West Coast Teams Got A Chance To Showcase Their Prospects On Saturday.
Week 11 of the college football season was filled with a lot of upsets. Three of the top four teams in the country went down. All of the upsets are going to cause a lot of chaos for the college football playoff committee so it will be interesting to see their rankings on Tuesday night.
The game that drew most of the attention in week 11 is a battle between two west coast teams, #2o USC at #4 Washington. West coast teams sometimes get overlooked by most of the country since they play a lot of their games after people who don’t live on the west coast go to bed. Washington, who was also featured in last weeks edition of this series, has as much NFL talent as nearly any team in the country.
The other games that took place in week 11 that showcased some prospects were Baylor at #11 Oklahoma and a prime-time game between #3 Michigan and Iowa.
Baylor at #11 Oklahoma
Baylor is having a down year compared to how they have fared in recent years. After getting off to a slow start this season Oklahoma has turned their season around and are now playing some good football.
Oklahoma was the more talented team in this game and it showed in the final score which was 45 to 24 in Oklahoma’s favor. Both of the teams in this game have some prospects who will likely be taken in the 2017 draft.
Baylor
- Quarterback Seth Russell, Senior, 6’3” 220: Russell has a lot of the physical tools needed to be an NFL quarterback. He has good arm strength and he’s a pretty mobile quarterback who can move around in the pocket and scramble when he needs to. He didn’t play well in this game. Worst of all he suffered a nasty dislocated ankle (don’t google it, it’s gross) in the third quarter of this game and will likely miss the remainder of the year. Even with the injury, there’s a chance that a team takes a flier on Russell with a late round pick because of his physical abilities.
- Wide Receiver KD Cannon, Junior, 6’0” 180 (Pictured Above): Cannon is a late round draft prospect who has shown some potential. He is a big play receiver who has good speed. In this game he had seven receptions for 122 yards and two touchdowns. NFL teams love speed so if Cannon continues to make big plays his stock will shoot up.
- Safety Orion Stewart, Senior, 6’2” 205: Baylor isn’t known for having a great defense, and they don’t have a great defense this year. Stewart is a bright spot on the defensive side of the ball for Baylor. Against Oklahoma Stewart recorded nine tackles and an interception. That’s a pretty impressive stat-line. Stewart is considered a late round prospect and with all of the talent in the secondary in this draft class that’s likely where he’ll stay.
Oklahoma
- Wide Receiver Dede Westbrook, Redshirt Senior, 6’0” 176 (Pictured Above): Westbrook was kept in check during the first three games of the season. Since those three games however he has caught fire and has played a large role in Oklahoma turning their season around. He has made a number of big plays and this game was no exception. Against Baylor he hauled in four passes for 88 yards and two touchdowns. His draft stock has been rising steadily and he currently is projected to be a 2nd round prospect.
- Running Back Joe Mixon, Redshirt Sophomore, 6’1” 226: Mixon is a very talented football player. Against Baylor, Mixon had 14 carries for 124 and a score and he also caught five passes for 63 yards as well. NFL teams will love what Mixon can do athletically because of his blend of size and speed. However he has some serious baggage. In 2014 he was arrested for punching a women. This could scare off some NFL teams and will have a hurt on his draft stock.
- Quarterback Baker Mayfield, Redshirt Junior, 6’1” 210: Mayfield is an exciting player to watch. He moves around the pocket to extend plays and isn’t scared of taking shots down the field. He performed well against Baylor completing 20 of his 25 pass attempts and two touchdowns, and he ran in a touchdown as well. The downside of Mayfield is he turns the ball over too often, and he did have an interception against Baylor. If Mayfield decides to go pro be will likely be a mid to late round prospect.
#3 Michigan at Iowa
Michigan traveled to Iowa for what many considered one of their most difficult road games of the season. On paper this game shouldn’t have been too challenging for the Wolverines. Iowa has not been a great team this year and they came into this game on a two game losing streak. But Iowa managed to pull off the upset in front of their home crowd.
