4. Brock Purdy and Breece Hall (Iowa State)
The most talked-about name in the coaching carousel to not actually leave his current job, Matt Campbell has built something great at Iowa State and is coming off the best season in program history as they ended the year ranked inside the top 10 of the final polls for the first time ever. And now the Cyclones return the majority of their key contributors to try and better that.
While tight end Charlie Kolar and wide receiver Xavier Hutchinson are great players in their own right, this team’s success begins with the duo of quarterback Brock Purdy and running back Breece Hall.
Admittedly, Purdy let some people down in the 2020 season as he came into the year with first-round draft hype that he didn’t end up living up to. Even still, he proved to be a solid passer and dual-threat option with 2,750 yards and 19 touchdowns through the air to go with over 300 rushing yards and five more scores.
Hall helped save Purdy and the offense, though, by leading college football in rushing with an eye-popping 1,572 yards and 21 touchdowns on ground and two receiving touchdowns as well. Now returning to run it back with his quarterback, this duo has the potential to compete for a Big 12 Championship and an outside shot at the College Football Playoff, largely thanks to what this duo is capable of putting forth.