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F10Y CFB Player to Watch; AT Perry, Wake Forest

Welcome back to our weekly Player to Watch space here at Full 10 Yards, this week I am digging into one of the more exciting wide receivers in college football, AT Perry of Wake Forest.

However, before moving on to discuss Perry, I would like to address that with Blake Corum’s 133 yards and a touchdown against Iowa last week, it’s a win for this particular writer as we take one back from the kiss of death that we seem to be putting on the players covered. 

Enough of my small victories, I have a Biletnikoff semi-finalist wide receiver to dig into! 

Let’s kick off in the usual manner; let’s talk about who Perry is…

Atorian “AT” Perry is a 6’5, 205lb receiver out of Lake Worth Florida, coming out of high school he was a three star recruit. Perry was a tri-sport high school athlete, turning out of the school’s basketball and track teams, even winning the county long jump championship, alongside his ventures for the football programme.

On the football field, Perry was a captain for the Lake Worth Cobras, as a wide receiver and defensive back. He caught touchdowns, he led his team to a 10-0 record in his Junior season and he also has athletic bloodlines from a Mother who ran track at Arizona State. However, the offers from Power-5 schools were not forthcoming.

Lost in the sea of footballing talent that in the state of Florida, Perry wasn’t blessed with offers from big schools. Prior to enrolling at Wake Forest, the only Power-5 offer he had on the table from Iowa State, a world away from Florida and the South as a whole. Perry was originally slated to attend the University of Alabama-Birmingham and be a Blazer, before de-committing and signing on with the Demon Deacons and heading for Winston-Salem.

Now the only thing that is blazing, are his routes and catches.

And with that, let’s head to the film…

In this initial clip, I want to show you a whole host of positives that I see often throughout Perry’s tape.

Let’s go to the Florida State game from 2021, what I want to show you here is that Perry can be a deep threat with good straight line speed, I want to show you great ball tracking ability and also a little bit of a nuanced release off the line of scrimmage.

From the beginning of the play then… we can see that the corner guarding him is every aligned ever-so-slightly to the outside, so Perry’s initial step jabs to the outside and the corner widens out to mirror his movement – Just what Perry wanted. This allowed him to gobble up that 2 yard cushion and push downfield, and by the time Sam Hartman is throwing, Perry is two yards beyond his man. All he had to do is ensure that he caught the football and it’s 6 points, and it duly was.

I feel like the corner was expecting help over the top, hence why he didn’t attempt to jam Perry at the line. The safety gained no depth to provide any help over the top, so this is either poor execution or a bad play design, as it allowed Wake Forest’s best receiver easy access to the deep portion of the field and an easy score. 

Next up and sticking with the Florida State game – Another great release but this time we are seeing separation in the intermediate portion of the field.

Again, we see Perry use his feet well and manipulate a defender with his release. He jabs outside to get the defender to open his hips just a touch, as he knows that he wants to get inside to run his dig (or basic) route.

Another super impressive aspect of this play is that he can work through contact throughout his route, leaning into his man and that despite being 6’5, he can sink his hips and make a sharp cut on his route. This cut gives him the separation that he needs to make the catch unchallenged over the middle of the field.

You will also see on the endzone view on the All-22 here that he can make a solid catch with his hands extended away from his body. This is the sort of chain-moving grab over the middle that makes bigger receivers such a comfort blanket for quarterbacks.

Here’s more evidence of his ability to manipulate defenders with his work off the line… This one was against Army last year in the red zone.

The ball doesn’t come his way here but I love the way he creates space inside by chopping his feet and stuttering at the line. The play wasn’t designed to go to him looking at his body language around the time of the throw (I feel he was in place to create a rub for his team mate) but had Perry known the ball was coming his way on a slightly different play, that’s a touchdown in the middle of the endzone.

However, and there’s always a however in these articles, one thing that I have seen a number of through three games (Florida State, Army, Clemson all 2021), is drops.

Concentration drops and not having hands in the proper technique, more often than not over the short and intermediate areas.

This is a money down; 3rd down with the score tied at 21. It’s a first down if he catches it too and you can see the disappointment in his body language as soon as he sees that one go through his hands. In the NFL, a tipped ball like that can be a turnover. Perry has to tighten up this aspect of his game. 

Last clip here and it’s something I would love to see more of from Perry but this one shows that he’s got it in his locker and that run-after-catch ability.

This one from the Clemson game last year. Backup QB, Michael Kern is in the game for Sam Hartman here and because of that I love that Perry runs the curl route here and works his way back to the QB, showing him his number and giving him a big target to throw at.

I’ve talked about releases already, but this is another great example – Guarded by Andrew Booth Jr., now of the Minnesota Vikings, he immediately threatens deep and gets Booth on his heels and into recovery mode. Perry sells his route superbly and it means that he gains separation by using the defender’s momentum against him as he turns back towards the QB to make the catch. 

The safety misses the tackle due to Perry being able to turn quickly inside and now there’s nothing but green grass ahead of him and he takes advantage with a huge gain after the catch. Had it not been for the incredible recovery speed of safety, Andrew Mukuba (#1), Perry would have scored. 

We can see that Perry is Sam Hartman’s best friend on the football field, so how will these two link up this weekend against Army?

First off, now that I have shown you a taster of the film from this kinda-kooky, slow mesh offense, I want to give a shout out to my guy Simon Carroll over at The Touchdown who wrote up a fantastic piece on the Wake Forest slow mesh offense – Which you can read HERE. So if you want to know more about the bigger picture, hop over to that piece once you’re done here. Here is a clip of it working perfectly against Army last year…

Defenders get caught with their eyes in the backfield waiting to see which way the mesh goes and it’s a game of who blinks first. All the while, receivers like Perry are tearing down the field past DBs and calling for the deep shots! When it works, it’s fantastic.

Last year, in the game against Army, Perry had 6 catches for 146 yards and a score. So considering that he was gaining over 24 yards a grab last year, it’ll be interesting to see how Army game plans for a player who hurt them so much last year.

I feel like Army has two defenses – Either allow Andre Carter to absolutely tee off on every snap from his EDGE position and pray that he sacks Sam Hartman enough times to slow the play down. Or double cover Perry with safety help over the top at all times with the corner who’s guarding Perry playing a tight trail technique behind to dare Hartman to hit the tough throw, or beat them by using the other receivers almost exclusively.

If not, due to the talent differential, I’d expect Perry to carve up the Golden Knight’s defense once again. 

Can we expect to see Perry playing on Sundays?

I would be shocked if we didn’t see Perry drafted within the first couple of rounds of the NFL Draft.

I think he possesses a typical X-receiver’s frame, with his height and speed to make catches that is not too dissimilar to someone like Mike Williams, although the evidence of spectacular body control isn’t on film and is what makes someone like Williams special. He can run routes off the vertical stem and at 6’5, he’s always going to be someone who will be a threat in the red zone with jump balls and ability to box out smaller defenders.

Perry is a player who teams value because the height and speed combination that he possesses are unteachable gifts. He can access the deep portion of the field and create space for his team mates underneath. We’ve seen in the clips above that every team he faces respects the fact that he can run by them and score from anywhere, and that isn’t going to change in the NFL.

One prominent podcaster and scout had him as WR1 in summer scouting.

So to conclude…

Perry is a big-bodied X receiver with the skillset that NFL teams crave, however, he has to clean up his technique and I would also love to see him diversify his route tree as well.

Perry only works vertically, which whilst that plays to his strengths, it limits his effectiveness and can mean that he’s taken out of the game with bracket coverages.

I feel like there’s enough agility to work in some double moves and enough physicality to give him some slants over the middle – With a 6’5 body and long arms, there’s no corner in the league with the length to stop him cashing in on easy money in the short areas, if he can smarten up his hands in clutch moments.

I feel like Perry has all the ingredients to be a player who can be successful in the NFL from day one. He has a good understanding of releases, and manipulating defenders, but he’s not a master of these things. He can be successful immediately by doing the things he does now, but he has a ceiling when he masters certain skills. I feel that he absolutely could be moulded into a more rounded receiver who can be effective at all three levels and in the red zone. 

He’ll continue to hone his craft and be super productive for Wake Forest and continue to forge his path to the NFL and he’s not only a player to watch this week but also for the rest of the year.  

By Lee Wakefield – Follow Lee on Twitter @wakefield90

Read the rest of the Player to Watch articles here.

