Athletes to watch

Trevone Boykin

TCU’s quarterback had a Heisman moment in his most recent outing when West Virginia coach Dana Holgorsen gave him a high five while the game was still going on. Boykin now can raise his stock with Heisman voters if he plays as well for the Frogs at Oklahoma State on Saturday in a battle of unbeaten teams and the presumed frontrunner, LSU running back Leonard Fournette, stumbles against a rugged Alabama defense.

Von Miller

The former Texas A&M linebacker is one of several players leading a punishing Denver Broncos defense that leads the league in most sacks and fewest yards and points allowed under coordinator Wade Phillips. Now the Broncos are poised to tee off on the Colts and their injured quarterback, Andrew Luck, on Sunday at Indianapolis if he plays. If he doesn’t play, they’ll tee off on Matt Hasselbeck.

Jordan Carmouche

On Halloween, Manvel’s 6-1, 230-pound outside linebacker dressed as a Razorback. Not really. But he did commit that day to Arkansas. He will show off his speed and physicality that’s he’s taking to the SEC against Pearland on Friday night at Alvin Memorial.

Josh Smith

The power forward who played a vital role for the Rockets in their Western Conference seven-game semifinals defeat of the Los Angeles Clippers last season switched teams in the offseason, claiming his role in Houston was “foggy.” Perhaps we’ll get a clearer picture of what he meant when he and the Clippers play host to the Rockets on Saturday night.

Jeff Gordon

The four-time NASCAR Sprint Cup champion earned a chance with his victory last week at Martinsville, Va. to win his fifth and final one this year. Having announced he will retire from racing fulltime at season’s end, he can extend his lead