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. Quinn Ewers to Texas
Ewers is a name you are going to get used to hearing a lot over the next five years before he’s able to reach the NFL. He’s the top prospect in the 2022 recruiting class (he’ll be a high school junior this fall). 247Sports claims he’s the best QB prospect since Trevor Lawrence. The Texas native recently committed to his in-state Longhorns, causing a shuffle in the class of 2021. Jalen Milroe was committed to the Longhorns, flipping his commitment to Alabama within 48 hours of the Ewers news. Ewers is a Pro-Style QB, listed at 6’3” and 195lbs by the time he reaches Austin weighing in the 210-220lbs range isn’t out of the question. As a sophomore in high school, Ewers completed over 72% of his passes for 4,000 yards and a 45:3 TD to INT ratio. He added another 568 yards (6.8 YPC) and 9 TDs on the ground. When Ewers gets to campus, Hudson Card will be heading into his third year in the program and most likely the starter for the 2022 season. Ewers has the potential to snag that job early in his freshman season if Card doesn’t live up to the hype. While the Longhorns have signed a bounty of 4-star QBs over the last few recruiting cycles, Ewers has the star power and potential to easily be the man as a freshman if he continues to develop over his coming two years of high school.
2. TreVeyon Henderson
Henderson is currently the top running back in the 2021 recruiting class. He’s committed to Ohio State and can compete right off the bat for significant playing time in 2021. With the state of Virginia moving to the spring, Henderson is skipping his senior year to prepare for college. As a junior, Henderson rushed for 2,424 yards (12.2 YPC) with 45 rushing TDs. He added another 18 receptions for almost 300 yards. Henderson is also a track runner; he’s clocked personal best times of 10.94 100-meter and a 6.45 55-meter. He’s a well rounded back and is by far the best in his class. Henderson is in a tier of his own amongst his class. The 2021 recruiting class is lacking a bit in the running back spot compared to previous years. At this point, it’s hard to tell what Trey Sermon or Master Teague do with their futures in college; if both turn pro, it wouldn’t be out of the question to see Henderson as RB1 for the Buckeyes come week 1 of 2021, barring another transfer entering the room. Our very own LJ did a full write up on Henderson back in May.
3. G5 Incoming Freshman To Keep On Your Radar
Mason Garcia, QB, ECU:
Garcia is the second-highest-rated QB to sign with a G5 school. 247Sports rated him as the 7th best Pro-Style QB in the nation while their composite rankings had him 14th. Garcia is a big kid listed at 6’4” and 218lbs. His height looks legit but appears to be on the skinner side, still has plenty of room to bulk up. Garcia has a powerful arm. Displays the arm talent to rip it down the seam between his receiver and the incoming safety. Garcia also has pretty decent running ability for a pro-style QB. I’d say his running ability is on par with a Felipe Franks. More than enough to keep a defense honest on the read-option and could give him some extra upside for college fantasy purposes. Garcia definitely has NFL potential with his size, arm strength, and added running ability.
Emani Bailey, RB, ULL:
Bailey had a tremendous 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. I’ve stashed him where I could in deep CFF/C2C style leagues.
Harlan Dixon, RB, Louisiana Tech:
Dixon ended his high school career with back-to-back 1,400 rushing yard seasons. As a junior, he hauled in 37 passes for 708 yards, and as a senior, he caught another 45 balls for 588 yards. He totaled over 2,000 all-purpose in both years. Clearly, by his stats, Dixon is a great pass-catching asset. Able to line up out wide and run good routes. Above-average to good speed, ability to break off long runs. Another guy that I am genuinely surprised by the low offers and low rankings. Dixon has a big upside in college fantasy with his pass-catching ability. Wouldn’t surprise me to see him having a role in 2020 for the Bulldogs (if they play).
Kyren Lacy, WR, ULL:
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. 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.
DeMeer Blankumsee, WR, Toledo:
Blankumsee committed to Toledo before his senior year. He later decommitted from the Rockets, but in the end, he signed with Toledo. Stats for the Ohio native were hard to come by, but I’m sure they would be quite impressive after seeing his highlight reel. Currently, he’s very skinny and has plenty of room to fill out before seeing the college field. Blankumsee is a playmaker as a rusher, receiver, and return man. He shows good speed and burst. He has the makings of a receiver who can be a big-play threat, no matter the depth of pass. Blankumsee has very good yard-after-catch ability. He’s a future All-MAC performer and multi-year starter.
