Tag: Scouting Notes

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F10Y CFB – Week 12 Scouting Notes, UCLA vs. USC

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The penultimate week of the regular season threw up some absolute barnstormers, with all of the top four teams having some issues, and a couple were very close to defeat.

The deep dive this week though features the battle of Los Angeles, and probably the best uniform matchup of the season.

USC edged their rivals UCLA in a thriller 48-45 and this win keeps the Trojans play-off hopes alive, although a lot will have to happen to get in.

However they are still in with a chance.

We’ll start the notes on the unlucky losers…

UCLA

Head Coach Chip Kelly may not have done well in the NFL ranks, but as a college coach no one can doubt his record. He is taking UCLA in the right direction, and more importantly for us, coaching his players up to an NFL level.

Quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson (DTR to his mates) is one of the most exciting college passers out there right now.

When he gets things right he looks like the second coming of Lamar Jackson, but when it’s bad he looks like an undrafted free agent. This game summed him up beautifully.

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He had 390 total yards and 6 total touchdowns, but threw three horrible interceptions that ultimately cost his team the chance to win this game. There’s no doubting his commitment and desire, he leads the Bruins with confidence and carries them as far as he can, but those mental mistakes are always there.

The NFL won’t waste good draft capital on players like him.

He has played better though this season, and there are certainly tools to work with, so teams may start looking at him on early day three, but you do get a sense that he’ll be a better college quarterback than NFL one. 

Michigan transfer Running Back Zach Charbonnet has been a revelation for the Bruins these last couple of seasons. He is a bigger power type back, who will gain every yard available and run through you to do it.

He was up against a decent USC front seven, but still ploughed his way for 95 yards at 5 yards per rush. This was his second lowest output of the season, which shows you he is having another productive year in the PAC 12 and making a name for himself.

He does lack the burst and cutting ability that the great backs do, but NFL teams need backs like these to complement their rushing attacks, so although he won’t blow people away with his testing, he should still be a priority pick come day three of the draft.

Another transfer who is having a great season for UCLA is former Duke receiver Jake Bobo.

I really liked Bobo’s 2021 tape with the Blue Devils, and it looks like he is thriving again this season, just on a different team. He is a big target at 6’5 215lbs, and does use his size well to block out defenders when the ball is coming his way, but he is more than just a big body receiver.

Bobo can win in the slot or on the outside, and although clearly not a dynamic athlete, he certainly isn’t a terrible one either. He had 4 catches for 76 yards in this game, was active in the run game too, helping blocking downfield. However, he have two drops, which is very uncharacteristic of him.

Players like Bobo will more than likely go on day three of the draft, but they almost always make NFL rosters and contribute in the pros. 

Defensively, the Bruins struggled to contain USC’s high volume offense, but from an NFL point of view, they do have a couple of interesting pass rushers who are both getting a fair bit of buzz. 

EDGE Laiatu Latu has a very interesting back story to him. He was a four star recruit who went to Washington and had a nice Freshman season in 2019.

He then suffered a neck injury prior to the 2020 season and team doctors advised him to retire rather than play on and risk permanent damage.

After two seasons away from football he entered the transfer portal and joined UCLA, where their doctors cleared him to play, and he has been amazing for them so far this season.

Latu is currently tied sixth in the nation with 9.5 sacks and has become a pass rushing demon.

I’ve caught a few UCLA games this season and he has stood out in all of them, including this one. He has a long and slippery frame, has active hands and never stays blocked for long.

In fairness to USC they did a better job on him in the second half, but he still finished with 4 tackles and 1.5 sacks.

From a draft perspective, the medicals obviously will be a massive deal, but if he does declare and the medicals check out, then you have an upside player worth taking a risk on. 

The other Bruins EDGE causing some noise is North Texas transfer Gabriel Murphy. He and his twin brother Grayson transferred over together in the off season, and they are both having very nice seasons.

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Grayson has been more productive on the stat sheet, but for me Gabriel looks the better all round player. Like Latu, Murphy has stood out every time UCLA has been on, and again here he gave USC’s very talented offensive line plenty of trouble.

He is strong at the point of attack and disengages quickly to disrupt plays. Gabriel lacks the length and burst that Latu has, but he looks a much better all round player and would make a nice 4-3 base end. He (and his brother) have a year of eligibility left, so he may well go back to school, but if he were to come out I think he’d be a mid round steal for someone.

USC

The Trojans are a very exciting team to watch right now, and honestly, I think this offense, along with Ohio State’s, are the only two that would give Georgia’s vaunted defense any issues. 

The leader of this gang is Oklahoma transfer Quarterback Caleb Williams. He has been nothing short of sensational this season and quite rightly is a Heisman Trophy candidate. You can’t help but think of Patrick Mahomes when you watch him, as he can turn any play into one of those WOW moments.

Williams has everything you look for tools wise, and although he may get knocked for his size, he is easily big enough to handle the NFL life. This game had so many highlights it’s impossible to list them all, but most of them came out of structure, hitting receivers in stride in tight windows. He threw for 470 yards with two touchdowns and one pick.

The interception showed he still makes the odd mental mistake, but as a true sophomore that is expected, the great plays still vastly outweigh the bad ones. He has every chance to be the number one overall pick in next year’s draft. 

The Trojan’s star Wide Receiver Jordan Addison has had some recent injury woes, missing two of the last three games and barely featuring in the other. So, with that in mind, it was good to see him back to his best in this game, having a season best 178 yards on 11 catches and a touchdown.

Addison’s presence takes this offense over the top, as they have so much talent on the field it’s impossible to cover all of them. He looks like a spitting image size wise of Eagles wide receiver Devonta Smith, and there is a similarity to their styles of play too.

Addison is dynamic with the ball in his hand and has enough speed and savvy to create separation, so his lack of size is negated.

In my book, he is clearly one of the top wide receivers in college football, and if he can finish the season strong he should be in the conversation to be WR1 come draft day.

Defensively USC are lacking superstars, but there were a couple of guys in this game who certainly helped themselves from a draft prospective. 

EDGE Tuli Tuipulotu currently shares the lead nationally in sacks with 11.5. He was actually held sackless in this game, but the disruption he caused in both the run and passing game was excellent throughout.

He reminds me of how Texas A&M used DeMarvin Leal last year, but unlike Leal, this dude plays with his hair on fire every snap. USC even stands him up and let him rush with a head start from a yard or two off the line of scrimmage, and that’s a scary sight watching a 285lb man smashing into static guards.

Tuipulotu has decent bend as a pass rusher, especially considering his size, but his NFL money would be made inside you’d expect, or as a five tech. He really has put himself on the map with the phenomenal season he is having, and he could easily end up as a first round pick, if the right team thinks he is the missing piece to their defense.

Colorado had two excellent cornerbacks last year. Unfortunately for the Buffalos, both transferred out and ended up at rival PAC 12 teams. Christian Gonzalez is having an excellent season at Oregon, and may have become a first round pick. However, we shouldn’t forget about the “other” former Buffalo, Mekhi Blackmon, who is now at USC.

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The Colorado tape, particularly the 2020 season is excellent, and now he is showing out at a top program and getting himself noticed.

Blackmon moves really well, fluid in transitions and can stick with receivers down the field. He gave up just 3 catches on 6 targets with no big plays allowed, and even came up with an excellent interception to top it all off.

An older prospect, in a position where the NFL prefers youth, but there’s too much to like about Blackmon to ignore. Hopefully he can workout well, and although he won’t go as high as his former teammate Gonzalez, he should be in consideration as a late day two player. 

Interestingly these former teammates could very well meet in the PAC12 Championship game, if Oregon manages to beat Oregon State at the weekend. 

Follow Keith on Twitter – @Lordlucken

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F10Y CFB – Week 10 Scouting Notes, Georgia vs. Tennessee

This game has been on everyone’s mind from the moment Tennessee upset Alabama in week seven. These were the top two teams in the country, although the playoff committee didn’t agree, having Ohio State ranked between them. For the added drama this was set up as the game of the season! One which would go a long way to deciding who will win the SEC East, and make the SEC championship game.

In all honesty the game never lived up to the billing, as the Georgia defense suffocated one of the best offenses in the country, and rightly won the game 27-13. 

I’ve covered Tennessee a couple of times already this season, so we’ll focus the main notes on the Georgia players, but we’ll start with some brief notes on the defeated Volunteers.

Tennessee

I’ve been a big fan of quarterback Hendon Hooker and his performances this season, but even I will admit that this was not a good day at the office for him. He was constantly harassed by the Georgia front four, and his big play receivers were very much kept in check.

