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. Wolverine QB Battle
Michigan comes into the season fresh off the woeful Shea Patterson two-year experiment. The 2020 camp battle will be between rJR Dylan McCaffrey and rSO Joe Milton. McCaffrey has the experience advantage with 35 career passing attempts and 32 rushing attempts (7.2 YPR). McCaffrey hasn’t been anything special in his appearances, completing just over 50% of his passes for 6.9 yards per attempts. He’s also rushed for 166 yards on 23 attempts. Milton has attempted 11 passes over two seasons, throwing 2 INTs in his small sample size. I was a fan of Milton coming out of high school. He’s big-bodied (6’5” and 245lbs) with a big arm. While Milton has great arm strength, he doesn’t always know where the ball will land. Completed just 90-of-188 passes (47.9 %) for 1,317 yards and 10 TDs and six INTs as a senior. I wasn’t as high on McCaffrey entering Michigan. He had a very slender upper body that needed developing before he was able to contribute. He’s got above-average arm strength and was very accurate in high school. He’s a sneaky athlete in his slender 6’5” frame (rushed for nearly 600 yards in each of his final two seasons of high school ball). I expect McCaffrey to be under center for the Wolverines for their first snap of the season (whenever that is). McCaffrey’s ability to give a boost with his legs gives him the added edge over Milton.
2. Quentin Johnson
The Horned Frogs nabbed an in-state commit from 4-star WR Quentin Johnson. Johnson was ranked inside the top 20 WRs in the country by 247Sports but isn’t talked about by the Devy community. Listed at 6’4” and 180lbs by TCU, Johnson has tremendous size and good athletic ability to go along with it. He possesses a great frame and has the room to bulk up to over 200lbs with some ease. Johnson was also a basketball player in high school and was a high-flyer. His ability on the hardwood translates well to the football field. Johnson can play “above the rim.” He has great leaping ability and wins 50/50 balls more times than not against high schoolers. Other than one year from JD Spielman, the Horned Frogs don’t have many proven or promising receivers. It wouldn’t surprise me to see Johnson as Max Duggan’s top receiving option in 2021.
3. Keilon Brown
The Memphis Tigers were able to grab the signature of one of the most dynamic quarterbacks in the entire 2020 recruiting class. The Louisiana native signed with Memphis over offers from Arkansas State, Baylor, and Cincinnati. In March of 2019, Brown clocked a 4.49 40 yard dash. During his senior season, Brown threw for over 2,800 yards and 31 TDs. He added another 1,300 yards and 19 TDs on the ground. Brown is a dynamic player that I’m attempting to add on all of my College Fantasy Dynasty rosters. He is most likely in for a redshirt in 2020, but he should be in line to compete for the starting gig in 2021. The potential of having a four-year starter that is dynamic with his legs is very intriguing for CFF and C2C leagues. I don’t see Brown having a lot of Devy or NFL Draft value due to his size and needed development as a passer, but he’ll be an exciting QB who can generate a lot with his legs.
4. Jalen Nailor
Only one P5 school is losing more receiving production from the 2019 season than Michigan State. The Spartans are vacating 60% of their receptions and 66% of their receiving yards from 2019. I expect two receivers to step up in a major way for the Spartans. The one I’m speaking of this week is Jalen Nailor. The redshirt sophomore is coming off a disappointing 2019 that was derailed by a broken foot. As a true freshman, he was limited to 17 total touches but turned that into 266 yards and 3 TDs.
While Nailor is on the short side, he has a thick frame. He already has good definition to his lower body. He was used sparingly during the 2018 season but saw a handful of carries from jet sweep motions. Nailor is a very explosive athlete. He generates a great deal of power and explosion from his thick lower body, and he shows great cutting ability when he plants his foot in the ground. Michigan St uses him a lot in the short passing game. The majority of his looks are at or behind the line of scrimmage. Nailor has the makings of a good slot receiver with playmaking ability. If he can stay healthy for the 2020 campaign I’m expecting a big showing in 2020. His playmaking ability gives him the chance to be special for the Spartans. He’s worth a late-round flier or snag him on your C2C leagues.
5. Enter The 36 Chambers
“The year is 1992, the place is Staten Island, and a 23-year-old RZA is in the process of masterminding a Hip-Hop collective that will revolutionize both the sound and the business of Hip-Hop forever. The idea was to make a huge crew consisting of razor-sharp MC’s who were all capable of being amazing solo artists in their own right, and by having them on separate labels they could diversify their assets so to speak. But they weren’t simply going to be artists, they were going to be entrepreneurs all investing in a new brand called: Wu-Tang. This particular brand came from the rugged streets of Shaolin and was paving its own sound and style and creating a worldwide audience that would stretch from the slums of Shaolin to all corners of the globe. And despite being a massively popular movement in the Hip-Hop world, the sound was decidedly rugged, ruff, creative and original to a tee. All of the marks of their unique style are present on ’36 Chambers’ although they would only continue to develop and mature in all aspects on their subsequent releases.
Lyrically this is a masterful battle rap album, with hundreds of ferocious bars delivered by some of the hungriest, most talented and creative MC’s to ever grab the mic. Drawing on their many inspirations these talented young MC’s never cease to entertain with their pop culture references, humor, and raw energy. While the majority of the album’s lyrics have the vibe of a cipher on the corner, there are three tracks that stand out lyrically with more of a storytelling style. The first track that uses this approach is the soulful and chilled out track ‘Can’t It All Be So Simple’ which is the first time we get to hear Raekwon and Ghostface team up with their complementary styles. The second track in this mold is the classic C.R.E.A.M. with its famous acronym (Cash Rules Everything Around Me) with its memorable piano loop coupled with ‘growing up hard’ lyrics by Raekwon and Inspectah Deck, the track is topped off with the classic chorus by Method Man. The last storytelling track is the highly dramatic, and visual ‘Tearz’ where RZA paints a picture of a traumatic and violent experience on streets, while Ghostface chimes in with a story about HIV/AIDS.” Via ClassicHipHopMagazine.Com
(Explicit Content)
