Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports
Every FBS program has up to 85 scholarships at its disposal, yet even though each school is drawing from the same deck, there are those who end up with a far better hand in the end.
Thanks to strong recruiting and depth development, some teams don’t seem to ever find themselves in a situation where graduation, early NFL entry and injuries lead to a rebuilding year. Instead, they’re almost constantly reloading, employing a next-man-up strategy that rarely leaves them with many noticeable talent holes.
And for those who do have a hole or two to fill, the overabundance of talent at other positions significantly lessens their impact.
In determining which FBS teams had the most loaded rosters heading into the 2015 season, we looked at factors such as the number of starters returning, projected 2016 first-round draft picks, per WalterFootball.com, players named to Bleacher Report’s top 25 freshmen and sophomores lists and recent recruiting class rankings.
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Brynn Anderson/Associated Press
Top stars: DE Jonathan Allen, RB Derrick Henry, LB Reggie Ragland
If a dictionary needs a pictorial representation for the word “reload,” the Alabama Crimson Tide logo would do just fine.
Year in and year out, no matter how many superstars graduate or turn pro early, Alabama never lacks for quality players at each and every position. Some might be thinner than others, but there’s little doubt that most other coaches in the country would take what Nick Saban has to work with each season.
Then again, that might require them to recruit like Saban, who thanks to three straight top-rated classes, per 247Sports, always has himself a steady supply of blue-chip talent waiting in the wings to step in and shine.
It’s why Alabama has never needed to play a true freshman at quarterback, why recent injuries and suspensions have only led to minor hiccups in terms of the depth chart and why the departure of a record-breaker like wide receiver Amari Cooper can be dealt with by turning to four or five former 4- or 5-star prospects to fill in.
Rick Scuteri/Associated Press
Top stars: WR Cayleb Jones, QB Anu Solomon, RB Nick Wilson, LB Scooby Wright
Arizona may bring back only 12 starters from last season’s breakout team, which won the Pac-12 South and reached 10 victories for the first time since 1998. But those who return were responsible for the bulk of that success, and many of them were freshmen or sophomores.
What looked to be a liability last season becomes a strength this year, as the Wildcats now have battle-tested players at quarterback (Solomon) and running back (Wilson) who had stellar freshman seasons, while their receiving unit goes so deep that Notre Dame transfer DaVonte’ Neal opted to move over to the secondary to have a better chance to play.
The defensive depth is where Arizona is making the biggest strides, as coach Rich Rodriguez’s desire to be able to constantly cycle in fresh bodies on that side is getting close to happening. And each player who gets added to the mix on defense gets the benefit of learning from the country’s top individual defender, Wright, who won three national awards in 2014.
Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports
Top stars: QB Mike Bercovici, LB D.J. Calhoun, WR D.J. Foster
Arizona State has produced 26 wins in Todd Graham’s first three seasons, the most since the early 1980s, and last year’s 10-3 record occurred despite a young and inexperienced defense that took a lot of risks and as a result got burned from time to time.
The best is yet to come with the Sun Devils, though, as they return 16 starters and have very few significant holes to fill. One of major importance, the quarterback position, might be in better hands than a year ago as Bercovici takes over for Taylor Kelly after serving as an injury replacement for three games in 2014.
ASU’s depth continues to grow on both sides of the ball, and as a result it has converted 1,000-yard rusher Foster into a slot receiver to beef up the team’s weakest position group. You can’t make such a move without having quality down at running back, which the Sun Devils have just like at nearly every other spot.
“We’re bigger, faster and stronger,” Graham told Scott Bordow of The Arizona Republic.
Danny Johnston/Associated Press
Top stars: QB Brandon Allen, RB Alex Collins, RB Jonathan Williams
With a roster and a scheme unlike any other among the power conferences, Arkansas stands out from the crowd because of its size, strength and depth. It’s what Bret Bielema had in mind when he took over the program in 2013, and in just two years the Razorbacks have gone from an afterthought to a true contender.
And with 15 starters back, Arkansas is loaded all over with big bodies and breakout performers.
