Best players the state of Utah will see

SALT LAKE CITY — This week, the ksl.com experts for their respective schools looked at the opponents local teams will face and found the best of the best of who they will line up against.

USC, Oregon, Texas, Stanford, Boise State, Notre Dame, Wisconsin and Georgia Tech are the sampling of big name schools the three local schools will face this season. Those teams combine for 45 National Championships and countless big games, numerous great players and awards.

Now it is time to take a look back at the week and see the best player local guys will face, and who local fans can look forward to watching this season. This will recap previous articles to find out who is the best player to play on these teams this year.

[BYU's list by Greg Wrubell:](<http://www.ksl.com/?sid=26005683&nid=498&title=the-five-best-players-byu-will-face-in-2013 >)size=/4>

5. Stephon Tuitt, DE, Notre Dame: A multiple First Team All-America selection last season, Tuitt is listed by some observers in the same general neighborhood as Jadeveon Clowney.

4. Melvin Gordon, RB, Wisconsin: In only 62 carries last season, Gordon gained 621 rushing yards. I'll give you a second to let you do the math.

3. Chuckie Keeton, QB, Utah State: One of the nation's top dual-threat QBs, Keeton rolled up 3,373 passing yards and 619 rushing yards (eight rush TDs) in 2012; completed 68 percent of his passes for 27 TDs and nine INTs. 2. Cody Fajardo, QB, Nevada: I'm sure I like Fajardo more than most, but of the FBS' returning signal-callers, Fajardo had the fifth-best total offense number in 2012.

1. Jonathan Gray, RB, Texas: As a prep star in Aledo, Texas, Gray set the national HS record for career TDs with 205, once scored 70 TDs in a single season, ran for almost 11,000 yards in his high school career and picked up three consecutive state titles. Now a full season removed from his prep days, Gray is primed to assume the lead-back role for Mack Brown and start compiling some serious college numbers.

Utah's list by Mike Grant and Robert Jackson:size=/4>

5. De'anthony Thomas, RB, Oregon: Thomas is widely known as one of the most exciting players in college football. Last season he had 92 rushing attempts for 701 yards and 11 touchdowns. Every time he gets the ball he averages almost eight yards.

4. Marcus Mariota, QB, Oregon: Mariota is coming off a first team All-Pac-12 redshirt-freshman season at Oregon where he completed 68.5 percent of his passes for 2,677 yards with 32 touchdowns and only six interceptions. He rushed the ball 106 times for 752 yards and five touchdowns.

3. Ka'Deem Carey, RB, Arizona: Carey led the entire nation with 1,929 rushing yards, 204 of which came against the Utes in Salt Lake City. He holds an Arizona school record with 23 touchdowns in 2012, and his season average was 6.4 yards per touch. 2. Will Sutton, DT, Arizona State: Arizona State defensive tackle Sutton may be the nation's best interior defensive lineman this season. "He's a beast," Utah wide receiver Kenneth Scott told us during the UTEcast. "I was watching film and was like, ‘how does he get in the backfield so fast?' "

1. Marqise Lee, WR, USC: The first-place player on the list will be a top three pick in the 2014 NFL draft. Starting our list, Lee, wide receiver for the USC Trojans, is only a junior, but holds 22 school records. A unanimous All-American in 2012, Lee caught 118 passes for 1,721 yards and 14 touchdowns. In contrast, Utah's leading receiver, Dres Anderson, only had 36 catches last season, and as a team the Utes only had 220 receptions.

Utah State's list by Matt Glade:size=/4>

5. DeMarcus Lawrence, DE, Boise State: Lawrence, the 6-foot 3-inch, 244-pound defensive end terrorized the Mountain West in 2012, leading the conference in sacks per game. He led Boise with 13 tackles for loss and recovered two fumbles, returning one for a touchdown against Hawaii.

4. Noel Grigsby and Cody Hoffman, WR, San Jose State and BYU: Don't you hate it when people who make top five lists sneak two players into one ranking, therefore negating the idea of a top five?

