Jack’s College Football Preview Pt. III, Who To Watch

Our favorite sport has never, ever been more in flux or bursting with storylines and plot twists than this fall.

In this third and final preview piece, I’m name dropping—players who  I want to keep an eye on for 2024.

• Ollie Gordon II, RB, Oklahoma State: 2,000 yards a possiblity? Yes. Heisman? Maybe. Always watchable. A super-productive workhorse.
• Nico Iamaleava, QB, Tennessee: his first full season at the controls of Josh Heupel’s schemes, built around him. It’s a lot of pressure, but he doesn’t lack confidence. That 4-TD Citrus Bowl against a blue-chip Iowa defense was tasty.
• Dylan Raiola, QB, Nebraska: Family lineage, massive expectations for a lad who turned down Georgia and Ohio State to come to bowl-starved Nebraska. Improving on 18 ppg. won’t be hard, but restoring what was once a proud blueblood will be a heavy lift.
• Ashton Jeanty, RB, Boise State: if he wasn’t in the Mountain West, he’d be a household name. He may be yet.
• Texas A&M past and present: I’m intrigued by former Aggie QB Haynes King, now playing a little off-the-beaten path for an ACC mid-pack Georgia Tech. If he gets interceptions under control, they will be a tough out. And current A&M signal-caller Conner Weigman, who’s played fragments of seasons in ’22 and ’23 could be something special if he stays healthy the whole year and has healthy targets in their deep RB and WR corps. The O-line is a concern.

There are tons of other great stories and teams. I had to limit myself in this column. In a few days, there’ll be no limits.

I can’t wait.