With the preseason magazines hitting the newsstands and the days getting warmer, the 2009 college football season can’t be far behind. While the actual action on the gridiron is a couple of months away, it’s time to start thinking about the upcoming college fantasy season.

For the player stepping into college fantasy for the first time, the top of the board tends to be dominated by quarterbacks. However, owners playing in a one quarterback league should have no trouble finding a starter in the middle rounds.

Despite the loss of a couple of big fantasy prospects from last year – Rice’s Chase Clement, Texas Tech’s Graham Harrell and Tulsa’s David Johnson – there are plenty of solid options for the first round.

If you have the No. 1 pick in the draft, which passer should you take?

It’s a pretty easy choice – Houston’s Case Keenum. The junior topped all returning quarterbacks in 2008 fantasy points and has one of the best receiving corps in Conference USA returning.

If you miss out on Keenum, don’t hit the panic button. Options such as Florida’s Tim Tebow, Oklahoma’s Sam Bradford, Texas Tech’s Taylor Potts, Texas’ Colt McCoy, Nevada’s Colin Kaepernick and Central Michigan’s Dan LeFevour are all worthy of a first round pick.

Top rated freshmen – North Texas’ Riley Dodge (No. 51) and Michigan’s Tate Forcier (No. 54)

Key quarterback battle to watch – USC – Will Aaron Corp hold onto the starting job or will freshman Matt Barkley take the first snaps for the Trojans? The winner has significant fantasy value.

Most improved – SMU’s Bo Levi Mitchell – Expect this sophomore to be much-improved in his second year under offensive guru June Jones.

Leading up to kickoff for the 2009 season, Athlon Sports will have all of the information you need to win our college fantasy league and is the in-season fantasy coverage leader.

Be sure to keep in mind all rankings will change as needed throughout the offseason and a major update will be posted before August.
 

