#CFBrank: Just a bit outside the list

Choosing the top 100 players in college football is about as hard as picking the four teams for the inaugural College Football Playoff.

We all know how that went.

But after a survey of 32 writers and editors at ESPN.com, we've ranked the top players in the sport on a scale of 1 to 10. We ranked the top players at the start of the 2014 season, and our postseason list looks much different from the one we unveiled in August.

But once again, there are several standout players from teams around the country who just missed the list.

Here's a look at a few of the players who just missed the cut:

Darron Lee, LB, Ohio State

There were plenty of stars on Ohio State's national championship team this past season, but few players were as consistent as Lee.

Lee played only six plays in two games in 2013 before suffering a season-ending injury. After taking a medical redshirt that season, Lee was one of the team's most surprising stars this season. He was second on the team with eight sacks and 16 tackles for loss and was third with 81 tackles.

Lee, a redshirt freshman from New Albany, Ohio, was a former high school quarterback and had to convince Buckeyes coach Urban Meyer to give him a scholarship. In the Buckeyes' 42-35 upset of No. 1 Alabama in the Allstate Sugar Bowl on New Year's Day, Lee had seven tackles, two sacks and was named the game's most outstanding defensive player.

Jake Waters, QB, Kansas State

In only two seasons, Waters was able to accomplish more than most of the players who preceded him as Kansas State's quarterback.

This past season, Waters set the KSU single-season record by throwing for 3,501 yards on 262-for-397 passing with 22 touchdowns. He set school records for season (66 percent in 2014) and career completion percentage (64.1) and total offense per game (260.2 yards).

Waters, a former junior-college transfer, went 17-9 as a starting quarterback at KSU in 2013-14. He also rushed for 484 yards with nine touchdowns this past season.

Markus Golden, DE, Missouri

Overshadowed by former Missouri defensive ends Michael Sam and Kony Ealy early in his career and then teammate Shane Ray this past season, Golden emerged as one of the country's best pass-rushers in his own right in 2014.

Golden, a former linebacker from St. Louis, finished the season with 10 sacks, 20 tackles for loss and 78 total tackles. He had a fantastic finish to his college career, piling up 34 tackles, 10 tackles for loss, 5 sacks, two forced fumbles and one fumble recovery in his last five games.

Trey Flowers, DE, Arkansas

One of the best players on one of the country's most underrated defenses, Flowers led the Hogs with 15 tackles for loss and six sacks this past season. He also was third on the team with 68 tackles to go with nine quarterback hurries.

Flowers, a senior from Huntsville, Alabama, helped the Razorbacks finish in the top 10 nationally in both scoring defense (19.2 points) and total defense (323.4 yards). Flowers doesn't get the recognition of some of the best pass-rushers in the country, but he's been just as productive.

Buck Allen, RB, USC

And why didn't former USC coach Lane Kiffin like Allen? After a slow start to his USC career, Allen became the Trojans' workhorse running back the past season and a half, finishing with 1,489 yards and 11 touchdowns in 2014. He also caught 41 passes for 458 yards and led the Pac-12 with 149.8 all-purpose yards per game.

According to USC, Allen was the only player in the country to have 13 games with more than 100 all-purpose yards from scrimmage. He had six consecutive games with more than 100 rushing yards this past season, the longest streak by a Trojans back since Marcus Allen had 11 in a row in 1981.

Derrick Henry, RB, Alabama

When Henry carried the football this past season, which probably wasn't often enough, good things usually happened for the Crimson Tide. He finished the season with 990 yards with 11 touchdowns on 172 carries, while sharing the backfield with T.J. Yeldon.

Henry, a 6-foot-3, 241-pound sophomore, is one of the most physically imposing ball carriers in the country. He got more than 15 carries only four times in 2014, and the Crimson Tide won each of those games. He had 95 yards and a touchdown on 13 carries in Alabama's 42-35 loss to Ohio State in the Allstate Sugar Bowl on New Year's Day.

With Yeldon moving on to the NFL, Henry figures to see a much bigger workload in 2015.

Shane Carden, QB, East Carolina

While Texas continued to struggle to find a quarterback this past season, Carden, a Houston native, lit up defenses again at East Carolina.

Carden, who was named the American Athletic Conference's Offensive Player of the Year, set the AAC single-season record with 4,736 passing yards and 30 touchdowns on 392-for-617 passing (63.5 percent). He set nearly every ECU career passing record, including 11,991 passing yards and 86 touchdown passes.

This past season, Carden guided the Pirates to an 8-5 record, including victories over ACC opponents North Carolina and Virginia Tech.

Myles Garrett, DL, Texas A&M

Aggies fans had few reasons to be excited about the team's woeful defense this past season, but Garrett at least gives them reason for hope about the future.

Garrett, a freshman from Arlington, Texas, set the Texas A&M and SEC freshman record with 11 sacks this past season. He broke former South Carolina star Jadeveon Clowney's SEC freshman record with his ninth sack.

Garrett also led the Aggies in tackles for loss (12) and quarterback hurries (nine) and was second among defensive linemen with 50 tackles. He posted at least two tackles in every game and at least one sack in six.

D.J. Foster, RB, Arizona State

Foster has done just about everything for Arizona State in his first three seasons, and he'll try to do even more after deciding to return to school for his senior season.

After playing mostly running back the past three seasons, Foster will probably play more at slot receiver in 2015. With the emergence of freshman running backs Demario Richard and Kalen Ballage this past season, Foster realizes he might be more valuable making plays on the perimeter for the Sun Devils this coming season.

He ran for 1,081 yards in 2014 and he had 2,077 rushing yards, 1,874 receiving yards and 28 touchdowns combined in his first three seasons.

Jamison Crowder, WR, Duke

Crowder, a 5-9 senior, wasn't the biggest guy on the field, but he always seemed to make a huge impact for the Blue Devils. This past season, he caught 85 passes for 1,044 yards with six touchdowns. Crowder also returned 22 punts for 280 yards with two scores.

In 52 career games, Crowder caught 283 passes for 3,641 yards with 23 touchdowns, while returning 65 punts for 869 yards with four scores. He was a three-time All-ACC selection, and leaves Duke as the school's all-time leader in punt returns for touchdowns and is No. 2 in punt return yards, punt return average and punt returns.