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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Florida State 20, Miami 19
In the second quarter, Kaaya got moving throwing some precision pass in the short of the field to move the ball down the field. He ended the drive by lofting in a beautiful touchdown toss to Stacy Coley to beat close coverage by the Seminole cornerback.
Kaaya made some precision throws to move the ball down the field after halftime, but then he made a bad decision throwing to a well-covered receiver and the ball was picked off. Throughout the second half, one of the weaknesses in Kaaya’s game was evident. The Seminoles ramped up the pass rush and Kaaya was unable to use mobility or strength to avoid sacks.
After a great punt return inside the Seminoles’ 20-yard line, Kaaya lofted in a beautiful 11-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Stacy Coley along the sideline on a fourth-and-5. That should have tied the game, but Florida State blocked the extra point.
Kaaya completed 19-of-32 passes for 214 yards with two touchdowns and one interception. This tape won’t help Kaaya’s draft stock. He showed that he has arm talent with the ability to make nice precision throws, but he lacks mobility and can get rattled by pressure. The pass-rush affects his vision and ability to see receivers. This tape made Kaaya look more like a player who should return for his senior year to improve his chances of being a high first-round pick before going pro.
Alabama 49, Arkansas 30
Late in the second quarter, Humphrey had close coverage on an outside technique but the receiver ran a good route and Austin Allen made a good pass for a score of 16 yards. Humphrey was later beaten for a leaping catch along the sideline. Humphrey was in good position but didn’t do a good job of playing the ball on either of those completions. Humphrey needs to improve on this quickly as it could end up being a real thorn in his draft stock.
Texas A&M 45, Tennessee 38
Garrett slowed down after that. The Aggies rotated him out of the game regularly to keep him fresh for the fourth quarter and protect his injured ankle. Garrett was rushing from the inside on some plays and he got some pressures, but Garrett’s size doesn’t translate that well to rushing from the inside. When he lined up on the outside he saw extra attention in the form of chips and double teams. The ankle injury seems to be robbing Garrett of some of his burst and explosion. He was really hobbling around the field late in the fourth quarter. There were also plays where Garrett was obviously held, but the flag wasn’t thrown. Overall, this game won’t hurt Garrett’s lofty draft grade.
Barnett had a few good plays in run defense with tackles and causing disruption in the backfield for his teammates to clean up plays. In the fourth quarter, Barnett jumped offsides at a terrible time as the Aggies were in a third-and-8. He got lucky that Texas A&M had a false start the next play. Barnett got quiet when the game was on the line in the pass rush and in run defense. In the fourth quarter and overtime, Barnett seemed to run low on gas. That is somewhat understandable as the game went around five hours in length. Overall, this tape should only serve to confirm Barnett as a top-20 edge defender for the 2017 NFL Draft.
Late in the third quarter, Kamara a tremendous play on a slant where he lined up in the slot. Kamara snatched a pass with his hands and burst down the field for a gain of 34 yards. He followed that up with some impressive runs to get to the second level, including one where he broke two tackles at the line of scrimmage before darting downfield. He added a pretty one-handed catch to get a gain of more than 10 and then he exploded up the middle for a gain of 36. Late in the fourth quarter, Kamara made some huge catches on a screen to get to the 17 and then took a dump off into the end zone while breaking a few tackles at the goal line. That score sent the game to overtime.
Kamara was so good in this game as a runner and receiver, he should get a major boost in his draft grade even though he had a fumble. Kamara had 18 carries for 127 yards with two scores. As a receiver, he logged eight receptions for 161 yards and a touchdown. Kamara gave NFL evaluators a tape that shows he is a dynamic receiver, tough runner, good returner on special teams, and a play-maker. I will predict right now that Kamara gets drafted ahead of Jalen Hurd even though Kamara is the backup. Kamara is too good of a weapon in the aerial game for the passing driven NFL. This tape could push Kamara into round-two consideration.
Virginia Tech 34, North Carolina 3
Trubisky’s interception streak quickly came to an end against the Hokies. Early in the first quarter, he forced a pass to a covered receiver, and the corner tipped the ball to himself for the pick. That set the tone for a miserable game. Trubisky later took a sack that was almost a safety and he should have thrown the pass away as he rolled out. He got lucky he didn’t cost his team points there.
