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After a record-setting first round for quarterbacks and offensive players in general at the 2024 NFL Draft, it would be fair to think the 2025 college landscape lacks offensive star power. Couple that with the anxiety about the 2025 quarterback class and maybe there’s a case to be made for defenses dominating the way in college football next season.
Not so fast. There’s still a ton of individual offensive talent in college football. And with daily apps like Underdog Fantasy and Sleeper, that means there’s the potential to get way ahead early on in the 2024 college football season playing DFS.
Here’s an early look at some of my favorite players entering the 2024 season. This is specifically through a DFS lense, not necessarily a “this guy is going to lead a team to a title” one. Who is in a position to put up gaudy counting stats week after week? Who are some players to target early in the season when they’re not as well-known? That’s the goal here.
Oklahoma State RB Ollie Gordon II
2023 stats: 285 attempts, 1,732 yards, 6.1 yards per carry, 330 receiving yards, 22 total touchdowns, 9 100-yard games
What I love: Gordon led the FBS in rushing last season with 1,732 yards. He also found the endzone 21 times, second only to Michigan’s Blake Corum. I’ve written about Gordon in this space quite a bit and will continue to do so because it seems he’s still not quite getting the national attention warranted by a player of his status. In a piece on ESPN Thursday that listed 10 Heisman contenders, a Kansas State quarterback and 1 of the 2 Ohio State running backs were mentioned while Gordon was excluded. Gordon finished seventh in Heisman voting last season, when he was a mere spectator in the OSU offense through the first 3 weeks of the season. Over Oklahoma State’s last 11 games of 2023, the offense was retooled to feature Gordon. During that time, he averaged 24 carries, 147.5 yards, and 1.7 touchdowns a game. The 2024 Cowboys return a seventh-year senior quarterback along with each of the 7 offensive linemen who played more than 200 snaps last year. I like Gordon to contend for the Heisman because I like Oklahoma State to force-feed its star tailback.
Tulane RB Makhi Hughes
2023 stats: 258 attempts, 1,378 yards, 5.3 yards per carry, 67 receiving yards, 7 total touchdowns, 7 100-yard games
What I love: A 5-foot-11, 205-pound tailback from Birmingham, Alabama, Hughes was a breakout star in 2023. He missed the entire 2022 season (his freshman year) after a preseason knee injury and then had to be the guy who replaced the guy in the Tulane backfield in 2023. Tyjae Spears ran for 1,581 yards and 19 touchdowns in 2022 — both marks that ranked second all-time in program history. Big shoes to fill. Hughes took some time to find his sea legs, but once he did in Week 5, it was off to the races. From Sept. 30 through Nov. 24, Hughes averaged 23 carries a game and hit the century mark in 7 of 8 tries. He expects to challenge Spears’ 1,500-yard milestone in 2024.
Oregon RB Jordan James
2023 stats: 107 attempts, 759 yards, 7.1 yards per carry, 132 receiving yards, 12 total touchdowns, 1 100-yard game
What I love: A true junior, James spent his first season at Oregon as the short-yardage battering ram. As a sophomore, he was thrust into a bigger role when the No. 2 (Noah Whittington) went down with a season-ending injury early. Now, with Bucky Irving off to the NFL, James is a natural breakout candidate in an Oregon offense that should continue to pile on the points. James was the highest-graded tailback in the country last year, per PFF, and averaged 4 yards after contact. During the upcoming season, James could be a touchdown machine. Whittington is coming off an injury, so he could be expected to ease his way into things. There’s depth in the room that could eat into everyone’s yardage totals. But James has already proven himself capable as a short-yardage specialist and Oregon doesn’t have Bo Nix anymore to provide another option in the red zone. Dillon Gabriel doesn’t have the same kind of frame and has an injury history to worry about. James had touchdowns in 5 of Oregon’s first 6 games, including multi-score games in 2 of the Ducks’ first 3.
Boise State RB Ashton Jeanty
2023 stats: 220 attempts, 1,347 yards, 6.1 yards per carry, 569 receiving yards, 19 total touchdowns, 6 100-yard games
What I love: Entering postseason play last fall, Jeanty led the nation in yards per game from scrimmage. He was a significant threat as a pass-catcher out of the backfield and averaged 164.9 yards per game. Per PFF, he ended the year with a 91.6 receiving grade (best among RBs) and a 94.6 rushing grade (second among RBs). He led all FBS tailbacks in receiving yardage, ranked fifth among qualified tailbacks in yards after contact per carry (4.5), and ranked third in missed tackles forced (82). Jeanty was everything to the Boise offense and he returns in 2024 to feature prominently in a run-heavy scheme. Boise has a quarterback competition that’ll extend into fall camp between Malachi Nelson — a USC transfer who would be a first-time starter — and redshirt sophomore Maddux Madsen. Jeanty is the main event in Boise.
