ESPN Bruce Feldman Blog

It's always fun to see which players show that they are ready to blossom in the spring, and every year we see a bunch of new guys emerge. Here are the Top 10 revelation guys who will make the biggest impact in the fall.

No. 1: Greg McElroy, Alabama, QB: The Tide have a bunch of big holes to address on offense, namely along the O-line and at quarterback, where John Parker Wilson was a solid, if unspectacular, leader. McElroy, who replaced Chase Daniel at Texas prep powerhouse Southlake Carroll High, really seized the opportunity this spring. And even though Nick Saban is not one just to throw out accolades, he touted the Texan as his QB after a very impressive spring, capped by a two-TD performance in the Tide's spring game.

"He's far and away our best quarterback right now," Saban told reporters. "He knows somebody's gotta beat him out. You know that. I know that." McElroy won't have the seasoned, physical O-line that Wilson had, but he will have a more polished Julio Jones to work with. However, I still think the Tide is another year away from crashing the top 5, although McElroy at least flashed some reasons for even more optimism.

No. 2: Malcolm Smith, USC, OLB: We know that USC lost more linebacker talent than arguably any team has ever lost after one season, but Pete Carroll still has plenty of reasons to be pumped. Start with Smith. Former Trojan WR Steve Smith's kid brother was all over the field for the Trojans this spring. He's physical, he's smart, and he really has a nose for the ball. Veteran teammate Taylor Mays predicts Smith will be the Trojans' next great linebacker. And if Smith and his young mates can step up, the Trojans figure to have a pretty salty defense again because they should be very strong in the secondary and capable up front. Linebacker was the big concern heading into spring.

No. 3: Jack Crawford, Penn State, DE: Like linebacker at USC, Penn State has major concerns at defensive end, since the program just lost its top three DEs, including first-rounder Aaron Maybin, but Crawford is rapidly coming on. Crawford, who shows the nifty hands from growing up boxing, continues to fill out and refine his technique. At 6-5, 262, he could be a very scary player for rival offenses to deal with over the next three seasons. If he can provide some of the big-play threat that Maybin brought last season, the Nits could be back in the top 10 again in 2009.

No. 4: Jake Locker, Washington, QB: OK, is this finally the time when the super-athletic Locker breaks out? You should never read too much into spring stats, but we'll give new UW coach Steve Sarkisian the benefit of the doubt here. The goal was to get Locker to complete over 60 percent of his passes and the speedy quarterback looked much sharper than that in the Huskies' spring game. He connected on 16 of 18 passes for 200 yards and two touchdowns, and those other two could've been caught. Now, even if Locker were to complete 70 percent of his passes, I wouldn't be suggesting that a winless team in 2008 will become a Top 25 team in 2009, but it could be a team that causes a lot of problems for the rest of the Pac-10.

No. 5: Pernell McPhee, Mississippi State, DT: New MSU coach Dan Mullen's staff found a junior college talent that probably could play anywhere in the SEC in McPhee, a late bloomer who dazzled the State staff at times this spring. McPhee, a Pahokee, Fla, product, wasn't a big recruit coming out of high school a few years back. He was only about 220 pounds, but grew into being a 260-pound force at DE at Itawamba JC. He could've signed anywhere after last season, but opted to stick with MSU and boy is Mullen thrilled.

The Bulldogs are playing McPhee as their three-technique inside and nobody can block him, says MSU assistant Tony Hughes, who has coached defensive standouts Michael Meyers and Grady Jackson and says McPhee can be the same type of dominator. "He's quick. He's fast. He's flexible. You can't single-block him," adds Hughes. "The guy is like a rubber band. And he loves to practice."

No. 6: Wes Lyons, WVU, WR: The 6-8, 220-pound senior hasn't been much of a factor in the WVU offense in his career, catching just 22 passes and zero TDs. However, after sliding the towering receiver into the slot, Lyons -- 100 percent injury-free for really the first time in his career -- responded with a huge spring, catching eight TDs passes.

No. 7: Patrick Trahan, Ole Miss, OLB: The onetime Auburn linebacker came to Oxford with big expectations last year. Trahan struggled getting into school, and his conditioning suffered. It also took him some time to get acclimated to the Rebels' scheme. He did finish the year strong with a terrific game in the Rebels' romp over Texas Tech in the Cotton Bowl. But now Trahan, by far the team's most athletic linebacker, is ready to take off. Sources inside the program say he was often the best player on the field in the spring and was playing behind a loaded D-line, so he should be ready to pile up tackles in the SEC this fall.

No. 8: Michael Ames, Boise State, OT: The Broncos have been searching for more help on the O-line, and Ames, a freshman walk-on who hadn't played in a football game since the 2004 season, looks like one of their answers. Ames, who spent 2006 and 2007 away serving a church mission and turns 22 this summer, impressed the BSU staff with his intelligence and his work ethic. "You want to coach a guy like him," offensive line coach Scott Huff told the Idaho Statesman. "He's smart, he works his butt off, you won't find a guy who works harder on the field. He studies his plays, and he wants to be good."

No. 9: Chris Walker, Tennessee, DE: No player has responded any better to the coaching change in Knoxville than the 235-pound junior, who in his previous two seasons hadn't been much of a factor. Monte Kiffin's new defensive scheme calls for defensive ends flying up the field, and suits Walker well. UT coaches have raved about Walker's explosiveness from the moment they first watched him, hailing him as the program's second-best athlete (behind phenom Eric Berry). All throughout spring, Walker was unblockable, flying into the backfield, making sacks and forcing fumbles. Don't be surprise if he quadruples his sack total from 2008 (three) this season.

No. 10: Edward Wesley, TCU, RB: Having to replace Aaron Brown, a back who ran for over 2,500 yards in his career, wasn't going to be easy, but coach Gary Patterson gushed about Wesley, a redshirt freshman he compares to former TCU star Robert Merrill. "He's got the same vision sideways, only he's faster," Patterson said. That means Wesley should be a big part of a running back rotation for a potential top-10 team.

News and notes:

• This is a basketball story, but since it involves the perils of recruiting, I figured it was worth including. It's about programs backing off blue-chip big man Renardo Sidney, and Lance Pugmire of the Los Angeles Times offers up the explanation:

"Bruins and Trojans sources both say they were wary of potentially intense NCAA scrutiny prompted by these issues: Despite what was perceived as a limited income, the family moved multiple times and resided in upscale homes during Sidney's high school years; and stepfather Renardo Sr. directed a club basketball team with financial backing that was unclear beyond a relatively modest shoe company sponsorship. Plus there was this: A source intimately familiar with Sidney's recruitment said a university official thought the stepfather had strongly hinted that he expected to be compensated if his son signed with the school."

That's some hefty stuff right there. Or it's just some programs spinning off sour grapes. You do occasionally hear of folks' lamenting a proposed deal spooking some schools in college football circles, but I suspect this is more prone to college hoops recruiting, mainly because players are so close to cashing in on NBA dollars.

Also, I can't say I was too shocked to read that the family's lawyer was Don Jackson from Alabama, whom I spoke to a bunch of times when Jerrell Powe was trying to become eligible at Ole Miss.

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