Developing Assets: Week Twelve

Ryan McDowell

dorial-green-beckham

With both the college football season winding down and many dynasty owners already preparing for spring rookie drafts, it’s more important than ever to follow the Saturday happenings on college campuses. Here’s a look at a few games and players to pay close attention to this week, along with a quick look back at last week’s action.

A Look Back

Disappointment of the Week: Marcus Mariota, QB OREG

One of the season’s true superstars of college football finally had a subpar performance and it came on the biggest stage. Last week, when the undefeated Oregon Ducks met Pac-12 foe Stanford, they were hoping last year’s surprised would not repeat itself, but that is exactly what happened. The Cardinal held Oregon to by far their lowest scoring game of the season and held off a second half comeback effort to give quarterback Marcus Mariota and the Ducks their first loss of the season. Mariota was still able to pass for 250 yards and two scores, but it was not enough and most of the blame fell on him. The loss also likely knocked him out of the race for the Heisman Trophy, but it is still assumed that he will declare one year early for the NFL and should still be a very high draft pick.

On the Rise: Tyler Gaffney, RB STAN

Speaking of the big game out west, one of the stories of the game was senior running back Tyler Gaffney of Stanford, who posted one of the best games of his career, rushing for 157 yards on an unheard of 45 carries. Gaffney, who returned to the team after a year away of playing professional baseball, will now have a chance to be drafted for the second time, this time in the spring NFL draft. After playing behind Stepfan Taylor and Toby Gerhart prior to leaving the team, Gaffney’s return was a welcome arrival for one of the best team’s in the country.

Devy of the Week: Dorial Green-Beckham, WR MIZZ

Missouri wide receiver Dorial Green-Beckham entered college a season ago as the top freshman wide receiver, yet failed to live up to the hype. While he has shown improvement in his second season, he had a true breakout game last week against the porous defense of Kentucky. Green-Beckham caught seven passes for 100 yards, which was only his second game of the season with 100 or more receiving yards. Even more impressive though was that he found the end zone four times, helping the Tigers to an easy SEC win. Devy owners have another year to wait for the explosive wideout and he should be high on the list for owners in leagues where he is not yet rostered.

A Look Ahead

Wake Up and Watch: Ohio State at Illinois (ESPN, 12:00)

Although the Buckeyes of Ohio State are one of the few remaining undefeated teams and currently rank third in the polls, they have few skill position players that are likely to have a major impact in the NFL. The top player you should be watching is running back Carlos Hyde. After some early season off the field issues, Hyde has enjoyed a terrific season, rushing for over 700 yards and seven scores so far this year. Hyde is considered one of the top senior running backs and could be a second day prospect with a good post-season showing.

The quarterback duo for Ohio State offer a lot of upside, but also uncertainty when it comes to their future as pros. Both Braxton Miller and Kenny Guiton have started at times for the Buckeyes and both have looked good. Guiton, a senior, made the most of an early season injury to Miller and played well. Miller is still a junior and will almost certainly stay in school another year. Neither player is considered a traditional drop back passer, but both are solid collegiate quarterbacks and could find a spot in the league down the road.

Illinois is again struggling with a 3-6 record and have few, if any, NFL draft prospects, though they still have a name the owners in deep devy leagues will want to remember. Quarterback Wes Lunt is sitting out this season after transferring from Oklahoma State. Lunt was among the top recruits of the class of 2012, but lost his starting job for the Cowboys after an injury. Things went south quickly and Lunt landed back home in Illinois.

If You Can Only Watch One: Texas Tech at Baylor (FOX, 7:00)

I’ve talked about both of these teams many times this year. Texas Tech has struggled as of late, but their electric tight end, Jace Amaro, continues his amazing season. He has risen from relative unknown and is now considered the top tight end in the upcoming draft class. A few weeks ago, Amaro announced he intended to return for his senior season, but recent statements sound like he might be wavering on that stance. The chance to be the first tight end drafted and a possible first round draft grade could be enough to make anyone second guess themselves.

Baylor, of course, features one of the top running backs in the class, Lache Seastrunk. Seastrunk has had another great season, rushing for nearly 900 yards, to go along with eleven touchdowns. The offense features a big-armed passer in Bryce Petty and a balanced receiving corps. In fact, eight Bears have a reception of forty yards or longer. Three of them have a catch of seventy or more yards. Expect Baylor to again light up the scoreboard.

Stay Up Late For: Wyoming at Boise State (ESPN2, 10:15)

This may not look like a game that devy owners would have much interest in, but it features two players who could be a steal come draft day. Boise State features one of the top running backs in college football that you may not have heard of- redshirt sophomore Jay Ajayi. Ajayi already has over 1,000 rushing yards and twelve scores on the season. He’s topped 100 rushing yards on four different occasions this season, including the Nevada game where he went for 222 yards.

The Wyoming Cowboys have one of the top junior quarterbacks in Brett Smith. Despite the lack of attention he gets in comparison to some of the other top quarterbacks across the nation, there is some buzz building that Smith could enter the draft a season early. Smith is a dual threat quarterback who has rushed for nearly 500 yards on the season.

Devy Stock Watch

The first year each player is NFL draft eligible is noted in parentheses. I’ve also included how the player fared in last week’s action.

1.) Todd Gurley, RB UGA (2015) 75 rushing yards, 1 touchdown
2.) 
Sammy Watkins, WR CLEM (2014) BYE
3.) Melvin Gordon, RB WISC (2014) 86 rush yards
4.) TJ Yeldon, RB ALA (2015) 133 rushing yards, 2 touchdown
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5.) Mike Evans, WR TXAM (2014) 116 receiving yards
6.) Marqise Lee, WR USC (2014) 13 receiving yards
7.) Jameis Winston, QB FSU (2015) 159 passing yards, 2 touchdowns
8.) Teddy Bridgewater, QB UL (2014) 288 passing yards, 1 touchdown
9.) Amari Cooper, WR ALA (2015) 46 receiving yards
10.) Lache Seastrunk, RB BAY (2014) 19 rushing yards

ryan mcdowell