Game Preview: Orange Bowl

Kyle Pollock Posted On December 31, 2015

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It’s the most wonderful time of the year, bowl season! There’s plenty of exciting bowl games this year, but New Year’s Eve features three of the best games of the year: Clemson versus Oklahoma in the Orange Bowl, Alabama versus Michigan State in the Cotton Bowl, and Florida State versus Houston in the Peach Bowl. These teams chock full of talent and have some of the top schematic minds in the country coaching these talents. Dynasty and devy owners alike should be thrilled about how many great players will be playing in these games. Here, we take a look at the Orange Bowl!

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Clemson

Clemson is the number one team in the country, and for good reason. The undefeated ACC champion has great players at every skill position, and many look to be some of the top players in their class at their respective positions. Quarterback Deshaun Watson is the key to the entire offense. Watson is the consensus QB1 for the class of 2017 according to our rankings, and also claims the number one spot in our overall quarterback rankings. I currently ranked second behind freshman phenom Josh Rosen, but I truly love the way Watson plays. His deep ball is a thing of beauty, and pinpoint accuracy. He is also a threat to run the ball, and he is electric in the open field. Watson has no flaws that really stick out and he looks to be the future of the position.

Running back Wayne Gallman brings another dynamic to the offense. Gallman is a very smooth runner with good vision and long strides. He is extremely physical between the tackles, but also displays shiftiness in the open field. He is a patient runner, but once he hits a hole he is able to accelerate to top speed quickly. Gallman displays excellent balance and vision at the position, and this helps him excel as not only a runner but a receiver as well. Gallman has racked up 42 receptions in his first two seasons, and his ability to catch the ball out of the backfield is a great addition to his natural running ability. While only a redshirt sophomore, I feel it would be smart if Gallman declared for the draft this season because of how loaded the 2017 running back class is. I currently have him as my RB3 for the 2016 running back class, and feel that he could rise even higher in the rankings.

Clemson is quickly becoming known as “Wide Receiver U”, producing Sammy Watkins, Deandre Hopkins, and Martavis Bryant, in the past three draft class. This trend looks to continue, as Clemson has a very deep wide receiver core filled with NFL potential. The group is led by junior Mike Williams, who suffered a season ending neck injury in the first game of the season. Before his injury Williams was one of the top receivers in the nation, so much so that I had him as my number two overall wide receiver. I feel that Williams is a prospect with very few flaws in his game. He excels on deep balls, using his great speed and size to score multiple deep touchdowns. Williams is also dangerous on screens and slants. While Williams is the prototypical X wide receiver, sophomore Artavis Scott is extremely versatile, as he can play inside, outside, or in the slot. Scott is a proficient route runner with great hands. He is an explosive player with the ball in his hands, and excels on underneath routes, screens, and fly/jet sweeps. Lastly, the highly touted freshman Deon Cain rounds out the most talented wide receiver group in the country. At 6’2”, 200 pounds, Cain is built like his predecessors at Clemson, Watkins and Hopkins. Much like Watkins, Cain was a five star prospect who was largely considered the number one receiver coming out of high school. This year Cain has primarily functioned as Clemson’s go to deep threat, averaging over 17 yards per catch. He’s had a very nice season, and put together a five game stretch in which he caught a touchdown in every game. Cain is one of the top receivers in his class, and helps make an already great offense even more potent. Clemson also has two other receivers, Charone Peake and Ray Ray McCloud, who have some potential. McCloud is a true freshman who is a very similar player to Scott, while Peake is a senior with a bigger build (6’4”, 215).

Lastly, tight end Jordan Leggett has emerged this season and been a big boost to the Tigers’ passing game. At 6’5”, 255 pounds Leggett has prototypical size for the position. He was named a finalist for the Mackey Award (awarded annually to the nation’s top tight end) along with Stanford’s Austin Hooper and Arkansas’ Hunter Henry. Leggett torched Florida State, with six catches for 101 yards. He is a much more capable receiver than blocker, but this will serve him well in the NFL. Leggett reminds me of a more athletic version of Brent Celek. He’s excellent in the middle of the field, is sure handed, and runs solid routes. While Leggett is more athletic than Celek, he is nowhere near Celek’s level as a blocker. This is an area Leggett must greatly improve at the nest level, as he often lines up out wide as a wide receiver, instead of staying inline as a blocker.