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F10Y CFB – Week 5 Scouting Notes, Clemson vs. NC State

This was the game of the week for me, well on paper at least, as the two top dogs in the ACC, both top ten ranked, duked it out in a night game. The reality was that Clemson should have won by more than the ten points they did, and are now favourites to sweep conference play and get a good shot at the College Football Play-off.

We’ll start the notes with the winning Tigers…

Clemson

I got a decent look at Clemson last week against Wake Forest, and the offense in that game looked so much better than it did for much of last season. This game was a bit of a mixed bag, but this was also the best defense that the Tigers had faced so far this season, so a regression from last week’s big output was expected.

Quarterback DJ Uiagalelei looked a different beast last week against the Demon Deacons throwing for 371 yards and five touchdowns, but he was back to a more conservative game plan against the Wolfpack, where the emphasis was on ball control rather than splash plays.

He did go deep a couple of times but he overthrew both passes and his overall accuracy is still a bit of a worry for me. Clemson have used him more to run the ball this year, and he does a nice job of getting what he can on the ground, but as a pure passer there are still many questions for me that need answering.

Obviously he is playing much better than last year, but I think he’s quite a way down the quarterback draft list still, although with that size and arm strength there will be plenty of intrigue if he does throw his name into the 2023 draft. 

Clemson have churned out some exceptional wide receivers over the last decade, but this current bunch are not living up to that standard. The Tigers have instead turned to a more run based attack, utilising the tight ends in the passing game, and they have a guy who may make it to the next level.

Davis Allen is a big target (6’6 250) with decent hands who looked good last week snaring two touchdowns and was a valuable outlet for his quarterback in this game too.

He has functional strength as a blocker, but he certainly won’t wow anyone in that department, although he does enough to survive. If Allen tests well he should certainly find himself in that mid day three range, and should make an NFL roster. 

Defensively, Clemson have three stud players, all of whom could be first round picks, but one of them Defensive Tackle Bryan Bresee was out of this game, so all eyes were on the other two…

I really like EDGE Myles Murphy – Who was highly rated in our summer scouting series.

He is bigger than most of the EDGE’s in this potential draft class, so he doesn’t possess the bend and dip of those smaller guys, but he does win with strength and quick hands consistently. This was an odd game for him, as statistically he had 1.5 sacks and a couple of pressures, but he was nullified for stretches of the game which doesn’t happen very often.

There was one pressure he went straight through the left tackle with power, and although not the level of athlete of some of the top guys, he can still win around the edge on the outside shoulder of the tackles. He is the same size (6’5 275) as last year’s number one pick Travon Walker but won’t test as well as he did, but he should be a first round lock, and possibly as high as the top ten.

There is plenty of hype surrounding linebacker Trenton Simpson, but I’m not quite as high on him as the consensus seems to be.

There is no doubting his athletic ability as he glides around the field effortlessly, but for me there seems to be questions with instincts and that’s a concern for someone in the middle of the defense.

He has moved into a more traditional off-ball Linebacker position this season, as he was more out in the slot in 2021, so perhaps that explains some instinctual issues, but this will be his NFL position, so he needs to look better than this for the rest of the season to maintain first round status.

The old position Simpson moved from has been taken by true sophomore Barrett Carter, and this game was very much a coming out party for him. He has all the athletic ability that Simpson does, and although he doesn’t have the same size, he is a fearless player who understands his role perfectly. We could be talking about Carter in the same way we did about Simpson next season when he’ll be draft eligible.

NC State

This Wolfpack offense struggled to move the ball against Clemson, especially in the second half, as the offensive line couldn’t control the line of scrimmage. I like quarterback Devin Leary, but this game showcased his limitations.

When he has time, as he did in the first half, he can move this offense down the field nicely. What he has trouble with is coming off script and producing under pressure, which is how the second half went. I’m not sure there’s a lot of upside to him, but you can see him carving out a nice NFL career in a back-up capacity.

Leary’s most reliable target, wide receiver Thayer Thomas certainly appears to have an NFL future. Everyone needs one of these crafty slot receivers that can always get open and have safe hands, and Thomas is an excellent example of one. Not the biggest or the fastest, but he drops virtually nothing and is a consistent chain-mover. Call him a poor man’s Hunter Renfrow, who has an outside chance of going late in the draft.

Defensively NC State were very impressive at times, despite giving up 30 points. The three man defensive line has a thankless task at times, just occupying spaces and eating blockers, but these guys are excellent at doing it.

I’ve been a big defensive tackle Cory Durden fan for a long time, even back to his Florida State days he stood out to me. Now he is used exclusively as a nose tackle in their odd front, so he sees plenty of double teams and has to fight on every snap to keep lineman off him and keep in on the play.

Durden has a great get off and arm over move, which when timed right will split the double teams and get him into the backfield. His role will never offer him the chance to be statistically productive, but his value can’t be overlooked, and some NFL odd front teams should spend a day three pick on him for sure. 

The benefactors of the big guys up front are the linebackers, who can exploit the chaos and make the plays.

NC State has three good ones, all of whom could end up being drafted, but for me the highlight performer from this group against Clemson was Isaiah Moore.

He is a fifth year player who really burst onto the scene as a Freshman in 2018, but has never really kicked on. Injuries have played their part, and he missed half of last season with one, so he needed a good final year to get him back on the NFL radar, and this game tape should do that.

In this game, Moore was always around the ball and quick to react to plays developing in front of him. He is a good form tackler who wraps up nicely making sure the ball carrier gets down. Now I doubt he’ll test that well, and with the injury history to consider too he’ll be a late round pick at best, but these types of guys are always hanging around on NFL rosters.

I do love a hard hitting, play making safety, and Tanner Ingle certainly fits that bill. He flies around the field hitting anything that moves and will sacrifice his body to get in on a tackle. He is undersized for this role (5’10 185) and you’d expect that his body wouldn’t hold up in this role in the NFL, but I’m not backing against this guy as he has a bit of Tyrann Mathieu about him, and he turned out alright didn’t he?

By Keith Lucken – Follow Keith on Twitter @lordlucken

Catch the rest of Keith’s scouting notes HERE.

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2022 CFB: Is Drake Maye a Heisman Candidate?

Johnny “Money” Manziel, Jameis Winston, Drake Maye. These are the names we see when looking at freshmen who have won the Heisman Trophy.

After five weeks of the college football season, the Heisman race is shaping up to be a good one. Front runners C.J. Stroud and Bryce Young have come out firing on all cylinders this season. Yet after an injury to his throwing arm, Bryce Young’s odds have decreased a bit. Players like Caleb Williams and Hendon Hooker are looking to keep this a close one, but do not count out UNC quarterback Drake Maye. 

Maye, the redshirt freshman who transferred from Alabama, is on pace for a record setting season with the Tar Heels. As it stands today, the quarterback has 22 total touchdowns on the year, currently leading all of college football. He has shown plenty of success in the pocket this season and flashes plenty of ability to escape and create issues on the ground. Making him a nightmare to game plan against. 

After five games in 2022, Maye ranks sixth in passing yards and has an impressive 69.7% completion percentage. The Tar Heel freshman has only thrown a single interception all season, and has only turned the ball over two other times on the ground, proving he has the ability to hold onto the ball.

So why should he be in the Heisman conversation? 

Maye has led this UNC team to a 4-1 record so far, and has done so with a far from elite defense. This is the same defensive unit that allowed App St. to score 61 points against them. So unlike Stroud and Young, Maye is producing results without a huge performance from his colleagues on the other side of the ball. Having to air it out just to keep this team afloat, quite literally carrying the offense on his back. The quarterback has been the teams leading rusher already twice this season and is second on the team in rushing yards with 255. 

There is always a lot of talk about a “Heisman Moment” and Drake Maye has had an assortment of clutch throws that could fall into this, with his most impressive coming from the shootout with App St. Before the half Maye threaded the needle on a 15 yard dime to sophomore tight end Bryson Nesbit to give UNC the lead before half. While down 45-26 against Notre Dame, Maye kept the team alive on a 4th and 21 when he hit wide receiver Antoine Green for an 80 yard touchdown. A ball which he released as getting hit, making the play all the more impressive. 

If Maye is to pull off this impressive feat, it would make him the youngest Heisman winner ever, surpassing Lamar Jackson who currently holds the record at 19 years and 337 days. Maye just turned 19 on August 30th of this year. This would also make him just the third freshman to ever win the prestigious award. North Carolina has found a young star who could terrorize the ACC for years to come, let us hope this career is not wasted by Mack Brown and his sloppy defenses in the same vein as his predecessor, “Heisman Howell.” 

