Post Spring Power 5 College Football Preview - sonshipsports's Blog

sonshipsports's Blog

Post Spring Power 5 College Football Preview

Posted on August 27, 2022 at 12:44 AM.

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Is it really Alabama and everyone else AGAIN this year? It sure seems so. They return the defending Heisman trophy winner at quarterback, Bryce Young, the best pass rusher in the country in Will Anderson, and an entire team chocked full of athletes that decided to return for one-more-year instead of making the jump to the NFL. Losing the 2021 National Championship to Kirby Smart's Georgia Bulldogs, after defeating them in the SEC Championship, has left a bitter taste in Nick Saban's Crimson Tides collective mouths. Especially considering that by the end of the game, Bryce Young had so many injuries in his receiving core it seemed he was having to throw the ball to gradeschoolers. Now several of those receivers from Alabama have decided to make that leap to the NFL, but they also stole themselves a Bulldog from that national championship team in speedster Jermaine Burton. And they may have added the best transfer portal defensive back in all of college football by snagging Eli Ricks away from rival LSU.

So what about the Georgia Bulldogs? Oh, they will still be a powerhouse to reckon with. But when your team breaks the all time record for the most players taken in the first round of the NFL draft, you have some replenishing to do. Don't get me wrong. For every young man who was drafted, another four-star or five-star athlete replaces him. But that guy was not a starter last year like the majority of players on Alabama were. But they do return a nasty one-two punch on offense with quarterback Stetson Bennett and tight end Brock Bowers. Nolan Smith and Robert Beal Jr. will be making life extremely hectic for quarterbacks throughout the SEC all year long as well. But losing Jermaine Burton to Alabama hurts, and they don't have near the depth that their SEC rival does this year.

So what does the rest of college football offer? Well, the SEC is the SEC again. With the possible exceptions of Missouri, Mississippi State, and Vanderbilt, the remaining teams are all stacked with four-star and even five-star athletes. In this man's humble opinion, even the three aforementioned teams would perform better by two or three games if they played in any other conference besides the Southeastern Conference - with the possible exception of Vanderbilt. Missouri just recruited the top wide receiver coming out of high school this year, so it's not like they are getting bogus players.

The wild card this 2022 season is LSU. The question is, what will Brian Kelly do in his inaugural season in Baton Rouge. LSU believes they have the best wide receiver in all of college football with Kayshon Boutte. John Emery Jr. returns for his senior year at tailback after a year of getting well-rested. On defense, LSU's front four and back four are both downright scary. BJ Ojulari and Maason Smith will anchor a defensive line that will put pressure on opposing quarterbacks simultaneously helping out a secondary that, quite frankly, doesn't need any help. The only original Tiger starting in the LSU secondary currently is senior free safety Jay Ward. And an incredibly talented safety he is. But Brian Kelly dipped into the transfer portal and brought over some heavy, heavy fire power. Jerrick Bernard-Converse, Mekhi Garner, and Sevyn Banks will all get plenty of snaps at the cornerback position this fall. Joe Foucha comes in from the Arkansas Razorbacks to shore up the strong safety spot and senior Greg Brooks transfers in to solidify the nickelback spot. Welcome to college free agency ladies and gentlemen! As always, in this great sport of football the wild card is going to be the quarterback position. Will Miles Brennan or Arizona State transfer Jayden Daniels be able to do enough to take LSU to the football �final four�?

Let's move on to the ACC. I truly believe Clemson is going to have a bounce back year. All of that depends on one young man, DJ Uiagalelei. Well, him and his offensive line - who both grossly underperformed last year. But that defense sure returns a lot of intimidating fire power. Especially across the defensive line. Names like Miles Murphy, Brian Bresee, Tyler Davis, and Xavier Thomas will cause havoc throughout the entire ACC all year long. That defense will rush quarterbacks and create turnovers to give Clemson short fields. North Carolina State could give some people trouble this year as well. Devin Leary returns at quarterback with two excellent targets at the wide receiver position in Drake Thomas and Devin Carter. But Carolina's defense won't have to take a back seat to its offense at all. It may have one of the best linebacking trios in all of college football. Peyton Wilson, Isaiah Moore, and Drake Thomas are absolute tackling machines. And the safety trio of Tyler Baker-Williams, Tanner Ingel, and Cyrus Fagan will help to hold down a secondary that looks to be very opportunistic this fall.

The Big Ten will be spearheaded by none other than the Ohio State Buckeyes. After a down year where they were defeated by hated rival Jim Harbaugh and the Michigan Wolverines, THE Ohio State University looks to have a bounce back season. And they have their version of the triplets to do it. Quarterback CJ Stroud, running back Treveyon Henderson, and wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba will be too much for teams in the Big 10 to handle. They also have a veteran offensive line returning anchored by tackles Paris Johnson Jr. and Dawand Jones. However, they can be exploited in the secondary and will have to make some upgrades there if they are to challenge for a shot at the college football playoff. Both Michigan and Michigan State return excellent wide receivers in Ronnie Bell and Jayden Reed respectively. But will Cade McNamara and Payton Thorne be the field generals those two teams need for them to compete with Ohio State this year?

