2020 NFL Draft: College Football Game Recaps – Week 6

This section breaks down many college football games each week and highlights how 2020 NFL Draft Prospects have performed. Or look at the 2020 NFL Draft Stock page.

By Charlie Campbell.
Send Charlie an e-mail here: [email protected]
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Stanford 23, Washington 13

Washington quarterback Jacob Eason has become an interesting prospect as he has played well for the Huskies to open the 2019 season. However, he and Washington had a disappointing performance to get upset by the Cardinal and kill any hopes of Washington or the Pac-12 getting into the college football playoff. The Stanford defense rose to the occasion, and while the Cardinal are not as good as they have been in recent years, they still are talented led by cornerback Paulson Adebo, a potential first-round pick in the 2020 NFL Draft. Adebo stepped up with a clutch performance to help his team pull off the upset.

In the first quarter, Adebo made a good open-field tackle coming over in zone coverage, but later in the drive, Adebo was beaten by Aaron Fuller running down the sideline and Eason dropped in a beautiful pass for 28 yards. A few plays later, Eason found a wide open tight end for a short touchdown pass. After that strong start, Stanford did a good job of harassing Eason and forcing him off his landmark in the middle of the pocket.

Early in the second quarter, Adebo had tight coverage on a short slant to knock the pass away for a third-down incompletion that got his defense off the field. Just before halftime, Adebo had tight coverage downfield to help force another third-down incompletion, but Adebo was fortunate he wasn’t flagged on the play as he held the receiver some and slapped at the ball early.

On the first play after halftime, Eason made a pretty throw, fitting a pass between a few defenders to Fuller for a good gain. However to end the drive, Adebo broke up a fourth-down slant to get his defense off the field.

Later in the third quarter, Eason laid out a nice pass to Fuller for a 37-yard gain along the sideline. It was an impressive touch by pass by Eason to drop the ball in to his receiver downfield. They tried to do it again as Eason threw for Fuller downfield along the sideline, but this time the wideout fell down on the play to let a corner come down with the ball for an interception.

Eason ended up completing 16-of-36 passes for 206 yards with a touchdown and an interception. His ball placement was not ideal on a number of throws, but he had a lot of passes fall incomplete that could have been caught, and the Washington receivers have not played well as a unit this year. Eason may enter the 2020 NFL Draft, but as a player the best thing for his development in the long run would be to return to Washington for his senior year and get another season of starting experience before going pro.

Adebo needed a bounce-back performance after an ugly game against Central Florida, and he got that taking on Washington. He showed his instincts, size and quickness to defend receivers and prevent separation. He was very good covering slants, digs, and sideline go routes, which are all staples of NFL offenses. Adebo knocked away some key attempts to limit Washington and get his defense off the field.

However, Washington did not test Adebo with double moves, which is what killed him versus Central Florida. Adebo has a lot of talent and needed this game to regain some confidence. Teams will surely test Adebo with double moves in the weeks to come, so he will have the opportunity to show team evaluators he can learn from his mistakes and become more disciplined. Eye discipline to not bite on double moves is a typical problem for aggressive ballhawks like Adebo, and that is something he could get coached up on.

Washington left tackle Trey Adams has played well as a senior, but this was a mixed game from him as well. In the second quarter, Adams got a push at the point of attack on a third-and-1 to open a huge lane for his back to get the first-down yardage. In the fourth quarter, Adams was starting to give up some pressures to speed rushers coming around the corner. He got fortunate that Eason avoided sacks on a few plays, but then in the final seconds of the game, Adams was beaten with his rusher turning the corner to get a sack of Eason with pure speed running by Adams in the obvious passing situation.

Overall, this tape shouldn’t hurt or help Adams’ draft stock significantly. Perhaps the best thing that could happen to Adams this season is making it through the year healthy after his injury-plagued seasons in 2018 and 2017.

Team sources have told me that Washington center Nick Harris has really impressed them, and he continued his strong season against Stanford. Harris is built strong too pack a punch on defenders. He also shows some quickness and athleticism to pull around the tackle. With his strong base, Harris is able to stand up bull rushes and is adept at hitting double teams with his guard. Harris (6-1, 302) is limited to being a center only in the NFL because of his size, but he could be a mid-round pick who turns into a starter and ends up being an excellent value pick.

