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F10Y CFB – Week 10 Scouting Notes, Georgia vs. Tennessee

This game has been on everyone’s mind from the moment Tennessee upset Alabama in week seven. These were the top two teams in the country, although the playoff committee didn’t agree, having Ohio State ranked between them. For the added drama this was set up as the game of the season! One which would go a long way to deciding who will win the SEC East, and make the SEC championship game.

In all honesty the game never lived up to the billing, as the Georgia defense suffocated one of the best offenses in the country, and rightly won the game 27-13. 

I’ve covered Tennessee a couple of times already this season, so we’ll focus the main notes on the Georgia players, but we’ll start with some brief notes on the defeated Volunteers.

Tennessee

I’ve been a big fan of quarterback Hendon Hooker and his performances this season, but even I will admit that this was not a good day at the office for him. He was constantly harassed by the Georgia front four, and his big play receivers were very much kept in check.

He looked sharp completing short passes, but he missed on three big deep balls, over throwing his receivers every time. From a scouting perspective this game showed the limitations he has, but it shouldn’t hurt his stock too much, as he already has big performances in big games this season. So when evaluating, there’s no need to start moving him down boards on just one bad day.

Tennessee were very happy to have wide receiver Cedric Tillman back from injury, and although his stat line doesn’t stand out (7 catches for 68 yards), it was nice to see him back out there and showing the scouts his nice routes and sure hands.

In Tillman’s absence Wide Receiver Jalin Hyatt has been putting up some monster performances. Hyatt couldn’t really get going in this game though as he was superbly marshalled by the Bulldog secondary.

He also got hurt twice in the game and never really threatened the big plays like he has in the previous weeks. His name is still hot right now though, and if he hasn’t sustained any game costing injuries, he has an easy three game slate to finish the season and keep his name relevant. 

I think right tackle Darnell Wright has moved himself into the top 100 with his performances this season, and he did a good job in this game too, which will keep his stock on the up.

Without elite EDGE Nolan Smith, most of the Georgia pressures were from the interior, but when the Bulldogs did send outside rushers Wright handled them easily. He has all the tools you need, and now the light seems to have come on for this former 5-star recruit, and he is starting to live up to the high school hype and play his way into day two of the draft. 

Georgia

This Georgia team has a true leader in quarterback Stetson Bennett, and no matter what you think of him as a draft prospect, it’s hard not to root for this undersized overachiever.

The offense goes through him, and he makes enough good throws and improvised plays, to always have his team in position to win games. He was excellent here hitting the big plays when needed, and his running touchdown was a thing of beauty.

All that being said, Bennett is probably not going to be drafted, as his size limitations and arm strength will be big issues. Even so, you can easily see him being a Chase Daniel type back-up in the NFL and will probably turn into a very good coach when he’s done playing.

The star of this offense is Tight End Brock Bowers. He’ll be eligible for next year’s draft, but he is already the front runner to be TE1 in the 2024 group.

He is undersized (6’3 230lbs) and is deployed more like a receiver than a true tight end so he can show off his excellent hands and run after catch ability.

Tennessee did a pretty good job on him here though and limited him to just three catches in the game, but you can see the great hands and precise routes are there, and he will be widely talked about in next year’s cycle. 

Fellow Tight End Darnell Washington is draft eligible though, and he has been making quite a name for himself this year. Some of his highlight plays from earlier in the season are quite mind-blowing, especially when you consider his size.

He is almost like an extra offensive tackle out there, but one that can catch and probably run in the 4.5’s at the combine, making him a really intriguing prospect.

This game won’t feature on his highlight reel though, as he was held catchless, and his trademark aggressive blocking wasn’t as destructive as it normally is. He is still going to be drafted high, if he decides to come out, but he needs to pick the production back up, and get himself back into the TE2 conversation.

Georgia has produced some very good offensive lineman in recent years, and there’s two more that have first round potential, if they declare. Both center Sedrick Van Pran-Granger and left tackle Broderick Jones are Redshirt Sophomores and are listed as the same size too at 6’4 310lbs, but there is a difference of over 500 snaps played between the two. Van Pran-Granger has played the more snaps and he is a lot more polished technique wise.

