This section breaks down many college football games each week and highlights how 2019 NFL Draft Prospects have performed. Or look at the 2019 NFL Draft Stock page.
By Charlie Campbell.
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Texas 37, USC 14
Of those players, Humphrey was the most impressive. In the second quarter, Humphrey got open running across the field, and Humphrey made a nice hands catch for a 22-yard gain. Humphrey then caught a short pass and spun out of tackle to sprint down the field for a 38-yard touchdown. In the third quarter, Humphrey got separation from Marshall on an out route to convert a third-and-long. It was a nice reception, but on the next play, Humphrey dropped a pass. Humphrey finished with 84 yards on four receptions with a touchdown.
Humphrey is a big receiver with some quickness. He is a real competitor who is tough after the catch and has a fighting style of play. The biggest problems for Humphrey are significant off-the-field issues that will hurt his draft stock. His 2018 season is off to a strong start, and he is putting himself in contention to get selected on the second or third day of the 2018 NFL Draft.
Johnson later used his huge size to snatch a pass downfield for a 29-yard reception. It was a superb jumping grab and showed nice body control to high point the ball for a big play that put Texas inside the Trojans’s 29-yard line. Johnson finished with 79 yards on six receptions. He has an early-round skill set, and it was good for him to show the ability to use his size to high point the football for catches over defensive backs. In the weeks to come, Johnson needs to bully cornerbacks more and use his huge size to his advantage. He is too much of a finesse receiver when he has the size to overwhelm cornerbacks physically.
Alabama 62, Ole Miss 7
Brown had an early holding call that took away some big yardage on a long run, but he came back to move the chains by a running a good dig route to get open for an easy completion that moved the chains. Lodge then dropped a pass that hit him right in the chest, and he only had one reception for seven yards. Brown finished with four catches for 34 yards.
Diggs had a solid game showing the ability to run with the Rebels receivers. Early in the first quarter, Lodge had a half step on Diggs running deep downfield, but Diggs used his length to slap the pass down incomplete. Diggs then ran with Lodge down the field to knock a deep pass away. If the ball was thrown to Lodge’s outside shoulder, it could have been problematic for Diggs, but on the inside of the receiver, Diggs was in good position. Overall, this tape will help Diggs as he showed his good size, length, and enough quickness to run downfield with wideouts.
In the first quarter, Little helped seal a rushing lane for a chunk run, but a holding penalty on A.J. Brown erased part of the yardage from that play. Little was then bull rushed into his quarterback to help cause a sack for Alabama. Later on, while pulling, Little tried to blast a linebacker, but he was the one who got rocked back and the linebacker had no issues holding his ground. On other plays, Alabama got a push into the pocket through Little by bull rushing and power rushes to the inside.
As a player, Little should return to Ole Miss to get stronger before going pro. However, in a weak tackle class, it could be a good time for Little to come out, as he should go in the first couple of rounds as there are many desperate teams for tackle help in the NFL.
LSU 22, Auburn 21
Stidham’s first pass of the game was an interception. He rolled out and then telegraphed his throw allowing the corner to jump the route for the pick. Shortly later, Stidham bounced back to make a pretty back shoulder throw for about 20 yards with good ball placement. Stidham then lofted in a pretty pass to a receiver down the sideline for about 30 yards and that helped set up Auburn to get on the scoreboard.
Stidham threw a second-half strike to lead his receiver for a 32-yard gain. On third-and-goal, Stidham executed a bootleg well to hit a receiver open in the end zone for a critical touchdown.
Late in the third quarter, Stidham and his receiver weren’t on the same page as Stidham thought the receiver was going to stop his route for a back-shoulder play and the wideout kept running. As a result, Stidham threw the pass right into the bread basket of Greedy Williams for his second interception of the game. Stidham ended up completing 16-of-28 passes for 198 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions.
