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. CUSA Mystery Man
While talking about Tutu Atwell last week, and him topping the charts in a few advanced metrics, I mentioned a mystery CUSA receiver that stuck out to me. This prospect ranked among names like CeeDee Lamb, Rashod Bateman, Tyler Johnson, DeVonta Smith, and Ja’Marr Chase in an efficiency metric that I was toying around with. Said CUSA wideout, averaged nearly 20 yards per catch on 57 receptions as a redshirt junior. He’s a former JUCO player that only played in four games in 2018 following JUCO, allowing him to play as a fifth-year senior in 2020. He also comes in 6th in the nation in yards per team passing attempt at 3.23. One of only nine players to average over 3 yards per team passing attempt in 2019. Of players that hauled in over 1,000 yards in 2019, only Tee Higgins averaged fewer targets (5.7) per game to reach that mark. The mystery man only averaged 6.7 targets per game in 2019.
UAB fifth-year senior receiver Austin Watkins, Jr. is listed at 6’3” and 205lbs by the Blazers. He’s the cousin of current Kansas City Chiefs WR Sammy Watkins. Watkins has good speed and is a vertical threat. The veteran receiver was named to the Preseason 1st Team All CUSA by Athlon Sports for 2020. Watkins is a player that can have another big season in 2020. Doing so can result in making Watkins an early third-day NFL Draft pick.
2. Chris Tyree
Tyree signed with the Irish as the top-ranked All-Purpose Back in the nation in the latest recruiting cycle. With the loss of Tony Jones Jr and the lack of development by Jafar Armstrong, the Irish are in need of a difference-maker in the backfield. Tyree is a speedster, clocking sub 4.4 40s at each of the last two Nike Opening Finals and winning the fastest man in back-to-back years at the event. For those that aren’t aware, The Opening is the premiere testing grounds for the top rising seniors and juniors at the high school level. Only the best high school athletes are able to earn an invite to the event. In nine games as a senior at Thomas Dale High School, Tyree ran for 655 yards on 71 carries (9.2 YPC). Over his final two years, he caught 36 balls for almost 500 yards and is one of the best return specialists in his class.
While Tyree is a burner, his size and strength were always a bit of a question. He’s rumored to have shown up to Notre Dame in June at 190lbs. This is a great development for Tyree physically. The Notre Dame backfield is wide open for the taking. Any of the six backs on the roster could nab the starting gig, a lot of uncertainty, and unproven commodities. No matter who gains the starting role, I expect Tyree to have a role in the offense. The Irish currently don’t have a true speed threat that can change the game with one play. Tyree provides that ability and has ample pass-catching abilities. He can influence the game with his rushing abilities, his hands, and his returning ability. If Notre Dame wants to be able to compete with the elite schools this season, they need Tyree to step up and provide big-play ability.
3. Ke’Travion Hargrove
Hargrove saw a recent big-time bump in his recruiting rank. He’s currently committed to Louisiana Tech but is ranked as the 10th best RB in the nation according to 247Sports. Jumping from the 40th overall RB to the top 10 and he’s ranked in the top 175 overall now. Since his bump, he’s seen offers from Florida State, Penn State, and South Carolina roll in. Hargrove lives in the backyard of Louisiana Tech, who was recruiting him before anybody else. Hargrove explains where he’s at with his recruitment recently to 247.
Loyalty to his hometown program is strong, but Hargrove admits there are a few offers out there that would make him think, including Clemson and home-state LSU; Hargrove thinks the defending national champions are on the verge of offering. He also hopes to visit programs like Florida State and Baylor in the future once recruiting restrictions are lifted.
“I’m looking for (a few) SEC offers,” Hargrove said. “But if that doesn’t work out, I’d be (happy) staying with Louisiana Tech. … Really, my eyes are just open right now.”