He is an excellent tone setting leader of this line, and has played exceptionally well this season, including this game where he was picking up blitzes and opening up nice running lanes all day long. He has great football IQ, looks a decent athlete and has a strong powerful base, all vital traits of playing Center. There really isn’t a clear cut OC1 in this class yet, so if he were to declare he’d put himself in that mix for sure.

For someone so young, he has a really high floor and would be a very safe pick who could anchor your line for a decade. 

Jones on the other hand would be much more of a gamble, but he plays the premium left tackle position, where teams are more likely to take a chance on potential rather than production.

I was super high on Jones during the summer, as you could see from the few games he stepped in for Jamaree Salyer last year that he was so naturally gifted.

However, I’m not sure I’ve seen enough progress this season to give him the lofty top ten pick that I’ve seen in recent mock drafts. He was inconsistent here against Tennessee, looking like an All-Pro on one play and undraftable the next, but teams will look at that upside and think they may get the next great one. But it all hinges on whether he can fulfil that potential.

I personally would like to see him go back for another year at Georgia and iron out those flaws he has now, as if he did, he has number one overall pick potential.

If he did come out though, I can see him ending up in the range that Dallas took Tulsa’s Tyler Smith last year, a player he compares favourably to, right now.

This Georgia defense lost so much talent to the NFL last year that there were questions entering this season whether they would be able to replace them all.

Well they have.

With Defensive Tackle Jalen Carter, they probably have the best player they’ve had for some time. Carter has been banged up this year, missing two full games and barely featuring in several others. However, for this game, he was back to full strength, and boy what a difference he makes to this team.

He is such a phenomenal watch, it’s so easy to just focus on him alone and watch him tear apart respected offensive lineman. Tennessee’s guard Javontez Spraggins will be having nightmares after Carter took his soul in this game.

He has such a quick first step that  he can club, swim or bull rush you before you are set, and in a blink of an eye he is in the backfield causing mayhem. He was credited with four tackles, two for a loss and a sack.

Not only that but he caused two fumbles too, all in his first full time action for months against the number one ranked team!

He is a lock for the top ten, and depending on what team is drafting where, has a legitimate shot at being a top three pick.

Georgia has another potential first round defender in cornerback Kelee Ringo. He was another one who flashed huge potential last season when he cracked the starting lineup, but hasn’t kicked on quite as much as hoped, although he is still flashing elite traits at times.

He had a very up and down game here against the Volunteers, giving up eight catches on just nine targets, but then made a sensational interception on a deep ball in the end zone. He has all the size and speed you want, but his technique can fail him at times, and he has given up 61.1% receptions when targeted, which is far too high for a player of his calibre.

Whilst this isn’t the season he wanted so far, plays like the interception in this game show what he can be. Big speedy corners like this don’t grow on trees, and usually end up as first round picks.

Follow Keith on Twitter @lordlucken

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F10Y CFB – WEEK 7 Scouting Notes, Tennessee vs. Alabama

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And just like that we are at the halfway point in the college football regular season! 

Week 7 had some great games on the slate, and I really wanted to get a deep look at the Michigan vs. Penn State game, but what unfolded in Knoxville needed to be written about, even if I’ve already done a deep dive on both teams already this season. This was probably the game of the season so far, with drama and talking points galore, and an upset win by the Vols 52-49 at the death.

So many players here helped their draft stock but there were also a couple who had uncharacteristic performances too, and I’ll try and cover as many as possible below, starting with the triumphant Tennessee Volunteers…

Tennessee

On my last deep dive with the Vols I suggested that Quarterback Hendon Hooker had put himself in the conversation to be QB3 next April. This performance, against a defense littered with future high NFL draft picks, will only push his case further, and there are now people suggesting that he is even in the Heisman Trophy conversation.

Top Quarterbacks need a signature win to stamp their CVs and this was Hooker’s. He threw for 385 yards, five TDs and one Interception, which are ridiculous numbers against this Bama defense, but more important than the stat sheet was how he led his team to the upset win.

Hooker was never fazed as the score went back and forth between the two teams, and he was never afraid to take the downfield shots when he could, or use his legs if he needed to, to keep his team moving down the field. Hooker took chances, and got away with an Interception that was called back for a questionable pass interference call, but you don’t beat teams like Alabama without taking chances, and he made his offense a threat to score every time they had the ball.

