College football players to keep your eye on in week two

Mahomes, Engram, Steelhammer et al.

The college football season is finally underway with many upsets already. Who really imagined No. 15 Houston taking down No. 3 Oklahoma? Or the ghost of Vince Young embodying Tyrone Swoopes? The first week was one for the books. Now let’s see who could have huge performances in the second week of the season.

Patrick Mahomes, Quarterback, Texas Tech University:

Last year Mahomes quietly passed for 4653 yards and 36 touchdowns while also rushing for 10 touchdowns on the ground. He got off to a great start to the season last week against Stephen F. Austin passing for 483 yards and four touchdowns while rushing for two touchdowns.

He will face a tough road game at Arizona State this week, but expect him to shine as one of the best quarterbacks in the country playing a late night game on the west coast.

Weston Steelhammer, Safety, Air Force:

He easily has the best name in college football. Steelhammer is a ball hawk, in 2014 he notched three interceptions in a game against Boise State tying an Air Force and a Mountain West Conference record.

He currently has 11 career interceptions entering his senior year, more career interceptions than Earl Thomas (10), TJ Ward (2), and Harrison Smith (7) all had in college. This week Steelhammer faces Georgia State quarterback Conner Manning who has thrown 38 passes in his entire college career, could be a big day for Steelhammer.

Myles Garrett, Defensive End, Texas A&M:

One of the top draft prospects for this year’s draft (if he leaves). The man is a sack machine and was the SEC leader last season. Expect more plays like this from Garrett this week against Prairie View A&M.

Evan Engram, Tight End, University of Mississippi:

If you watched the Monday night game against Florida State you would’ve thought Engram was the college version of Jimmy Graham in the first half. The athletic pass catching tight end made nine catches for 121 yards and a touchdown against a tough Florida State team.

With Laquon Treadwell gone it seems that quarterback Chad Kelly has found his new number one target in Engram. This week they play the Wofford Terriers so expect the Ole Miss Rebels to take last weeks loss out on this FCS opponent.

Bart Houston, Quarterback, University of Wisconsin:

This man is a gamer, all he does is win. Houston went 3 for 3 for 48 yards on Wisconsin’s game winning drive against No. 5 LSU. This week he faces a much easier opponent at home against Akron, expect another solid game from the senior.

Noah Brown, Wide Receiver, Ohio State:

After missing all of 2015 due to an injury, Brown had a big day against Bowling Green (just like everyone else on Ohio State’s offense) accounting for three catches for 46 yards and his first career touchdown. Keep in mind that Brown is supposed to be replacement for Michael Thomas and this was his first career start. Expect the Buckeyes to be throwing a lot this week against a Tulsa squad that can put up a lot of points with their air raid offense.

D’Onta Foreman, Running Back, University of Texas:

No, not Devonta Freeman although the names are eerily similar. Anyway rushing for 131 yards and a touchdown against No.10 Notre Dame will earn you some respect in college football. This week he faces a much easier opponent in UTEP.

John Ross, Wide Receiver, University of Washington:

A threat every single time he touches the ball (three touchdowns against Rutgers last week). The speedy Ross is also one of the deadliest kick returners in college football and happens to be the team’s best receiver as well.  This week the No.8 Huskies face Idaho in what should be a great match up for the speedster.

Derwin James, Safety, Florida State:

Looked like the real deal against Ole Miss picking off Chad Kelly in order to get momentum back for Florida State. If he is anything close to the second coming of Sean Taylor (greatest safety of all time) then teams may want to second guess passing against this secondary.

Jalen Hurd, Running Back, University of Tennessee:

If it was not for Hurd’s heroic fumble recovering in the end zone Tennessee’s season could’ve been over before it started. Hurd was the only offensive player on the team who had a respectable day with 110 rushing yards on the ground. Even though they dropped rather dramatically in the rankings due to a poor showing against Appalachian State expect them to rebound against Virginia Tech. Expect the Volunteers to hand their star running back the ball early and often in front of the crowd at Bristol Motor Speedway.

Surely there will be more surprises this week that no one saw coming. In the meantime sit back and enjoy the round two of the college football season.

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