Dynasty Scouts Conference Reviews: PAC 12 and Around the Nation

Mike Valverde

solomon
With college football in full swing, we’ll be bringing you a review each and every week. These recaps will feature sections for “Premier Conference Performer,” “Rising Players,” “Falling Players,” and a special Freshman spotlight. These weekly reviews will keep you up-to-date on all the happenings in devy leagues and allow you to keep tabs on future dynasty league assets. By the time the NFL Draft rolls around, you won’t see too many strangers.

PAC-12

Premier Conference Performer

Anu Solomon, QB Arizona (Sophomore)
25/35 passing, 285 passing yards, four touchdowns, zero interceptions, four carries, 16 yards, one touchdown vs. Northern Arizona

Solomon is one of the best conference quarterbacks in the PAC-12 and he showed it against Northern Arizona Lumberjacks. The Wildcats defeated the Lumberjacks 77-13. Case Cookus of Northern Arizona was my nation premier conference player last week and actually had NAU down by one point when he threw a 62-yard touchdown to Emmanuel Butler. The Wildcats then hit the boost button and scored 63 straight points. Solomon has been steady the last two games throwing for 493 yards and 10 touchdowns, while adding 25 rushing yards on the ground. Next week Arizona will start their conference play against #9 UCLA then on to #21 Stanford.

[am4show have=’g1;’ guest_error=’sub_message’ user_error=’sub_message’ ]

Rising Players

Storm Barns-Woods, RB Oregon State (Senior)
17 carries, 151 yards, one touchdown, three catches, 30 yards vs. San Jose State

Storm Woods made the defense of San Jose State look foolish several times. His 151 yards on just 17 carries equal out to be 8.82 yards per carry average and his three catches for 30 yards was just another point he hammered home. His touchdown he took up the gut of the Spartans’ defense then bounced left, followed his block, and then scored from 13-yards out. Barns-Woods is a smallish back, but he is powerful with good hands. On the season Barns-Woods has rushed for 230 yards on 35 carries and has one touchdown. This was his best game of the season thus far.

Mike Bercovici, QB Arizona State (Senior)
22/32 passing, 317 yards, three touchdowns, eight carries, 15 yards, one touchdown vs. New Mexico

Bercovici wasn’t as accurate as he possibly could have been, but he made the most of it. Throwing for 317 yards and three touchdowns, while also rushing for 15-yards and a touchdown. His big highlights included a 93-yard touchdown pass to Demario Richard. Bercovici moved away from the pressure to his left and hit Richard who was wide open at the 20 yard line. Richard did the rest. His other was on his touchdown run. He faked the hand-off to Richard and then took around the end of the left hand side for the score. Bercovici now has 482 yards passing with seven touchdowns and two interceptions. Arizona State will face #19 USC then on the road to #9 UCLA.

Juju Smith-Schuster, WR USC (Sophomore)
Eight catches, 153 yards, one touchdown vs. Stanford

Juju Smith-Schuster caught his first touchdown from Cody Kessler 54-yards out. Smith-Schuster lined up on the right side of the field and came running across to the middle when Kessler hit him at the 40-yard line with the cornerback trailing. Smith-Schuster then used his blazing speed to burn the defense for the score. He has been a big player receiver for the Trojans, and even though they lost, at least they had actor Will Ferrell lead them out to the field. USC will compete against Arizona State on the road and then home against Washington.

Falling Players

Josh Rosen, QB UCLA (Freshman)
11/23 passing, 106 passing yards, one touchdown, three interceptions vs BYU

Two weeks ago, Josh Rosen was on top of the celebratory world. The true freshman came out and dominated his first college game, and became one of the highest statistical leaders for a quarterback in his first collegiate year. Last weekend, Rosen struggled against BYU who made him look like the freshman he is. He was incomplete on nearly half his passes, and three of his attempts went for interceptions. He will try to bounce back on the road against #6 Arizona then home against Arizona State.

Christian Powell, RB Colorado (Senior)
15 carries, 58 yards, zero touchdowns, one catch, six yards, zero touchdowns vs. Colorado State

Powell did a magic trick and disappeared against home state rival Colorado State. His 58-yards on 15 carries only yielded a 3.8 yards per carry average. Powell has had a downer year thus far, as he only gained nine yards on five carries against Hawaii in the loss, but he did explode against UMass for 105 yards and two touchdowns in the win. Powell will face Nicholls State and then #13 Oregon at home.

River Cracraft, WR Washington State (Junior)
Seven catches, 83 yards vs. Wyoming

I was a little tentative putting River Cracraft on this list with his seven catches, but when I saw it was against Wyoming it felt all the more right. Cracraft is a top receiver in the PAC-12, and when he faces teams like the Cowboys he needs to show it as he did against Rutgers when he caught eight passes for 121 yards and one touchdown. His next two games are against Cal at home and then #13 Oregon on the road.