He looked sharp completing short passes, but he missed on three big deep balls, over throwing his receivers every time. From a scouting perspective this game showed the limitations he has, but it shouldn’t hurt his stock too much, as he already has big performances in big games this season. So when evaluating, there’s no need to start moving him down boards on just one bad day.

Tennessee were very happy to have wide receiver Cedric Tillman back from injury, and although his stat line doesn’t stand out (7 catches for 68 yards), it was nice to see him back out there and showing the scouts his nice routes and sure hands.

In Tillman’s absence Wide Receiver Jalin Hyatt has been putting up some monster performances. Hyatt couldn’t really get going in this game though as he was superbly marshalled by the Bulldog secondary.

He also got hurt twice in the game and never really threatened the big plays like he has in the previous weeks. His name is still hot right now though, and if he hasn’t sustained any game costing injuries, he has an easy three game slate to finish the season and keep his name relevant. 

I think right tackle Darnell Wright has moved himself into the top 100 with his performances this season, and he did a good job in this game too, which will keep his stock on the up.

Without elite EDGE Nolan Smith, most of the Georgia pressures were from the interior, but when the Bulldogs did send outside rushers Wright handled them easily. He has all the tools you need, and now the light seems to have come on for this former 5-star recruit, and he is starting to live up to the high school hype and play his way into day two of the draft. 

Georgia

This Georgia team has a true leader in quarterback Stetson Bennett, and no matter what you think of him as a draft prospect, it’s hard not to root for this undersized overachiever.

The offense goes through him, and he makes enough good throws and improvised plays, to always have his team in position to win games. He was excellent here hitting the big plays when needed, and his running touchdown was a thing of beauty.

All that being said, Bennett is probably not going to be drafted, as his size limitations and arm strength will be big issues. Even so, you can easily see him being a Chase Daniel type back-up in the NFL and will probably turn into a very good coach when he’s done playing.

The star of this offense is Tight End Brock Bowers. He’ll be eligible for next year’s draft, but he is already the front runner to be TE1 in the 2024 group.

He is undersized (6’3 230lbs) and is deployed more like a receiver than a true tight end so he can show off his excellent hands and run after catch ability.

Tennessee did a pretty good job on him here though and limited him to just three catches in the game, but you can see the great hands and precise routes are there, and he will be widely talked about in next year’s cycle. 

Fellow Tight End Darnell Washington is draft eligible though, and he has been making quite a name for himself this year. Some of his highlight plays from earlier in the season are quite mind-blowing, especially when you consider his size.

He is almost like an extra offensive tackle out there, but one that can catch and probably run in the 4.5’s at the combine, making him a really intriguing prospect.

This game won’t feature on his highlight reel though, as he was held catchless, and his trademark aggressive blocking wasn’t as destructive as it normally is. He is still going to be drafted high, if he decides to come out, but he needs to pick the production back up, and get himself back into the TE2 conversation.

Georgia has produced some very good offensive lineman in recent years, and there’s two more that have first round potential, if they declare. Both center Sedrick Van Pran-Granger and left tackle Broderick Jones are Redshirt Sophomores and are listed as the same size too at 6’4 310lbs, but there is a difference of over 500 snaps played between the two. Van Pran-Granger has played the more snaps and he is a lot more polished technique wise.

He is an excellent tone setting leader of this line, and has played exceptionally well this season, including this game where he was picking up blitzes and opening up nice running lanes all day long. He has great football IQ, looks a decent athlete and has a strong powerful base, all vital traits of playing Center. There really isn’t a clear cut OC1 in this class yet, so if he were to declare he’d put himself in that mix for sure.

For someone so young, he has a really high floor and would be a very safe pick who could anchor your line for a decade. 

Jones on the other hand would be much more of a gamble, but he plays the premium left tackle position, where teams are more likely to take a chance on potential rather than production.

I was super high on Jones during the summer, as you could see from the few games he stepped in for Jamaree Salyer last year that he was so naturally gifted.

However, I’m not sure I’ve seen enough progress this season to give him the lofty top ten pick that I’ve seen in recent mock drafts. He was inconsistent here against Tennessee, looking like an All-Pro on one play and undraftable the next, but teams will look at that upside and think they may get the next great one. But it all hinges on whether he can fulfil that potential.

I personally would like to see him go back for another year at Georgia and iron out those flaws he has now, as if he did, he has number one overall pick potential.

If he did come out though, I can see him ending up in the range that Dallas took Tulsa’s Tyler Smith last year, a player he compares favourably to, right now.

This Georgia defense lost so much talent to the NFL last year that there were questions entering this season whether they would be able to replace them all.

Well they have.

With Defensive Tackle Jalen Carter, they probably have the best player they’ve had for some time. Carter has been banged up this year, missing two full games and barely featuring in several others. However, for this game, he was back to full strength, and boy what a difference he makes to this team.

He is such a phenomenal watch, it’s so easy to just focus on him alone and watch him tear apart respected offensive lineman. Tennessee’s guard Javontez Spraggins will be having nightmares after Carter took his soul in this game.

He has such a quick first step that  he can club, swim or bull rush you before you are set, and in a blink of an eye he is in the backfield causing mayhem. He was credited with four tackles, two for a loss and a sack.

Not only that but he caused two fumbles too, all in his first full time action for months against the number one ranked team!

He is a lock for the top ten, and depending on what team is drafting where, has a legitimate shot at being a top three pick.

Georgia has another potential first round defender in cornerback Kelee Ringo. He was another one who flashed huge potential last season when he cracked the starting lineup, but hasn’t kicked on quite as much as hoped, although he is still flashing elite traits at times.

He had a very up and down game here against the Volunteers, giving up eight catches on just nine targets, but then made a sensational interception on a deep ball in the end zone. He has all the size and speed you want, but his technique can fail him at times, and he has given up 61.1% receptions when targeted, which is far too high for a player of his calibre.

Whilst this isn’t the season he wanted so far, plays like the interception in this game show what he can be. Big speedy corners like this don’t grow on trees, and usually end up as first round picks.

Follow Keith on Twitter @lordlucken

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F10Y CFB – Week 9 Scouting Notes, Penn State vs. Ohio State

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The week 9 slate threw up a couple of interesting matchups. I hadn’t had a good look at Ohio State since their week 1 win against Notre Dame, so away at Penn State seemed a good time to check-in on some top talent, not only the Buckeyes, but a couple of highly rated Nittany Lions too. 

The game itself was a tight affair, with the Buckeyes having to fight tooth and nail to maintain their unbeaten start. They did come through in the end though winning 44-31, although the game was much tighter than the final score suggests.

We’ll start the notes with the winning Buckeyes…

Ohio State

Quarterback C.J Stroud seems to be suffering from the “over analysis brigade” this year. He is putting together a Heisman Trophy winning type season. However, the nit-pickers are highlighting some flaws, whilst ignoring the consistency and production.

Penn State gave him some issues, and truth be told it was the defense that won this game for Ohio State. That said you can’t ignore the poise and accuracy he displays from the pocket. The questions come when being asked to perform out of structure, and there’s no doubt this is his biggest weakness, but what you see from him when he’s kept clean, is one of the best clinical passers in football.

I still believe he will be QB1 come April, but in all honesty you can’t go wrong with either him or Alabama’s Bryce Young.

Stroud may have a limited ceiling, but he has such a high floor that he seems like a safe, NFL starter ready player, and those types will go very high.

Stroud’s favourite target this year has been Freshman sensation Wide Receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. Those old enough (like me) will remember his Dad destroying cornerbacks in the NFL from 1996-2008 with the Indianapolis Colts, and his son looks like he may be as good as his old man, who of course is a Hall of Famer. Those are lofty expectations, but what he displayed in this game was his smooth routes and excellent hands.

I would go so far to say that I’m certain if he was draft eligible he would be WR1 in this class.

We’ll have to wait until next year to salivate over this next great Ohio State receiver prospect as he already looks like a certain future first round pick. And would it be bold to say, possibly a high end one at that?

Left tackle Paris Johnson was very highly thought of coming into the season, but there was a question mark about how he’d transition over from guard, where he spent the 2021 season.

Well, from what I’ve seen so far this season, he’s done a very nice job, so much so that he has been talked about now as a potential top ten pick.

I really like him as a prospect too, but this tape against Penn State makes me pause, and perhaps we need to lower that hype just a touch?

 There is no doubting his natural ability and athleticism – that’s easy to see – But there still seem to be some mental errors and technique issues that would need clearing up before slotting him in the top ten for me.

Right tackle Dawand Jones is almost the complete opposite of Paris Johnson. He is a massive (6’8 360lbs) road grader who once he gets his hands on you it’s over.