This begins in the trenches, where the Hogs’ NFL-sized offensive line returns four starters who will again open up holes for a pair of 1,000-yard rushers in Collins and Williams. They’ll get the ball from Allen, a senior who might be the most underrated player at his position in the FBS.
Arkansas’ defense lost more than half of its front seven, but those openings will be replenished by a talent pool that Bielema has brought in through strong recruiting in his effort to make over the program’s image into a hard-nosed group.
Butch Dill/Associated Press
Top stars: LB Kris Frost, QB Jeremy Johnson, WR D’haquille Williams
Gus Malzahn put in his system before having all of the players he wanted to run that offense, yet he still managed to have success as he led Auburn to the BCS national title game in his first season in 2013. Now the Tigers have the kind of athletes who fit that scheme, thanks three straight strong recruiting classes. And as such, when players get hurt or move on, there’s no expectation of a backslide in production.
Two-year starting quarterback Nick Marshall was masterful in his role. But now Johnson takes over, and his upside is far greater.
Talent abounds on Auburn’s defense as well, but it hasn’t led to results because the coaching didn’t match the skill level. That’s no longer the case, as former Florida coach Will Muschamp is coordinating the defense, and his recruiting prowess helped the Tigers land even more potential stars this offseason.
With an offense that has developed role players into big names and now a defensive approach that should get the most out of its available resources, Auburn looks to be as loaded as ever.
TIM SHARP/Associated Press
Top stars: WR Corey Coleman, RB Shock Linwood, DE Shawn Oakman
With 17 starters back, Baylor returns more experience than anyone else in the Big 12. And considering most of those returners were part of back-to-back conference titles, it’s impossible to overvalue what that means to the Bears in 2015, especially since they have to replace their most important single player.
Gone is quarterback Bryce Petty, who lit it up the past two years, but coach Art Briles has managed to keep the engine going at that position year after year no matter who is starting. Or backing up, as last year Seth Russell started once in place of an injured Petty and dominated just as well, making his potential succession into the full-time job one that isn’t causing any worry.
It’s hard to have trepidation with the number of skill players Baylor has, both vertically and in the ground game, not to mention a mostly intact offensive line. And the Bears defense, which tends to only get recognized when it gives up big leads, brings back nine starters, including a potential first-round pick in beastly defensive end Oakman.
If Baylor is unable to win a third straight piece of the Big 12 title, it won’t be because of a lack of anything in terms of personnel.
RICHARD SHIRO/Associated Press
Top stars: DE Shaq Lawson, WR Artavis Scott, QB Deshaun Watson
In 2013, it was offense that paced Clemson to a strong season. Last year the defense carried the mantle, ranking first in FBS in yards allowed and providing an opportunity for the Tigers’ young offensive unit to develop.
This season could see a return to Clemson being guided more by its offense or be one that is as balanced as ever depending on how replacements perform at key defensive positions on the line and in the secondary. But one thing about this year’s team is not uncertain, and that’s that a level of quality has been established and should continue thanks to an emphasis on building depth and minimizing the need for individual stars.
There are several of those, such as dual-threat quarterback Watson, receivers Scott and Mike Williams and defensive end Lawson, and more arrive this season from Clemson’s eighth-rated recruiting class. Yet this team’s strength is more in its overall numbers than in the value of one or two players, and this has the Tigers in line to finally dethrone Florida State as ACC champions.
Doug Benc/Associated Press
Top stars: RB Dalvin Cook, CB Jalen Ramsey, WR Travis Rudolph
No school felt the allure of the NFL draft more than Florida State, which lost five starters with eligibility on top of several more who graduated. The Seminoles bring back only 11 starters from last season’s semifinal team, and only a handful played a key role in the national championship team from 2013-14.
But to assume FSU will struggle this season is to discount the depth it has built over the past few years, which has resulted into ready-made replacements at most of its positional openings while the rest will get filled by the winners of some of the country’s most spirited competitions.
The battles to be the Seminoles’ starting quarterback or cornerbacks, its top receivers or the first unit on the offensive line have been made possible by a combination of great recruiting—FSU had the No. 3 class this year after being fourth in 2014 and 10th the year before that—and by preparing those who didn’t get to see the field much (or at all) one season to be fully prepared for a much more significant role the following season.
