Week one of the bowl season is near completion. Between myself and Shane P Hallam, we have watched every bowl game so far (as of the time you are reading this). I am going to give you one stand-out draft-eligible player from the six games I have watched thus far.
BOWL GAME WEEK ONE STANDOUTS
BAHAMAS BOWL
TOLEDO ROCKETS
This was my first watch of safety Tycen Anderson. Anderson has already accepted a Senior Bowl invite. Anderson is a rangy athlete with good length. Against Middle Tennessee, Anderson recorded two tackles and had one PBU.
MIDDLE TENNESSEE BLUE RAIDERS
Safety Reed Blankenship is a borderline draftable talent. He has been a good, not great player for the last couple of seasons. Blankenship had four solo tackles and one QB hurry against Toledo. He is headed to the Shrine Game in Vegas.
CELEBRATION BOWL
SOUTH CAROLINA STATE BULLDOGS
Decobie Durant is an outside corner with limited length but is a tremendous man cover player. He may have a future as a nickel player. Durant had one sack and a PBU in their upset of Jackson State. Durant is also headed to the Shrine.
JACKSON STATE TIGERS
JSU senior edge rusher James Houston is an explosive pass rusher with a quick first step. Houston is too small to be a hand-on-ground pass rusher in the NFL. So, he will have to be a stand-up linebacker at the next level. Against SCSU, Houston had six tackles, three TFLs, and two sacks. He now has 15 sacks on the season.
LENDING TREE BOWL
I was at this game live on Saturday. You can read my full bowl game notes HERE
LA BOWL
OREGON STATE BEAVERS
There isn’t much in the way of NFL draft prospects on the Oregon State team. In my opinion, the best draft-eligible player on their roster is junior TE Luke Musgrave. The son of Bill Musgrave, Luke is a huge target at the position (6-6 252). He has a great build, solid hands, and is a good route runner. Musgrave is an adequate blocker. Against Utah State, Musgrave caught three passes for 44 yards. It is unlikely that he will declare.
UTAH STATE AGGIES
Utah State WR Deven Thompkins is one of the most productive wide receivers in football. Against Oregon State, he caught six balls for 155 yards and a score. Thompkins’s size is an issue as far as how he transitions to the NFL. He is listed at 5’8” and 155-pounds. Tutu Atwell was a second-round pick last year at a similar size. Although he probably shouldn’t have been. I will be curious to see how he tests at his pro day or the combine.
NEW ORLEANS BOWL
LOUISIANA RAGIN CAJUNS
My favorite prospect on the Louisiana roster is junior guard O’Cyrus Torrence. The humongous road grader (6’5” 332) is an agile punisher of defenders. We have received no indication on whether he will enter this draft class or possibly transfer to a big school as of yet.
MARSHALL THUNDERING HERD
Senior safety Brandon Drayton had a great game in the loss to ULL. The 6’3” 195-pound center fielder recorded ten tackles (eight solos). Drayton currently projects as a late-round/UDFA type.
MYRTLE BEACH BOWL
OLD DOMINION MONARCHS
Old Dominion, like Oregon State, is lacking in pro prospects. Stone Smartt started the season entered the season as a quarterback. He was also on Bruce Feldman’s freaks list. Smartt moved to WR at the start of the season and has only had modest production. Against Tulsa, he caught four balls for 28 yards. I am not sure if he has any eligibility left, but if he does, he should go back and get another year in at wide receiver.
TULSA GOLDEN HURRICANE
DL Jaxson Player is a disruptive interior pass rusher. Player had five tackles (three solos) and one sack against the Monarchs. Player is likely to be a late-round selection.