Jalen Hurts burst on the scene to lead Alabama to a wire-to-wire No. 1 ranking. Ed Oliver wrecked offenses from Oklahoma to Louisville for Houston. It was a good year for true freshmen in college football. Here are the best of the group:OFFENSEQB: Jalen Hurts, Alabama Hurts amassed more than 3,400 yards of total offense to go along with 34 touchdowns in leading the Crimson Tide to the College Football Playoff. And the fact he threw only nine interceptions given his unfamiliarity with a pro-style offense was impressive.RB: Trayveon Williams, Texas A&M Williams was an electrifying spark plug for Texas A&M and gave its offense a different dimension. He posted eight touchdowns and 1,024 yards on 7.0 yards per carry.RB: Benny Snell Jr., Kentucky Snell posted a whopping 13 touchdowns while also rushing for 1,057 yards while sharing backfield duties with Boom Williams.?WR: Ahmmon Richards, Miami Richards quickly became a go-to deep threat with the speed to take the top off the defense. One of the bigger freshman surprises of the year, he will head into bowl season with 46 receptions and two touchdowns.WR: Demetris Robertson, Cal Robertson didnt sign with Cal until March, but he wasted no time making an impact, hauling in 50 catches and recording seven touchdowns. He also made an impact as a kick returner.TE: Isaac Nauta, Georgia Nauta was as good as advertised from the moment he stepped on campus, and while he split some time with Jeb Blazovich and his numbers were modest (27 catches), Nauta displayed go-to ability for this offense going forward.OL: Jonah Williams, Alabama Williams started every game at right tackle, a clear top true freshman lineman regardless of position. He even graded out better than Cam Robinson most weeks.OL: Jawaan Taylor, Florida A starting right tackle, Taylor made a quicker and bigger impact for Florida than more highly touted Greg Little did for Ole Miss. Taylor fit in immediately at a need position for the Gators.OL: Parker Braun, Georgia Tech A starting left guard for the Yellow Jackets, Braun earned ACC Offensive Lineman of Week after a November win over Virginia Tech, a first for a Georgia Tech freshman.OL: Nate Herbig, Stanford A tough, physical player in a scheme that freshman often struggle to be tough enough to succeed, Herbig found a way to make it work at left guard.OL: Ben Bredeson, Michigan After making a push to start at left tackle during the preseason, Bredeson eventually moved to guard, where he started six games and was named an All-Big Ten honorable mention.DEFENSEDL: Nick Bosa, Ohio State Like his older brother, Joey, Nick exploded onto the scene in Columbus, finishing with five sacks and being selected to the Big Ten All-Freshman Team.DL: Brian Burns, Florida State Burns registered 9.5 sacks, more than any other freshman in college football, and tied for 15th overall in the country.DL: Dexter Lawrence, Clemson The ACC Defensive Rookie of the Year made an outstanding Tigers defensive line even better, finishing with 71 tackles, 7.5 for loss and five sacks.DL: Ed Oliver, Houston He was named the AAC Rookie of the Year and first-team All-AAC after recording 61 tackles, five sacks and a whopping 19.5 tackles for loss.LB: Michael Pinckney, Miami Pinckney finished with 57 tackles, 6.5 tackles for loss and 2.5 sacks on the year. Wed say Miami is set at linebacker for at least the next two years.LB: Shaq Quarterman, Miami One of three freshman starting linebackers for Miami since Day 1, Quarterman recorded 79 tackles, nine tackles for loss and two sacks.LB: Troy Dye, Oregon Dye made the transition from safety to linebacker and quickly blossomed, tallying 6.5 sacks and 91 tackles for the Ducks. He was one of the bright spots for a poor defensive team.CB: Taylor Rapp, Washington Rapp announced himself nationally with two interceptions, including one pick-six, in the Pac-12 championship game. He totaled 45 tackles and two pass breakups on the year as an integral part of the Huskies defensive performance this year.S: Jessie Bates III, Wake Forest The second team All-ACC pick had two interceptions returned for touchdowns while helping guide a terrific but underrated Demon Deacons defense.S: Jalen Thompson, Washington State Thompson led the Cougars with seven pass breakups and helped turn around a defense and a team that started 0-2.CB: Jordan Parker, Oklahoma Parker appeared in nine games and eventually became Oklahomas best cover corner on what was a poor defense. He posted 34 tackles and three pass breakups, but did not record an interception.SPECIAL TEAMSK: Ricky Aguayo, Florida State The younger brother of former Florida State star -- and second-round NFL draft pick Roberto -- Ricky lived up to his brothers lofty standards, nailing 17 field goals and all 48 of his extra points.P: Blake Gillikin, Penn State An overlooked part of Penn States Big Ten-winning season was Gilliken and his 42.1 punting average.
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Cheap Canucks Jerseys .Y. - Free agent outfielder Jacoby Ellsbury, fresh off winning the World Series with Boston, reached agreement with the rival New York Yankees on a seven-year contract worth about $153 million, a person familiar with the negotiations said Tuesday night. Former St. Louis Blues captain David Backes said he got goosebumps thinking about joining a team that already includes centers like Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci.These guys get it, the free agent forward said Friday after signing with the Boston Bruins in the first 30 minutes of NHL free agency. They know what its going to take to win. Thats what sold me on it. ... If you have prominent players that are putting team first, the rest of the guys really have no choice.A two-time U.S. Olympian, Backes agreed to a five-year, $30 million deal with the Bruins and said he hoped to help the Original Six club return to the playoffs for the first time in three seasons. Listing off some of the players already on the roster, Backes said it was more of a retooling than a rebuilding.Some guys would have looked at it like, `Youve already got Bergeron and Krejci, where will I play? David said, `Boy, I get to play with Bergeron and Krejci, Bruins general manager Don Sweeney said. These guys are going to be the leading core to get us where we want to go. The younger guys are going to have to get on board.Backes, 32, is the first major addition this offseason for a team that won the 2011 Stanley Cup and returned to the finals two years later. The team re-signed defenseman Torey Krug and bought out the contract of defenseman Dennis Seidenberg on Thursday. Free agents Loui Eriksson and Lee Stempniak agreed to deals with the Canucks and Carolina, respectively.I always thought Vancouver was a great city to play in and a great organization, Eriksson said.Also signing with Boston on the first day of free agency were defensemen Tommmy Cross and John-Michael Liles, goalie Anton Khudobin, and forwards Riley Nash, Tyler Randell and Tim Schaller.ddddddddddddheyre trying to get pieces back that will get them over the hump, Backes said. They barely missed the playoffs last year, and if they had (made it) I dont think anyone would have wanted to play them.Backes had 21 goals and 24 assists last season for the Blues. In a 10-year NHL career -- all with St. Louis -- he has 206 goals and 254 assists in 727 regular-season games.Backes, whos from Minneapolis, said it was difficult for his family to leave St. Louis, the team that selected him in the second round of the 2003 draft.It was tough in that its all Ive known, he said in a conference call with reporters. It happens a lot in this business, it hasnt happened to us. But change is good.Blues general manager Doug Armstrong said talks with his captain broke down over the length of the deal.I had no problem bringing David Backes back, and I wish we could have, he said. I wasnt comfortable with the term. It was problematic for me, personally, to (sign) out that far with players. Theres analytical data (that) shows where players play at their peak, and we wanted to try and stay within a window. We were ready to stretch that window but only to a certain level.But Backes said hes got a lot left.Im 32, not 52, he said. I think theres plenty of legs and energy left in me. I expect to still be at the top of my game.---AP Hockey Writer Stephen Whyno contributed to this story. ' ' '
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