Oklahoma WR Deion Burks
2023 stats: 95 targets, 47 receptions, 629 yards, 13.4 yards per catch, 7 touchdowns, 1 100-yard game, 0 10-catch games
What I love: Burks is going to be a buy-low option early in the season before people catch on. Last year for Purdue, he led the Boilermakers in receiving but never had more than 7 receptions in a game and never had more than 90 yards after the opening weekend. (He crushed Fresno State that weekend, by the way, taking 4 receptions for 152 yards and 2 scores.) Oklahoma has to replace its leading pass-catcher from last season, Drake Stoops, who had more receptions (84) than the No. 2 and No. 3 receivers combined. At 5-foot-9, Burks is a natural complement in the slot to Nic Anderson on the outside and provides first-year starting quarterback Jackson Arnold an excellent safety valve. In the Sooners’ spring game, Burks finished with 174 yards and 2 touchdowns on 5 catches. When Seth Littrell (OU’s new OC) was at North Texas, the primary slot guy led the team in receptions and yardage in each of his final 4 seasons with the program. In 2019 and 2020, a slot receiver produced 31 touchdowns and 150 receptions across 21 games (622) while spending more than 80% of his time in the slot.
Arizona WR Tetairoa McMillan
2023 stats: 130 targets, 90 receptions, 1,402 yards, 15.6 yards per catch, 10 touchdowns, 6 100-yard games, 2 10-catch games
What I love: Once Noah Fifita entered the starting lineup in Week 5, no one enjoyed a better target share in the Arizona passing game than McMillan, who saw 88 targets while the Wildcats’ other 5 wide receivers garnered a combined 114. The chemistry between McMillan and Fifita, who were high school teammates at Servite in California, is special and explosive. From Week 5 on, McMillan’s 26 contested targets were the most among all FBS receivers and his 12 contested catches ranked second. At 6-foot-4, he has the length and ball skills to win more battles than he loses. And with Arizona needing to replace slot star Jacob Cowing (156 receptions in 2 years) there’s even more of an opportunity for McMillan to dominate the field. He’s the kind of player who can still eat despite leading a scouting report; he only has 5 career drops on 211 targets. And Fifita can fit the football where he needs to.
App State QB Joey Aguilar
2023 stats: 293/460 passing (63.7%), 3,757 yards, 8.2 yards per pass attempt, 33 touchdowns, 10 interceptions, 245 rushing yards, 3 rushing touchdowns, 9 games with 250 or more passing yards, 8 games with 3 or more touchdown passes
What I love: A 6-foot-3 senior, Aguilar won the Sun Belt’s Newcomer of the Year award in 2023 after spending 2 seasons at the junior college level. He’s been a dynamo everywhere. And he wasn’t even the starter to begin the season. Aguilar saw the field because of an injury in the season opener and never looked back, starting the final 12 games while breaking single-season program records for touchdown passes, passing yardage, and total offense. Each of App State’s top 4 receivers return in 2024, as do the top 2 tight ends.
Liberty QB Kaidon Salter
2023 stats: 177/290 passing (61.0%), 2,876 yards, 9.9 yards per pass attempt, 32 touchdowns, 6 interceptions, 1,089 rushing yards, 12 rushing touchdowns, 5 games with 250 or more passing yards, 4 games with 3 or more touchdown passes
What I love: Forget the Fiesta Bowl, which was never going to be much of a contest. Liberty won’t play an opponent in 2024 that is anywhere near the caliber of Oregon, which means another dynamic season from Salter is likely. He briefly flirted with the transfer portal before deciding to remain at Liberty, where his 8.8 yards-per-play average last season was the fourth-best among FBS players. Last season, Salter had at least 2 passing touchdowns in 11 of his team’s 14 games and he had a rushing score in 8 games. He had at least 4 total touchdowns in a game 7 times.
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Memphis QB Seth Henigan
2023 stats: 318/476 passing (66.8%), 3,883 yards, 8.2 yards per pass attempt, 32 touchdowns, 9 interceptions, 274 rushing yards, 5 rushing touchdowns, 10 games with 250 or more passing yards, 5 games with 3 or more touchdown passes
What I love: It’s increasingly rare we see a strong, productive quarterback with good measurables spend his entire career at the Group of Five level. Henigan could have transferred away from Memphis after he was a Freshman All-American season in 2021 that saw him become the first true freshman passer to start a season-opener in school history. He could have transferred away after throwing for 3,571 yards and 22 touchdowns in 2022. Instead, he’ll enter his fourth year as the Memphis starting quarterback in 2024, already the program’s all-time passing leader. He has started every game since 2021 and is in a position to break every career passing record at the school. Henigan can hit every type of throw and he ended the 2023 season on an absolute heater with at least 300 yards in 5 of his final 6 games and at least 4 touchdown passes in 3 of his final 5. Memphis had a pair of receivers each top 900 yards receiving last fall and both return. Henigan could challenge for the FBS lead in passing if the Tigers let him cut it loose.
Derek Peterson does a bit of everything, not unlike Taysom Hill. He has covered Oklahoma, Nebraska, the Pac-12, and now delivers CFB-wide content.
