Week 12 College Football Action – Future Draft Prospects to Keep an Eye On
Week 12 of the college football season was relatively quiet. There weren’t many great games or upsets. The college football rankings won’t be much different heading into week 13.
Because of the lack of good games this week, selecting the games to talk about in this article wasn’t difficult. We’ll look at #9 Oklahoma at #14 West Virginia, #23 Florida at #16 LSU, and Missouri at #19 Tennessee.
#9 Oklahoma at #14 West Virginia
On paper this looked like it was going to be a close game. Oklahoma has the Big 12’s best offense. West Virginia has the Big 12’s best defense. It was made clear that Oklahoma’s offense was superior to West Virginia’s defense. The final score was 56-28 in the favor of the Oklahoma Sooners.
Both sides have guys who will play on Sundays; some performed well in this game.
Oklahoma
- Wide Receiver Dede Westbrook, Redshirt Senior, 6’0” 176: Westbrook continues to impress with his ability to make big plays. In this game he only had two catches but he took those two catches for 100 yards and a touchdown. Oklahoma didn’t throw much in this game so that limited Westbrook. He will remain a 2nd round draft prospect.
- Running Back Joe Mixon, Redshirt Sophomore, 6’1” 226: As far as physical talent goes there aren’t many running backs in college football who are on Mixon’s level. In this game he had 24 carries for 147 yards and a score. His draft stock will be limited due to off the field concerns so he is mid-round prospect.
- Running Back Samaje Perine, Junior, 5’10” 235 (Pictured Above): Mixon isn’t Oklahoma’s only talented runner, in fact Perine is often more featured in the offense. He isn’t as explosive as Mixon but he is a very physical runner who is hard to bring down. He received 31 carries in this contest and used them to rack up 160 yards and two touchdowns. He is considered to be somewhere between a 3rd round to mid-round prospect.
West Virginia
- Wide Receiver Shelton Gibson, Redshirt Junior, 6’0” 198: Gibson is known as a big play receiver with speed. He doesn’t catch a lot of balls but when he does they are for a lot of yards. He is averaging around 20 yards per catch so far this season. In this game he had two catches for 65 yards. He’s a mid- to late-round draft prospect.
- Running Back Justin Crawford, Junior, 5’11” 198 (Pictured Above): Crawford wasn’t really on many peoples’ draft radar before this game but his performance was too good to not mention. He carried the ball 24 times and ran for 331 yards. That’s 13.8 yards per carry against a defense that isn’t horrible. This game may have put Crawford into the late round prospect range if he decides to go pro after this season.
#23 Florida at #16 LSU
This game was originally scheduled to be played on October 8th, however it was postponed due to Hurricane Matthew. After much negotiation the two sides finally agreed to play week 12.
Both of these teams have a good number of draft prospects as well as some of the best defenses in college football. However Florida was without their star safety Marcus Maye and one of the top linebacker prospects for the 2017 draft Jarrad Davis.
As for LSU, their star running back was questionable and was likely not going to play. That changed after LSU and Florida got into a scuffle during pregame warm-ups, during the scuffle Fournette was seen shoving Florida’s defensive backs coach. The confrontation must have got Fournette’s competitive juices flowing because he convinced his coach to let him play.
The game was largely dominated by defense. Florida’s defense prevailed in the end. LSU had two chances to score from the one yard line at the end of the game but Florida’s defense got the job done and won the game with the final score of 16-10.
Florida
- Cornerback Quincy Wilson, Junior, 6’1” 213: Wilson has established himself as one of the best cornerbacks in college football. He didn’t have a big game on the stat sheet but he still played well. He is a 1st round draft prospect.
- Cornerback Teez Tabor, Junior, 6’0” 199: Tabor also played well at the cornerback position for the Gators. He had six tackles and a pass deflection in this game. He is also a first round draft prospect.
- Defensive Tackle Caleb Brantley, Redshirt Junior, 6’2” 297 (Pictured Above): Brantley played really well for the Gators in this contest. He recorded five tackles and three tackles for loss. He’s one of the better interior defensive linemen in college football and is considered a 2nd-3rd round draft prospect.
LSU
- Running Back Leonard Fournette, Junior, 6’1” 230: Fournette has been battling an ankle injury that some fear may be a chronic issue. He played in this game but was not 100 percent. He only received 12 carries and ran for 40 yards. Obviously Fournette has established himself as a 1st round pick. His stock could take a hit however if NFL teams think his ankle will continue to be a problem for him.
- Cornerback Tre’Davious White, Senior, 6’0” 197 (Pictured Above): White is one of the better cornerbacks in college football. He performed well in this game recording 2 tackles and 4 pass deflections. The biggest thing working against White is how many talented cornerbacks who will likely be available in the 2017 draft. He is a 2nd round prospect.
- Defensive Tackle Davon Godchaux, Junior, 6’4” 299: Godchaux is another prospect who performed well for LSU in this game. He had 6 tackles and a tackle for loss. He could end up being a nice value pick considering he is rated a 3rd or 4th round prospect but has performed well in a few big games this season.
Missouri at #19 Tennessee
This was a close game for three quarters, the score at the end of the 3rd quarter was 35-27 in Tennessee’s favor. Tennessee dominated the 4th quarter and ended up winning the game 63-37.
Neither of these teams has a ton of NFL draft prospects but they both have a few, including two of the best pass rushers in the draft class.
Missouri
- Defensive End Charles Harris, Redshirt Junior, 6’3” 260 (Pictured Above): Harris is one of the best defensive linemen in college football. He had a decent game against Tennessee, recording six tackles, one tackle for loss, and two QB hurries. It wasn’t a bad performance but not one of Harris’ better games either. He is a 1st round prospect.
- Outside Linebacker Donavin Newson, Redshirt Senior, 6’2” 240: Newson is a late round prospect for the 2017 draft. He didn’t really hurt or help his stock in this game. The 5th year linebacker had five tackles, a half of a tackle for loss, and a pass deflection.
Tennessee
- Defensive End Derek Barnett, Junior, 6’3” 265 (Pictured Above): Barnett is not just one of the best defensive linemen in college football, he is one of the best defensive players period. The junior will likely be at least a top-15 selection in the 2017 draft. He had a pretty good game in this one with six tackles, a sack and one QB hurry.
- Cornerback Cameron Sutton, Senior, 5’11” 186: Sutton isn’t necessarily considered one of the elite corners in the 2017 draft class however he is still a solid prospect. He had five tackles and a pass deflection. The senior is considered a 2nd or 3rd round prospect.
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