Oregon 17, California 7

Oregon quarterback Justin Herbert is one of the top quarterback prospects for the 2020 NFL Draft. He is a physically gifted quarterback that has a near prototype skill set. Herbert did not have his best performance against California, but his teammates had struggles that kept Oregon from producing points until the second half.

The game didn’t start well for Herbert, as he threw his first interception of the year just in front of the California end zone. Herbert threw the ball late down the middle of the field, and that let a safety undercut the receiver for the pick. It was his first interception in 176 attempts.

During the first half, Herbert made some good throws to move the ball, but Oregon running backs had multiple fumbles to kill some promising drives and also there were some good passes that were dropped by his receivers. Late in the second quarter, Herbert made a nice play under pressure with a free rusher coming downhill fast and Herbert made a good decision to make to a jump throw to his back just over the line. That let him rip off a nice gain, and on the next play, Herbert threw a fastball into a tight window for a gain of 22 yards. However, the drive didn’t produce points either.

Late in the third quarter, Herbert fit a pass into a window downfield to get a gain of about 30 yards and set up a short rushing touchdown. On the next drive, Herbert was under pressure and took off running, but he fumbled the ball while getting tackled. He was lucky a teammate fell on the loose ball. Later on the drive, Herbert had an overthrow and missed a receiver running open for a big play.

In the fourth quarter, Herbert showed his speed as he took off on a long 26-yard run into California territory. To finish the drive, he had a receiver wide open in the flat for a short scoring strike. Herbert finished completing 20-of-33 passes for 214 yards with a touchdown and an interception. Overall, this tape won’t hurt him and will serve to confirm his high first-round standing.

There is no doubt that Herbert has an excellent skill set with a powerful arm that can drive the ball and make every throw required in the NFL. He has good field vision to work through progressions and read coverage while knowing where to go with the ball. On top of size and arm talent, Herbert is a good athlete with the ability to make some plays with his feet. The only real flaw with Herbert is his passing in the face of a heavy rush. In past games, his accuracy and ability to move the ball got significantly hindered when he didn’t have a clean pocket. When Herbert has a clean pocket, he’s deadly and will rip up a defense. But in the NFL, a top quarterback remains effective even when throwing in the face of a rush. Taking on California, Herbert did show improvement while throwing under pressure, and it will be interesting to see if he can continue to build on that in the weeks to come.

Oregon linebacker Troy Dye also could be a first-round pick in the 2020 NFL Draft. He was having a quiet game before coming alive in crunch time. With the Ducks clinging to a three-point lead, Dye made a game-changing play when he was in the right spot in the middle of the field to catch a deflected pass for an interception. That turnover set up Herbert to put California away with a short touchdown drive. Dye is a future three-down starter in the NFL who is well-balanced as a run defender and skilled in coverage. This tape should help his draft grade.

Ohio State 34, Michigan State 10

Ohio State defensive end Chase Young is considered a future first-round pick with top-10 potential, and he has been dominating some weak competition entering this game with eight sacks in 2019. Michigan State posed a bigger challenge for Young, and the Spartans did a good job of keeping Young from wrecking the game. They sent some double teams his direction and rolled protection to limit his impact. Still, the attention given to Young opened things up for his teammates and they shut down the Spartans offense.

In the fourth quarter, Young had a speed rush around the right tackle to hit quarterback Brian Lewerke as he threw and cause an interception for Michigan State. Young left the game a little early and was getting attention from trainers, but appeared to be OK. Overall, this tape won’t hurt Young’s high draft grade.

Ohio State running back J.K. Dobbins has been rolling over the competition in 2019, and that continued versus Michigan State as the junior tailback powered the Buckeyes offense over a quality Spartan stop unit. The Ohio State offense had a slow start, but Dobbins got them going in the second quarter. Dobbins took a run up the middle and hit a crease for a 67-yard touchdown. From there, the Buckeyes were off and rolling, led by Dobbins on the ground. He showed quickness to hit the hole, cutting ability to weave around defenders, and strength to finish his runs well. Dobbins totaled 172 yards on 24 carries with the touchdown. This tape will help him to be a day-two pick in his draft class.

