Week Nine of college football has come and gone. I watched four games during the slate of contests.Â
Each week, I will look back at the top prospect performances from the games I watched the previous week.
WEEK NINE PROSPECT REWIND
GEORGIA STATE @ GEORGIA SOUTHERN
I watched Georgia State earlier in the season and no new prospects stood out to me in this game.
For Georgia Southern, an offensive barrage jumped out to me.
6th-year QB Davis Brin (6’2″ 208) doesn’t do anything special. He is likely not a draftable passer. He is a good collegiate QB. Against GSU, Brin completed 22/35 throws for 334 yards. Brin had three TD passes and one pick.
Brin’s top target was WR Khaled Hood. The 5th-year pass catcher projects as a slot at the NFL level (5’10” 180). Hood caught 8 of his 10 targets for 75 yards and a TD against the Panthers on Thursday.
Georgia Southern has a nice recent history of placing RBs into the NFL. The best example was QB-convert Jerrick McKinnon. Jalen White has a chance to be the next in line. White is a 4th-year runner. Against G-State, he ran for 116 yards on 25 carries with a score.
SYRACUSE @ VIRGINIA TECH
Syracuse is lacking NFL prospects for the 2024 NFL Draft class. Especially with the season-ending injury to WR/TE Orande Gadsden II. Their top prospect this year is LB Marlow Wax. Wax was tasked with spying on VT QB Khyron Drones most of the night. He did a great job of reading whether Drones was leaving the pocket and then attacking him. Wax recorded 14 tackles on the night (8 solos) including two sacks.
In a loaded edge class, don’t sleep on the Hokies’ Antwuan Powell-Ryland. APR, a Florida transfer, flattens around the offensive tackle quickly and then closes on the QB. He had two sacks on Syracuse QB Garrett Shrader and numerous other pressures. APR is moving up my edge board.
Hokies’ WR De’Quan Felton may be a one-trick pony at the next level. But he could be very good at it. Felton isn’t a nuanced route-runner. However, he does have the take the top off speed. Felton ran by the Syracuse corner (after beating his press attempt off of the line) and scorched them for a 62-yard score. He finished with three catches for 80 yards. I expect Felton to excel as a punt gunner as well.
UCONN @ BOSTON COLLEGE
If you love watching dominant guards, well, this was the game for you.
For UConn, IOL Christian Haynes is a dominant run blocker. He moves well for a man of his size. Consistently pulling and opening up holes. I expect Haynes to be a Senior Bowl invite. A big week in Mobile could push him into day two.
For BC, IOL Christian Mahogany has picked up where he left off after the 2021 season. An injury took away the 2022 season from the BC star. Like Haynes, Mahogany is a dominant run blocker but also handles the pass-blocking assignments well. He isn’t fooled by stunts or other gimmicks. Mahogany is another I expect to be in Mobile impressing scouts and NFL teams in early February.
PITT @ NOTRE DAME
I wanted to see how Notre Dame QB Sam Hartman would look playing in a real offense. The offense at Wake Forest is not conducive to getting an NFL evaluation. Hartman struggles with ball placement and overall pocket presence. Against Pitt, despite the rest of the offense cooking, he struggled. Hartman completed 18/25 passes for 288 yards and two interceptions. A lot of that 288 was catch and runs.
A player who didn’t struggle for the Irish was RB Audric Estime. Estime isn’t anything special but he was dominant against the Panthers. Estime had 21 touches for 130 yards and a TD.
Former WR Xavier Watts has carved out a nice spot for himself at safety. Watts fielded throws like a WR with two interceptions. It helped that Pitt QB Christian Veilleux is one of the worst I have seen this year throwing the football.
The best prospect for Pittsburgh was CB MJ Devonshire. MJD was solid in coverage. However, a fumble on a punt return led directly to an Irish score.
EVERYTHING ELSE
In what now seems like a weekly segment, UCLA edge rusher Laiatu Latu was once again dominant. In their win over Colorado, Latu was credited with two sacks. However, he could have probably been tagged with more. Latu also had at least a half dozen pressures. I moved him up to the #1 spot on my edge rusher rankings this week and the #4 overall spot.
Laiatu Latu (15) can attack in so many ways. Speed, power, doesn’t matter.
15 has bullied Colorado in the first half. pic.twitter.com/lJU0NVfkLX
— Ryan Fowler (@_RyanFowler_) October 29, 2023
Florida State WR Keon Coleman does this every week!
ONE-HANDED TD KEON COLEMAN ? pic.twitter.com/dnrcUcyLYH
— ESPN (@espn) October 28, 2023
Rice WR Luke McCaffrey continues to improve every week. The younger brother of Christian McCaffrey is a former QB at Nebraska.
Luke McCaffrey loses the helmet but holds onto the ball. pic.twitter.com/FllkmEPyaT
— Jim Nagy (@JimNagy_SB) October 28, 2023
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