez-it Citrus Bowl. Those two losses may light the fire for the 2024 campaign.
The Arkansas Razorbacks had a difficult season. Landon Jackson was the bright spot. He starred for the Razorbacks even in difficult circumstances and in the most difficult conference. He is a giant among giants in multiple ways. Even though he is only a sophomore, he stands 6’7” and weighs 287 pounds. He had 44 tackles and 6.5 sacks.
Opposing teams double-teamed him regularly to try and stop this behemoth, but he proved nearly unstoppable. His incredible play earned him All-SEC honors in a conference loaded with future NFL talent. Truly a great accomplishment but a deserved accolade for this talent. The Hogs look to build a better team around him and make a run for a bowl next season.
Some notable honorable mentions are coming in from high school as well: Cam Coleman (WR) from Auburn, Elijah Brown for Stanford (QB), Ify Obidegwu (DB) from Oregon, and Darrion Dupree (RB) from Wisconsin. 2024 looks to be another great season. Look for all of these players to make a big impact on this upcoming year.