Michigan
- Safety Jabrill Peppers, Redshirt Sophomore, 6’1” 205: Peppers had a pretty quiet game against Iowa. His only contribution to the stat sheet were five tackles. He didn’t make any game-changing plays that people have come to expect out of him. There isn’t much that Peppers could do to hurt his draft stock much at this point though so he will remain a projected early 1st round draft pick.
- Defensive Tackle Chris Wormley, Redshirt Senior, 6’6” 302: Wormley doesn’t get as much attention as some of his teammates but he is a very solid player. He performed well in this contest. He logged six tackles, two tackles for a loss, and a sack. NFL teams like guys who can get after the quarterback from the interior and Wormley can do that. The senior defensive tackle is considered a 2nd round prospect.
- Defensive End Taco Charlton, Senior, 6’6” 272: Besides the fact that he has one of the best names in the 2017 class of draft prospects he is also a talented player. He has very good size for the next level and has skills to go with it. Against Iowa he had four tackles and a sack. Defensive ends have to be able to rush the quarterback in the NFL and Charlton has been able to do that this season. As of now he is considered a late 2nd or 3rd round prospect.
Iowa
- Cornerback Desmond King, Senior, 5’11” 203: King played well in this game. He logged six tackles, one tackle for a loss, and a pass deflection. He also played a large part in Iowa slowing down Michigan’s passing game which hasn’t been an easy thing for teams to do this season. King has been a solid college cornerback for awhile now and NFL teams will like the amount of experience and production that he brings to the table. He is a 1st or 2nd round prospect.
- Quarterback C.J. Beathard, Senior, 6’2” 215: Beathard entered the year as one of the higher rated quarterback prospects. His stock has fallen quite a bit since then. He didn’t play well in this game against Michigan’s top-tier defense. He completed eight of his 19 pass attempts for 66 yards and a touchdown. He also had an interception. He didn’t make many bad decisions that hurt his team but also didn’t produce much either. He is a late round prospect.
#20 USC at #4 Washington
Washington was looking to prove to the nation that they are one of the best teams in the country. Up to this point in the season Washington hasn’t played many games against good teams. USC lost three of their first four games but they won every game since then entering week 11. This game was another one of the big upsets of the week, USC beat Washington 26-13.
USC
- Wide Receiver Juju Smith-Schuster, Junior, 6’2” 220: Smith is one of the better wide receiver prospects that will likely be available in the 2017 draft. His stock isn’t quite as high as it was entering the season however. He didn’t help himself much this game against the talented Washington secondary only catching three passes for 41 yards. He is a solid route runner with good hands but doesn’t have great speed. He is a 1st or 2nd round prospect.
- Cornerback Adoree’ Jackson, Junior, 5’11” 185 (Pictured Above): Jackson is one of the best athletes in the country. He isn’t considered among the top cornerbacks however because he lacks the polish and technique that the top guys have for the most part. Jackson played pretty well in this game. He had three tackles, a pass deflection, and two interceptions. Because of his athletic ability there’s a possibility that a team takes a chance on him in the 2nd round of the 2017 draft.
Washington
- Wide Receiver John Ross, Junior, 5’11” 190 (Pictured Above): Ross has emerged as one of the best wide receivers in the country. His speed and explosiveness is incredible to watch. In this game he caught eight passes for 154 yards and a score. He has been rising up draft boards all season long and he has become a 1st or at worst an early 2nd round prospect.
- Cornerback Sidney Jones, Junior, 6’0” 181: Jones didn’t have his best game on the stat sheet in this game. He only recorded three tackles. He did however play a role in limiting USC passing game. Jones is one of the more talented corners in the country and he will likely be taken in the 1st round of the 2017 draft.
- Safety Budda Baker, Junior, 5’10” 192: Baker doesn’t quite have the size that teams want in a safety but he has the talent to make up for it. He played pretty well against USC racking up seven tackles and two tackles for a loss. He is a 2nd or 3rd round prospect for the 2017 draft.
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