Michigan State edge rusher Kenny Willekes was unable to have a big performance, but it wasn’t because the Ohio State offensive line shut him down. Willekes was being limited by the running ability of Ohio State quarterback Justin Fields, as Michigan State had him playing a lot of containment on the edge and not letting him rush free after the quarterback. Willekes was active making some tackles in run defense, but he was unable to really show his pass-rushing skills.

Ohio State left tackle Thayer Munford was a candidate to be a potential early-round pick who entered the draft early, but this season he has not been that impressive. Munford was OK in this game, but did not stand out showing the skill set to be a franchise left tackle. In speaking with some team sources, they feel that Munford is not making the case that he should skip his senior year and enter the 2020 NFL Draft. Munford needs to improve his technique and get more polished to take on pro edge rushers.

Florida 24, Auburn 13

Auburn defensive tackle Derrick Brown has been excellent this season and continued his trek to the top 10 with a great game against Florida. On the first play for the Auburn defense, Brown ripped down the running back for no gain on a run up the middle. Brown then came close to a sack with a bull rush through the right guard. On the final play of the first quarter, Brown scooped up a fumble after a strip-sack from Marlon Davidson. Brown took off with the loose ball and started sprinting downfield with a return to the Florida 35, but Brown tripped over the grass on the return to fall down on what would have been about a 78-yard touchdown run if he had maintained his feet. Auburn finished the ensuing drive with an interception so it was a painful trip for Brown and the Tigers.

Brown was getting upfield disrupting runs in the third quarter. He came close to some sacks and drew a holding when Florida was near midfield to kill a promising drive. Brown came through with a huge play with his defense inside their own 30 later, as he bull rushed through the right guard to hit Kyle Trask’s arm as he threw. Brown caught the ball in air with a return near midfield. It was a huge play to keep Auburn down by four in the fourth quarter.

Brown has a freakish combination of size, strength, speed, and athleticism. He is a load against the run and a capable interior pass rusher. Multiple team sources told me before the season that Brown would have gone ahead of Christian Wilkins and Ed Oliver if he had entered the 2019 NFL Draft, and this tape will help to reinforce that opinion.

Florida cornerback C.J. Henderson returned against Auburn after missing a few games with a leg injury he suffered in Week 2. Henderson had a solid game, minus one big play that could have been the responsibility of the safety.

Henderson wasn’t tested early, but late in the first half, Auburn threw his direction and had an incompletion, as there was nothing open. Henderson was fortunate that Seth Williams couldn’t reel in a tough catch over him downfield, but he had tight coverage on Auburn’s talented wideout. Late in the third quarter, Henderson allowed a long reception downfield and it looked like a miscommunication with the safety as Henderson seemed to think he was in zone and he didn’t run with the wideout while the safety seemed to think Henderson would run with the wide out.

Henderson came back to break up a pass downfield. He was in deep off-man coverage and closed quickly on the crossing route to prevent the reception. Overall, this was a solid tape from Henderson coming off an injury. He has an excellent combination of size and speed to run with wideouts to prevent separation. If Henderson were a better tackler, he might be a top-16 pick. As it stands with tackling being a real weakness, Henderson is more of a mid-to-late first-round pick at this time.

Florida running back Lamical Perine is a potential day-two pick who has had a hard time getting in a rhythm this season, as the Gators’ young offensive line has struggled to play consistently. Perine has played well as a receiver and has run tough all year. Perine came through with a great play that clinched the win for Florida. In the fourth quarter, Perine came through with a great play as he took a run up the middle, broke a tackle from a linebacker and a safety on the sideline, and then sprinted for an 88-yard touchdown run. Perine showed a lot on that run with power to go through tackles and speed in the open field. He totaled 130 yards on 14 carries with four receptions for 15 yards. This was a good tape that will help his draft grade.