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He has better athleticism than you’d think for such a huge human, but he does get done by quicker, shiftier Edges, who can get by him in a flash. He is a plug and play right tackle in the NFL and there’s an easy comparison to Trent Brown. Brown has carved out a nice career for himself, despite originally being just a seventh round pick.

Jones displayed his heavy hands and brute power in the run game against the Nittany Lions and he looked pretty good in pass protection too, as he held up well against their edge rushers, but he had some trouble with the blitz’s that Penn State dialled up.

He will be viewed as a high floor player who should be selected somewhere on day two of the draft.

As I mentioned earlier the Buckeyes have their defense to thank for this win. There were numerous standout performances but we have to start with the quite incredible show that EDGE J.T Tuimoloau put on.

It’s not often that a defensive lineman will grab an interception, but Tuimoloau didn’t just get one against the Nittany Lions, no he bagged two of them, and returned the second one 18 yards for a touchdown too.

He also battered a pass that was intercepted by fellow EDGE Zach Harrison, recorded three tackles-for-loss, two sacks and a forced fumble. Quite an afternoon from the sophomore and one that will really put him on scouts’ radars.

The interceptions were very different, the first being a great read on the running back coming out in the flat and jumping the route. The second was leaping high mid pass rush, to grab the ball intended for a receiver behind him. Both of these plays demonstrated elite athleticism and high football IQ.

However, we mustn’t get carried away here.

All of his pass rush wins were against the back-up right tackle, who was playing because of injury to their regular starter, and he was having a complete mare. I don’t think he is the second coming of Chase Young or the Bosas, he doesn’t have that kind of bend around the edge that the top pass rushers do.

But one thing he has now, is a statement game on tape and something to build on heading into the 2023 season. 

Junior safety Ronnie Hickman has impressed me quite a bit this year, and that continued with another good showing in this game. He is such a solid all round player.

Hickman is good against the run and a willing tackler, he also has nice athleticism and play recognition to match up in the passing game. He was always around the ball and finished with six tackles, three passes defensed and a forced fumble. Even the negatives were not so negative either – The only completion he gave up went for just four yards.

If it wasn’t for Tuimoloau, Hickman would have been the talk of the game. There isn’t a clear cut number one safety in this draft class, but Hickman is certainly making his way up boards and he would be a top five safety for me right now.

Penn State

The Nittany Lions were in this game deep into the fourth quarter, which is a testament to them, as there is a big gulf in the quality of draft prospects between the two teams. They do have a couple of players who are getting quite a bit of buzz right now, so let’s see how they did in this game.

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We’ll start with Left Tackle Olu Fashanu, who right now is being discussed as an OT1 possibility. He is only 19 years old, but is draft eligible and he has scouts drooling with his natural ability.

He is quite an easy watch, especially in pass protection, where he has excellent feet to control the arc and strong hands on long arms to ride pass rushers away with ease.

The problems occured in the run game where he was often beaten to his spot by a defender and knocked off balance. He does have everything scouts want in a blindside protector though, size, arm length and athleticism, so it’s easy to understand why he’s moving up boards.

I would just like to see him become more refined, especially in the run game, before investing a round one pick on him. There is a chance of course he returns to Happy Valley for another season, but with the tackle class this wide open I think he would be a certain first rounder if he did come out.

Like Marvin Harrison, Cornerback Joey Porter Jr. is the son of a former NFL star too. Joey Porter Sr. was a Pittsburgh Steeler legend in his day, and now his son is climbing rapidly up draft boards and into first round mocks.

Porter Jr. is as feisty as his old man was, he is just 40 odd pounds lighter and playing a totally different position.

We were hoping to see plenty of Harrison vs. Porter matchups during the game, but the truth was they only battled each other on a handful of plays. They were a fun watch though, and although Harrison had the big stat line, Porter matched up nicely with him when they did face off.

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Porter’s physicality is both a positive and negative though. Everyone loves a physical corner who isn’t afraid to hit in the run game and jam receivers off of routes, but he also gets very grabby. He was called deservedly for one pass interference penalty in the game because of this.

I think Porter will appeal to lots of NFL teams, but without elite athleticism I think he may end up as a day two player rather than going in the first round.

Penn State’s best player in this game was wide receiver Parker Washington, who I’ve been high on for the last couple of seasons.

He had his biggest game of the season, against the highest ranked opponent they’ll play, catching 11 balls for 179 yards and one touchdown. He has great hands, runs nice routes and always seems to find a way to get open. And he does all of this without being the best athlete on the field.

How about this for a way to bring this article to a close… I feel like there’s a bit of Deebo Samuel about him, and I think if he test’s OK he may sneak into day two of the draft, if he comes out.

Check back with me in April on that one.

Follow Keith on Twitter @LordLucken

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F10Y CFB – Week 8 Scouting, LSU vs. Ole Miss

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Week 8 didn’t have too many stand out match ups, but this encounter between LSU and Ole Miss looked like it could be decent on paper, and it certainly was.

I’d seen these teams much earlier in the season, so I was eager to get some eyes back on them and see what they were like now we’re in the thick of conference play.

It certainly seems that LSU have turned a corner and look very much on an upward curve, and even in defeat the Rebels still look like a very talented team that can push the very top of the SEC to their limits.

We’ll start the scouting notes with the very impressive Tigers…

LSU

The quarterback position has been a bit of a struggle for the Tigers since Joe Burrow led them to their greatest ever season.

The fans don’t have to worry anymore though, as Arizona State transfer Jayden Daniels is playing out of his mind right now. He absolutely destroyed the Rebel defense to the tune of 242 yards and two touchdowns through the air, and 121 yards and three scores on the ground.

He has such a calm demeanour about him, stays cool under pressure and takes care of the football, all very important traits to have. He was impressive during his career with the Sun Devils, but he has taken it up another level here in the SEC and this won’t go unnoticed.

There are limitations and question marks when it comes to evaluating him for the NFL.

Like, how much does he actually weigh? Why does he struggle with short touch passes? And, how good of an arm does he actually have?

But as a college quarterback he certainly is an entertaining watch, and he is putting himself into the Heisman trophy conversation too, which isn’t bad for a transfer who wasn’t expected to even win the starting job in the summer.

On the receiving end of Daniels throws should be star wide receiver Kayshon Boutte, but I think it’s fair to say he isn’t having the season that everyone was expecting.

Boutte hasn’t been playing at 100% health wise, and there was a run in with new head coach Brian Kelly before the season, so there are factors to why he is struggling, but right now he looks a shadow of what we saw the past two years.

He had 4 catches for 43 yards in this game, which aren’t big numbers at all, and he did have a drop too, but he was out there blocking his ass off on run plays when bigger ego players might not have bothered.

With a wide open WR1 for the 2023 draft, Boutte is still in that mix, but if the production doesn’t increase he’ll have to wow the scouts in interviews, and with his athletic testing to reach that lofty goal.

The recent Tiger defense’s haven’t always lived up to the levels that their predecessors were famed for, but they always produce NFL talent year in year out.

The 2023 NFL draft will have plenty of Tiger defenders in it, and there’s certainly one who could be a first round pick. EDGE B.J Ojulari is that player with a first round shot, and in this performance against Ole Miss it’s easy to see why. He is the brother of NY Giants EDGE Azeez Ojulari, and they certainly have a very similar style of play.

He is lightning quick out of his stance, can convert speed to power nicely and can dip under and around tackles in the flash of an eye. He isn’t the biggest and can get washed out on some plays, but there’s enough elite talent here to get first round looks, and at worst case he should end up a top 50 pick, just like his brother.

The Tigers other EDGE Ali Gaye is someone I wasn’t as high on as others during summer scouting, and he hadn’t impressed me in the couple of early season games I caught, but he was terrific here and showed why he could be a day two player.

He lacks the athletic traits that his teammate Ojulari has, but Gaye is a much bigger end who defended the run in this game well, and still showed enough as a pass rusher to worry the young Rebel tackles.

Testing will be key for him, but he looked a different beast in this game to what I’d seen previously, and hopefully he can continue to put these types of games on tape. 

LSU knows how to produce cornerbacks, and the next one in line is Louisiana transfer Mekhi Garner.

He was part of a very stingy Ragin’ Cajun defense the last couple of years but decided to make the leap to the SEC and he has shone every time I’ve watched him. He was tested more in this game than my previous watches, but he came through well showing fluid transitions and good route recognition skills, which considering how big he is (6’2 217lbs) is very impressive.

Garner did give up a pass interference call on a quick slant where he was a fraction early on the play, but he really does look the part out there, and if he can answer the question about his long speed with good testing, he has the ability to be a round two guy for me.

It would be wrong if I didn’t mention true freshman Harold Perkins, who is having himself an excellent season. You can tell he is going to be a special player already, and although he is mainly lined up as an EDGE right now, with time you can see him moving inside to a more traditional off ball linebacker.

