Dynasty Scouts Conference Review: Big Ten and ACC
Here at Dynasty Scouts, we’ll always do our best to keep you informed about the latest happenings in college football. We watch all of the games so you don’t have to. Here’s some of what we noticed this past weekend.
ACC
Premier Conference Performer
Mike Williams, WR Clemson (Junior)
12 catches, 146 yards, one touchdown vs. North Carolina State
Williams went nuclear, catching 12 receptions for 146 yards and a touchdown. He showcased his ability to use his size to out muscle the defender for the ball when he caught a 13-yard touchdown pass from Deshaun Watson in the second quarter. It’s good to see him finally light up the box score as he’s been inconsistent this season. Williams is one of the top wide receiver prospects in the nation and he could potentially be a first round draft selection if he decides to come out for the draft next year.
Rising
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Lamar Jackson, QB Louisville (Sophomore)
13/26 passing, 181 yards, one touchdown, 21 carries, 144 yards, one touchdown vs. Duke
This wasn’t his best game passing the ball as he only completed just 50 percent of his passes, but he made up for his passing inefficiencies with his legs by rushing for 144-yards on the ground. He currently ranks fifth in the nation with 832 yards rushing and he is also leading the nation with 15 rushing touchdowns.
Matthew Dayes, RB North Carolina State (Senior)
22 carries, 106 yards, one touchdown, three catches, 27 yards vs. Clemson
Dayes is not the most electrifying prospect but he consistently gets the job done. This was his fifth 100-yard game of the season as he currently has 669 yards on the season, ranking him third in the ACC. He’s NC State’s workhorse back as he’s primarily used to grind out the tough yards between the tackles. Dayes is a jack-of-all-trades type of back, which means he can do a little bit of everything from catching the ball out of the backfield to running the ball between the tackles.
Travis Rudolph, WR Florida State (Junior)
13 catches, 238 yards vs. Wake Forest
This was Rudolph’s career-best performance as he torched the Daemon Deacons’ defense for 238 receiving yards. The game was crazy and momentum went up and down for both teams which benefitted Rudolph because it allowed him to see a lot of targets in the passing game. He currently has 497 receiving yards on the year.
Dalvin Cook, RB Florida State (Junior)
25 carries, 115 yards, one catch, 11 yards vs. Wake Forest
This is his fourth straight game with over 100-yards rushing as he has 900 rushing yards on the year, ranking him third in the nation. He came out of the second quarter with an injury but after being evaluated he was able to come back into the game. He has encountered a lot of injuries in career but he’s a very tough athlete and he always seems to be able to play through most of them.
Mitch Trubisky, QB North Carolina (Junior)
33/46 passing, 299 yards , two touchdowns, 13 carries, 47 yards vs. Miami
Trubisky carved up Miami’s defense through the air while completing 71.74 percent of his 46 pass attempts. Out of nowhere he has become one of the top quarterback prospects in the nation. His leadership and superior play has led the Tar Heels past both Miami and Florida State to upset victories.
Isaiah Ford, WR Virginia Tech (Junior)
Eight catches, 83 yards, one touchdown vs. Syracuse
Ford is an underrated prospect because he’s over shadowed by some of the hyper-productive wide receivers in next year’s draft class. He’s a great route runner and has enough size and speed to beat up on defensive backs. Virginia Tech ranks ninety-eighth in the nation with 169 pass attempts which demonstrates why he gets a limited amount of targets.
Bucky Hodges, TE Virginia Tech (Junior)
Five catches, 79 yards, one touchdown, one carry, six yards vs. Syracuse
Going into the season Hodges was considered one of the top tight end prospects in the nation. It’s hard for a tight end to receive national recognition within an offense that only throws the ball 28 times per game. This was his biggest game of the year as he caught five receptions for 79-yards and a touchdown. Hodges currently has 257 receiving yards on the year and owns a 18.41 per market share of the team’s passing offense.
Falling
Brandon Radcliff, RB Louisville (Senior)
Seven carries, 38 yards vs. Duke
Radcliff had trouble busting out anything on the ground against Duke’s defense. He rushed for just 38-yards and eleven of those yards came on one carry. He’s not an elite prospect, and his volatile production shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone.
Elijah Hood, RB North Carolina (Junior)
13 carries, 31 yards, four catches, 28 yards vs. Miami
Miami’s defense controlled the line of scrimmage and didn’t allow many rushing lanes to open up which curtailed Hood’s ability to pick up yardage. Senior running back T.J. Logan also out rushed him and saw more carries, which is another reason why Hood’s production was lacking in this game. Currently, he has rushed for a dismal 369 yards on the season and his volatile production can be correlated to North Carolina leaning more on the passing game this season.
Amba Etta-Tawo, WR Syracuse (Senior)
Five catches, 54 yards vs. Virginia Tech
This was the second week in a row where he hasn’t blown up the box score. He’s a 23-year old senior and this is the first productive season of his career. There’s big question mark with Etta-Tawo, Is he an elite talent or is he just an older prospect who’s beating up on 18 and 19 year old defensive backs? He currently 930 receiving yards on the season which currently ranks him second in the nation.
Freshman Spotlight
Dedrick Mills, RB Georgia Tech (Freshman)
13 carries, 89 yards, two touchdowns vs. Georgia Southern
Mills rushed for two touchdowns in this game, one touchdown was for 20 yards and the other was a 6-yard scamper. He currently ranks eighth in the ACC with 446 yards rushing.