Michigan 10, Iowa 3

ESPN’s Mel Kiper has Iowa right tackle Tristan Wirfs in his top 10 prospects for the 2020 NFL DRaft, but Wirfs had a performance against Michigan that indicates he may not be that caliber of prospect and would be better off going back to school rather than entering the NFL.

For much of the game, Wirfs was solid on the edge keeping his defenders away from quarterback Nate Stanley, but speed rushers were giving Wirfs some issues, as he was allowing them to get upfield and depth into the pocket.

Wirfs struggled late, as the Wolverines defenders came through with some big plays to protect their narrow victory. In the final minutes, Wirfs lost to his defender with speed to power upfield that knocked him backward. Then defender cut to the inside to get a critical sack of Stanley that helped force a punt. Wirfs then got away with a terrible holding of an edge rusher who had him beat with speed. It happened right in front of Stanley, and it was inexcusable that the official missed the holding.

For the NFL, Wirfs has a quality skill set with size, length and athleticism. Wirfs plays with good leverage as a run blocker and sustains his blocks well. He sets up pretty well, but he definitely has some issues to clean up in pass protection for taking on NFL edge rushers. He has an inclination to bend at the waist on times. While he is quick out of his stance, he needs to get more depth in his kick slide to avoid reaching after speed rushers coming around the corner. Wirfs also needs to get better at counter moves to the inside. While he has the physical talent to play left tackle, he could better off at right tackle. Also, it might be better for him to return for his senior year to improve before going pro.

Iowa left tackle Alaric Jackson is also a pro prospect but not held in as high of regard as Wirfs. Jackson had a lot of struggles against Michigan, as the Wolverine speed rushers were giving Jackson fits from start to finish. Jackson gave up an early sack, as he lost the block on a rip move to the inside. Jackson was later beaten by Michigan edge defender Josh Uche with speed around the corner, and Jackson had to tackle Uche to prevent a sack. That correctly drew a holding penalty. His defenders also contributed to a few other sacks of Stanley, as allowed a number of other pressures and hits on the quarterback. This game suggests Jackson should return for his senior year.

Michigan guard Ben Bredeson had a quality performance for the Wolverines. Bredeson dived on an early fumble after opening a good rushing lane for his back. Throughout the game, Bredeson was solid at the point of attack, contributing to the rushing attack and providing solid protection for Shea Patterson. He has some quickness, sustains blocks well, and shows quality technique to bend at the knee in pass protection. Bredeson could stand to get stronger and pack more of a punch in the ground game. This tape should help his draft grade.

Iowa quarterback Nate Stanley has done a good job over his career of avoiding turnovers, but that completely fell apart against Michigan. In the first quarter, Stanley threw a jump ball into double coverage and it was picked off. Stanley threw his second interception in the first half, as Lavert Hill had perfect coverage and hauled in a pass that was not well placed by Stanley. The Iowa quarterback then took a sack that was inexcusable. The coverage was good downfield, and Stanley rolled out and had plenty of time to the ball away but he held onto it and eventually was tackled on the sideline for a loss of five. It was terrible decision-making by the Hawkeye quarterback. He had another interception in the second half and throughout the game did not seem to be seeing the field well or doing a good enough job of getting rid of the ball.

In the fourth quarter, Stanley made a few excellent throws, dropping one ball downfield along the sideline to beat coverage and then a touchdown pass down the seam that was called back by a holding penalty. Stanley finished 23-of-42 passes for 260 yards and three interceptions. This tape indicates that Stanley is not an early-round prospect like some at ESPN have suggested, and he is more of a mid-rounder who is a potential backup.

Iowa defensive end A.J. Epenesa has early-round ability, but he was very hit-and-miss. He had some good plays and also was quiet for stretches. Early on, he was not doing much at the point of attack for Iowa, but late in the first half, he made a play as he got a coverage sack. Epenesa was initially blocked well, but then he tossed the left tackle to the side and chased down Patterson for the sack. Epenesa might best gaining some weight and being a five-technique in the NFL.

