Meet The Replacements

Mel Keiper, May to February

The NFL Draft looms ever closer. Soon, ESPN will bring Mel Keiper Jr. out of his carbonite chamber on Jabba the Hutt's space cruiser and college football will officially say goodbye to stars like Glenn Dorsey, Darren McFadden and Matt Ryan. Fear not, for like every year when a talented crop of collegiate players heads of the land of robotic play, a new batch is ready to take over. These are the Replacements for 2008.

Meet The New Glenn Dorsey: Sen'Derrick Marks

The SEC will not have to look far to find its next great defensive tackle. Auburn junior-to-be Sen'Derrick Marks is cut from the same cloth as LSU standout Dorsey. Marks is a load at 6'1" and nearly 300 pounds, but moves well off the line. Marks has carved out a nice little resume in his first two seasons at Auburn. He was named a Freshman All-American in 2006 with 36 tackles, and upped that number to 43 a season ago. The Tiger defense in which he performed allowed just 16 points per game in '07, a number that could shrink even lower in '08. Marks is just one cog in this defensive machine, much like Dorsey was for the tough LSU defense last year.

Meet The New Colt Brennan: Max Hall

Experienced quarterback for a standout non-BCS conference team? Check.

Rifle arm and good field vision? Check.

Working out of a passing-proficient offense with plenty of weapons? Check.

Max Hall assumes the role of non-BCS quarterback ready to burst on the national stage, one year after Hawai'i's Brennan got the invite to New York for the Heisman Trophy presentation. Brennan is the player Hall immediately takes over for, but BYU's snaptaker might best be compared to another Mountain West QB, Alex Smith. Hall's Cougars will be hard-pressed to match or even approach what Smith and the Utes accomplished in 2004, but Hall can put up comparable individual numbers.

In his first year taking over for the popular and talented John Beck, Hall kept the BYU offense moving to the tune of 26 touchdowns, a shade under 4,000 yards through the air, and a 60 percent completion rating. Many of the Cougars' notable offensive weapons are back for '08, so expect even more production from Hall this season.


Meet The New Jake Long: Michael Oher

Monstrous offensive tackles are often overlooked, but their value cannot be overstated. Surely new Ole Miss head coach Houston Nutt knows Oher's value, having coached Arkansas teams that faced him. Equally as sure must be that Nutt thanks his lucky stars for Oher's decision to return to Oxford.

Offenses are traditionally built around either a quarterback or running back, but in Oxford Oher is the cornerstone. The Rebels have a youthful roster in '08: neither the leading rusher nor top passer of 2007 is back. Oher has his work cut out for him, as even the line is youthful. But at 6'6", 325 pounds with his experience, he can provide the leadership to improve an Ole Miss offense that scored fewer than three touchdowns a game last season.


Meet The New Matt Ryan: Curtis Painter

Purdue has a nice lineage of solid college quarterbacks the last decade, from Drew Brees to Kyle Orton, and now Curtis Painter. Painter is similar to last year's BC breakout Matt Ryan in several facets. Painter took a respectable number of snaps as a freshman, assumed the starting role as a sophomore, and quietly generated buzz as a junior.

But like Matty Ice in his final season at Chestnut Hill, that quiet buzz is about to grow by a few decibles. For those who watched the Motor City Bowl, Painter got the '08 ball rolling with a 35-for-54 performance for 546 yards and three touchdown. Sure, that was against a MAC team, but I don't care if you're playing the Encinitas Pee Wee Chargers, 550 yards in one game is impressive.

Should Painter put together enough big performances to make Purdue competitive with the likes of Ohio State and Wisconsin, his legend will grow as Ryan's did last fall.

Meet The New Darren McFadden/Felix Jones Tandem: Joe McKnight and C.J. Gable

The college football-following nation was abuzz with McKnight talk last spring before he ever suited up in the Trojans' cardinal and gold. And for good reason. The guy is oozing with talent, is damn quick and has mind-blowing agility. He got off to a slow start in his freshman campaign, but eventual took off. It's no coincidence that the Trojans were such a much better team in November than September. A lot of credit goes to the defense improving, but an equal share goes to the emergence of McKnight.

The young, hyped McKnight shares the backfield with the experienced, more workman-like C.J. Gable. The result is combustible. Like Arkansas with its McFadden/Jones combination, USC could easily have a dual-1,000+-yard backfield in '08. The Trojans won't run as much as the Hogs, but because SC's defense is to tough, the offense will get more possession than any of those Arkansas teams.

Gable is multi-talented. He's quick, built like a tank, and a great receiver out of the backfield. But McKnight is the truly intriguing one. McKnight is a taller running back than most, standing about 6'1" -- like McFadden. McFadden obviously has about 35 pounds on McKnight, but with USC's top notch strength coaching, by the time he's done in SoCal, Joe should be a beast like McFadden. AAAAAND, they're both Irish. Get it? Get it?


Sorry.