College Football Players Who Will Break Out in 2023

Lists of college football players who are expected to blow up and become household names are everywhere in the offseason, and it's fun to predict the next stars coming to a gridiron near you.

But several of the players on those lists are mentioned almost everywhere.

For instance, everybody is already talking about guys like LSU outside linebacker Harold Perkins, Penn State offensive stars Drew Allar and Nick Singleton, UCLA transfer running back Carson Steele and the youthful Georgia defensive duo of Mykel Williams and Smael Mondon.

None of those players would be shockers to shine. Everybody believes they're going to perform. Plus, there's been a lot written about the incoming recruiting class, so we've decided to focus on players already on campuses.

Who are some of the slightly-off-the-radar guys who could shock everybody and enjoy breakout campaigns in the 2023 season?

Here are some candidates of players who could break out in a big way next season.

A season ago as a true freshman, Jovantae Barnes saw a steady diet of carries as Eric Gray's primary backup in a transition season for the Oklahoma Sooners.

He proved to be a between-the-tackles weapon who had the size and next-level ability to be an every-down runner. With coordinator Jeff Lebby's offense needing to take another step forward in '23, Barnes steps into the bell-cow role.

He will have help from Gavin Sawchuk, who also has plenty of ability, but Barnes has earned the right to be RB1 with Gray off to the NFL. He finished last year with 519 yards on 116 carries, and while that was good for just a pedestrian 4.5 yards per carry, the potential is there.

The 6'0", 200-pound Las Vegas native finished the year with his best performance, a 108-yard showing against Florida State in the Cheez-It Bowl, which could be a showcase of things to come.

Now, even with the Sooners having viable options, Barnes will seize the job and stampede his way to a 1,000-yard season. Most importantly, he could help author a much-needed turnaround in Norman in Year 2 of the Brent Venables era.

Perhaps the most established player on this list is one you haven't heard much about because of where he played the first four years of his career.

Western Michigan defensive lineman Braden Fiske entered the transfer portal and has landed at Florida State, just in time for the Seminoles to be getting a ton of headlines as a team to watch, not only for the ACC title but also as a College Football Playoff sleeper.

A season ago, the 'Noles struck portal gold on the defensive front with a pledge from defensive end Jared Verse, who wound up being one of the nation's top players at his position. Now, Fiske will line up beside him and wreak havoc on quarterbacks.

Wildly productive as a Bronco, Fiske has the chance to surge up NFL draft boards with a massive final season. The 6'3", 300-pound Fiske finished last season with 59 tackles, including 12 for a loss, six sacks, three forced fumbles, three pass deflections and a fumble recovery.

"I'm fired up to have Braden joining our program," head coach Mike Norvell said, according to Tomahawk Nation's Perry Kostidakis. "He has been an extremely productive playmaker with his relentless style of play and versatility along the defensive line.

He's all over the place, and he is going to be a terror in the middle of the line for FSU.

As bad as USC's defense was in 2022, it's a travesty a player as talented as Domani Jackson couldn't get on the field.

Injuries certainly hampered his progression, and the former 5-star prospect should be good to go in the '23 season as a redshirt. The guess here is he becomes one of the most dynamic defensive backs in the Pac-12 before the season is over.

Jackson was coveted by virtually everybody in the nation out of Mater Dei High School and was a top-10 prospect nationally. Rather than go play for Alabama or Michigan, he stuck home to play for coach Lincoln Riley.

While his first year in Los Angeles didn't go quite as planned, it's just a minor setback for a major prospect. Jackson is big and physical, and he is fast enough to guard marquee receivers and shut down a side of the field.

There are no guarantees he even plays this year, much less starts. But even with a Trojans defensive backfield and cornerback crew that features talent like Christian Roland-Wallace, Ceyair Wright and Jacobe Covington, Jackson stands out on sheer ability.

He's going to go from barely seeing the field a season ago to perhaps winning a starting job this spring to starring once the season rolls around. USC's defense needs to take a major step forward under Alex Grinch in '23, and Jackson's progress could be a huge piece of the puzzle.

