College Football’s 25 Most Intriguing Non-Quarterbacks of 2022

While those under center get most of the buzz, these names across the rest of the field are worth watching this fall.

Welcome to the third installment of the 2022 College Football Most Intriguing Lists. First up, we had the Most Intriguing Coaches. Then the Most Intriguing People In Suits. Now: the Most Intriguing Non-Quarterbacks:

1. Will Anderson Jr., Alabama linebacker. They know defensive greatness in Tuscaloosa, and people still talk about Anderson as potentially the best of the Saban era on that side of the ball. Anderson is a terrifying edge rusher with a violent hitting streak, racking up 33 1/2 tackles for loss and 17 1/2 sacks last season—both of which led the nation. It’s hard for a defensive player to win the Heisman Trophy—especially when his quarterback teammate won it last year and is still on the roster—but Anderson merits consideration.

Smith-Njigba, Anderson and Sewell are among the nation’s most exciting talent :: Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK (Smith-Njigba); Mark J. Rebilas/USA TODAY Sports (Anderson); Joe Nicholson/USA TODAY Sports (Sewell)

2. Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Ohio State wide receiver. Think about this: The Buckeyes had two wideouts taken in the first 11 picks of the draft—and neither was the team’s leading receiver in 2021. That was Smith-Njigba, who blew up in a remarkable way as a sophomore. He had 95 catches for more than 1,600 yards and nine touchdowns, including one of the great single-game receiving performances ever: 15 receptions for 347 yards and three TDs in the Rose Bowl. The yardage was a bowl record and the fifth-highest total in FBS history. Smith-Njigba’s chemistry with QB C.J. Stroud is strong, as is his ability to make contested catches.

3. Jordan Addison, USC wide receiver. One of the most consequential (and controversial) transfers of the immediate-eligibility era, the 2021 Biletnikoff Award winner as the nation’s top receiver left Pittsburgh to join the Lincoln Riley–Caleb Williams bullet train in Los Angeles. Pitt people were howling about tampering, but the bottom line is that Addison’s arrival adds to what should immediately be one of the best offenses in the country. Addison tied for the national lead in touchdown receptions last year with 17, and was one of six players to record 100 catches.

4. Jalen Carter, Georgia defensive lineman. If you thought Jordan Davis was a mesmerizing combination of immensity and athleticism in the middle of the Bulldogs’ defense, his backup was even more productive last year. That’s Carter, a 6'3", 313-pound freak who had more tackles than Davis, more tackles for loss and more sacks—while also playing on the kickoff return team, blocking two kicks and seeing occasional goal line duty on offense. (He caught a touchdown his freshman year.) Carter seems likely to join Georgia’s first-round defensive draft brigade in 2023.

5. Travis Hunter, Jackson State cornerback. The top recruit in the class of 2022 made arguably the biggest signing day news ever last December, when he pulled the plug on Florida State and instead signed with Deion Sanders at FCS Jackson State. That was a game-changing move that may or may not have been spurred by NIL opportunities, depending on whether you’re listening to Nick Saban or Coach Prime. Like his coach, don’t be surprised to see Hunter dabble on offense and as a kick returner.

6. Noah Sewell, Oregon linebacker. His family moved from a one-bedroom home in American Samoa to Utah a decade ago to give the boys a chance to pursue football dreams, and it’s been quite a journey. Noah should be the latest Sewell brother to play in the NFL, following Penei (offensive lineman with the Lions) and Nephi (free-agent linebacker with the Saints), and is perhaps the best. An active tackle machine at middle linebacker who moves well for his size (6'3", 251 pounds), Sewell will key what could be a very good Ducks defense.

7. Bijan Robinson, Texas running back. The August news out of Austin hasn’t been great: two season-ending injuries to projected starters; the suspension of a key wide receiver; and a quarterback battle that appears to be lingering longer than expected as everyone waits for Quinn Ewers to take control. But nobody is worrying about Robinson, a dynamic back who had more than 1,400 yards from scrimmage last year in only 10 games. If Texas gets its act together in Year 2 under Steve Sarkisian, Robinson assuredly will be a big part of the reason why.

8. Michael Mayer, Notre Dame tight end. Destined to (soon) join the long list of Fighting Irish tight ends drafted by the NFL, and it shouldn’t take long to hear Roger Goodell call his name. No returning FBS tight end had more catches per game in 2021 than Mayer’s 5.9, and he set school single-season records for receptions (71), yards (840) and touchdown catches (seven) by a tight end. Georgia’s Brock Bowers is a more athletic tight end, but at 265 pounds, Mayer now has the heft to be an effective every-down blocker. Mayer’s importance to the Irish offense increased when wideout Avery Davis was lost for the season to a knee injury.

