Boise State
Quarterback - Boise State will be the front runners in the Mountain West Conference as they always put out a quality product year after year. Grant Hedrick is gone this year and a new chapter is open for the Broncos with Ryan Finley taking over the reins at QB. Finley's only game action in 2014 came after Hedrick threw 4 INT's in a game against Air Force and was pulled for Finley. While the Broncos were trailing 28-0, Finley came in and gave the team some offensive production while leading 2 touchdown drives and finishing with 161 passing yards. Finley looked good in that limited time on the field but that was the only time he saw last season so it will be interesting to see how he handles this season as the guy at Boise State.
Running Back - Just like Grant Hedrick leaving school, it was Jay Ajayi who will no longer be with the Broncos in 2015 at the RB position. Ajayi provided a huge chunk of Boise's offense with 32 total touchdowns last season (28 rushing, 4 receiving). Now the question is where do the Broncos look for production in 2015? Boise has produced a 1,000 yard rusher in 6 straight seasons so it will interesting to see who emerges in 2015. Stanford transfer Kelsey Young looks to be the first one on the depth chart followed by Devan Demas and Jeremy McNichols. McNichols is the interesting one here as he holds the nickname "McWeapon", he averaged 9.4 yards a carry (17 carries), and also caught 15 passes for 155 yards. On paper it looks like a huge lose with Ajayi gone to the NFL but Boise does have some talented runners at the position and it is just a matter of time at who breaks out for the Broncos as the top RB on the depth chart.
Wide Receiver - WR is the position of strength for Boise with both Thomas Sperbeck (51/877/3) and Shane Williams-Rhodes (68/585/7) showing that they can be reliable receivers in this offense. Williams-Rhodes is a smallish WR with a 5'6" 168 lbs frame and can use his speed to make plays both in the passing game and he also gets sprinkled in on the running game. Sperbeck and an impressive 17.2 yards per reception average and can be the one WR that can break a big play for the Broncos. Chaz Anderson is the third WR option and is coming off a 21/456/2 season while averaging 21.7 yards per catch.
Tight End - Jake Roh will be one of the better TE options to look at each week after putting up a very respectable 35/408/2 statline last year and he returns as a Sophomore this season only to help bolster the Broncos passing attack.
Fresno State
Quarterback - Chason Virgil looks to get the starting nod for the Bulldogs and he was originally committed to Mississippi State. Fresno had a hard time replacing Derek Carr last season as the rolled with Brian Burrell who posted just mediocre numbers. Virgil will look to get the offense back in sync but will likely have an uphill battle and should be a wait and see for those playing DFS.
Running Back - Marteze Waller is the name you want to remember for the Fresno State offense as he was the guy last season and will be the focal point this season also. In 2014 he ran for 1,368 yards and 11 touchdowns, averaging 6.1 yards a carry. He also added 27 receptions for 120 receiving yards and was a fairly consistent player to use in DFS and would some time go under the radar because of playing in the Mountain West Conference.
Wide Receiver - There is not much here at the WR position with Aaron Peck (32/419/3) and Delvon Hardaway (23/279/2) as the lone returners to the position. Both are projected to start and Keyan WIlliams and KeeSean Johnson will be the new faces to the WR core also. As far as fantasy purposes goes this situation is a lot like their QB situation and it might be best to take a wait and see approach looking to see if anyone emerges out of the group.
Tight End - Chad Olsen is the name to know at the TE position and although he only caught 13 passes last year he did the most with them turning them into 150 yards and 4 touchdowns.
Utah State
Quarterback - Chuckie Keeton seems to be a name that has cycled through the NCAA ranks repeatable over the last few years. He had a remarkable 2012 season and was poised to do the same in 2013 before he tore his ACL and MCL versus BYU. Fast forward a few years and Keeton has battled the injuries and looks to be the guy who will lead the Aggies this season. Keeton brings a nice mix of passing and running and has the tools and smarts to make big plays in big games for his team. If he can stay healthy early in the season he will be a name to focus in on each week with a soft MWC schedule.
