The top 25 offensive players in college football for 2018

Akers was a silver lining in what was a horrible 2017 for Florida State. He broke Dalvin Cook's freshman rookie record for rushing yards in a season at FSU despite a shaky offense. New head coach Willie Taggart features the running game, so Akers could really shine in 2018. 

The last time we saw Anderson, he was carving up the vaunted Georgia defense for 201 yards and two touchdowns. The Big 12, for the most part, doesn't have a defense as talented as Georgia's, and he may be relied on more heavily with Baker Mayfield now a Cleveland Brown. 

Ole Miss is under a postseason ban, but that won't stop this offense from being explosive. Brown gained over 1,200 yards receiving and scored 11 touchdowns last season as part of one of the nation's best receiving corps. In the first game of 2017, he set the Rebels' single-game receiving yards mark. He's a highlight waiting to happen with the way he can gain yards after the catch.

Let's be honest: Dillon was a huge reason why Boston College turned its season around from another lost year to a bowl bid. He was outstanding over the last half of the season, highlighted by a 272-yard, four-touchdown effort against Louisville. And he was only a freshman. This year, he has the starting job from the jump. If he develops any sort of ability to perform in the passing game (he had no receptions all season), he will be a true gem. 

Dobbins was electric as a freshman, rushing for over 1,400 yards. He took advantage of injuries to incumbent Mike Weber to set Ohio State's freshman rushing record. Weber is back healthy so Dobbins may not get as many opportunities as he did in 2017, but the two should form a lethal duo that will be leaned on heavily, as the Buckeyes have questions at quarterback. 

Last year, Fant led all tight ends in the country with 11 touchdowns — a school record. Despite his success, he is basically an unknown to the casual fan. But scouts are intrigued with his size, athleticism and nose for the end zone. 

Gaskin has racked up 4,055 rushing yards in his career and could end the season as the Huskies' all-time leading rusher. He already holds the school's records for rushing touchdowns and total touchdowns and returns to Seattle as the main offensive focus. 

Gay won the 2017 Lou Groza Award as college football's top kicker. Last year, he made 30-of-34 field goals (including 5-of-6 from 50 yards and beyond) and all 40 of his PATs. He was a consensus All-American last year and a favorite to repeat as the top kicker in the nation. 

West Virginia's offense is one of the most lethal in the Big 12, and Grier will be running it once again. In his first season in Morgantown, the Florida transfer threw for 3,490 yards and 34 TDs before breaking his finger and missing the final regular-season game and the Heart of Dallas Bowl. He could be a Heisman contender if he can lead West Virginia to nine or 10 wins. 

While most of the attention paid to the Sun Devils this season will come from their new head coach Herm Edwards, the real story is receiver N'Keal Harry. The junior has tremendous size (6-4, 216 pounds) and has been solid since arriving on campus with 140 receptions, 1,801 yards and 13 receiving TDs in his career. Scouts love his size and skill, and he's ready for a breakout season.

Oklahoma State loves to score, and with Mason Rudolph and James Washington now in the NFL, Hill will be expected to shoulder more of the load — even after leading the Big 12 in rushing yards and touchdowns last year. He doesn't just grind yards, but he pops off huge gains and could be a Heisman sleeper.

You may not have heard or seen much of Johnson thus far, but that is about to change. Last season, he led the MAC in receptions, receiving yards and touchdown grabs, with eight of his 14 scores coming in the Bulls' final three games. 

When you think of all the great quarterbacks of 2017, Lock probably got lost in the mix. All he's done is lead the SEC in passing yards the past two seasons and last year set the league record for touchdown passes in a single season. He came back to Mizzou and retains pretty much everything aside from receiver J'Mon Moore (which is a big loss). The Tigers dug out of a huge hole to make a bowl game last year, so maybe Lock and Missouri can keep the momentum going. 

Love had a fantastic 2017 season taking over for Christian McCaffrey. He ran for over 2,000 yards, winning the Doak Walker Award, Pac-12 Offensive Player of the Year Award and was a unanimous All-American. He's back for his senior season and will be healthy and running behind an experienced line.

There may not have been anyone whose great season was overshadowed quite like McSorley's campaign last season. He has set several Penn State passing records over the past two seasons, but Saquan Barkley's greatness put McSorley on the back burner. This year Barkley is gone, so we get to find out if McSorley can truly carry the offense or if he was successful because of the running threat. 

Milton gets somewhat lost when remembering UCF's magical 2017 season. He was among the national leaders in passing yards and passing touchdowns and won the AAC Offensive Player of the Year Award. His head coach is gone, but new coach Josh Heupel did wonders for Drew Lock at Missouri. You can't expect UCF to repeat its undefeated season, but Milton may get even better.

Pollard is a do-everything guy for Memphis. His next kick return for a touchdown will be his seventh, tying an FBS record, and he led the nation in return average last year. He's the Tigers' top returning receiver, and he also is dangerous from the backfield. Memphis' high-octane offense will use Pollard in a variety of ways to utilize his speed and elusiveness.

The first three games of Samuel's junior season were sensational. He began the season returning the opening kickoff for a touchdown and caught two TD passes against NC State. The next week he returned another kickoff for a score and rushed for another touchdown against Missouri. The following week against Kentucky, he caught a 68-yard TD pass on the first play from scrimmage. He broke his leg later in that game, however, and missed the rest of the season. There may not be a bigger playmaker than Samuel, provided he can stay healthy.

Before he got to West Virginia, Sills was best known as committing to USC in seventh grade. However, he played his freshman year for the Mountaineers as a quarterback before transferring to El Camino College. Sills returned to Morgantown, accepting his role as a receiver, and blossomed. He tied Memphis' Anthony Miller for the national lead with 18 TD receptions. 

Singletary had a huge sophomore season. He rushed for over 1,900 yards and led the nation with 32 rushing TDs. He was the Conference USA's Player of the Year, and with Lane Kiffin settling in nicely at Florida Atlantic, he could explode for another great campaign. He could even garner a few Heisman votes. 

Stidham returns to Auburn (a rarity that the Tigers have the same starter in consecutive seasons) ready to build on his 3,000-yard season that saw the school win the SEC West. There will be more of a load on Stidham's shoulders after the Tigers lost a lot of their elite rushing attack. He's got the arm and the experience to make a huge jump up the quarterback ladder. 

Tagovailoa is a legend just from one half (and an overtime) of football. His performance in the College Football Playoff Championship Game has not only put the Crimson Tide in one of the most interesting quarterback battles this season, but it's even put Heisman buzz onto the sophomore from Hawaii. 

Tate took over as the starting quarterback midseason, and all he did was rush for a QB-record 327 yards against Colorado. That began a four-game stretch where he was named Pac-12 Offensive Player of the Week after each game. Now he's the starter heading into the season and will be coached by Kevin Sumlin, who once had Johnny Manziel.  

Taylor didn't have the fanfare of some of the other freshman running backs in 2017, but he exploded for the Badgers and had one of the best rushing seasons for a program that's had some great backs. He rushed for 1,977 yards and 13 touchdowns, with his yardage breaking Adrian Peterson's freshman record.

No matter who Nick Saban decides will be his quarterback in 2018, both know they will have one of the best offensive linemen blocking for them. Jonah Williams will be one of the first offensive linemen off the board at the 2019 NFL Draft. What will be interesting is if Williams will be moved to right tackle if the left-handed Tua Tagovailoa wins the starting QB gig.