David Stephenson/Associated Press
Top stars: RB Nick Chubb, LB Leonard Floyd
The truest test of a team’s depth is what happens when a key starter is lost without warning. Georgia experienced this midway through last season when the NCAA suspended running back Todd Gurley for four games. Yet not only did its ground game not miss a beat in his absence; it actually got better with Chubb taking over.
Now Chubb is a Heisman Trophy candidate and would seem like the kind of player that couldn’t be replaced. But the Bulldogs are again strong at that position beyond him, as they are nearly everywhere else on the field and particularly in spots where they have to replace starters from 2014.
Three quarterbacks are battling to replace Hutson Mason, making for anything less than a winner-by-default scenario. The defensive line will feature all new starters, yet the reps that backups got last season (as well as the summer arrival of No. 1 overall recruit Trent Thompson) make this a position of strength. And the Bulldogs have so many quality linebackers that coordinator Jeremy Pruitt has a “rich man’s problem,” per Bleacher Report’s Barrett Sallee.
Gerald Herbert/Associated Press
Top stars: WR Travin Dural, RB Leonard Fournette, S Jalen Mills
Even with the mess that is its quarterback situation and another year of overcoming early NFL departures, LSU remains among the deepest teams in the country thanks to a forward-thinking approach to recruiting that coach Les Miles has developed over time to plan for the inevitable attrition.
While the results on the field haven’t been as good the past few years as expected, consider that the Tigers have been forced into a minor personnel overhaul on almost an annual basis. When defensive end Danielle Hunter declared for the draft last January, he was the third to do so from the 2014 team and the 20th LSU underclassmen to turn pro in the past three years, per John Taylor of NBC Sports.
The recruiting actually uses the frequent draft departures to LSU’s advantage because it can sell early playing time more than most programs. This has enabled the Tigers to start grooming their next crop of starters early on, avoiding a scenario where players turning pro cause holes that LSU cannot easily fill.
Brandon Wade/Associated Press
Top stars: DE Shilique Calhoun, QB Connor Cook
Though it wasn’t their only reason for returning, a major factor in the decisions made by Calhoun and Cook to hold off on the NFL for another season had to do with the team Michigan State would have this season.
In other words, they knew the Spartans were going to be pretty deep in 2015, and with them in tow the team would be downright loaded even with some major holes to fill.
Cook will oversee the offense for a third straight year, the last two ending with big bowl victories (including a massive comeback against Baylor to win the Cotton Bowl in January), and his experience will be key in guiding along newcomers at the skill positions. Calhoun will anchor a defensive line that will be among the best in the country but which will have a lot of pressure to get pressure and keep an in-flux secondary from getting exposed early.
JOE RAYMOND/Associated Press
Top stars: QB Everett Golson, DE Sheldon Day, LB Jaylon Smith
If not for the surprise move by center Matt Hegarty to transfer just prior to spring practice, Notre Dame would have brought back more projected starters than any other power program for 2015. But while that high number of experienced players will be key to how the Fighting Irish perform this season, their success is going to be more based on how many non-starters are able to contribute.
A quarterback battle between senior Golson and sophomore Malik Zaire could lead to both seeing meaningful playing time, a trend that will be seen at many positions this season. Notre Dame figures to split carries between two or three running backs, having several receivers targeted on a regular basis, and rotate plenty of fresh bodies in on defense.
Notre Dame also might have the deepest offensive line in the country, even with Hegarty’s transfer, per JJ Stankevitz of CSN Chicago.
“In 2013 and 2014, Notre Dame added nine scholarship offensive linemen and has only lost one player—center Matt Hegarty—with eligibility remaining,” Stankevitz wrote. “The depth is so good that (offensive line coach Harry) Hiestand and the offense were able to part with Jerry Tillery and ship him over to the defensive line, where he’s thrived as an early enrollee this spring.”
Gerry Broome/Associated Press
Top stars: QB Jacoby Brissett, DE Mike Rose, RB Shadrach Thornton
Nothing specific about North Carolina State’s team really stands out, which could be really good or really bad depending on how you look at it. We’re going the positive route because the lack of any overwhelming positives or glaring negatives in essence means this is a solidly built group.
