College Football “Sleepers” To Keep An Eye on This Spring

20 years ago, this would be blasphemy to the nth degree. Now however, the Nittany Lions have fallen from the graces of the top tier of college football, most notably by the sanctions in lieu of the child sex scandal that crippled the program. Now that the staff has been turned over and with head coach James Franklin leading the way, Penn State is set to make some noise in the Big 10 this season. Quarterback Christian Hackenberg is back for his junior season, the top quarterback coming out of high school in 2013, and now that the Nittany Lions have depth, they can continue their stifling defensive play from last season, as they ranked 7th in the nation in scoring defense, giving up only 18.6 points/game.

In the best conference in college football, it's never easy to win. Butch Jones is learning this law as he was introduced into the league two years ago as Tennessee's head skipper. Should he continue the progress he has made in Knoxville thus far (namely his back to back top five recruiting classes), watch for the Vols to make some noise in the SEC East. "Spaceman" Josh Dobbs is an aerospace engineering student, but his play is what's really out of this world. Dobbs will arguably be the most explosive quarterback in the conference to start the season, and coming off a big win in the 2014 Taxslayer Bowl against the Iowa Hawkeyes, Dobbs is a more confident signal caller. And if you throw in some studs like Mr. Do-Everythings Pig Howard and Jalen Hurd (who very well could be the most athletic player in the SEC), this Tennessee team will be back in the college football elite before we know it.

They couldn't quite get over the hump last season, and you could just see the level of disappointment on head coach Bret Bielema's face after every close loss, but watch for some different results this year. Last year, the Hawgs had the biggest offensive line... in the world! Four of them are returning, which will no doubt allow them to boast, yet again, the biggest line in football, but two of them will be changing positions. Keep an eye on the offensive line and how it gels this spring, because if they become the same unit as last year's, then the two 1,000 yard rushers will be an occurring pattern under the watch of Bielema. Oh, and those running backs, Alex Collins and Jonathan Williams (two of the best backs in the country), are also back for 2015.

Woo Pig.

I know, with the new College Football Playoff, non-Power 5 teams are almost completely out of the national championship contention, but watch out for the Rockets up in Toledo, Ohio. They finished the season taking down Arkansas State 63-44 in the GoDaddy Bowl and return 15 starters, including 1,600 yard rusher Kareem Hunt, who also was fourth in the nation with 8.0 yards/rush. However, this team will have to replace five senior offensive linemen, all of whom earned significant playing time last year. Should the Rockets continue their hot play (finishing the 2014 season on a three game winning streak), watch for them to make some noise in 2015.