By Will Lane – @TheWillieLane

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Vikings ‘@’ Saints Week Four London Game Recap.

The New Orleans Saints are now 1-3 and are losing a heartbreaker 28-25 to the Minnesota Vikings at Spurs Stadium in London. Sadly, the Saints are what their record says. A losing team, with far too much talent to be in the position their in. Penalties, turnovers and a last-second double doink missed field goal. led to defeat today and staring at despair.

Let’s breakdown what went wrong for the Saints yesterday.

I’m trying a different recap style, let me know which you prefer—this or my usual quarter by quarter.

Overview

Saints offense

Let’s start with the Saints’ offense, overall, I thought the Dalton-led unit was an improvement over the four back fractures Jameis Winston experience.  Dalton still struggled to start the game with 2 quick three-and-outs.

Crucially though, he capitalised on the Vikings turnover (shout out Honey Badger with the pick) and marched the Saints down the field on a type of drive the Saints have been missing and sustained a 12-play 60-yard touchdown drive. With a crucial pass too early in the drive to Chris Olave on third and eight. This was a play the offense hadn’t been making.

Sadly, Dalton couldn’t fix the offensive penalties or the fumbles. The Saints offense had two offensive penalties on the first drive one, a false start which turned a third and six into a third and 11. The worse penalty came the play after, the Saints managed to convert the third and 11 with a very well-executed screen to Mark Ingram. It was called back by an ineligible man downfield penalty on Cesar Ruiz.

Instead of first and ten at the Saints 35, it ended up third and 16 at the Saints 19. Subsequently, the Saints had to punt.

The aforementioned fumble, now that the game has finished, was one of the day’s biggest plays, which is a shame for Dalton if he did play very well overall.

The Saints got the ball back with just over a minute to go in the first half down 10-7 after a Vikings field goal. With two timeouts and a chance to get some points on the board before the half, the Saints also go the ball first to start the second half.

The first play, Dalton is sacked and stripped by Dalvin Tomlinson. Giving the Vikings the ball on the Saints’ 20, the defense held well but the Vikings still kicked a field goal. This was essentially a gifted three points. Now the Saints enter halftime down 13-7 instead of maybe 10-10 at worst 10-7.

The second half was a totally different story for the Saints offense. We finally saw some sustained offense. They went punt, touchdown, touchdown, field before the missed field goal to end the game (more on that shortly)

The touchdown drives were well put together and none of the scoring drives were less than eight plays. This shows the ability to make consistent plays.

For example, on the Saints first touchdown drive Dalton hit Marquez Callaway (who played well today) for a five-yard pass on fourth and four to extend the drive, which as mentioned ended in a TD. A bulldozing one-yard TD run by Latavius Murray.

Murray had a great first game back with the Saints. He provided a spark in the second half, HC Dennis Allen even commented on it in his post-game press conference. He ended with 11 carries for 57 yards and a TD and looked like the best RB on the field today.

The o-line seemed to hold up well (hard to tell fully watching in the stadium) only gave up two sacks and the Dalton didn’t look under pressure too much. Could be wrong on a watch back.

Some positive quick hitters:

Chris Olave, led the team in catches and yards again (four catches for 67 yards and a TD) and looked open all day.

Marquez Callaway, he made some big plays today. Previously mentioned 4th down catch and later on that drive a huge 33-yard contested catch down the left sideline to set the Saints up for TD.

Taysom Hill, sprinkled in the QB power is still really good especially inside the five, seems almost automatic.

Saints o-line- from what I could it looked like they played very well, with plenty of open holes in the run game and Dalton didn’t look to be under a huge amount of pressure.

Saints Defense

One of my key matchups for this game was stopping Dalvin Cook and the running game. The Saints Definitely did that today. Apart from a rogue 14-yard rush in the fourth quarter, the Saints kept Cook bottled up for 3.8 yards per carry on 20 attempts.

The d-line looked very stout against the run and much better rushing the passer, d-lineman Kentavius Street (1), Cam Jordan (0.5) and Marcus Davenport (0.5) all had sacks and multiple QB hits.  LB’s Demario Davis and Pete Werner looked great again, especially against the run. Davis also had a sack.

Unfortunately, what I thought shutting down the run game would stop, didn’t.

Play-action passing, I’m interested to see what his final stats were from play-action passes but certainly from the stadium, it seemed like Cousins shredded the defense from it.

Adam Thielen dominated early, he had five of his seven catches in the first half.

Justin Jefferson dominated late, with six of his ten catches coming in the second half. Two of those were huge plays, one for 41 yards, two Saints players did run into each other leaving him wide open but either way, the play was made, this set up a Vikings field goal.

The second catch was a dagger, a 39-yard catch one on one Vs Lattimore. Which set the Vikings up for the field goal to go up 28-25 with only 24 seconds left. Jefferson definitely got the better of Lattimore in this matchup. He ended with ten catches for 147 yards seemed like all if not most were when Lattimore was in coverage.

(10 targets, 7 catches 93 yards, per PFF)

Some positive quick hitters:

Cam Jordan- Looked a terror today, with 0.5 sacks but had 3 other pressures per PFF

Pete Werner- again! he’s looking like an all-pro. PFF charted him as having 5 defensive stops in the run game.

Kentavius Street– had a sack today and another pressure. The interior d-line has been disappointing so far this season, if he can start to step up that would really help.

Special teams

Complete and utter shambles.

This Saints special teams unit is supposed to be one of the best in the league. Right now, they look like one of the worst. They allowed multiple good kick and punt returns in this game and have all season.

Deonte Harty fumbled a punt that would have given the Saints good starting position at their own 44. Down six. Instead, the Vikings were given great field position, which ended in another field goal.

Harty looks checked out since his contract talks in the summer didn’t go his way. He looks far away from his all-pro returning skills of previous years.

Finally, two special teams’ errors on the same drive again cost the Saints another three points. The Vikings had a good return out to their own 30. An unnecessary roughness penalty for a late hit out of bounds added 15 yards. The Saints’ defense held them to a quick three and out.

Then, the Saints feel for a fake punt, not just a fake punt but a fake punt that gained the Vikings 13 yards. Which again put the Vikings in field goal range.

This part of the game shouldn’t be a problem, the Saints prioritise players with special teams ability. They have the same coach that has led them to be one of the top units in the league over the last few years, so what gives? The players need to execute better of course but it has to come down to coaching as well sooner or later.

Some positive quick hitters:

Will ‘Big Nutz’ Lutz, made a 60-yarder in the clutch to tie the game. Then he nearly nailed a 61-yarder to send the game to overtime unfortunately it double-doinked.

Conclusion

Even with the penalties, the turnovers the general sloppiness. The Saints could have won this game. If they can out of their own way they can be a playoff team. They came that close today without QB1 (Jamies Winston) WR1 (Michael Thomas) and RB1 (Alvin Kamara).

The next game at home against Seattle is now a must-win. There’s no more margin for error.

Last point, the NFL have a severe officiating problem, the illegal use of hands to face penalty today on Tyrann Mathieu was awful, it kept the Vikings on the field on a drive they then scored a TD on. That definitely cost the Saints today.

There are terrible calls like this every week.  

For more Saints articles New Orleans Saints – Full10Yards 

Please let me know your feedback on this article and the others throughout the season, I’m always looking to improve and add things that people want to read about!

I want to try and create as much of a UK Saints community as possible, so follow me on Twitter @SaintsReportUK, for much more Saints content and discussion.

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2022 CFB: Week 5 – Winners and Losers

Who made this week’s Winner & Losers column (aka. The ‘Kansas & Losers’ column)… find out below.

Winners

UCLA

Let’s put some respect on UCLA’s name. At 5-0 with a couple of very eligible wins under their belt, the Bruins are looking good. The college football world had been aflame with praise for Washington in recent weeks, but the 40-32 scoreline makes this game seem closer than it was.

Dorian Thompson-Robinson is one of the great mysteries of the CFB world, he profiles as a very good QB but over the last few seasons he has been largely inconsistent. Now, midway through his fifth year with UCLA, are we seeing a player that could be jumping NFL draft boards? Through five games DTR has completed 74.3% of his passes for 11 touchdowns, with just one interception blotting the copy book.

The addition of Jake Bobo from Duke in the offseason appears to be paying dividends, with the 6’5” outside receiver putting up a huge six catch, 142 yards and two touchdown day on Friday evening. Combined with the ever-dangerous Zach Charbonnet, the Bruins have a nice one-two punch at receiver and running back.

