2017 Bowl Game Previews – December 29th
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Birmingham Bowl (2pm EST)
South Florida vs South Carolina
The South Florida Bulls enter the Birmingham Bowl with their first ten win season in program history, and they also have a few viable draft prospects. Marlon Mack has had 1000 rushing yards in each of his three seasons, as well as 32 touchdowns in that span. Mack’s average yards per carry has increased each season of his career and it reached 7.1 in 2016. In a perceived deep running back class, it is likely that Mack returns to school for his Senior season to help build his prospect resume.
The Bulls have one running back prospect behind Mack that could also be worth a look in D’ernest Johnson Jr. Johnson was the Bulls go-to in the red zone in both the running and passing game. Johnson rushed for 516 rushing yards and 5.2 yards per carry on the season, with eight rushing touchdowns and 22 catches for 198 receiving yards and four touchdowns.
The last of the trio of draft prospects for the Bulls is senior wide receiver Rodney Adams. Twitter followers of myself and Russell Clay saw us tweeting back and forth at each other “RODNEY” “ADAMS” or even “RODNEY ADAMS”. Russell and I are fans of Adams because he is a wide receiver who also gets rushing yards. Adams has 20 carries for 210 rushing yards and five touchdowns, to give him back to back seasons of 900 scrimmage yards and ten touchdowns. Adams is a prototypical slot wide receiver at the next level, and could be an intriguing late round dynasty pick if he goes in the middle/late rounds in the NFL draft.
On the South Carolina side of the ball, the draft prospects are minimal with no quarterback over 1100 passing yards, no running back over 750 rushing yards and no wide receiver over 600 receiving yards. However, like USF’s top wideout, South Carolina wide receiver Deebo Samuel did show some rushing appeal to go with his 45 catches for 593 receiving yards – he added 14 carries for 94 rushing yards and five touchdowns. At the very least, a wide receiver scoring once every three carries is something to watch. South Carolina’s top running back is Rico Dowdle, who averaged 5.9 yards per carry against an SEC schedule with 714 rushing yards and six touchdowns.
Belk Bowl (5.30pm EST)
Arkansas vs Virginia Tech
The Arkansas players to watch can both be found in the backfield. In his first season as the full time starter, junior Austin Allen has a solid season in the SEC with 3153 passing yards and close to a 2:1 touchdown-to-interception ratio with 23 touchdowns and 12 interceptions. Allen’s 8.5 yards per attempt may be what takes him off the boards of NFL teams, and he would likely need to increase that in his senior season to get serious NFL consideration.
Last year Arkansas lost a pair of running backs in Alex Collins and Jonathan Williams to the NFL, but stepping in their place has been Rawleigh Williams III. Williams has been a workhorse for the Razorbacks, running for 1326 yards with a 5.7 yards per carry and 12 touchdowns. Williams has also been a threat out of the backfield with a 16.2 yards per catch on 227 receiving yards, and one touchdown.
In his first season at Virginia Tech, junior quarterback Jerod Evans has been an impressive dual threat for the Hokies. Evans has 3309 passing yards, 27 touchdowns and seven interceptions along with 759 rushing yards and ten touchdowns on the ground. Evans is likely to return to school to give the NFL more time to see him play against Division 1 opponents and the ability to develop his game as a passer.
The Hokies have a pair of pass catchers to watch in this game. Bucky Hodges will be one of the first tight ends off the board in one of the best tight end classes in recent memory. Hodges has been productive in each of his three college football seasons, eclipsing 40 catches for 500 receiving yards and six touchdowns in each season. As always with tight ends, the production alone doesn’t paint the whole picture, especially on an offense with poor quarterback play the previous two seasons. At wide receiver, Isaiah Ford is the player to watch, with 73+ catches and 1000+ receiving yards in each of the last two seasons and 24 receiving touchdowns in three college seasons.
Alamo Bowl
Oklahoma State vs Colorado (10pm EST)
Oklahoma State was one of the most explosive offenses in college football in 2016. The offense was led by the quarterback-wide receiver duo of Mason Rudolph and James Washington. Both players have already said they will be staying in school, which means they will both be top prospects in 2018. Both will be top picks in newly formed superflex devy leagues, although Washington is likely already owned in most devy formats. Rudolph basically had a repeats of his first season as starter at Oklahoma State, completing 63% of his passes and throwing 3700 yards in 2016. Where Rudolph’s game did improve is his decision making, throwing five fewer interceptions (four on the year) and four more touchdowns (25). At wide receiver, Washington was one of the best deep threats in the country, averaging 19.5 yards per catch with 1,209 receiving yards. In the last two seasons, Washington has 115 catches, 19 of which have gone for touchdowns. He was expected to go in the top eight of rookie drafts in 2017, and the same will likely be the case in 2018.
The top prospect on the offensive side of the ball for Colorado is junior running back Phillip Lindsay. Lindsay doesn’t have prototypical NFL size at 5’8” 190 lbs, but that doesn’t make his 2016 stat line any less impressive. Lindsay has been more than a scat-back for the Buffaloes, with 1,189 rushing yards and 11 touchdowns. Running backs with high volume in both the running and passing game are few and far between, and Lindsay did both with 230 carries along with 47 catches for 390 receiving yards and a touchdown. Lindsay may be nothing more than a late round pick in 2018, but he is worth a look due to the amount of volume he takes on despite his size.
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