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. Gunner Stockton commits to the Gamecocks
The Gamecocks go into the state of Georgia and grab a commit from the nation’s top dual-threat QB in the class of 2022 (entering their junior years of high school). He’s the second overall QB just behind Quinn Ewers, whom I talked about last week after his recent commit to Texas. Gunner Stockton threw for 3,500 yards, 43 TDs to 6 INTs, and added another 1,200 yards and 16 TDs. When Stockton arrives on South Carolina’s campus, Ryan Hilisnki will be entering his senior year, giving him the perfect chance to capitalize on the four-game redshirt to gain experience as he tries to nab the starting gig in 2023. Stockton looks to be around 6-feet tall with limited room to grow. He has above-average arm strength but displays a wobble in some of his throws. I would like to see some added zip on his balls over the next two years of high school. Stockton can be effective as a designed runner in college. While he’s no Lamar Jackson, he’ll be capable of adding 400-500 yards on the ground per year. I don’t believe he’s as fast or nimble as his high school stats may lead one to believe. Stockton is entering a really favorable start for a QB, with a very good chance of becoming the starting QB in his second year as a Gamecock.
2. MarShawn Lloyd goes down to an ACL
MarShawn Lloyd seemed primed for a very impactful true freshman season in 2020. However, an ACL tear has derailed his freshman campaign. Lloyd signed as a top 50 overall prospect and the 5th overall RB in the 2020 recruiting class. Lloyd is a short, compact runner who was listed at 5’9” and 211 lbs., clocking a 4.51-second 40-yard dash in the spring of 2019. That goes along with a 37.9” vertical jump. Prior to his injury, I had Lloyd ranked as my 64th overall Devy prospect, and the 9th ranked in the class of 2023. Lloyd is a downhill runner, who runs with good explosion and power. He made a big splash during his limited time during spring ball before COVID hit. Despite his injury, he’ll most likely be the starter in 2021 unless somebody else surprisingly emerges onto the scene. This will give two other backs that South Carolina just signed a chance to shine. Fellow incoming freshman Rashad Amos and No. 1 JUCO RB ZaQuandre White a chance to make an impact in 2020. Amos was underrecruited compared to Lloyd, who was a one-time Western Kentucky commit who flipped to South Carolina late. Amos is a big back, listed by the Gamecocks as 6’2” and 215 lbs. He rushed for over 1,300 yards and 30 TDs, with 500 receiving yards and 6 TDs as a senior to grab the attention of South Carolina. Amos lacks some top-end speed but is a very nifty runner. He has excellent feet and change of direction for a “bigger back.” Being a big back who can catch the ball will give NFL evaluators something to like. Amos looks a lot better than his lowly ranking. White is a former Florida State Seminole that transferred after two years with a lack of playing time and a switch to linebacker. He was the top-rated JUCO back in the class of 2020. From his Gamecock bio page “Spent the season at Iowa Western C.C. in Council Bluffs where he returned to play running back… named first team NJCAA All-America… rushed 137 times for 876 yards in eight games, averaging 109.5 yards per game and 6.4 yards per carry, with 10 TDs.” South Carolina is losing over 80% of its rushing production from 2019, so who better to pick that up than a couple of new faces in Amos and White.
3. Class of 2021 RB receiving chops
A running back’s receiving capabilities are a big part of their fantasy value. I pulled the numbers from the expected top backs in the 2021 draft class, and much can change between now and then with the landscape of college football and the NFL Draft.
Max Borghi and Kenneth Gainwell are both in a tier above the other top backs in this upcoming class. Both accounted for over 14% of their team’s target share and hauled in 50+ receptions. It’s no surprise to see Borghi with the lowest yards per catch among this group, as he was the ultimate check down option for Anthony Gordon. Journey Brown was barely able to achieve 6% of the Nittany Lions share and had the lowest catch rate and yards-per-target out of the top backs for 2021. Just further evidence that Brown doesn’t stack up to the other backs in this class. Travis Etienne saw a major uptick in the passing game from his sophomore season and was third in this group in receptions with the second-best catch rate. Etienne also sat atop the group with the highest yards-per-catch and targets from this group of prospects. Najee Harris sits right in the middle of almost every category, but he did top the list with seven receiving TDs in 2019. With all the other receiving talent on the 2019 Crimson Tide, I fully expected Harris to be closer to the bottom of this group.
