This section breaks down many college football games each week and highlights how 2014 NFL Draft Prospects have performed. Or look at the 2014 NFL Draft Stock page.
By Charlie Campbell.
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Arizona State 32, Wisconsin 30
Sun Devils senior Will Sutton is one of the top defensive tackle prospects in the country. He had a prolific campaign getting after the quarterback last year, racking up 13 sacks and 24.5 tackles for a loss. The undersized Sutton made a wise decision to return for his senior year as he reportedly played 2012 in the 270-280s. This year his weight is said to be up to 300 pounds, so it is interesting to see if Sutton would lose some of his speed due to the weight gain.
The power-rushing attack of the Wisconsin Badgers would be a good test of Sutton’s run defense. Early in the first quarter, the seniors had a speed rush that almost beat the right guard, but he was able to disengage from the block and hit the quarterback after he stepped up in the pocket. Sutton was often double-teamed by the Badgers during the night.
Sutton went down with an injury during the third quarter after taking a helmet to the thigh. He spent some time on the sideline before returning to the game. There were plays on which Wisconsin took advantage of Sutton’s aggressiveness by letting him get upfield in order go through his gap. He totaled only one tackle in this contest. It came in the fourth quarter in front of the goal line when Sutton shed a block to stuff the back. Late in the game, he burned the right guard and drew a holding penalty in what could have been a sack without the hold.
The outing against the Badgers showed that Sutton can still serve as a speed-rusher. He has a great get-off and the ability to fire his gap to get penetration in the backfield. For the NFL, Sutton would fit best as a three-technique defensive tackle in a 4-3 defense. Overall thought, the senior didn’t have a real impact in this game. This wasn’t a train wreck performance, but it won’t help his bid to be a first-round pick in the 2014 NFL Draft.
The most impressive prospect on display was Wisconsin junior running back Melvin Gordon. The 6-foot-1, 207-pounder was electric against Arizona State. He showed off tremendous speed with the ability to score on any reception.
To start his night, Gordon had a nice run on a jet sweep for 19 yards. He ripped off another long run when he went up the middle and bounced to the outside for a gain of over 30 yards. On the first play from scrimmage in the second half, Gordon took a jet sweep around the left side and exploded down the field for an 80-yard touchdown.
Gordon showed some toughness in the fourth quarter by running over a cornerback at the line of scrimmage and darting upfield for 10 yards. He added another touchdown on a short run later in the second half. The junior totaled 193 yards on 15 carries with two scores. Gordon’s averaging 12.9 yards per carry so far this year. He averaged 10 yards per carry as a sophomore backup. Gordon doesn’t look like a traditional Big 10 plodding running back. He has serious speed and is off to a breakout year after backing up Montee Ball for two seasons.
Two other running back prospects are worth mentioning. Arizona State senior Marion Grice had a good game and found the end zone four times against the Badgers. He ran for 84 yards on 22 carries. Grice (6-0, 204) is a sleeper back worth monitoring.
Wisconsin’s James White was the primary backup to Ball and now it looks like he’ll be the secondary option to Gordon. White ran for 45 yards on 12 carries. The 5-foot-10, 197-pounder could end up being a third-day pick in the 2014 NFL Draft or signing on as an undrafted free agent.
A potential second-day pick is Badgers wide receiver Jared Abbrederis. The speedy 6-foot-2, 188-pounder showed off some great blocks on Gordon’s long runs. Abbrederis also made plays as a wide out and was open for more receptions, but wasn’t thrown the ball.
Abbrederis ran a couple of nice routes with quickness out of his break on out-route completions. He had another sizable completion on a double move down the middle of the field. Abbrederis doesn’t get a lot of recognition, but he could be a steal on the second or third day of the 2014 NFL Draft as a slot receiver who could potentially stretch the field.
South Carolina 35, Vanderbilt 25
After some rocky performances to start the year, South Carolina defensive end Jadeveon Clowney had his best game of the season against Vanderbilt. His conditioning and effort looked better against the Commodores as he made some big plays.
