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Alabama reshuffles the deck again
With the departure of First Round NFL selections Mac Jones, Najee Harris, Jaylen Waddle and Devonta Smith the eyes of the CFF world turn to the next generation of Crimson Tide skill players. Bryce Young’s spot as Alabama’s starting signal caller is about the only offensive role that is settled, as the 2020 five-star completed 25-of-44 passes for 331 yards and a touchdown. In a recent CFF mock run by Jared Palmgren of the Chasing The Natty CFF Podcast, Young was selected as QB7, behind Dustin Crum and Dillon Gabriel with Sam Howell being selected one pick ahead. I think QB8 is Young’s absolute floor and he is likely shaping up as an early second-rounder in 12-team redraft.
The running back situation is going to be an interesting one, as senior Brian Robinson is the presumptive starter with Trey Sanders, Roydell Williams, Jase McClellan and 2021 five-star Camar Wheaton all vying for carries behind him. Robinson, Sanders and Wheaton did not participate in the “A-Game” contest, with Williams leading the first team and McClellan handling the majority of reps for the second team offense. Both backs had explosive flashes and performed well, posting very similar stat lines as they each rushed 12 times for 45 and 46 yards, while also recording 62 and 65 yards in the passing game. Reading the tea leaves, Robinson will likely be RB1 to start the year with Williams serving as the backup unless Trey Sanders can finally get healthy and make a push. McClellan should get a chance to shine at some point as well. I’ve got Robinson at RB34, while TheCFFSite.com’s renowned CFF expert Mike Bainbridge ranks him slightly lower at RB41.[[ad:athena]]
The unquestioned breakout wide receiver of the 2021 A-Game was four-star freshman Agiye Hall who caught four passes for 72 yards. The fifth rated 2021 freshman wideout from Valrico, FL reeled in a deep ball among double coverage in the first-half and dotted-the-I on two sideline receptions showing advanced route running skills and body control. See for yourself:
Agiye Hall's A-Game performance was every bit as good as advertised. He worked the sidelines precision and made a smooth adjustment to snag a Paul Tyson deep ball.
— Eric Froton (@CFFroton) May 18, 2021
Hall immediately vaults himself into WR2 consideration with Javon Baker.https://t.co/35ugozwWnd via @YouTube
While Hall was running the show on the second team, Traeshon Holden held down the first-team’s Z outside receiver spot by reeling in nine catches for 89 yards. Though underutilized in 2021, Holden was the security blanket for Bryce Young all game, working various forms of intermediate routes and creating separation. Slade Bolden was bankable once again, finishing second on the team with five receptions for 56 yards out of the slot. Javon Baker was noticeably quiet, catching just one pass for 4 yards despite running with the first team offense most of the day. Holden was clearly the preferred option of the two. Bama recently transferred in Jameson Williams and 2021 four-star WR JoJo Earle arrives in the summer.
Metchie is a tough rank, since he is the next logical successor to Alabama’s juggernaut passing attack that accounted for 48.5 points and 358 passing yards per game last year. However he hasn’t consistently flashed like the immortal Class of 2017 wideouts did in their breakout years. I like one of the group of Holden, Baker, Williams or Hall to establish themselves as a playable WR3 by mid-season as the dominant Crimson Tide offense lifts all boats. Metchie went in the third-round as WR9 in my last mock draft and WR16 in a recent CFF expert mock in April. I’m holding off until the WR15 range on Metchie while sneaking in some Holden shares at the tail end of 12-14 team drafts where he has gone undrafted thus far.
HC Heupel searches for starting QB
Heading into spring Virginia Tech transfer Hendon Hooker was expected to step in and challenge for the starting signal caller role right away. However following the full slate of spring practice, capped off by a 42-37 spring game shootout, Harrison Bailey looks like the best fit for new HC Josh Heupel’s aggressive deep-passing offense. Hooker threw an early pick-six but settled in to complete 10-of-14 passes for 11 yards and two total TDs (one rush, one pass).
For his part, Bailey ran the first-team offense like a finely-tuned machine, completing 12-of-15 passes for 260 yards and two touchdown passes to Jack Jancek, including this throw where he hits the reserve wideout in perfect stride while rolling right.
