Front Porch FootballFPF Draft Central Week 2 Recap
by Harris Oates
Who Impressed?
NFL Rookies – This is a college football site and I am going to keep it college football related…that being said I wanted to acknowledge some of the guys we covered last season.
Marquise “Hollywood” Brown (Oklahoma) had 4 receptions for 147 yards and 2 touchdowns. Terry McLaurin (Ohio State) took his 5 receptions for 125 yards, converting one catch into a 69 yard TD. Hockenson (Iowa) had one of the best debuts ever for a rookie tight end. Gardner Minshew (Washington State) looked accurate against the Chiefs D when called into action after a Nick Foles injury. Kyler Murray had a slow start, but rallied the Cardinals to an 18 point comeback to tie the Lions. AJ Brown (Ole Miss) broke the century mark in his first game and made a solid case to become the #1 receiver on the depth chart. A great week for NFL Rookies.
Joe Burrow and Justin Jefferson – The more I watch Burrow, the more I think he has the chance to be selected first overall. The season is young and there is a long time before the draft arrives, but Burrow has outshined Tua Tagovailoa with his accuracy, arm strength, and vision. I look forward to following LSU for the remainder of the season.
Jefferson is off to an amazing start and has already passed the 250 yard mark and is averaging 2 touchdowns a game. His lean and lanky frame, elite quickness and exceptional hands will have him rightfully compared to LSU greats such as OBJ and Jarvis Landry. Right now I’ve got a first round grade on Jefferson.
Rondale Moore – the sophomore do-it-all Wide Receiver from Purdue is one of my favorite players in the NCAA. Many SEC fans may not be aware of Moore yet, but may remember him from the time he torched Ohio State last year. This year Moore leads the NCAA in receiving yards with 344, along with 2 touchdowns.
Wisconsin – After a 49-0 week 1 win vs. South Florida, Wisconsin followed that up with a 61-0 victory over Central Michigan. I don’t care who you are playing, if you are out scoring your opponents 110-0 you deserve a shout out.
Missouri – They bounced back big time against West Virginia. I was again impressed by Kelly Bryant and look forward to watching him in the future. The combination of Albert O and Roundtree will be awesome to follow and look for Missouri to upset someone very soon.
Honorable Mention – UNC is back. Maryland and Josh Jackson are going to make some noise in the Big 10. I also really like BYU QB Zach Wilson, not to mention he’s an absolute hypebeast.
Who Didn’t?
Tennessee – Last week was not a fluke…Tennessee is really, really bad. Not only are they the worst team in the SEC, they are one of the worst in the NCAA. If a program changer isn’t implemented soon I’d recommend to just remove them from the SEC all together.
Syracuse – I never bought into this team as a top 25 candidate and still am puzzled at how they ever cracked the rankings. I do like the mechanics of Tommy DeVito, who has shown flashes of great potential, but not enough to get his team ranked.
Still Not Sold On
Michigan – Is this really Michigan’s year to upset Ohio State? Sure doesn’t look like it. I’m actually not that surprised by the close margin of victory, as Army is a tough opponent who always puts teams on upset alert due to their pound the rock and run the clock mentality.
Kellen Mond – I wrote about Mond’s NFL potential last week in my matchup preview, but he did not impress (nor did Rogers or Davis) against Clemson. A&M struggled greatly and may have confirmed the SEC’s greatest fear…that Clemson is even better than they were last year.
Heisman Race
- Joe Burrow – Burrow has been near perfect this season and capitalized Saturday at Texas.
- Jalen Hurts – Hurts goes off again, but will lack of ranked opponents hurt his resume?
- Rondale Moore – The lone WR on my list may just be the most dynamic playmaker in the country, but will losing his starting QB hurt him or make him look even better?
- Travis Etienne – Etienne cooled off a bit against the Aggie defense, but there is plenty of time left to pad those stats.
- Jonathan Taylor – Wisconsin has been outscoring opponents 110-0 which may be taking away from Taylor’s playing time.
- Justin Fields – Fields continues to prove that he belongs in the Heisman discussion, as he has dominated in the air and on the ground.
My Picks
(W) Clemson 35, Texas A&M 30 (Actual 24-10)
(W) LSU 42 ,Texas 17 (Actual 45-38)
(W) Lock of the Week – Auburn 52, Tulane 7 (Auburn -17) (Actual 24-6)