Early on, Vanderbilt was clearly running away from Clowney. He got his night started in the second quarter when he chipped in a tackle as a run came his direction. Clowney showed nice recognition skills to drop into the flat and force an incompletion on a screen pass.
Clowney came close to a sack with a speed rush around the right tackle in the third quarter. A few plays later, Clowney burned the right tackle for a sack-fumble. He jabbed to the inside and used a swim move to get free. Clowney then closed on the signal-caller in an instant and showed developed hand usage to slap the ball out while making the tackle. The Gamecock recovered the loose ball and it came at a critical time as the Commodores were close to points.
In the fourth quarter, Clowney was blasted to his knees by a pulling guard, but he still was able to help drag down the quarterback who was running up the middle on a draw. Clowney made a touchdown-saving tackle on Wesley Tate inside the 10-yard line a short time later. Clowney chased down Tate and tried to rip the ball out, but the running back held on. Vanderbilt took advantage of Clowney’s aggressiveness by letting him get upfield and going through his gaps for gains.
Clowney finished the game with a handful of tackles to go along with his strip-sack. It was the junior’s best performance of the year and illustrated his lightning-fast burst off the snap, amazing speed and strength to shed blocks. This tape should help Clowney’s cause after a disappointing start to his much anticipated 2013 season.
The attention paid to Clowney help set up his teammates. South Carolina defensive end Chaz Sutton had two sacks on some impressive rushes. This tape should help him.
Commodores senior wide receiver Jordan Matthews has started the season well, so the Gamecocks made a concentrated effort to limit him. Matthews caught a 30-yarder just before halftime by slashing through the secondary. To start the third quarter, he ran a nice route to get open in the middle of the field for a gain of about 20. Vanderbilt made a nice adjustment on those plays by lining Matthews up in the slot to make it harder for South Carolina to double-team him.
Matthews caught eight passes for 106 yards versus the Gamecocks. He is a polished receiver who runs good routes, has reliable hands and uses his size well. Matthews also has some run-after-the-catch ability, but it looks like he lacks the speed to be a true No. 1 receiver in the NFL. Matthews’ first step isn’t explosive and he doesn’t fire off the snap. Matthews doesn’t have the speed to stretch a NFL defense vertically. He looks like a possession receiver and could be a solid second-day pick in the 2014 NFL Draft.
Vanderbilt senior cornerback Andre Hal has played well in 2013 and had a strong opener versus Ole Miss’ talented wide receiver Donte Moncrief. Against South Carolina, Hal started well when he was able to slap the ball out of the hands of a receiver on a deep pass. It was an impressive play to break up the pass on nearly a big play for the Gamecocks. On the next snap, Hal gave up too much cushion and was lucky the pass was off the mark for an incompletion.
South Carolina’s Shaq Roland beat Hal on a deep out in the third quarter for a gain of about 15. Hal made a clutch open-field tackle on a tight end later on the drive. On a pass in man coverage on an out route, he had excellent coverage to slap a pass away for an incompletion. This tape shouldn’t hurt or help Hal significantly.
Vanderbilt senior safety Kenny Ladler hasn’t looked as strong in 2013 as he did last year. He was beaten on a crossing route in the back of the end zone for a touchdown. It looked like a mental mistake from Ladler as he let the receiver keep running rather than picking him up. There weren’t any other receivers in Ladler’s range either. He later had a potential touchdown-saving tackle on a ball-carrier along the sideline. He made a lot of tackles. If Ladler didn’t make the play to limit the gain to about 10 yards, it could have been a score for the Gamecocks. Ladler looks like a potential mid-rounder for the 2014 NFL Draft.
Oregon 59, Tennessee 14
Tennessee inside linebacker A.J. Johnson is one of the top linebacker prospects in college football and he was in store for a huge test against Oregon’s elite point machine. Redshirt sophomore quarterback Marcus Mariota, junior running back De’Anthony Thomas and senior wide receiver Josh Huff are all explosive talents for the NFL. Oregon tight end Colt Lyerla was out of the game with an illness. While Johnson played hard, the Ducks’ offense was too much for the Volunteers to handle with a weak secondary.