9. Ronnie Bell, Michigan wide receiver. One of the most impressive aspects of the Wolverines’ 2021 season was making it to the College Football Playoff after losing Bell in the first game to a knee injury. Bell touched the ball twice in that game, scoring on a 76-yard pass and returning a punt 31 yards—hinting at the kind of season he was capable of having. The insatiable competitor is back for a fourth year as “Game Day Ronnie,” as quarterback Cade McNamara calls Bell. “His intensity goes up at least five notches.”

10. Kelee Ringo, Georgia cornerback. In Georgia championship lore, there used to be two plays that stand out most memorably: Buck Belue to Lindsay Scott against Florida and Herschel Walker’s “my God, a freshman” trampling of Tennessee. Now Ringo’s pick-six to seal the 2021 championship against Alabama has made it a trinity. A super-talented freshman who had his growing pains last year, Ringo delivered on his potential with the 79-yard return that served as a catharsis for Georgia fans and showcased his high-level track speed.

11. TreVeyon Henderson, Ohio State running back. Arrived with a ton of hype and justified it immediately, producing 1,567 yards from scrimmage and 19 touchdowns as a freshman. The Buckeyes became more of a passing team as the 2021 season went along, but they have a potentially dominant ground force (and yet another Heisman candidate) in the 5'10", 215-pound Virginian. No returning running back in the nation had more 40-plus yard runs last year than Henderson’s six.

12. Andre Carter II, Army defensive end. Carter is a service academy revelation, a late-blooming monster who arrived as a two-star tight end prospect and is now a high-impact edge rusher. Carter, who is 6'7" and 260 pounds, racked up 15.5 sacks, 18.5 tackles for loss and four forced fumbles last year. He’s also blocked a kick and intercepted a pass each of the last two seasons. He will get a high-profile opportunity to show his skills against Wake Forest’s high-powered offense on Oct. 8.

13. Myles Murphy, Clemson defensive end. The Tigers always have studs on the defensive line, and Murphy ranks among the best of recent vintage. He led Clemson with seven sacks and 14 tackles for loss last season, more than half of those totals coming in a closing six-game winning streak that partially salvaged a disappointing year. The 6'5", 275-pound junior has the explosive athleticism that should make him the latest Clemson first-round pick from the D-line.

14. Peter Skoronski, Northwestern offensive tackle. Wildcats coach Pat Fitzgerald compared Skoronski’s feet to a pianist’s hands, able to float fluidly from side to side. “He’s got a great connectivity of his feet to his brain,” Fitz said. That’s a nice trait for a guy who checks in at 6'4" and 315 pounds. If Skoronski has the kind of season he’s expected to have, he could be the first offensive tackle taken in the 2023 draft. His family knows the way to the NFL: Grandfather Bob played on five NFL champion teams with the Green Bay Packers, including the first two Super Bowl champs.

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15. Joey Porter Jr., Penn State cornerback. Perhaps the most hands-on corner in college football, for better or worse. Porter is big (6'2", 198 pounds), which NFL scouts like, but he has a penchant for penalties—interference, holding, the occasional personal foul. Of course, physical play from the son of former Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker Joey Porter shouldn’t come as a huge shock. Few, if any, corners will put more pressure on officials to throw flags (or not throw them). Keep an eye on that dynamic when Penn State opens on the road at pass-intensive Purdue in a very interesting Sept. 1 game.

16. Mazi Smith, Michigan defensive lineman. When you’re No. 1 on Bruce Feldman’s annual Freaks List at The Athletic, that merits some intrigue. The 6'3", 337-pound Smith has an agility that is highly implausible for a massive man who is also capable of great feats of strength. On a defense that will be breaking in new edge rushers after losing a bookend pair of monsters, Smith’s ability to disrupt from the interior will be vital for the Wolverines.

17. Siaki Ika, Baylor defensive tackle. Speaking of large men in the middle: Ika is the 350-pound roadblock on the Bears’ defensive line, a major reason why Baylor ranked 11th nationally in yards allowed per carry in 2021 (3.32) and 10th in scoring defense (18.3 points per game). Ika is another in the long history of players of Polynesia descent (in this case, Tonga) to become a U.S. football standout. He started his career at LSU before transferring to Baylor before last season and immediately helping the Bears put their best defense in years on the field.

