Scouting Roundup College Football Week: 5

News and Notes

After multiple weeks of some quiet in the world of college football, it got very loud this week. Since this is supposed to be an article on the draft, I will start with draft news and slowly work my way to the NFL. The big draft news from this week was a video of Mississippi State defensive tackle Jeffery Simmons standing over a young woman and punching her repeatedly. You can watch the video on YouTube if you so choose, but warning it is not a good look. Videos like this come up every single year it seems like and it always brings into question the of ethics scouting. Simmons is currently the number 17th overall player on my big board, but next week he will drop straight off it. Any man who strikes a woman in my book is completely undraftable. The problem with this is there are plenty of NFL teams who do not agree with me. So while you might hear other media scouts say a lot of teams have taken Simmons off there board. You must also realize that it only takes one in thirty-two teams to select him where his talent dictates and not where his character dictates. It pains me to say this, but the NFL values talent above all else. If you have enough talent the NFL will give you a shot no matter what. Sticking with college football I want to address the play of Justin Herbert this weekend. Herbert played by far the best game against a quality opponent any top QB prospect has played all year. I know they lost the game in the end but when you watch the tape it is easy to see him as QB 1. In some more positive news, four rookie quarterbacks will be starting this weekend. Sam Darnold and Josh Allen have already started multiple starts, but Baker Mayfield and Josh Rosen will be making their first starts. Mayfield was obviously fantastic coming in for the injured Tyrod Taylor and bringing The Browns their first win in 635 days. Josh Rosen, on the other hand, got thrown into the worst possible situation I have seen. First off, he comes in with only enough time for two drives. Second, he is thrown into the game against the Chicago Bears defense that has one of the best pass rushers in the NFL. Third, it was all obvious passing situations so of course, the Bears were going to tee-off on him. Fourth, Rosen has almost no help around him. His offensive line is bad and his receivers are not doing him any favors either. My point with this rant is that, with quarterbacks what situation they get drafted into is the most important thing. You can ruin a great quarterback prospect quickly if you mismanage him like Arizona did Josh Rosen. Outside of the quarterbacks, I want to highlight one more player from last years draft. Leighton Vander Esch played great at LB for the Cowboys on Sunday. He made multiple stops in the backfield and was flying sideline to sideline. Vander Esch seems to be the only bright spot for Dallas right now.

Top 30 Big Board

1. Nick Bosa	DE	Ohio State
2. Ed Oliver	DT	Houston
3. Jonah Williams	LT	Alabama
4. Raekwon Davis	DT	Alabama
5. Clelin Ferrell	DE	Clemson
6. Dalton Risner	OG	Kansas State
7. Greedy Williams	CB	LSU
8. Rashan Gary	DT	Michigan
9. Devin White	LB	LSU
10. Deionte Thompson	S	Alabama
11. Devin Bush	LB	Michigan
12. Justin Herbert	QB	Oregon
13. David Sills V	WR	West Virginia
14. Noah Fant	TE	Iowa
15. Montez Sweat	DE	Mississippi State
16. Dre’Mont Jones	DT	Ohio State
17. Jeffery Simmons	DT	Mississippi State
18. Jaquan Johnson	S	Miami
19. Greg Little	LT	Ole Miss
20. N’Keal Harry	WR	Arizona State

21. Deandre Baker	CB	Georgia
22. Taylor Rapp	S	Washington
23. Ryan Finley	QB	NC State
24. Lamar Peters	CB	Mississippi State
25. DK Metcalf	WR	Ole Miss
26. Jarrett Stidham	QB	Auburn
27. Zach Allen	DE	Boston College
28. David Edwards	RT	Wisconsin
29. Joe Jackson	DE	Miami
30. AJ Brown	WR	Ole Miss

Three Must Watch Games for Week: 5

Game One: Ohio State vs Penn State/ Saturday, 9/29 7:30 PM

Oh yes, I have been waiting for this game all season and it is finally here. This game might include the most NFL prospects in a single game all year. Both teams have multiple players on each side of the ball, and both teams are off to good starts this season. If you care at all about the draft this is a must watch.

Players to watch for Ohio State:

Nick Bosa: DE 1 (Will not play)

Dre’Mont Jones: DT 4

Kendall Sheffield: CB 5

Mike Weber: RB 6

Mike Jordan: OG 10

Isaiah Prince: LT 6

Dwayne Haskins: QB (week 5 tape study)

Players to watch for Penn State:

Amani Oruwariye: CB 4

Shareef Miller: DE 7

Miles Sanders: RB 7

Juwan Johnson: WR 9

Trace Mcsorley: QB (week 5 tape study)

Game two: Stanford vs Notre Dame/ Saturday, 9/29 7:30 PM

I know what you’re going to say, “Dante please stop telling us to watch Stanford”, and to that, I say too bad. Stanford vs Notre Dame is a great rivalry, and it includes a lot of future NFL talent. Both teams are currently ranked in the top 10, so if you need more incentive their it is.