Rank	Player	Team	Year	08 Fantasy Points	Bye Weeks
1	Case Keenum	Houston	JR	401.84	3
2	Dan LeFevour	CMU	SR	260.24	10
3	Tim Tebow	Florida	SR	310.66	5
4	Sam Bradford	Oklahoma	JR	374.60	4
5	Taylor Potts	Texas Tech	JR	16.40	10
6	Colin Kaepernick	Nevada	JR	372.66	2
7	Colt McCoy	Texas	SR	371.40	5
8	Zac Robinson	Okla. State	SR	284.20	5
9	Robert Griffin	Baylor	SO	304.28	2
10	Juice Williams	Illinois	SR	286.82	3, 12
11	Todd Reesing	Kansas	SR	276.68	5
12	Max Hall	BYU	SR	288.34	9
13	Trevor Vittatoe	UTEP	JR	258.26	7
14	Terrelle Pryor	Ohio State	SO	181.80	13
15	Jeremiah Masoli	Oregon	JR	204.14	7
16	Jacob Bower	Tulsa	JR	25.12	6
17	Austin Davis	USM	SO	284.68	10
18	Kellen Moore	Boise State	SO	223.20	6
19	Joseph Webb	UAB	SR	272.78	6
20	Bo Levi Mitchell	SMU	SO	171.40	4
21	Greg Alexander	Hawaii	SR	126.46	4
22	Jevan Snead	Ole Miss	JR	197.30	2
23	Jimmy Clausen	Notre Dame	JR	160.84	6
24	Jake Locker	Washington	JR	60.48	9, 12
25	Tony Pike	Cincinnati	SR	155.90	6, 12
26	Tim Hiller	WMU	SR	280.18	12
27	Rusty Smith	FAU	SR	193.40	2, 6
28	Russell Wilson	NC State	SO	192.96	8
29	Daryll Clark	Penn State	SR	233.46	13
30	Ryan Mallett	Arkansas	SO	—	2
31	Matt Grothe	USF	SR	200.54	6, 10
32	Corey Leonard	Arkansas State	SR	211.60	3, 6
33	Austen Arnaud	Iowa State	JR	225.58	13
34	Omar Clayton	UNLV	JR	162.86	12
35	Tyler Sheehan	BGSU	SR	244.90	9
36	Tyrod Taylor	Virginia Tech	JR	121.18	8
37	Jerrod Johnson	Texas A&M	JR	204.40	2
38	Adam Weber	Minnesota	JR	193.10	13
39	Blaine Gabbert	Missouri	SO	3.92	5
40	Andy Dalton	TCU	JR	201.60	1
41	Diondre Borel	Utah State	JR	189.40	2
42	Levi Brown	Troy	SR	107.06	5
43	Arkelon Hall	Memphis	SR	155.94	8
44	Aaron Corp	USC	SO	1.4	6, 12
45	Jarrett Brown	West Virginia	SR	23.88	4, 12
46	Chris Jacquemain	Akron	SR	174.72	5
47	Andy Schmitt	EMU	SR	199.36	4
48	Boo Jackson	Ohio	SR	196.30	10
49	Jacory Harris	Miami	SO	97.04	2
50	Mike Kafka	N'Western	SR	55.40	13
51	Riley Dodge	North Texas	FR	3.8	5
52	Ryan Lindley	SDSU	SO	161.02	6
53	Matt Scott	Arizona	SO	38.16	5, 9
54	Tate Forcier	Michigan	FR	—	13
55	Keith Nichol	Michigan State	SO	—	13
56	Jordan Jefferson	LSU	SO	37.98	7
57	Christian Ponder	Florida State	JR	163.88	7
58	Thaddeus Lewis	Duke	SR	163.84	7
59	Dwight Dasher	MTSU	JR	29.74	5
60	Josh Nesbitt	Georgia Tech	JR	135.42	12
61	T.J. Yates	No. Carolina	JR	68.78	7
62	Ricky Dobbs	Navy	JR	105.58	12
63	Chandler Harnish	NIU	SO	137.44	6
64	Sean Canfield	Oregon State	SR	48.12	7, 13
65	Kevin Riley	California	JR	109.28	6, 13
66	Patrick Pinkney	ECU	SR	136.38	8
67	Stephen Garcia	So. Carolina	SO	73.42	12
68	Paul McCall	FIU	SR	137.40	1, 13
69	Corbin Louks	Utah	JR	47.86	5
70	Aaron Opelt	Toledo	SR	155.24	10
71	Riley Skinner	Wake Forest	SR	145.74	12
72	Nick Fanuzzi	Rice	SO	—	9
73	Giorgio Morgan	Kent State	SO	—	11
74	Kyle Reed	SJSU	SR	123.28	5, 8
75	Cody Hawkins	Colorado	JR	151.98	4
76	Chris Turner	Maryland	SR	124.32	9
77	Kodi Burns	Auburn	JR	107.80	12
78	Larry Smith	Vanderbilt	SO	5.34	13
79	Andrew Luck	Stanford	FR	—	9
80	Kyle Parker	Clemson	FR	—	6

Bye Week Key -

Week 1 - Sept. 5
Week 2 - Sept. 12
Week 3 - Sept. 19
Week 4 - Sept. 26
Week 5 - Oct. 3
Week 6 - Oct. 10
Week 7 - Oct. 17
Week 8 - Oct. 24
Week 9 - Oct. 31
Week 10 - Nov. 7
Week 11 - Nov. 14
Week 12 - Nov. 21
Week 13 - Nov. 28
Week 14 - Dec. 5

Coming later this week

Wednesday: Running back and team defense ranks
Thursday: Wide receiver and tight end ranks
Friday: Top 200 for 2009

Coming later this summer

Player profiles
Sleepers
Position battles
Strategy features
Mock draft
Freshmen/JUCO reports
Keeper watch

Be sure to check out the NCAA Fantasy kickoff article, which features some big news for Athlon Sports and U-Sports.

Check out u-sports.athlonsports.com for more information on college fantasy leagues for the 2009 season.

Follow us at Twitter: AthlonFantasy

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