Oklahoma

Clemson will be facing Oklahoma in the Orange Bowl. Oklahoma runs an offense that is similar to that of Baylor, TCU, and West Virginia as offensive coordinator Lincoln Riley utilizes an uptemo Air Raid offense that is centered on the running game. Quarterback Baker Mayfield thrived in the system this season, passing for close to 3,400 yards and 35 touchdowns (to only five interceptions!) while completing 69% of his passes. He also contributed 400 yards and seven touchdowns on the ground. After transferring from Texas Tech two seasons ago, Mayfield was suddenly in the running for the Heisman Trophy for most of the season. Mayfield has a strong arm and consistently make good decisions. He can consistently make NFL throws and has a beautiful deep ball. I’m not sure if Mayfield will ever become an NFL starter but he could be a quality backup for multiple years in the league. I currently have Mayfield ranked as QB7 for the class of 2016 but he is not expected to enter the draft.

As mentioned above, Oklahoma’s offense is run heavy and Samaje Perine and Joe Mixon are the heart and soul of it. The dynamic duo is a unique combination of thunder and lightning. Perine is the power back in the committee and his 5’11”, 237 pound frame help him break tackles and truck defenders in the open field. Mixon is the shiftier of the two, and is absolutely electric when he gets to the second level. He was also the higher recruited of the two, but was suspended for all of last season due to a domestic violence incident. While Mixon was suspended, Perine was breaking records. He ran for 427 yards against Kansas, a new NCAA record which lasted only a few weeks before it was broken by Wisconsin’s Melvin Gordon. Currently, I prefer Perine to Mixon in terms of NFL potential but it is fairly close and both are top ten options in their class. Perine has a dynamic combination of speed and power which few running backs possess. I hope Mixon continues to get more touches next season so we can see more of his full potential. Talent wise he is one of the top backs in the class of 2017, which is shaping up to be one of the best running back classes in the past few decades. He needs to get more of an opportunity to showcase this talent and improve as a between the tackles runner to live up to his 5-star recruiting status and become a quality NFL back.

Oklahoma may not have as much talent at the wide receiver position as Clemson does they do have one of my favorite players in the upcoming draft class: Sterling Shepard. Shepard reminds me a lot of Seahawks rookie Tyler Lockett. He is a tactician when it comes to route running. He displays great fluidity and quickness in and out of his breaks. He’s extremely versatile and can play all three positions and line up anywhere on the field. Shepherd is fearless going across the middle, and plays with a toughness that I like to see in smaller receivers. He also has great awareness along the boundaries and is surprisingly efficient in the red zone. Lastly shepherds speed help him excel as a vertical threat. Oklahoma’s second option is Dede Westbrook. Westbrook was a highly coveted Junior College recruit year ago. He has had a nice season, averaging over 16 yards a catch for the Sooners. One thing I like about Westbrook is his awareness. For example, in the Oklahoma State game he acted as though a deep ball was coming his way, when in reality it was a run play to his side of the field. He was able to take the cornerback out of the play by doing so. This play displays a maturity in his game which I didn’t see at the junior college level, and gets me excited for his future prospects. Westbrook will be Oklahoma’s number one receiver next year and I am interested to see how he performs. Right now I believe he could become a quality third wide receiver or depth option for a team, but with continued progress he could become more than that.

The Sooners have an impressive tight end to rival Clemson’s Jordan Leggett. Redshirt freshman Mark Andrews was Oklahoma’s fourth leading receiver this season and caught six touchdowns in 10 games. Andrews is a natural receiver who was actually recruited as a wide receiver out of high school. He is very athletic and fits the profile of the prototype move tight end which has become a major part of NFL offenses. I love Andrews’s athleticism and how productive he was at such a young age. Because of this I have him ranked as my number one tight end for the class of 2017. Next year he should take on an even bigger role in the passing game due to the departure of Shepard.

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