Developing Assets: College Kickoff

Ryan McDowell Posted On August 28, 2014

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Editor’s Note: This article is a Dynasty Scouts exclusive. Remember, our Dynasty Scouts section focuses on the stars of tomorrow, with a laser focus on High School recruits and College players who look to have the talent to be future assets in dynasty leagues and have value today in devy leagues.

College football season is upon us! While we’ve already seen a handful of small school games over the past few days, tonight is the time some of the big boys hit the field and Developing Assets is back for another year.

As you might have guessed, there will be some changes thanks to the addition of Dynasty Scouts as part of the DLF content offering. While I’ll still use to look back and look forward on some outstanding college football action with a focus on scouting pre-NFL players, we will be offering much more in depth content throughout each week of the college football season. Look for weekly conference reviews, along with our ongoing player spotlights, focusing on the best and brightest the college ranks have to offer.

Before we get to tonight’s top games, I wanted to point out one other change. Last season’s Developing Assets featured a weekly devy player ranking update. As part of Dynasty Scouts, you can now find my rankings, along with some of our other Dynasty Scouts team, right here…anytime you want. These will be updated often throughout the season. Now, on to the games!

If You Can Only Watch One: Texas A&M at South Carolina (SEC Network, 6:00 pm)

The SEC Network debuted a couple of weeks ago and they kick the college season off in fine fashion with a matchup of two ranked teams, The Aggies of Texas A&M and Steve Spurrier’s South Carolina Gamecocks. While much of the nation may not get the chance to see this game, there are a bevy of devy players who should have your attention.

We all know Texas A&M lost the faces of their team following last season as quarterback Johnny Manziel and wide receiver Mike Evans both made the leap to the NFL, but they’ve restocked with one of the top recruiting classes in the nation. Although lauded freshman quarterback Kyle Allen lost the quarterback competition to Kenny Hill, he remains a player to watch and will almost certainly get some action at some point this season. A freshman that will see plenty of snaps is wide receiver Speedy Noil. Ranked by most sites as the top senior wide receiver a year ago, Noil will need to step up right away to help replace the production of Evans. He will have some help though as Ricky Seals-Jones returns from a knee injury that cost him the majority of his freshman season. Due to the injury, Seals- Jones is actually classified as a redshirt freshman this season.

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The Gamecocks boast the one player devy and dynasty owners are really anxious to see and that’s running back Mike Davis. Davis has been somewhat stuck in the shadow of some of the other top tailbacks in the country, and even the SEC, such as Todd Gurley, TJ Yeldon and on and on. In such a deep running back class, that is understandable, but don’t overlook Davis. There had been some speculation that Davis was in danger of missing this game after dealing with a rib injury, but head coach Steve Spurrier declared he is ready to go and will play. While the Gamecock offense will have a different look under a new gunslinger of a quarterback, namely Dylan Thompson, Davis should still be the focal point of the offense, especially as he runs behind one of the top offensive lines in the country. With the running back position being devalued as a whole in the NFL, Davis may not be a first round draft pick come next spring, but he’ll be an excellent value in the second round and should be a lock to be a first round dynasty rookie pick. If you own him in a devy league, hold tight.

South Carolina has one more weapon on offense who has a good chance to be part of the 2015 NFL Draft. Wide receiver Shaq Roland burst onto the scene during his freshman year with several big plays, but with former quarterback Conner Shaw lacking the big arm to form a consistent connection with Roland, he would often disappear during games. As I mentioned earlier, new starting quarterback Thompson has a much stronger arm and will focus less on running the ball himself, potentially opening up the offense for Roland, who is just a bit undersized in terms of today’s elite wide receivers.

Don’t Forget About: Boise State at Mississippi (ESPN, 8:00 pm)

While the top 25 battle of SEC teams and the true debut of the SEC Network is attracting most of the nation’s attention, it might be easy to forget about this odd clash featuring the Ole Miss Rebels and Boise State Broncos. Rarely do we see Boise matched up against teams from the traditional power conferences away from their blue turf, but here they travel to Atlanta for a Kickoff Classic.

While much of the attention will be on the SEC team featuring one of the top players in the country, the Broncos have a highly rated draft prospect of their own in junior running back Jay Ajayi. After getting some solid playing time as a freshman, Ajayi broke out last year gaining over 1,400 rushing yards and finding the end zone 18 times! Ajayi is expected to enter the 2015 NFL Draft following his redshirt junior season, but will need to improve on the fumbling trouble he dealt with last season in order to improve his stock.

Despite the lack of billing, this is the game I am most looking forward to tonight and there is one reason why…Mississippi sophomore wide receiver Laquon Treadwell, who is my top ranked devy player, despite the fact that devy owners will have to at least two more years before he’s eligible for the NFL Draft. Treadwell had an impressive 72 receptions as a true freshman, playing mostly out of the slot. This year, reports are he’ll lineup out wide more often and with Donte Moncrief off to the NFL, expect Treadwell to soak up targets. Treadwell was the SEC Freshman Player of the Year and is now a Pre-Season All-American.

The Rebels also have one other receiver who could be a future player on Sunday, though we may or may not get a chance to see him play this year. Damore’ea Stringfellow transferred from Washington to Ole Miss after being arrested on Super Bowl night and being suspended from the team. While Stringfellow is unlikely to regain his eligibility for the 2014 season, the team is appealing for him to play. Stringfellow would be eligible to leave for the 2015 draft, though the best option may be for him to stay in Oxford and regain some draft stock.

Stay Up Late For: Weber State at Arizona State (PAC 12 Network, 10:30 pm)

Almost no one is talking about the Arizona State Sun Devils’ opening game for a few reasons. First, they are playing creampuff Weber State and adding to the problem, the game is being broadcasted on the Pac-12 Network, which may providers do not offer. Finally, the late night start means few east coasters will be catching this one. Despite all of those factors, you should make an effort to find this one as it features two of the best offensive prospects from the Pac-12 in running back DJ Foster and wide receiver Jaelen Strong, who could be one of the top receivers available in the 2015 draft. Strong surprised and disappointed dynasty owners last spring when he opted to return to school rather than enter the NFL Draft, though with the expected lack of wide receiver depth in the 2015 draft, that could prove to be a wise decision. While you wait for this game to kick off, check out Russell Clay’s Jaelen Strong Spotlight.

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Ryan McDowell

Contributor at Dynasty League Football

In addition to his senior leadership role here at DLF, Ryan is also a husband, father of three and PE teacher. Ryan is the commissioner of multiple dynasty leagues, most notably the Kitchen Sink Dynasty Leagues. Here at DLF, Ryan’s focus is on identifying, monitoring and analyzing player value.