Let's start with Grigsby. When most of us think of USU's game at San Jose State in 2012, we think of the dominant defensive performance. What we forget is how good Grigsby was in that game. He caught 11 balls for 181 yards and two touchdowns. Not bad.

Much like Grigsby, Hoffman is about to own his school's record book as well. Hoffman is two touchdowns away from Austin Collie's 30 touchdown mark and 18 catches from Dennis Pitta's career 221 receptions. I feel it's safe to say, based on his 100 catches and 1,248 yards from last season; these records are within reach.

3. David Fales, QB, San Jose State: How about the guy throwing the ball to Grigsby? Considered to be a borderline first-round prospect, Fales is not only thought of as the best quarterback in the conference, but one of the 10 best quarterbacks in the nation.

2. Kyle Van Noy, LB, BYU:I know he gets talked about a lot, but how can you possibly leave him off the list? He is arguably the best outside linebacker in the country and is the the best defensive player the Aggies will play this season.

1. Marqise Lee, WR, USC:Lee is widely considered the best wide receiver in the country and is a lock to be taken in the top 10 of next year's draft, and quite possibly the top five. Lee has drawn comparisons to A.J. Green and Calvin Johnson because of his athleticism, route running, and play making abilities.

The best of the best:size=/4>

This list won't include local players, sorry KVN, Chuckie and anyone else who might have made the cut.

1. Marqise Lee: At this point it seems pretty obvious who is number one on this list. Lee tops the list for both the Aggies and the Utes. It is hard to overstate how good this USC receiver is. Last year, he split passes with Robert Woods, who was once the guy at USC. Now it'll be all eyes on him. Expect two and sometimes three guys watching him at all times.

2. David Fales: The next player on the list is someone who will jump up a bit for my personal love, and that is Fales. Great quarterbacks don't always come from big schools. There are rare exceptions. They are trained with lesser talent around them to show they can complete passes to anybody. Fales is that guy.

While Grigsby is a good receiver, Fales makes him look a lot better. This a player who could leap into the top half of the first round. Fales is smart, has a good arm and does enough of everything to make him superb. Don't be surprised if he gets some Heisman-hype by the end of the year.

3. Will Sutton: OK, full disclosure, I didn't love Utah's Star Lotulelei going into last season. His run-stopping ability was great, but I thought he was missing a pass-rush. Not that I thought he was terrible, but Sutton is what I thought of when people talked about Star.

He collapses pockets and has a little more wiggle to his game to break through extra blockers. Watching Star last season, he got a lot better in my opinion. If Sutton can take that same step, he will be a nightmare to block.

4. Stephon Tuitt: Again, I'm moving up players I like. Tuitt and Louis Nix will be a difficult task for any line. Both are big and fast, but Tuitt has something special about him. He will mostly play the defensive end in the 3-4, occasionally shifting to tackle in a 4-3, his numbers won't blow people away. Tuitt will cause havoc for running games.

5. Ka'deem Carey: In an age where the pure running backs are going away, Carey is the new wave. He can run between the tackles and has enough to get to the outside. In year two of Rich Rodriguez's system, his numbers should go up. Honorable mention: Anthony Barr: Personally, I think he should have been a lot higher on the list. Barr was listed as an honorable mention in the Utah list, but he is every bit the freak-of-nature these other guys are. Barr will probably be the only linebacker taken over Van Noy, and for good reason.

He recently ran a 4.47 40-yard dash and is just scraping the surface of his potential. He is 6-foot 4-inches tall, 235 pounds and is a tackling machine. He had 13.5 sacks last season — his first season as a linebacker. Watch him this season and enjoy.

#poll

Well, there it is. The five best players local football fans can watch play against their teams this season — or at least hear about because they can't get the Pac-12 Network. The experts' lists got moved around by my personal preference. The top 10 or 15 players are all pretty close on this list.

Did everyone miss someone? Should Thomas or Mariota have been on the five best list? Is Fales a flash in the pan small-school quarterback who really isn't that good? Maybe Sutton and Tuitt will be swallowed up? Can Lee possibly live up to the hype?

Let us know if you agree or disagree. Next week the experts will get introspective again as they look at five players who have a chance to become breakout stars.

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