Our countdown of the Pac-12's top 25 players in 2012 continues.
Most of this looks back, but, of course, there also is a good dose of projecting forward. A lot of good players, as it happens every year, won't make the preseason list. It is in their hands to make the postseason list.
You can review our 2011 postseason top 25 here.
15. John White IV, RB, Utah
2011 numbers: White rushed for 1,519 yards and 15 touchdowns on a league-high 316 carries.
2011 postseason ranking: No. 21
Making the case for White: Last season was not what you would call a "banner year" for the Utah passing attack -- which finished last in the Pac-12 with an average of just 173.2 yards per game. That meant White was going to get the ball, and everybody knew it. Still, he ran fearlessly into a slew of eight- and nine-man fronts and emerged with the second-highest yardage total in the conference and the second-highest yards-per-game average (116.8). He accounted for 85 percent of Utah's net rushing yards and 67 percent of the carries. He started all 13 games after transferring from Los Angeles Harbor College and only missed a half of a game to injury. He proved his 5-foot-8, 188-pound frame is durable, but there's a good chance he won't have to endure another 300-plus carry season. Now that quarterback Jordan Wynn is healthy and the Utes are expected to have a passing attack that at least borders on respectable, we at the Pac-12 blog are expecting White's carries to go down and his production to go up.
No. 16: John Boyett, S, Oregon
No. 17: Jordan Poyer, CB, Oregon State
No. 18: Khaled Holmes, C, USC
No. 19: Cameron Marshall, RB, Arizona State
No. 20: Dion Bailey, LB, USC
No. 21: Shayne Skov, LB, Stanford
No. 22: Curtis McNeal, RB, USC
No. 23: Austin Seferian-Jenkins, TE, Washington
No. 24: Isi Sofele, RB, California
No. 25: Jeff Tuel, QB, Washington State