Back to back games against Utah and Oregon might bring Chip Kelly’s men back to earth with a bang, but for now the programme has a feel good factor on the field.

Ole Miss

Ole Miss are another team who moved to 5-0 with a win on Saturday, taking down Kentucky in order to do so. Despite all the offensive talent scattered across both rosters, the Rebels defense were largely to thank for the win.

Maurice Crum and D.J Durkin act as co-defensive coordinators in Oxford, and their approach proved effective, with Ole Miss putting up nine tackles for a loss, three sacks and multiple fumble recoveries. AJ Finley (S) and Austin Keys (LB) were at the heart of everything, as Will Levis came under scrutiny at QB for Kentucky.

Offensively, Jaxson Dart’s stat line won’t be setting off too much excitement amongst the Rebels’ fan base, but he’s slowly adjusting to life under Lane Kiffin. Games against Vanderbilt and Auburn should allow Kiffin and his team to extend their winning streak, before a more difficult section of the schedule hits.

TCU & Max Duggan

It’s been a tough ride for Max Duggan as TCU’s starting quarterback. Along with the inconsistent performances has come a lot of scrutiny, and even a trip to the bench to start the 2022 season.

However, the fourth year signal caller is now stamping his authority on the starting job and an offense which has been purring away nicely to start the season. Against a solid Oklahoma side, Duggan put up video game numbers – 302 yards passing, three passing scores and 116 yards rushing plus a further two touchdowns on the ground. Impressive.

It’s clear that Duggan is thriving in his role as the offensive leader for the Horned Frogs, he looks calm in the pocket and is more than willing to share the ball around to any target that can get half a step on the defender covering him. Draft scouts would probably like to see Quentin Johnson padding the stat sheet in wins like this, but the future Sunday player did draw multiple pass interference calls in the first half.

An exciting matchup against 5-0 Kansas awaits TCU next week.

Losers

Virginia

After so much preseason hype around the weapons at their disposal, Virginia are really failing to live up to expectations so far in 2022. On Saturday they dropped to 2-3 with a defeat to a resurgent Duke who completely bullied the Cavaliers on the ground.

Brennan Armstrong had got the ‘dark horse’ label from some analysts ahead of the 2023 draft, but at present he’s struggling to stay upright behind an offensive line that is porous, to put it politely. The pressure Armstrong is facing is impacting his ability to find standout targets, Dontayvion Wicks and Keytaon Thompson – the latter being the only real bright spot for the Cavaliers so far this season.

As the rest of the ACC, including Duke, look to progress, Virginia seem to be going backwards. Tony Elliot was appointed as the new Head Coach this offseason, and he absolutely deserves some time to turn things around, but this season is already looking like a right off for the Cavaliers.

Wisconsin

24 carries of the football for the Badgers, two yards rushing in total. That stat says it all about Wisconsin’s performance against Illinois on Saturday as Bret Bielema enjoyed every minute of his team’s win against his former team.

Graham Mertz was sacked five times and threw two interceptions, as Wisconsin struggled to get anything going offensively. Braelon Allen has been incredibly efficient against stacked boxes all season long, but even he couldn’t get the ball moving against a resolute Fighting Illini defense.

On the flip side, the Badgers defense looked slow and struggled against the dynamic running style of Chase Brown. They also struggled to stop QB, Tommy Devito, punching the ball into the end zone three times in what was one of the most humbling defeats Wisconsin have suffered at home in recent years. 

Ohio State’s Punter

This might be a British thing, although judging by Twitter’s reaction it probably isn’t. You’re up by 30 points against a clearly inferior team, it’s fourth down in your own half – just punt the ball away. It’s a nice respectful thing to do. 

Instead, Jesse Mirco decided his time had come and he broke away for a 22 yard run. Only to be slammed to the floor as he ran out of bounds, cue some excellent handbags from the Buckeyes bench. We’re not condoning late hits at the Full10Yards, but…

By Andy Moore @ajmoore21

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Vikings @ Saints London Game Preview

Despite it only being week four this is an incredibly pivotal game for the 2022-2023 New Orleans Saints. It might not quite be a must-win, but it’s certainly not far away. Let’s see where both teams are at heading into Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Sunday.

Overview

Saints Offense Vs Vikings Defense

The Saints very easily could be 0-3 and staring down the barrel of a completely wasted season instead they sit 1-2 thanks to a miracle fourth-quarter comeback against Atlanta in week one. Only one game off the lead in the division.

Minnesota laid a beat down on the Packers in week one, then got a similar beatdown put on them in week two by the juggernaut Eagles. Week 3 brought a very similar comeback win against the Lions as the Saints did in week one against Atlanta. 

Both teams could be on the other side of results giving them very different outlooks. Even though the Saints are 1-2 and the Vikings are 2-1 both teams feel like they could end up being very similar.

Offensively so far, the Saints have been a mess for 10 of 12 quarters this season. Jameis Winston having four fractures in his back certainly doesn’t help this. His mobility is clearly affected and that has cost the Saints so far, there have been times where he could have scrambled for first downs or to extend drives or moved to avoid rushes and he clearly hasn’t been able to do it.  

Therefore, a QB change is coming to give Winston a chance to heal up. The ‘Red Rifle’ Andy Dalton took first-team reps all week in practice. Winston is listed as doubtful and all reports are, he’s unlikely to play on Sunday.

There’s no guarantee that Dalton will be better than Winston. However, there is reason to believe that he could operate the offense with more rhythm than Winston has been able to. Dalton has shown throughout his career that he’s willing and able to get through his progressions quickly and take the check down. Something this offense has been missing and needs at times to keep drives going.

This could finally be the game for Alvin Kamara to shine in the passing game and look for the Saints to use Kamara to attack Jordan Hicks in coverage. 

The problems with offense do not just sit with Winston and his injured back and they are much different from problems faced this time last season. Last year the Saints were too injured and completely void of talent at the skill positions.

This year, it’s the opposite. They arguably have the best WR core in the league, especially with the emergence of rookie sensation Chris Olave and to date, no offensive starters have been lost for the season (touch wood) unlike this time last year. Olave and Jarvis Landry should find ways to win Vs this Vikings secondary. 

Former all-pro Patrick Peterson has started the season well. The same can’t quite be said for his other starting CBs. Cameron Dantzler and slot corner Chandon Sullivan both have allowed more than a 100-passer rating when targeted so far this year. 

So, what’s the problem? Well, it seems everything else. Turnovers, Penalties and struggles against the Blitz.  For more analysis on these offensive issues see https://www.full10yards.co.uk/analysing-three-key-matchups-to-watch-for-vikings-saints/

I expect to see the Vikings test the Saints’ defense early and often with the Blitz.

The Vikings have star pass rushers Danielle Hunter and Za’Darius Smith. Expect to see Smith lined up inside on certain packages to add to the deception of the blitz. The Vikings also possess two LBs that are more than effective blitzing in Jordan Hicks and Eric Kendricks. The Saints will need to prove early that they have fixed their issues against the blitz otherwise despite not being a blitzing team the Vikings will keep coming early and often.

The offense doesn’t need to score 30 points per game as it has in the past to win games. With how this defense is playing right now 21-24 points with minimal turnovers feels like a formula to win more games than you lose.

Saints’ Defense Vs Vikings Offense  

The Vikings have star pass rushers Danielle Hunter and Za’Darius Smith. Expect to see Smith lined up inside on certain packages to add to the deception. The Vikings also possess two LBs that are more than effective blitzing in Jordan Hicks and Eric Kendricks. The Saints will need to prove early that they have fixed their issues against the blitz otherwise despite not being a blitzing team the Vikings will keep coming early and often.

The Saints’ defense overall has played well but mainly because of their coverage. Marshon Lattimore is playing like the best CB in the league through three weeks. He will have another tough test this weekend against Vikings star Justin Jefferson (more on this matchup here https://www.full10yards.co.uk/analysing-three-key-matchups-to-watch-for-vikings-saints/ ). The Saints could have their training camp MVP back fully opposite Lattimore. 

Paulson Adebo was worked back in last week against Carolina, it’s expected that he will see more snaps this week. That could be huge for New Orleans considering the WRs they are expected to face on Sunday.

The pass rush needs to improve and has struggled to get pressure without blitzing. The Saints need to start getting pressure just with the front four. Cam Jordan and Marcus Davenport need to get going. They have one sack between them so far.

