Part of the inherent love for college football is latching onto players you love to pull for, whether they're on your favorite teams or not.
Even if you hate a team—and we all have those we despise, whether it be our rivals or teams we just love to see lose, no matter what—it's rare you have supreme dislike for a college football player. They're just kids, right?
Everybody has an appreciation for the stars of the game, but it's some of the new ones coming into their own who we get passionate about and identify with as we share their journey.
Who all fell in love with Max Duggan's feel-good story after he went from being benched early in the year to a Heisman Trophy finalist? When Tulane's Tyjae Spears was running all over USC, it was a win for the little guy everywhere. Seeing North Carolina's Drake Maye go from no-name redshirt freshman to pinball-wizard passing numbers was remarkable.
So, who are some of the candidates to catapult onto our radars in 2023, going from players on the fringe of success to those who we root for every Saturday? Here is a list to watch.
Drew Allar, Penn State Quarterback
Sean Clifford rode off into the Penn State sunset in a Rose Bowl win over Utah. While it was great to see a maligned player cap off a terrific final season to be remembered the right way as a Nittany Lion, it's hard not to be excited about the future.
The "future" is Drew Allar, and he's a 6'5", 242-pound Ohio native who is coming to a living room near you next year as the orchestra director for coach James Franklin's talented squad.
Get your popcorn ready. Allar has a big-time arm, is a great athlete for his size and is ready to live up to his former billing as a top-tier prospect.
From a talent perspective, it's been years since Penn State had a player of Allar's ilk. He can do things most others can't, which is why the thought of him spearheading an offense with Nicholas Singleton, Kaytron Allen and a stable of talented pass-catchers is tantalizing.
First thing's first, Allar has to beat out Beau Pribula, but it would be a stunner if he didn't win the gig.
"In a perfect world, you'd love to have a little bit more experience and a little bit more age in that room," Franklin told On3's Peter Warren. "But at the end of the day, it's about talent, and I think we're talented in that room."
Nobody has more of that than Allar.
Luther Burden III, Missouri Wide Receiver
In a world where players enter the transfer portal at the snap of a finger, it was a major victory for a middling SEC program like Missouri to keep Luther Burden III from exploring his options.
You can bet coach Eli Drinkwitz will build off the second half of the 2022 season trend where he got the true freshman a bunch more touches. Simply put, the Tigers don't have anybody on the roster as talented as Burden, and he needs the ball.
That's especially the case with Dominic Lovett off to finish his career at Georgia, and Mizzou will look to Burden to carry the offense's burden in '23, no matter if it's Brady Cook or somebody else who gets him the ball.
A season ago, the former 5-star talent from St. Louis caught 45 passes for 375 yards and six touchdowns, and he added 18 carries for 88 yards and a pair of additional touchdowns.
This season, Mizzou needs a signal-caller to stretch the field a little more and send the 5'11", 215-pound Burden deep to make plays downfield. No matter where he lines up, Burden is capable of some explosive production.
It really depends on how much the Tigers win whether you get to see Burden play on a weekly basis, but he's going to be one of the best players on a team with plenty to prove.