surprise player of the year

[bothsocksup]

Aside from the obvious, dungey, I have to go with Donnie Simmons. It felt like this guy was gonna be a career bench warmer, but he has been simply great this year. First of all, hes a huge kid. Hes got speed and rarely misses a tackle when he gets his hands on the runner. Super impressed with this kid. I dont think anybody saw this coming. Who's your surprise player?

 

[tep624]

Aside from the obvious, dungey, I have to go with Donnie Simmons. It felt like this guy was gonna be a career bench warmer, but he has been simply great this year. First of all, hes a huge kid. Hes got speed and rarely misses a tackle when he gets his hands on the runner. Super impressed with this kid. I dont think anybody saw this coming. Who's your surprise player?

The big problem with Simmons has been his health. I know that Marrone's staff was really high on him.

 

[BKCuse]

I had heard good things about Fredricks but didn't realize he was such a beast.

Strickland too has really impressed

 

[wfschrec]

Parris Bennett for me ... should be nicknamed oooohh la la

 

[cuse309]

Fredricks. He seems to have a knack for always finishing moving forward.

 

[Rocco]

I love Luke at DE. He has been awesome.

 

[SoBristol]

Nice that we could have several nominees. How about Cordy? Or Mahoney?

 

[Upstate]

The DL as a whole, we had heard, was going to be one of the weakest units and then turned out to really be a force. They may have even out-performed LSU's OL on the day.

 

[CuseOnly]

I would say Luke and Bennett. Bennett because I didn't think he would be as good as he is as young as he is.

 

[rocklloyd]

It's Donnie for me. I had lower expectations but he's blown past all of them so far.

 

[cusefan88]

Paris Bennett or Corey Winfield for me. Bennett has been playing lights out. Winfield went from a converted WR to soon to be the best CB (if he isn't yet) on the team.

 

[JHarris44]

The combo of Slayton and Clark could be deadly inside for the next 3, 4 years. Aside from the obvious Dungey-Winfield-Luke-Simmons, that'd be my (combo) pick.

 

[ejz555]

The big problem with Simmons has been his health. I know that Marrone's staff was really high on him.

Yeah, Marrone loved his big hands...

 

[TheCusian]

Donnie/Luke.

Donnie is really fast for a guy his size. Stands out when he's tracking down a RB behind the line.

Luke is tenacious. Seems like a hard worker/high motor guy.

 

[Pyle]

Mahoney

3 TD passes against a top 10 team in one half. I feel like we have a real QB duo with Dungey/Mahoney capable of running this offense. When I saw Hunt go down I thought our season was over, but 4 games in and it's a whole new ballgame.

 

[HeaterCuse22]

Fredericks, Jordan

 

[kcsu]

Well you have to pick our 5th team QB for sure. Couldnt be a much bigger surprise. Really like Luke think that he has been great at DE and i think that Norton on KO has been excellent as well those would be my surprise guys

 

[shandeezy7]

The DL as a whole, we had heard, was going to be one of the weakest units and then turned out to really be a force. They may have even out-performed LSU's OL on the day.

I don't know if we thought the 1st team DL was going to be one of our weakest units. I think the hand wringing was more around the depth at DL, which could still rear its ugly head.

 

[ImperialOrange]

Hard to be surprised when you have sky high expectations but I'll throw Jason Emerich out there. Had no reason to think he would play much given the depth chart starting the season... not only has he played but he's played quite well.

 

[Shenexon]

Lester. He's put an offense on the field. An offense that has worked with 3 different qb's, 7 rb's, & 7 receivers. I think we hoped he'd do ok, but the kids seem to get his system and be successful. I'd say he's exceeded expectations to this point. The cool things he did against LSU were downright refreshing.

 

[Cuse'91]

The guy we really need to win this award is Chauncey Scissum or Rodney Williams...

 

[orange_in_VA]

I love Luke at DE. He has been awesome.

Agreed. It's Luke for me too. Kid is a great pass rusher.

 

[gocraz4dasu]

I'd say Antwan Cordy. We needed someone to step up in the secondary and Cordy played very well against LSU. There is still much of the year left to play but he has been quite the surprise for me through 4.

I also have been impressed by Arciniega but I always thought he had it. I didn't know it was at DE but there was always something there I liked.

 

[Guy Fawkes]

Foy.

He's been consistently playing well in the running and pass game. He's healthy (common theme with alot of players named above), and switched positions in the offseason. Our quarterbacks tend to make slow progressions, and utilize rollouts so it's nice to see the offensive line keep them protected. Currently SU ranks #22 in the nation in sacks allowed.

 

[Nick44]

The 2015 Heisman Trophy Winner. The First-Team All-American punter.