Freshman Spotlight

Seth Collins, QB Oregon State
13/25 passong, 135 yards, one touchdown, one interception, 16 rushes, 114 yards, two touchdowns vs. San Jose State

Collins is one of the best athletes in the PAC-12. Proof is in the shoes, as he had his second 100 yard rushing game in his college career. He has a total of 294 rushing yards and two touchdowns on the season, which is more than his passing (226 yards) and four touchdowns. He threw his first interceptions against the San Jose State. Collins also was not very accurate completing just over half his attempts. As he develops, so will his play. His development continues next week against #21 Stanford at home then on the road against the #16 Wildcats of Arizona.

Around the Nation

Premier Performer

Keyarris Garrett, WR Tulsa (Senior)
14 catches, 189 yards, one touchdown vs. Oklahoma

Garrett had a nice game against a top tier opponent in Oklahoma. He was a solid reason that they stood with the Sooner for most of the game. His touchdown came as the half ticked down to zero and quarterback Dane Evans heaved a pass to the left side of the end zone. Garrett went up at the high point and snagged it away from the Sooners defenders for score. Garrett has 26 receptions for 454 yards and one touchdown. Tulsa Golden Hurricane are off next week, then home for two games, facing off against Houston then ULM.

Rising

Dane Evans, QB Tulsa (Junior)
34/51 passing, 427 passing yards, four touchdowns, zero interceptions, four rushes, two yards vs. Oklahoma

Evans did all he could to defeat Oklahoma. His two touchdowns in 0:14 seconds before the half ended to Keevan Lucas and Keyarris Garrett were his highlights. Finishing with 427 passing yards and four touchdowns with no interceptions against the #16 rated team in the country is a game highlight. In two weeks Tulsa will take on Houston and then stay at home for ULM.

Keenan Reynolds, QB Navy (Senior)
4/7 passing, 41 yards, zero touchdowns, zero interceptions, 24 rushes, 142 yards, five touchdowns vs. East Carolina

Reynolds is another quarterback who does it all with his feet. In the three games he has played he has attempted just 13 passes completing seven. As for his running ability he has rushed 35 times for 163-yards and six touchdowns. The Midshipmen have also won both their contests. Notably a quarterback who has thrown just seven passes for 41 yards won’t make this list, but when he rushes for 142 yards and five touchdowns, its going to be noted.

Casey Martin, WR Southern Missippi (Senior)
Five catches, 114 yards, two touchdowns vs. North Texas State

Martin caught both his touchdowns in the second half, His first was a four-yard completion from quarterback Nick Mullens, and his second was from 50-yards out. Martin was held scoreless for his first two games against West Texas State and Austin Peay, but did have 12 catches for 87 yards total. Southern Mississippi will take on Nebraska next week and then North Texas the following.

Falling

Ray Lawry, RB Old Dominion (Sophomore)
11 rushes, 15 yards, zero touchdowns, 2 catches, 71 yards, one touchdown vs. NC State

In the battle of the unbeaten, NC State Wolfpack put the beat down on the Monarchs of Old Dominion. One of the biggest issues was the lack of Ray Lawry running the ball effectively. Lawry had no issues against Eastern Michigan or Norfolk State as he totaled 438 rushing yards and six touchdowns. The 15 yards on 11 attempts translated into a lack of progress from Lawry. His two catches for 71 yards and a touchdown were also inflated. His touchdown was for 70 yards, basically giving him just one yard on the other reception. He will try to turn it around next week as they face Appalachian State at home next week then travel to Marshal on the third of October.

Dameon Gamblin, WR New Mexico (Junior)
Four catches, 54 yards, zero touchdowns vs. Arizona State

Last week Dameon Gamblin had eight receptions for 131 yards and a touchdown against Tulsa, so a drop-off in numbers was to be expected against Arizona State. The issue is that the bottom fell out for Gamblin and he never recovered. The Lobos were held to only 10 points and Gamblin contributed none of them. Next week, he will try to get back in action as New Mexico goes on the road to face Wyoming then return home to face Nevada.

Freshman Spotlight

Courtland Sutton, WR SMU
Four catches, 115 yards, one touchdown vs. TCU

You have to hand it to the Mustangs as they hung in there with #3 TCU. The biggest reason was the play of freshman wide receiver Courtland Sutton. The 6-4” 215 pound wide receiver was on his game the whole day. His touchdown came on a one yard pass as time expired in the first half. On the season Sutton has 12 receptions for 262 yards and four touchdowns. SMU Mustangs will take on James Madison next week followed by East Carolina, both will be at home.

[/am4show]

mike valverde
Latest posts by Mike Valverde (see all)