2. Patrick Mahomes, QB, Texas Tech

AP Tony Gutierrez

Put simply, there might not be a single player in the country who gets less credit relative to the stats he puts up than Mahomes does. Even after tallying 46 total touchdowns last season (36 through the air and 10 on the ground), how often was he discussed amongst the nation's best quarterbacks? Not often, and the problem for Mahomes is simple. As big as the stats are that he puts up, the stats that his own defense allowed were even bigger. Get this: In total, Mahomes helped the Red Raiders score at least 35 points in nine of 12 regular-season games last year and 50 or more points six times. Yet Tech finished with only a 7-6 record overall. That included two games where they put up 52 and 53 points ... and still lost! Make no mistake, though, the people who know football know just how good Mahomes is. Check out this comment from Gary Patterson at Big 12 Media Days.