As I’m sure you can tell I’m a big fan, and right now I can’t see how he isn’t viewed as QB3, but there will be people using his age (he’ll be a 25 year old rookie) as a big negative.

I would say what he has is a mature head on his shoulders, and could lead an NFL offense with very little prep time needed, which is surely a plus point. 

With star wide receiver Cedric Tillman still out, the Vols have relied on others to step up to pick up his slack. Jalin Hyatt stepped up in the biggest possible way with a career best 207 yards on just six catches, with five of them going for touchdowns!

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Hyatt is a burner who turned on the jets for two of his scores, outrunning the Bama secondary each time showcasing his elite speed. He has had a couple of really nice games this year, especially with Tillman out, and he is doing himself no harm with putting tape out like this for scouts to drool over.

There’s a bit of Hollywood Brown about Hyatt, and the NFL does love a speedster, so he has value and will be moving up boards with games like this in his pocket.

For the offense to move down the field as easily as they did, the offensive line had to play well, and they did, particularly the two tackles.

Left tackle Gerald Mincey was having a great game but picked up an injury and didn’t play the second half. Right tackle Darnell Wright did play the whole game and he put in a dominant performance, especially considering he spent a lot of time up against a potential number one overall pick in Will Anderson.

Wright was exceptional in pass protection, showing great technique and strength in his hands controlling the pass rushers nicely. He displayed good footwork too, keeping a nice solid base but with good lateral movement as well to keep the pocket clean. He gave up zero pressures, and considering the talent he was up against, that’s some great tape to show scouts.

He is someone I wasn’t overly high on coming into the year, but his performances this season have been excellent, and he is certainly getting his name back out there and on some top ten tackle lists. 

Defensively for the Vols there wasn’t much to shout about, as Alabama could consistently move the ball down the field with ease, but linebacker Jeremy Banks did impress though, often around the ball and in on plays. He can line up as a traditional off ball linebacker, or out on the edge, and was effective in both roles in this game.

He doesn’t have enough size to line up as a pass rusher in the NFL, but he was effective in that role here, getting five pressures and causing plenty of disruption when blitzed. In a more traditional role he showed good read and react skills and good tackling technique but is limited somewhat when asked to cover. He has that classic late round pick, special teams ace vibe to him.

Alabama

The Crimson Tide offense has looked a shadow of itself the last couple of games with star Quarterback Bryce Young out injured. He was back for this game and showed how vital he is to this team. He was excellent from the start, testing his injured shoulder early, and then with confidence took his team up and down the field routinely. He finished with a massive 455 yards passing, two touchdowns and no picks, and looked as good as he did before the injury. He is a special talent who is in a fight to be QB1 with Ohio State’s C.J Stroud, and both should end up being top five picks in the draft.

We are used to having a bevvy of top Bama wide receivers prospects, but this is definitely a down year in that department.

Running back Jahmyr Gibbs has been a valuable weapon in the passing game as well as the run game this year, and he has helped his quarterback out in that department regularly.

Tight end Cameron Latu came through in this game too, with a breakout performance and one which should get him some draft buzz back. Latu came into the year graded by most scouts as the top senior tight end prospect, but his performances up to now have been a bit underwhelming and he has been overtaken by a few others.

However, he was a different beast though in this game, showing really soft hands when used in the passing game, and good solid run blocking, especially out on the edge, on run plays. This is the kind of level of performance we were expecting all year, so let’s hope this is the start of more consistent play so he can get his name back out there again.

The Crimson Tide offensive line has always churned out high quality prospects, but this current version is a little light on top end talent. Right tackle JC Latham is the one exception and he’ll be a big name in the 2024 draft, but their best draft hope for this year’s draft is left tackle Tyler Steen. Having to replace Evan Neal (seventh overall selection last year) is no easy task, but Bama is littered with five star recruits who should’ve stepped up into that role.

They didn’t, and it’s been left to Vanderbilt transfer Steen to come in and hold that position down, which he has done to a high standard. He won’t wow with athleticism or power, but he is a good technician and is very experienced, having been a three year starter at left tackle for the Commodores before transferring over the summer. He will most likely be a day three pick as the upside is limited with him, but he would make a valuable swing tackle at the next level, and teams will still invest decent draft capital to that role.