In the third quarter, Trubisky fumbled the ball away on a mesh point handoff. He had an interception dropped by a defender as he threw the ball in a crowd of defenders. Trubisky then made a horrible play. He had a receiver running a slant with a defender underneath the wideout and a defender over the top. Trubisky threw a weak pass that fluttered right to the underneath linebacker for an interception. It was an awful decision throwing to a well-covered receiver in double coverage. He almost tossed another interception on a similar pass to the flat on the next series.
Trubisky completed 13-of-33 passes for 58 yards and two interceptions. Trubisky was inaccurate and made poor decisions. The hard rain caused some of the problems, but there were issues that were clear that had nothing to do with the weather. Trubisky needs to improve his field vision. There are too many plays where he stares down his primary read and doesn’t work through his progressions. This tape illustrates that Trubisky still needs significant development for the NFL.
Lawrence still had an active game. Midway through the first quarter, Lawrence was called for a pass interference as he hit Ford too early. However, Lawrence had two nice plays of blanket coverage while slapping passes away in the opening half. The second one was excellent as he was in tight coverage on a dig route. Virginia Tech barely passed the ball, but overall, Lawrence represented himself well.
N.C. State 10, Notre Dame 3
In the first quarter, Kizer made a nice play to break a sack in the pocket and scramble away before flipping a short pass to a receiver for a third-down conversion. Aside from that play, Kizer had some passes off the mark. Kizer then had a floater in the middle of the field that sailed over his receiver and it was picked off by the Wolfpack in the front of the end zone to deny points for Notre Dame. Kizer continued to throw a lot of ducks with the ball slipping out of his hand. At halftime, Kizer was only 6-of-14 for 38 yards with the pick.
Kizer’s struggles continued in the third quarter, as he took a coverage sack on a play he should have thrown the ball away rather than take a loss of yards. In the fourth quarter, he fumbled the ball away on a quarterback draw. Kizer then made a few completions and runs to get the ball into the Wolfpack 30-yard line, but a botched snap ended the drive.
Kizer finished 9-of-26 for 54 yards with an interception. It is hard to hold this game against him, as the conditions were abysmal. He may never play a game in worse conditions the rest of his life. Still, some cold-weather teams like Cleveland or Chicago might be soured some seeing how the wet conditions had such a big impact on Kizer. This tape will be a negative toward Kizer’s draft grade, but it won’t keep him from being the No. 1 pick in the 2017 NFL Draft.
In the first quarter, McGlinchey was beaten for a near sack, but his quarterback bailed him out by breaking the tackle to scramble away while throwing a third-down completion to move the chains. McGlinchey then completely whiffed on a block, as Wolfpack defensive end Bradley Chubb fired to the inside to get a sack of Kizer. Nelson missed a few blocks and had a poorly timed false start close to the end zone. He almost gave up a sack in the fourth quarter. Like Kizer, this tape will be a slight negative for each blocker, but not enough to have a significant impact on their draft stock.
However, in the third quarter, Days fell victim to the conditions when the wet ball slipped out of his grasp for a fumble that was recovered by Notre Dame. Days ran well to close out the game, as he totaled 126 yards on 23 carries. Even with the fumble, this game should help his draft stock considering he ran well in these conditions.
Iowa 14, Minnesota 7
King fumbled the ball on a kick return in the third quarter and was fortunate that Minnesota didn’t recover the ball. Overall, he had some good returns and was very good in pass coverage. He blanketed his receivers and prevented separation. The Iowa secondary as a unit had a superb performance. This tape will help King’s draft grade.
Leidner continued to struggle in the fourth quarter and failed to tie the game on three different possessions in the final six minutes. He continued to miss throws and took a bad sack when he should have thrown the ball away. He then didn’t pull the trigger on third down, and that led to a Gophers punt late in the fourth quarter. Leidner forced the ball into double coverage and the pass was off the mark for an interception. Leidner was pressured on the play, but that is no excuse for the inaccurate turnover. On the final possession, Leidner finally made some nice passes to move the ball inside the Iowa red zone. However, the drive ended, as Leidner had a few poorly placed passes fall incomplete.
Leidner finished completing only 13-of-33 passes for 166 yards with two interceptions. This game will definitely hurt Leidner’s draft grade. While he has looked like a mid-round talent at times, he looked like an undrafted free agent-caliber player in this game.
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