USC gets plenty of headlines with Lincoln Riley's glitz-and-glamour offense, but the Utah Utes are the class of the conference.

The back-to-back Pac-12 champions should have plenty of weaponry in 2023, too, with quarterback Cam Rising returning to go along with some intriguing players in the passing game. But with Tavion Thomas off to the NFL, the running back spot is vacant.

Enter Ja'Quinden Jackson, who took over when Thomas was hurt in '22 and didn't miss a beat. The former Texas quarterback who transferred to Utah and wound up swapping positions is a phenomenal athlete who looks tailor-made to be a running back.

He may wind up being one of the biggest stars in the league.

Last year, Jackson was more than just a serviceable backup, finishing the year with 531 rushing yards and nine touchdowns. The explosion was perhaps the biggest thing, though, with him averaging 6.8 yards per carry.

Though he will be splitting time with Micah Bernard, who flirted with the transfer portal before deciding to return to Salt Lake City, Jackson is simply too talented not to get the bulk of the carries.

At 6'2", 227 pounds, Jackson is big, long-strided and fast enough to gallop away from defenders. He is a star just waiting to get the reps necessary for everybody to realize it. They will come this season.

If you're looking for the next big thing at tight end in the Power Five, look no further than Ann Arbor, where the Michigan Wolverines have a rising star ready to shine.

With Luke Schoonmaker off to the NFL and Erick All transferring to Iowa, that clears the path for the talented Colston Loveland to take off in 2023.

Everybody talks about the Wolverines' offensive prowess, starting with the two-time defending Joe Moore Award-winning offensive line, the terrific running back tandem of Blake Corum and Donovan Edwards and talented quarterback J.J. McCarthy. The receiving corps has plenty of weapons returning, too.

But Loveland came out of nowhere as a freshman in 2022 to finish the year with 16 catches for 235 yards and a pair of scores. At 6'5", 237 pounds, the Idaho native is big enough to help in the run game, and he's a matchup nightmare catching the ball, too.

MLive.com's Aaron McMann believes Loveland is on the "fast track to stardom," and it's easy to see why.

Loveland can run and jump up to make the tough catch. Playing in place of an injured Schoonmaker last year, he finished with 90 receiving yards against Illinois and Nebraska. He also added touchdowns against Ohio State and then again against Purdue in the Big Ten Championship Game.

McCarthy loves throwing to the tight end, and that's going to be Loveland this year. Look for him to post big numbers and be among the second wave of talent behind stars like Georgia's Brock Bowers and Utah's Brant Kuithe.

Putting an Ohio State quarterback on the list isn't exactly a novel idea. When's the last time the Buckeyes failed to have a legitimate weapon under center?

With C.J. Stroud off to the NFL, though, the Buckeyes certainly have a gaping question mark at the most important position on the field in 2023, and it's going to be a wide-open battle between Kyle McCord and Devin Brown to win the job.

The money here is on McCord, a 6'3", 222-pound former Philadelphia prep star who has waited his turn for a couple of seasons. Now, he could be "The Man" in Columbus for a couple of seasons.

McCord is driven and super-talented.

"He has that quiet, cool confidence about him—the ability to be super comfortable with who he is as an individual and what his goals are, Matt Simms, a former NFL quarterback who has coached McCord since his sophomore year of high school, told Cleveland.com's Nathan Baird. "I can see it right away from coaching and playing. Teammates can see that."

Whoever wins the QB job at Ohio State is going to have an embarrassment of talent around them. Receivers like Marvin Harrison Jr., Emeka Egbuka and Julian Fleming (not to mention a talented freshman class) and a loaded running back room could make this offense special.

McCord has waited his turn. He's going to step right in and be a great player right away.

You've probably forgotten about Isaiah Neyor, but if college football had a Comeback Player of the Year award, he'd be a prime candidate for next season.

Neyor was a little-known Texas high school product who began his college career at Wyoming, where he showed out for the Cowboys before entering the transfer portal.