And coming off a breakthrough performance in coach Dave Doeren’s second season, the Wolfpack look ready to make another jump into contending in the ACC.
While not household names, players like Brissett, Thornton, Rose and safety Josh Jones form a foundation that the rest of the team has been built off. And they’re getting reinforced by the school’s best recruiting class in years, one that should produce several instant contributors.
Eric Gay/Associated Press
Top stars: QB J.T. Barrett, DE Joey Bosa, RB Ezekiel Elliott
To illustrate how loaded Ohio State is, we could just describe the quarterback competition between three players who would each be a lock for the starting job at dozens of other schools. Barrett, senior Braxton Miller and junior Cardale Jones have all made meaningful starts for the Buckeyes the past three seasons, yet likely only one will do so in 2015.
“Ohio State’s quarterback conundrum exemplifies the (good) problem the entire program currently faces: there’s a ton of talent everywhere in Columbus,” Nicole Auerbach of USA Today wrote. “Both sides of the ball, at all key positions.”
Unlike recent national champions or teams that had big seasons, OSU didn’t lose anyone early to the NFL draft. It also had minimal losses to graduation and none that couldn’t be filled by any number of viable replacements.
The Buckeyes are somewhat like the Kentucky basketball team of college football, one where a platoon system could be used to ensure all of the talent gets playing time.
Sue Ogrocki/Associated Press
Top stars: RB Samaje Perine, LB Eric Striker, DE Charles Tapper
Oklahoma has never been short on talent, but the effort and execution have been lacking the last few seasons. This ultimately led to coach Bob Stoops overhauling his coaching staff, bringing in new names to work with the healthy amount of returning stars and potential breakout performers for 2015.
New offensive coordinator Lincoln Riley has brought with him the Air Raid offense, which was so successful for the Sooners in the past but hadn’t been used the previous two years. Yet the roster is built for such an attack, which is why Riley has said he plans to use a minimum of eight receivers in a game, per Eric Bailey of the Tulsa World.
Oklahoma also has several quarterbacks to choose from, three of which have started either at Oklahoma (Trevor Knight, Cody Thomas) or Texas Tech (Baker Mayfield), and it’s hard to forget about a running game that produced the FBS single-game rushing leader in Perine.
The defense underachieved last season, but top-tier starters like Tapper, Striker and cornerback Zack Sanchez are all back.
Rogelio V. Solis/Associated Press
Top stars: DT Robert Nkemdiche, WR Laquon Treadwell
A landmark performance by its “Landshark” defense propelled Ole Miss toward the top of the rankings last season, and while several key players from that unit (which ranked No. 1 in scoring allowed at 16 points per game) have graduated, there’s still more than enough there to make for another strong effort in 2015.
“The good news for Rebel fans is that while the holes are big, the players filling them in have big shovels,” Bleacher Report’s Barrett Sallee wrote.
The Rebels figure to be better on offense despite having to pick a new quarterback, since mostly everyone else is back. This will eventually include Treadwell and lineman Laremy Tunsil, both possible high draft picks in 2016, who both suffered broken legs last season. Similar injuries befell several defensive players last year as well, and as a result, injury replacements had to step in and will lead to a much deeper team.
Though the star power of players like Treadwell and Nkemdiche is evident, Ole Miss won last year with a committee-like approach, and that will be the route it takes again this season.
Lenny Ignelzi/Associated Press
Top stars: RB Royce Freeman, WR Byron Marshall, RB Thomas Tyner
Oregon had the Heisman Trophy winner last season in quarterback Marcus Mariota, and he has moved on to the NFL. So too have several top performers on defense and a trio of experienced offensive linemen who helped make the Ducks offense run so crisply in 2014. At 12 returning starters, Oregon is toward the bottom in that area among teams on our list.
But Oregon’s strength lies in its numbers, as injuries to the offensive line and receiving corps last season helped develop depth that will come in handy this fall. Same goes for on defense, where the abundance of uptempo opponents the Ducks faced forced them to turn to backups on a regular basis. Those backups are now starters, and little regression is expected.