Vitally the Saints need to do a better job stopping the run. With Dalvin Cook and Alexander Mattison on the other side, both have started the season well and are a massive threat to, a so far fragile and very uncharacteristically porous Saints rush defense (allowing 139.3 yards per game so far) more on the Dalvin good vs Saints rush defense here https://www.full10yards.co.uk/analysing-three-key-matchups-to-watch-for-vikings-saints/ .

State of the Rosters 

A rather lengthy list of injuries for New Orleans, many carrying no injury designation meaning they will play on Sunday. 

QB Jameis Winston is Doubtful for Sunday and all reports are he will not be playing leaving Andy Dalton to start. 

Unfortunately, the Saints will also be without star WR Michael Thomas a player whose skills would have definitely been accentuated by Dalton’s style of play. All reports are the Toe injury shouldn’t keep him out long-term, so hopefully, him being out is more precautionary to make sure the injury isn’t made worse and keep him out longer.

Saints will also be without starting LG Andrus Peat and starting safety Marcus Maye. Not having both players hurt, backup LG Calvin Throckmorton looked rough last week after Peat went out. Not having Maye hurts quite a lot, backup safety P.J. Williams will need to step up again. We could even see Justin Evans take some safety snaps despite playing solely from the slot so far this year. 

With Adebo back, that likely means Roby moves to the slot. Freeing Evans to play some more safety.

Seems unlikely 2nd round rookie Andrew Booth will make his season debut after being listed as doubtful. 

Za’Darius Smith is listed as questionable, HC Kevin O’Connell has been quoted that Smith is a true game-time decision, but is trending upwards (so I’m sure he will play).

Otherwise fairly clean injury for the Vikings.

Score Prediction

Tough one here, I like to predict things I can root for, thus generally you won’t see me pick against the Saints. This is the first game so far this year where my head says I should.

However, I can see a path for them to win this game so I’m going with that. Saints win 24-21.

For more Saints articles New Orleans Saints – Full10Yards 

Please let me know your feedback on this article and the others throughout the season, I’m always looking to improve and add things that people want to read about!

I want to try and create as much of a UK Saints community as possible, so follow me on Twitter @SaintsReportUK, for much more Saints content and discussion.

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Analysing Three Key Matchups To Watch For Vikings ‘@’ Saints

The New Orleans Saints need to find a way to win on Sunday. No matter how win ugly if you have to. There are three key matchups the Saints need to be on the right side of to win on Sunday in London.

Saints Offense Vs Themselves

The Saints lead the league in turnovers with nine in total. Now, before everyone shouts, well you have Jameis Winston at QB what do you expect? He’s not the reason the Saints lead the league in this category. 

Of Winston’s five interceptions only two are bad throws. Even one of those was more a good coverage scheme than an interception that Winston has become known for. The bigger problems have been fumbles. 

Mark Ingram has lost two fumbles, both coming at crucial times in weeks one and two. Alvin Kamara lost one last week that was returned for a touchdown, the Saints ended up losing by eight against Carolina. 

They have 9 offensive penalties so far through three games. Many killing the few good drives the Saints offense has produced. four of those nine penalties have been preventable (false starts, offensive offsides etc). 

Recognising, defending and attacking the blitz has been a consistent drive killer. The offense has struggled against the blitz in all three games so far. Winston has been sacked six times against the blitz and pressured a further 12 times. 

This has clearly been a problem and has cost the Saints big time in games. For example HIGHLIGHT: Jeremy Chinn hits Jameis Winston for big sack (panthers.com) the lost yardage on this sack caused a missed field goal for New Orleans. This needs to be cleaned up, some of the blame falls on the o-line, some on coaching and some on the QB. 

If this was a lot of other QBs in the league (maybe even Andy Dalton who may end up starting on Sunday), they’d have changed the play at the line to a quicker developing pass play, allowing the offense to punish the Panthers for sending that many players. Right now, that awareness isn’t there. Meaning teams can tee up blitzes, at will with no fear of a counter.

If these issues were isolated and occasional then it does come down to the players doing a better job of executing. When these issues are so widespread and consistent then an equal portion of the blame must land on the coaches. The offensive staff led by OC Pete Carmichael Jr. have to do a better job of ironing out these areas of weakness and putting the players in better positions to succeed. 

Run Defense Vs Dalvin Cook

Dalvin Cook is one of the most dynamic RBs in the NFL and he is the focal point of the Vikings’ offense. The Vikings want to be able to establish the run to allow for play-action to at its most effective.

In three previous meetings with the Saints, Cook has played rather well. Across those three games, he averages 21.6 (22) rushes for 96 yards, at 4.2 yards per carry. This is compares favourably to other RBs against the Saints over this time. Since 2017 New Orleans has only allowed 94 yards rushing per game in that span. The stat considers every rushing yard in a game, a random QB scramble, a blown assignment allowing a random long run etc… so for Cook to average above that on his own is impressive. 

Play action has been effective so far for the Vikings. Kirk Cousins has the third-best passing grade in the league on play-action throws. His stats on play-action passes:

  • 34 attempts, 25 completions for 267 yards. Four TDs to zero Interceptions. 135.5 passer rating

Compare that to his stats on none play-actions throws:

  • 85 attempts, 49 completions for 491 yards. One TD to three interceptions. 63.4 passer rating.

It’s clear that so far this season the Vikings success in the passing game comes from establishing the run. So, the Saints priority must be to stop the running game if they want a chance to win on Sunday.

Marson Lattimore vs Justin Jefferson 

Marson Lattimore has been lights out. In three games he’s only been thrown at Seven times, he’s allowed three receptions for 23 yards and a passer rating against of 51.5. All the while he’s lined up against: 

  • Drake London
  • Kyle Pitts
  • Mike Evans 
  • Russel Gage 
  • D.J. Moore 

I’d say that’s pretty good. This weekend it’s not clear if he will shadow Justin Jefferson or not and I’m interested to see if the Saints elect to have Lattimore travel with Jefferson or if they choose to play sides.

They chose the latter last week @ Carolina and they don’t always choose to have Lattimore travel. Sometimes they prefer to play sides and double-team a player with a LB or Safety. 

The way Lattimore is playing I think putting Lattimore on Jefferson and letting them battle it out would be wise. The last time the two faced off the Saints CB came out on top:

  • Eight targets, 4 receptions for 55 yards and 2 PBUs.

Jefferson started the season hot in week one Vs Green Bay (who many called the best secondary in the league) he went off. Catching nine of his ten targets for 184 yards and 2 TDs. Since then he’s been kept in check.

The Eagles chose for the most part to match him with Darius Slay. That went incredibly well. Whilst in coverage against Slay, Jefferson on six targets only managed one reception for seven yards. Slay also intercepted 2 of the passes. 

This is in the plan I think the Saints should copy. Lattimore has been elite and traditionally plays better against a team’s number one WR, as Lattimore knows he has to be at his best. Against lesser competition, he has been known to get complacent and play down their level.

Conclusion 

So, stop fumbling, stop getting offensive penalties, and start identifying and attacking the blitz better. Stop the run and finally put Marshon Lattimore on Justin Jefferson. Sounds easy right?

Probably not but I feel these are all a must if the Saints are going to win on Sunday. Regardless of who starts at QB (looks like it will be Andy Dalton).

For more Saints articles New Orleans Saints – Full10Yards 

Please let me know your feedback on this article and the others throughout the season, I’m always looking to improve and add things that people want to read about!

I want to try and create as much of a UK Saints community as possible, so follow me on Twitter @SaintsReportUK, for much more Saints content 

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F10Y CFB Player to Watch: Blake Corum, Michigan

It’s that time again! It’s time to sit down and check in on one of the more interesting players and match ups for this weekend’s college football schedule in our Player to Watch space.

However, it hasn’t gone unnoticed that this column appears to have somewhat of a touch of bad luck that follows the players covered – You can read the rest here – With none having a particularly great outing game after being written up.

Big Blue fans will hope that a similar effect isn’t felt by their star running back in this weekend’s game against Iowa… Although, how do you better 243 rushing yards and 2 touchdowns? Anyway, let’s get into Blake Corum…

So who is this power cube of a running back?

Blake Corum is on quite the tear to start this season as Michigan have stormed to a 4-0 start and to #4 in the AP Top 25 (although more importantly to the same position in the UK & Ireland CFB Media Rankings). Corum has scored at least one touchdown in each of the four games, he has had a 5 touchdown game against UConn and followed this with the aforementioned 243 yard game against Maryland last weekend! So it’s safe to say that he’s having quite the season so far!

