Pick Six: Sirmon is the main man on Cal's defense and among the nation's under-the-radar players

Besides his fumble return for the go-ahead touchdown against rival Stanford, California star linebacker Jackson Sirmon didn't have much to celebrate last season.

Still, Sirmon said it wasn't a difficult decision to return and use the sixth year of eligibility granted to players whose careers were disrupted by the pandemic.

He will play another year for his father, defensive coordinator and former NFL linebacker Peter Sirmon, and be the anchor of a unit looking to rebound from its plummet to ninth in the Pac-12 after it was in the top four each of the previous four years.

“The first thing I thought was that I'm not in a rush being done playing college football,” Jackson Sirmon said, “and I enjoy the setup at Cal. It's a unique situation. I enjoy the team, the guys in the locker room, and the opportunity to play for your dad is pretty rare, so I want to make the most of that.”

Jackson Sirmon is among the top players in the nation this season who are a bit under the radar because they play for schools that aren't expected to win many games.

Cal owns just one win in two seasons against an opponent that finished with a winning record, and the Bears are picked ninth in the Pac-12 preseason media poll.

Sirmon, who played his first four seasons at Washington, led the Bears with a career-high 104 tackles last season. Six were for loss, including 3.5 sacks. He also broke up three passes and had that 37-yard fumble return that propelled Cal to its 27-20 win over Stanford in the Big Game.

Here are five other players going places in 2023, even if their teams aren’t:

RB MARQUEZ COOPER, Ball State

The Cardinals replaced 2022 MAC rushing leader Carson Steele, who transferred to UCLA, with the league's No. 2 rusher in Cooper.

Cooper ran for 1,326 yards and 13 touchdowns at Kent State, and he arrived at Ball State as a two-time 1,000-yard rusher.

Electrifying as the 5-foot-6, 184-pounder can be — “Great things come in small packages,” coach Mike Neu said — it's doubtful he will keep Ball State from having a ninth losing season in 10 years.

LB TY'RON HOPPER, Missouri

Hopper's decision to return to Missouri rather than declare for the NFL draft was one of the key offseason developments for a program that's not had a winning record in SEC play since 2014.

Hopper was a four-star recruit coming out of high school and played three years at Florida before transferring. He is the Tigers most disruptive player, having tied for second in the SEC in tackles for loss (14) and recording six QB hurries and 2.5 sacks.

OL CHRISTIAN MAHOGANY, Boston College

The 6-foot-3, 322-pound guard had opportunities to transfer after missing last season with a torn anterior cruciate ligament. A projected first-round NFL draft pick in 2024, Mahogany will continue his development under Matt Applebaum, who returned to BC after spending 2022 as the Miami Dolphins' line coach.

Mahogany's return gives a jolt to an offense that allowed an ACC-high 46 sacks, nearly twice as many as in 2021, and ranked last in the league with a paltry 64 rushing yards per game, 100 under its average the previous season.

QB CLAY MILLEN, Colorado State

Imagine what Millen could do if he could stay upright. He was sacked 55 times last season, most of any quarterback in the nation. One of those sacks injured Millen's shoulder and kept him out of two games.

Millen is capable of helping the Rams move up in the Mountain West after five straight losing seasons. Though his numbers weren't overwhelming for an Air Raid quarterback, his 72.2% completion rate was an NCAA freshman record and second-best all-time in the conference.

CB TJ TAMPA, Iowa State

Coach Matt Campbell has had the best, or one of the best, defenses in the Big 12 over his seven years in Ames but is yet to have a cornerback make the all-conference first team.

That probably changes this season with Tampa, a bright spot for a team that has fallen off sharply since reaching the conference title game in 2020. Tampa, who had one interception and a team-high nine pass breakups, is Pro Football Focus' highest-graded returning corner in the Big 12.

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AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/college-football and https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-football-poll