This section breaks down many college football games each week and highlights how 2015 NFL Draft Prospects have performed. Or look at the 2015 NFL Draft Stock page (link coming soon).
By Charlie Campbell.
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Missouri 34, Texas A&M 27
There is no doubt that Ray has fantastic explosive speed off the edge with a great first-step and the ability to close in a heartbeat. He does need to get stronger for the NFL, in part to help him hold up against downhill running. That will probably have to be done at the next level as he probably will enter the 2015 NFL Draft.
Golden started out 2014 with some huge games before falling quiet while dealing with injuries. He looked much healthier against the Aggies and put forth a tape that will help his bid to be a late first-round or early second-round pick.
While Ogbuehi had a few bad plays, the majority were very good. It is clear that the senior is extremely quick and athletic. He has fast feet and is a natural knee-bender. His amazing feet and agility make him a potential natural left tackle for the NFL. Oghuehi is just missing strength, and that hurts him repeatedly with an inability to sustain blocks after his athleticism gets him in the right position. If Ogbuehi can add strength, he could be an impact starter at the next level.
Georgia 34, Auburn 7
Gurley was his typical self with yards after contact and his fabulous burst. He had a short touchdown run midway through the third quarter. Gurley kept coming as he stiff-armed one defender away and broke another tackle for a 31-yard run. With less than six minutes remaining in the game and Georgia up by 20, Gurley ran between the tackles went down with a knee injury. He walked into the locker room, so there was hope that he dodged a bullet, but the news is that he has torn his ACL. Gurley totaled 138 yards on 29 carries. Once again, he was impressive and looks worthy of a top 20-pick.
Floyd made a tackle on a pass in the flat in the first quarter. Early in the second quarter, he read a wide receiver screen to Sammie Coates and blew it up for a loss. Floyd made a few good tackles in run defense and looked rejuvenated. Late in the fourth quarter, he burned the right tackle with a speed rush for a sack-fumble. This was a good tape for Floyd, but he would probably improve his draft standing by returning to school and getting stronger.
Florida State 30, Miami 26
Winston and the Seminoles offense couldn’t get in a groove in the first quarter. He had an inaccurate throw to miss an open receiver in the middle of the field and had an interception broken up a play later on a terrible throw. Just before halftime, Winston threw a pass deep for Rashad Greene but the deep safety came over the top to intercept the pass.
In the third quarter, Winston threw a nice pass to O’Leary on an out route and hit Kermit Whitfield for a gain of 29 yards on another cross. Winston had a well-thrown pass to the end zone dropped by Ermon Lane. His next pass was all luck as the ball was deflected into the air by a linebacker and running back Karlos Williams caught the ball with a short run for an 11-yard touchdown.
Winston made some other clutch throws to move the chains on two field goal drives and the game-winning touchdown possession. He ended up completing 25-of-42 passes for 304 yards with one touchdown and an interception. Once again, Winston illustrated phenomenal anticipation on a number of throws. He had some mistakes, but he continues to prove to be an elite quarterback prospect on the field; the only questions regarding him are his off-the-field makeup.
Perryman had tight coverage in the third quarter, but had a pass fly by him for a completion to O’Leary. Even though O’Leary made a catch, the vast majority of linebackers couldn’t have had the athletic tight end covered as closely as Perryman did. Perryman showed his open-field tackling ability when he caught a receiver on a quick slant and slammed him into the turf. Perryman also pummeled O’Leary to force an incompletion.
Overall, Perryman gave NFL evaluators a tape that illustrated he’s ready to play on Sundays. This performance illustrates why Perryman belongs as a late first-round or early second-round pick.
Johnson ripped off an impressive 28-yard run showing his speed to fire to into the second level and weave around tacklers. He totaled 130 yards on 27 carries with four receptions for 37 yards. Johnson looks like a potential three-down starter in the NFL and is really improving his draft standing.
In the first quarter, Williams came close to a tackle for a loss on Johnson, but missed the tackle. Williams later made an open-field tackle on Dorsett to save a touchdown, though for the next play, Dorsett beat Williams to get open in the end zone, but an inaccurate pass led to an incompletion. Williams is a physical edge defender, but he isn’t as good at preventing separation. He looks better as a zone corner for the NFL.
Wisconsin 59, Nebraska 24
In the first quarter, Gordon showed patience to set up a block and then he bounced outside to bolt down the sideline for a 42-yard gain. It was his 17th run of the year of over 40 yards, and he would add to that impressive stat a few more times. A little bit later, Gordon didn’t have a hole and got drilled by a safety. He was holding the ball loose and fumbled the ball away.
Gordon made up for it early in the second quarter when he took a run off right tackle and darted down the sideline. Gordon broke a tackle from safety Corey Cooper along the sideline and was gone for a 62-yard touchdown run. It was a great move to dodge Cooper with a hurdle and shove.
