Conference Review: SEC

Ryan McDowell Posted On September 5, 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. These articles will move to our Premium Content package starting on September 17th, but enjoy your free preview until then.

With college football in full swing, we’ll be bringing you a review of the “Big Five” conferences 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

Premier Conference Performer

Todd Gurley, RB Georgia
15 carries, 198 rushing yards, Three touchdowns, 100 kick return yards, One kick return touchdown

I should probably just rename this category after Georgia running back Todd Gurley, who absolutely dominated a very good Clemson team. There’s really not much left to say about Gurley, who has stirred up some Heisman talk after his week one performance. He also has all but ensure the two year drought of running backs in the first round of the NFL Draft will come to an end.

Rising

Kenny Hill, QB Texas A&M
511 passing yards, three passing touchdowns, five rushing yards

[inlinead]Following the departure of former Heisman Trophy winner Johnny Manziel, one of the biggest questions surrounding the Aggies of Texas A&M was the quarterback position. Little known sophomore Kenny Hill battled top recruit Kyle Allen for the starting position and surprisingly came out on top. No one knew what to expect, but it was this! Hill three for over 500 yards and broke Manziel’s single game record. Hill showed good mobility and a strong arm and with this performance, he quickly vaults himself near the top of the list of sophomore signal callers.

Laquon Treadwell, WR Mississippi
Seven receptions for 105 yards, One touchdown

Not that we needed more reason to show our love for Ole Miss wide receiver Laquon Treadwell, but we got it in this Thursday matchup. Treadwell dominated Boise State defenders in the second half as the Rebels pulled away. Treadwell easily gained separation and efficiently gained yards after the catch. Believe it or not, this was Treadwell’s first college 100 yard receiving game.

TJ Yeldon, RB Alabama
23 carries for 126 yards, Two touchdowns

This off-season was not kind to Alabama running back TJ Yeldon in devy leagues. Despite an impressive freshman season, which left him in the running to be the top valued college player in devy leagues, the bottom fell out of Yeldon’s value this off-season following a tough end to his sophomore season. It’s looking like that was all overblown as Yeldon led the team in carries and yards, finding the end zone twice along the way. He’s back!

Derrick Henry, RB Alabama
17 carries for 113 yards, One touchdown

Yeldon wasn’t alone in his impressive performance as sophomore back Derrick Henry also broke the 100-yard mark and was able to score. Expect these two to continue to share carries throughout the season and we know Nick Saban’s doghouse has a revolving door.

Amari Cooper, WR Alabama
12 receptions for 130 yards

Another Crimson Tide star who had a down sophomore year in 2013 was wide receiver Amari Cooper. Like Yeldon, he was one of the top devy players last off-season, but his stock fell a bit following his second season. He too looks to be back and this past week against the Mountaineers, he was a volume receiver, something he didn’t do much last year. While he did have one grab over 20 yards, much of his damage was underneath.

D’haquille Williams, WR Auburn
Nine receptions, 154 yards, One touchdown

I mentioned earlier we could be comparing new Auburn wide receiver D’haquille Williams to Cordarrelle Patterson by the time the season ends, specifically how Patterson was one and done in the SEC after transferring from junior college. Williams is following the same path and like Patterson, got off to a hot start. We’ll see if it continues through the brutal SEC schedule.

Falling

Mike Davis, RB South Carolina
Six carries for 15 yards

We knew star running back Mike Davis was battling an injury heading into this game, but it is potentially worse than we imagined. After rushing only six times for 15 yards in the first half, Davis reinjured his ribs and sat out the rest of the game. Head coach Steve Spurrier has deemed Davis “sort of doubtful” for their game this week with East Carolina, which is probably best for the bruising back.

Nick Marshall, QB Auburn
50 passing yards, 19 rushing yards, One rushing touchdown

Auburn quarterback Nick Marshall missed the first half due to a suspension for an off-season arrest. While his second half performance was solid, he needs to show the ability to make better decision on and off the field to become a top NFL prospect.

Sammie Coates, WR Auburn
One catch, 13 yards

Wide receiver Sammie Coates entered the season with expectations that he’d be the Tigers top option in the passing game, and he still could be, but that didn’t happen in the season’s opening week. With the Razorback defense focusing on Coates, the team looked to Williams and others and still won handily. With some talking about Coates as a first round draft pick, these types of performances should be few and far between.

Alex Collins, RB Arkansas
Ten carries, 68 yards

The sophomore class is loaded at running back and Alex Collins is near the top of that group, but he had a disappointing performance against Auburn last week. With a trio of backs earning carries, Collins only ran the ball ten times and failed to break a big one. Perhaps more concerning, he’s losing ground to sophomore Korliss Marshall, who has gained attention after a great pre-season. Marshall gained 45 yards on just eight carries.

Freshman Spotlight

Nick Chubb, RB Georgia
Four carries, 70 yards, One touchdown

Todd Gurley is not the only back in town. Of course, we’ve known about his partner in crime, Keith Marshall for a while now, but true freshman Nick Chubb is ready to steal the show. After Gurley took a seat last week, Chubb got his chance and on only four touches, he gained 70, including a long 47 yard touchdown run.

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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.