Running Back - The Aggies have produced some NFL talent at the RB position over the past three seasons sending Robert Turbin, Michael Smith, and Kerywnn Williams all to the big leagues. LaJuan Hunt looks to carry the load as the season opens up and he showed some glimpses of success last season ending the year with 111 carries for 540 yards and a touchdown on the ground while sharing carries with Joe Hill. There is no Joe Hill this year and Hunt has a year of CFB experience under his belt. He will be asked to do more in this offense in year number two.
Wide Receiver - The big news to start the season is that star WR Hunter Sharp is suspended for the first 2 games. His production came on quickly last year and he finished up with a very impressive 66/939/7 statline. Sharp is known for having big games as last year he had games where he caught over 100 yards 4 times (138, 130, 173, 164) in weeks 3-6. Over the final 7 games of the season his number tailed off and he only finished with 276 over that 7 game span. JoJo Natson (51/504/2) is the other name you want to know out of this WR crew. He is a smaller guy listed as a WR at 5'7" 160 lbs, and can give you both receiving yards and rushing yards. He ran for 498 yards and 3 touchdowns last season while averaging 10.0 yards per carry.
Tight End - Wyatt Houston returns as the starting TE and brings with him his 2014 19/178/2 statline. While not the biggest numbers they are still something to take a look at for a position that can be limited at times in fantasy CFB.
Hawaii
Quarterback - Max Wittek transfers in from USC and grades out as a big body 6'4" 240 lbs, with a big arm who can lead the Warriors passing attack. Wittek is one of the more interesting QB's to watch for not only in the Mountain West Conference but the entire country. Whenever Hawaii plays it is usually the late night game and Wittek would be a nice add to give you some late night sweats with the Hawaii passing attack.
Running Back - Steven Lakalaka will be the guy to own from the Warriors backfield as he is coming off a 159 attempt season for 646 rushing yards and 2 touchdowns while missing the teams last 3 games. He had two 100+ performances last year, 124 versus Northern Iowa and 123 versus Colorado. Diocemy Saint Juste will be the 3rd down/change of pace type of back behind Lakalaka and he returns as a junior with 372 rushing yards and 3 touchdowns from 2014.
Wide Receiver - Marcus Kemp and Quinton Pedroza are the two WR's that QB Max Wittek will be looking for all over the field in 2015. The both enter the year with some good upside and might be nice DFS value plays early on. Kemp had a 56/797/3 statline in 2014 and Pedroza missed 2 games and still put up a 59/674/3 statline himself. With a better QB this season expect the Hawaii WR's to catch more passes, have more yards and find the endzone more frequently in 2015.
Tight End - Harold Moleni will be back for his senior season and caught 10 passes for 74 yards and 3 touchdowns in 2014. He could look to double those reception numbers with Wittek under center in 2015.
Nevada
Quarterback - Hunter Fralick and Tyler Stewart look to battle it out for the starting QB gig in Nevada. For a DFS standpoint you want to be cautious here and play the wait and see game and if one of the two QB's can take over and have a big game you might want to consider them the following week. Fralick is more of a dual threat QB as he can add to the offense with his legs, while Stewart stays in the pocket and looks down the field. The Wolf Pack usually have a very fantasy friendly passing attack so this is a situation you will want to pay attention to.
Running Back - Much like the QB battle there looks to be a similar battle at the RB position. Both Don Jackson and James Butler are very capable RB's for the Wolf Pack. Jackson posted 957 rushing yards and 7 touchdowns on the ground last season while Butler ran for 635 yards and 5 touchdowns of his own. Butler might have the most upside of the two as he enters his sophomore season and he could be in for a boost in carries and might see a few more than Jackson this year. It is nice for Nevada to have two very capable RB's to start the season but for DFS this is not a situation you want to invest much of your money as you want to pick RB's who are locks to get 20+ touches a game.
Wide Receiver - Jerico Richardson (56/655/3) and Hasaan Henderson (45/579/4) both come back for their junior seasons and bring with them speed and a downfield presence for the Nevada offense. They will be nice value options each week as far as DFS purposes go, but trying to predict which one of the two steps up might be tough.
