With the playoff field set and bowl season nearly upon us, its time to look back at the regular season. Some things, like Alabama and Clemson back in the playoff, were predictable. Others were not. And thats what well focus on here. From the emergence of Jalen Hurts to the rejuvenation of Colorado to the collapse of Notre Dame, our insiders break down the most stunning storylines from 2016.Who was this seasons most surprising player? (OK, other than Lamar Jackson.)Andrea Adelson: Dede Westbrook, Oklahoma I thought about going with Sam Darnold at USC because his performance over the last nine games was stellar. Folks were even talking about a three-loss Trojans team as a playoff contender. But Westbrook made it to the Heisman ceremony after blitzing through opponents over the last nine games with one outstanding performance after another. He has four times as many touchdowns this season (16) as he did in 2015 (four). Leonard Fournette Jaguars Jersey . "Hes going to have hip surgery on Jan. 7, and hell be expected to rehabilitate for four to six months beyond that," Canucks general manager Mike Gillis said Friday in an interview. Telvin Smith Youth Jersey . R.J. Umberger scored twice to lead the Blue Jackets to a franchise-record for consecutive wins with a 5-3 victory Tuesday night over the Los Angeles Kings. http://www.officialjacksonvillejaguarspro.com/Leonard-fournette-jaguars-jersey/ .com) - Christian Ponder will get another chance to prove himself for the Minnesota Vikings, with head coach Leslie Frazier announcing Wednesday that the struggling quarterback will start this weekends game against the Green Bay Packers. Telvin Smith Jersey . -- Mike Smith never saw his first NHL goal go in. Taven Bryan Womens Jersey . Spiller left Week 3s 27-20 loss to the New York Jets with a thigh injury, but fully practiced with the team all week and expects to be ready to go on Sunday. MADRID -- Rafael Nadal is cutting short his 2016 season so he can fully recover from a left wrist injury.The 14-time Grand Slam champion said Thursday he is still bothered by the injury that kept him out of action for more than two months this season and wants to treat it properly before coming back in 2017.Now it is time to rest and start preparing intensively (for) the 2017 season, the 30-year-old Spaniard said in a statement.Nadal said he will miss indoor tournaments in Basel, Switzerland, next week and Paris next month. He is also ruled out of the season-ending ATP Finals in London next month.Nadal said he forced his recovery to be able to play in the Rio de Janeiro Olympics and that caused him to be in pain in every tournament since then.Nadal has slipped to No. 6 in the rankings. He won back-to-back clay-court titles in Barcelona and Monte Carlo last spring but has not won any tournaments since then.The statement said the original injury healed properly but the pain in the wristt area kept bothering him and kept him from performing at 100 percent.ddddddddddddIt is no secret that I arrived to the Olympic Games short of preparation and not fully recovered, but the goal was to compete and win a medal for Spain, he said. This forced recovery has caused me pain since then and now I am forced to stop and start preparing the 2017 season.Nadal won the doubles gold medal in Rio. He lost in the singles semifinals and also in the third-place match.The injury had forced Nadal to withdraw from the French Open before the third round and skip Wimbledon altogether.I am very saddened for not being able to play next week in Basel since I have a great memory of the tournament and the final played against Roger Federer last year, he said. I wont be able to compete either in Paris-Bercy, where the crowds and the staff have always treated me so well. ' ' '