Players to watch for Stanford:

Bryce Love: RB 8

Kaden Smith: TE 2

JJ Arcega-Whiteside: WR 5

Nate Herbig: IOL 6

Brandon Fanaika: IOL 11

Players to watch for Notre Dame:

Julian Love: CB 10

Jerry Tillery: DT 9

Alize Mack: TE 6

Game three: Temple vs Boston College/ Saturday, 9/29 12:00 PM

I can hear all of the cries of biased right now in my head as I am typing, but again I do not care. This game has a lot of NFL talent, and bonus, I have highlighted neither team so far this season.

Players to watch for Temple:

Rock Ya-Sin: CB 8

Delvin Randle: Safety 8

Players to watch for Boston College:

Zach Allen: DE 4

Lukas Dennis: Safety 5

Tommy Sweeney: TE 3

Wyatt Ray: DE (week 5 tape study)

Tape Study Week 5:

Dwayne Haskins QB, Ohio State
Trace Mcsorley QB, Penn State
Wyatt Ray DE, Boston College
Jonathan Abram S, Mississippi State
Marquise Brown WR, Oklahoma

Stock Report

Name	School	Movement
1. Justin Herbert	Oregon	None
2. Ryan Finley	NC State	None
3. Jarrett Stidham	Auburn	None
4. Drew Lock	Missouri	None
5. Brian Lewerke	Michigan State	None
6. Will Grier	West Virginia	None
7. Jake Bentley	South Carolina	None
8. Brett Rypien	Boise State	None
9. Clayton Thorson	Northwestern	None
10. Nick Fitzgerald	Mississippi State	None

Name	School	Movement
1.Benny Snell	Kentucky	Up one spot
2. David Montgomery	Iowa State	Down one spot
3. Justice Hill	Oklahoma State	None
4. Devin Singletary	Florida Atlantic	None
5. Damien Harris	Alabama	None
6 Mike Weber	Ohio State	None
7. Miles Sanders	Penn State	Unranked (Week 4 tape study
8. Bryce Love	Stanford	Down one spot
9. Rodney Anderson	Oklahoma	Down one spot
10. Myles Gaskin	Washington	Down one spot

Benny Snell: Snell has been by far the most impressive back in this class since the injury to Rodney Anderson. He has run all over multiple SEC defenses and already possesses Kentucky’s all-time touchdown record.

Miles Sanders: The reason I left Sanders off the list for so long was that I was not sure he could fill Saquan’s shoes. Look, he is nowhere near as good as Saquan, but overall is still a solid prospect in his own right. He has a great chance to prove himself this week against Ohio State.

Name	School	Movement
1.David Sills V	West Virginia	Up two spots
2. N’Keal Harry	Arizona State	None
3. DK Metcalf	Ole Miss	Up one spot
4. AJ Brown	Ole Miss	Down three spots
5. JJ Arcega-Whiteside	Stanford	Up one spot
6. Deebo Samuel	South Carolina	Down one spot
7. Anthony Johnson	Buffalo	Up one spot
8. Ahmmon Richards	Miami	Down one spot
9. Juwan Johnson	Penn State	None
10. Ryan Davis	Auburn	None

David Sills V: I took a real hard look at my rankings this week, and it jumped out to me that Sills should be WR 1. Nobody in the entire country is better at the point of attack. He runs a better route than I gave him credit for earlier in the season.

DK Metcalf: Metcalf was a tape study who shot up my board, and his play is letting him rise up more. Metcalf made a great one-handed catch this weekend, and he has the ideal size for an outside WR.

JJ Arcega-Whiteside: Okay so Whiteside has been putting up video game numbers all season for Stanford. He scored two more touchdowns on Saturday night against Oregon. Next to Sills, Whiteside is the next best jump ball guy in this class.

Anthony Johnson: Johnson also moved up this week because I was able to go back and review some of his tape. He gets consistent separation and he can high point the ball pretty well. He will be a popular sleeper come April.

AJ Brown: The reason Brown fell so many spots is less about his skill and more about him not performing as well as the other guys. Brown has disappeared against the best opponents on his schedule.

