College football Week 1: 15 players to watch

Stetson Bennett has been one of the best stories in college football. A local kid walks on at Georgia, transfers to a junior college before getting called back to Athens, somehow wins the starting job despite other quarterbacks being brought in to take it from him, then leads to Bulldogs to their first national championship since 1980. And he has had to deal with people doubting him the entire time. So what does he do as an encore? He played well in 2021 (2,862 yards, 29 TDs, 7 INTs), but can he get better? With Georgia having a lot to replace after their title season, a lot will be asked of Bennett out of the gate. And first up is Oregon, which is now led by Dan Lanning -- Georgia's defensive coordinator last year. Lanning has had all summer to cook up a scheme to try to topple the biggest domino on their schedule. How will Bennett counter? 

There's a lot changing in Baton Rouge and Boutte almost was one of them. He's one of the best receivers in the country but has dealt with injuries, a new coaching change and one of the more interesting quarterback situations in the country. Boutte is sticking it out and no matter who ends up playing QB, Boutte will produce. As a freshman, he caught 14 passes for an SEC-record 308 yards and 3 touchdowns against Ole Miss. The Brian Kelly era begins on Sunday night against Florida State in New Orleans. 

Corum came out swinging in 2021, putting up 111, 171 and 125 rushing yards over his first three games of the season (totaling 8 total touchdowns). But playing alongside Hassan Haskins (who rushed for over 1,300 yards and 20 TDs) and suffering a high-ankle sprain later in the season slowed his momentum. Corum had just one 100-yard rushing game the rest of the season and ran for a touchdown in just three of the Wolverines' final 11 games. Haskins is in the NFL and Corum should be the featured back in an offense that relies on running the football. Michigan hosts Colorado State, who had one of the worst rushing defenses in the Mountain West last season. 

While quarterback Sam Hartman is out taking care of a non-football-related injury, redshirt freshman Mitch Griffis will be in charge of the offense.  What he lacks in college experience he makes for with a belief in himself. He was a winner in high school and his teammates call him a natural-born leader. He was set to take over the quarterback job once Hartman heads to the NFL, but this unfortunate injury is an opportunity for Griffis to show that the future is now. Wake Forest host VMI on Thursday.

Jefferson was a big reason for the Razorbacks' emergence last season. He was strong with his arm (2,676 yards, 21 TDs, 4 INTs) and his legs (664 yards, 6 TDs), though he lost his biggest weapon ... receiver Treylon Burks ... to the NFL. If one of the receivers emerges as a go-to presence, expect Jefferson to have a bigger year throwing the ball. Arkansas has a brutal schedule (beginning this week against Cincinnati), but that will only give Jefferson ample opportunities to show how special he is. 

A lot has changed in South Bend this offseason, but what always remains is expectations and the Irish have their eyes on their first national championship since 1988. Of course, beating Ohio State in Columbus this week would go a long way toward achieving that goal, and tight end Michael Mayer will be a big key to making that happen. While most watching will be checking out that lethal Ohio State offense against Marcus Freeman's defense, but when Notre Dame has the ball, it will be interesting to see how the Buckeyes deal with Mayer. He's a huge target that can also go up and get 50-50 balls and he's difficult to bring to the ground. He may be the X-factor in the huge Notre Dame-Ohio State showdown this Saturday. 

Purdue had that Big Ten's second-ranked passing attack in 2021, with O'Connell throwing for 3,712 yards and 28 touchdowns last season. He's had a remarkable Boilermaker career: he was a walk-on in 2017 and never played over the next two seasons before taking over the starting role at the end of the 2019 season. He suffered a season-ending injury in the pandemic-shortened 2020 year and entered last season as a backup. He took the starting job back and became second-team All-Big Ten (behind Ohio State's CJ Stroud). Purdue hosts Penn State in a big conference showdown to start the season.

Cincinnati is sandwiched between an improbable College Football Playoff appearance and moving to the Big 12 in 2023, so keeping the winning culture despite a slew of players leaving is a must for the Bearcats. Linebacker Deshawn Pace broke out last season with an ability to read plays before and as they happen as well as being a disruptive athlete. He finishes tackles and has a high football IQ, and this year will have his brother (Miami-OH transfer Ivan) playing alongside him on the linebacking corps. With Cincinnati opening up against Arkansas' dual-threat quarterback, it will be essential for both Paces to make plays if the Bearcats want to put a road win over an SEC opponent on their resume. 

While Kenneth Walker III and the Spartans' running game were the stars of Michigan State's offense in 2021, the passing attack was also quite potent. Senior wide receiver Jayden Reed returns after catching 59 passes for 1,026 yards and 10 TDs in '21 and earning a 3rd team All-Big Ten selection (the four receivers ahead of him will all be playing in the NFL next week ... with three of them being first-round picks). Now he may be the best receiver in the conference ... or the nation. Michigan State hosts Western Michigan (where Reed played as a freshman in 2018) on Friday.

The Quack Attack offense that we've grown accustomed to over the last two decades or so will be going under a makeover this season, but the defense should be the unit that carries the team. Linebacker Noah Sewell (the younger brother of Lions' tackle Penei) will be the leader of the defense and one of the top linebackers in the country. He is solid in the run game while also having the ability to attack the quarterback. A natural leader at inside linebacker. Now his head coach is Dan Lanning, the architect of Georgia's championship-winning defense. Oh, and Oregon travels to Georgia to take on the Dawgs to open the season. Buckle up for this one. 

This is one of the most exciting transfer situations in the country. Kedon Slovis started 26 games for USC over the past three seasons and threw for over 7,500 yards and 58 touchdowns. Now he takes over the QB spot at Pitt that Kenny Pickett, the top quarterback selected in the 2022 NFL Draft, starred in last season. Slovis won't have Biletnikoff Award winner Jordan Addison to throw to as Pickett did (ironically, Addison transferred to USC). Slovis gets thrown into one of the best games of the opening week of the season as the Pitt-West Virginia "Backyard Brawl" is resurrected after an 11-year hiatus. If Slovis can be as lethal as he was when he was named Pac-12 Freshman of the Year in 2019, then the Panthers have a shot at another ACC title.

Here is your preseason Heisman favorite, and he jumps into the 2022 season with one of the biggest non-conference games of the season. Stroud was fantastic last season -- 4,435 yards, 44 TDs, 6 INTs -- and returns with one of the most dynamic offenses in the nation. The Buckeyes are loaded on offense, and with a defense that was bad at times last year, the offense found themselves in some shootouts. Look for another tremendous season from Stroud and a possible run to a national championship. 

Tavion Thomas helped lead Utah to one of the best seasons in Utes history. Thomas rushed for over 1,100 yards despite not really becoming the featured back until October. After a breakout against USC on October 9th, he would score a touchdown in each of the Utes' final nine games, including two four-TD games (against UCLA and Stanford). He was a problem in two games against Oregon -- where he totaled 157 yards and 5 TDs. Utah travels to Florida in a fantastic cross-country showdown at the Swamp.  

It is no secret that Clemson's 2021 season was derailed because of quarterback DJ Uiagalelei's inconsistency. To put it frankly, he wasn't very good. With super freshman Cade Klubnik waiting in the wings, there is a lot of pressure on Uiagalelei to get it going quickly. He was inaccurate (just 55% passing) and threw just one more touchdown (10) than interceptions (9). That's not going to get it done anywhere, especially at Clemson. Sure, the Tigers' opener at Georgia Tech on Monday night should be a relatively easy game, but if DJ struggles, how quickly with Dabo Swinney make a switch and put the freshman in? Klubnik will likely play some, but how much and under what circumstances will be determined by what Uiagalelei does.