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Position-by-position player rankings

By B.J. Schecter, Sports Illustrated

QB | RB | WR | TE | OL | DL | LB | DB | K | P | Return Men

Quarterbacks
Player	School	Year
1. Michael Vick	Virginia Tech	So.
Leading Heisman Trophy contender is the most exciting player in college football.
2. Drew Brees	Purdue	Sr.
Possesses a cannon arm and is the only quarterback in Big Ten history with two 500-yard passing games.
3. Chris Weinke	Florida State	Sr.
At 28, is the oldest starter in Division I-A; threw for 3,103 yards in '99 and could be more prolific this season.
4. Eric Crouch	Nebraska	Sr.
With 899 yards and 16 touchdowns on the ground last season, became the first quarterback in 44 years to lead the Huskers in rushing.
5. Marques Tuiasosopo	Washington	Sr.
Dangerous and multi-dimensional, became the first quarterback in I-A history to pass for 300 yards and rush for 200 in the same game, against Stanford.
6. Antwaan Randle El	Indiana	Jr.
One-time Hoosiers basketball player is such a talented athlete, coach Cam Cameron will use him as a receiver to get him the ball more often.
7. Quincy Carter	Georgia	Jr.
Former Chicago Cubs farmhand is nearly as exciting as Vick.
8. Josh Heupel	Oklahoma	Sr.
Redefined the Sooners offense last season, throwing for 3,460 yards and breaking nine school records in the process.
9. Major Applewhite	Texas	Jr.
Big 12 co-offensive player of the year in '99 is engaged in a battle with prodigy Chris Simms for the starting job.
10. Romaro Miller	Mississippi	Sr.
Three-year starter, who threw for 1,999 yards and 14 TDs in '99, is poised for a breakout season.

Running backs
Player	School	Year
1. LaDainian Tomlinson	TCU	Sr.
Nation's leading returning rusher (1,850 yards) set the Division I-A record with 406 yards against UTEP last November.
2. LaMont Jordan	Maryland	Sr.
Now that the 5-11, 214-pound senior (1,632 yards in '99) has improved his work ethic, he can be as good as he wants to be.
3. Derrick Nix	Southern Miss	Jr.
The 6-2, 226-pound junior seeks third consecutive 1,000-yard season.
4. Ricky Williams	Texas Tech	Jr.
Missed all of last season with a torn ACL in his knee, now looks to top the 1,582 yards he rushed for in '98.
5. Deuce McAllister	Mississippi	Sr.
Already considered the top pick in the 2001 NFL draft by one pundit after leading the SEC with 1,692 all-purpose yards last season.
6. Travis Henry	Tennessee	Sr.
After playing behind Jamal Lewis for three seasons, 5-11, 220-pound senior finally becomes the Man. Averaged 6.3 yards per carry a year ago.
7. Cedric Cobbs	Arkansas	So.
Top freshman back in the nation last season with 668 yards rushing and three touchdowns.
8. Ken Simonton	Oregon State	Jr.
Sleek 5-7 junior needs 49 yards to become the Beavers' all-time leading rusher.
9. Travis Minor	Florida State	Sr.
Often gets lost in the Seminoles' pass-first offense, but can break it open when given the opportunity.
10. Anthony Thomas	Michigan	Sr.
A-Train rushed for 1,297 yards and 17 TDs in '99.

Wide receivers
Player	School	Year
1. Santana Moss	Miami	Sr.
Needs 626 yards to surpass Michael Irvin as Hurricanes' all-time leading receiver.
2. David Terrell	Michigan	Jr.
Stars at wideout and defensive back a la Charles Woodson and led team with 1,038 receiving yards in '99.
3. Latef Grim	Pittsburgh	Sr.
On pace to become the most prolific receiver in Big East history after averaging 100.6 yards per game last season.
4. Freddie Milons	Alabama	Jr.
Triple-threat (rushing, throwing and returning ) set a school record with 65 receptions last year.
5. Cedrick Wilson	Tennessee	Sr.
Called the most talented Vols wideout since Carl Pickens by coach Phillip Fulmer.
6. Terrence Edwards	Georgia	So.
Brother of Patriots running back Robert Edwards could be the most talented player in the family.
7. Kareem Kelly	USC	So.
Averaged 16.7 yards per catch and was the Pac-10 freshman of the year in '99.
8. Quincy Morgan	Kansas State	Sr.
Caught 42 passes (14 longer than 25 yards) for 1,007 yards and nine touchdowns last season.
9. Steve Smith	Utah	Sr.
Speedy juco transfer averaged 20 yards on 43 grabs a year ago.
10. DeRonnie Pitts	Stanford	Sr.
With '99 Biletnikoff Award winner Troy Walters now in the NFL, all the balls will come his way.