After committing to Tennessee, he flipped to his home-state Longhorns after an 11th-hour visit to Austin and looked like he was going to be an instant-impact playmaker during spring practice. Teaming with Xavier Worthy would have given the Horns a dynamic 1-2 punch.

The 6'3", 215-pound pass-catcher was slotted to start at the "Z" receiver position for coach Steve Sarkisian and poised to put up big numbers. But a torn ACL in the first scrimmage of fall practice cost him an entire season.

Now, even with Worthy back and getting a huge transfer portal commitment from talented receiver Adonai Mitchell, Neyor is going to have ample opportunities for reps.

How will he progress in his recovery? He's an elite athlete who has the opportunity to blossom as a star for his home-state school, so this could wind up being a major story.

He is good enough to lead the Longhorns in receiving yards if he's fully healthy.

Several players on this list took advantage of the transfer portal to get a second start at a college career, and what they've done with it is already making headlines.

One of those is Penn State edge-rusher Chop Robinson. If you're a recruiting buff, you may remember him from the 2021 recruiting class, where he went by his given name, Demeioun Robinson and committed to play for his home-state Maryland Terrapins as a top-100 player.

Following just one season in College Park, he left for the Nittany Lions and instantly became a major piece of their defense as a sophomore, registering 26 tackles, including 10 for loss, 5.5 sacks, two pass deflections, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery.

The 6'3", 240-pound outside linebacker/defensive end should be the best player on a deep and talented Penn State front seven that includes Adisa Isaac and Dani Dennis-Sutton.

Pro Football Focus' Max Chadwick wrote that Robinson "broke out" as a sophomore a year ago. "He led all Power Five edge defenders in overall grade (90.6) and pass-rushing grade (92.4)," Chadwick wrote. "For his efforts, he was the fourth-most valuable Power Five edge-defender according to PFF's wins above average metric."

He has all the talent and ability to become one of college football's best players at his position. This season, with so much talent around him, expect Robinson's numbers to be even better and for him to ride a big year to the NFL.

Another potential Comeback Player of the Year candidate who may not be on your radar, Masson Smith has the ability to be the nation's best interior pass-rusher.

The rising redshirt sophomore is back in Baton Rouge following a devastating injury a year ago.

In the season-opening loss to Florida State, Smith was celebrating a defensive stop when he jumped up following a teammate's tackle and landed awkwardly. The Freshman All-American and former 5-star's season ended before it had the chance to start.

The 6'5", 300-pound Houma, Louisiana, native is an all-world prospect and an elite athlete for his size. He could have played for anybody in the nation, but he chose to stay home and commit to then-coach Ed Orgeron.

Smith has a big personality and kept a positive attitude through rehab, even posting LSU's 2023 schedule and tweeting that it was a "revenge tour" for him.

There's no defensive tackle with as much sheer natural ability as Smith, and he is going to be a man on a mission this year. It would not be a surprise for him to team with Harold Perkins Jr. to form a formidable duo and perhaps even contend for All-America status.

This dude could be the top defensive tackle taken in next year's draft.

With a name like J. Michael Sturdivant, the newest UCLA star pass-catcher sounds more like a lawyer than a receiver.

But it doesn't take you long watching the former California Bear to see that he's absolutely in the right line of work, and he is going to have a terrific career for the Bruins, which starts this season.

Everybody is focused on an exciting quarterback battle this spring between transfer Collin Schlee, elite incoming freshman Dante Moore and last year's backup Ethan Garbers. Lots of print ink has been spent on transfer running back Carson Steele, too.

But Sturdivant doesn't get enough publicity. With top-two receivers Jake Bobo and Kazmeir Allen gone, UCLA is seeking a receiver rotation. USC transfer Kyle Ford and quality recruits Jeremiah McClure and Grant Gray will be in the mix.

But Sturdivant is the most talented of the bunch, and following a year in which he had 65 catches for 755 yards and seven touchdowns for a mediocre offense with the Bears, he is going to a place that throws it around a little more.