Tight End - Jarred Gipson (33/291/4) is one of the premier TE's in all of CFB and has to be in consideration to start at TE for your DFS team anytime the Wolf Pack are playing. Although Nevada has some nice depth and talent at each position, they make it hard to pick just one player each week, but Gipson is the exception of the group as you can just lock him in at the TE position.
San Diego State
Quarterback - Kentucky transfer Maxwell Smith looks to get the first crack at the starting QB position and will have Christian Chapman and Jake Rodrigues also pushing for playing time. If Smith can win the job and start out hot he would be the name to know each week and he could put up some decent numbers in this Aztecs offense. This is currently a risky position to put too much DFS stock into though, so move forward with caution.
Running Back - The first name you should talk about when discussing anything related to San Diego State football would be Donnel Pumphrey. He had a monster 2014 season rushing for 1,867 yards and 20 touchdowns and adding in 23 receptions for 160 yards. Don't overthink it with Pumphrey as he averaged 21+ rushing attempts a game last season and 6.8 yards per carry, that is the exact type of production you want from your RB and the 20 touchdowns are enough to let you spend up on him each week.
Wide Receiver - The Aztecs are a running team and I don't expect that to change much this season so taking a WR in your DFS games would just be foolish. Eric Judge has some big play ability catching 24 passes for 471 yards and 2 touchdowns last season and might improve a little on those numbers but once again don't go messing with a good thing here, just look to Donnel Pumphrey at the RB position on the Aztecs and move on.
Tight End - Darryl Richardson is first on the depth chart for the TE position but he shouldn't factor in much to the passing game.
UNLV
Quarterback - Blake Decker will be the starting QB for the Rebels as he returns for his senior season. He is coming off a 2014 season where he threw for 2,886 yards and 15 touchdowns and 18 interceptions. Decker also did a little work with his legs rushing for 366 yards and another 5 touchdowns.
Running Back - Keith Whitely will be the starting RB and is coming off an average season where he ran for 504 yards and a pair of touchdowns. He also can catch passes out of the backfield (22 Receptions for 186 yards in 2014).
Wide Receiver - Devonte Boyd is the main weapon on this offense and is coming off a fantastic 2014 season where he caught 65 passes for 980 yards and 4 touchdowns. He will be one of the top WR options when looking at any teams in the Mountain West and should be in consideration for your DFS games any time the Rebels are on the game slate.
Tight End - Jake Phillips is the name to look at here but with only 5 catches for 67 yards in 2014, don't waste too much of your time evaluating the Rebels TE position.
San Jose State
Quarterback - Senior QB Joe Gray will be back for the Spartans and is one of the better options at QB in the Mountain West Conference. He threw for 2,305 yards and 11 touchdowns and added 3 more touchdowns on the ground.
Running Back - Tyler Ervin looked good with his 5.6 yards per carry in 2014. He finished the season with 888 rushing yards and 4 touchdowns and 29/306/1 as a receiver out of the backfield. He had 3 games where he rushed for over 100 yards (133, 146, and 104).
Wide Receiver - Tyler Winston (78/694/5) is a player who gives you high upside play at the WR position from week to week. He can break a big game any week and when the Spartans are in a high Vegas total matchup he would be one of the players you might want to focus in on and find a way to insert him into your lineup, especially in GPP's.
Tight End - Billy Freeman will be a punt style TE in DFS this year as he returns to the Spartans while posting a modest 19/182/1 statline in 2014.
Wyoming
Quarterback - Cameron Coffman comes in from Indiana to compete for the starting QB position and he was second in the Big Ten for passing yards with 2,734 to go along with a 15:11 TD to INT ratio. Not a name you want to go putting too much stock into as far as DFS goes.
Running Back - The Cowboys strength on offense is there running game as they return two very good backs in Shaun Wick and Brian Hill. It could very well be a RBBC approach for the Cowboys so picking one of the two each week might be a struggle. Wick finished the season with 126 carries for 753 yards and 6 touchdowns while Hill finished with 145 rushing attempts for 796 yards and 7 touchdowns. It will be a coin flip to know which back is the one to own on any given week. If there happens to be an injury to one of the two backs, don't hesitate to consider the other one in your lineups.