He could very well be the next Micah Parsons, we’ll just have to wait another couple of years before we get to talk about him in regards to the NFL draft. 

Mississippi

Any Lane Kiffin coached team is exciting to watch, and these Rebels are no different. Defensively they were found out in the second half, but the offense was a fun watch and they were just inches away on a couple of big plays that would have kept them up with LSU.

Quarterback Jaxson Dart is a true sophomore who transferred in from USC in the summer and has impressed so far this season at Ole Miss. He has nice touch, good arm strength and can be creative out of structure. He is also a very capable runner which he displayed in this game too, so a good all round package player.

Dart isn’t afraid to take a chance or two down the field, and that will get you into trouble at times as well, but let’s face it, we’d all prefer that type of quarterback over the boring efficient ones! Certainly a name for next year’s draft, which is shaping up to have quite a few top end QB prospects in it already.

It’s not often you get a transfer between Ole Miss and Mississippi State, but that’s what Wide Receiver Malik Heath has done, and it’s paying off handsomely for him. 

You’d have thought being a receiver in the Bulldogs air raid system would be a better fit for him, but he is having the most productive year of his career in this more balanced Rebel offense, and also showing scouts there’s a more complete receiver profile to him.

Heath is a big, strong pass catcher who displays really good hands and strength at the catch point. There’s a little bit of former Rebel A.J Brown about him, but not as dynamic as the current Eagle is.

He has impressed me every watch so far this season and he may be one of my favourite sleepers at his position for the 2023 NFL draft. 

The Rebel offensive line had struggles in this game, which isn’t surprising considering they were starting two freshman tackles. They do have two highly rated draft eligible guys on this Line, but both are having indifferent seasons.

Former Left Tackle turned Guard Nick Broeker was highly thought of during the summer, but I was never quite as high on him as the consensus was, and I’m still not.

For me, he struggled at tackle the past couple of years, so the move inside to guard was expected, but the level of play still remains inconsistent. There are nice flashes at times but there were so many plays in this game where he was beaten to his set points or just knocked off balance too easily, and it’s a big concern if he is still viewed as a top 100 type player.

I was much higher on former right tackle-turned-guard Jeremy James than most during the summer, but his move inside to guard for me isn’t playing to his strengths, and it’s causing him to slide down boards.

He is excellent in pass protection and staying at tackle would have showcased that more, but inside at Guard he is having to do more of the dirty work.

That said, he did consistently beat up on LSU defensive tackle Jaquelin Roy, who I’m pretty high on, so this tape is still good, I just wish he was out at tackle where I’m pretty sure he’ll be drafted to play in the NFL.

As I said earlier, this Rebel defense was torn to shreds in the second half of this game, but there was one stand out player who needs to get mentioned.

EDGE Jared Ivey is a transfer from Georgia Tech and he has taken the step up in competition to the SEC in his stride.

He has ideal size (6’5 265lbs) and length, and does a nice job rushing the passer from both the traditional outside role, and also inside as a three technique at times too. He has some decent bend to him and isn’t afraid to go through a lineman too if needed with brute strength, so plenty of nice traits to work with. He had a sack in this game, giving him 3.5 on the year so far, which is more than double what he managed in over 600 career snaps at Georgia Tech. Certainly a player on the rise, but as a true junior he may well go back to school to continue his progression and improve his draft stock.

Follow Keith on Twitter – @LordLucken

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F10Y CFB – WEEK 7 Scouting Notes, Tennessee vs. Alabama

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And just like that we are at the halfway point in the college football regular season! 

Week 7 had some great games on the slate, and I really wanted to get a deep look at the Michigan vs. Penn State game, but what unfolded in Knoxville needed to be written about, even if I’ve already done a deep dive on both teams already this season. This was probably the game of the season so far, with drama and talking points galore, and an upset win by the Vols 52-49 at the death.

So many players here helped their draft stock but there were also a couple who had uncharacteristic performances too, and I’ll try and cover as many as possible below, starting with the triumphant Tennessee Volunteers…

Tennessee

On my last deep dive with the Vols I suggested that Quarterback Hendon Hooker had put himself in the conversation to be QB3 next April. This performance, against a defense littered with future high NFL draft picks, will only push his case further, and there are now people suggesting that he is even in the Heisman Trophy conversation.

Top Quarterbacks need a signature win to stamp their CVs and this was Hooker’s. He threw for 385 yards, five TDs and one Interception, which are ridiculous numbers against this Bama defense, but more important than the stat sheet was how he led his team to the upset win.

Hooker was never fazed as the score went back and forth between the two teams, and he was never afraid to take the downfield shots when he could, or use his legs if he needed to, to keep his team moving down the field. Hooker took chances, and got away with an Interception that was called back for a questionable pass interference call, but you don’t beat teams like Alabama without taking chances, and he made his offense a threat to score every time they had the ball.

As I’m sure you can tell I’m a big fan, and right now I can’t see how he isn’t viewed as QB3, but there will be people using his age (he’ll be a 25 year old rookie) as a big negative.

I would say what he has is a mature head on his shoulders, and could lead an NFL offense with very little prep time needed, which is surely a plus point. 

With star wide receiver Cedric Tillman still out, the Vols have relied on others to step up to pick up his slack. Jalin Hyatt stepped up in the biggest possible way with a career best 207 yards on just six catches, with five of them going for touchdowns!

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Hyatt is a burner who turned on the jets for two of his scores, outrunning the Bama secondary each time showcasing his elite speed. He has had a couple of really nice games this year, especially with Tillman out, and he is doing himself no harm with putting tape out like this for scouts to drool over.

There’s a bit of Hollywood Brown about Hyatt, and the NFL does love a speedster, so he has value and will be moving up boards with games like this in his pocket.

For the offense to move down the field as easily as they did, the offensive line had to play well, and they did, particularly the two tackles.

Left tackle Gerald Mincey was having a great game but picked up an injury and didn’t play the second half. Right tackle Darnell Wright did play the whole game and he put in a dominant performance, especially considering he spent a lot of time up against a potential number one overall pick in Will Anderson.

Wright was exceptional in pass protection, showing great technique and strength in his hands controlling the pass rushers nicely. He displayed good footwork too, keeping a nice solid base but with good lateral movement as well to keep the pocket clean. He gave up zero pressures, and considering the talent he was up against, that’s some great tape to show scouts.

He is someone I wasn’t overly high on coming into the year, but his performances this season have been excellent, and he is certainly getting his name back out there and on some top ten tackle lists. 

Defensively for the Vols there wasn’t much to shout about, as Alabama could consistently move the ball down the field with ease, but linebacker Jeremy Banks did impress though, often around the ball and in on plays. He can line up as a traditional off ball linebacker, or out on the edge, and was effective in both roles in this game.

He doesn’t have enough size to line up as a pass rusher in the NFL, but he was effective in that role here, getting five pressures and causing plenty of disruption when blitzed. In a more traditional role he showed good read and react skills and good tackling technique but is limited somewhat when asked to cover. He has that classic late round pick, special teams ace vibe to him.

Alabama

The Crimson Tide offense has looked a shadow of itself the last couple of games with star Quarterback Bryce Young out injured. He was back for this game and showed how vital he is to this team. He was excellent from the start, testing his injured shoulder early, and then with confidence took his team up and down the field routinely. He finished with a massive 455 yards passing, two touchdowns and no picks, and looked as good as he did before the injury. He is a special talent who is in a fight to be QB1 with Ohio State’s C.J Stroud, and both should end up being top five picks in the draft.

We are used to having a bevvy of top Bama wide receivers prospects, but this is definitely a down year in that department.

Running back Jahmyr Gibbs has been a valuable weapon in the passing game as well as the run game this year, and he has helped his quarterback out in that department regularly.

Tight end Cameron Latu came through in this game too, with a breakout performance and one which should get him some draft buzz back. Latu came into the year graded by most scouts as the top senior tight end prospect, but his performances up to now have been a bit underwhelming and he has been overtaken by a few others.

However, he was a different beast though in this game, showing really soft hands when used in the passing game, and good solid run blocking, especially out on the edge, on run plays. This is the kind of level of performance we were expecting all year, so let’s hope this is the start of more consistent play so he can get his name back out there again.

The Crimson Tide offensive line has always churned out high quality prospects, but this current version is a little light on top end talent. Right tackle JC Latham is the one exception and he’ll be a big name in the 2024 draft, but their best draft hope for this year’s draft is left tackle Tyler Steen. Having to replace Evan Neal (seventh overall selection last year) is no easy task, but Bama is littered with five star recruits who should’ve stepped up into that role.