Tight ends
Player	School	Year
1. Todd Heap	Arizona State	Jr.
All-Pac-10 bull set school record with 55 catches for 842 yards last season.
2. Tracey Wistrom	Nebraska	Jr.
Brother of former Huskers All-America Grant averaged 26.2 yards per catch in '99.
3. Alge Crumpler	North Carolina	Sr.
Came back from serious knee injury in '98 to be named All-ACC last season.
4. Jabari Holloway	Notre Dame	Sr.
Best blocking tight end in the nation at 6-3, 260 pounds.
5. Brian Natkin	UTEP	Sr.
Nation's leading returning pass catcher at this position grabbed 59 balls for 648 yards and four TDs last year.

Offensive linemen
Player	Position	School	Year
1. Steve Hutchinson	G	Michigan	Sr.
At 6-5, 296 pounds, will clear the way for backs Anthony Thomas and Justin Fargas.
2. Leonard Davis	T	Texas	Sr.
Monstrous 6-7, 367-pounder played on D-line as a freshman. Will be scary when he matures into his new position.
3. Ben Hamilton	C	Minnesota	Sr.
Declined spot on the Playboy All-America team because of his religious beliefs.
4. Pork Chop Womack	T	Mississippi St.	Sr.
Aptly named after a former professional wrestler (at 6-3, 336 pounds, he's a lot of pork).
5. Dominic Raiola	C	Nebraska	Jr.
Athletic center can play anywhere on the line.
6. Bill Ferrario	G	Wisconsin	Sr.
The Badgers have averaged more than 200 rushing yards per game during his career.
7. Dave Kadela	T	Virginia Tech	Sr.
6-6, 272-pound junior will protect Michael Vick just fine, thank you.
8. Jeff Backus	T	Michigan	Sr.
The 6-6, 288-pounder will anchor left side of Wolverines' line, along with Hutchinson, for fourth year.
9. Paul Hogan	C	Alabama	Sr.
Three years ago, this 6-4, 280-pound senior became the first freshman to start at center for Alabama in 14 years.
10. Russ Hochstein	G	Nebraska	Sr.
Two-year starter teams with Raiola on the nation's best offensive line.

Defensive linemen
Player	Position	School	Year
1. Alex Brown	DE	Florida	Jr.
Set school record with 13 sacks and had 18 tackles-for-loss last season.
2. Roland Seymour	DE	Florida State	Sr.
6-4, 264-pound senior is next in a long line of Seminoles defensive line All-Americas.
3. Justin Smith	DE	Missouri	Jr.
Nicknamed Godzilla, the 6-5, 265-pound junior is as ferocious as they get.
4. Karon Riley	DE	Minnesota	Sr.
SMU transfer has 36-inch vertical leap and bench presses 400 pounds.
5. Richard Seymour	DT	Georgia	Sr.
Led the Bulldogs in tackles (74) and tackles-for-loss (10) in '99
6. Damione Lewis	DT	Miami	Sr.
Best Hurricanes defensive lineman since Warren Sapp.
7. Ennis Davis	DT	USC	Sr.
Major reason the Trojans led the Pac-10 in run defense last season.
8. Jamal Reynolds	DE	Florida State	Sr.
"Reynolds and Seymour in on the play." Get used to hearing that sentence this fall.
9. Julius Peppers	DE	North Carolina	So.
Key reserve on UNC's Final Four hoops team is also the Heels' best defensive player on the gridiron.
10. Wendell Bryant	DT	Wisconsin	Jr.
Speedy 6-4, 298-pound junior poised for a breakout season. .