4. Kevontre Bradford
“We got on him a little late and he wasn’t a five-star or nothing like that,” coach Ed Orgeron told reporters. “We always thought he was a good player. I didn’t know him very well, to be honest with you because we got on him late. Man, has he surprised me as far as his toughness, his athletic ability, his speed. He’s better than I thought he would be, which is really good because I wouldn’t have signed him if I didn’t think he was good enough to play here…Kevontre Bradford has been phenomenal. Kevin Faulk has done a tremendous job coaching those guys.”
Above, is a recent quote from Coach Oregeron on true freshman running back Kevontre Bradford. Much like Coach O, I was late to the Bradford party. I was assigned to watch Bradford for the 2020 Devy Watch Guide. Upon the first review of his junior film, I wasn’t a big fan and expected him not to make The Watch. About a week before our deadline to write up players, Bradford’s senior film was uploaded to his Hudl page. Then, I saw a totally different player. He’s since become one of my favorite backs in this freshman class. Below is my write-up for the 2020 Devy Watch Guide on Bradford:
Bradford signed with LSU after getting some late attention from Florida State and the in-state Texas Longhorns. He capped his senior year off by rushing for over 1,500 yards at 9.3 yards per carry along with 23 TDs. He got a late bump in recruiting ranks, ending up as the nation’s 13th best RB and a top 130 overall player. Since he enters LSU behind John Emery and Chris Curry, playing time as a true freshman will most likely be sparse.
Bradford has good musculature on his frame and should easily reach at least 210 lbs. by the time he leaves Baton Rouge. Bradford also plays with great speed and acceleration. He hits the line of scrimmage with a strong burst, and once he reaches the open field, he is not caught from behind. He’s one of the biggest big-play threats in his class. When Bradford plants his foot in the ground, he’s able to show great suddenness into his change of direction. He can line up in the slot and is an able receiver. In his film, you rarely see Bradford use his power. His senior highlight clip is just six minutes of running right up the middle, untouched. You rarely see a defender get more than a hand on him. His power, physicality, and contact balance are in question until we see it on the field.
5. Bandana
“On paper, Freddie Gibbs, a straight-shooting street rapper, and Madlib, an eccentric tinkerer, are as mouth-watering a combo as licorice and pickle juice. But their collaborative 2014 album Piñata succeeded because the two are equally uncompromising: Madlib tailors beats to his eclectic ears alone, while Gibbs insists that he can rap over anything. Kindred spirits, the pair bonded through mutual gumption.
On follow-up Bandana, the bond deepens. Madlib’s beats remain off-kilter, and Gibbs remains gangster, but there’s a looser feel to this record, a spirit of intuition and intimacy. Their overall recording process didn’t change much: Madlib sent beats and Gibbs rapped over them as is—samples, pauses, breaks, and all. This time, though, they made the effort to meet in the studio and review different mixes and edits, to calibrate. The result is a keener sense of each other’s presence. Moving in lockstep, Gibbs and Madlib pull themselves deeper into one another’s worlds, forging a new one in the process.
On Piñata, the duo bridged Gibbs’ street sense and Madlib’s throwback flair by embracing the sounds and attitudes of blaxploitation. Smoky soul drifted out of every crevice, drugs flooded the streets, and middle fingers never came down. The general vibe was defiant, gritty, and nostalgic, fitting the back-to-basics spirit of a proud lyricist linking with an inveterate crate-digger. Bandana is palpably more unhinged, less rooted in a particular time or style or mood.
Gibbs’ rapping is just as fitful. Jerky yet nimble, he regularly drops in and out of cadence, throttling and braking his flows to accent key images. On “Situations,” he mentions surviving a shooting that claimed his cousin, sprinting through the memory like he’s felt a sudden jolt of pain. “Cousin took two to the brain/Bullets missed me it’s a blessing/I could see the day like it was yesterday I’ll never forget it,” he says, cramming the last line into one bar. On “Gat Damn,” he recalls fasting in an Austrian prison that didn’t provide Muslim-friendly meals. “Say my prayers, Alhamduillah/No bacon, ham, bacon, ham/And cold salami/That’s all they serving,” he sings, evoking the strain of the experience by spacing out his words. Gibbs boasts often of his versatility, but here his movement is dictated by purpose rather than reflex.” Via Pitchfork.
(Expilict Content)
