College football roundtable: X factors in each Power 5 conference

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We’ll spend the next few months trying to predict what will happen in college football — but there are always unknowns that are impossible to project, especially when it comes to players who have the potential to become major difference-makers.

Today, we look at the biggest X-factor players in the Power 5 in 2016:

ACC

Five-star recruit Levonta Taylor of Florida State was the highest-ranked ACC commitment at No. 5 in the ESPN 300, but fix your attention one spot lower on those rankings. Right below Taylor is defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence, who enrolled at Clemson in time for spring practice. With Clemson losing three defensive-line starters and Christian Wilkins able to slide to end occasionally, Lawrence can become a fixture in the Tigers’ rotation. On the first play of his first Clemson scrimmage, the 6-foot-5, 340-pound Lawrence intercepted a pass and returned it 32 yards. He had a sack in each of the spring scrimmages, too. With a head start learning the defensive system and the Tigers in need of depth, Lawrence, already listed as a co-backup, can play a pivotal role in returning Clemson to the national championship game. — Jared Shanker

Big 12

Quarterback Shane Buechele might not lead Texas to a Big 12 title as a true freshman, but he could save his head coach’s job. It seems like a foregone conclusion that the former ESPN 300 recruit from Arlington, Texas, will become the Longhorns’ opening-day starter against Notre Dame after the show he put on this spring. He’s not the biggest kid (6-1, 190 pounds) but he is the best passer on the team, and that seemed obvious after just a few practices. …

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