Linebackers
Player	Position	School	Year
1. Keith Adams	OLB	Clemson	Jr.
Son of former Patriots DE Julius Adams put up eye-popping numbers in '99: 186 tackles, including 35 for loss, and 16 sacks.
2. Carlos Polk	ILB	Nebraska	Sr.
May be best middle linebacker in Huskers history.
3. Dan Morgan	ILB	Miami	Sr.
With 394 career tackles, needs just 97 more for the 'Canes record.
4. Jashon Sykes	ILB	Colorado	Jr.
Plays the Hawk position and feasts on the ball, leading nation last season with five forced fumbles.
5. Saleem Rasheed	OLB	Alabama	So.
Led the Tide in tackles (88) as a freshman last season and can only get better.
6. Zeke Moreno	ILB	USC	Sr.
Was king of Troy with a team-leading 108 tackles last season.
7. Eddie Strong	ILB	Mississippi	Jr.
Aptly named 6-2, 250-pound junior put on 15 pounds during the offseason to move inside.
8. Akin Ayodele	OLB	Purdue	Jr.
Led the Boilermakers with 11 sacks and 19 tackles-for-loss last season.
9. Jason Glenn	OLB	Texas A&M	Sr.
Brother of Jets CB Aaron Glenn will make a name for himself in '00.
10. Brian Allen	OLB	Florida State	Sr.
Hard-hitting senior teams with Tommy Polley and Bradley Jennings to form best linebacking trio in the nation.

Defensive backs
Player	Position	School	Year
1. Jamar Fletcher	CB	Wisconsin	Jr.
Nation's best cover man has run back five interceptions for touchdowns in his career.
2. Jarrod Cooper	SS	Kansas State	Sr.
Four-year starter heads a secondary that topped the nation in pass-efficiency defense a year ago.
3. Hakim Akbar	FS	Washington	Jr.
Injured for much of '99 but will open some eyes this fall.
4. Fred Smoot	CB	Mississippi State	Sr.
One of the best cover guys in the nation, this Smoot sticks to you like glue.
5. David Terrell	CB	Michigan	Jr.
His numbers aren't very gaudy, but that's because teams don't throw at him.
6. Robert Carswell	FS	Clemson	Sr.
Hard-hitting, 215-pound senior had six interceptions in '99.
7. Tay Cody	CB	Florida State	Sr.
Three-year starter is leader of a solid secondary.
8. Pig Prather	SS	Mississippi St.	Jr.
Nicknamed Pig at an early age because of his poor eating habits, converted RB will feast on opposing quarterbacks.
9. Al Blades	FS	Miami	Sr.
Pick your poison: is merely the best member of the nation's top secondary.
10. Daryl Dixon	FS	Florida	So.
Earned starting role as true freshman last season. .

Kickers
Player	School	Year
1. Jeff Chandler	Florida	Sr.
Earned a scholarship before the '99 season and then connected on 21 of 24 field goals.
2. Dan Nystrom	Minnesota	So.
Top freshman kicker in the nation a year ago, his last-second 32-yarder ruined Penn State's season.
3. Vitaly Pisetsky	Wisconsin	Sr.
Could be this year's Sebastian Janikowski since 75 percent of the Russian rocket's kickoffs reached the end zone.
4. Hayden Epstein	Michigan	Jr.
Came back from ACL tear much quicker than expected to complete solid season. Handles punts, too.
5. Scott Westerfield	Mississippi St.	Sr.
Fantastic kicker who is great under pressure.

Punters
Player	School	Year
1. Ray Cheetany	UNLV	Sr.
Averaged 45.4 yards per punt last season.
2. Keith Cottrell	Florida State	Jr.
Three-year starter may also kick off.
3. Dan Hadenfeldt	Nebraska	Sr.
Former walk-on granted a sixth year of eligibility averaged a school-record 44.98 yards last season.
4. David Leaverton	Tennessee	Sr.
Once benched because of inconsistency, but is now a weapon.
5. Craig Jarrett	Michigan St.	Jr.
Solid junior kicker will get a lot of practice this season.

Return men
Player	School	Year
1. David Allen	Kansas St.	Sr.
Most prolific punt returner in NCAA history is pretty good at kickoffs, too.
2. Steve Smith	Utah	Sr.
Brought back three punts for touchdowns last season, two in one game vs. New Mexico. .
3. Bobby Newcombe	Nebraska	Sr.
Former Huskers quarterback can really fly.
4. Nick Davis	Wisconsin	Jr.
Has tremendous acceleration; if he gets a seam he's gone.
5. Santana Moss	Miami	Sr.
The nation's top receiver is dangerous whenever he touches the ball.