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. Undersized Backs
Over the past month, I’ve seen a lot of talk around some undersized running backs. These takes bring me back to some work that Kyle Francis and I did before the 2020 NFL Draft. Similar work has been done before on running back prospects, and our results certainly were not earth-shattering. We looked at the top 27 PPR backs from 2019. The average weight at the NFL Combine for these backs was 216 lbs and an average BMI of 30.21. Only three of the backs weighed in at sub 200 lbs. Coincidences or not, all three backs also went undrafted (Austin Ekeler, Raheem Mosert, and Phillip Lindsay). 67% of the top 27 RBs weighed over 210 lbs at the time of their NFL Combine weigh-in. Additionally, 67% of the top 27 had a BMI of over 30.
Kenneth Gainwell and Javian Hawkins have both been discussed lately. Both backs are currently sub 200 lbs and well below the 30 BMI mark. Gainwell is listed at 195 lbs, while Hawkins is listed at 196 lbs (that’s a 14 lbs gain from his rFR season). That’s if you believe their listed measurements. Schools have a history of fudging numbers a bit. Nonetheless, these are the numbers that we have to work with right now. Gainwell is currently sitting at a 27.19 BMI, that only tops Raheem Moserts 25.94 BMI from last year’s top 27 PPR backs. Hawkins comes in with a 28.94 BMI with his alleged bulk up. That still comes in the bottom third of the other top 27 backs from 2019.
I like both players as prospects, and even have Gainwell ranked inside my top 30 overall Devy prospects. Still, I’d tread lightly with both prospects. Both would have to be outliers to produce at a top 24 PPR level. Gainwell does get to rest his head on a 41 reception 2019 while Hawkins has a career-high of 4 receptions in a season.
Another back that gets some hype, while not quite to the level of Gainwell, is Pooka Williams. Williams is listed at 170 lbs, from what I can gather. Since the 2016 draft class, only one back has been drafted at 170 lbs, and that was Khalfanni Muhammad in the 7th round (While I mayd have overlooked other RBs, that light weight is a death sentence to draft capital). Williams’ weight would tie for the lowest weight of 170 lbs and his current BMI of 24.39, would be the lowest out of the 163 NFL backs that we collected data on, and the lowest by a lot. Williams does have two seasons of over 25 receptions to his name, but he also has a domestic violence charge on his record. He has a lot to overcome to get drafted.
I’d proceed with caution with the above-listed backs. While Gainwell and Hawkins are close to breaking that 200 lbs mark, Williams will be lucky to get to 180 lbs before the NFL Combine.
2. Shedeur Sanders
The FAU Owls just received a commitment from Shedeur Sanders, the highest-ranked recruit in program history. Sanders is the son of NFL legend and Hall of Famer Deion Sanders. He had offers from ACC, Big12, and SEC schools. However, many of his bigger offers already had a QB committed in their class. He led Trinity Christian-Cedar Hill to a 27-1 record and back-to-back state titles as the starting QB. 247Sports Composite ranks Sanders as the 14th best Pro-Style QB in his class and 219th overall, 247Sports has Sanders ranked a bit lower compared to the Composite ranks. As a junior, Sanders completed almost 74% of his passes for just under 3,500 yards 47 TDs and 4 INTs. His rushing numbers weren’t too impressive outside of his TDs, 94-226-11 (2.4 YPC, wonder if lost sack yardage is included in these numbers).
On film, Sanders appears to be roughly 6-foot and around the 175-180 lbs range. Despite his lackluster rushing numbers, Sanders displays good movement within the pocket. He’s sudden and quick to evade rushers. The way he moves and throws the ball reminds me of Kyler Murray (just a comparison visually not skills-wise). Sanders has above-average arm strength and shows good touch on his passes. He appears to be a better runner than his numbers allude to. I saw at least 100 yards rushing on two long runs combined on his highlight reel. His rushing stats seem to be inaccurate or have sack yards included in it. I can see Sanders developing into an above-average rusher at the college level.
While I like Sanders, I won’t be rushing to get him in Devy drafts. I see a very good G5 level QB with some NFL upside. I would expect Sanders to be a good college fantasy player, especially if he can develop into an above-average runner at the next level.
3. Athens Quarterback Battle
Kirby Smart has two tremendous QBs on his hands. The last time he had two QBs like this was in 2018 when he royally screwed up by playing Jake Fromm over Justin Fields. He now has the fifth-year senior Jamie Newman and redshirt sophomore JT Daniels, both entering the program. With the recent news that Daniels is eligible immediately for the Dawgs this leaves one of the premier teams in the country with a legit QB battle on its hands.
Newman finds his way to Athens via Wake Forest. He’s coming off a season that saw him throw for just under 3,000 yards 26 TDs and 11 Ints to go along with almost 600 rushing yards. Newman was asked to do a lot for the Demon Deacons in 2019. Newman carried that team on his back last season. With the hire of new OC Todd Monken, Georgia looks to enter the world of a modern football offense. The dual-threat capabilities of Newman can help this offense reach levels that it hasn’t previously gotten too under Smart.