LSU 42, Utah State 6

NFL teams like to see two quarterback prospects going head-to-head, and that was the case with LSU’s Joe Burrow hosting Utah State and signal-caller Jordan Love. Given the talent discrepancy between these two programs, team evaluators didn’t expect Love to get a win, but they wanted to see him play well against the better competition and potentially elevate his teammates. Overall, Love held his own and made some great throws but also had a number of mistakes.

Love made an early, beautiful throw rolling out and lofting in a completion for 35 yards as he threw his receiver open to make a pretty over-the-shoulder reception. Love then made an excellent throw on a post route for what should have been a 30-yard touchdown, but his receiver dropped the pass.

Love made a bad decision in the second quarter, throwing to a well-covered receiver and having the pass nearly intercepted. However, he bounced back a few plays later, as Love lofted in a gorgeous pass to a receiver running down the deep sideline. Love dropped the ball in with perfect placement over the close coverage to fall into the hands of his receiver for 35 yards. However to end that drive, Love threw an interception as he tossed a 50-50 fade pass in front of the end zone, but it was underthrown and closer to the cornerback to allow a leaping interception on the 1-yard line.

In the third quarter, Love made a bad decision throwing to a receiver with multiple defenders around him and the ball was easily picked off by a Tigers defender. He had another interception, but that pass was not caught by the defender, as the officials screwed up the call.

Love finished completing 15-of-30 passes for 130 yards with three interceptions. He played better than the numbers illustrate, as he made some superb throws downfield and his receivers let him down with some dropped passes. He showed a quality arm with some impressive ball placement. Love put air under the ball and lofted in some nice touch passes. Overall, this tape won’t hurt his draft grade as the game result and his stats don’t tell the story of his performance.

LSU quarterback Joe Burrow has helped himself this season, as he is vastly improved as a senior. He had an easy game against Utah State, as the Aggies defense was completely overmatched with the talent of the LSU offense.

Burrow had a rough start though, and this was not a flawless game from him. Burrow fumbled the ball on the first drive while trying to dodge a defensive lineman, but Burrow was lucky a teammate recovered the loose ball. Burrow eventually found a receiver open on a slant for a 7-yard touchdown.

Burrow wasn’t so lucky on the next possession, as he had a pass go off the hands of his receiver and get intercepted on the tip. Burrow scrambled forward on the play and his pass on the run was a little off the mark as it was a bit high for his receiver leading to the tipped ball.

Burrow lofted in a 25-yard touchdown pass to Ja’Marr Chase late in the opening half where his receiver made a superb catch. The pass was little short, but Chase made a play for his quarterback with a leaping grab over the head of the cornerback.

Burrow later found wide out Justin Jefferson streaking across the end zone for a touchdown. That duo hooked up for a 39-yard touchdown with Burrow lofting in a deep ball to Jefferson, who had a step on the coverage to get open running into the end zone. A Utah State turnover set up Burrow to make an easy pass on a short inside slant for his fifth touchdown of the game.

Burrow finished completing 27-of-38 passes for 344 yards with five touchdowns and an interception. Burrow was efficient, but he had some poor placement on some throws that he got away with. This tape gives evidence of why Burrow tops out as a mid-rounder.

Jefferson continued his big season for the Tigers with nine receptions for 155 yards and two touchdowns. He outclassed the Utah State secondary with speed, size and mismatch ability that makes him very tough to cover. This tape will help Jefferson to grade out as an early-round pick.

LSU safety Grant Delpit is one of the consensus top defensive prospects for the 2020 NFL Draft, but he has had a quiet season thus far for the Tigers. This game started poorly for Delpit, as he left the game in concussion protocol after a hard tackle, but fortunately he came back to the field shortly later. Delpit was flying around the field, making tackles and showing quality coverage skills downfield.

Delpit out-fought a receiver for a pass in the fourth quarter and was credited with an interception, even though replays revealed he trapped the ball. The terrible officials screwed up the review so Delpit was gifted a pick. Still, Delpit was in good position and did a nice job of preventing the reception. Overall, this was a good tape from Delpit and a needed one after a quiet start.

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