There wasn’t a lot of defense being played by the Vols, but Harrison Bailey was on point all day. Check out this dime on the run to Jack Jancek pic.twitter.com/gevk9v3BD5
— Eric Froton (@CFFroton) May 18, 2021
Jancek is a walk-on who was being covered by another walk-on, but the dead-eye throw Bailey unleashes translates. He looked comfortable in the pocket and handling pressure while backing-up the 70 percent completion rate he showed during his limited 2020 game action. I think Bailey beats out Hooker and has the talent to hold down a starting SEC quarterback job for the next few years in Heupel’s promising offense. He should be ranked ahead of Hooker in all formats for 2021 and beyond.
Mississippi State Spring intrigue
Wil Rogers arrived on campus in 2020 as a four-star quarterback who was the star recruit from new HC Mike Leach’s inaugural MSU prep class. He was talented enough to win the starting job from former All Pac-12 second team performer K.J. Costello, completing 69 percent of his throws with an 11-to-7 ratio, 5.7 YPA and average target depth of 6.0 yards. He made 15 turnover worthy throws besides the aforementioned seven interceptions for a troubling 3.8% turnover worth play percentage according to PFF. A trend that continued in the spring game where Rogers made multiple head scratching decisions on tight window throws. He completed 60 percent of his passes, throwing for 255 yards with a one-to-one ratio, but his lone touchdown drive was capped off with a blown coverage TD pass.
Conversely, Jack Abraham grad transfer from Southern Miss who earned strong PFF passing grades of 77.6 and 74.7 over the past two years, despite an incredibly unsettled coaching situation in 2020 that saw three head coaches rotate through the USM program. He has a 3,500 passing yard season under his belt already and his five turnover worthy throws in 2020 amounted to a microscopic .6% TWT rate. His accuracy and leadership showed in his spring game performance, completing 67 percent of his passes for 162 yards and two well-placed touchdown throws from inside the 10-yard line. Here’s Abraham placing the ball right over Malik Heath’s outside shoulder for the short-yardage score:
Having watched a ton of Southern Miss the last couple of years, I am firmly Team Jack Abraham in the MIss State QB battle.
— Eric Froton (@CFFroton) May 18, 2021
Too many unforced errors out of Rogers in spring, Abraham was the steady hand.
Here’s a well thrown gold zone TD connection with Malik Heath. pic.twitter.com/WoDHzBT2zF
The Bulldogs’ quarterback battle will rage into fall camp when 2021 four-star, pro-style QB Sawyer Robertson arrives on campus this summer to throw his name into the mix. I’m giving Abraham the early-edge, as I have a feeling the grad transfer could supplant the blue-chip youngster for one more year. I’m bumping Rogers down to QB46 following his shaky performance, Bainbridge has him at QB36.
Oklahoma sets the stage for a big 2021
Though he started a little slowly, Spencer Rattler put it together while making some impressive intermediate and deep throws, completing 6-of-14 passes for 116 yards. We know what to expect from the Heisman favorite, as Rattler excelled as the season went on last year earning a PFF passing grade of 92.5 while making 32 “Big Time Throws” and dealing with a 9 percent drop rate from his young receiving corps. He’s throwing accurately downfield with an average target depth of 10.2 yards and should realize his lofty potential this year.
However incoming five-star freshman Caleb Williams was even better, completing 10-of-11 passes for 99 yards and a touchdown to go with six carries for 61 yards and brandished more of the dual-threat traits we were accustomed to seeing from Jalen Hurts that the more pocket oriented Rattler doesn’t bring to the table. It’s hard to overstate just how dangerous Williams could be in Lincoln Riley’s offense in 2022 and 2023. He is an elite Dynasty prospect that is in the conversation for QB1 in startups and is my personal top overall CFF Dynasty prospect from the 2021 freshman class.
Eric Gray is a former four-star Tennessee recruit who had flashes of dominance during his stay in Knoxville, but with Jarrett Guarantano at quarterback and former defense-minded HC Jeremy Pruitt playing at a methodical pace, Gray faced stacked boxes on a regular basis and saw his workload yanked around because Tennessee was so bad they would routinely fall behind multiple scores and have to air-it-out to try and catch up. He won’t have such game-flow restrictions to worry about at Oklahoma especially if he keeps reeling off ankle-breaking runs like this:
TOUCHDOWN #Sooners!
— Oklahoma Football (@OU_Football) April 24, 2021
Eric Gray shakes a defender, finds pay dirt for the 19-yard touchdown run.
