Welcome to “I Got 5 On It.” Each week, I’ll pick five news-worthy subjects based around college football to cover. Topics will range from views on Devy prospects, general college football talk, interesting stats, and a little bit of hip-hop music (mostly 90s rap).
1. The Curious Case of Tyrell Shavers
During the 2017 recruiting class, the Crimson Tide brought in an elite quartet of receivers. From that group, two have already become NFL 1st round draft selections, Henry Ruggs and Jerry Jeudy. The third man from that group was DeVonta Smith, who looks well onto his way as another first-round receiver. This brings us to the fourth and final member of the quartet, Tyrell Shavers. He entered Alabama as a 4-star and listed among the top 100 overall prospects. Out of high school, Shavers was listed at 6’6″ and 196 lbs. The biggest hype-driver for Shavers was a reported 4.38 40-yard dash at his size coming out of high school. I was fully on board for his hype train as he entered college. I thought he had the highest ceiling out of the group of receivers. He was certainly the riskiest prospect, which has turned out to be true thus far. For the 2020 season, Shavers has a new home. He teams up with the offensive genius Mike Leach at Mississippi State.
Shavers didn’t see action as a true freshman in 2017. He appeared in all 15 of Alabama’s games in 2018 and didn’t accumulate any stats. The 2019 season didn’t bring much success, either. Shavers caught one ball for 20 yards and rushed once for 14 yards. With the departures of Henry Ruggs and Jerry Jeudy, this finally set itself up as Shaver’s chance in Tuscaloosa, but we all recently found out that he’s taking his talents to Starkville, Mississippi. A new coaching staff, no spring practice, and very limited summer workouts leave us with little clue how Shavers and the rest of the Bulldogs receiving core will shake out for 2020.
Blurb from Kyle Francis’s SEC CFF Preview on Shavers. “In recent years, I’ve grown to trust Leach’s inside wide receivers more than those on the outside. The newest wrinkle is the news that freakshow athlete Tyrell Shavers transferred from Alabama to Starkville. If the Bulldogs needed another prototypical outside WR to stretch the field vertically, they just hit a home run.” While at Washington State in 2019, Leach had seven receivers with at least 45 receptions. Now is Shavers time to shine with a depth chart that has a lot of questions and a pass-happy scheme. Shavers still possesses an elite upside if he can bring it all together on the field. He’s one of the most intriguing players that I’ll be keeping an eye on each week.
2. Overlooked: Kevin Austin
Austin is one player that rarely gets talked about. Yet, he has the potential to have a big 2020 season to catapult himself up Devy and NFL Draft boards. Austin signed with Notre Dame as a four-star, and a top 100 overall composite ranked player. As a true freshman, Austin caught five balls for 90 yards in 11 appearances. He missed the entire 2019 season due to an undisclosed suspension. He has prototypical size for an outside alpha receiver. The Irish are losing four out of their top-five pass catchers from 2019, vacating over 76% of their receiving yards from last season. The team’s leading returning wideout only caught 13 balls a season ago. Notre Dame only got one spring practice in before the Covid19 outbreak, but Austin was running as the team’s top receiver from that practice. Over the last two seasons, the Irish top receiver has averaged 63/954/10. Notre Dame returns signal-caller Ian Book. The fifth-year QB will look to develop an early rapport with Austin. Austin has the chance to be the team’s top offensive weapon. While they return an experienced QB and their top six offensive line from 2019, the Irish RB and WR cores lack playmakers. Rising junior, Braden Lenzy, will be the team’s go-to gadget player. They will look to get him involved in vertical plays, screens, and sweeps to pull off big plays, but Austin will be the go-to alpha receiver. I can see him exceeding the previously mentioned averages of Notre Dames WR1s due to the lack of surrounding talent. Miles Boykin and Chase Claypool both had delayed breakout seasons after being highly touted early in their careers. This is Austin’s year to make a name for himself as he has a clear path to a major target load.
3. Who’s Next? Bijan Robinson
Robinson comes to Austin as one of the most gifted rushers to enter college in recent memory. Around this time last year, I wrote up a full report on Robinson prior to his senior season. During his senior year, he amassed 126/2235/38 for a ridiculous 17.7 YPC. Over his final three years of high school, he rushed for over 2,000 yards each season, averaging over 13.7 YPC during that time. Robinson ran for over 7,000 yards and 99 TDs during those three seasons at Salpointe Catholic High School. Robinson is clearly a better player than the Arizona competition he faces. His arrival in Austin caused the move of the one-time running back Jordan Whittington to slide out to the slot position this spring. Robinson most likely plays second fiddle to junior running back, Keaontay Ingram, this fall. I can see a scenario where Robinson is getting 5-8 touches per game as a change of pace back. Robinson is my top overall prospect in the 2023 class, regardless of position. I fully expect him to take over the starting spot in 2021, once Ingram enters the NFL Draft following the 2020 season. Big 12 defenses will have a hard time defending the size and speed of Robinson. He reportedly arrived on UT’s campus at 220 lbs.