Last year he was part of an absolutely deadly duo with Hassan Haskins in the Wolverines backfield with the pair combining for over 2,400 all-purpose yards. These guys powered Michigan as they won the Big Ten Championship, ended the season ranked #3 in the country, losing in the college football playoff semi-final to eventual champions Georgia and best of all, beat Ohio State. 

I’ve got to say I was very interested to see how Corum would fare without Haskins, but he seems to be shouldering the load and thriving as the main man this season! Whether he succumbs to the previously discussed Player to Watch Kiss of Death remains to be seen.

Into the background before we get some film study in then; Corum stands at 5’8 and packs a dense 210 lbs on to his frame – We really are talking about a wrecking ball of a runner here. Corum grew up in Marshall Virginia before heading to St. Frances Academy in Baltimore for High School where he accumulated over 40 touchdowns across his Junior and Senior seasons, which earned him a 4-star rating across all major recruiting sites. 

Since arriving on campus in Ann Arbor, Corum has worked his way up the depth chart to make it into his current role; in his Freshman season he mainly saw action as a returner, returning five kicks and one punt, with small action as the third running back in rotation. Although he showed his potential by scoring twice in 31 total touches. Then came the breakout Sophomore season where he and Haskins dominated pretty much everyone they faced.

Let’s see how he does his damage…

Corum is a squatty back who can do damage between the tackles. He has a jittery, one-cut style and good vision, which is fantastic when combined with his burst and lateral quickness when needed to create yardage.

Check out how he makes the first man miss with a cut to the outside before a little shake’n’bake leaves another Northwestern defender’s ankles in shambles for a nice gain that leaves Michigan on the verge of a score.

Which brings me on to Blake’s next strength – The guy is a finisher from short yardage.

This is the very next play in the game against Northwestern. He doesn’t get stopped from that distance, as you can see in the above tweet thread vs. UConn. 

Let’s talk about an aspect where Blake is underused – Pass catching. With only 31 catches to date, there isn’t a huge sample size for this but I feel from what I did see, Corum has nice, soft hands and he can take in ones like this that require him to make a catch on the move. Back to the Northwestern game;

There’s no run after catch here, which I feel he can easily get in different circumstances, but I have included this one as I felt it was one that could easily have been dropped. He’s backpedalling, with defenders approaching at pace.

Generally speaking, I see a lot of evidence of Blake being a safe checkdown option with the ability to catch the ball with hands extended away from his body, before turning and accelerating upfield for a decent gain. Easy money for JJ McCarthy and Michigan.

This is an area that will also intrigue NFL teams and make them wonder about his ceiling in his area, because it does feel like there’s untapped potential here.

 This next clip is one I absolutely love, which is from the Michigan State game from last year. Michigan schemes up a lovely run off the left side of their line here, Corum shows outstanding patience to wait for the blockers to open things up and he’s able to burst through the gap. This is a long-developing run play with both tight ends making their way across the formation, as well as the center getting involved. Some running backs would get jittery and get dancing feet in the backfield on plays like this, but not Blake.

It’s not a huge gain but just shows his maturity as a runner.

I’ve also seen multiple instances of Corum being willing and able to do the dirty work as a running back. Corum is willing to chip as he releases out of the backfield, he’s willing to stay in as a pass protector when needed too, and he’s more than a speed bump in those situations. Corum will also get after it as a blocker downfield too when the ball doesn’t go to him and he puts in the effort when doing so.

Add this to his value as a returner, (although as the clear RB1 Michigan hasn’t asked him to return through four games this year) and we have a player whose stock has a good floor level. 

However, as is tradition here in the Player to Watch film segment, we can’t finish off before giving one area of weakness and for Corum aside from his size profile, it’s his long speed. 

In short areas he’s great and he has the burst to make a short gain into a long one but over long distances he’s just not a burner.

We can see this in this return against Western Michigan last season. It’s a superb play and sets Michigan up with fantastic field position, but I feel like a real speedster takes his to the house.

A positive within a play I’m using a negative though – The contact balance is brilliant. Corum’s low center of gravity and thick lower half means he’s very difficult to bring down on first contact.

On to this weekend!

This week against Iowa sees Corum face a stingy defense with a couple of big linebackers…

Iowa’s record stands at 3-1 for the season so far, which on the face of it, seems pretty good. However, anyone who has been paying attention to college football will have noticed that the Iowa offense has become somewhat of a meme with their lack of scoring punch. Although, back-to-back 27 point outputs (albeit against Nevada and Rutgers) may stem the tidal wave of tweets somewhat.

On the flip side, the Hawkeyes defense is performing at a high level, having given up just 20 total points all season. Ok, the opponents have been South Dakota State, Iowa State, Nevada and Rutgers but still, this defense has always been a good units that has almost always performed to a level that is more than the sum of its parts in under Kirk Ferentz and DC, Phil Parker.

The unit is anchored by linebackers, Jestin Jacobs and star man, Jack Campbell, who was ranked very highly by myself and Keith in our Summer Scouting podcast. Jacobs measures up at 6’4 and Campbell at 6’5, unusual given their positions, so it will really feel like a David and Goliath(s) game when Corum gets to the second level. Campbell in particular is a tackling machine with good tackle radius and stopping power. He’s not the most athletic when moving side-to-side, but I know he’ll have been devouring Corum film in the lead up to this game and will be ready.

I really feel like this one-on-one is key – If Campbell can stop Corum from getting going, it’ll go a long way to stopping the cogs in the Michigan machine from turning, and give Iowa a chance to stay in the game and maybe steal it. The Wolverines may have put up 200 points so far this season but this is Big Ten football now, and Kinnick Stadium is never an easy place to play.

So should you be looking forward to seeing Corum on Sundays?

Corum will get drafted, there’s no doubt in my mind about that.

He has been very productive, he’s got some interesting traits as we discussed earlier, as well as some special teams value. He has also played at a high level for a blue blood programme, in a time of success for the programme. However, just how high will he be drafted?

I feel like Corum’s size puts limitations on his draft ceiling – There just aren’t too many 5’8 running backs who are hugely successful in the league right now and of course, running back is a hugely devalued position in today’s NFL, especially when it comes to the draft.

His old buddy Hassan Haskins was picked up with the 131st Pick (fourth round) by the Tennessee Titans, and I think that could be a similar point in which Corum has his name called on day 3 of the draft next April.

Yes, it sounds sort of disrespectful to say that his super-productive college player will go on day 3, but that’s the reality of having this profile, at this position. Every season there is a running back who is productive in the NFL, that 90% of fans of his team won’t have heard of before he started scoring touchdowns on Sundays. Think of someone like Elijah Mitchell at the 49ers, he was drafted in the 6th round and has 1,100 scrimmage yards last year! However that is sadly the reality of it, especially when he doesn’t have that breakaway speed. He’s a short-term, short yardage battering ram, the kind of back that an NFL team will draft, run into the ground whilst on his rookie contract and then discard, in all likelihood.

Sad, but true. 

To Conclude… 

Corum is a super-fun player to watch and he will be fondly remembered in Ann Arbor and by Michigan fans for a long while. However, there’s a part of me which feels that he could blend into relative obscurity in the NFL, whilst having a respectable career for a decent number of years.

The sort of player who makes me think, fun college player but just fine in the NFL. 

So let’s enjoy his dominance whilst he’s still playing on Saturdays! Corum is worth a watch almost alone for a Michigan team who will be pushing all the way for that 4th playoff spot this year and another visit to the CFB playoff.

By Lee Wakefield – Follow Lee on Twitter, @Wakefield90

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F10Y CFB Player to Watch – Felix Anudike-Uzomah, Kansas State

Welcome in once again to our Player of the Week space. This week I am heading back to the well of my favourite position in football and talking about an edge defender. This week I’m running the rule over s true breakout pass rusher, who may seem a little off the beaten track right now but come draft time, I think Felix Anudike-Uzomah will be appearing in a lot of top 50 lists, or even first round mock drafts.

Full disclosure, and perhaps a little teaser for later in the season, this week I really was tossing up between writing about Felix and another Big XII edge, Texas Tech’s Tyree Wilson – Let me know if you would like to see that one in the next few weeks!

So Kansas State has a new star man… on defense!

It’s been a while since Kansas State has had a potential defensive star on their hands.

