For years, it's been a chore to find a bright spot in a Miami Hurricanes football season. Year after year, the campaign opens with promise and ends with a dull thud. New head coach Mark Richt has the ball moving in the right direction, but his first season ended with much of the same usual disappointment. However, Canes tight end David Njoku needs no asterisk at the end of his career. The first-round NFL pick always looked like a man among boys on the college field, and his 2016 campaign stood out even more. Njoku hurdled defenders and stiff-armed jabronis all the way to the end zone eight times on 43 catches for 698 yards. Even on their worst days, the Canes and their quarterback, Brad Kaaya, always had Njoku to lean on. Now that Njoku is in the NFL, he can continue a tradition of Hurricanes tight ends — like Jeremy Shockey and Kellen Winslow II — dominating at the next level. The only regret Canes fans have is that they got to see Njoku in an orange-and-green Adidas uniform for only a short time. Now they'll have to make do with enjoying him vicariously on Sundays.
Readers' choice: David Njoku