This section breaks down many college football games each week and highlights how 2021 NFL Draft Prospects have performed. Or look at the 2021 NFL Draft Stock page.
By Charlie Campbell.
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Notre Dame 42, Florida State 26
Eichenberg looks like he possesses the ability to be an edge protector in the NFL. Eichenberg has enough quickness to glide with speed rushers and the size and strength to anchor. In the ground game, he is scraper who manipulates defenders and turns them away from getting in on tackles. Eichenberg is not a true bull in the ground game who will blast defensive lineman off the ball. He does have strong hands to sustain his blocks well and fights through the whistle. Overall, Eichenberg looks good, but he may not be an elite prospect who is a high first-rounder.
Samuel is a solid slot corner candidate for the NFL. Being short makes for limitations that will provide size mismatch problems as a pro. Thus, Samuel should not line up on the outside. Because of his limitations, this analyst thinks that Samuel should go no higher than the second day of the 2021 NFL Draft.
Terry came back to make some other receptions to move the chains, using his quickness to get open and his size to shield defenders from the ball. Terry totaled 146 yards on nine receptions with a touchdown. Florida State’s coaches said that Terry has been banged up all year but was starting to get healthier. That could explain his slow start, and why he looked better against Notre Dame. If Terry can finish out his career playing well and turn in good pre-draft workouts, he could be an early-rounder in the 2021 NFL Draft.
Clemson 42, Miami 17
Lawrence caught a break early in the first quarter when he threw a bad pass for an interception, but Miami was offsides on the play, which bailed out Lawrence. A few plays later, a throwback screen resulted in a touchdown from about 25 yards out. Early in the second quarter, Lawrence laid out a beautiful deep ball for a receiver, but the ball fell incomplete due to a drop on what should have been a 68-yard touchdown.
Lawrence was unfazed, lofting in a well-placed pass that beat good coverage and had perfect timing to drop in the ball before the safety could help over the top. That helped set up a rushing score, and late in the second quarter, Lawrence found an open tight end for an easy 11-yard scoring strike.
Lawrence took some big hits late in the third quarter, including a bone-rattlier to the midsection that had Lawrence come off the field with trainers. After missing one play, Lawrence came back into the game. Lawrence took a read option in a few plays later, and he took another hard hit on the play. Late in the fourth quarter, Lawrence threw a bullet down the seam for a touchdown pass from just over 20 yards.
Lawrence completed 29-of-41 passes against Miami for 292 yards with three touchdowns. He ran for 34 yards on eight carries as well. Overall, this game tape will only serve to confirm his lofty projection.
Etienne put the game away with run up the middle that he then bounced outside to take off, scoring from 72 yards out. Shortly later, he had a great run on which he hurdled a defender and then stiff-armed a tackler to the turf before going down for a gain of over 20. It was a highlight-reel run that displayed his speed, athleticism, cutting ability, and improved physicality.
Etienne racked up 149 yards on 17 carries with two touchdowns against Miami. He also caught eight passes for 73 yards. This game will definitely help Etienne’s draft grade. He has been known as a lighting-fast big-play running back, but Etienne showed more strength and ability to pick up yards after contact against the Hurricanes.
Early in the first quarter, Phillips got off a block to smother a running back for a loss of a yard. Phillips did a nice job after that, getting upfield using speed to get some pressure on Trevor Lawrence. In the third quarter while Phillips was tackling Lawrence from behind, safety Bubba Bolden came in with a hard hit to force a fumble that Miami recovered. Phillips was active and around the ball all night.
Team sources have said that Phillips has impressed them, and they believe the junior has upside. The 6-foot-5, 266-pounder has a good skill set and is a prospect to watch. This was a good tape that will help his draft grade.
Texas A&M 41, Florida 38
Mond threw some more strikes to move the ball down the field on the next drive, and he threw another score with a well-placed strike for a big receiver in the back of the end zone. Late in the fourth quarter with the Aggies down 38-31, Mond brought his team back by throwing a bomb to wide receiver Caleb Chapman for a 51-yard touchdown. Mond rolled to his right, and while threw the ball a little late, he placed it well enough for his big wideout to make the contested catch that tied the game. A Gators fumble later gifted a field goal that was the difference for the Aggies.
Mond finished completing 25-of-35 for 338 yards and three touchdowns. He has a strong arm, good size, and mobility, but he also has issues with accuracy, ball placement, and consistency. This tape will definitely help him, but he needs to play like this for the rest of the season in order to improve his draft grade.
Pitts helped moved the chains in the early going to put Florida in position for points. Midway through the first quarter, Pitts made a leaping touchdown grab from five yards out over two Aggie defenders. It was his seventh score of the season. He finished with five passes for 47 yards and a touchdown.
I’ve had Pitts in the first round of Charlie Campbell’s 2021 NFL Mock Draft for a long time, and this game only gave more support to that projection. Pitts has good speed, excellent athleticism, route-running, hands, mismatch size, leaping ability and yards-after-the-catch skill. His performance against Texas A&M will help him to be a first-round pick, and Pitts could be playing his way into the top half of the first round of the 2021 NFL Draft.
