In college football, like any other sport at any other level, there are known commodities throughout the game and various positions on the playing surface. Then there are those that get the job done at a high level that just aren't getting their due.
These 12 players in the Pac-12 Conference qualify for the latter category, but that should change this season.
Ryan Nall, RB — Oregon State
Nall had a big 2016 as a sophomore and returns after tying for the lead in the conference in plays of 60 yards or more (3) and ranking high in plays of 50-plus, 40-plus and 30-plus.
He's not just a power back and he even caught 22 passes for 214 yards and two scores. Nall is an all-conference caliber player mired in the obscurity of Corvallis.
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Lavon Coleman, RB — Washington
Myles Gaskin gets all the attention but Coleman is as good a big-play bet as his backfield mate after reinventing himself physically prior to last season. Despite just 129 carries, Coleman posted 12 plays of 20 yards or more, 27 of at least 10 yards and four of at least 40.[divider]
Tony Brooks-James, RB — Oregon
Brooks-James averaged 7.6 yards per carry last season and scored nine rushing touchdowns. But he's more than a running back, having caught 17 passes for 155 yards and a score and returning kicks. He didn't play as much in 2016 as he should this season, but don't let the lack of usage fool you.[divider]
Chico McClatcher, WR — Washington
McClatcher's numbers may improve as much as any returning receiver with John Ross off to the NFL and everyone else return on that side of the ball for Washington, including QB Jake Browning.
He ran the ball 18 times a year ago — mostly on end-arounds, reverses and swing passes behind the line of scrimmage that counted as rushes — and caught 31 balls for nearly 600 yards. [divider]
Jamal Morrow, RB — Washington State
Morrow is as talented as any back in the conference despite rushing for just 575 yards and five TD last season. He averaged 6.4 yards per carry and also caught 48 passes for another 488 yards and five more scores.[divider]
Justin Herbert, QB — Oregon
Hebert was overshadowed by Sam Darnold and Browning last season but completed 63.5 percent of his passes for 1,936 yards and 19 TD. He also only threw four interceptions and showed he could get the ball downfield.
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Joey Alfieri, LB — Stanford
Alfieri is a tough, fast, experienced linebacker who will be charged in part to help the Cardinal replace Solomon Thomas on the Stanford defense. He'll see the field a lot and be a key to this year's defense holding it own.
Alfieri posted 5.0 sacks and 10.5 tackles for loss — No. 12 in the conference a year ago — and appears poised to build on that this season.[divider]
Cody Barton, LB — Utah
Barton was the Utes' second-leading tackler a year ago to standout safety Chase Hansen and chipped in 8.5 sacks. Despite the loss of Hunter Dimick and Marcus Williams, Utah's defense is again very talented and Barton is right in the middle of it — literally and figuratively.[divider]
Justin Hollins, DE — Oregon
The Ducks gave up so many first downs and so many points last season that with the exception of Troy Dye, the Oregon defense has zero household names. Enter Justin Hollins.
Hollins, now a junior, posted 9.5 tackles for loss and three sacks and showed athleticism and length rare to a defensive lineman.[divider]
Bright Ugwoegbu, LB — Oregon State
With a name like Bright…
Ugwoegbu had 11 tackles for loss and 5.5 sacks last season as a sophomore and the 235-pound Kate, Texas native is back for more in 2017.
Don't be surprised if Ugwoegbu is in the middle of Defensive Player of the Year discussion if the Beavers pick up a couple big wins this season, because he'll be a big reason why.[divider]
Jace Whittaker, CB — Arizona
Whittaker started the final seven games of last season as a sophomore and led the team with 11 pass breakups and showed he could provide run support.
Whittaker is an instinctual defender with good hands and is tougher than his size suggests. [divider]
Xavier Crawford, CB — Oregon State
Crawford is built like an NFL corner at 6-foot-1 and 195 pounds and finished his freshman year as a third-team all-conference player in a one of the deepest years at the position in recent memory (Kevin King, Sidney Jones, Akhello Witherspoon, Chidobe Awuzie, Adoree' Jackson), Shalom Luani, Marcus Williams, Tedric Thompson, all now in the NFL).
Crawford has run 40 times in the low 4.40s and he's as tough as nails.[divider]
Adarius Pickett, S — UCLA
Pickett is right up there with Crawford, Ugwoegbe and Nall as perhaps the most underrated returning players in the Pac-12, but he's doing it from a big-time program that generally garners a lot of attention, if not for success on the field for the expectations bestowed upon the football team for various reasons.
Pickett was named a starting safety late in fall camp, which is fitting since Pickett packs a wallop and has experience at corner, showing off coverage and ball skills. He's been a menace to wide receivers and running back this month and may challenge for all-conference honors