Red 27 | White 23 #OUDNA pic.twitter.com/t5WXlNBusq
Gray has receiving chops as well, catching 31-of-33 passes last year for 262 yards, two touchdowns, 7.9 YAC and a stellar 81.3 receiving grade from PFF. Kennedy Brooks returns from opting out in 2020 and pitched in with two carries for eight yards in the spring game. Brooks has a narrow frame and is best suited as a change-of-pace option who can occasionally hit home runs. Eric Gray’s talent is going to be tough to keep off the field and he carries three-down upside. He was drafted in the fifth round as RB23 recently and in the late sixth-round back in April. I have him bumped up to RB18, with Bainbridge slotting him as RB20. His ADP will continue to climb as CFF signing day approaches.
Longhorns QB battle rages
Spirits are high with the arrival of new HC Steve Sarkisian, as the offensive guru is riding high off his recent stint as the OC at Nick Saban’s coaching rehab center known as Alabama. With Sam Ehlinger moving on to the NFL, the biggest question in camp is who will be given the keys to this potentially potent offense for the next 2-to-3 years.
Casey Thompson ran the first team offense competently, but left points on the table by settling for field goals several times instead of punching the ball into the end zone. He connected on 23-of-42 passes for 242 yards with zero touchdowns, though Joshua Moore had appeared to catch a touchdown strike over the middle, but lost the ball on the way down. Beyond some inconsistency and happy feet in the pocket prompting him to throw on the run, his biggest mistake was staring down Joshua Moore on a quick out pattern that the cornerback jumped for a 90-yard interception return for a touchdown.
Card is more of a traditional pocket passer who clearly has the bigger arm of the two, but doesn’t improvise as well as Thompson outside of structure. Still, Card competently orchestrated the offense and hit his marks when called upon, completing 16-of-26 passes for 191 yards and a deftly timed touchdown strike to Marcus Washington shown here.
Big time anticipation from Hudson Card on this throw.
— Eric Froton (@CFFroton) May 18, 2021
The Texas QB competition is very close, with Casey Thompson also having a pretty strong Spring Game running the first team offense. pic.twitter.com/wAI7wnNPEl
Card throws that pass with the kind of anticipation that Thompson cannot match. I’m throwing my support behind Card and am modifying his CFF ranking to QB47 to reflect the uncertainty of the still developing situation.
Elsewhere, Bijan continues to look like one of the top-3 tailbacks in the nation rushing 10 times for 54 yards and an impressive touchdown run that is a preview of what’s to come in 2021. It’s a toss-up between Bijan Robinson and Breece Hall for CFF RB1 this year, with Bijan as the clear RB1 in Dynasty formats. Kai Money was Card’s favorite target, snagging six balls for 79 yards while running a series of intermediate routes. Slot receiver Jordan Whittington led the first-team with 5 receptions for 56 yards, looking recovered from last season’s knee injury.
Ohio State reloads
Heading into spring it was a three-way dance between 2020 commits CJ Stroud and Jack Miller, and 2021 five-star, pro-style quarterback Kyle McCord. Stroud had the edge coming in and did nothing to diminish his status as the front-runner, completing 16-of-21 passes for two touchdowns and a 185.8 passer rating. The former number three rated quarterback from last year’s freshman class, Stroud was in complete control of the offense making a number of different throws and hitting Chris Olave on a well placed sideline timing route for the touchdown.
CJ Stroud looked like he solidified the starting job in the OSU Spring Game. Here he hits Olave on the roll for a TD
— Eric Froton (@CFFroton) May 18, 2021
The future is secure as well, with 2021 commit Kyle McCord having a revelatory 2 TD performance.
And that’s before 2022 5⭐️QB Quinn Ewers arrives. Loaded room pic.twitter.com/w7aTXQJQog
He showed a particular rapport with 2021 number one wide receiver prospect Emeka Egbuka, who led all receivers with seven receptions for 123 yards on nine targets. Olave shined as well with three catches for 57 yards and the aforementioned touchdown, while fellow rising star freshman receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. also posted seven catches for 49 yards and a TD of his own.
While Jack Miller struggled his way to a 17-of-30, 128 yard, one interception performance which likely removed him from starting consideration, highly touted freshman Kyle McCord showed he is game-ready despite just arriving on campus just a couple of weeks prior, completing 12-of-17 passes for 184 yards and two touchdowns. McCord boasts a major league arm and a great feel for the rush. He made plays both within structure and off-script and needs to be taken seriously as the number two contender for starting honors despite his inexperience. The five-star quarterback linked up with fellow five-star WR Jaxson Smith-Njigba for a nice 15-yard touchdown reception while potential 2022 first-round NFL Draft selection Garrett Wilson led Team Buckeye with 85 receiving yards.