They didn’t, and it’s been left to Vanderbilt transfer Steen to come in and hold that position down, which he has done to a high standard. He won’t wow with athleticism or power, but he is a good technician and is very experienced, having been a three year starter at left tackle for the Commodores before transferring over the summer. He will most likely be a day three pick as the upside is limited with him, but he would make a valuable swing tackle at the next level, and teams will still invest decent draft capital to that role.

Now we’re not used to a Bama defense giving up 567 yards, but that is what happened in this game.

All the big name 2023 Bama defensive prospects had rough nights. EDGE Will Anderson had the quietest game I’ve ever seen from him. As mentioned before, Tennessee’s Tackles really shackled him and he couldn’t affect the game in any way really. We won’t overreact to this performance and move him down boards, he is still the best player in the country, all it proved was that he is actually human.

Linebacker Henry To’o To’o, Safety/Slot Corner Brian Branch and Safety Jordan Battle, all had indifferent games too, but again this won’t affect their draft stock too much as we pretty much know what players they are already.

One player whose stock may take a hit because of this game is Safety DeMarcco Hellams. He had been getting some buzz due to his play so far this year, but this was a disaster for him, as he was twice burned for touchdowns by Jalin Hyatt. They moved him away from covering Hyatt one on one in the second half, but he still missed some tackles and took a bad angle on another Hyatt touchdown. This is tape he’ll want to lose, but the scouts will already have seen the weaknesses exposed here, and no doubt he’ll end up falling down some boards accordingly. 

The only Alabama defensive player who gets a pass is true sophomore Cornerback Kool-Aid McKinstry, who was only targeted twice and gave up no catches. He had Tennessee receiver Bru McCoy in his pocket all game and looked every bit the next special Crimson Tide corner.

Follow Keith on Twitter @lordlucken

Read other scouting notes and the rest of our CFB content HERE.

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F10Y CFB – Week 5 Scouting Notes, Clemson vs. NC State

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This was the game of the week for me, well on paper at least, as the two top dogs in the ACC, both top ten ranked, duked it out in a night game. The reality was that Clemson should have won by more than the ten points they did, and are now favourites to sweep conference play and get a good shot at the College Football Play-off.

We’ll start the notes with the winning Tigers…

Clemson

I got a decent look at Clemson last week against Wake Forest, and the offense in that game looked so much better than it did for much of last season. This game was a bit of a mixed bag, but this was also the best defense that the Tigers had faced so far this season, so a regression from last week’s big output was expected.

Quarterback DJ Uiagalelei looked a different beast last week against the Demon Deacons throwing for 371 yards and five touchdowns, but he was back to a more conservative game plan against the Wolfpack, where the emphasis was on ball control rather than splash plays.

He did go deep a couple of times but he overthrew both passes and his overall accuracy is still a bit of a worry for me. Clemson have used him more to run the ball this year, and he does a nice job of getting what he can on the ground, but as a pure passer there are still many questions for me that need answering.

Obviously he is playing much better than last year, but I think he’s quite a way down the quarterback draft list still, although with that size and arm strength there will be plenty of intrigue if he does throw his name into the 2023 draft. 

Clemson have churned out some exceptional wide receivers over the last decade, but this current bunch are not living up to that standard. The Tigers have instead turned to a more run based attack, utilising the tight ends in the passing game, and they have a guy who may make it to the next level.

Davis Allen is a big target (6’6 250) with decent hands who looked good last week snaring two touchdowns and was a valuable outlet for his quarterback in this game too.

He has functional strength as a blocker, but he certainly won’t wow anyone in that department, although he does enough to survive. If Allen tests well he should certainly find himself in that mid day three range, and should make an NFL roster. 

Defensively, Clemson have three stud players, all of whom could be first round picks, but one of them Defensive Tackle Bryan Bresee was out of this game, so all eyes were on the other two…

I really like EDGE Myles Murphy – Who was highly rated in our summer scouting series.

He is bigger than most of the EDGE’s in this potential draft class, so he doesn’t possess the bend and dip of those smaller guys, but he does win with strength and quick hands consistently. This was an odd game for him, as statistically he had 1.5 sacks and a couple of pressures, but he was nullified for stretches of the game which doesn’t happen very often.

There was one pressure he went straight through the left tackle with power, and although not the level of athlete of some of the top guys, he can still win around the edge on the outside shoulder of the tackles. He is the same size (6’5 275) as last year’s number one pick Travon Walker but won’t test as well as he did, but he should be a first round lock, and possibly as high as the top ten.

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There is plenty of hype surrounding linebacker Trenton Simpson, but I’m not quite as high on him as the consensus seems to be.

There is no doubting his athletic ability as he glides around the field effortlessly, but for me there seems to be questions with instincts and that’s a concern for someone in the middle of the defense.

He has moved into a more traditional off-ball Linebacker position this season, as he was more out in the slot in 2021, so perhaps that explains some instinctual issues, but this will be his NFL position, so he needs to look better than this for the rest of the season to maintain first round status.

The old position Simpson moved from has been taken by true sophomore Barrett Carter, and this game was very much a coming out party for him. He has all the athletic ability that Simpson does, and although he doesn’t have the same size, he is a fearless player who understands his role perfectly. We could be talking about Carter in the same way we did about Simpson next season when he’ll be draft eligible.

NC State

This Wolfpack offense struggled to move the ball against Clemson, especially in the second half, as the offensive line couldn’t control the line of scrimmage. I like quarterback Devin Leary, but this game showcased his limitations.

When he has time, as he did in the first half, he can move this offense down the field nicely. What he has trouble with is coming off script and producing under pressure, which is how the second half went. I’m not sure there’s a lot of upside to him, but you can see him carving out a nice NFL career in a back-up capacity.

Leary’s most reliable target, wide receiver Thayer Thomas certainly appears to have an NFL future. Everyone needs one of these crafty slot receivers that can always get open and have safe hands, and Thomas is an excellent example of one. Not the biggest or the fastest, but he drops virtually nothing and is a consistent chain-mover. Call him a poor man’s Hunter Renfrow, who has an outside chance of going late in the draft.

Defensively NC State were very impressive at times, despite giving up 30 points. The three man defensive line has a thankless task at times, just occupying spaces and eating blockers, but these guys are excellent at doing it.

I’ve been a big defensive tackle Cory Durden fan for a long time, even back to his Florida State days he stood out to me. Now he is used exclusively as a nose tackle in their odd front, so he sees plenty of double teams and has to fight on every snap to keep lineman off him and keep in on the play.

Durden has a great get off and arm over move, which when timed right will split the double teams and get him into the backfield. His role will never offer him the chance to be statistically productive, but his value can’t be overlooked, and some NFL odd front teams should spend a day three pick on him for sure. 

The benefactors of the big guys up front are the linebackers, who can exploit the chaos and make the plays.

NC State has three good ones, all of whom could end up being drafted, but for me the highlight performer from this group against Clemson was Isaiah Moore.

He is a fifth year player who really burst onto the scene as a Freshman in 2018, but has never really kicked on. Injuries have played their part, and he missed half of last season with one, so he needed a good final year to get him back on the NFL radar, and this game tape should do that.

In this game, Moore was always around the ball and quick to react to plays developing in front of him. He is a good form tackler who wraps up nicely making sure the ball carrier gets down. Now I doubt he’ll test that well, and with the injury history to consider too he’ll be a late round pick at best, but these types of guys are always hanging around on NFL rosters.

I do love a hard hitting, play making safety, and Tanner Ingle certainly fits that bill. He flies around the field hitting anything that moves and will sacrifice his body to get in on a tackle. He is undersized for this role (5’10 185) and you’d expect that his body wouldn’t hold up in this role in the NFL, but I’m not backing against this guy as he has a bit of Tyrann Mathieu about him, and he turned out alright didn’t he?

By Keith Lucken – Follow Keith on Twitter @lordlucken

Catch the rest of Keith’s scouting notes HERE.

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Week 4 Scouting Notes, Tennessee Vs. Florida

Tennessee vs Florida

There were some big games on the week four slate, but the SEC east match up between the Volunteers and Gators seemed to be the best on paper, and it certainly didn’t disappoint, with Tennessee hanging on in the end to beat Florida 38-33. I’d seen the Gators already this season in their loss to Kentucky in week 2, but this was my first proper look at the Volunteers, and it’s clear both teams have plenty of draftable players amongst them.

We’ll start the round-up with the victorious Vols…

Tennessee

The Tennessee offense has come a long way in the 17 games Quarterback Hendon Hooker has been in control of it. Hooker was the games MVP, passing for 349 yards and two touchdowns and rushing for 112 and another score. The stats are impressive but it’s the poise and decision making that really stand out with him, he seems to be in total control and understands this offense perfectly.