Wide Receiver - There is not much to like here at the WR position with just Tanner Gentry (32/435/2) and Jake Maulhardt (21/274/1) as the lead options. It is safe to just bypass the Wyoming WR crew altogether whenever they will be on the DFS game slate.
Tight End - Jacob Hollister makes for a higher end punt play at the TE position as he caught 17 passes for 244 yards and a pair of touchdowns in 2014.
Colorado State
Quarterback - Nick Stevens will be fighting for the starting QB job but comes with little experience and could be in for a long season. The one positive for whoever is the Rams QB would be that they have Rashard Higgins to throw the ball to. Don't over think it with the Rams QB, just bypass this situation altogether.
Running Back - Purdue transfer Dalyn Dawkins comes in to compete with Treyous Jarrells at the RB position and this could lead to more of a RBBC approach with neither back being in consideration for making your DFS roster. Jarrells rushed for 450 yards and 6 touchdowns in 2014 for the Rams.
Wide Receiver - Rashard Higgins is the guy you want when you see that Colorado State will be playing. He is coming off an incredible 2014 season where he caught 96 passes for 1,750 yards and 17 touchdowns. Those are the types of numbers that get your attention when you are talking anything related to fantasy football. If the Rams are playing on your game slate do yourself a favor and only look to roster Higgins and move on from the rest of the team. The only downside to Higgins in 2015 is that he lost his starting QB Garrett Grayson to the NFL and his production could take a decent hit because of that.
Tight End - Steven Walker is a nice name to know at the TE position as he had a very productive 2014 season posting a 30/279/4 statline. If he is minimum price on the DFS site you are playing you just might want to consider drafting him.
Air Force
Quarterback - Nat Romine will battle with Karson Roberts at the QB position and this is a situation that can be safely avoided for DFS purposes.
Running Back - Jacobi Owens is the name you want to know on Air Force as he is a big physical back 6'0" 202 lbs back that will be running behind fullback Shayne Davern throughout the season. The Falcons use all their RB's but they are a running team so a majority of their snaps they like to keep the ball on the ground. Owens averaged 5.2 yards per carry last season while rushing for 1,054 yards and 5 touchdowns. Davern himself rushed for 513 yards and 8 touchdowns as well and Devin Rushing also got in the mix with 356 rushing yards and 3 touchdowns.
Wide Receiver - For a team that has a hard time passing the ball, they still have a great threat down the field in Jalen Robinette. He is a big body type of WR (6'4" 215 lbs) and can win the battles with the ball in the air, he is coming off an impressive season where he caught 43 passes for 806 yards and 4 touchdowns. Behind Robinette there is Garrett Brown who is the opposite in size and what he can do at the WR position. He is quick and can get downfield in a hurry and is coming off a 2014 season where he put up a modest 36/535/6 statline.
Tight End - Garrett Griffin (16/307/4) could be an option at the TE position as the Falcons do get the TE involved in the offense.
New Mexico
Quarterback - Lamar Jordan gets the nod at QB and is a lower end dual threat QB. He tends to do get most of his fantasy production on the ground as he rushed 120 times last year for 612 yards and 3 touchdowns. He added 895 yards passing and 6 more touchdowns.
Running Back - Jlhurell Pressley is the offensive player you want to pay attention to on the Lobos. He averaged an incredible 9.5 yards a carry last season turning 114 rushing attempts into 1,083 yards and 12 touchdowns. Pressley finished the season with 6 100 yard rushing games in the final 8 games. If you are looking for a player with huge upside when he has the ball in his hands, look no further than Pressley as he is a fantasy stud at the RB position. He will be a must play when the Lobos play in games against weaker defenses such as Wyoming, New Mexico State, Nevada, Hawaii, and San Jose State.
Wide Receiver - Avoid the WR position for the Lobos as their top WR last season only caught 16 passes the entire season.
Tight End - Just like the WR position you might want to look elsewhere for rostering a potential TE from the Lobos. Reece White will start but he returns with just making 8 catches for 124 yards and a touchdown last season.