Gordon fumbled the ball away again as it got away from his body while being taken to the ground. Once again, he answered with a huge play. Gordon had a run stuffed and was shoved backward, but he dodged two defenders, including Gregory, to bolt downfield for a 39-yard run. That set up a Badgers touchdown on the next play. On the next possession, Gordon juked safety Nate Gerry out of his jock on a 44-yard run. At halftime, Gordon had 16 carries for 238 yards with the score.
Gordon kept dominating in the third quarter, including taking off on a 43-yard run on a jet sweep. On the next play, he charged into the gut of Gregory for a one-yard touchdown. Gordon later ran around the right side for a 68-yard jaunt. He then darted into the end zone on a six-yard run. On the final play of the third quarter, Gordon came off the right tackle and ran through two defenders for a 26-yard touchdown. Before the start of the fourth quarter, Gordon had 408 yards on 25 carries with four touchdowns.
That was Gordon’s final stat line as Wisconsin didn’t run him in the fourth quarter. This was a historic game as he set the NCAA single-game rushing record. Obviously, Gordon set the Wisconsin single game rushing record as well, breaking one previously held by Ron Dayne (339 yards).
This game will vault Gordon’s Heisman hopes, but it gives NFL evaluators further evidence that Gordon is a dominant runner. He has great acceleration, vision, and underrated toughness to pick up yards after contact and run through arm tackles. This is another tape that illustrates why Gordon is worthy of a first-round pick, a tough feat for a running back.
This tape won’t help or hurt Gregory’s draft stock significantly. He started the game strongly, but was worn down like the rest of the Nebraska defense.
In the third quarter, Abdullah had a nice reception of 26-yards on a screen pass with yards after contact. However shortly later, he fumbled the ball away after getting stood up and having the ball ripped out. Abdullah came close to a fumble later in the third quarter and was out of sync with his quarterback for a botched handoff that was recovered by Wisconsin.
Abdullah finished with 69 yards on 18 carries. As a runner, he was more impressive than the numbers indicate. Abdullah made unblocked defenders miss while running with excellent pad level and body lean. However across his career, Abdullah has shown that he has ball-security issues that need to get worked on for the NFL. He looks like a second-day prospect.
Virginia Tech 17, Duke 16
Nicolas had a nice tackle for a loss in the first quarter and some pass pressure, but late in the quarter, Nicolas ran out of his gap as Duke let him come unblocked and the Blue Devils slipped inside him for a run of 15 yards. It was poor gap integrity for Nicolas.
In the fourth quarter, Nicolas came on a stunt down the middle to chase down the quarterback for a sack. Late in the game, Nicolas beat the right tackle to the inside to get close to another sack, but he drew an intentional grounding penalty. Duke’s right tackle really struggled to block Nicolas.
Overall, Nicolas had a quality game as a pass-rusher, but he didn’t impress with his run defense. For the NFL, Nicolas looks like a backup and situational pass-rusher.
Tomlinson was solid in the ground game, but he wasn’t blasting lineman off the line. In the second quarter, Tomlinson was late to pick up a blitz and was fortunate to not have given up a sack. Tomlinson has talent, but he needs more development. He isn’t overly strong or fast or athletic. Tomlinson looks like a mid-rounder.
In the fourth quarter, Cash was beaten on a slant for a 16-yard touchdown pass to Virginia Tech’s big tight end. Cash was in man coverage in the slot and allowed the receiver to get separation. It was the game-winning score for Virginia Tech. Cash is only a redshirt junior, so he should return for his senior year.
Alabama 25, Mississippi State 20
In the first half, Prescott had some well-thrown passes along the sideline dropped by his receivers. Mississippi State had a nice drive going before Prescott telegraphed a throw on a third-and-long. His receiver had defenders all around him, and it was a late throw that was picked off by Nic Perry.
Prescott then had a receiver wide open running into the corner of the end zone for a short touchdown, but he sailed the throw out of bounds.
In the third quarter, Prescott started throwing the ball better with some completions along the sideline and in the middle of the field. Prescott made a great ball fake on a play-action and threw a 26-yard pass to a wide open Josh Robinson. However, Prescott made a critical mistake with an interception in the end zone to Cyrus Jones. It was poorly thrown and too short. The ball floated right to Jones to take away a scoring opportunity for Mississippi State.
Mississippi State’s defense forced a punt and the return set up Prescott in Alabama territory. Prescott finally found some running room with a carry of 22 yards. To finish the drive, Prescott threw a quick slant for a touchdown in the first minute of the fourth quarter.
Precott moved the ball on his next drive with some precision throws, including some clutch plays working through his progressions to convert third downs. However, deep in Alabama territory, defensive tackle A’Shawn Robinson tipped a pass from Prescott and safety Landon Collins made a diving interception to basically put the game away for Alabama. It was Prescott’s third pick of the game, but wasn’t really his fault.