Now we’re not used to a Bama defense giving up 567 yards, but that is what happened in this game.

All the big name 2023 Bama defensive prospects had rough nights. EDGE Will Anderson had the quietest game I’ve ever seen from him. As mentioned before, Tennessee’s Tackles really shackled him and he couldn’t affect the game in any way really. We won’t overreact to this performance and move him down boards, he is still the best player in the country, all it proved was that he is actually human.

Linebacker Henry To’o To’o, Safety/Slot Corner Brian Branch and Safety Jordan Battle, all had indifferent games too, but again this won’t affect their draft stock too much as we pretty much know what players they are already.

One player whose stock may take a hit because of this game is Safety DeMarcco Hellams. He had been getting some buzz due to his play so far this year, but this was a disaster for him, as he was twice burned for touchdowns by Jalin Hyatt. They moved him away from covering Hyatt one on one in the second half, but he still missed some tackles and took a bad angle on another Hyatt touchdown. This is tape he’ll want to lose, but the scouts will already have seen the weaknesses exposed here, and no doubt he’ll end up falling down some boards accordingly. 

The only Alabama defensive player who gets a pass is true sophomore Cornerback Kool-Aid McKinstry, who was only targeted twice and gave up no catches. He had Tennessee receiver Bru McCoy in his pocket all game and looked every bit the next special Crimson Tide corner.

Follow Keith on Twitter @lordlucken

Read other scouting notes and the rest of our CFB content HERE.

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2022 CFB: Alabama @ Tennessee Preview

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The third Saturday of October is finally upon us, which can only mean one thing – it’s time to go hard or go home. 

This weekend, #3 Alabama will take on #6 Tennessee in their 105th meeting. A rivalry that has been dominated for over a decade by the Crimson Tide, but this year seems different.

Tennessee is entering the matchup with Heisman hopeful Hendon Hooker behind center. Bryce Young is questionable to play after sitting out last week in a nail biter against Texas A&M. The Crimson Tide barely escaped that game thanks to some questionable decision making by Jimbo Fisher in the final moments of that game.

Going into Neyland Stadium will not make this any easier for Alabama, as the energy will reach levels fans have not seen in some time. Expect Knoxville to be covered in that beautiful Tennessee orange this weekend. 

If Alabama is going to sneak out of Knoxville with a win, then look for them to limit the amount of mistakes they make this weekend. Last Saturday was far from pretty, as ball control was something that the Crimson Tide struggled with all game. They were lucky to squeeze past Texas A&M despite the mistakes, but the Volunteers will not be as forgiving. Without Heisman winner Bryce Young, Alabama will definitely struggle against this Tennessee team. But surely there is no way the Crimson Tide quarterback misses out on potentially one of the biggest games of the season? 

In the other corner, Tennessee is looking to upset the Tide without wide receiver Cedric Tillman. The receiver is still recovering from ankle surgery, and hopes to be back for the Kentucky game instead. The Volunteers will look to overcome the lack of his presence and keep this offense at the top of College Football. 

The high powered offense led by Hendon Hooker is definitely the Vols’ strongest point. The Tennessee quarterback will look to keep this high flying offense on course throughout. It currently ranks first in yards, averaging 547.8 yards of offense. The unit is also second in scoring offense with an average of 46.8 points per game. This will be Hooker’s largest challenge to date though.

Alabama’s defense ranks top ten in many categories this season, including yards per game and scoring per game. Highlighted by Will Anderson, a favorite by many in this year’s upcoming draft, the Crimson Tide will not make things easy for this Tennessee offense. That being said, getting to Hooker will not be easy either as the Vols have allowed the second lowest pressure rate in the country. 

Tennessee will look to keep Alabama on their heels all game, flashing one of the quickest offenses in the nation. Alabama has not been the best in these up-tempo games, but will look to change that this weekend. No matter the outcome, the true winner will be football fans all over. This is lining up to be one of the best, if not the best matchup fans get all season. 

Will’s Prediction

#6 Tennessee will protect Neyland Stadium and upset the opposing Crimson Tide. Heisman Hooker will look to cement his name in this race and this is just the game to prove it. Hard to bet against Nick Saban and Alabama, but I just do not think they can keep up with this Volunteer offense. This will be a nail biter nonetheless, cause why wouldn’t it? Tennessee will squeeze by Alabama with some late game heroics from Hooker and win 34-31. Expect another strong showing from the connection between Hooker and wide receiver Bru McCoy.