4. Notre Dame’s Incoming Freshman Class
Notre Dame has rejuvenated its offensive talent in the 2020 recruiting class. They bring in a top 6 RB, WR, and TE according to the 247 Composite rankings.
Chris Tyree, No. 1 APB:
Tyree signs with Notre Dame as the top All-Purpose Back in the nation and the 4th best overall Running Back in the 2020 class. Tyree is the two-time defending fastest man at the Nike Opening Finals. Clocking a 4.38 40 on July 1, 2019, Tyree brings a much-needed speed element to the Irish offense. Since the loss of Will Fuller, the Irish had severely lacked a game-breaking player, and this truly shows when they face off against the top tier teams. Tyree should be able to come in and immediately inject his speed into the offense. He possesses excellent ability to catch the ball and can flex out wide and become a threat catching the ball on the outside. He also has the potential to be the Irish’s top return man in 2020 and get touches out of the backfield.
Jordan Johnson, No. 6 WR:
Johnson is listed at 6’2” 180 lbs and looks pretty close to that on film. Johnson has above-average speed and can get vertical on a defense. On deep balls, he shows good ability to track the ball in the air. Johnson is one of the better route runners in his class, runs crisp routes that allow him to gain significant separation at the high school level. Willingness to get physical in the run game. Notre Dame has lacked top tier receivers in its last few recruiting classes. This gives Johnson the potential to have a role in 2020. This Notre Dame staff has been stubborn about playing true freshmen, but the Irish have a glaring need after the injury to Kevin Austin.
Michael Mayer, No. 2 TE:
Before his final season of high school ball, Mayer won the MVP of the 7-On-7 portion of the Nike Opening Finals. Listed at 6’5” 240 lbs, Mayer already has a college build. Mayer lines up out wide and as an in-line tight end. He’s a threat to catch the ball from either formation. Very physical at the catch point and can out muscle his defender to get the reception. Once he gets the ball in his hands, he’s a very physical runner after the catch. Despite his size and physical nature, he has above-average speed. He can high point the ball over a defender. Notre Dame has had a lot of success recruiting the tight end position recently, and Mayer is the best one they’ve signed since Cole Kmet. Expect Mayer to see action in two- and three-tight end sets for the Irish.
5. Pray For Paris
“There was a time when Westside Gunn and his Griselda cohorts Conway and Benny the Butcher were just some Buffalo rappers warming themselves on the flame sparked by Roc Marciano’s Marcberg. To rap fans who longed for the days of Mobb Deep, Griselda were refreshing, a no-frills trio that recaptured an old-school spirit without being ’90s revivalists. Despite the harsh grayscale atmosphere of their production, the bars had the colorful touch of mid-’00s Atlanta trap, and their swagger felt timeless. Steadily the energy behind Griselda has grown, and now it’s at an apex that nobody saw coming.
Earlier this year, at Virgil Abloh’s Off-White fashion show, the designer and influencer played Westside Gunn’s gutter rap while models strutted down the runway and a man tap-danced. Virgil’s message with the tap dancer didn’t connect, but the cosign gave Griselda an unlikely path into fashion and art spaces typically not welcoming to gritty artists like them. It’s a space that Westside Gunn is obsessed with, and his new album, Pray for Paris is an attempt to leave his crew’s past as a niche underground act behind. His new vision is of going high-art: the album cover was designed by Virgil; the intro is a clip from the record-breaking sale of Leonardo da Vinci’s “Salvator Mundi”; and a recent Instagram caption included the obligatory Kanye-style spiel about how he’s not a rapper, he’s an artist making misunderstood “Rare ART.”
“To Westside Gunn’s credit, the more overblown his personality becomes, the better his raps get. He blurs the lines between reality and fiction to the point where the streets of Buffalo come off like City of God’s favelas, and his lifestyle raps make him out as the Great Gatsby of Upstate New York. The beat to “Euro Step” sounds refined enough to play during a sit-down dinner in a castle while he describes some snapshots from his life: purchasing a Goyard leash for his Saint Bernard, drinking wine in France with a specialist, and whipping coke with an Avian watch on his wrist. Pray for Paris is consistently this insane, all while switching flows on a dime and rapping on pristine beats. “Bulletproof Bentleys parked outside the Whitney,” he raps on the second track’s graceful DJ Muggs production.” Via Pitchfork.
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