In the Big 12 this year, I honestly can only see the Oklahoma Sooners as a viable threat. Both Baylor and Oklahoma State have lost a lot of weapons. Spencer Sanders is outstanding at quarterback and Oklahoma State will also have a very nice pass rush. But there are not a lot of offensive weapons to go around. Baylor has even LESS firepower on the offensive side of the ball coming back this year. Although Baylor does have a stout offensive line should they find some weapons. Oklahoma on the other hand, under first year head coach Brent Venables, is littered with the type of talent we are used to seeing out of Sooner nation. Dylan Gabriel transfers in to take the rains at quarterback from Central Florida. He will have an outstanding target in Marvin Mims at wide receiver to throw the ball to. But Brent Venables is a defensive guy. And unlike Sooner teams in recent memory, man, does this team have some defensive guys. Defensive linemen Jalen Redmond, Jeffrey Johnson, and Josh Ellison, will make life easier for tackling machine middle linebacker Deshaun White to rack up hit after hit. And when opposing defenses are silly enough to drop back and pass, they will have talented players such as Woodi Washington and North Carolina transfer Trey Morrison waiting for them in the secondary.

What about the PAC-12? Get ready for Utah versus the Lincoln Riley show. That's right, I said it. USC will be a national contender this year. Whether they win the PAC-12 or make it to the college football playoff, that I cannot foretell. But they have brought over 10 major transfer portal players, at least six of them are day one starters. Lincoln Riley has revamped that entire team in one off-season. Hollywood, here we come! Brand new quarterback, brand new running back, two brand new wide receivers, brand new pass rusher, brand new middle linebacker, and two brand new defensive backs. All of them from Power 5 universities like Alabama, Oklahoma, Oregon, Colorado, Auburn, etc. And if Lincoln Riley somehow lands "all world" wide receiver Jordan Addison from the Pitt Panthers to this already stacked USC Trojan roster, in my mind, it would make them the odds-on favorites to win the PAC-12 outright. But Utah isn't going to just hand the conference over to the Trojans. Quarterback Cameron Rising is going to have something to say about it. Especially considering he has one of the best tight ends in college football the throw to in Brant Kuithe. Tavion Thomas at running back and Solomon Enis at wide receiver rounds out a nice group of weaponry for the Utah offense. The strength of Utah�s defense is their secondary. Clark Phillips III and Jatravis Broughton are two of the best shutdown corners in the PAC-12. Mohamoud Diabate at middle linebacker just has a knack at finding the football on every single play. I'm really looking forward to these two teams going at it. I like quarterback Bo Nix of Oregon but the weaponry just isn't there for him this year.

The independent circuit gives us two teams this year. Both BYU and Notre Dame are talented top to bottom. But not being part of a conference could hurt them again this year. BYU has an excellent tight end in Isaac Rex and two really nice receivers with Puka Nacua and Gunner Romney. Redshirt junior Jarren Hall will have to prove he can get them the ball consistently. Defensively, you never know who is playing where at BYU, all you know is that they are coming after you. Names like Pili, Wilgar, Tooley, and Bywater, will be called multiple times a game this fall. And last but not least, what will Marcus Freeman do in his first year as the head coach for the fighting Irish of Notre Dame? It's a brutal schedule. They start off by going to Columbus, Ohio to face Freeman�s alma mater. Dabo Swinney's Clemson tigers as well as Lincoln Riley's USC Trojans are on the Irish schedule this year. As well as the aforementioned BYU cougars. But this is a team with a different attitude since Marcus Freeman took over and added what has turned out to be a star-studded coaching staff. Michael Mayer, not the guy who shows up and hacks people up on Halloween, the Notre Dame tight end who shows up in the middle of your defense and hacks up your game plan is probably the best tight end in college football. He has been given the nickname "Baby Gronk" by everyone who has played with him or against him. Watch him play once and it will answer any question that you have. The Irish also return two outstanding running backs in speed demon Chris Tyree and workhorse Logan Diggs. Not to mention freshman sensation Jadarian Price.The offensive line was young last year but now it's experienced with a lot of 4-Star talent across the board. Look for young receivers like Lorenzo Styles and Deion Colzie to make massive jumps this year to join the likes of veterans Braden Lenzy, Avery Davis, and Joe Wilkins. The big question will be, is dual threat quarterback Tyler Buchner ready to be the superstar Notre Dame recruited him to be? Defensively, Isaiah Foskey will be one of the best pass rushers in the nation. Brandon Joseph transfers over from Northwestern as an All-American to take over the role played by Kyle Hamilton last year at safety. But this defense is about its linebackers. JD Bertrand, Jack Kiser, Bo Bauer, Prince Kollie, as well as freshman Jaylen Sneed will all look to snag playing time. But the stud of this core is Marist Liufau, who I believe is the next great Irish linebacker in a lineage of great linebackers. He was out last year with an injury but I watched him play in the spring game and he was all over the field. He was in on almost every play. He was making tackles, causing fumbles, breaking up passes, and even intercepting the ball. That young man is going to be a nightmare to keep track of for opposing offenses. But will all this be enough to see the Irish return to the college football playoff?

So once again, is it really Alabama and everyone else? Well, if I was a betting man, sadly for the rest of the field, I would probably bet on Alabama this year. I just don't see anyone that has the combination of depth and coaching that they do. They played in the national championship last year and if their two top receivers had not gotten injured, I believe they win that football game. They return most of that squad to the gridiron this fall. I'm not sure who in college football is going to have the chops to hang in there for four quarters with the Crimson Tide this year. One thing I do know is, it will be a hell of a ride to watch!