Let’s go back to the quarterback situation, which, while not ideal, is far better than a team would normally face after losing a Heisman winner. The Ducks landed a top-flight graduate transfer in Eastern Washington’s Vernon Adams, who tore up the FCS ranks (and some FBS opponents) the past three years and who has the skills to keep this offense from slowing down in 2015.
Keith Srakocic/Associated Press
Top stars: WR Tyler Boyd, RB James Conner, QB Chad Voytik
It’s rare that a team going through a coaching change would have anything close to a loaded roster for its new head man, but Pittsburgh is the exception. Paul Chryst didn’t leave the cupboard empty by any means when he left to coach Wisconsin, instead providing Pat Narduzzi with a healthy supply of talent and promise for his first head coaching gig.
Voytik, Conner and Boyd make up one of the best junior offensive trios in FBS, and they alone would be enough to make Pitt a contender in the ACC Coastal. But there are also four returners on the offensive line as well as a strong group of experienced defenders who will no doubt benefit from Narduzzi’s track record as a coordinator at Michigan State.
The combination of 15 returning starters and the edge that Narduzzi brings to Pittsburgh should help reverse what USA Today‘s Paul Myerberg called “a program of individual accolades…but middling team success.”
John Bazemore/Associated Press
Top stars: QB Trevone Boykin, WR Josh Doctson, RB Aaron Green
TCU’s tradition of being a defense-first team that got by with a so-so offense has gone away, and now the Horned Frogs are one of the most balanced programs in the country. Last year a new system and more experienced contributors combined to average 46.5 points and 533 yards per game while a veteran defense made key stops all season long.
The Frogs now have the kind of depth on offense they haven’t possessed in years, and that offense will carry the torch during a season when its defense has to reload following the loss of several notable starters.
TCU brings back only five defensive starters, but while there’s cause for some concern at the outset, the promotion of DeMontie Cross and Chad Glasgow to co-coordinators is likely to produce the same upswell that the Frogs got by installing Sonny Cumbie and Doug Meacham as co-offensive coordinators a year ago.
The Frogs’ best attribute across the board is their speed, and that is the case no matter the experience level of their players.
Wade Payne/Associated Press
Top stars: DE Derek Barnett, QB Joshua Dobbs, RB Jalen Hurd
The best thing about freshmen is that they become sophomores, something Tennessee coach Butch Jones is well aware of after sending more than 20 first-year players onto the field in various roles last season. The Volunteers still won seven games despite that youthful approach, and this could pay off with a breakthrough year fueled by all of the experience gained.
“We are a much stronger unit than we were a year ago at this time,” Jones told Steve Megargee of The Associated Press (via the Knoxville News Sentinel). “We still need to continue to develop that strength. We are not where we need to be. But I see marked progress across the board.”
Growing pains were expected in 2014, and this happened quite often. Tennessee’s offensive line only had one freshman starter, but as a group the lack of previous playing time led to 43 sacks allowed. Four players are back, which should lead to heavy improvement and allow a dynamic offense to become even more prolific.
Tennessee’s defense might actually get younger than a year ago, depending on how many members of its fourth-ranked recruiting class are involved this season.
David J. Phillip/Associated Press
Top stars: QB Kyle Allen, DE Myles Garrett, WR Josh Reynolds
While Kevin Sumlin’s first three teams at Texas A&M have seen their season records decrease on an annual basis, this hasn’t been the case for the Aggies’ talent pool. If anything, the Aggies have managed to become a better, deeper team despite what the on-field results might indicate.
Having three straight top-12 recruiting classes will help that, as will infusing freshmen into the mix all over the lineup.
As a result, A&M heads into this year with a very strong likelihood of reversing its win-total trend, as the valuable experience gained by underclassmen the past two seasons should translate into an experienced unit that continues to become deeper.
This is most apparent on the defensive side of the ball, where new coordinator John Chavis inherits a group that underachieved as a whole last year but had some individual stars in defensive end Garrett and safety Armani Watts. More star power arrives in the form of 5-star tackle Daylon Mack, and the offensive also loads up on more weapons to go with an already stacked war chest of receivers and quarterbacks.
