Each year, teams reload their rosters with new recruits that fans get excited about for all the right reasons. As someone who likes to indulge in college fantasy football and Devy, I look at it as a new hope for the future of the NFL and can’t help but place early expectations and start evaluating these players to see who has the traits and ability to make an early impact along with eventually making the jump to the league. I would call it college’s version of rookie fever, but the grass isn’t always greener on the other side. The first-year production is harder to come by than most may think. There has been more devaluation in stock from year one guys in Devy than any other class because we fail to see that early production. It doesn’t mean they aren’t good; it just means the expectations are usually too high for 18-year-old kids. Losing out on year one production isn’t the end of the world and I want to highlight some year two players who are winners in this year’s recruiting cycle. While teams gear up and attack different position groups to fill out their yearly scholarship offers, some players get their opportunity to showcase their skill set for the coaches to produce on the field. On the other hand, teams will continue to load up at skill positions with a new group of 4 or 5-star recruits shooting year two players production off into the abyss while the new shiny recruit does their best to unseat any and all competition.
Yesterday, the team picked winners and losers from Wednesday’s signing day. Now, let’s get into the biggest winners and losers among second-year players in college football.
Winners
Devonta Lee, WR, LSU
Lee benefits from the commitment flips of Rakim Jarrett to Maryland and Jermaine Burton to Georgia. Both were top 10 receivers in the 2020 class and heavy favorites to commit to LSU. Lee was a highly-touted athlete in last year’s class and even through fall camp, Coach Orgeron wanted to try Lee at safety, but Lee insisted he wanted to play WR for the Tigers so they obliged. Justin Jefferson is a likely candidate to declare for the 2020 NFL Draft which opens up a spot for Devonta Lee to compete with Trey Palmer for playing time. Palmer is another second-year player who benefits from this year’s recruiting cycle for all the same reasons that Lee does. My very first impression of Lee came two years ago as I started to prep for this year’s class. The first thought that came to mind was South Carolina’s Bryan Edwards as Lee was going to come into college at a similar size while having a similar playing style to Edwards. The verdict is out on who mans the starting spot on the LSU offense between Lee and Palmer, but I would consider 2020 a win for Lee.
Oklahoma WRs
Jadon Haselwood, Theo Wease, and Trejan Bridges were all top 15 WRs for the 2019 class, and Oklahoma made it obvious that these three are the future by attacking other position groups for 2020. They still landed three WRs for 2020, but none look to challenge the former in the near future. With CeeDee Lamb on his way to becoming a top ten pick in the 2020 NFL Draft, it leaves a great amount of receiving production vacated for the Sooners. Haselwood, Wease, and Bridges all received playing time this season and each has scored. This next year allows for a big opportunity for at least one of these receivers to see a strong bump in production while all three should have nice floors and contribute.
USC WRs
Kyle Ford and Bru McCoy. The Trojans actually signed close to nothing during the early signing period, and they certainly didn’t sign anyone to compete with these second-year wideouts. Ford was regarded as a top 10 WR last year and McCoy was the top athlete in the nation. McCoy signed with USC then transferred to Texas for spring and then transferred back to USC. Although his decision making may be in question, his talent makes up for it. He was one of my top WRs in last year’s class and he received some praise from USC offensive coordinator earlier this week. “I’d never seen him do anything live until recently, and obviously he’s still trying to get back into football shape, but when he goes you can see why he’s so special. He has twitch, he has a big body. And to be as big as he is and have the twitch, have the skill to change direction and move like he does it’s fun to watch. He’s going to be a special player here. I’m glad we have him and look forward to working with him more and more as he gets out here.”
Jake Smith, WR, Texas
Smith receives a huge bump with Devin Duvernay heading to the league and Texas didn’t sign any WRs within the top 30 at the position. Texas has shown back to back years how well their slot WR performs. Smith will step into a role that vacated a ton of production and he is the ideal slot WR who can win in space and pick up yards after the catch. Smith is a terrific athlete and his future looks great. The production will come and his rise will follow.
Jerrion Ealy, RB, Ole Miss
Ole Miss had their hand in on many highly rated backs but nothing came to fruition. They did land Kentrel Bullock, who I deem as an underrated rusher, but Ealy is the crown jewel within the backfield for next season. Ealy averaged 6.9 yards per carry in the SEC as a true freshman and was the leading rusher among the Ole Miss RBs this year. He should see a full workload in year two and capitalize on a strong run game so long as Lane Kiffin sticks with John Rhys Plumlee at QB. Plumlee will take away a lot of Ealy’s carries, but the two should work well together.
Isaiah Spiller, RB, Texas A&M
As of now, Spiller is the man in line for a consecutive year of RB1 status for the Aggies. Zachary Evans could quickly change that should he sign with Texas A&M in a little under two weeks when he announces, but most sites project him to LSU. Spiller took his opportunity and ran with it, leading the Aggies in rushing as a true freshman. Spiller is listed at 6’1” 220 lbs and the highest-rated running back that they managed to sign in the 2020 class is Devon Achane a 4-star all-purpose back listed at 170 lbs. I think it’s safe to say Spiller is the bellcow going forward and he has a great opportunity to build on an impressive freshman season.