Trask opened this game by picking up where he left off, leading a scoring drive that culminated with Trask laying out a well-located pass for Pitts to make a leaping touchdown grab over two defenders. On the next drive, Pitts made an uncharacteristic bad decision when he got too greedy on a deep ball that fell incomplete when he had a back open underneath. However, Trask came back to fire a frozen rope to Kadarius Toney for a short touchdown to close out the drive.
Trask made a terrible pass in the third quarter, throwing a ball up grabs in the middle of the field off of his back foot. The ball floated like a punt into a crowd of three defenders for an interception, but a penalty bailed out Trask. It wasn’t clear if Trask knew he had a free play, and if he did, then it was worth taking a deep shot, but it looked more like that wasn’t clear considering it was a hands-to-the-face infraction. Trask took advantage of his good fortune though by lofting a beautiful 37-yard touchdown to Kadarius Toney.
With the Gators down 28-31, Trask led a field goal drive and then a touchdown drive to put Florida up 38-31. A touchdown drive by Texas A&M and then a fumble by a Florida running back gifted the win to the Aggies. Against the Aggies, Trask completed 23-of-32 passes for 312 yards with four touchdowns.
This season, Trask has illustrated that he definitely has pocket-passing ability for the NFL. He has been accurate with superb ball placement and has generally made good decisions as a passer. Trask displays impressive poise in the pocket, keeping his eyes downfield and not getting rattled by the pass rush. Helped by a powerful arm capable of making touch passes, Trask has put on display some natural passing ability in each contest. The big knock on Trask is that he is not a running threat, with some team evaluators feeling he is a statue in the pocket. The lack of mobility would not have been a huge negative some years ago, but teams are looking for more athletic quarterbacks these days, so Trask being a statue could cause some teams to grade him lower. Quarterbacks rise over the draft process, and Trask has that potential.
Versus Texas A&M, Toney caught seven passes for 92 yards and a touchdown. If Toney can stay healthy throughout 2020, he has a shot at being a first-round pick.
Oklahoma 53, Texas 45 (4OT)
Team sources wanted to see Cosmi get heavier and stronger following his return to Texas, and those who have seen him in person this fall say that Cosmi looks to have added some good weight. That could be seen in his performance against the Sooners, as Cosmi anchored well against bull rushes. Cosmi still has room for improvement in that regard because he can get pushed back, but he has more strength to recover and hold up edge rushers long enough for his quarterback to get the ball out. In the ground game, Cosmi does not pack a serious punch and is not a drive blocker who is a bull at the point of attack. Continuing to add functional strength is something Cosmi needs to do.
For the NFL, there is a lot about Cosmi that translates to being an edge protector. He looks natural bending at the knee and is light on his feet. With his quickness and athleticism, Cosmi can play the typewriter with his feet to cut off the edge from speed rushers. Cosmi can have issues with power rushes to the inside, so continuing to get stronger to anchor will be a point of improvement for him with his NFL coaching staff. Cosmi looks like a future starter at left tackle in the NFL and he could be a Thursday night pick next April.
Ehlinger started to move the ball midway through the fourth quarter while down 31-17, but he heaved a poorly thrown pass up for grabs that was intercepted by Oklahoma. The pass was a bit underthrown, making it an easier catch for the defensive back. Ehlinger threw a short touchdown pass to narrow the Sooners’ lead, and with less than 20 seconds, he threw a short touchdown pass to a wide-open receiver to force overtime. Ehlinger had an impressive 23-yard touchdown run in the second overtime, tieing the game at 45.
In the fourth overtime, Ehlinger was intercepted in the end zone when he terribly overthrew a receiver running an out route. A cornerback running with a receiver in the end zone came over to make an easy pick, clinching the win for the Sooners. Ehlinger completed 30-of-53 passes against Oklahoma for 287 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions. He also picked up 112 yards and four rushing touchdowns over 23 carries. Even though Ehlinger didn’t get the win, he battled his tail off in this game. Still,Ehlinger is really limited to being a college quarterback. Because of his limitations as a pocket passer, Ehlinger looks more like a mid-round or third-day pick who is a backup in the NFL.
Georgia 44, Tennessee 21
Hill is powerful at the point of attack and is able to generate movement from defensive linemen. He does an excellent job of hitting combo blocks to open up interior rushing lanes, and Georgia went behind Hill for a few short-yardage conversions. He also was rock solid in pass protection, showing impressive quickness and agility for a big blocker. His size, strength, and thick build allow him to anchor well in pass protection as well. Hill was very good against Auburn and Tennessee, presenting an early-round skill set. Whether it is the 2021 or 2022 NFL Draft, Hill will be in the running for the top center of his draft class, but he does need to improve on the accuracy of his snaps.
Late in the second quarter, Campbell gave up a touchdown of about 30 yards. He actually had pretty good coverage running with the receiver into the end zone, but the ball was perfectly located dropped in along the sideline where the receiver could make the catch and get one foot in bounds to get the score. There wasn’t much else Campbell could have done on that play to prevent the reception. Overall this tape should help Stokes draft grade and won’t have a big impact on Campbell.
Mays was in trouble taking on the speed of the Georgia edge defenders. Throughout the game they were getting upfield on him and getting penetration into the pocket. In the third quarter Mays was burned by an undersized edge rusher who ran around him to get a strip-sack. Clearly, Mays does not have the quickness and athleticism to mirror speed rushers on the edge. Mays was better as a run blocker, but this game gave proof that he is a better fit at guard in the NFL.
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