4. Ragin’ Cajuns
Bill Napier has the needle pointing up in a big way in Lafayette. The team is coming off of an 11-3 season in which all three losses were by less than 10 points, including a Week 1 loss to Mississippi State. They return five offensive linemen with at least one full year of starts under their belts, including two experienced sixth-year seniors. According to Athlon Sports College Football Preview, the Cajuns were top-10 nationally in total offense, scoring, and yards per play in 2019. They bring back the most productive rushing duo in the nation. Trey Ragas and Elijah Mitchell have combined for a career 5,203 rushing yards and 61 TDs. Also returning is starting QB Levi Lewis, who’s started every game over the last two seasons. Lewis completed over 64% of his passes in 2019 with a 26-4 TD to INT ratio. The Ragin’ Cajuns project as the Sun Belt Champions in 2020, over 2019 champs Appalachian State. Every game on their schedule is winnable. Their two toughest games against Appalachian State and Missouri both come on the road. A New Year’s Six Bowl game isn’t out of the question, especially if they can go on the road late in the season and knock off Missouri from the SEC and win the Sun Belt title.
While they might not make a big impact in 2020, the Cajuns are bringing in two of the top G5 recruits in the nation.
Emani Bailey, RB from Denton, Texas: Blurb on Bailey from my top G5 Incoming Freshman RBs. Bailey had a really big senior season that saw him rise up the 247Sports ranks (but his composite rank stayed low due to other sites not bumping him up). Playing against some of Texas’s best teams he racked up 1,700 yards 24 TDs and 21 receptions for 262 yards. Bailey runs with a good burst and shows the ability to be a big-play threat. He’s also shown the ability to be an asset in the pass-catching game. The Ragin’ Cajuns have shown an impressive rushing attack over the past couple of years, and Bailey has the chance to add to that. Potential multi-year starter.
Kyren Lacy, WR from Thibodaux, Louisiana: Blurb on Lacy from my top G5 Incoming Freshman WRs. If you look just at the 247Sports rank, Lacy was a 4-star prospect and the fifth overall receiver but was heavily dragged down by the other sites in the composite ranks (which is what I am using, hence his low ranking on this article). Lacy claimed late offers from Miami-FL and Houston but stuck to his ULL commitment. The 6’2” 210 lb. the receiver had a nice senior year catching 54 balls for 864 yards (16 YPC) and 18 TDs. Lacy also excelled on the hardwood; his ULL bio page lists him at 20 PPG, 12 Rebs, and 6 Blks per game. Lacy is a big-bodied receiver with above-average speed. Lacy has a good get-off of the line of scrimmage and is physical after the catch. As you would expect with his basketball background, he shows good leaping ability and is able to come down with 50/50 balls, something that has been lacking on this list so far. Lacy is a potential early contributor for the Cajuns with future All-Sun-Belt potential.
Bill Napier is heading into his third year at the helm of Louisiana. He’s currently only 40 years old, with a very bright future ahead of him. He’s currently building a Sun Belt monster. I fully expect Napier to nab a big gig in the ACC or SEC very soon. He has coaching roots from both Nick Saban and Dabo Swinney.
5. Liquid Swords
The best solo project released by any Wu-Tang Clan member, GZA’s 1995 release, is one of the best albums to drop in the 90s, period. It remains one of my top-5 favorite projects of all-time. With masterful lyrics mixed with the production from RZA during the prime of his career, Liquid Swords boasts some of the best beats in hip-hop history.
“And GZA brought his A-game, his considered, narrative flow coursing through the record – “flowing like liquid metal”, as he later put it; sharp like the swords in the film the album borrowed its name from, Legend Of The Liquid Sword, in which “people would get their head cut off but it would still be on their shoulders… because the sword was so sharp”. On group efforts, Wu-Tang members had to battle for the prime spots, competing like martial arts combatants to prove they were worthy enough to carry a track. But though every Wu affiliate of the time makes a guest turn on Liquid Swords, it’s clearly GZA’s show, his ghetto lyrics peppered with both martial arts and chess motifs – memorably reflected in the artwork – as he takes his position as the grandmaster of the group. And he’s understated with it, too. ‘Shadowboxin’’ might give the opening and closing verses to Method Man, but GZA bobs and weaves in the middle, scoring all the fatal hits.” a breakdown from udiscovermusic.com
Even more from Pitchfork.com “One of the many great things about Liquid Swords is that while it’s an unimpeachable work of lyrical mastery, of fierce intellect and sound morals, it’s in no way a record for prudes. Yes, there are plenty of high-minded theological dissertations, particularly the Killah Priest solo curiosity “B.I.B.L.E.”. But the criminology element is every bit as present as on Only Built 4 Cuban Linx. While Raekwon and Ghostface sounded high off their own supply, embodying Mafioso and druglords dealing with the extreme emotions, rewards and larger than life personalities, GZA is far more objective about the situation.”
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