Week 2 of the 2017 college football season offered much to the scouting community, especially with the focus on the highly regarded Quarterback class. The focus of this article is to highlight players who are showing skills to improve their draft status or players whose performance negatively impacts their draft status.
STOCK UP:
1. KELLY BRYANT - QB - 6-2 215 - JR. - Clemson - after taking over the QB reigns with the departure of Clemson's greatest player of all time in Deshawn Watson, it would be hard to detect a drop off from a talent perspective as Bryant has had two outstanding games to start the 2017 season. From dropping deep passes in the bucket to completing short and intermediate throws in addition to scoring TDs with his legs on designed running plays against Auburn, he appears to have it all at this point and it will be interesting to see how he compares to the other top QBs as the season progresses.
2. RAY RAY MCCLOUD - WR or SLOT - 5-9 180 - JR. - Clemson - after fumbling early in the Auburn game he proceeded to make some outstanding catches. And how he is significant and to be added to this Stock Up report is that the Clemson coaching staff tinkered with the idea of making him a DB, either because they were short at that position or had given up on him as a WR. Prior to this season he had mostly been used as a KR-PR so to see him receive extended playing time against a quality opponent (Auburn) and make some outstanding plays, including making an over the shoulder sideline catch and catching a slant and both with his hands, is significant as this former 5 star recruit has elite speed and return ability to go with his improved play.
3. TANNER FARMER - GUARD - 6-4 305 - JRr - Nebraska - in the Oregon game Farmer stood out. He has good quickness off the snap, hip roll, leverage and pop in his blocks but where he stands out from so many other offensive lineman is that he can adjust on Pass Protection to the moves of his opponent. And while I haven't projected into a Day 1 or Day 2 prospect just yet, he has improved his draft status. He is a former wrestling state champ who didn't play football at Nebraska in 2015 as he opted for the wrestling team. He has bench pressed 225 pounds 33 times, which would be very good at the Combine and with this background is certainly a player to watch as the season progresses.
4. BAKER MAYFIELD - QB - 6-0 218 - SRr - Oklahoma - the question with him has always been that he is probably under 6 feet tall but his play against Ohio State and the previous week against UTEP has to make NFL teams give more consideration to his draft status. Against the Buckeyes he completed his last 14 passes and led the Sooners to 490 yards of offense and it has been said that one of his strengths is that he has "a can do attitude." Completing a very high percentage of his passes to his ability to escape the rush and extend plays and make positive results out of negative situations has drawn comparisons to Johnny Manziel. He has to be one of the best in the nation with his ability to improvise, although Lamar Jackson and Sam Darnold might have a say in that matter.
STOCK DOWN:
1. J. T. BARRETT - QB - 6-1 220 - SRr - Ohio State - in the 31 - 16 loss to Oklahoma the same old issues reappear and that is J.T.’s poor accuracy, inefficiency and ineffectiveness. When he is kept in the pocket the Buckeyes do not have a productive offense.
2. MIKE McGLINCHEY - LT- 6-7 315 - SRr - Notre Dame - with Georgia leading the Irish 20 -19 with under 2 minutes to go, the Irish had the ball and a chance to move downfield for an attempted Field Goal but McGlinchey gave up a sack to Georgia's edge rusher Davin Bellamy forcing a fumble by the QB, which Georgia recovered and ended any chance for ND to pull out a victory.
3. BRADEN SMITH - GUARD - 6-5 303 - SR. - Auburn - while Smith is a candidate for 1st Team All SEC honors this year and has some good elements to his game, such as being a good drive blocker who also moves pretty well, there are times when he plays too high and doesn't stay with his blocks. But the main reason that he has his Stock Down is that he is unable to adjust on Pass Protection, which allows for Sacks. And while I don't want to single out Smith for the Clemson game as the whole OL played poorly with the QB being sacked 11 times, this negative aspect of his game could impact his draft status. Since Smith has really built himself up and is known for his strength in the weight room, it may be that he is muscle bound which has limited his flexibility and agility.
NOTES:
1) JOSHUA JACKSON - CB - 6-1 192 - JRr - Iowa - he was included in the Stock Up group after Week 1 in this column and he continued his fine play in Week 2 against Iowa State. A virtual unknown before this season as he had only one start prior to 2017, he has emerged as one of the top 5 cornerbacks in the country and adds additional value as a Punt Returner.
2) DRE'MONT JONES - DT - 6-2 295 - SOPHr - Ohio State - he too has had two very good weeks and in the Buckeyes loss to Oklahoma he was a force as he gets up field pressure on the QB. A very good player but since only a Redshirt Sophomore, we can only speculate as to whether he will declare for the draft. Either way, he has already improved his draft stock.
3) UCHENNA NWOSU - EDGE RUSHER - 6-2 240 - SRr - USC and 0GBONNIA OKORONKWO - OLB - 6-1 242 - SR. - Oklahoma - are both making their presence felt with their pass rushing skills and bear continued watching as the season progresses. NWOSU has increased his weight from 210 to 240 while also increasing his production.
QUARTERBACK ROUNDUP
1) SAM DARNOLD - QB - 6-3 220 - SOr - USC - in the 12 games that he has started, the Trojans have surpassed 400 yards of offense and, in the win over Stanford, he continued with his pinpoint passing and continued performing miracles on broken plays, which must leave the opposition coaches just shaking their heads. His Interceptions are up from last year, but he still continues to perform at a high level.
2) JOSH ALLEN - QB - 6-5 222 - JRr - Wyoming - had decent stats against Gardner-Webb but has Oregon this coming week and that will be a better gauge of his ability, although Oregon is a much better team than Wyoming.
3) JOSH ROSEN - QB - 6-5 230 - JR. - UCLA - had another terrific outing in the win over Hawaii. He displays a quick release, strong arm, ball placement and goes to his 2nd or 3rd reads.
4) MASON RUDOLPH - QB - 6-4 230 - SR. - Oklahoma State - while most would consider his performance against South Alabama as outstanding following an outstanding performance the previous week against Tulsa, there is some inconsistency to his game that is disturbing. Comments from the South Alabama team were "best QB we've ever seen" and "most explosive offense that we've seen." That may be true, but what is apparent is after making many terrific throws he will uncork some throws that leave you wondering where they came from.
5) LAMAR JACKSON - QB - 6-2 212 - JR. - Louisville - with a really quick release and strong arm, Jackson had to improve his accuracy and passing from the pocket skills and after two games has demonstrated improvement in these areas. His ability to avoid the rush and his running skills are undeniable so continued improvement during the year will elevate his draft status significantly as he will be considered a Michael Vick with better passing skills.
6) LUKE FALK - QB - 6-4 225 - SRr - Washington State - despite having a good passing percentage, Falk was benched for one series by Head Coach Mike Leach for not being decisive. He returned to the game and was injured.
7) JARRETT STIDHAM - QB - -2 214 - SOr - Auburn - had a difficult time against Clemson as he was sacked 11 times. And while he had little chance to perform as he was under pressure for most of the game, there were a couple of times that he should have thrown the ball away rather than take a sack, which would have saved some real estate and avoided taking the extra hits.
