Any given Saturday in college football, anything can happen. Every year we see players either break out and steal the spotlight or break down and fade away from memory. Here are five college football stars who are the real deal, and five who will be big time flops.
The Real Deal: Caleb Williams, USC
Shocker, the most hyped-up quarterback since Trevor Lawrence is deemed a star on this list. But to keep it simple, Williams has placed top three in passing yards and passing touchdowns the past two years in a row and has shown his ability to be a ground threat as well. The 2022 Heisman Trophy winner is expected to be the first overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft and make an immediate impact in the NFL.
Flop: Drake Maye, UNC
Drake Maye has led the North Carolina Tar Heels to a sixth straight season as a bowl eligible program. Despite being the starter for two years, Maye has been an inconsistent quarterback for the tar Heels. He has racked up wins against big programs, however Maye has also struggled against bottom feeder teams. Maye has also been complimented by a solid ground game from Omari Hampton who has broken one thousand yards in 2023. All in all, Maye resembles a Daniel jones type quarterback, and as a third year, he needs to clean up his play before taking the next step.
The Real Deal: Rome Odunze, UW
The University of Washington might have the most high-powered offense in the NCAA, and a lot of this is thanks to Junior wide receiver Rome Odunze. Odunze led the Huskies in receiving yards in 2022, and has continued this into 2023, already surpassing his yardage and touchdown totals in 2022. 2023 marked Odunze’s second year in a row where he eclipsed 1,000 yards through the air. Odunze has shown his ability to burn defenses deep, as well as catch short passes. He is projected to be a first-round pick in 2024.
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Flop: Jalen Milroe, Alabama
Jalen Milroe is in his first year as a starter for the Crimson Tide, and a historically high-powered Alabama offense has taken a step back with Milroe under center. This isn’t to say that Alabama’s struggles are all Milroe’s fault, but the offense has failed to crack 30 points in half of their games in 2023. This is in comparison to a 2022 Alabama team that scored less than 30 points on only two occasions. In addition, Milroe’s numbers compared to other Sophomore quarterbacks aren’t eye popping. There may not have been a ton of preseason hype for Milroe, but he is still an Alabama quarterback, and with that title comes unspoken expectations to be a dominant player.
The Real Deal: Harold Perkins Jr., LSU
In only his sophomore year, Harold Perkins Jr. has shown his ability to be a run stopping, blitzing linebacker for the LSU Tigers. As a freshman in 2022, Perkins was third in tackles for the Tigers; he has remained consistent in this category in 2023. Perkins is also known as one of the fastest linebackers in the game and has an official 40-yard dash time of 4.49. His speed makes him a sideline-to-sideline player, and he can never be neutralized in a game,
Flop: Will Shipley, Clemson
Will Shipley has made a name for himself in the world of college football and was expected to have a breakout year in 2023. As a running back for the Clemson Tigers, Shipley has only had one game with over 100 yards on the ground in 2023, and that was in a loss against Duke. Other than that, Shipley has struggled, becoming inconsistent as a runner. Shipley has only had four games in 2023 where he averaged more than five yards per attempt. He has shown his ability to catch the ball too, but with little stats to show for it. All in all, Shipley is a reliable back, but not a star.
The Real Deal: Kool-Aid McKinstry, Bama
Besides having one of the coolest names in college football, the 6-1 defensive back has been a lockdown corner for the Crimson Tide McKinstry may not accumulate eye popping stats, but that’s because none dares to throw his way. McKinstry is quick to help rally for a tackle and has shown his selflessness as a defensive player.
Flop: Cameron Ward, WSU
Through the first four weeks of the season, Cameron Ward was one of the top three Heisman candidates. My how things change. Ward has been able to make a jump in production from last season but has struggled with some of the most basic fundamentals. Ward’s signature ability is to extend plays via his elusiveness; however, he is known to take questionable sacks when his eyes get caught downfield. Ward has tunnel vision at times, which leads to him staring down receivers and forgoing the rest of his reads.
The Real Deal: Shilo Sanders, CO
It’s rare that we see such a physical defensive back in college, but Shilo Sanders is just that. He has handled the jump into a power five conference well and has kept putting up consistent stats as a pass defender. His 45 tackles through ten games is double his previous record for tackles in a season, and Sander shas continued to play physical, causing two fumbles that were recovered by the defense. All in all, he has a different play style than we are used to seeing in college football, and his physicality will continue to be his strong suit.
Flop: Shedeur Sanders, CO.
In terms of stats alone, Shedeur Sanders appears to be one of the best quarterbacks in the PAC-12. However, it isn’t all about the numbers. Similar to Caleb Williams, Sanders has shown attitude problems at times, and there have been instances where Sanders has been seen taunting opposing student sections. It’s wild that he chose to taunt a student section with a watch that was probably bought with his daddy’s money.
Digression aside, Sander’s integrity has been called into question as some believe that he is trying to pad his own stats. This has been seen in instances where instead of throwing the ball away, Sanders will take the sack to avoid hurting his completion percentage. Despite having over 3,000 yards and a completion percentage of 69%, Sanders took 48 sacks in the first ten games of the season. But hey, at least his completion percentage would make Rob Gronkowski proud.