Mariota go Oregon going a few minutes into the first quarter by lofting in a great throw along the sideline for a gain of 38 yards. A couple plays later, he took off on a run of 20 yards. Mariota threw a good pass in the flat for a touchdown to Thomas on a fourth-and-goal, but it was called back on a Oregon penalty. After settling for a field goal, Mariota got the ball in the end zone on the next drive when he rolled and drilled a pass to wide open tight end John Mundt.
Mariota hit Mundt for a gain of 57 yards on the next drive. It was a great run by the freshman tight end. That set up Mariota for a short touchdown run. The sophomore signal-caller threw another rope between defenders down the middle of the field to Josh Huff. Oregon scored again as Mariota hit Huff (6-125) on a deep slant for a long touchdown. Mariota hit another wide open receiver for an easy touchdown on the next drive. Mariota finished his afternoon during the third quarter having gone 23-of-33 for 456 yards with four touchdowns. This tape should help both Huff and Mariota in the draft.
The speed of De’Anthony Thomas burned Tennessee on a number of plays where the junior took away angles. Late in the second quarter, he darted down the field with a 28-yard touchdown run. Thomas moved the ball consistently on the ground. He ran for 92 yards on 14 carries with a 29-yard reception. Thomas helped himself against the Volunteers.
A.J. Johnson showed his speed by getting to the sideline to get a hard hit on Thomas and force him out of bounds for a gain of only one yard. Throughout the game, Johnson showed off impressive range. Howeverm he occasionally over-pursued and was washed out on a few plays. The Oregon offense spreads out the defense, which left Johnson largely neutralized. Overall, this tape shouldn’t help or hurt Johnson significantly.
Tennessee defensive tackle Daniel McCullers is considered to be a potential second-day pick in the 2014 NFL Draft. In the first quarter, Thomas was swallowed up by McCullers for a short gain. McCullers was quiet after that play as the Ducks’ offense stretched the field and kept him from making an impact. This tape won’t help McCullers.
Volunteers left tackle Antonio Richardson is a first-round talent. He had a good game with one exception. Richardson was beaten by Taylor Hart as he split the gap between Richardson and the guard. Richardson looked to the outside and was slow to pick up Hart. At that point, Hart had leverage and chased down the quarterback who held onto the ball too long. Richardson was solid after that. He won his blocks and showed a good combination of quickness, athleticism and strength. This performance shouldn’t have a big impact on Richardson’s draft stock.
Alabama 49, Texas A&M 42
There was a ton of talent on display in the much anticipated game between Texas A&M and Alabama. It was a battle of two quarterback prospects with Heisman Trophy winner Johnny Manziel going against the Crimson Tide’s senior signal-caller A.J. McCarron. Last year, Manziel and the Aggies upset Alabama at home and that was the Crimson Tide’s only loss in the team’s National Championship repeat. Manziel had the challenge of going against some future NFL players in Alabama linebacker C.J. Mosley, defensive end Ed Stinson, defensive end Jeoffrey Pagan, safety HaHa Clinton-Dix and safety Vinnie Sunseri.
Manziel used the first two plays of the game to strike quickly. He ran for 10 yards and then lofted in a nice pass for about 25 yards to Mike Evans. Two plays later, the Aggies went down the sideline for a huge gain of 42 yards to Evans, who beat cornerback John Fulton with an acrobatic sideline catch. Manziel finished the drive by rolling out for an easy throw to a wide open tight end for a touchdown. Manziel was three-for-three with some perfectly placed passes.
On the next possession, Manziel ran for over 20 yards on two plays. He then threw a perfect bullet to Evans running along the sideline after he got a step on cornerback Cyrus Jones. The gain was another big play of over 20 yards to set up a short touchdown run by Ben Malena.
Manziel scrambled around on the next drive to hit Evans for a gain of 30. The big wide out did a great job of coming back to his quarterback to get open.