18. Jayden Reed, Michigan State wide receiver/kick returner. Mr. Splash Play. Reed scored 13 touchdowns in 2021—10 receiving, two on returns and one as a runner—and nine of them were 20 yards or longer. That included punt returns of 62 and 88 yards, and receptions of 75 and 85 yards. He has great chemistry with quarterback Payton Thorne, his teammate since middle school and roommate at Michigan State. Reed also caught the attention of the folks at Ohio State when he declared in July at Big Ten media days, “I think we’re going to be the best receiving room in the Big Ten.”

19. Deuce Vaughn, Kansas State running back. Smallest man on this list, but he wins by a mile in pound-for-pound productivity. The 5'6", 173-pound junior has more than 2,900 yards and 31 touchdowns from scrimmage in two seasons, proving difficult to find behind the K-State offensive linemen and harder to bring down once he is located. Vaughn finished last season with six straight 100-yard rushing games and has had two 100-yard receiving games against Oklahoma. He has the size of another star Wildcats little man, Darren Sproles, but thus far hasn’t shown Sproles’s kick-return ability.

20. Jermaine Burton, Alabama wide receiver. If you can beat ’em, join ’em? Burton played for Georgia last year, helping the Bulldogs defeat the Crimson Tide for the national championship. Then he changed sides and will suit up for Bama. Burton led Georgia’s wideouts in receiving yardage last season while making five catches in two games against the Crimson Tide. At 19 yards per reception in 2021, Burton should be one of the deep threats in a revamped Crimson Tide receiving corps—and could end up playing against his old team at least once, maybe twice.

21. Bumper Pool, Arkansas linebacker. The gloriously named inside ‘backer with more than 440 career tackles came back for a fifth year, giving the Razorbacks an anchor on what will be a rebuilt defense. Pool arrived during the program nadir under Chad Morris and has helped usher in the renaissance under Sam Pittman. He’s already the school’s career tackle leader and could put that record out of sight this season.

22. Mohamed Ibrahim, Minnesota running back. Easy guy to root for on the comeback trail. The Gophers were riding Ibrahim to within flirting range of a massive, season-opening upset of Ohio State last year when misfortune struck. On his 30th carry of a game in which he already had rushed for 163 yards, Ibrahim went down with a ruptured Achilles tendon that ended his season. An old-school workhorse back, Ibrahim brings a streak of nine straight games played with 20 or more carries and 100 or more yards.

23. Tory Taylor, Iowa punter. The nickname Punt God is already taken, but seriously now—at the program that loves punting more than any other, this guy is the deity. He’s made NIL bank off his T-shirts that read, “Punting Is Winning” and has become a cult favorite while playing for a coach who prizes the field-position game more than anyone. Taylor set a school record last year for total punting yards at 3,688. The ruddy Australian is nearly the exact same size as the No. 1 player on this list at 6'4" and 231 pounds.

24. Harrison Mevis, Missouri kicker. The Thicker Kicker has “slimmed down” three pounds, from a listed 257 last year to 254. The big man has connected on 40 out of 45 career field goals, and he’s 69-for-69 on extra points. In just two seasons he’s tied the school record for most 50-yard-plus field goals with six. Mevis also was a standout soccer goalie back in his high school days in Warsaw, Ind.

25. Brian Battie, South Florida running back/kick returner. If a kickoff return for a touchdown is the most exciting play in football, you can make a case that Battie is the most exciting player in the nation. His three return TDs were the most in the nation last year, and more than anyone tallied in the past two seasons. The 5'8" speedster from Sarasota also ran for 324 yards last year in spot duty.

26. (Bonus), Decoldest Crawford, Nebraska wide receiver. This has nothing to do with whether the freshman from Louisiana can play and everything to do with the greatest NIL scheme yet. Playing off his unique first name, Crawford is making bank and becoming famous thanks to this TV ad.

Just missed the list: Braelon Allen, Wisconsin RB; Brock Bowers, Georgia TE; Will McDonald IV, Iowa State DE; Isaiah Foskey, Notre Dame DE; Tayvion Robinson, Kentucky WR; Marvin Mims, Oklahoma WR; Antonio Johnson, Texas A&M safety; Kayshon Boutte, LSU WR; Jordan Battle, Alabama safety; Bryan Bresee, Clemson DL; Riley Moss, Iowa CB; Felix Anudike-Uzomah, Kansas State DE; Paris Johnson, Ohio State OL; A.T Perry, Wake Forest WR; Lew Nichols III, Central Michigan RB; Sean Tucker, Syracuse RB.