By Will Lane – @TheWillieLane

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Week 4 Scouting Notes, Tennessee Vs. Florida

Tennessee vs Florida

There were some big games on the week four slate, but the SEC east match up between the Volunteers and Gators seemed to be the best on paper, and it certainly didn’t disappoint, with Tennessee hanging on in the end to beat Florida 38-33. I’d seen the Gators already this season in their loss to Kentucky in week 2, but this was my first proper look at the Volunteers, and it’s clear both teams have plenty of draftable players amongst them.

We’ll start the round-up with the victorious Vols…

Tennessee

The Tennessee offense has come a long way in the 17 games Quarterback Hendon Hooker has been in control of it. Hooker was the games MVP, passing for 349 yards and two touchdowns and rushing for 112 and another score. The stats are impressive but it’s the poise and decision making that really stand out with him, he seems to be in total control and understands this offense perfectly.

There were plenty of busted coverages which led to some big chunk easy throws, but the most impressive throw was a deep sideline pass just before half-time, putting it in a place only his receiver could make the catch, showing nice arm strength and accuracy. Hooker has always been talented; he just spent three years at Virginia Tech in an offense that never let him display his passing ability. Now his skills are on full show for everyone to see, and with a wide open QB3 race, why can’t Hooker be that guy, and ultimately a first round pick?

Star wide receiver Cedric Tillman was out with an injury so Tennessee needed others to step up, and three receivers did, each showing a different skill set. Whilst Jalin Hyatt and Ramel Keyton both proved reliable targets, it was receiver Bru McCoy who stood out.

McCoy has had quite a journey so far in his college career, going back and forth between USC and Texas before ending up in Tennessee for the start of this season. McCoy was ranked as a five star, number 9 overall player in the 2019 recruiting class, but he only saw 210 snaps in his USC career due to a variety of reasons.

Flashforward to now, through four games as a Volunteer he has played 244 snaps and has found a role as a complimentary weapon in this high powered offense. He had a couple of clutch big plays against Florida, showing nice hands and power after the catch, and the talent is very clear to see. He will be draft eligible, but with Tillman off to the NFL after the season, it might be wiser to stay and build on this promising break-out year. 

Defensively the Vols played well against a dynamic quarterback, with the front seven really standing out. The cream of the crop for me was defensive tackle Omari Thomas.

He is very easy to spot in the middle as he’s so big (6’4 320lbs) but he moves so much better than someone of that size. Thomas has a powerful get off and was causing disruption all night, especially against the run. He’s not a stat filler, and his role doesn’t really allow him to produce, but he can force plays off design and change running game plans, and that is still a very valuable commodity to have in the NFL.

Late in the game, he made a big play, possibly the game clinching play, when he forced a fumble on an Anthony Richardson run deep in Tennessee territory, preserving their 10 point lead.

Thomas was a high end four star recruit (ranked 91 overall by 247 sports), but hasn’t really lived up to that billing yet, so let’s hope this is the start of some more dominant performances and he can get his name back on the NFL radar.

Edge Byron Young is on the smaller side for the position (6’3 245) but he has great speed and dip to scare the best college offensive tackles. He had two quarterback hits and five hurries in this game, so always around the action just never getting in on a sack. Young impressed me last year, which was his first season at Tennessee after spending time in the JUCO ranks, and he has carried it on so far this year too. Size and age (he is aged 24 already) will make him less appealing to the NFL, but that pass rush win rate is too impressive, especially in the SEC, to ignore completely. 

Florida

Quarterback Anthony Richardson needed a bounce back game after two bad performances against Kentucky and South Florida, and he provided it here. This is what we wanted to see from him, poised, dynamic and with plenty of big plays thrown in too. Yes, he had the costly, aforementioned fumble, but he was the reason Florida stayed in the game until the end.

Richardson put up 453 yards and two touchdowns through the air, and an extra 62 yards on the ground and two more scores. Big numbers indeed, and the stats didn’t lie here. He looked every part a high draft pick, but he’ll need to keep this level of play up and not revert to the horrible inconsistencies that plagued him in the previous two games.