Prescott finished completing 27-of-48 passes for 290 yards with two touchdowns and three interceptions. His draft stock won’t be helped by this game. He needs to improve his accuracy, ball placement and decision-making. Prescott should return for his senior year and develop his passing before going to the NFL.
In pass coverage, Collins missed a tackle on running back Josh Robinson in the flat. He laid out a hard hit on a tackle downfield on a receiver after Collins came over from zone coverage.
Collins later made a diving interception, and it was a great catch, but if the pass hadn’t been deflected, the receiver had a few steps on Collins for what could have been a big play for the Bulldogs. Collins was then late picking up a receiver in the middle of the field, and that led to a chunk play. Collins also had zone coverage in the middle of the field and a receiver got open right behind him for a short touchdown reception with 15 seconds remaining.
This game illustrates Collins well as a prospect for the NFL. He is a first-round safety, as he is a physical defender who is quick and athletic. He is a strong tackler and reliable as the eighth man in the box. However, he isn’t a rangy coverage guy who can isolate on slot receivers or dangerous tight end weapons. Collins is more of a strong safety than a free safety, and the latter is in higher demand.
Cooper caught eight passes for 88 yards against the Bulldogs. This tape will only serve to confirm his top-20 grade.
South Carolina 23, Florida 20
On the first drive of the game, Robinson and Cann opened up a big hole for Brandon Wilds to bolt into the end zone from about 25 yards out. Shortly later at midfield on a fourth-and-2, Fowler busted through the line to stuff a run for a loss, but Fowler was called for a personal foul facemask that gave the Gamecocks a huge first down. Robinson then power blocked Fowler downfield about 10 yards to blow him out of his gap. Fowler was run over by Mike Davis, and that sent Fowler to the sideline with attention from the training staff.
Fowler played better after that. He came close to a safety, but Dylan Thompson was able to help force a third down incompletion. Fowler then took the head off Davis on a pass in the flat with a furious hit. That stuffed the third down play and forced a punt.
A bit later in the third quarter, Fowler blew by the right tackle with a speed rush to the inside. As he was taking Thompson to the ground, the quarterback got the ball off to avoid a sack, but that forced a long field goal that was missed. Fowler then used his speed and agility to get under the right tackle for a sack.
Florida typically sent Fowler against the right tackle because they had a mismatch there. Robinson and Cann did well in the ground game, and each one showed that they can get themselves in bad positions with speed rushers. This performance should only serve to confirm the draft grades for these three prospects.
Davis ran the ball physically even though he didn’t see a lot of good running lanes as he picked up yards after contact. Davis showed his power to convert a third-and-2 by running through a few defenders. His receiving ability was on display, as Davis caught a pass on the run and rumbled down the field for a 27-yard gain. A few plays later on the goal line, Davis dropped a pitch, but it rolled forward and Davis dived on the ball for a game-tying touchdown with 12 seconds remaining. Davis finished with 56 yards on 15 carries with 23 yards on two receptions. This tape illustrates that Davis is more of a day-two pick rather than a first-rounder.
USC 38, Cal 30
In the second quarter, Williams bull rushed the right tackle right into quarterback Jared Goff and took down the quarterback for a sack. Williams then burned the right guard with a fast swim move and closed on Goff in a heartbeat for another sack. He flew into the signal-caller and put him down hard.
Williams got in on a number of run tackles and consistently was putting hard hits on Goff. Williams put tons of heat on the quarterback. He used his speed to fire by offensive lineman and was too strong for them to sustain blocks. Williams showed the ability to play base defensive end, slide inside to tackle, and hold up in the ground game. Officially, Williams was credited with eight tackles and 1.5 sacks.
Williams can do it all with rush the quarterback, stop the run, and cause havoc in the backfield. He would be a great fit in a 4-3 defense as an end on running downs who slides inside in passing situations. Williams could be an impact end in a 3-4 defense as well. This tape justified Williams’ draft grade as a top 10-pick.
Agholar continued to dominate the Cal secondary in the second quarter when he caught his second touchdown pass. He ripped off yards in chunks with excellent runs after the catch. In the fourth quarter, however, Agholar dropped another pass, and it would have gone for a long gain as he had a big opening in front of him.
Agholar totaled 16 receptions for 216 yards with two touchdowns. He showed scouts that he has speed to get open and is dangerous after the catch. However, Agholar has illustrated that he doesn’t have great hands as he does drop passes.
Agholar is around 6-foot, 190-pounds with good, but not great speed. Since Agholar is not overly big or fast with occasional drops, that pushes Agholar into Round 2, similarly to Marqise Lee and Robert Woods.
LOADING COMMENTS.
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