In the second quarter on a third-and-8, Pagan beat left tackle Jake Matthews to try to sack Manziel, but the slippery quarterback got out of his grasp. Manziel then threw a Hail Mary to avoid a sack from Mosley and had a receiver make a miraculous catch. A few plays later, Manziel made another questionable decision, though this one came back to bite him. He threw a poorly placed ball up for grabs. Cyrus Jones chased it down for an interception in the end zone. Manziel should have thrown to Evans, his 6-foot-5 receiver, on a play like that. It was a crushing mistake as the Aggies’ defense was helpless and Texas A&M needed to keep pace.
Manziel had another bad decision early in the third quarter. He threw to a perfectly covered receiver in triple coverage. The ball was deflected in the air and intercepted by Sunseri. The gritty safety had a great return weaving through players and bouncing off others for a 72-yard touchdown.
Manziel fought back to throw a perfect bullet past two defenders for a touchdown to wide receiver Malcome Kennedy. Manziel had a great run and some good throws for another touchdown to Kennedy.
After an Alabama turnover, Manziel made the Crimson Tide pay. Evans beat Cyrus Jones on a go route and Manziel laid out a perfect pass about 50 yards away. Sunseri was late coming over the top and Evans kept his feet to beat two tackles for a 95-yard touchdown. That left Alabama up 42-35 halfway through the fourth quarter. Manziel had another score in garbage time following another Crimson Tide touchdown, but it was too late for the Aggies.
Manziel completed 28-of-39 passes for 464 yards with five touchdowns and two interceptions. He ran for 98 yards on 14 carries, too. Manziel showed impressive accuracy, arm strength, field vision and, of course, mobility versus Alabama. However, his two interceptions were critical mistakes that had a massive impact on the Aggies losing. Still, Manziel played more than well enough to win the game if Texas A&M could have played competently on the defensive side of the field. This tape should help Manziel’s chances of being a first-round pick.
Evans caught seven passes for 279 yards and a touchdown. This monster performance is a great tape for him. It will be a big help to Evans when he enters the draft since he lacks blazing speed. Evans can use this tape has evidence that he can produce game-changing plays despite his relative lack of agility.
Aggies senior left tackle Jake Matthews was strong overall. He had a few plays that he was beaten, but generally, he did a good job of giving Manziel time to throw. This tape should help confirm a high grade for Matthews.
Texas A&M junior cornerback Deshazor Everett made a huge interception in the Aggies’ 2012 win. In the rematch, the Crimson Tide ripped through Texas A&M’s secondary, but didn’t throw Everett’s direction very much. In the first quarter, Everett had a nice tackle for no gain. He later was beaten on an out by Amari Cooper for a conversion on a third-and-10. Everett made a few hard tackles in run support. He shouldn’t receive a boost or hurt his stock from this game.
Alabama senior quarterback A.J.McCarron took advantage of a young Aggies defense that wasn’t ready to compete against an elite opponent. He threw a beautiful back shoulder throw to Kevin Norwood for a 22-yard touchdown. After some bad inaccurate throws, McCarron lofted in an easy touchdown. A flea-flicker burned Texas A&M’s secondary to get a receiver wide open for McCarron. A quick throw in the flat from the senior to Kenny Bell saw him take off down the field for a 51-yard touchdown. It was a good read by McCarron as the Aggies had a poor defensive set up to stop the play. McCarron iced the game with a short touchdown pass to fullback Jalston Fowler. McCarron completed 20-of-29 for 334 yards with four touchdowns in this contest. He had a lot of receivers running wide open and there were throws that he missed that he should have made. This performance should help McCarron, but he still lacks the skill set of a first-round pick.
A big component that allowed McCarron to beat Texas A&M’s secondary was a great game from his offensive line. The Aggies couldn’t get a pass rush going and left tackle Cyrus Kouandjio had an efficient outing. After an underwhelming start, he settled in and was winning his blocks throughout the first half. In the third quarter, Kouandjio helped blast open some huge running holes. It wasn’t perfect in the second half as Kouandjio had a false start penalty, but otherwise he was tremendous in the final two quarters. Overall, this game helps him.