There were plenty of busted coverages which led to some big chunk easy throws, but the most impressive throw was a deep sideline pass just before half-time, putting it in a place only his receiver could make the catch, showing nice arm strength and accuracy. Hooker has always been talented; he just spent three years at Virginia Tech in an offense that never let him display his passing ability. Now his skills are on full show for everyone to see, and with a wide open QB3 race, why can’t Hooker be that guy, and ultimately a first round pick?

Star wide receiver Cedric Tillman was out with an injury so Tennessee needed others to step up, and three receivers did, each showing a different skill set. Whilst Jalin Hyatt and Ramel Keyton both proved reliable targets, it was receiver Bru McCoy who stood out.

McCoy has had quite a journey so far in his college career, going back and forth between USC and Texas before ending up in Tennessee for the start of this season. McCoy was ranked as a five star, number 9 overall player in the 2019 recruiting class, but he only saw 210 snaps in his USC career due to a variety of reasons.

Flashforward to now, through four games as a Volunteer he has played 244 snaps and has found a role as a complimentary weapon in this high powered offense. He had a couple of clutch big plays against Florida, showing nice hands and power after the catch, and the talent is very clear to see. He will be draft eligible, but with Tillman off to the NFL after the season, it might be wiser to stay and build on this promising break-out year. 

Defensively the Vols played well against a dynamic quarterback, with the front seven really standing out. The cream of the crop for me was defensive tackle Omari Thomas.

He is very easy to spot in the middle as he’s so big (6’4 320lbs) but he moves so much better than someone of that size. Thomas has a powerful get off and was causing disruption all night, especially against the run. He’s not a stat filler, and his role doesn’t really allow him to produce, but he can force plays off design and change running game plans, and that is still a very valuable commodity to have in the NFL.

Late in the game, he made a big play, possibly the game clinching play, when he forced a fumble on an Anthony Richardson run deep in Tennessee territory, preserving their 10 point lead.

Thomas was a high end four star recruit (ranked 91 overall by 247 sports), but hasn’t really lived up to that billing yet, so let’s hope this is the start of some more dominant performances and he can get his name back on the NFL radar.

Edge Byron Young is on the smaller side for the position (6’3 245) but he has great speed and dip to scare the best college offensive tackles. He had two quarterback hits and five hurries in this game, so always around the action just never getting in on a sack. Young impressed me last year, which was his first season at Tennessee after spending time in the JUCO ranks, and he has carried it on so far this year too. Size and age (he is aged 24 already) will make him less appealing to the NFL, but that pass rush win rate is too impressive, especially in the SEC, to ignore completely. 

Florida

Quarterback Anthony Richardson needed a bounce back game after two bad performances against Kentucky and South Florida, and he provided it here. This is what we wanted to see from him, poised, dynamic and with plenty of big plays thrown in too. Yes, he had the costly, aforementioned fumble, but he was the reason Florida stayed in the game until the end.

Richardson put up 453 yards and two touchdowns through the air, and an extra 62 yards on the ground and two more scores. Big numbers indeed, and the stats didn’t lie here. He looked every part a high draft pick, but he’ll need to keep this level of play up and not revert to the horrible inconsistencies that plagued him in the previous two games.

He is someone that in all honesty should probably go back next year and get more experience, but that size and arm strength will have NFL teams licking their lips, and the lure may be too great to leave. A lot can happen over the next ten weeks or so, but it was good to see Richardson play at such a high level again.

Wide receiver Justin Shorter was the main beneficiary of his quarterbacks big day, reeling in seven catches for 155 yards. Shorter is a big target at 6’4 223lbs, and he uses his body well to protect the catch zone. He helped his quarterback out when he was in trouble, consistently finding space in zones to provide a target for him. He is someone that has flattered to deceive for me in the past, but if Richardson keeps up his level of play, then Shorter will have more opportunities like this to show off the skills that made him a five star recruit coming out of High School.

Florida’s defense struggled to contain Tennessee, particularly as the game wore on. I thought linebacker Ventrell Miller and safety Rashad Torrence did well, but I’ll highlight a couple of highly rated guys who disappointed here.

EDGE Brenton Cox seems to have been around forever and is someone I’ve seen plenty of times, and generally I’m a fan of, but he does have the odd negative game like this. He couldn’t muster much of a pass rush against either Tennessee offensive tackle and wasn’t a factor against the run either. He can be somewhat one dimensional as a pass rusher and there didn’t seem to be a plan B for him, which considering the amount of experience he has is slightly worrying. He has been held sackless after four games so far this season, so he needs to get back on track soon or they’ll be production questions to answer come draft time.

Right now there is a lot of hype for defensive tackle Gervon Dexter, but I’m remaining slightly more cautious than most about him. I wrote about him last season after he blew up against Alabama, but what followed was inconsistent play for the rest of the season when I saw him. Well, the same is happening again this season, as he dominated against Kentucky in week two, but was downright average here against the Vols. Dexter can be such a frustrating watch as he has all the size and traits you want, it just appears that the light isn’t always on when he plays. He reminds me physically, and style wise, of Javon Kinlaw, who suffered the same inconsistencies in college, but he ended up going 14th overall in the 2020 draft. Dexter could easily go that high if he comes out, but Kinlaw is a great example of someone who still, after three seasons in the league, still hasn’t put it all together, and wasn’t worth the lofty selection.

We can’t end on a negative, so I’ll quickly mention redshirt freshman EDGE Justus Boone, who is someone with a very bright future. He absolutely looks the part at 6’4 260, and really flashed against the run in his limited role. He handled the Offensive Tackles much better than the previously mentioned Cox, and was winning with strength and effort, which is a good sign for a youngster. He was active in the game I saw earlier against Kentucky too, so this is someone I’m tucking away ready to explore in more depth next year, when he’ll be draft eligible. 

By Keith Lucken – Follow Keith on Twitter @lordlucken

Find the rest of Keith’s scouting notes HERE

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Week 3 Scouting Notes – Texas A&M vs. Miami

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The week three slate was a bit limited in terms of quality match ups, so I went for the game with the highest rated players I haven’t seen yet, which were Miami quarterback Tyler Van Dyke and nickel/safety Antonio Johnson of Texas A&M. I’ll give my thoughts on those two below, as well as a few others who took my eye, in what turned out to be quite a defensive battle in the end.

Texas A&M

The quarterback play over the first two games of the season wasn’t good enough for the Aggies, so Jimbo Fisher pulled the plug on Haynes King and gave the reins of the offense to LSU transfer Max Johnson.

Johnson didn’t set the world alight here, but the offense looked much better than it did the previous week in their surprise loss to Appalachian State. Johnson looked composed in the pocket and showed off some wheels too on a few designed runs, and although his stat line isn’t great (10/20 for 140 yards and a touchdown with no interceptions), he looks like he has done enough to keep the job going forward. 

I was pretty high on running back Devon Achane in the summer, so I was eager to see him here against a good defense. Achane isn’t going to be an every down back in the NFL, he just doesn’t have the size to handle that kind of workload at 5’9 185. What Achane does have though is speed, and not just good speed, no, we are talking sub 10.20, 100 meter speed, which is flat out flying.

Miami held him in check pretty well, but he still carried the threat to break one on every play. It’s not just in the run game, as he has very natural hands too in the passing game, and is a danger in open space when they flare it out to him. The speed alone will make him a top 100 player, but a big season could push him into the top 64 for a team who values speed over power.

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The Aggies were without their two five-star freshman receivers for this game, as they were both suspended for breaking a curfew, so picking up the slack was the very versatile Ainias Smith. Smith only had 4 catches, but he made the most of them, stretching Miami for 74 yards and looked a threat with his limited touches. What doesn’t show up on the stat sheet is Smith’s blocking downfield ability. He isn’t the biggest at 5’10 190lbs, but he will mix it up with anyone, and was very effective in this game at springing blocks and getting extra yards for his teammates. Smith has spent time in the backfield during his career but now lives mostly in the slot, and that’s where he’ll make his money in the NFL. I seem to be higher on him then most, but I think there’s a day two player here, if some off-field concerns are cleared up by draft time.

Defensively the Aggies were excellent in this game, particularly in the secondary, and we’ll start our notes on that side of the ball with the star attraction, nickel/safety Antonio Johnson. 

Johnson is mostly lined up as a slot corner and is matched up against speedy slot receivers or hulking tight ends on virtually every play. He has the size (6’3 200lbs) to be physical with the tight ends and the speed (estimated 4.4, 40 yard dash) to keep up with the receivers. He was great here against Miami, especially when lined up against tight end Will Mallory. He is also a force in the run game, willinging throwing himself into blockers and blowing up run plays. He is a versatile defensive chess piece and will almost certainly be a first round pick in the draft.