JT Daniels made this a QB race by winning his waiver appeal to the NCAA. He’s coming off an ACL injury that he suffered in the first half of USC’s opener in 2019. What we don’t know is how healthy Daniels is to begin camp (if we have camps). He led the Trojans offense as a true freshman. Not only was he a true freshman, but he graduated high school one year early to do so. While he should have been a senior in high school, Daniels threw for almost 2,700 yards and 14 TDs for the Trojans. Daniels was one of the best high school QBs that I’ve watched over the last ten years. From his three years of high school, he threw for over 12,000 yards and 152 TDs to 14 Ints. He played with great talent at Mater Dei High School as well; he entered USC with high school teammate Amon-Ra St Brown. One area that Newman certainly has the edge on Daniels is rushing. Daniels has rushed for -155 yards in his 12 games of experience.
With the lack of an off-season, both QBs will be playing catch-up. Newman has been associated with the team longer, so he should have a slight advantage with being able to dig into the playbook. Newman has also been fully healthy and been able to work out at full strength, compared to Daniels, who’s still rehabbing a torn ACL. I believe Newman has the upper hand currently, and I would expect him to be UGAs QB1 whenever football games kickoff. I’m a firm believer in Newman’s talents, and a big year on the national stage at Georgia should help catapult him into potential first-round status.
4. Megatron 2.0?
LSU coach Ed Orgeron isn’t saying freshman tight end Arik Gilbert is going to be the next “Megatron,” but the impact he could leave, even as a freshman, is special. LSU’s new passing game coordinator Scott Linehan knows all about “Megatron,” or more commonly known as Calvin Johnson.
Linehan was the offensive coordinator for the Detroit Lions for perhaps the best five year stretch of Johnson’s NFL career, and Orgeron believes Gilbert can make a similar impact at the college level for LSU next season.
In an interview with Baton Rouge Radio show “Off the Bench,” Orgeron went in-depth on the myriad of ways LSU plans to use its freshman tight end that was ranked by 247Sports as the highest-rated tight end in the site’s history.
“The guy you’ve gotta look at is Arik Gilbert, I’m considering Arik Gilbert as a wide receiver,” Orgeron said Tuesday morning. “I can’t wait for him to come back. Obviously we can use him at tight end but we can split him out at “X” and we can get some mismatches with this kid, especially in the redzone. He’s going to be a nice target there for Myles Brennan.”
“We can use some of the same plays with Arik that Scott ran with Megatron, I’m not saying he’s going to be Megatron but he’s a good player.” Blurb Via SI.com
As an athlete, Gilbert is freaky as it gets. As stated above, Gilbert was the highest-rated TE in 247Sports history. Listed at 6’5″ and 253 lbs, Gilbert was clocked at a 4.73 40 last summer at the Nike Opening Finals. He possesses a truly elite frame. As a senior at Marietta High School, Gilbert hauled in 102 balls for just over 1,700 yards and 14 TDs. Gilbert has the ability to be used as an in-line tight end as well as flexing out wide. When flexed out wide, Gilbert can be a true mismatch nightmare. Having to defend him flexed out wide with a defensive back on a third-down passing situation, or defending against him in the redzone, will keep SEC defensive coordinators awake at night.
Gilbert has the chance to be the next top 10 overall pick at TE in the NFL Draft. His upside side is pretty limitless. I normally shy away from drafting Devy TEs, especially freshmen. Gilbert gives me second thoughts on that stance. I still have yet to draft him, but the talent is there.
5. Makaveli
One of the most influential hip-hop artists of all-time, Tupac Shakur, released his greatest album just months after he tragically passed away. The album is filled with cryptic messages and foreshadowing of his death.
Fifteen years ago yesterday, Makaveli’s debut album hit stores. Released just two months after Tupac Shakur’s murder, The Don Killuminati: The 7 Day Theory sold over 600,000 copies in its first week, knocking The Beatles out of the No. 1 spot on the Billboard albums chart. But as popular as Shakur’s fifth studio album may be, it remains one of the most enigmatic and misunderstood records in the history of hip-hop.
In those strange and confusing days after 2Pac’s death, rumors spread like a virus. Overwhelmed by grief and denial, fans scrutinized the album for hidden messages. The sleeve copy contained the words “Exit 2Pac, Enter Makaveli,” prompting theories that Pac might have faked his own death.
Many speculated that the 7 days in the album title stood for the time between his September 7 shooting and his subsequent death in a Vegas hospital. But during one of his last interviews, Pac explained that The 7 Day Theory referred to how long it took to record the album—he laid down his vocals in just three days, and the mixing took another four days. – Complex.Com
“Hail Mary” has become one of 2Pac’s definitive songs. With a haunting, echo-heavy backdrop amplified with the kind of ominous church bells that would’ve made Black Sabbath proud, Hurt-M-Badd gives 2Pac his most eerie track on which to lay raps that celebrate the rapper’s sense of self-mythology. Speaking about himself in almost supernatural terms, Pac sounds ghostly and vengeful as he asks “Do you wanna ride or die?” Released just weeks after he’d died, the song sounded like a spectral anthem from beyond the grave in the fall of 1996 — a quality that it has largely retained in the two decades since. – TheBoomBox.com
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