During week three of college football, I was driving down to Orlando for vacation. In the midst of week four, I was still there. But that doesn’t mean that the ole DVR didn’t record a few games for me. I watched five games from the last two weeks and looked at several prospects from within.
Each week, I will look back at the top prospect performances from the games I watched the previous week.
WEEK THREE AND FOUR PROSPECT REWIND
WESTERN KENTUCKY AT INDIANA
Indiana quarterback Connor Bazelak looks improved from last season. The Missouri transfer looks more comfortable standing in the pocket and delivering the ball down the field. Against the Hilltoppers, Bazelak was 33/55 for 364 yards and two scores.
D.J. Matthews looks recovered from the injury that took him out last season. He caught five balls for 41 yards on nine targets. He did drop what would have been a 60+ yard score.
The Hoosiers’ defense is led by a pair of aggressive tacklers. Cam Jones (13 tackles, 7 solos, 1 FF) and Aaron Casey (8 tackles, 6 solos, 3 TFL) are 5th-year players who could make it in the NFL.
WKU QB Austin Reed is the rare case of transferring up from Division II (West Florida) to FCS. You can see that Reed is still getting used to a higher quality of game speed. He gets a tad excited in the pocket and tries to make plays that one can get away with in the Gulf South Conference. He threw an interception in the endzone trying to throw across his body. That being said, Reed showed he can compete against a team with NFL talent. He completed 33/43 passes against Indiana for 329 yards. Reed tossed two scores and ran for another.
The most impressive player for Western Kentucky, however, was 5th-year CB Kahlef Hailassie. Hailassie is long and lean. He shows good instincts and attacks the football quickly. Hailassie notched nine tackles (six solos), one sack, and two PBUs against IU.
SMU AT MARYLAND
It is time to start moving SMU WR Rashee Rice up the board. Rice stood out a year ago but now he is the focal point of the Mustangs’ passing attack. He has amazing body control and hands. Against Maryland, Rice caught 11 passes for 193 yards. He was targeted a whopping 20 times! He is fast and runs well after the catch. Stock way up for me.
A WR I was really high on last year was Maryland’s, Dontay Demus. Unfortunately, the knee injury he suffered last season has sapped what made him special. I genuinely hope he can recover to his 2020-2021 form.
CHATTANOOGA AT ILLINOIS
Illinois RB Chase Brown continued his fantastic start to the 2022 season against the Mocs. After rushing for 108 yards against UTC, Brown has now gone over 100 in every game this year. Thus far, he hasn’t factored much in the receiving game. This is something to monitor going forward.
Read notes on the Chattanooga prospects on Saturday.
MARSHALL AT TROY
Read about prospects for both teams during my Sun Belt Scouting column on Saturday.
CHARLOTTE AT SOUTH CAROLINA
I was sitting poolside at Disney’s Polynesian Resort watching this game on my phone. I didn’t have many takeaways from this one. South Carolina took over on an overmatched opponent. However, we have been waiting for the Marshawn Lloyd breakout game and it finally came. The 3rd-year back showed crazy balance, he showed explosion, and one of the most successful hurdles I have ever seen. Lloyd carried the ball 15 times for 169 yards and three scores against the 49ers. Seriously though, watch this leap!
this hurdle was too clean ??@GamecockFB x #SCtop10 pic.twitter.com/lATI4CffVG
— Southeastern Conference (@SEC) September 25, 2022
Check back on Saturday for another edition of Sun Belt/Small School Scouting.