Wednesday, August 22, 2012

Sunflower League Player Rankings by Position

Earlier this week, ESPN's Kirk Herbsreit released his 2012 Herbie Awards, basically outlining and ranking the top returning players in college football at every position.  Here, in similar fashion, is an outline of the top returning players in the Sunflower League, with my rankings next to each player.

Also, it's important to keep in mind that plenty of players will emerge in 2012 that made little to no impact on the league scene in previous seasons.  I'm excited to find out who those players are.  In the meantime, this list is mostly a compilation of the returning players who performed well last year.

Quarterbacks
1. Brad Strauss, Lawrence
2. Jordan Darling, SM East
3. Kyle McFarland, Free State
LHS' Drafe Hofer comes in as the fourth
best receiver, while Olathe South's
Remington Whitley (in black) ranks as
the top linebacker. LJWorld.
4. Frank Seurer, Olathe South
5. John Blazevic, Olathe East

Running Backs
1. Gabe Guild, SM South
2. Jason Randall, Leavenworth
3. Hayden Frazier, Olathe East
4. Tyrone Jenkins, Lawrence
5. Brett Sterbach, SM West

Wide Receivers
1. Connor Rellihan, SM East
2. Erick Mayo, Lawrence
3. Matt Elliott, Olathe South
4. Drake Hofer, Lawrence
5. Joel Spiller, SM West

Offensive Lineman
1. Braden Smith, Olathe South
2. Austin Chambers, SM West
3. Nathan Butler, Leavenworth
4. Demetrius Berry, SM South
5. Dominique Berry, SM South

Defensive Lineman
1. Braden Smith, Olathe South
2. Kharon Brown, Lawrence
3. Cody Stanclift, Free State
Is Leavenworth's Isaiah Ross the
fastest player in the league? He may
show us in 2012.  Leavenworth Times.
4. Lee Spight, SM West
5. Jacob Roberson, Leavenworth

Linebackers
1. Remington Whitley, Olathe South
2. David Stewart, SM East
3. Chase Hanson, Olathe South
4. Corban Schmidt, Free State

Defensive Backs
1. Brad Strauss, Lawrence
2. Kyle McFarland, Free State
3. Joe Dineen, Free State
4. Dylan DeVries, Olathe South
5. Ra'Keim Abdul, SM South

Most Exciting Players
1. Brad Strauss, Lawrence
2. Isaiah Ross, Leavenworth
3. Erick Mayo, Lawrence
4. Matt Elliott, Olathe South

*Much of the early word I've been hearing is that Mayo and Ross may be the two fastest players (in pads) in the league.  Both of their highlight films attest to this as well.

Potential Sleepers (Players who are under-the-radar but have excellent potential in 2012)
1. Connor Holsinger, Olathe Northwest
2. Eli Keppler, Leavenworth
3. Andre Maloney, SM West
4. Alex Dinges, SM West
5. Jake Filsinger, SM Northwest
6. Armando Contreras, SM North
7. Russell White, Olathe South
8. Kai Rowden, Olathe North
9. Dontez Sanchez, Olathe North
10. Josh Zdeb, SM Northwest