Lance LeGendre, QB, Maryland
Maryland went through several passers in 2019, none of which impressed me much. LeGendre was the first of Locksley’s big recruiting flips and him being on this list has a lot to do with Lockley’s biggest flip in Rakim Jarrett. They are building a great class for 2020 and LeGendre should be the main benefactor. It’s hard to say if he’ll get the reins next year, but he is Maryland’s most impressive QB on the roster for 2020.
Jayden Daniels, QB, ASU
Herm Edwards went out and got Daniels some weapons. There is a void to be filed within their offense and Edward flipped Oregon commit 4-star WR Johnny Wilson who stands at 6’6” 224 lbs. He also added Ocho Cinco’s son, Chad Johnson Jr. Daniels was electric in year one and fellow 2019 4-star QB, Joey Yellen decided his time was up at Arizona State and entered the transfer portal. Daniels was given a shot as a true freshman which lays the groundwork for developing this team into a contender for the Pac-12 south over the next couple seasons. Daniels threw for 2,748 yards, 17 TDs, and only 2 interceptions so far this season. He has also rushed for over 300 yards and I feel they’re only scratching the surface of his dual-threat ability. Daniels has shown he can be a good passer, and I expect to see a big jump from year one to year two.
On the opposite end of the spectrum, some second-year players are put in a tough spot of competing against even higher ranked recruits than they were the year prior. I took a look at some year two guys who could be affected by this year’s class negatively.
Losers
John Emery, RB, LSU*
I put an asterisk here because of the strong possibility that Zachary Evans chooses LSU. Clyde Edwards-Helaire is likely heading to the league and Emery failed to insert himself as LSU’s second runner this year which could’ve set him up to be the lead runner in 2020. Now if Evans steps in, Emery might never see the lead role. I do believe that Evans is a better player, and if he decides to attend LSU we will definitely see more of him in year one than we did of Emery as a true freshman.
D.J. Williams, RB, Auburn
Williams played exceptionally well when given the opportunity. He went as the offense went, and for the most part, it felt like a down season for Auburn as they tried to get a true freshman QB up to speed. Auburn landed 5-star RB Tank Bigsby, and the name says it all. He could quickly come in a take carries away from Williams next season. I don’t know if Williams has done enough to truly put himself as the second rusher on Auburn’s roster for next season but I do like him as a player and I’m excited to see him develop. Regardless, anytime a 5-star comes into a program, those who are already on the roster have to compete at an even higher level to maintain an edge over the new recruit.
Jordan Whittington, RB, Texas
Whittington was one of my favorite recruits in the 2019 cycle and when Tom Herman stated they will utilize him as an RB, I was thrilled. His season was practically over before it started. He was seen in only one game and managed 2 receptions before going out with an injury. He is certainly a weapon that any coach would love to have, but he’ll be sharing a backfield for the entire time he is at Texas. Keontay Ingram is a year ahead of Whittington and currently their lead back. Now, 5-star RB Bijan Robinson is in the fold and will get his opportunity to be a part of this three-headed rushing attack. It’s a bummer for those in college fantasy as it’s a very talented backfield, but one that doesn’t have much clarity. Luckily, Whittington is versatile enough to be used at WR as well, but this signing can’t be seen in his favor any way you slice it.
Dominick Blaylock, WR, Georgia
Unfortunately, Blaylock tore his ACL after what turned out to be a terrific season for a first-year WR in Georgia’s stone-age offense. Georgia showed they were willing to throw their young WRs out there this year while both Pickens and Blaylock shined in year one. That also means this gives way to one of the top 10 WRs in Georgia’s 2020 class to take a lead role and not look back. Both Jermaine Burton and Arian Smith are ranked highly and have the ability to contribute immediately. I hope that Blaylock can recover as quickly as an ACL tear will allow one to and come back strong next season, but Georgia is loading up at the position.
Dylan Wright, WR, Texas A&M
Although I was much lower on Wright than most recruiting services, he still had an opportunity as a freshman to make an impact. Instead, he took a redshirt and they brought in 5-star WR Demond Demas who is immensely talented and one of the better athletes I’ve come across. Coaches, fans, boosters, and anyone else who follows college football is going to want to see Demas start right away. There weren’t many yards to go around, to begin with, and most of Texas A&M’s top receivers will likely return to school so that makes it hard for Wright to crack the rotation with Demas coming in.
Taulia Tagovailoa, QB, Alabama
Taulia isn’t the type of QB older brother Tua is and his opportunity may not come at Alabama. Saban flipped top dual-threat QB Bryce Young from USC and he has a real shot at being the heir to Tua’s reign. He is without question the most talented QB on the roster so long as Tua declares and maybe Saban will be a little more lenient with starting a freshman QB of this caliber during his second go-round.
Taisun Phommachanh, QB, Clemson
I was tasked with evaluating Taisun during last year’s Devy Watch process and he has the juice. He came into Clemson as the number four dual-threat QB, but there was no real shot for him to see significant playing time with Trevor Lawrence at the helm. I wanted to include him in the 2019 Devy Watch but decided not to because of DJ Uiagalelei. It went against my beliefs in trusting talent, but I couldn’t commit to giving readers a name that likely would never start at Clemson when he’s stuck in between two number one QBs in their respective recruiting classes. Taisun is talented and electric, but this is DJ’s job as soon as Lawrence heads to the league.