Big Ten
Premier Conference Performer
Justin Jackson, RB Northwestern (Junior)
34 carries, 188 yards, two touchdowns, four catches, ten yards vs. Michigan State
Jackson has carried his team on his shoulders throughout his career and he has literally been the heart and soul of this offense. This was his third game of the season where he surpassed 100-yards rushing and he’s just a few games away from clinching his third straight season of over 1,000 yards rushing. He currently leads the Big Ten with 698 yards on the ground.
Rising
Corey Clement, RB Wisconsin (Senior)
25 carries, 164 yards, on catch, 18 yards vs. Wisconsin
Clement experienced a few injuries during the last year that affected his play but it appears he his back to his old form as he displayed the burst and power against Ohio State he had during his sophomore season. This game was very encouraging because his season so far has been very lackluster compared to a lot of the prospects in this draft. Ohio State’s defense was billed as one of the toughest defenses in the country going in this game and their defenders had a hard time corralling him. As of today, even with the incredible performance against OSU, Clement is considered one of the most underrated prospects going into next year’s draft.
Curtis Samuel, RB Ohio State (Junior)
12 carries, 46 yards, six catches, 58 yards vs. Ohio State
Samuel is the Swiss Army Knife of the offense because he’s used heavily in the pass and run game. His short area quickness and speed makes him very dangerous in space. His versatility makes him a very valuable prospect and could allow him to rise up draft boards when he decides to take the leap to the next level.
Terrell Newby, RB Nebraska (Senior)
22 carries, 102 yards, one touchdown, one catch, one yard vs. Indiana
Newby carried the load for the Cornhuskers and consistently gained the necessary yardage to keep the chains moving. This was his second 100-yard game of the season as he currently has 429 yards rushing on the season, ranking him twelfth in the Big Ten in rushing.
Akrum Wadley, RB Iowa (Junior)
14 carries, 170 yards, one touchdown, two catches, 25 yards vs. Purdue
Wadley gained a large portion of his yards in the third quarter where he raced through the heart of the defense for a 75-yard touchdown run. He’s a very fast running back with a lot of wiggle and his deceptive moves make him dangerous in the open field. This was the third game of the season where he surpassed the 100-yard mark.
LeShun Daniels Jr., RB Iowa (Senior)
24 carries, 156 yards, two touchdowns vs. Purdue
He’s a big powerful bruising running back and he’s a nightmare to tackle once he gets up to running at full speed. Daniels scored on two short yardage touchdown runs as the Hawkeyes utilized him to pound the football between the tackles to maintain their large lead. He currently has 595 yards and six touchdowns on the season.
R.J. Shelton, WR Michigan State (Senior)
Seven catches, 190 yards, two touchdowns, 2/2 passing, 44 yards vs. Northwestern
Michigan State is currently 2-4 with a 0-3 record in conference play which is not the norm when you compare their current record to the program’s history of success. Shelton was the lone bright spot in another heart breaking loss by catching seven receptions for 190-yards and two touchdowns. This was his second game surpassing 100-yards receiving and he currently has 452-yards and four touchdowns on the year.
Austin Carr, WR Northwestern (Senior)
11 catches, 130 yards, two touchdowns vs. Michigan State
Carr is having a big season as he has three games with over 100-yards receiving and his 595 receiving yards, which currently leads the Big Ten. He has made a lot of clutch catches to keep the Wildcats in games, but even with his recent productivity, he’s more than likely going to be a camp-body at the NFL level.Â
Falling
Mike Weber, RB Ohio State (Freshman)
11 carries, 46 yards vs. Wisconsin
Wisconsin always plays Ohio State tough, and playing on the road at Madison Wisconsin didn’t help matters much, making it a very tough matchup for the entire offensive unit. Weber wasn’t able to get anything going on the ground as he was shut down to just 46-yards rushing. Games like this happen and his performance shouldn’t affect his long-term outlook.
Markell Jones, RB Purdue (Sophomore)
Nine carries, 33 yards, four catches, 30 yards vs. Iowa
Iowa’s defense was able to control the line of scrimmage and stop the run game, curtailing Jones’ production. The game script didn’t go in his way either, since the contest turned into a shootout, causing Purdue to abandon the run. One positive we can take away from this game is his involvement in the passing game, he was targeted often while Purdue was airing it out, trying to catchup to Iowa’s large lead.
LJ Scott, RB Michigan State (Sophomore)
Three carries, 25 yards, two catches, two yards vs. Northwestern
Scott had a lot of high expectations going into this season and they are all starting to wash away due to his ineffectiveness. He averaged 8.3 yards per carry in this game but most of his yards came on one carry where he gained 23 of his 25-yards. The biggest concern for Scott is his decreased workload as he only got five touches in this game. Michigan State was trailing in this game which allowed MSU to stop running the ball, but he should still have a larger role within the offense and his lack of productivity is starting to become a concern.
Freshman Spotlight
Alex Hornibrook, QB Wisconsin (Freshman)
16/28 passing, 214 yards, one touchdown, five carries, negative 34 yards vs. Ohio State
Hornibrook almost led his team to an impressive victory over one of the top teams in the country. To be able to face one of the best defenses in the nation, manage the game and come close to winning is a very impressive feat for a freshman. He’s a big bodied quarterback with a very strong arm and the sky is the limit when it comes to his potential.
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