Last year, Alabama's Derrick Henry became the first running back to win the Heisman Trophy since Mark Ingram (also of Alabama) won the award in 2009. Could LSU's Leonard Fournette become the second consecutive RB to take home college football's most prestigious piece of hardware? Read the full report.

Deshaun Watson entered the 2015 season with questions about his health and durability following an injury plagued freshman season in 2014. Watson exceeded expectations, earning ACC Player of the Year honors in leading Clemson to the College Football Playoff championship game against Alabama, in which he put forth a stellar effort in defeat. Read the full report.

Myles Garrett has established himself as college football's most disruptive pass rusher in his two seasons at Texas A&M. Read the full report.

In a crowded competition for the title of CFB's top running back, Stanford junior Christian McCaffrey is arguably the most versatile of the bunch. The 2015 Heisman Trophy runner-up posted a season for the ages in 2015 in leading Stanford to victory in the Rose Bowl. Read the full report.

Former Florida CB Vernon Hargreaves was selected No. 11 overall by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the 2016 NFL Draft, and Teez Tabor might be every bit as talented as Hargreaves. Read the full report.

The "Year of the Running Back" in college football should spark high-octane debates over which rusher is the best. Florida State junior Dalvin Cook will be squarely in that conversation. Read the full report.

USC has produced one first-round pick (Nelson Agholor in 2015) and two second-round picks (Marqise Lee in 2014 and Robert Woods in 2013) at the wide receiver position in the past four years. Junior receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster is the latest in that long line of promising Trojans pass-catchers. Read the full report.

Baker Mayfield experienced a breakthrough season in his first year as Oklahoma's starting quarterback. After throwing for 3,700 yards and 36 touchdowns, and rushing for seven more scores, Mayfield earned Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year honors, and was selected second-team All-America. He helped guide the Sooners to the College Football Playoff, and his return is a big reason why OU is expected to make another playoff run. Read the full report.

Many expected Jonathan Allen, coming off of an excellent junior season, to join Derrick Henry, Jarran Reed and A'Shawn Robinson in declaring for early entry into the 2016 NFL Draft. He decided to stay in school, though, and he joins a talented contingent returning to Tuscaloosa for another run at a national championship. Read the full report.

Alabama once again has a heaping helping of NFL-caliber talent, and junior offensive tackle Cam Robinson is one of the team's top prospects this season. Read the full report.

Along with USC's Adoree' Jackson -- the No. 12-rated player in CFB 24/7's #CFBTop25 countdown -- Jabrill Peppers is one of the most versatile and athletic players in college football. Read the full report.

USC's Adoree' Jackson is a playmaker in all three phases of football (offense, defense and special teams), and is arguably the best athlete in the college game. He had a 46-yard pick six during the 2015 season, and also had 27 receptions for 414 yards and two touchdowns. In addition, he returned two punt returns for touchdowns. Read the full report.

After having an astonishing 12 players selected in the 2016 NFL Draft, Ohio State still retains a lot of talent. Linebacker Raekwon McMillan is the biggest standout of the bunch. Read the full report.

Tim Williams burst onto the scene as a disruptive pass rusher last season. He registered 10.5 sacks in 2015, and has the potential to be even more productive in 2016. Read the full report.

Alabama didn't miss a beat at wide receiver after the departure of Oakland Raiders 2015 first-round pick Amari Cooper. Calvin Ridley -- a top-rated receiver recruit out of high school -- stepped up to fill the void. Read the full report.

In 2015, Josh Rosen became the first true freshman to start a season opener at quarterback for UCLA, which needed a successor at the position for Brett Hundley. Rosen started all 13 games for the Bruins, finishing the season with 3,670 yards passing with 23 touchdowns to 11 interceptions. He set several school records, including most consecutive passing attempts without an interception (245). Read the full report.

Jamal Adams enters his junior season as one of the top defensive backs in college football. The second-team All-SEC selection started all 12 games at safety for LSU last season. He made four interceptions and recorded 67 tackles in 2015. For NFL scouts, Adams will be under the microscope when LSU takes on Alabama on Nov. 5, as the defensive back will be lined up across from talents such as Tide receiver Calvin Ridley and tight end O.J. Howard. Read the full report.

Florida State is once again loaded with talent -- offensive tackle Roderick Johnson follows safety Derwin James as the second consecutive Seminoles player on this year's #CFBTop25 countdown. Read the full report.

Derwin James is coming off a spectacular freshman season in which he ranked second on the Seminoles with 91 tackles. James enters 2016 as the No. 3 true sophomore in college football, according to NFL Media draft analyst Lance Zierlein. James' outstanding college football debut season landed him on the watch lists for the Walter Camp Award and Jim Thorpe Award. Read the full report.

With Shilique Calhoun off to the NFL, the next defensive line talent in the pipeline in East Lansing, Mich., is Malik McDowell. McDowell -- a 6-foot-6, 276-pound junior -- is entering his second season as a starter for the Spartans. In 27 career games, McDowell has registered 17 tackles for losses and six sacks. Read the full report.

With 2014 Heisman Trophy winner Marcus Mariota out of the program and in the NFL, Royce Freeman carried more of the offensive load during his true sophomore season. He responded by breaking LaMichael James' single-season school record for rushing yards with 1,836. That was good for fourth in the FBS behind Derrick Henry's 2,219 yards, Christian McCaffrey's 2,019 yards and Leonard Fournette's 1,953 yards. Read the full report.

Nick Chubb was rated at No. 8 in last year's countdown of college football's best players after his performance in replacing Todd Gurley in the Georgia backfield in 2014. By now, Chubb -- a junior -- could have been considered the top running back in the nation, but a knee injury ended his 2015 season in October. Read the full report.

Desmond King won the Jim Thorpe Award -- which is presented to the nation's top defensive back -- during Iowa's charmed 2015 season, which saw the Hawkeyes exceed expectations and reach the Rose Bowl. Read the full report.

Houston had a breakthrough 2015 season, posting a 13-1 record, winning the American Athletic Conference championship and defeating Florida State, 38-24, in the Peach Bowl. Helping the Cougars crash the Power 5 bowl party was their dynamic dual-threat quarterback, Greg Ward Jr. Read the full report.

After one season as a full-time starter at Missouri, Charles Harris was impressive enough to catch the eyes of CFB 24/7 experts. Harris earned second-team All-SEC honors after registering seven sacks and leading the conference with 18.5 tackles for loss in 2015. Read the full report.