Name	School	Movement
1.Noah Fant	Iowa	None
2.Kaden Smith	Stanford	None
3. Tommy Sweeney	Boston College	None
4. Albert Okwuegbunam	Missouri	None
5. Dawson Knox	Ole Miss	None
6. Alize Mack	Notre Dame	None
7. Caleb Wilson	UCLA	None
8. CJ Conrad	Kentucky	None
9. Foster Moreau	LSU	None
10. Brandon Fritts	North Carolina	None

IOL

Name	School	Movement
1.Dalton Risner	Kansas State	None
2. Martez Ivey	Florida	None
3. Mike Dieter	Wisconsin	None
4. Elgton Jenkins	Mississippi State	None
5. Hjayle Froholdt	Arkansas	None
6. Nate Herbig	Stanford	None
7. Beau Benzschawel	Wisconsin	None
8. Ross Pierschbacher	Alabama	None
9. Nate Linder	Indiana	None
10. Mike Jordan	Ohio State	None

Name	School	Movement
1. Jonah Williams	Alabama	None
2. Greg Little	Ole Miss	None
3. David Edwards	Wisconsin	None
4. Mitch Hyatt	Clemson	None
5. Kaleb McGary	Washington	None
6. Isaiah Prince	Ohio State	None
7. Trey Adams	Washington	None
8. Bobby Evans	Oklahoma	None
9. Prince Tega Wanogho	Auburn	None
10. Daniel Cooney	San Diego State	None

Name	School	Movement
1.Ed Oliver	Houston	None
2. Raekwon Davis	Alabama	None
3. Rashan Gary	Michigan	None
4. Dre’Mont Jones	Ohio State	None
5. Jeffery Simmons	Mississippi State	None
6. Dexter Lawrence	Clemson	None
7. Terry Beckner	Missouri	None
8. Christian Wilkins	Clemson	None
9. Jerry Tillery	Notre Dame	None
10. Gerald Willis III	Miami	None

Edge

Name	College	Movement
1.Nick Bosa	Ohio State	None
2. Clien Ferrell	Clemson	None
3. Montez Sweat	Mississippi State	None
4. Zach Allen	Boston College	None
5. Joe Jackson	Miami	None
6. Anfernee Simmons	Alabama	None
7. Shareef Miller	Penn State	None
8. Brian Burns	Florida State	Unranked (Week 4 tape study)
9. Austin Bryant	Clemson	Down one spot
10. Chase Winovich	Michigan	Down one spot

Brian Burns: Burns is a prospect that I hate to scout so much. On some plays, he looks the part of a first round pick, but on others, he looks more of a 3-4th round guy. When Burns shows up and his motor is high, watch out.

Name	School	Movement
1.Devin White	LSU	Up one spot
2. Devin Bush	Michigan	Down one spot
3. Cameron Smith	USC	None
4. Josh Allen	Kentucky	None
5. TJ Edwards	Wisconsin	None
6. Shaquille Quarterman	Miami	None
7. Mack Wilson	Alabama	None
8. Sutton Smith	Northern Illinois	None
9. Khalil Hodge	Buffalo	None
10. Christian Miller	Alabama	None

Name	School	Movement
1.Greedy Williams	LSU	None
2. Deandre Baker	Georgia	None
3. Jamal Peters	Mississippi State	None
4. Amani Oruwariye	Penn State	None
5. Kendall Sheffield	Ohio State	None
6. Lavert Hill	Michigan	Up three spots
7. Mark Gilbert	Duke	Down two spots
8. Trayvon Mullen	Clemson	Up four spots
9. Rock Ya-Sin	Temple	Up two spots
10. Julian Love	Notre Dame	Down two spots

Lavert Hill: Hill is yet another guy who benefits from me catching up on tape this week. He has been a shutdown corner all year for Michigan. Hill adds to what is already a great CB class. He displays the footwork and technique you want to see in an NFL CB.

Trayvon Mullen: I dropped Mullen off the list a couple of weeks ago, and that was a mistake. He had a bad game against Texas A@M but has bounced back nicely to the form we saw last season.

Rock Ya-Sin: There will be some people who will argue that I am being biased moving Ya-Sin this high, and to that I say, go watch his tape. He has locked down every single WR he has faced and has multiple interceptions. Ya-Sin is a sleeper that could creep into the second round if he continues playing at this level.

Safety

Name	School	Movement
1. Deionte Thompson	Alabama	None
2. Taylor Rapp	Washington	None
3. Jaquan Johnson	Miami	None
4. JR Reed	Georgia	None
5. Lukas Denis	Boston College	None
6. Chauncey Gardner-Johnson	Florida	None
7. Jo-Jo Mcintosh	Washington	None
8. Delvin Randall	Temple	None
9. Jah’Shawn Johnson	Texas Tech	None
10. Andrew Wingard	Wyoming	None