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Ranking the 50 best college football players for 2016

By Connor Muldowney

Nov 7, 2015; Tuscaloosa, AL, USA; LSU Tigers running back Leonard Fournette (7) runs the ball during the fourth quarter against the Alabama Crimson Tide at Bryant-Denny Stadium. Alabama won 30-16. Mandatory Credit: Marvin Gentry-USA TODAY Sports
Nov 7, 2015; Tuscaloosa, AL, USA; LSU Tigers running back Leonard Fournette (7) runs the ball during the fourth quarter against the Alabama Crimson Tide at Bryant-Denny Stadium. Alabama won 30-16. Mandatory Credit: Marvin Gentry-USA TODAY Sports /
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Jan 11, 2016; Glendale, AZ, USA; Alabama Crimson Tide receiver Calvin Ridley (3) carries the ball against the Clemson Tigers in the 2016 CFP National Championship at University of Phoenix Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matthew Emmons-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 11, 2016; Glendale, AZ, USA; Alabama Crimson Tide receiver Calvin Ridley (3) carries the ball against the Clemson Tigers in the 2016 CFP National Championship at University of Phoenix Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matthew Emmons-USA TODAY Sports /

Don’t let the title of ‘sophomore’ fool you, Calvin Ridley is one of the oldest second-year players in the country. The Alabama wide receiver entered his first season with the Crimson Tide in 2015 as a 20-year-old and will be 21 by the time his second campaign rolls around. Before the 2016 postseason starts, Ridley will be 22.

You can’t knock a kid’s talent because of his age, though. Just because he’s two years older than most kids at his age level doesn’t mean he’s not one of the most supremely talented wide receivers in college football.

Alabama has produced some big-time receivers under Saban such as Julio Jones and Amari Cooper and you can bet that Ridley is the next in line.

As a true freshman, the former No. 1 receiver recruit in the nation caught 89 passes for 1,045 yards and seven touchdowns. The 6-foot-1 freshman was the favorite target of Jake Coker and helped lead the Tide to a national title.

Ridley’s best games of the season came when it mattered most, making him one of the more clutch first-year players in recent memory. Although he had just 14 receiving yards in the National Championship Game against Clemson, he caught16 passes for 240 yards and two touchdowns in the SEC title game against Florida and Cotton Bowl against Michigan State combined.

Big things are coming for Ridley this season.

Next: 15. Desmond King

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