Someone who caught my eye for the first time was cornerback Tyreek Chappell, who is a true sophomore, so not draft eligible yet. He has a very physical style of play and was sticking to the Hurricanes receivers like glue. He was smooth in phase and very competitive at the catch point, which was impressive as he isn’t the biggest. He had two pass break ups in this game, one a contested catch on a slant in man coverage, and the other was a beautiful play, coming off of his man to make a play on the ball on a different receiver down the sideline. I like the way he plays and I’ll be keeping an eye on him in the future.

Someone who seems to have been around forever is safety Demani Richardson, who has been on my safety list for the last couple of years and I’m still quite high on.   Although he only played the first quarter here, after getting ejected (questionably) for targeting, he was having a very influential game leading the back line of the defense. He is a very aggressive downhill thumping safety but can play in reverse too and cover backs and tight ends well, so he isn’t a one dimensional guy. Straight line speed may be a concern, so his 40 time will play a big part in where he ends up getting drafted.

Miami

My eyes were on star quarterback Tyler Van Dyke for the Hurricanes, who had risen up draft boards over the summer and was firmly in the mix to be QB3 on most people’s lists. Now he never made it that high on mine, but he did have a very good end to last season and you could see why he was getting plenty of summer buzz. Unfortunately, this season hasn’t started well for him and he looked out of sorts in this game too against an aggressive Aggies defense. Mechanically there’s a lot to like, he has a smooth set up and a good arm with some nice zip, but there are accuracy and decision making questions, and it’s topped off with some general inconsistencies from play to play as well, so there’s a lot of work for him to do to rescue this season. The good news is though that it’s just week three and there’s plenty of time to rebound, and if he doesn’t, he can always go back next year and try and get back up those rankings.

There really weren’t many positives for Miami offensively, but one young offensive lineman stood up well to the Aggie onslaught, while the others crumbled. Redshirt freshman guard Jalen Rivers has nice size at 6’5 325lbs and played like a veteran, rather than someone making just their sixth career start. He has strong hands and grip control to ride defenders away and looks pretty agile on the move. The size and athletic profile indicates a potential move to tackle in the future, where he could excel.

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I’ve never been high on tackle Zion Nelson, but there were still plenty of people thinking he had first round ability entering this year, but I can slam that door shut for them now. He hasn’t started the last two games and when he was on the field the same old problems were there. If you haven’t figured it out after 2452 career snaps, my guess is you never will. Not draftable in my opinion, but no doubt someone will take a chance on him at some point believing they can light his fire.

The Hurricanes did a nice job defensively in this game and their whole secondary really caught my eye. They have an impressive young safety pairing of James Williams and Kamren Kinchens, both true sophomores who look like stars in the making. Williams is massive (6’4 224lbs) but moves around effortlessly in space, whilst Kinchens has that true headhunter mentality and physical style of play that I love in a safety. 

They are for the future, but for right now, Miami has a couple of very intriguing cornerbacks in D.J Ivey and Tyrique Stevenson. Both have excellent size and length and they gave up nothing to the Texas A&M wide receivers in this game. Ivey was targeted three times but gave up zero catches and was all over receivers for the entire game. I’ve seen plenty of him over his five years at Miami, and he’s never graded overly well for me in the past, but if this game is any indication of his level of play now, then he’ll be moving up boards in no time at all. 

Stevenson is a Georgia transfer who looked good in a limited role for the Bulldogs but struggled for me last season in his first year in Miami. He was only targeted once in this game and like Ivey gave up zero catches. He has a great athletic profile and is someone who is still highly regarded, and more performances like this will justify the hype he is currently getting. 

By Keith Lucken. Follow Keith on twitter – @lordlucken

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WEEK 2 SCOUTING NOTES – Texas Vs. Alabama

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This was by far the best match up of the week 2 slate, especially from an NFL draft perspective, and although not many gave the Longhorns a chance they almost pulled off a big upset. Texas can take a lot of pride with how they responded after losing their quarterback to injury in the first half, but as usual Alabama found a way to win, even when nowhere near their best. 

Let’s start our scouting notes with the almost guys, those new look Longhorns…

Texas

Now it must be said that this was very much a defensive struggle, but before his injury, Quarterback Quinn Ewers looked every bit the phenom he’s been built up to be. He has an effortless throwing motion, a big accurate arm and led his offense with poise. This injury will knock him out for four to six weeks, which is a big shame, but let’s hope he’s back sooner rather than later. 

His replacement Hudson Card stepped in admirably, but he doesn’t have the skill set that Ewers does. He does have ability though and he was only one or two plays away from causing the upset. He will get a run of games now to show what he has, and more than likely we will see him in the transfer portal at the end of the year, as he tries to find a starting gig for the 2023 season.

The star of the Longhorn offense is undoubtedly running back Bijan Robinson. Now Alabama set up to stop him and make the quarterback(s) beat them, and they succeeded with that plan. Robinson was held to just 57 yards with a 2.7 average. That doesn’t tell the whole story though as Texas has a very inexperienced offensive line, and they had big issues against the ‘Bama front. Robinson had to feed off of scraps but what is still easy to see is how dynamic he can be. His biggest play of the game came on a wheel route, perfectly executed, for a big gain up the sideline.

Whilst the yards were tough to find on the ground in this game, and perhaps for some time to come with this young line in front of him, the talent is clear to see and he’ll remain atop most peoples running back lists, barring injury of course.

There is something special about Wide Receiver Xavier Worthy. He has the same size and skill set of DeVonta Smith, which will cause some to be wary of him, but like Smith, Worthy can take over games if targeted. He almost had an great TD laying out in the end zone, almost snagging a Ewers bomb, but he was a threat all game, going against a very talented secondary. He isn’t draft eligible yet, but his name will be a hot topic entering the 2024 draft cycle. 

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There’s a little bit of Deebo Samuel about wide receiver Jordan Whittington. He has a thick build with a strong lower half, and has some very nice YAC ability. He made a couple of impressive catches here and was a nice chain mover for the offense. He did have a bad drop too though, so there are things to work on, but he has a nice look about him and hopefully he won’t get lost with all the other weapons that this offense has.

As I mentioned earlier, the offensive line is very young, but it does have one senior on it, and that is right tackle Christian Jones. Whilst there was chaos going on all around him, Jones held up incredibly well here, especially in pass protection. He spent last year at Left Tackle and that did not go well at all, so he’s back over on the right side and looks very natural there indeed. More tape like this, especially against top pass rushers like he faced here, and his name will be moving up boards.

The biggest surprise was how the Longhorns managed to almost shut down this powerful Alabama offense. Their success started up front where their big boys challenged a new look Crimson Tide offensive line, and for the most part won their battles.

The most impressive of the front seven was the versatile senior Moro Ojomo, who spent most of his time lined up as an interior player, but has more of an EDGE size and style. Listed at 6’3 281lbs, he clearly wouldn’t be able to hold up on the inside in the NFL, but he could play a five tech/big end role no problem. He didn’t trouble the stat man much, but he did have three pressures and he was a constant pest, creating disruption at the point of attack and slowing down that fast tempo Alabama offense. 

The entire Longhorn secondary played well and limited the big plays that Alabama’s offense thrives on, and the best player for me was nickel defender Jahdae Barron. Playing that role can be a thankless task, but Barron had the look of a really smooth athlete in coverage and was a force against the run too, the perfect combination for that position. He hasn’t had a great deal of playing time in his first two seasons in Austin, but he has the starting role now and looks like he could develop into a real playmaker.

Alabama

There will be people looking at quarterback Bryce Young’s stat line and assuming he had a rough game, but in all honesty he did all he could do here. When it came down to the crunch, he led his team down the field in 90 seconds for a game winning field goal.

Yes, the stats aren’t great, but he spent a lot of time with pressure in his face, as his inexperienced offensive line was continuously exposed, and a few drops from his young wide receivers didn’t help either. Like C.J Stroud the week before, Young faced adversity and carried the team to the win, and that’s why both Quarterbacks are so highly thought of. 

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Running Back Jahmyr Gibbs has been a name on most people’s lips during summer scouting, as the former Georgia Tech runner swapped the ACC gutter for an SEC powerhouse. He’d flashed ability the last couple of years but now he has the platform to show a national audience how good he can be. He is the Crimson Tide’s number one running back, and looks every bit as good as his predecessors, including two former first round draft picks. Gibbs has an explosive running style, hitting the hole at speed and is decisive in his cuts. He is a fantastic receiving threat, displaying natural hands and route awareness, and this game he highlighted his catching ability grabbing 9 passes for 74 yards and a touchdown. Gibbs honestly reminds me of Alvin Kamara with a splash of Christian McCaffrey, and I think all 32 NFL teams would want a back like that. There’s every chance this game will have the top two running backs selected in the 2023 NFL draft, and the both could be first rounders too.