As a junior, Hargrove rushed for 1,537 yards (7.5 YPC) for 20 TDs and caught 17 balls for 460 (27 YPR) and 6 TDs. All of that came playing in the top level of Louisiana High School Football. As a sophomore, he mainly played safety and battled a back injury all season. This past season was his first varsity season at running back. He’s listed at 5’11” and 185lbs and runs a 6.63 in the 55 meters.
Hargrove has above-average speed and runs with good change of direction. He has a really good burst when he plants his foot in the ground. He finds his hole, plants and explodes upfield. I think it can only get better as he bulks up. Hargrove has good receiving ability, able to take short passes and turn into long TDs. Shows good hands and runs good routes for a back.
Hargrove is a good player with minimal varsity experience as a back, he really has the chance to move up even further into the ranks. Especially considering I think this running back class isn’t as talented as past classes. He needs to bulk up a bit and work on his top-end speed but I like his future. It would be nice to see him stick to his Louisiana Tech commit but that is highly doubtful, especially if Clemson or LSU comes calling.
4. Alabama Incoming Freshman Running Backs
This past February the Crimson Tide signed three tremendous backs. Individually, I love all the players, but as a whole, I hate it. Somebody or somebodies just isn’t going to see the field and either be wasted away on the bench or transfer to greener pastures. Looking at the 247Sports Composite Ranks, both Jase McClellan and Roydell Williams rank as top 10 overall backs. You’ll have to scroll down a bit to find the next back in Kyle Edwards. He comes in as the 29th overall back but don’t let that ranking fool you; he’s as talented as the other two backs. I scouted both McClellan and Williams for the 2020 Devy Watch Guide and have also written about Edwards in a few underrated recruits pieces.
Jase McClellan, #6 Overall RB, 5’10”, 202lbs:
McClellan was a long-time Oklahoma Sooners commit before flipping to the Crimson Tide on National Signing Day. The Texas native played against the second-highest level of competition in the state, and McClellan was extremely productive. Tallying 867/6686/124 rushing for his four-year career and caught 28/428/3 for Aledo High School. The March before his senior season, McClellan ran a verified 4.55 40-yard dash at a Nike Opening Regional event. He’s already built like a player who’s been in a college strength program. He doesn’t have a lot more room for growth but can easily bulk up to 215-220lbs range. On the field, he shows above-average speed and does get caught from behind on longer runs. Runs with good power utilizing an excellent stiff arm and runs through defenders. Has outstanding balance at the point of contact that allows him to gain yards after contact. McClellan is difficult to get to the ground. His change of direction is just okay; it’s not a big part of his game. McClellan is a downhill runner who shows good, additional explosion through the line of scrimmage.
Roydell Williams, #9 Overall RB, 5’10”, 202lbs:
Roydell was the first of the three backs to commit to Alabama. He was committed to the Tide a full year before he finally signed on the dotted line. During his final two years of high school, the Alabama native rushed for 475/4046/56 and was very productive in the receiving game with 43/550/5. Williams is listed at over 200 pounds but appears to be a good 10 pounds lighter. He has a very skinny lower body, has a ton of room to grow and bulk up during his time at Alabama. Runs with great quickness and explosion. Moves with great ease on the field. When Williams can plant his foot in the ground, he’s able to create a lot of separation from would-be tacklers. Very light-footed and can quickly change his course of direction. Runs with good power and able to run through high school defenders. Has average to above-average speed. Has caught 20 balls or more for the last three years of his high school career, showing he can be a useful safety net for his QB.
Kyle Edwards, #29 Overall RB, 6’0”, 210lbs:
The words Alabama and underrated-running-back-signee are hardly ever spoken, but Edwards breaks the mold. The Louisiana native is just a three-star and the 29th overall RB in the nation. As a junior, Edwards only rushed for 700 yards due to being stuck behind 5-star RB and current LSU freshman John Emery. Edwards is billed at a stout 210 lbs. and looks to be sub-6-feet tall. Already blessed with a college physique, Edwards is built very powerfully and plays like it. A powerful, patient runner with above-average speed, Edwards fits the mold of an Alabama running back outside of his rankings. The downside is Edwards is the third-highest ranked RB in the Crimson Tide’s class. Edwards may be able to showcase his talent, but it may not be at Alabama with that loaded backfield. I really like Edwards’ talent, hopefully, he can find a new spot or beat out the players in front of him for playing time.
