As always, injuries played a role in shaping teams' seasons in 2013. The flipside: The players who missed time in 2013 are back and ready to shape the season again, this time in a good way.
With a nod to the story detailing the top candidates for NFL Comeback Player of the Year, here, then, are 10 candidates for college football's Comeback Player of the Year.
Some of these guys missed the entire '13 season, but all of them missed at least a third of their team's season.
WR Stefon Diggs, Maryland
QB Jeff Driskel, Florida
DE Devonte Fields, TCU
LB Jordan Hicks, Texas
WR Austin Hill, Arizona
TB Duke Johnson, Miami
QB Chuckie Keeton, Utah State
RB Venric Mark, Northwestern
WR Malcolm Mitchell, Georgia
WR Kasen Williams, Washington
While offensive linemen never are going to win any comeback player awards, there are two worth keeping an eye on this fall, tackle Devin Davis at Oklahoma State and guard Dan Feeney at Indiana. Both should be the best players on their lines and have all-league potential. Davis missed the 2013 season with a torn ACL, while Feeney missed the season with a broken foot.
Mike Huguenin can be reached at mike.huguenin@nfl.com. You also can follow him on Twitter @MikeHuguenin.