5 college football players to watch in 2020

Joe Burrow, Jalen Hurts, and Chase Young supplied headlines in 2019, with their standout performances in college football. Those three are headed to the NFL Draft next Thursday, while many other star athletes are preparing for another year in college.

Here are five players to keep an eye on during the 2020 season.

Trevor Lawrence, Clemson

Lawrence began 2019 as the Heisman frontrunner, after he led Clemson to a College Football Playoff National Championship as a true freshman. Inconsistency marred the first half of the quarterback's season, but he found his stride in late October.

Lawrence carried his team to a second straight national title game, where the Tigers fell to LSU, 42-25. The sophomore completed just 48.6% of his passes in that matchup and scored once on a 1-yard run in the first quarter.

Lawrence is a top choice to win the Heisman once again, in what many expect to be his final season. The question is whether he’ll come out sluggish again in the first half of 2020 or put together a solid performance from start to finish.  

Justin Fields, Ohio State

In his first year at Ohio State, Fields made Georgia look silly for sitting him behind Jake Fromm.

The dual-threat quarterback led the Buckeyes to a 12-0 regular-season record and a Big Ten championship. He threw for 3,273 yards and 41 touchdowns, and ran for 484 yards and 10 scores. He threw just three interceptions.

Fields nearly reached the national championship, but a missed route by a receiver resulted in an interception on the Buckeyes’ final play against Clemson in the semifinal. Fields also played at less than 100% because of a sprained MCL he suffered in late November, which limited his mobility for the remainder of the season.

Fields will lose K.J. Hill and Binjimen Victor on offense next season, plus running back J.K. Dobbins. However, leading receiver Chris Olave is back, as is Garrett Wilson — who caught 30 passes for 432 yards and five touchdowns as a freshman. A pair of five-star receivers and two more four-star wideouts will also join the mix.

Fields should be set up for another stellar season, as long as he can stay healthy.  

Trevor Etienne, Clemson

The star running back surprised many when he opted to return for his senior season. Etienne is already the school’s all-time leading rusher (4,038 yards) and has accumulated 56 rushing TDs, both an ACC and Clemson record.

As a sophomore in 2018, he set the Tigers’ single-season rushing record (1,658) and tallied a record 24 touchdowns on the ground. In 2019, he ran for 1,614 yards and 19 TDs, both the second most by a running back in one season at Clemson.

There’s not much left for the future first-round draft pick to prove, but he hopes to collect a few more trophies, earn his degree, and plant his name firmly in college football's history books.

Chuba Hubbard, Oklahoma State

Hubbard topped the FBS in rushing last season (2,094 yards). He also racked up 2,334 all-purpose yards (first in the FBS) and 21 rushing TDs, the third most in college football. The redshirt sophomore could have entered the 2020 NFL Draft but chose to stay in Stillwater.

Hubbard ran for more than 100 yards in every game but one last season. He also recorded four games with more than 200 yards, including a 296-yard outing against Kansas State. 

Only Barry Sanders has rushed for more yards in one season (2,850) at Oklahoma State. It’ll be difficult for Hubbard to surpass that number, but he’ll be surrounded by an excellent supporting cast to help push him toward the record in 2020.

Spencer Rattler, Oklahoma

Hurts made a run at the school’s third consecutive Heisman Trophy, but Burrow buried the competition in 2019. Now Rattler is the next QB in line in Norman, and he is already a contender for the Heisman in 2020.

The five-star, pro-style quarterback hasn’t officially won the starting job, but he is expected to beat out Oklahoma’s No. 2 QB from 2019, Tanner Mordecai. Rattler is arguably a more talented passer than Hurts and is quick on his feet, but he probably won’t run as much, because of his smaller stature (6-foot, 197 pounds).

Rattler became the first high school quarterback in Arizona to pass for more than 11,000 yards. He’ll become the fourth starting quarterback under Lincoln Riley, in Riley’s fourth season at Oklahoma.  

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