Julian Fleming and Master Teague did not play, as Treyveon Henderson filled in for Teague, gaining 26 yards on five carries to go with hauling in five passes for 29 yards in the passing game. He looked noticeable more effective than Marcus Crowley and should be viewed the back of the future. Yet another five-star recruit on the Buckeyes’ roster, Henderson crept into the 14th round as the CFF expert community is doubting Teague’s ability to stay healthy and keep the job after wearing down last year. Teague’s stock is fading, with Bainbridge ranking him 43rd overall and me dropping him to RB37. Henderson is a prime Dynasty target and a likely top-five selection in freshman-only drafts.
Jurkovec to Flowers
Under the previous Addazio regime, Boston College routinely finished in the bottom of the country due to his archaic three-yards and a cloud of dust offensive scheme. Quarterback and wide receiver production took a backseat to bell-cow running backs like AJ Dillon who amassed over 300 carries in 2018. However with new HC Jeff Hafley in town, he brought in OC Frank Cignetti Jr. who revamped the entire offense around a pro-style approach that produced 284 passing yards per game, good for 24th in the country last year.
Notre Dame transfer Phil Jurkovec had the keys to the offense turned over to him, becoming the first player since Matt Ryan in 2007 to eclipse the 300-yard barrier in four of his first five games. Jurkovec will once again lead the BC offense that returns all five offensive linemen as well as superstar WR Zay Flowers. The lethal combo accounted for two touchdowns in the BC spring game that were virtually unstoppable on both ends thanks to Jurkovec’s pinpoint accuracy and Flowers’ deep ball savvy. Here is the second such touchdown pass thrown right on the money:
Phil Jurkovec is a legitimate pro QB prospect who is being slept on. He’s going to have a huge year.
— Eric Froton (@CFFroton) May 18, 2021
This is his second hookup of the BC Spring Game with star WR Zay Flowers. Picture perfect. #CFF #Devy pic.twitter.com/4bicleAkVV
From both a Devy and CFF perspective, I feel like Jurkovec could be the most underrated quarterback in the nation and is a candidate to rise significantly up 2022 NFL Draft boards with a big year. I have him as QB19 for CFF purposes and think he will be an every week number two QB that can be had at the price of QB35. Flowers went off the board in the middle of the fifth round at WR20 in the latest industry mock. I think he eventually settles in around WR15, he’s not going to slip so you’re going to have to prioritize him to secure his services. They are poised to form one of the most lethal QB/WR combos in the nation this year.
LSU QB competition simmers
Heading into spring 2020 opening game starter Myles Brennan and his injury replacement, 2020 freshman Max Johnson, were embroiled in a competition to decide who will win the starting job heading into the 2021 season. Camp reports were generally positive for the two signal callers with Brennan earning the right to run with the first-team offense in the spring game. The redshirt junior performed reasonably well, completing 12-of-20 passes for 116 yards and a 39-yard touchdown pass to Kayshon Boutte that was more a product of the star second-year wide receiver’s incredible athleticism than Brennan’s ball placement.
Running with the “two’s” Johnson sparked their offense with a pair of back-to-back scoring drives, completing 7-of-7 passes for 120 yards and two touchdowns culminating with a crisp three-play scoring drive seen here:
More spring game film, Max Johnson picking up where he left off in 2020 when he orchestrated wins over Ole Miss and Florida.
— Eric Froton (@CFFroton) May 18, 2021
He took over a listless second team offense and led them to two explosive scoring drives.
This is the second TD drive. How about the 1st throw? pic.twitter.com/QQ4wmmPy09
Johnson drops a dime on that first throw to senior Jontre Kirklin, who also caught both of Johnson’s touchdown passes en route to a standout 10 catch, 166 yard, two touchdown performance. The sensational freshman had just started hitting his stride at the end of 2020 when he led upsets over Ole Miss and Florida, with his Spring Game showing proving to be a continuation of that trend. Though Brennan’s seniority likely gives him the leg up for starting duties, I’m predicting Max Johnson will take the job from him at some point in the season. As such, I’ll be fading Brennan in all-leagues and waiting for Johnson late in dynasty and deeper formats.