The Wildcats have had a couple of second round offensive linemen in recent times, Dalton Risner, Cody Whitehair… As well as Tyler Lockett, who has blossomed into a ln important player for the Seahawks, but again, he was a day two selection.

Felix Anudike-Uzomah could buck that trend and be the first Wildcat to be drafted in the first round since Josh Freeman in 2009, and the first defensive player taken on the first day of the draft since Terrence Newman in 2005.

So yeah, it’s been a minute. 

Anudike-Uzomah is a 6’4 Junior who tips the scales at 255lbs, so he is on the lighter side for an edge defender, especially considering that K-State typically lines up in a 3-3-5 base defense (more of his role and alignment later).

As I’ve alluded to, Kansas State isn’t a hotbed of talent who sends players to the NFL on a regular basis – Although, offensive lineman Cooper Beebe is highly thought of, especially by our guys who scouted him in summer. They have also Deuce Vaughn, who may carve himself out a spot in the league despite being very, very small by NFL standards.

This also speaks to Felix’s time before rocking up in Manhattan. He was a 3-star recruit from Lee’s Summit High School, in suburban Kansas City, and despite a steady stream of tackles for loss as a Junior and Senior in high school and earning district honors from the Missouri media and coaches association, the offers did not roll in. According to 24/7 Sports, Felix committed to North Dakota State in September 2019 and in December of the same year, he had de-committed and signed up with Kansas State.

And those were his only two offers. There are also no mention of offers on any other site that I usually cross reference information on either, including his K-State bio.

It is said that everyone develops at different rates on the football field and Kansas State must be ecstatic that they managed to get a local kid whose talent would usually be snapped up by a more illustrious football programme.

Felix saw action in his True Freshman season, playing a handful of games and rotating into the defensive line, although, in limited action he still managed one sack.

However, it was in 2021, as a Sophomore where he truly took flight! 12 games, 14.5 tackles for loss, 11 sacks and an even more incredible six forced fumbles. Everything just clicked for him and now he’s making splash plays and has become a game wrecker!

No signs of him being a one season wonder either, this season through three games, 9 tackles, 3.5 for loss, 2.5 sacks and another forced fumble. With seven forced fumbles, he is actually only three shy of the Kansas State school record.

Incredible.

So where did this homegrown diamond come from? Let’s look at how he plays…

As usual, I’ll start with the first thing that jumped off the screen when I was going over the film – Felix burst and he’s also a very willing worker. Given that Kansas State is sometimes only rushes three and this means that Felix spends a lot of time lined up as a 4i, and therefore the offensive line has a natural double team on him. 

This isn’t the prettiest sack of his career so far but I feel like it really shows that he can work for his rewards and it does reward him. He’s lined up in the 4i here and has the agility and wherewithal to defeat the chop block and then chase down Spencer Sanders for a sack.

A lot of his positives that I’ve listed on his evaluation are linked to his physical gifts. In addition to the quickness and motor that I mentioned above, it’s his ability to turn the corner and flatten the arc whilst in contact with the lineman.

Felix was absolutely dominant in this game vs. TCU – four sacks and two forced fumbles. I am not sure if someone could turn a corner more here as he performs a 180 on this play to take down the QB.

Lined up on the nearside of the defensive line (#91), he beats the tackle around the edge – And he was a little slow off the mark (more of that next) – and then is able to tightly turn and take the passer down from behind.

Would I like to see further refinement? Of course! There are instances such as this one below, where I would love to see more development with his understanding of the game and offenses. I’ve slowed this clip down just before the snap so that you can see just how late he gets off the ball here, especially in comparison to his fellow defensive linemen.

Just as in the second clip, he needs to learn how to time the snap better and get off the ball a fraction quicker. The battle between offensive and defensive linemen is all about racing to landmarks and beating each other by fractions of a second. It’s encouraging that he’s having success in spite of this flaw. 

So back to positives, I’m really encouraged by the breakout in production that he’s had in general. The caveat is that it is in the Big XII and therefore he’s maybe not seeing the greatest level of competition.

Although, wanting to remain positive; he knows how to win reps, and has done so with frequency over the past season and a bit and he has the unteachable stuff. He’s got the god-given attributes that some players simply don’t have bestowed on them.

Lastly, and I’ll discuss the importance of this more further down the page, but I love his nose for the ball… check this forced fumble out.

Super valuable play here near the goal line and he has shown a knack for this kind of thing. Felix (lined up on the far side of the defensive line) gets depth and drives his lineman (#55) back, but he’s also aware of the QB and as the quarterback tries to scramble, he’s able to make the tackle and force the ball loose. 

With that in mind, how is this going to translate into the NFL?

Anudike-Uzomah could be drafted in the league today and cause issues for lower-level tackles just due to pure speed and physical gifts. I absolutely loved Azeez Ojulari a couple of draft cycles back, who was all speed and needed refinement in the same sort of manner and he had a very successful rookie year, registering 8 sacks. 

Azeez is quicker than Felix, but Felix’s nose for forced fumbles gives him a real edge and another layer to his game that gives me confidence that he’ll be a success in the league.

Defense in 2022 is all about turnovers, getting another possession for your offense. Forced fumbles are a great way to get turnovers!

As a Chargers fan, I heard a veteran player like Joey Bosa say that he wanted to add strip sacks to his game a couple of years back and last season in 2021, he had seven in 16 games. That’s huge for a defense to have that many opportunities to get the ball back, and Felix already has this kind of killer instinct in his game.

This week’s match up is an interesting one…

Kansas State heads to Norman, Oklahoma, off the back of a jarring loss to Tulane with the hopes of getting back on track.

Off course, heading to the home of the conference heavyweights is never going to be an easy task. Brent Venables has made a solid start to life as the Sooners’ Head Coach and they have recorded three resounding victories so far this season.

Quarterback Dillon Gabriel has the mobility to make the defensive line’s day very frustrating – He has to be accounted for as a runner and can slip out of what is seemingly a negative play until he slips away and runs for a big gain.

However, before Gabriel, Felix has got star left tackle, Anton Harrison to deal with. Harrison is one of the better thought of tackles in the 2023 draft class – Again, you can hear our pod here on offensive line for fuller analysis.

If Felix and the Kansas State coaches look at moving him around, Wanya Morris, Oklahoma’s right tackle, is no slouch either, so I’ve no doubt that this will be a test for Felix in the early hours of Sunday morning (UK time).

So to conclude…

Felix Anudike-Uzomah is an intriguing prospect with big upside and a couple of flaws and aspects of his game that need more work.

I don’t feel like the ways in which K-State aligns him uses him to his full potential. I don’t feel like he has the size profile to play as a down lineman in an odd front. He’s not the sort of build that we would typically see from a team line the Patriots in the league, who have had lines for 280-290lbs defensive linemen who have little in the way of juice but are super disciplined and are powerful against the run, Felix isn’t a guy like that, and he’s being put in those spots. 

We haven’t seen him stand up as a pass rusher as of yet and I would be really interested to see him deployed in a way that gets him more one-on-one match ups with tackles from either a wider alignment or even front as a more traditional 5 or even 7-tech defensive end.  

His stance is nice and low, he’s got the physical tools and he obviously knows how to win and be productive, so rushing from wider with his hand in the dirt, would put him in a more advantageous position.

Landing spot is going to be so important but I feel like this is a player who can put up numbers and be a game wrecker in the NFL.

Follow Lee on Twitter @Wakefield90

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2022 CFB: Week 4 Game Previews

The most comprehensive weekly preview outside of the US!

West Virginia @ Virginia Tech

Friday 23rd September – 12.30am (UK) – Blacksburg, Virginia

Preview: This weekend’s action gets underway on Thursday night with an in-state rivalry game between West Virginia and Virginia Tech. The two teams met in 2021, with the Mountaineers running out 27-21 victors.

It’s been a fairly disappointing season for both teams so far. Virginia Tech dropped their week one game to Old Dominion, but they have bounced back with wins over Boston College and Wolford. On the flip side, WVU lost their opening two games to Kansas and Pitt, but in week three the offense blew Towson out of the water.

Dante Stills has been excellent at the heart of the West Virginia defensive line despite their early struggles. However, he needs some help if the Mountaineers are to win on Saturday. Although they’re ranked as the 41st defense so far in 2022, WVU have already shipped 14 touchdowns to opposition offenses – and Neal Brown has been clear that needs to improve. The offense has largely started to click under the guidance of JT Daniels, mainly thanks to the outstanding play of wide receiver, Bryce Ford-Wheaton.

