This section breaks down many college football games each week and highlights how 2017 NFL Draft Prospects have performed. Or look at the 2017 NFL Draft Stock page.
By Charlie Campbell.
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Michigan State 36, Notre Dame 28
In the first quarter, Kizer made some pretty plays to move the ball including converting a third-and-8 where he worked off his primary read to hit an out route for the conversion. A few plays later, he did a zone read and saw a receiver left wide open and Kizer lofted in a pass on the run to get his wide out the ball. He rumbled down the field for a gain of 49. Kizer then scrambled into the end zone from 14 yards out.
Kizer had a hard time getting into a rhythm after that in the first half as the Spartans defensive line was winning at the point of attack. Kizer missed an open receiver on a deep out to fail to convert on a third-and-12. Kizer later tried to fire a ball by a defender but the pass was picked off. Kizer came back to loft in a beautiful sideline throw for 37 yards as he led his wideout perfectly down the sideline. The next play was even prettier as Kizer shook off a tackle and then threw a strike towards the front of the end zone but the receiver dropped the ball. However he caught a break as he had a pass short that a receiver tipped to himself over a defender and caught in the end zone for a score.
On the next drive, Kizer stepped into a big hit from Malik McDowell, but the ball was placed well to let his receiver make a catch for 33 yards. He stepped up to deliver another throw of about 30. Kizer then ran behind his left tackle Mike McGlinchey and powered through a defender to get across the goal line on a short run. He followed that up with a drive where he showed good accuracy and field vision, finishing with a pretty touchdown pass to his tight end.
Kizer finished completing 20-of-37 for 344 yards with two touchdowns and one interception. He ran for two more scores. He made some accurate throws into tight windows while showing field vision to read the field. Kizer also hung tough and threw in the face of the rush and didn’t allow his vision to be distorted from the Spartans steady rush. Overall, this was a net positive performance for Kizer.
In the first quarter, McDowell was impressive as he shed the center and guard to get a tackle for a loss. McDowell then shed a block from McGlinchey to chase down Kizer for a tackle as the quarterback scrambled. Throughout the night, McDowell was giving the interior of the Irish defensive line a lot of problems and was getting a lot of pressure on the quarterback. McDowell did have a lapse with an unsportsmanlike penalty. McDowell showed a serious combination of size and speed. He can used power to shed blocks and the speed to fire by blockers. He is a versatile defender who looks like a first-rounder if he enters the 2017 NFL Draft.
Throughout the night, McGlinchey was dependable. There was that one play against McDowell and a couple of others where Kizer scrambled into McGlinchey’s defender, but he was reliable in pass protection and got a push in the ground game. He showed impressive power to open a goal line hole for Kizer and on a pancake block in pass protection. McGlinchey also is a future first-rounder based off this tape and his performance thus far in 2016.
Alabama 48, Ole Miss 43
On the opening drive, Engram got open in the middle of the field for a 25-yard gain. It was a well-placed pass by Kelly. Engram then torched the Alabama secondary. Engram was in the slot and ran by two defenders to get wide open for a 63-yard touchdown. Crimson Tide redshirt junior safety Anthony Averett and defensive back Ronnie Harrison were the defenders who were primarily responsible for the bust.
Kelly made a crucial mistake in the third quarter. After dropping back just in front of his own end zone, he held the ball way too long and didn’t feel the rush bearing down on him. Anderson strip-sacked Kelly as he was too loose with ball. Alabama recovered it for a touchdown. Kelly should have known to get rid of the ball, rather than holding on hoping to make a big play. That tied the game at 24 with Ole Miss blowing a big lead.
Kelly came back to throw a 33-yard pass to Damore’ea Stringfellow to the goal line. Humphrey was right there and Jackson was a little late coming to help. The ball flew between them to get to his receiver. It was a perfect throw by Kelly that beat good coverage. There was another play where Kelly didn’t move his eyes to see Engram running open into the end zone and instead forced an incompletion to a covered receiver.
In the fourth quarter, Kelly held on to the ball too long again and was hit by Tim Williams as he threw. The ball weakly flopped right into the chest of Alabama defensive tackle Jonathan Allen, and he returned the interception 75 yards for a touchdown. This was another example of Kelly having poor feel and internal clock that he needs to get rid of the ball. The gunslinger Kelly came back to make a touchdown pass and then another after a successful onsides kick.