He is someone that in all honesty should probably go back next year and get more experience, but that size and arm strength will have NFL teams licking their lips, and the lure may be too great to leave. A lot can happen over the next ten weeks or so, but it was good to see Richardson play at such a high level again.

Wide receiver Justin Shorter was the main beneficiary of his quarterbacks big day, reeling in seven catches for 155 yards. Shorter is a big target at 6’4 223lbs, and he uses his body well to protect the catch zone. He helped his quarterback out when he was in trouble, consistently finding space in zones to provide a target for him. He is someone that has flattered to deceive for me in the past, but if Richardson keeps up his level of play, then Shorter will have more opportunities like this to show off the skills that made him a five star recruit coming out of High School.

Florida’s defense struggled to contain Tennessee, particularly as the game wore on. I thought linebacker Ventrell Miller and safety Rashad Torrence did well, but I’ll highlight a couple of highly rated guys who disappointed here.

EDGE Brenton Cox seems to have been around forever and is someone I’ve seen plenty of times, and generally I’m a fan of, but he does have the odd negative game like this. He couldn’t muster much of a pass rush against either Tennessee offensive tackle and wasn’t a factor against the run either. He can be somewhat one dimensional as a pass rusher and there didn’t seem to be a plan B for him, which considering the amount of experience he has is slightly worrying. He has been held sackless after four games so far this season, so he needs to get back on track soon or they’ll be production questions to answer come draft time.

Right now there is a lot of hype for defensive tackle Gervon Dexter, but I’m remaining slightly more cautious than most about him. I wrote about him last season after he blew up against Alabama, but what followed was inconsistent play for the rest of the season when I saw him. Well, the same is happening again this season, as he dominated against Kentucky in week two, but was downright average here against the Vols. Dexter can be such a frustrating watch as he has all the size and traits you want, it just appears that the light isn’t always on when he plays. He reminds me physically, and style wise, of Javon Kinlaw, who suffered the same inconsistencies in college, but he ended up going 14th overall in the 2020 draft. Dexter could easily go that high if he comes out, but Kinlaw is a great example of someone who still, after three seasons in the league, still hasn’t put it all together, and wasn’t worth the lofty selection.

We can’t end on a negative, so I’ll quickly mention redshirt freshman EDGE Justus Boone, who is someone with a very bright future. He absolutely looks the part at 6’4 260, and really flashed against the run in his limited role. He handled the Offensive Tackles much better than the previously mentioned Cox, and was winning with strength and effort, which is a good sign for a youngster. He was active in the game I saw earlier against Kentucky too, so this is someone I’m tucking away ready to explore in more depth next year, when he’ll be draft eligible. 

By Keith Lucken – Follow Keith on Twitter @lordlucken

Find the rest of Keith’s scouting notes HERE

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SEC Preseason All-Conference Team

With the college football season around the corner, it’s time for us to lay a marker down as a team and give you guys an idea of who the very best players in each conference are, and we are going to do that by dropping our all-conference selections for each of the Power-5 conferences.

Since these are quite short and easily digestible, they will be dropping rapid-fire with a couple each day and then we’ll hit you with the second half of our pre-season questions as well.

Here is our SEC All-Conference selection from our guy Will Lane;

Read Will’s Analysis:

A lot of these positions felt like it came down to a coin flip, there are a lot of players to love this season which can make it hard to choose at times.

That is true for most, but definitely not the quarterback position, clearly Bryce Young is the best quarterback in the SEC. Doesn’t feel like much of a debate as the Alabama quarterback is coming off of a Heisman campaign in 2021, there are plenty of talented QBs in the SEC but none of them are like Bryce.

Now at running back it was hard not to pick somebody who goes by the name of Tank Bigsby, that just screams SEC all over it. Just missing this list was Kentucky running back Chris Rodriguez Jr. Next up at wide receiver we have LSU’s Kayshon Boutte and Tennessee’s Cedrick Tillman. Boutte was no debate, and neither was Tillman in all honesty, these two really stand out in 2022. At the flex we have receiver Jermaine Burton, the transfer from Georgia is entering an Alabama system where he will be looking to be their number one guy, he also has the benefit of playing with one of the game’s best in Bryce Young.

Thanks for reading, let us know what you think of this one! Next up will be our Big Ten selection later today.