Throughout the season, each Saturday, I will look at the best prospects from the FCS (or lower level) prospects I watched the weekend before. Or, I will look at the 2023 NFL Draft prospects from the Sun Belt schools I watched the prior weekend. During week five I saw one game involving Sun Belt teams and a few others with FCS prospects.
SUN BELT SATURDAY
APPALACHIAN STATE MOUNTAINEERS
App State RB Camerun Peoples is a dawg. He bulldozes his way through tackles and has a nice speed gear in the open field. I think so much of Peoples that I projected him to get a Senior Bowl invitation last Friday. Against Georgia State, Peoples ran for 167 yards on 22 carries with two touchdowns.
LB Nick Hampton may be another one of those tweeners. We project him to linebacker but he can do serious damage rushing off the edge. Hampton made a huge impact in the App State win. He had a strip sack that led to a score. Hampton finished with eight tackles (five solos), two sacks, and a forced fumble.
GEORGIA STATE PANTHERS
Georgia State’s best prospect is perhaps 5th-year corner Quavian White. White is solid in press man and likely projects inside in the NFL.
Safety Antavious Lane was called into action often as the App State offense was consistently running into the second level. Lane is way undersized (5’9” 180) but he is a sturdy tackler. He finished with ten stops (8 solos) and a TFL.
SOUTH ALABAMA JAGUARS
South Alabama WR Jalen Wayne had a solid outing but Troy’s defense kept him contained from making any impact plays. He caught 9 of his 12 targets for 68 yards. Wayne is another on my Senior Bowl predictions list.
TROY TROJANS
Trojans’ LB Carlton Martial continues his march to history. Martial recorded another eight tackles (seven solos) against the Jags. He finished his career 5-0 against his hometown school. I have already spoken several times about Martial in the past. He is going to be a special teams demon in the NFL.
LB Richard Jibunor has battled injuries this season. However, you can see the intensity he plays with on the field. Jibunor finishes runs instantly. Against USA, he recorded three solo tackles and a sack.
The best prospect for Troy is center Jake Andrews. The 5th-year prospect is powerful, quick with hands, and opens up wide holes in the run game. Andrews is also a stud in pass pro. He could work his way into a Top-100 spot by the time process concludes.
I will be back with more Sun Belt Saturday next week.