In a blur of upsets and great finishes week #2 of the College Football season is in the books and Matt MacCoy, War Room Report Analyst and Lead Offensive Scout takes a look back at the noteworthy performances from this past weekend’s games and who’s stock might be “rising”, “falling”, or who’s stock remains “status quo”:
Before I get to the evaluation of week #2 and the stock of many pro prospects I have a few things I would like to get off my chest:
- If I hear this question posed one more time on one of ESPN’s tiring, re-tread shows ala “Cold Pizza” or “First and 10”, or whatever they are calling the monstrosity now I’m going to jump through my TV set and strangle Skip Bayless—the question being which Head Coach is under more pressure: Charlie Weis or Lloyd Carr? I am far from a genius, but I think I know an illogical question when I hear one. The Michigan Wolverines entered into the 2007 season with a 4-year starting senior QB Chad Henne, senior RB Mike Hart, and All-American offensive tackle Jake Long returning to make one more run at a Big Ten title and a possible National Championship only to lose to Division I-AA Appalachian State in one of the biggest upsets in college football history, and turn around a week later and get destroyed by Oregon 39-6, both games in the “Big House.” The Notre Dame Fighting Irish entered the 2007 season hoping for a winning season and possible bowl game appearance. They lost their QB Brady Quinn, RB Darius Walker, their top two options at WR Jeff Samardjiza and Rhema McKnight, top offensive lineman Ryan Harris, and top defensive lineman DE Victor Abiamiri. They are now starting a true freshman at QB in Jimmy Clausen, and while he has a very bright future, it is anticipated that he will struggle early. They lost to a respectable Georgia Tech team, and then in Happy Valley against Penn State. The major difference here is expectations—the Wolverines were gunning for a National Title, the Irish are in an obvious rebuilding season, and both teams have produced the same results. The Wolverines are the far more disappointing team, and following the 2007 season Charlie Weis will still have his job, the same I can not say for one Lloyd Carr.
- If you went to bed early Saturday night you missed a thrilling ending to the Auburn vs. South Florida game. As I was watching the game one thought kept ringing through my head: “I don’t believe I have ever seen a game where one team tried to give away the game to this extent, while the other team refused to take it from them.” If you missed it, let me briefly recap—the Auburn Tigers converted only 2/13 on 3rd down conversions, all while turning the ball over FIVE times to South Florida. South Florida took the ball in turn, got into scoring range only for place kicker Delbert Alvarado to miss FOUR field goals. It was one of those jaw-dropping games where you just couldn’t believe what you were seeing. From a prospect point of view Brandon Cox is too shaky to make it to the next level, and is lucky there isn’t a suitable backup QB waiting in the wings or he would lose his starting job. Matt Grothe, who is only a sophomore, has got “it”. The coaching staff seemed to lose confidence in every player on the field besides Grothe at the end of the game. He is only 6’0 and 200 pounds, but he has some leadership qualities you have to like in a young QB. He needs some work, but he reminds me of a young Drew Brees.
Now that I got that off my chest, let’s move on to the up and down world that is “The Prospect Stock Market”:
RISING:
DeSean Jackson WR California: If you haven’t caught on that Jackson is the most exciting player in America you don’t have a pulse. On a day when his QB Nate Longshore wasn’t at his best, Jackson did it again with a 73-yard RUSHING TD. Yes critics, he is still undersized, but if that is your only concern, than you’re missing out. He will be a playmaker at the next level, I am sold on this.
Oklahoma Sooners: They thoroughly dominated the University of Miami (FL) on Saturday and put the rest of College Football on notice that this team is dangerous. I was very impressed with the Offensive Line of the Sooners who handled DE Calais Campbell and Co. pretty well up front; it will be interesting if any top-notch prospects emerge from this group. I was also very impressed with the Sooners’ pair of wide receivers Malcolm Kelly and Juaquin Iglesias. Iglesias may be the 2007 version of Anthony Gonzalez, he may be overshadowed by his teammate Kelly, but he is precise route runner and might workout very well and his stock might “rise”. Malcolm Kelly is very smooth and seems to make plays effortlessly; if I had to make a comparison to a player at the next level he reminds me a lot of Javon Walker.
LSU Tigers: I apologize to the entire state of Louisiana; I vastly underrated the LSU Tigers. After watching their first game this season I thought the play calling was too conservative and would bite them against Virginia Tech, oh how I was wrong. LSU has speed all over the field and will cause match-up problems for virtually every team they will encounter in 2007. Early Doucet stretches the field and the defense has to respect his speed up top, and in doing so leaves gapping holes for the Tigers other offensive weapons. All the props in the world to LSU, however, I still don’t see them in the National Championship. The lack of a ‘true’ #1 tailback and the blistering schedule they will have to endure in the SEC makes it very difficult for me to believe they will go unbeaten. They might be the 2nd best team in the country, but I don’t think they will make it to their ultimate goal.
South Carolina Gamecocks: Steve Spurrier took his his South Carolina squad on the road in the SEC and beat a legit top 15 team. This is noteworthy in itself, and why some believe it is preposterous to think that South Carolina can win the SEC, no one gave Duke a chance to win the ACC either and Spurrier succeeded in that venture as well.
