Anthony Crane will be taking a look at college football through the lens of a Chiefs fan this season, but first here’s a look back at some disappointments from 2016.
Football has been my main squeeze since I could say the word. The Kansas City Chiefs have and always will have a place in my heart (not sure why sometimes). That being said, I enjoy every level of the sport. Like many of you, I spend my Saturdays watching tons of college football.
Each year I have a pretty good idea before the season starts who I should keep an eye on and who the best players are. But like most sports, there are those who come out of nowhere and surprise me and those who disappoint.
I have decided to take on the role of being the “college football guy” here at Arrowhead Addict for the 2017 season. I will focus a lot of my attention on the positions that I think the Chiefs will focus on in the draft, because, after all, it is a Chiefs blog.
All of that being said, we are a month away from the season starting. So I will start with the players who did not live up to expectations last season.
Nick Chubb
Nick Chubb burst onto the scene in 2014 when he rushed for 1,547 yards as a freshman at Georgia. As a former football player, I have run across just a few guys in my life who I would be terrified to try and tackle. Chubb is one of them.
Chubb may measure just under 6-feet and weighs just 228 pounds, but he has the appearance of a Mack truck running down the field. After watching him in 2014, I had a strong belief that he was going to be better than Todd Gurley.
Chubb averaged 7.1 yards/carry as a freshman and was averaging 8.1 in 2015 before a leg injury ended his season. Last season, Chubb bounced back to rush for over 1,000 yards, but he wasn’t near as dominant. Chubb’s yards per carry dropped to 5.0 and though that is still good; he just wasn’t dominating like years prior.
Chubb did make the strange decision to come back for his senior season and he will be a player to keep an eye on this upcoming season.
Leonard Fournette
I know a lot of you are saying, “But he was a top-5 pick!” This is true, but as far as his college performance goes, it was disappointing.
Fournette ran over everyone in the SEC in 2015 (except Alabama), rushing for 1,953 yards and scoring 23 touchdowns. But what he did in 2016 was quite the opposite, rushing for just 843 yards and only playing in seven games.
What Fournette did do was possibly start a trend that may end up hurting us as fans. Fournette understood that he was going to be drafted high in the upcoming draft and decided his health was more important than his team. I am not saying I disagree with his decision, but his team and season was hurt by the decision.
The entire Tennessee team
It seems like every year is going to be the year that the Tennessee Volunteers make their climb back to the top of the college football mountain. Aaannnddd then every year they disappoint those who believe in them.
The Volunteers team had six players drafted in the first four rounds of the draft. This is a Tennessee program that had a top 10 recruiting class in 2014, 2015 and the No. 14 class in 2016. They have basically become the Jacksonville Jaguars of college football.
Tennessee has finished 9-4 the last two seasons in a pretty weak SEC East. It took overtime in week one for them to beat Appalachian State (still scored just 20 points) and finished the season by losing to the school that gave Jay Cutler a scholarship.
The good news for Volunteer fans coming into the 2017 season is that they’re preseason ranked No. 25. So the only way they’ll be disappointed is if Butch Jones decides to get a decent haircut.
Top 5 players to watch in 2017
- Sam Darnold, QB, USC
- Saquon Barkley, RB, Penn State
- Lamar Jackson, QB, Louisville
- Cameron Smith, LB, USC
- Mike Weber, RB, Ohio State
*If you like running backs, make sure to watch plenty of Alabama, LSU, and Georgia