5. Apollo Kids
The second album from Ghostface Killah, Supreme Clientele, dropped in February of 2000. Not much else has to be said about this masterpiece other than how Albumish.Com explained it on the 20 year anniversary this February “The race for the title of the best album of the 2000s was finished a little over a month into its first year. As soon as Dennis “Ghostface Killah” Coles’ Supreme Clientele hit the shelves, the competition was effectively over. It was the best album of the decade. It’s better than every album released since. It arguably belongs among the greatest albums of all time.”
Ghostface Killah had been progressing as an artist since his early appearances on the Wu-Tang Clan’s breakthrough 1993 debut album Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers), really coming into his own as Raekwon’s partner in rhyme on Only Built 4 Cuban Linx… (1995) and then on his own debut solo release Iron Man (1996). With Supreme Clientele, he elevated himself to the stratosphere of elite emcees.
Ghostface earned his stature as one of the titans by being as wild and odd as possible. It’s an approach he first began to embrace on “Cobra Clutch,” a track on Wu-Tang’s 1998 compilation The Swarm. With Supreme Clientele, he plays things to the hilt, becoming a swirling whirlwind of lyrical energy and slang.”
PitchFork goes on to say the following about the album.
If hip-hop’s original rule was the Wild Style, Supreme Clientele shatters every precept while still respecting the foundation. There are scratches, breakbeats, and the (mostly) good-natured insanity to be the greatest. It’s the wildest style, rap stretched to silly putty lengths, as far as you can go without falling off the edge of the needle. There’s the DNA of Rakim, Big Daddy Kane, Biz Markie, Rammellzee, Slick Rick, Ultramagnetic MCs and Kool Keith, but this marked a seismic rupture with tradition. It was art-rap made for the asphalt—the closest that hip-hop ever came to Ulysses, and not only because Joyce described the “snotgreen sea” and Ghost conjured a “booger-green Pacer.” Both Joyce and Ghost understand that basic idea that a “man of genius makes no mistakes. His errors are volitional and are the portals of discovery.”
Through this warped and sinistral way, Supreme Clientele is about love. *Ironman *unmasked a scorned Lothario simultaneously trying to establish himself as an elite rapper like Raekwon, Method Man, Ol’ Dirty Bastard, and GZA. It’s a competitive record with something to prove. But here Ghost sounds like he just fucking loves rapping. And he loves children in Africa. And he loves ’70s and ’80s New York. And he loves 2Pac and Biggie and Malcolm and Marvin Gaye and anyone who stood for something. He loves mink coats, cognac, baked ziti, and Allah. He’s extraordinarily pro-black, not because he’s anti-anyone else, but because he profoundly loves his people for their soul, strength, and common heritage.
There’s an old Ghostface quote where he simplifies rap to the most basic prerequisite: get “some official beats and say fly shit over them.” Even if that was all that he did on Supreme Clientele, it would still be a classic. But what makes it transformational are those minor details. The almost tossed-off aside where the vivid laser eye guy spits, “West Brighton pool now I’m into iron duels.” It’s a name-check of the neighborhood spot where he used to swim, a sad glint of far-off nostalgia as he considers who might be lurking the next time he steps outside.
This is the duality that remains constant, the fluid superhero transformation as Starks shifts from retina-searing brightness to black and white grit, comic absurdity to adolescent remembrance, revelations spoken through rap. It’s the testament of a mortal god, hoping to save the world, hoping to free himself.
(Explicit Content)