Tashard Choice RB Georgia Tech: He was playing against Samford this week and hung 110 and 2 touchdowns on them before being taken out of the game, but the week before he rushed for 196 yards and 2 touchdowns against Notre Dame. He isn’t very flashy, and is floating under the radar somewhat, but if he continues to produce at this rate he won’t be under the radar for long.
Dennis Dixon QB Oregon: He is not much of a pro prospect at this point, in fact he is probably a future major league baseball player, but how can you not be impressed by his performance in Ann Arbor last Saturday. He looked like Vince Young in the Rose Bowl, he dominated with his arm, and then with his legs. If the baseball thing doesn’t work out, he could become a later round draft pick in the NFL.
Chase Daniel QB Missouri: The competition thus far has not had the stingiest of defenses (Illinois and Ole Miss), but you have to be impressed with Daniel’s productivity and versatility. He is on pace for approximately 4,400 total yards and 48 touchdowns in the regular season. He is another prospect listed just at 6’0, so that is a major cause for concern, but he is a prospect to keep your eyes on at the very least.
Jamaal Charles RB Texas: Jamaal Charles is currently ranked 5th on the War Room Report running back rankings, higher than most other publications, and for good reason. He has an exceptional initial burst and above average build and his production is showing up so far in the 2007 season. The TCU front seven is as tough as they come in college football and Charles averaged 6.1 yards per carry on Saturday rushing for 134 yards and a TD in the effort. The Longhorns don’t really focus Charles in the offense, so his numbers may never be eye-popping, but rest assured he is a very solid prospect.
James Hardy WR Indiana: Coming into the 2007 season it was a question mark whether James Hardy was even going to be able to play early on due to injury. Well, he has played and has only recorded six catches, but he has made the most out of them, turning those six catches into FOUR touchdowns and a 30.0 yard average. As the season progresses you will see more catches and consistency from Hardy, but he is a home run threat if nothing more.
STATUS QUO:
Brian Brohm QB Louisville: Another 400 yards passing a 4 touchdowns. Still the consensus #1 overall selection in my view, and he might be garnering some Heisman momentum.
Ray Rice RB Rutgers: He is what he is, one of the most reliable running backs in the collegiate game today.
Steve Slaton RB West Virginia: West Virginia got away from what they like to do in the first half and got themselves into trouble. You know what you are WVU, you want to run the ball with Slaton and White. Run the ball with your two studs, roll them up in bubble wrap after every game, avoid either getting injured, and you’ll be in the National Championship game. Slaton took over the game in the 2nd half on Saturday; his end game stats were 146 yards and 2 touchdowns.
Calais Campbell DE Miami (FL) and Kenny Phillips S Miami (FL): Both players made a few solid plays, but Oklahoma hung 51 points on your defense. Two top-flight pro prospects should step up their game and not allow this to happen, and obviously this did not occur. Their draft status doesn’t change following this game, but it is something to keep an eye on as the season progresses.
Curtis Painter QB Purdue: Is he a product of the system? He has an NFL ready body, the size scouts look for, and so there is debate here. Workouts will be of most importance for Painter.
Matt Ryan QB Boston College: Another solid performance by Ryan. I don’t see any glaring weaknesses. I am really interested to see how he does against some better defenses.
Andre Woodson QB Kentucky: Another guy who has an excellent chance to impress when he gets into the heart of the SEC schedule. He doesn’t make mistakes either, doesn’t throw interceptions, and seems completely at ease with the offense at UK.
Colt Brennan QB Hawaii: Almost 1,000 yards passing in two games and a 10:1 TD: INT ratio is excellent, but more impressively is that they gutted out a tough victory on Saturday against Louisiana Tech.
FALLING:
Sam Keller QB Nebraska: He is just too inconsistent for my liking. Some plays he looks great, some he looks as if he has no idea what is going on out there. He is beginning to remind me a lot of Kyle Boller, and this is not a good thing. This was a big year for Keller to impress the scouts, and there is still time, but his biggest problem is consistency, if this doesn’t improve almost nothing else will matter.
Ohio State Buckeyes: Yes, the good news is they are off to a 2-0 start, but anyone who watched last weeks game against Akron can tell you that there is just something wrong with this team. Whether it is the lack of a passing game or the fact that they are just missing so many parts from their offense a year ago, this is not a good football team NOW, but with such a soft early schedule they have time to iron some things out.
Michigan Wolverines: You know the story, you have seen the games, and you draw your own conclusion.
Boise State Broncos: The Broncos lost and broke their winning streak on Saturday. Ian Johnson couldn’t get anything going with the running game, and they just didn’t seem to be in sync all day.
Virginia Tech’s Defense: Vince Hall and Co. disappointed Saturday. The Hokies were beaten in every facet of the game, even in their forte of defense and special teams.
PJ Hill RB Wisconsin: I might be too critical of PJ Hill, but then again I wasn’t the one telling everyone who would listen how he had slimmed down and was going to be more explosive. He ran for 147 yards on Saturday night, and while that is all well and good the productivity from Hill has never been the question mark, the quickness and initial burst has been and I might be the only person in America who is so critical of him, but in two games, I have yet to see it.
This entry was posted
on Tuesday, September 11th, 2007 at 7:03 pm and is filed under Chad Henne, Andre Woodson, Colt Brennan, Desean Jackson, 2008 NFL Draft, Brian Brohm, College Football.
You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.
You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