Stidham made some accurate throws while under pressure in the pocket throughout the game. His bad plays came from mistakes in field vision that led to turnovers and incompletions. Improving his field vision will be a point of emphasis for whomever drafts him.
Early on, Davis showed his speed and motor by running downfield to make a tackle off of a screen play. He then had a similar play, showing his rare closing speed by getting to the sideline to make a tackle on a stretch run. Late in the third quarter, Brown came close to a sack with a powerful rush straight down the pocket. That forced the quarterback to scramble, and Brown chased him down to trip him up for a third down tackle that got his defense off the field. Brown then tripped up the quarterback to keep him from running for first-down yardage.
Brown fought hard, but the double teams kept him from a big tackle total or making a big impact in the pass rush. Still, NFL sources are very high on Brown and he looks like a top-16 pick next April. He is a young player with a tremendous skill set and huge upside.
White had a painful missed tackle on a second-quarter jet sweep, and that allowed the receiver to spring the run for good yards downfield. In the fourth quarter, White came back to make a superb play as he diagnosed the play before it was snapped. He flew into the line of scrimmage and beat the block from the right guard to make a hard tackle for no gain.
Overall, this was an impressive tape from White. This game performance was reminiscent of Roquan Smith at Georgia or Reuben Foster at Alabama. This performance will help White to grade out as a first-rounder.
In the fourth quarter, Dean had tight coverage and knocked a pass down to help put his defense in a better down-and-distance situation. Dean later had tight coverage on a receiver downfield and leapt to make a pass breakup, but he was flagged for a questionable pass interference penalty. That penalty ended up being a huge error as it helped get LSU in position for the game winning field goal. Thus, this was a mixed tape from Dean, but he is a big corner who has some quickness and is a physical defender. He could grade out as a early-round pick in the 2019 NFL Draft.
BYU 24, Wisconsin 21
In the first quarter, Deiter pulled around the right side to help blast open a hole open for Taiwan Deal to get a 2-yard touchdown run. Deiter was solid in pass protection, but BYU loaded the tackle box to make the Badgers beat them through the air and Wisconsin was incapable of doing that.
Deiter has some power to generate movement in the ground game. He has plays with good leverage and has nice technique with hand placement to latch onto defenders. Deiter has the strength to anchor and is hard on defenders when he bump blocks tackles with his center or left tackle. Deiter could stand to improve his pass protection for going against NFL speed rushers as fast three techniques could give him problems. Still, Deiter has starting potential early in his NFL career and looks like a good fit at left guard.
In the fourth quarter, Edwards had his defensive end shed his block to help get in on a sack of Hornibrook. Edwards was holding a lot and he was fortunate that he didn’t get flagged for more holds. Wisconsin started to give Edwards double team help in the fourth quarter. Late on the last drive, Edwards was beaten clean off the snap, and if his back did not get a critical chip, it would have been a game-killing sack. The next play, Edwards stood up too high and got knocked straight on his butt while giving up a pressure on Hornibrook.
This game illustrated that Edwards has work to do as a pass rusher and is limited to right tackle. If anybody needed any evidence as to why the Badgers aren’t playing him at left tackle, this performance versus BYU should help answer that question. Edwards is a tough run blocker, but he could have problems with NFL speed rushers. He can stand up too high, and that lets defenders get under pads to get some push in the bull rush. Clearly Edwards’ run blocking is ahead of his pass protection. Returning for his senior year to get better might be a wise idea of Edwards. Right now, the projections of Edwards being a high first-rounder seem hasty and he is being overrated given this performance versus BYU.
Oklahoma 37, Iowa State 27
In the first quarter, Brown caught a seven-yard pass in the middle of the field in zone coverage. Then Brown did the rest, bolting down the field for 51 more yards before getting tackled inside the 10-yard line. Brown then burned double coverage on a deep post route for a 75-yard touchdown. After hauling in the pass, Brown hit a second gear to run away from the defensive backs for the score.