Mosley was solid, but it was a rather quiet game for him. He had a number of good run tackles. On a critical third down, Mosley had a big tackle to stop Manziel and force a punt. Hubbard had a nice deflection while running with a back on a short route. In the third quarter, it looked like Hubbard had a significant knee injury that is worth monitoring.
Alabama’s safeties had an interesting game. Sunseri nabbed a huge pick-six, but also was burned in pass coverage. He was also called for a holding in the second quarter. This performance could be neutral for Sunseri while Clinton-Dix helped himself.
Clinton-Dix had a nice open-field tackle on a run by Manziel. In the second quarter, Clinton-Dix came across the field to break up a deep pass. It was a great play, but he was questionably flagged for targeting. Clinton-Dix covered a ton of ground and gave good help to his cornerbacks over the top. He made a lot of touchdown saving tackles against the Aggies. This performance should help his bid to be a first round-pick.
UCLA 41, Nebraska 21
The UCLA Bruins feature one of the top defensive prospects in the nation in senior outside linebacker Anthony Barr. UCLA also has a highly touted quarterback in redshirt sophomore Brett Hundley. The Bruins first game was easy, but Barr and Hundley were going to see a good road-game challenge against Nebraska. After a slow start while the Cornhuskers put up a quick 21 points, both players got hot to lead a comeback win in a hostile road environment.
Nebraska’s blockers had some success against Barr on some run plays that went straight at him. He needs to get better at holding his ground and shedding blocks. In the second quarter, Barr exploded into the backfield to slap a pitch away. It rolled backward and Martinez beat Barr to the loose ball, but it was a 20-yard loss and a near defensive touchdown for UCLA for Barr.
Barr made a couple of tackles along the sideline in pass coverage. He showed nice versatility to drop and cover passing targets. A scrambling Martinez broke out of Barr’s grasp to avoid a sack. On another pursuit play, Barr got in on a tackle for a loss of four yards on a busted option run.
Barr made another tackle to force a fumble in the fourth quarter. It came inside the 20 when Nebraska was trying to get back into the game. He showed NFL teams a ton against the Cornhuskers. The senior made good run tackles, showed cover skills in pass defense and was instinctive with his pass rush. Barr showed explosive speed and pursuit skills, too. This performance helps validate Barr as a high first-round pick in the 2014 NFL Draft.
That was the same result for Hundley. He had a few issues early on a bad first-quarter pass. Hundley stared at his receiver and tossed an inaccurate throw to the back shoulder. It went right to cornerback Nebraska Stanley Jean-Baptiste. On the next drive, Hundley came back to hit a 39-yard gain to a wide open receiver running along the sideline.
Hundley made some good throws to set up a field goal in the second quarter. He spun out of the hold of two defensive linemen on the next drive to avoid a sack and take off on a 10-yard run. The next play, Hundley threw a bullet downfield along the sideline for another big gain. That set up a UCLA touchdown run and some momentum heading into halftime.
The Bruins kept the ball rolling in the third quarter as Hundley set up another short touchdown run. He made a big play by scrambling up in the pocket to throw a pass downfield. Late in the third quarter, Hundley beat good coverage with a perfect pass that led Shaq Evans into the end zone for a 28-yard touchdown. It was a NFL throw to give UCLA a 24-21 lead after being down by 18 in the first half.
Hundley was on fire and continued to move the ball with ease. He threw short touchdown passes on each of the next two possessions. Hundley finished the game completing 16-of-24 passes for 294 yards with three touchdowns and an interception. He also ran for 61 yards on 19 carries.
Barring the slow start, Hundley (6-3, 227) was phenomenal. He showed excellent accuracy, field vision, mobility, toughness and composure. It was a great tape that will help Hundley to be a first-round pick whenever he enters the draft.