As I alluded to earlier, this isn’t the greatest looking Alabama offensive line, but a true Sophomore did stand out and looks the real deal. right tackle JC Latham was a five star prospect out of Florida, and the number three overall recruit in 2021, according to 247 sports. He looked every bit of that lofty rating, and at times reminded me of Evan Neal when he was on the right side in the 2020 season. He excelled in pass protection, using a great base to latch on and dominate defenders. He ended up bailing some of his teammates out at times and looked to have an old head on very young shoulders. You’d expect him to move over to the left side in 2023, and like Neal before him, has every chance of being a top 10 pick come the 2024 NFL draft.

The star of this defensive unit EDGE Will Anderson had a relatively quiet game by his standards, but a quiet day for this monster still resulted in five tackles, two for a loss and one sack. He is unblockable at times and can create havoc on every snap. Only right tackle Christian Jones could slow him down, but even then he still beat him a couple of times too. He is a beast and he will be a top three pick. 

I think Linebacker Henry To’o To’o is a bit overrated and he didn’t do anything in this game to change my mind. I see a lot of athletic ability but he takes so many false steps on run plays that he can’t recover and lanes open up on him. I can’t get on board with this first round talk, to me he is an early day three player.


The best player for me defensively in this game was defensive lineman Byron Young. He was a run stuffing machine and was the main reason that Bijan Robinson had so little room to work with. He has violent hands that keep his chest clean and his quick twitch gets him into space to blow up plays. He is a bit undersized to play inside full time, and Alabama uses him over the tackle in their odd front a fair bit as well, and this is probably where he’ll play at the next level. He hasn’t graded this highly for me before, so this level of play will need to remain if he wants to climb the list and into the mid rounds.

By Keith Lucken – Follow Keith on Twitter @lordlucken

Links for Keiths previous scouting notes; Week 0, Week 1.

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Week 1 Scouting Notes – Ohio State vs. Notre Dame

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This was the biggest match up of the week 1 slate, and from a scouting perspective this game was loaded with high end prospects. Both teams struggled with early season rustiness but Ohio State put together a strong second half to see off the Irish 21-10. I’ve got a few notes for all of you on how all the top players did and throw in a couple of guys who surprised me too. We’ll start with the victorious Buckeyes…

Ohio State

All eyes were on potential number 1 overall pick Quarterback C.J Stroud and star Wide Receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba (both of whom made our Preseason All-Conference team), but unfortunately we lost Smith-Njigba early in the first quarter to a hamstring problem. He did come back later in the half but clearly wasn’t right and was left on the sidelines after that.

The initial report is he’ll miss a couple of weeks, which isn’t a disaster for him, especially as those games will be against Arkansas State and Toledo.

Stroud had a difficult first half, with Notre Dame containing him well and then losing his top target, you could see him becoming frustrated. He was totally different in the second half and looked much more like his usual self, taking control of the offense and improvising when needed. This was a big early test for him and he showed he could cope with in-game adjustments and dealing with adversity well. 

With Smith-Njigba out Ohio State needed some pass catchers to step up and two did in Wide Recievers Marvin Harrison Jr. and  Emeka Egbuka. Harrison looks tall and lengthy and made a couple of nice key catches when needed. Obviously the pedigree is there with his Dad (former Colts legend, Marvin Harrison Sr.) being a Hall of Famer so there will be a lot of expectation on his shoulders going forward, but this was a nice start for him.

Egbuka was Stroud’s top target in the game and he looked very comfortable in that role. He wasn’t used to stretch the field, as they had him running shallow routes and picking up boundary work, but he looked smooth in space and displayed some nice safe hands. These two will become the focal point of the passing attack whilst JSN is out, and it appears to be in pretty good hands, pun intended…

The Offensive Line wasn’t very good last year, although they received plenty of hype. This year’s version seemed to have some question marks, but on the first showing of the season, against a top ten quality team, they came through with flying colours. I’m really high on Offensive Tackle Paris Johnson Jr. who has moved over from guard to take the coveted left tackle position and he had a nice debut there. He did get beat on the outside a couple of times in pass protection, but considering the level of opponent and the new position switch, he handled himself very well and this will be the benchmark he’s set for the rest of the year. Right tackle Dawand Jones graded as the best Lineman for me on the day. Jones is absolutely massive (6’8, 350lbs) but plays with much better agility than you’d expect for someone that size. This was a big test and he was dominant, particularly in pass protection, which again for a man that huge is a big arrow upwards. He has the ability to be an Orlando Brown type and that’s pretty high praise.

I also have offensive guard Matthew Jones graded highly on last year’s games watched and he enjoyed a good start to the season here too. An under the radar guy now, but if this offensive line gels like I think they can, he will move up boards.

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Defensively, Ohio State had Notre Dame’s number, all bar one big pass play in the first quarter. There were plenty of stand out performances on all three levels of the defense but we’ll start with Safety Ronnie Hickman. Hickman spends most of his time in the box and is a very aggressive run filler, flying downhill to hit runners. For all his aggressiveness he is a sound tackler too, which isn’t a thing you always see. He has good size, quick feet and this is his second year as a starter. He graded pretty well for me last year, so he is definitely on my radar now.

Linebacker Tommy Eichenberg really impressed me with his violent style of play. He was consistently around the ball and like Hickman is a fantastic tackler. He only started four games last year and didn’t grade great for me, but this is an impressive start and I’ll certainly be keeping my eye on him going forward.

His partner in crime in the middle of the defense is former running back turned Linebacker Steele Chambers. He looks super athletic, which is not surprising given his previous position, and you’d expect him to get better and better with the more reps he gets in his new role. He will be an intriguing player if he does declare for the 2023 NFL Draft.

Defensive Tackle Michael Hall, who is not draft eligible, had some real standout flashes here. He was quick off the snap, had strong hands and showed some nice ability to work in space. They lined him up all along the defensive line and he had success wherever he went. One for the future for sure, but certainly a name worth noting.

Notre Dame

I’m sure the offensive game plan for the Irish was to grind the clock and keep that explosive Ohio State offense off the field, which to a certain extent they did, but it didn’t make for exciting viewing. The star attraction for Notre Dame offensively is Tight End Michael Mayer, who most consider TE1 and a first round lock. This game certainly won’t go down as one to show scouts as he was largely ineffective, only showcasing his great hands on one catch that he plucked out of the air. Even on that play he ended up fumbling and was lucky the ball bounced straight back to him. Ohio State stuck cornerback Cameron Brown on him all game, and this really limited his effectiveness as a receiver, and will surely be copied by other teams they face going forward. How he deals with this kind of attention will be interesting to see as the season goes on.

Notre Dame defensively in the first half were excellent, never allowing Stroud time to settle and limiting his off script plays. The second half was a different story though and the Irish were exposed, particularly at cornerback, where one guy really struggled.

I was quite high on Cornerback Cam Hart going into this season but he had a bit of a shocker here. He is a big corner at 6’3, 200lbs and whilst the size is impressive he looked very clunky in transitions and really struggled locating the ball when he did get in position. He gave up a touchdown and had a pass interference call against him, and he was targeted often by the Buckeyes who had obviously singled him out as a weak link. This game will hurt him, but he has size and length you can’t teach, which means he’ll still be highly regarded in the NFL world.

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The biggest name for the Irish defensively is EDGE Isaiah Foskey. Notre Dame used him all over the place last year, which was frustrating for the evaluation process as we didn’t get to see him all the time in what will be his NFL position. Off of what we saw in this game, it looks like the Irish have ditched that plan and are exclusively using him as a pure EDGE. Now while that’s good for us, it wasn’t so good for Foskey, who struggled to have any type of influence on the game and was limited to just one pressure. The two offensive tackles from Ohio State that he went up against could both be top 50 players come draft time, so this isn’t doom and gloom yet, but we need a good bounce back game or two, as this will be a talented EDGE group come draft time, and he needs to keep his name in that first or second tier of guys.

Safety Brandon Joseph came over from Northwestern as a high level transfer, albeit coming off a disappointing Sophomore campaign with the Wildcats. He had a good solid debut here looking strong in the tackle, which was a weakness on last year’s tape, and limiting the effectiveness of the big plays over the middle, which is a staple of the Buckeyes offense. The one play he wasn’t roaming the backend they blitzed him, and Stroud threw right behind him, exploiting the single coverage he left behind for a Touchdown. Not his fault at all, just a good demonstration of C.J Stroud’s understanding of the game. 

By Keith Lucken, follow Kieth on Twittter @LordLucken