In addition to that huge play, Brown made a number of shorter receptions to move chains as he ran good routes with his speed, twitch and burst to get in and out of breaks. Brown totaled 191 yards on nine receptions with a touchdown. This tape will help Brown, as he showed that he is more than just a one-trick pony to run deep routes downfield.
Evans has good strength to sustain his blocks. When he gets his hands on defenders, he is able to control them and manipulate them. Overall, Evans plays with good leverage and is not a waist bender.
That said, Evans looks like a better fit at guard in the pros. His feet look too slow to play tackle. He is not adept at keeping his feet moving with pass rushers and will reach after them. Evans looks too slow and not able to play the typewriter with his feet in pass protection. He is better at taking on blocks head on while using his strength and hands to maintain. That makes him more of a guard for the NFL.
Taking on perhaps the most talented defense in the Big 12, Montgomery played well running through tackles and contributing critical conversions to help keep Iowa State in the game. At the end of the first quarter, Montgomery converted a third-and-2 by breaking three tackles and then falling forward after a hit from the fourth Sooner to get Iowa State a first down. It was an impressive run showing Montgomery’s power, ability to keep his legs moving, and effort. Midway through the third quarter, Montgomery again showed his short-yardage skill with a 1-yard touchdown plunge. TMontgomery totaled 82 yards on 21 carries with a touchdown.
For the NFL, Montgomery could compete to be a backup running back. At 5-foot-11, 215-pounds he has good build to him to shoulder the load as a between-the-tackles runner. He also does a nice job in the passing game of blocking and serving as a check-down back. What holds Montgomery back from being a feature back and three-down starter is a lack of speed. He does not have the initial burst or a second gear. Montgomery does not look fast enough to be a starter or a back who goes early in his draft class, but he could be a nice backup running back that also contributes on special teams.
Miami 49, Toledo 24
Early in the first quarter, Toledo threw a jump ball for Johnson that was knocked away for an incompletion. Johnson then ran a great route that caused the cornerback to fall down and Johnson was able to get a gain of about 18 yards. That ended up being the only reception in the game for Johnson, as Miami did a good job of taking him out of the game.
That opened things up for teammate Diontae Johnson (5-10, 180), as the small speedster totaled 119 yards on six receptions with two touchdowns. This was a good tape for Diontae Johnson to show that he is a late-round slot receiver competitor for the NFL.
Something seemed off with Jackson as he was not fast off the snap and was not putting heat on the quarterback with speed off the edge. Jackson would try to bull rush frequently and got nowhere. This was a bad tape from Jackson, as he should have dominated against Toledo, yet was a non-factor on plays where he did not come unblocked.
Boston College 41, Wake Forest 34
In the first half, Allen was active making a few tackles in the ground game. He is strong at the point of attack to hold his ground and then flow to backs to make tackles. He pressured the quarterback into incompletions and was getting upfield in the passing game. Allen has more speed and athleticism than one would think just by looking at him. Throughout the game, Allen also showed a good motor as he did not quit on plays even though Wake Forest was running a fast tempo and trying to wear down the defense.
Allen was called for an unnecessary roughness as he hit the quarterback late in the third quarter. That was his one real mistake of the game, but even that hit was close to being a OK. A few plays later, Allen was able to bat down a third-down pass to get his defense off the field. Allen then made a good tackle in run support. Allen totaled five tackles with half for a loss, a pass batted and a number of pressures on the quarterback. This was a quality tape from him that won’t hurt the lofty standards he’s set.
Lindstrom plays with good leverage and shows some heavy hands to manipulate defenders. While Lindstrom looks well put together, he shows some quickness to the second level and looks more athletic than one would think with the eyeball test. In the pass rush, Lindstrom uses his hands well with good placement and uses his hands to sustain his block.
Lindstrom reminds me of Cody Whitehair at Kansas State with his body type and style of play. I think Lindstrom could end up grading out as a second- or third-round pick for the 2019 NFL Draft.
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