UCLA wide receiver Shaq Evans had a good game with three receptions for 97 yards. The 6-foot-1, 211-pound senior is a really polished receiver with good route-running and reliable hands. He’s received great coaching from position coach Eric Yarber, a former NFL receiver who was a wide receivers coach with the 49ers and Buccaneers. Evans helped himself against Nebraska.
A few other Bruins defenders are worth mentioning. Junior linebacker Eric Kendricks played well and was all over the field making tackles. The younger brother of Philadelphia linebacker Mychal Kendricks, Eric Kenricks is undersized, but is very fast with good instincts. Kendricks himself against the Cornhuskers.
UCLA senior defensive end Cassius Marsh was battling and playing tough. He had some good plays in run defense and pass pressure. Marsh left the game for a time with an injury, but he was able to finish the contest.
Nebraska senior quarterback Taylor Martinez threw some nice passes and has clearly improved his passing ability for his final collegiate season. He was 21-of-35 for 203 yards with three touchdowns. For the NFL, Martinez looks like a possible third-day pick who will be a developmental backup. He could become a No. 2 for a team that likes to run the read-option.
Cornhuskers senior cornerback Ciante Evans had some disappointing play as a sophomore and junior, but he has stepped up his play in the early going of his senior season. Early in this game, Evans had tight coverage and batted a pass away. He was beaten for a 37-yard pass play in the third quarter. Evans had decent coverage for a time, but with no pass rush to help him, the receiver eventually got open. This tape probably won’t help Evans.
Louisville 27, Kentucky 13
Louisville’s Teddy Bridgewater is the consensus top quarterback prospect for the 2014 NFL Draft – I have him listed No. 1 overall to the Jaguars in my mock – and with an easy schedule it looks unlikely to change. One of the Cardinals’ better opponents in 2013 is Kentucky, which illustrates just how weak their 2013 slate is. Even though the Wildcats are a doormat in the SEC, they are still an SEC team that has more talent than what Louisville plays in the former Big East conference.
Bridgewater was out of sync early on. After a few drives floundered, Bridgewater was able to get in a better rhythm, and it started when he took off on a run of 18 yards. Bridgewater had a nice side-arm pass on a rollout for a pickup of 16 yards. The drive ended though when wide receiver DeVante Parker fumbled the ball away.
Bridgewater got the ball into the end zone in the second quarter. Parker had two defenders around him, and Bridgewater threw a ball up high. Parker (4-50) out-jumped the defenders to haul in the score. Bridgewater made some good throws to set up a touchdown run right before halftime. He repeated that in the first drive of the third quarter.
Bridgewater later threw a perfect pass to loft in a ball to his receiver over a leaping cornerback. Bridgewater got 47 yards on that play and more than 20 on the next throw down the middle. He contributed to setting up another rushing touchdown for the Cardinals. Bridgewater ultimately completed 16-of-28 passes for 250 yards with a touchdown. His footwork, field vision and arm strength were fabulous.
This wasn’t as pretty as other performances, but Bridgewater made plenty of plays that illustrated why he is viewed as a future franchise quarterback in the NFL. It could actually help his stock to show that Bridgewater can make adjustments and warm up after a slow start. Bridgewater remains a lock to be selected with one of the first selections next May if he enters the draft as expected.
Two Kentucky defensive prospects are worth mentioning: Linebacker/defensive end Alvin Dupree and junior defensive end Za’Darius Smith. Both flashed against Louisville. Dupree had a few good run tackles in run support and set up a sack for Smith with a speed rush around the edge. That caused Bridgewater to move around in the pocket before getting taken down by Smith. Dupree also had a nice play in run defense to shed a block along the perimeter and make a tackle at the line of scrimmage. This tape should help him.
Smith stopped a third-and-1 by flying into the backfield unblocked to stop the back for a loss. In the second quarter, Smith came on a stunt and got leverage on the guard. He charged into the backfield and cleaned up Bridgewater for his fifth sack of the season. Shortly later, Smith stuffed a run for no gain. He showed some nice pass rushes with a combination of speed and natural athleticism. This was a tape that should definitely help Smith’s stock.
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