Kelly finished completing 26-of-41 for 421 yards with three touchdowns and an interception. However, Kelly didn’t play as well as the numbers illustrate. In fact, I think this is a bad tape for his draft status. Kelly gifted Alabama 14 points on his fumble and interception that were terrible plays of poor feel and decision-making. This is also the second time in three weeks that Ole Miss has blown a big lead, and mistakes from Kelly played a role in Florida State’s comeback win.
While Kelly can’t be blamed for his defense struggling, he doesn’t show the leadership and intangibles to push his team to tough victories. He doesn’t have a killer instinct, and seems to get rattled by pressure. When you add in the off-the-field issues from his ego and behavior, it adds to the questions about his on field intangibles and ability to lead a team. Kelly has a big arm, but I don’t think he has the decision-making and steadiness in his play to be a first-round pick.
On the next drive, Humphrey allowed a deep cross. The completions seemed to rattle Hupmhrey, as he got called for a pass interference shortly later. He came back to have perfect coverage and slap a pass away. Late in the fourth quarter, wide receiver A.J. Brown out-jumped Humphrey in the end zone to haul in a 37-yard touchdown. Once again, Humphrey was in good position, but didn’t play the ball well.
If Humphrey bounces back in the weeks to come, one bad game shouldn’t impact his draft stock significantly. However, Humphrey has to improve his playing the ball. He is good at preventing separation, but Humphrey needs to get better at high pointing the ball to slap it away and not allowing completions over him.
Robinson had two false start penalties in the first half. However, Robinson was excellent in the ground game. At the end of the third quarter, Robinson cleared out a hole for his back to get into the end zone from a yard out. Robinson was reliable in pass protection including stonewalling a speed rush from Haynes on one rep. Robinson showed nice feet and quickness on that play. However, Robinson did have an ugly play versus Haynes. More on that below. Robinson looks leaner, quicker, and more athletic compared to last year. This tape should help him.
In the second quarter, Haynes had good pursuit on a reverse to get a tackle for a loss. Haynes then had a blinding speed rush around the right side to get a sack-fumble with a vicious hit. Ole Miss scooped up the fumble and returned it for a touchdown. The right tackle blocked a defender in front of him and the right guard was an impossible situation to try and get back to block the speedster Haynes.
Haynes had an impressive speed to power rush where he bulled Robinson and knocked the big tackle flat on his butt in the third quarter. However, Haynes did lose containment and that let Jalen Hurts escape for a first down run. Overall, Haynes has played really well this year and is such a weapon as a pass rusher off the edge. With how he played against Florida State and Alabama, Haynes stock could continue to rise.
Nebraska 35, Oregon 32
In the second quarter, Carrington got wide open, running a post from the slot, but the pass was overthrown for an incompletion. He had two receptions for 22 yards in the first half. After a bad drop, Carrington came back to make a big reception with a 14-yard slant that took the ball to the 1-yard line. That was Carrington’s final reception of the game, as he finished with 36 yards on three catches. On the final drive, he couldn’t outfight a defensive back on a pass.
Overall, this tape won’t help Carrington’s draft stock. He has some speed, but could use more strength to win 50-50 passes.
There were a few plays were Gerry couldn’t chase down a run to the corner for a back-breaking long touchdown run. Gerry is a strong safety type for the NFL, but could be lacking the speed and athleticism to be a starting safety as a pro. He might be more of a backup and special teams contributor as a mid-round pick.
Louisville 63, Florida State 20
In the first quarter, Fields used an inside to cut to run by Johnson and get a hit on quarterback Deondre Francois just after the ball was released. Fields later was left completely unblocked and he got a sack of Francois. After halftime, Johnson pushed Fields around the pocket, but Fields almost beat him with speed around the corner and Johnson had to reach after him rather than mirroring and walling him off. Fields had a good run stuff on a quarterback draw, and a few plays later, Johnson was called for an obvious hold. Overall, this tape won’t have a big impact on the draft stock for either player. Johnson’s performance was unimpressive and Fields was solid.