Ford-Wheaton won’t be the only standout receiver on the field in this matchup. Temple transfer Jaden Blue has jumped up the depth chart after a strong performance at the weekend – he possesses great short yardage burst and a strong pair of hands, and will likely be drafted at the end of the season. Alongside him, Nick Gallo is one of the highest rated tight ends in the ACC, both in the run game and as a passing threat – he’ll be a handful for Jasir Cox, the transfer corner that has so far lined up in the slot for the Mountaineers. 

Key Matchup: Dante Stills (DL, WVU) vs VT Interior Defensive Line – Stills is a wrecking ball, disruptive in both the run and passing games and is versatile to boot. Grant Wells has looked a bit shaky as the Hokies starting QB through three games, and it’ll be up to Kaden Moore, Johnny Jordan and Jesse Hansen to keep him on his feet come Thursday. Look for Stills to identify the best matchup for his skills and exploit it all game long.

Game Line: West Virginia 2 point favourites at the time of writing.

Virginia @ Syracuse

Saturday 24th September – 12am (UK) – Syracuse, New York

Preview: Did anyone have Syracuse as the surprise package coming out of the ACC this year? Through three games they’ve played some exciting football on offense and been very solid on defense – especially in week one against Louisville.

Garrett Shrader was always going to be a playmaker for the Orange, but opposition coordinators probably didn’t anticipate how difficult he could be to shut down. Against Purdue, Shrader threw for three touchdowns but completed less than half of his passes – with the pass game stunted he took over on the ground instead, putting up a team leading 83 yards on 17 carries. He’ll be a nightmare to handle for a Virginia defense that has looked pretty static through the first three weeks of the season.

If Virginia are to make this one interesting, they’ll be relying on their talented receivers and Brennan Armstrong cranking into life. Armstrong has struggled to get standout receiver Dontayvion Wicks involved so far this year, but last weekend saw Keytaon Thompson get up and running with more than 100 yards receiving. The first three weeks have been disappointing in general for the Cavaliers, despite two wins they’ve been unconvincing and they certainly haven’t lived up to the potential they teased in 2021.

Key Matchup: Keytaon Thompson (WR, VIR) vs Garrett Williams (CB, SYR) – Williams is one of the highest rated defensive backs in the country, his silky smooth play has seen him mock drafted everywhere from the third round all the way to the top ten overall picks ahead of the 2023 draft. In Keytaon Thompson he’ll come up against a wrecking ball of a wide receiver who loves to create yardage with the ball in his hands. This one will be fascinating to watch from the first snap.

Game Line: Syracuse 9 point favourite at the time of writing.

Baylor @ Iowa State

Saturday 24th September – 5pm (UK) – Ames, Iowa

Preview: Onto Saturday’s action and there’s a lot to like about the 5pm games. Baylor’s trip to Ames should provide a good test for two quarterbacks that are enjoying their first full year as the main man on campus. Hunter Dekkers has hit the ground running for Iowa State after two years as Brock Purdy’s backup. The lefty has formed quite the relationship with standout receiver, Xavier Hutchinson, who will have his eyes set on the NFL at the end of the season. Interestingly, there’s been a committee approach at running back for the Hawkeyes, following the departure of Breece Hall.

Baylor’s defense has been their strong point so far in 2022, and given Dave Aranda’s past that is probably no surprise. The Bears rank 26th in total defense, with towering lineman Siaki Ika at the heart of everything. Ika is a natural leader who personifies the grit that Aranda’s defense plays with, along with TJ Franklin. They’re clearly rubbing off on Brooks Miller, who looked incredibly effective at linebacker in the blowout of Texas State last week. 

Blake Shapen has had an up and down start to life as the Bears’ starting QB. The main blip came down the stretch against BYU in the overtime defeat. Shapen got a bit loose with his mechanics and sailed a number of passes. This game is the chance for him to redeem himself against a strong opponent.

Key Matchup: Xavier Hutchinson (WR, ISU) vs Mark Milton (CB, BAY) – This is a simple case of WR1 vs CB1 – both are very good players and the winner of this matchup will likely tip the scales in the favour of his team.

Game Line: Iowa State 2.5 point favourite at the time of writing.

Clemson @ Wake Forest

Saturday 24th September – 5pm (UK) – Winston-Salem, North Carolina

Preview: Clemson have so far avoided significant scrutiny in 2022. Their no nonsense defense and above average offense are just too much for the majority of teams in college football. DJ Uiagalelei has clearly taken a step at QB for the Tigers, whether that is a significant step still remains very much in question. However, with the talent the Tigers have on defense, the offense very rarely needs to take over a game. Any of Bryan Bresee, Tyler Davis, Myles Murphy and Trenton Simpson could be high draft picks in 2023 and they stand out on tape every week.

With Sam Hartman back in action, Wake Forest are always a threat. However, they’ve not looked at their dominant best over the past fortnight. Against Liberty, the defense struggled to stop an offense that is going through a transitional phase, and the run game was literally non-existent – leaving them 97th in the nation through three weeks. When the Demon Deacons are playing lesser opponents, Hartman alone can drag them through – but against a powerhouse like Clemson it’s going to be a huge struggle.

Key Matchup: Clemson Defensive Line vs Wake Forest Offensive Line – Hartman is Wake’s only chance of getting something from this game, but he’ll be useless if he spends the game running for his life. The Wake offensive line therefore needs to dig in and do what it can in the face of Bresee and co.

Game Line: Clemson 7 point favourite at the time of writing.

Oregon @ Washington State

Saturday 24th September – 9pm (UK) – Pullman, Washington

Preview: There was a hell of a lot of hype around Cameron Ward during the summer, and last week against Colorado State the world saw exactly why. But, there had been some very good moments throughout the first two weeks as well – he threw the game winning score to beat Wisconsin to name one. Ward is clearly the star of the Cougars’ programme already and Jake Dikert should be praised for convincing him to join them.

Outside of Ward, Ron Stone Jr is the player to watch for Washington State as he comes off the edge to put consistent pressure on opposition gun slingers. Last season’s 11.5 sacks put him on the map, and he’ll relish the opportunity of going up against Oregon’s solid offensive line.

The Ducks proved that the week one loss to Georgia was well removed from their collective memory last week, as they cruised past BYU. Bo Nix was efficient, including a very nice touchdown throw to Terrance Ferguson. However, he was aided by the running back tandem of Mar’Keise Irving and Naoh Whittington whose productivity allowed the play action game to materialise.

Key Matchup: Oregon Defensive Line vs Cameron Ward (QB, WSU) – The Ducks did well to contain Jaren Hall last week, forcing him to throw a lot more than he wanted to. However, Ward is happy to sit back and pick apart a defense from the pocket. Oregon’s defense will therefore need to get to him for more than the solitary sack they picked up last week.

Game Line: Oregon 6.5 point favourite at the time of writing.

Stanford @ Washington

Sunday 25th September – 3.30am (UK) – Seattle, Washington

Preview: Washington has been great so far in 2022. The Huskies announced themselves to the nation with a statement win over Michigan State in week three, ahead of the first PAC-12 matchup of the year. The biggest surprise has been Michael Penix at QB, but the all round play of Kalen DeBoer’s team has been excellent. Ja’Lynn Polk had 114 yards receiving in three games last season, this year he’s more than doubled that and caught four touchdowns. It’s the same across the board for the Hokies, with raised performances and maturation showing across the roster.

Stanford are a difficult beast to fathom. There’s no doubt that there is a lot of talent on the Cardinal roster, but their fanbase must wish that they put it all together a bit more consistently. With Tanner McKee receiving a lot of preseason draft hype, attention slightly shifted away from elite corner, Kyu Blu Kelly. USC largely stayed away from Kelly in the Cardinal’s loss to the Trojans, but with Penix feeling confident he may be tempted to throw at the future Sunday player.

It’s highly likely that this one will still be ticking over when some in the UK are waking up, but it’ll be well worth hitting rewind and watching it on the start as the hype around Washington is beginning to pick up a lot of steam. 

Key Matchup: Stanford pass rush vs Washington Offensive Line – Washington have only given up two sacks so far this season, that is presumably why Penix looks so confident when compared to his pre-transfer tape. There’s no reason why that can’t continue this week, the Huskies have a strong offensive line and they should be a bit too much for Stanford’s pass rush.

Game Line: Washington 13.5 point favourite at the time of writing.

By Andy Moore – @ajmoore21