Conference Review: Pac 12

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.

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

Cayleb Jones, WR Arizona

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13 receptions for 186 yards and three touchdowns

Cayleb Jones had one of the most dominating days in recent PAC 12 history as he put on a receiving clinic versus Cal. Jones has seen his usage steadily increase each game this season but it will be hard to see this game as anything other than a game that will rank at, or near, the top of his college career when it’s all said and done. Jones has seen his receptions increase from three to four to nine and finally a jaw dropping thirteen on Saturday. Similarly, his receiving yards have also grown from 30 to 143 to 116 and then 186 as well and amusingly his touchdowns have taken a zero, one, two and now three trajectory. At this rate, Jones could be outperforming entire teams by next game. Jones has clearly established himself as a wide receiver to watch and if he continues to perform at this level he’s going to be going in the first round of devy drafts all over the place.

Rising

Daniel Lasco, RB Cal

20 rushes for 123 yards and one touchdown

Daniel Lasco has increasingly become the focus of Cal’s attack and appears ready to become the Golden Bears’ feature back in the near future. Lasco posted career highs in carries and rushing yards despite Cal losing to Arizona in a shootout 49-45. He appears to be settling into a nice groove and is sustaining an incredible 6.5 yards per rush through his first three games. Heading into a matchup with Colorado, Lasco has the opportunity to post another nice rushing game as Colorado has given up back-to-back games of over 120 rushing yards to running backs. Given Lasco’s recent surge in production he could find himself sneaking into the late rounds of the NFL draft.

Nelson Spruce, WR Colorado

13 rushes for 172 yards and one touchdowns

Nelson Spruce has put the nation on notice, if you face Colorado you must account for him…if you can. Coming into his game against Hawaii Spruce was already averaging eight receptions for 115 yards per game, definitely enough to make any opposing defense take notice. However, on Saturday Spruce upped his game even further hanging 13 receptions for 172 yards on Hawaii’s suspect defense. Spruce is now firmly in the discussion surrounding who is the top wide receiver in the nation as he leads the FBS in receiving touchdowns and is third in receiving yards. Spruce has already equaled the number of receiving touchdowns he caught over the past two seasons combined so I fully expect Spruce to declare for the NFL draft following the end of this season as there just doesn’t seem like a whole lot of upside for him personally in staying. What I’d like to see from him for the rest of the season is consistency as Spruce only had two 100+ receiving yard games prior to this season. With three 100+ receiving yard games already this season, he’s off to a great start. If he can continue to pile these kind of games up then it’s very possible he may hear his name called in the first day of the NFL draft. If he decides not to declare then Spruce is a must own devy player in all formats.

Falling

Travis Wilson, QB, Utah

14 completions for 172 yards

Travis Wilson has never really been known for his arm but it seems as if he is regressing with each game that goes by. To open the season, Wilson passed for 265 yards against Idaho State, he then passed for 181 yards versus Fresno State and on Saturday against Michigan he only threw for 172 yards. Additionally, his quarterback rating has declined game over game this season. Coming into the meat of the season against conference opponents Wilson should be hitting his stride, instead he is posting stat lines that are similar to his freshman season. Standing 6’-7” Wilson just looks like the kind of guy you want throwing the ball to your team and it’s hard to argue with the Utes success thus far starting off 3-0, but Wilson hasn’t been doing what top notch quarterbacks are expected to do which is putting the team on their shoulders and willing them to a win. Instead, Utah has been winning by getting in field goal range and hoping their defense can shut the opposing defense down.

Nick Wilson, RB Arizona

11 rushes for 33 yards

Just two weeks ago I had Nick Wilson pegged as the freshman to watch and, honestly, he is still someone to pay very close attention to. However, against Cal, Wilson just didn’t appear to have his game in order posting a paltry 11 rushes for 33 yards, which comes in significantly below his average of 22 rushes for 150 yards per game. This game also marked the first time that Wilson was unable to score this season. Even in the passing game Wilson couldn’t seem to gain much with only 12 yards gained on four receptions for a three yard average per catch, which is well below his season average of seven yards per reception. I’m looking, and hoping, for Wilson to accept he had a bad game and put it behind him as he moves forward rather than dwelling on it as I feel he has a bright future. We all have bumps man, it’s okay!

Freshman Spotlight

Devon Allen, WR Oregon

Seven receptions for 142 yards and two touchdown

Devon Allen is making a real play to become the PAC 12 rookie of the year given his performance thus far this season. Following an excellent stat line of seven receptions for 142 yards and one touchdown, Allen now has just under 300 yards receiving and five touchdowns and appears to be a big part of the Ducks high powered offense. More impressive than that is that not only is Allen a contributor, he is the Ducks’ receiving leader in receiving yards, yards per reception and receiving touchdowns. These stats currently put Allen as third in the FBS in receiving touchdowns, in the top 25 in average yards per reception and within the top 50 in receiving yards. Keep an eye on Allen in deep devy leagues as stashing him now may pay off very nicely in the long run.

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