However, Cook gave some more evidence that he has some ball-security lapses. In the first quarter, Cook and his quarterback screwed up a mesh point handoff and that led a fumble that was recovered by Louisville deep in Florida State territory. There have been other ball-security issues during Cook’s collegiate career like his fumble against Ole Miss and even against Oregon as a freshman. Cook doesn’t have fumblitis, but he needs to improve on this issue heading into his rookie season in the NFL next year.
Walker did have a few negative plays, however. He made a poor decision on a zone read to open up a lane for Jackson to run for a touchdown. Walker was also called for a holding as he threw a receiver down in the flat. This tape shouldn’t have an impact on his draft stock, as Walker looks like a future first- or second-round pick.
Miami 45, Appalachian State 10
In the first quarter, Kaaya started well, including a perfectly thrown pass for what should have been about a 15-yard touchdown, but the pass was dropped by Stacy Coley. Kaaya came back to throw a 9-yard score to his tight end David Njoku with a well-placed ball to beat tight coverage. Shortly later, Kaaya found Coley wide open in busted coverage downfield for a 55-yard touchdown.
There was one play that really illustrated why Kaaya is a potential early-round pick. On a third-and-long, Kaaya showed his powerful arm, throwing a deep out to the far hash across the field to convert. It was an excellent throw by Kaaya.
In the third quarter, Kaaya rolled out on a play-action bootleg to throw a dump off to Njoku on the run and he took off down the sideline for a gain of 54 yards. However, on fourth-and-goal, Kaaya forced a pass to a well-covered back and it was picked off by Appalachian State’s Johnny Law. It was his one mistake in the game.
Kaaya came back to convert a third-and-10 by throwing a beautiful bomb to lead his receiver Ahmmon Richards past double coverage for a 61-yard gain. It was perfect pass that illustrated Kaaya’s arm strength and the ability to put touch on the pass. That led to a rushing touchdown for the Hurricanes on the next play.
Soon after, Kaaya made an outstanding play as he looked to his right, moved his eyes across the field, and then threw a perfect bomb to beat good coverage to Richard for a 64-yard gain. It was just a beautiful throw. A few plays later, Kaaya made a touch pass to Coley for an 8-yard score.
Kaaya could use more development with his footwork. As a freshman and sophomore, Kaaya mainly worked out of shotgun, but this year he is doing a lot of work from under center under new head coach Mark Richt. Working under center is excellent for Kaaya’s NFL preparation.
Kaaya dominated Appalachian State, completing 20-of-26 passes for 362 yards with three touchdowns and one interception. While he should thrive against this level of team, Appalachian State nearly beat Tennessee and shut down the Volunteers’ offense in Week 1, so they aren’t a complete pushover.
This game illustrated that Kaaya has serious pocket passing talent for the NFL. His protection has been an issue in other outings, but when Kaaya is given time, he’s deadly. Kaaya showed that he has great arm strength, pocket presence and accuracy to throw in tight windows. He can throw perfect touch passes and has field vision to work through his protections. This tape made him look like a candidate to be a first-round pick and potential franchise quarterback.
Houston 40, Cincinnati 16
In the first quarter, Allen ran a post route and got separation running across the field. The pass dropped in, and he blocked off the defensive back to make a 39-yard touchdown reception in the front of the end zone. Allen did well to use his 6-foot-3 frame to shield the ball from the defender as the pass delivery was late enough to let the defensive back close. In the second quarter, Allen ran a good route, working back to his quarterback after he scrambled to buy time. That reception went for close to 30 yards. In the fourth quarter, Allen made a beautiful sliding catch to help set up a critical touchdown for the Cougars.
Allen totaled 94 yards on five receptions with the score. After being shutdown by Oklahoma in the season opener, he needed a good tape to help his draft grade, and this was that quality performance.
After throwing a nice first-quarter touchdown pass to Allen, Ward made a horrible pass into double coverage. The ball sailed over the receiver and to the deep safety for an interception deep in Houston territory. Ward had another interception after not seeing a defender dropping into his throwing lane. The height issue was evident on that play.
Ward ended up with a good stat line though, throwing for 326 yards, running for 73 more and totaling three touchdowns – one passing, two rushing. However, this game illustrated that he is a good college quarterback but not a signal-caller prospect for the NFL.
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