Stephen Brashear/Associated Press
Top stars: LB Myles Jack, RB Paul Perkins, DE Eddie Vanderdoes
No team in the Pac-12 returns more starters than UCLA, which has 18 of them back and retains nearly its entire offensive. The only absence is a big one, as quarterback Brett Hundley turned pro early, but the arrival of heralded 5-star prospect Josh Rosen as an early enrollee has the Bruins thinking upswell rather than backslide this season.
UCLA brings back the conference’s leading rusher in junior Perkins, several strong receivers and a rising corps of linemen. The defensive side has some major holes to fill, as linebacker Eric Kendricks and defensive end Owamagbe Odighizuwa were key to the attack. But juniors Jack and Vanderdoes are just as good (if not better), and the depth at those positions is solid.
The Bruins are expected to contend for the Pac-12 title again this year, and while the quarterback position will play a major role in that goal, there’s enough around whoever is under center to not place all of the pressure on an inexperienced passer.
Mark J. Terrill/Associated Press
Top stars: LB/S Su’a Cravens, WR/CB Adoree’ Jackson, QB Cody Kessler, WR Juju Smith
Fresh off signing its first full recruiting class in years due to past NCAA sanctions, USC enters 2015 with so much talent at nearly every position it seems hard to fathom this team needs all 85 of its scholarships.
Even with four players turning pro early and four other starters graduating, this year’s Trojans team figures to be better than the one that won 10 games last fall. And that will be because there’s no true weakness to this lineup, as there are veterans at key positions, such as quarterback (Kessler) and throughout the defense, and where youth is more prevalent it’s of the type that doesn’t play like underclassmen.
“Nowhere is USC’s youth more apparent than on the offensive line,” Bleacher Report’s Kyle Kensing wrote after the Trojans beat Nebraska in December’s Holiday Bowl. “It’s a unit that virtually learned on the job in 2014.”
USC started three freshmen on the offensive line last year, part of a youth movement that first-year coach Steve Sarkisian will ride into this season as a serious playoff contender.
Nick Wass/Associated Press
Top stars: QB Michael Brewer, CB Kendall Fuller, DE Dadi Nicolas
Always one of the most stacked teams defensively, Virginia Tech will again have plenty of weapons on that side of the ball to slow down opponents and give its offense a chance to make progress in 2015. And it’s that offense that, due to a series of injuries last season in the backfield, should be the deepest it’s been in quite some time.
Brewer is on tap for a second year at quarterback, and he’s looked sharp in spring ball as he’s spread the ball around to a young but talented receiving corps. On Saturday he was at the helm for much of a scrimmage in which the Hokies racked up 566 yards and scored 10 offensive touchdowns, per Andy Bitter of The Roanoke Times.
Last year Tech saw running backs Trey Edmunds, Shai McKenzie and Marshawn Williams all suffer injuries that limited them to a combined 21 games. Edmunds should be at full strength for the fall, while McKenzie and Williams are recovering from ACL tears. Junior J.C. Coleman was the team’s leading rusher—and he’s back—while redshirt freshman Travon McMillian (a converted quarterback) is also in the mix.
Tech’s defense has finished no worse than 21st in yards allowed the past four seasons, and with returners like Nicolas and Fuller, there should be continued success from that side.
Sandra Dukes-USA TODAY Sports
Top stars: WR Corey Davis, RB Jarvion Franklin, QB Zach Terrell
Deep and bountiful rosters aren’t limited just to the power conferences, as Western Michigan coach P.J. Fleck has amassed quite a talent pool in his third year at Western Michigan. And thanks to recruiting classes the past two years that ranked ahead of some power schools, the Broncos are set up for success for a while.
The Broncos return the nucleus of a team that went 8-5 last season after being 1-11 in 2013, and that includes third-year starting quarterback Terrell, workhorse running back Franklin and several reliable receivers led by junior Davis.
Western Michigan might not be able to win the Mid-American Conference, but it won’t be due to lack of talent on the roster.
All recruiting information courtesy of 247Sports.
Follow Brian J. Pedersen on Twitter at @realBJP.
The 25 Most Loaded College Football Rosters Heading into the 2015 Season - Bleacher Report
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