Revisiting the best (and worst) of the season. Today: The year's most pleasant surprises, individual edition. 10. David Ruffer, K, Notre Dame.
Lou Groza finalist had never played organized football before walking on in 2008, but ended his career as the only regular kicker in the nation who hit 100 percent of his field-goal attempts.
9. Knile Davis, RB, Arkansas.
Sophomore turned a crowded backfield into a one-man show by midseason, complementing his quarterback's prolific arm with five 100-yard efforts on the ground in the last six games. Altogether, he averaged 154 total yards per game over the last eight, all but one – the 65-43 shootout loss at Auburn – Razorback wins.
8. Taylor Martinez, QB, Nebraska.
At the start of spring practice, Martinez was still an obscure "athlete" who had been vastly overshadowed by Cody Green in the Cornhuskers' 2009 recruiting class and barely qualified as an afterthought in the quarterback picture as a true freshman – he was even behind a converted linebacker whom coaches moved from defense explicitly to shore up the QB depth. Six months later, Martinez had emerged as the 'Huskers opening-day starter and then as one of the most electric playmakers in the Big 12, before an assortment of injuries limited his (and the entire offense's) production down the stretch.
7. Danny Trevathan, LB, Kentucky.
Former two-star recruit added weight in the offseason and easily led the SEC in solo and total tackles, showing up as a first-team all-conference pick by league coaches – ahead of more familiar names like Dont'a Hightower and Akeem Dent.
6. Dan Persa, QB, Northwestern.
2010's poster boy for undersized scrappers hit a ridiculous 73.5 percent of his passes and accounted for over 75 percent of the Wildcats' total offense before a season-ending ACL injury in mid-November. His last play: A go-ahead touchdown pass against Iowa to seal the Wildcats' third straight winning season.
5. Darron Thomas, QB, Oregon.
Thomas was probably bound for another season on the third string before two-year starter Jeremiah Masoli was shown the door in the offseason, and was definitely considered the weakest link in the Ducks' bid to repeat as Pac-10 champs. Instead, it took Thomas roughly two quarters to relegate Masoli to ancient history, from whence he never returned as Thomas captained the highest-scoring attack in the nation into the BCS Championship Game.
Former two-star "athlete" emerged as the best player on the Wolfpack defense in 2008, only to have his entire 2009 campaign erased by a horrific car accident that left him with a badly broken leg, a separated shoulder and a collapsed lung before the season. He returned in top form this fall, landing a first-team All-ACC nod with 20.5 tackles for loss – including an NCAA-record eight TFLs against Wake Forest alone – with six sacks, eight QB hurries, two forced fumbles and easily the most impressive belly-to-back suplex of the season.
3. Denard Robinson, QB, Michigan.
However you classify him, Robinson went from a "change of pace" option who couldn't hit the side of a barn with a pass as a true freshman to a versatile, all-purpose All-American who connected on 62 percent of his passes (with many, many drops from Wolverine receivers) as a sophomore. "Shoelace" is the first Big Ten QB to lead the league in rushing and the first player in NCAA history to run for 1,500 yards and pass for 2,000 in the same season – a potentially coach-saving effort from a guy who was only expected to split time with incumbent starter Tate Forcier, at best.
2. Nick Fairley, DT, Auburn.
The Tigers' other former JUCO star didn't make nearly the splash as a sophomore in 2009 as his celebrated quarterback did a year later. Fairley's first season on the Plains amounted to two starts, 28 total tackles and 3.5 tackles for loss as a nondescript member of a nondescript defensive line rotation. As a junior, though, he broke out as a consistent, All-American disruptor in the middle of the front four, anchoring the SEC's No. 2 defense against the run with a conference-high 21 tackles in opposing backfields.
Eleven of those were sacks, to go along with a staggering 21 QB hurries, cementing Fairley's reputation as a quarterback's worst nightmare (in more ways than one.)
1. Justin Blackmon, WR, Oklahoma State.
Blackmon caught 20 passes in 2009 as a redshirt freshman, fourth on the team. The encore: 102 catches for 1,665 yards; 18 touchdowns; 18 receptions of at least 25 yards; at least 100 yards and one touchdown in every game; and the Biletnikoff Award as the nation's best receiver. Blackmon's skyrocketing draft stock paints him as "the Next Michael Crabtree," which may turn out to be something of a slight if the Cowboys can convince him to come back next year.
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Matt Hinton is on Twitter: Follow him @DrSaturday.
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