Starting the list is Collin Johnson, a senior wide receiver out of Texas. There might be others with better stats than Johnson, but I expect a ton of growth this year. As Johnson’s role has increased at Texas, so has his talent. He will easily be the top receiver for the Longhorns this year now that Lil’Jordan Humphrey is in the NFL.
If Texas is truly back, expect a lot from Sam Ehlinger to Johnson. In the Big 12, you have to be able to score in excess. This means that passing games are key, and this will be one of the best QB/WR duos in the country.
Without Humphrey to compete for in terms of catches, I expect Johnson to easily reach double digits for touchdowns. He should easily be a star in this offense, and he will turn a lot of heads as the season progresses. The rest of the college football world needs to watch out for Johnson.
J.J. Taylor was easily the top running back for Arizona last year, and he will be that again in 2019. Arizona isn’t necessarily a powerhouse in college football, but they had a talented offense. Taylor had an impressive 1,434 yards on the ground, but he did it on over 250 carries. He also only had six touchdowns, so he lacks the ability to break free for the long gains into the end zone.
My only issue with Taylor is the fact that I believe he has hit his ceiling. He is incredibly talented, but I don’t see him adding much else to his game that he hasn’t already. He’s very undersized to be a work horse type of back.
Perhaps he can grow more in the passing game, but I don’t see much more coming statistically this year when you compare it to last year. However, repeating what he did last year would be very impressive without adding anything else to his game.