At 6'3", 205 pounds, Sturdivant has the size and speed, and now he's got the opportunity on a bigger stage. USC's receivers get most of the publicity in the Pac-12, but Sturdivant is going to make it hard to ignore him.

In two seasons at Oregon, Dont'e Thornton registered just 26 total catches for 541 yards and three touchdowns, and after deciding to go across the country from his Baltimore home, he weaved in and out of the Ducks' starting rotation.

So, why is he on this list heading into his junior year?

It's all about ability meeting opportunity for the 6'5", 199-pound wide receiver. He sought greener pastures and wound up on Rocky Top, where he is going to be inserted into Josh Huepel's high-flying offensive attack.

This is the same offense that two years ago produced JaVonta Payton, Velus Jones and Cedric Tillman, and last year when Tillman spent much of the year hurt, Jalin Hyatt wound up winning the Biletnikoff Award that goes to the nation's top receiver.

With Hyatt and Tillman off to the NFL, the Vols have receiver reps vacant, and even with Bru McCoy, Squirrel White and Ramel Keyton back, Heupel zeroed in on Thornton the moment he entered the portal, and it seems they're a perfect match.

Thornton is big and athletic, and he's a field-stretching wizard who can make the acrobatic catch. His best football is ahead of him in Knoxville, and it's just a matter of time before he puts up big numbers with Joe Milton III throwing him the ball.

He's going to come from nowhere to be one of the premier receivers in the nation in '23.

There may not be any college football player in the nation with more to prove than Miami quarterback Tyler Van Dyke.

There also may not be another player whose success is more vital to his team's turnaround.

A season ago in Mario Cristobal's first year in Coral Gables, the Hurricanes were truly awful, and part of the reason was Van Dyke's injury and then inconsistency as the signal-caller. With Jake Garcia transferred to Missouri, this is clearly Van Dyke's team. He needs to seize it.

Back in 2021, Van Dyke was a little-known freshman from Connecticut who wound up with a huge season, throwing for 2,931 yards, 25 touchdowns and six interceptions.

Those numbers dipped drastically a season ago. Playing in just nine games (including two with only eight passing attempts), Van Dyke completed 63 percent of his passes for 1,844 yards, 10 touchdowns and five interceptions.

They aren't awful numbers, but Miami needs him to be a game-changer, not a game manager.

His struggles were a reason for the firing of offensive coordinator Josh Gattis, and now the 'Canes have a new play-caller in Shannon Dawson. Van Dyke may thrive in the Air Raid offense.

If the duo can make things click, it could be a big-time turnaround year for Van Dyke. If the offense is that much better, the U at least will be back in a bowl game. Look for a big rebound from him.

There's no question about Conner Weigman's ability. The 6'2", 208-pound Cypress, Texas, native was the nation's No. 22-ranked player in the 2022 class and a 5-star talent.

With Texas A&M's major, embarrassing problems a season ago in a forgettable year, the quarterback position slipped all the way from Max Johnson to Haynes King to Weigman, who finished the year as the starter.

Weigman far and away showed more potential than anybody, and even though he completed only 55 percent of his passes, he finished with 896 yards and eight touchdowns against zero interceptions.

His breakout game came in a 338-yard, four-touchdown performance in a 31-28 loss to Ole Miss, and Weigman looked like a potential star with the right kind of tutelage, even if he got on the field probably before he was ready.

With Jimbo Fisher's recent quarterback-development issues, he brought in Bobby Petrino to lead the Aggies offense, providing one of the splashiest hires of the offseason.

Weigman stands to prosper. With Petrino instructing him and guys like Evan Stewart and Moose Muhammad to throw to, it could be a bigger-than-expected year for the Aggies offense. They've got the talent to turn things around quickly, and Weigman is the ring-leader.

All stats courtesy of cfbstats and Sports Reference unless otherwise noted. Recruit rankings courtesy of 247Sports unless otherwise noted.

Follow Brad Shepard on Twitter, @Brad_Shepard.