This section breaks down many college football games each week and highlights how 2016 NFL Draft Prospects have performed. Or look at the 2016 NFL Draft Stock page (link coming soon).
By Charlie Campbell.
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Ole Miss 38, LSU 17
Treadwell beat White on a comeback route in the second quarter, spinning away from White to get downfield for another dozen yards. White then drew a pass interference by holding Treadwell in the end zone on a fade pass. Just before the half, Treadwell leapt to catch a back-shoulder pass in front of White a few yards in front of the end zone. Treadwell used his size and power to bull through White and fall into the end zone for a score.
In the third quarter, Treadwell beat White on a slant and another sideline pass where he fought through a tackle for a first down. Treadwell beat White to get open deep downfield for a potential long gain, but the pass was overthrown. White and LSU broke Treadwell’s streak of 100-yard games as he caught four passes for 58 yards, but Treadwell still impressed for the Rebels, and this will help solidify his first-round hopes.
Earlier this season, White struggled with a big, physical receiver in Mississippi State’s De’Runnya Wilson. This was an opportunity to show he can handle that type of wideout, but once again, White had problems defending that type of target. He’s good at preventing separation, but has problems on 50-50 passes and challenging big wideouts or tackling them. This tape will just serve to reinforce that perceived weakness for White.
Nkemdiche was active in the first half. He used speed to the inside to beat Alexander and chase the quarterback out of the pocket. That repeated itself shortly later and Nkemdiche drew his second holding call of the game. He also assisted a couple of tackles in the ground game. In the fourth quarter, Nkemdiche came unblocked and batted a pass. Once again, however, Nkemdiche didn’t produce any sacks. He has only 1.5 this season and 5.5 over three seasons, so this game won’t fight the opinion from NFL sources that say Nkemdiche is not a natural pass rusher. Nkemdiche is a rare athlete and a disruptor, but once again, he didn’t finish a lot of plays.
Michigan State 17, Ohio State 14
This was actually a good tape from both Conklin and Bosa because Bosa mostly went against the right tackle. In the first half, Bosa had some excellent pass rushes around the right side. He came close to a few sacks and disrupted runs. However, he was making some mental mistakes – the biggest of which came in the fourth quarter when he jumped offsides for the third time in the game, but this one came on a fourth-and-8. Michigan State converted the fourth-and-3 and a few plays later tied the game at 14.
Overall, this tape showed that Bosa is a solid base end who is a good run defender. He definitely offers some pass rush, but he isn’t a lethal edge-rushing prospect for the NFL. Bosa is worthy of going in the top half of the first round, but isn’t a top-three talent in an average draft class.
Conklin had some issues in pass protection on some plays, but wasn’t beaten for sacks. Where he impressed was in the ground game. Conklin was hitting his blocks, getting some push, and keeping his defenders from stopping runs short. He would be better off moving to guard or right tackle in the NFL.
Elliott ran hard, but the Spartan defense was selling out to stop the run and daring Ohio State to beat them through the air. Midway through the first half, Elliott took over on a short-field drive to lead the Buckeyes on a touchdown run. He finished the possession on fourth down by plunging into the end zone behind left tackle Taylor Decker. In the second half, Ohio State gave Elliott only two carries, and he finished with 33 yards on 12 carries and a touchdown. That was the fault of Ohio State’s coaching. Elliott is a dynamic runner and NFL teams won’t hold this game against him.
Early on, Calhoun got in on a tackle for a loss and was getting upfield in the pass rush. Calhoun then almost had sack on a rollout by J.T. Barrett, but the broken tackle still set up Barrett to be sacked by a Spartan. He was part of a good team effort to limit the Ohio State offense, but Calhoun wasn’t overly impressive against Ohio State.
Michigan 28, Penn State 16
In the first quarter, there was a series that was a microcosm of his past two seasons. He missed too high on a short easy throw in the middle of the field on first down. The next play, he held the ball just a bit too long with his weak offensive line missing blocks and was sacked. On third-and-long, Hackenberg made a brilliant throw over the head of a linebacker to fit in a pass to his tight end Kyle Carter down the seam, but Carter dropped the pass. That sequence was Hackenberg’s past two seasons in a nutshell.
All day, Hackenberg made some nice passes that were dropped and also held onto the ball too long while being inaccurate on few throws. Just before the half, Hackenberg had a well-placed pass that led his receiver open against Wolverines cornerback Jabrill Peppers for a 25-yard touchdown. That score tied Hackenberg with Matt McGloin for the most touchdown passes in Penn State history.
Hackenberg made some brilliant throws at the end of the third quarter. The first was a great pass to the sideline to covert a third-and-10, but dropped again by his receiver. He put it in a shoe box with touch. On fourth down, he converted throwing a frozen rope over a defender to his receiver to set up a first-and-goal. That drive settled for a field goal, but on the next possession, he ran for a few first downs, including a conversion on a third-and-14.
Hackenberg fought in the second half to help keep his team in the game against a tough opponent. He flashed some of what made him an acclaimed prospect after his freshman season with some brilliant passes downfield showing arm strength and touch. Hackenberg also showed his flaws with taking sacks, throwing inaccurate passes, and making suspect decisions. He completed 13-of-31 passes for 138 yards with a touchdown while taking a pounding from the Michigan defensive line. This tape illustrates that Hackenberg is a project and not a first-rounder if he enters the 2016 NFL Draft.
Temple 31, Memphis 12
Memphis struggled to get into the end zone in the first half. Lynch led three field goal drives, including one in which he converted a third-and-7 with a money throw that beat a blitz. He made a few impressive passes that were dropped by his receivers. Early on, Lynch had a defender roll on the back of his legs while being tackled, and he didn’t look as mobile after that play. He also wasn’t pushing off as well on his throws with some passes falling far short of their target. Lynch held the ball too long on a number of occasions while the pocket was collapsing around him.
Temple limited Lynch to completing 25-of-34 passes for only 156 yards with no touchdowns or interceptions. He didn’t look like himself with the mobility he normally shows, but aside from that, this was not an impressive tape from Lynch where he looked like a high first-round signal-caller.
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