Some of the nation’s top players compete in the American Athletic Conference. Here’s a look at the players who should contend for national honors in 2015.
 
In the first year of American Athletic Conference football, it was Blake Bortles and Storm Johnson, who carried UCF to a win in the Fiesta Bowl and a No. 10 national ranking. Last year, it was Shane Carden and Justin Hardy, who posted eye-popping and record-setting numbers on their way to the NFL.
 
Now, as the 2015 season draws ever closer (with fewer than 90 days remaining until Opening Night), a new crop of stars is emerging in The American. Each of  the conference’s 12 teams will include at least one standout who could stake a legitimate claim among the best at his position. Some will contend for All-America honors. Others will threaten single-season and career records at the national level. They all will make The American one of the most exciting conferences in college football next year.
 
Here are some key players to keep an eye on in The American in 2015:
 
 
Thomas Niles, DE, UCF
Niles earned all-conference second team plaudits last season in an American Athletic Conference that was stacked with quality linemen. He tied for UCF’s team lead with 13 tackles for loss and led the Knights with 7.5 sacks.
 
Gunner Kiel, QB, Cincinnati
There may not have been a player in the country whose debut was under more scrutiny than Kiel’s was last season when the Bearcats opened against Toledo. Well, the first pass from the Notre Dame transfer went for 52 yards, Cincinnati was in the end zone two plays later, and Kiel was on his way to a 418-yard, six-touchdown performance. He finished the year with 3,254 yards a school-record-tying 31 touchdown passes as Cincinnati won a share of the American Athletic Conference title. With a year of playing experience under his belt, and with his top seven receivers returning, Kiel could post staggering numbers in 2015.
 
Marquise Vann, LB, UConn
Vann had an excellent individual season on a UConn defense that performed better than the Huskies’ 2014 record might suggest. Vann had 105 tackles with seven tackles for loss and a forced fumble last season. He anchors a group of linebackers that is among the best in The American and should turn some heads on a national level in 2015.
 
Josh Hawkins, CB, East Carolina
Hawkins was a big-play performer for the East Carolina defense last season as he finished with five interceptions and 16 passes defended along with 44 tackles and a forced fumble. He was a semifinalist for the Jim Thorpe Award as the nation’s top defensive back, and earned a spot on the all-conference second team.
 
William Jackson, CB, Houston
Jackson earned all-conference second-team plaudits in 2014 as the cornerstone of a Houston secondary that ranked 18th nationally in defensive pass efficiency. He had a team-high 12 passes defended to go with two interceptions, a forced fumble, a fumble recovery and 37 tackles.
 
Jake Elliott, K, Memphis
It is a luxury for any offensive coordinator to know that he can start thinking about three points once his team reaches the opponent’s 40-yard line. Elliott provides that kind of comfort for Memphis thanks both to his consistency and ability. He enters his junior season having kicked four of the five longest field goals in school history and as the holder of the American Athletic Conference’s record for field goal distance (56 yards). He ranks sixth among active players nationally with an average of 1.48 field goals per game.
 
Paxton Lynch, QB, Memphis
Lynch was a breakout star who helped Memphis to its best season in more than 40 years as the Tigers won 10 games and captured a share of the American Athletic Conference title. Lynch threw for 3,031 yards and 22 touchdowns, completing 63 percent of his passes, but he added an American Athletic Conference-leading 13 rushing touchdowns, engineering a Memphis unit that averaged 36.2 points per game.
 
Keenan Reynolds, QB, Navy
Reynolds expects to thrive in a senior season in which he could threaten one of college football’s elite records. Already the NCAA career record-holder for rushing touchdowns by a quarterback (64), Reynolds could make a legitimate run at the overall rushing TD mark of 77, held by former Wisconsin running back Montee Ball. Reynolds rushed for 1,191 yards and 23 TDs last season and will be the key man Navy’s potent ground game.
 
Mattias Ciabatti, P, USF
Ciabatti has proven to be a potent weapon in the field position game and is one of the nation’s longest and most reliable punters. Ciabatti ranked 10th nationally in punting average last year, setting a school record at 44.4 yards per punt on his way to all-conference first team honors. Whether it’s bailing the offense out of a poor series or pinning the opponent deep in its own territory, Ciabatti has had a remarkable effect on a number of Bulls’ wins.
 
Marlon Mack, RB, USF
Mack came to USF as a highly regarded prospect and delivered a 275-yard, four-touchdown performance in his first collegiate game. He went on to lead The American in rushing yards (1,041) and was chosen as the conference’s Rookie of the Year. Mack will be a key component for a USF offense that should become more explosive in the 2015 season.
 
Darius Joseph, WR, SMU
Joseph burst on the scene as a freshman in 2013 when he had 103 receptions for 808 yards on a high-powered Mustang offense. He led the team in receptions last season, but the Mustangs struggled with offensive consistency behind four quarterbacks who drew starting assignments. Joseph looks for a return to his earlier form under new head coach Chad Morris, who proved to be a boon for wide receivers as the offensive coordinator at Clemson.
 
Praise Martin-Oguike, DE, Temple
Martin-Oguike had a breakout year for Temple and will be an impact player on a defense that should rank among the nation’s best in 2015. He finished last season with 7.5 sacks and 10 tackles for loss to go with five forced fumbles and two blocked kicks. When the Owls needed a key play on defense, Martin-Oguike delivered.
 
Tyler Matakevich, LB, Temple
Matakevich will be a fixture on every preseason defensive awards list on the strength of his first three seasons. He was a first team all-conference selection last year after he registered 117 tackles with 10.5 tackles for loss, two fumble recoveries, a safety and an interception. It was Matakevich’s third straight season with at least 100 tackles, giving him a shot at becoming just the seventh FBS player to break triple figures four times.
 
Parry Nickerson, CB, Tulane
Nickerson established himself as an impact player in the secondary as a freshman last season and was tested frequently as teams were wary of eventual fourth-round NFL draft pick Lorenzo Doss at the opposite corner. Nickerson, who answered the challenge to the tune of a league-leading six interceptions, may see that number go down as he becomes the man that opposing teams avoid in the Green Wave secondary.
 
Keevan Lucas, WR, Tulsa
Lucas was one of the top receivers in the nation last season as he finished with 101 receptions for 1,219 yards and a league-leading 11 touchdowns. With the arrival of new coach Philip Montgomery – the architect of Baylor’s record-setting offenses in recent years – and the return of the Golden Hurricane’s other primary skill position players, Lucas should be a fixture in the end zone once again.