Devy 100: 85-81

Rob Willette

The tagline here at DLF is telling: There is no off-season. The edict goes double for devy leagues. From the initial Signing Day in December through fall camps in August, there is an overwhelming amount of information to digest in order to make an informed decision. It is what makes it such a challenge yet so rewarding when a prospect you have invested in for years pays off.

The Devy 100 is intended to be a preliminary deep dive into the best dynasty assets college football has to offer. Even with a list this large, there will surely be omissions and plenty of movement throughout the year as players develop a more robust profile. This is not to hedge my bets (well – maybe a tad) but to illustrate the purpose of such a list. Alas, we get to the 100. Feel free to tweet @RobWillette24 with your hate mail, which I will assuredly ignore.

85: Mycah Pittman, WR Oregon Ducks (2022 Draft Eligible)

Profile: If you’re someone who loves the notion of bloodlines, Mycah Pittman is liable to get you all hot and bothered during devy drafts. The son of Michael Pittman and younger brother of Michael Pittman Jr, Mycah is part of a football family, though his game is quite different than his now Indianapolis resident older brother.

Whereas Michael is a power forward on the football field, Mycah wins with pace and savvy, outwitting defenders at the line of scrimmage. The younger Pittman has all the tools to thrive in the Pac 12, either as an elite weapon out of the slot or more of a traditional playmaker outside.

2020 Outlook: The Oregon depth chart is murky, which is always a cause for concern, yet on the flip side offers ample opportunity for a young receiver to step up. Johnny Johnson returns as one of the Pac 12’s better receivers, and Jaylon Redd has proven to be an asset within this offense as well. However, there is a desperate need for a playmaker on this offense and Pittman has the best toolkit to fill the void. He may battle classmate Josh Delgado for reps as the Ducks rebuild their receiver room.

84: Josh Johnson, RB Louisiana-Monroe Warhawks (2022 Draft Eligible)

Profile: Johnson plays a simple game, which is intended to be a compliment. He is a missile running north and south, eliminating wasted movement and simply taking what the defense is gracious enough to offer him. Johnson is best described as a power back, though he is not just brute force and little else. He’s an aggressive runner who understands the appeal of finding additional yardage with nuanced running as opposed to becoming a battering ram.

If there is a criticism of Johnson, it is that the no-nonsense approach he takes limits his creativity; he is not going to be one to create all by himself. The hope is this is something he gains with more experience, as 2019 was his first season as a starter since his Junior College days. The foundation is there for Johnson to be an asset as part of a committee backfield; we just need to see him take the next step for the Warhawks.

2020 Outlook: For all his success, Johnson only touched the football 214 times in 2019, a relatively modest number for a collegiate workhorse. Johnson should easily surpass 300 touches and continue to expand his toolkit, especially given his relative comfort catching the football over a small sample size.

83: George Holani, RB Boise State Broncos (2022 Draft Eligible)

Profile: Every two to three years we are introduced to a new Boise State runner poised to make a devy impact, and Holani was 2019’s iteration. Neither physically nor athletically imposing, Holani succeeds largely through his sheer will and insatiable desire to create yardage. He’s the type of runner who maximizes every rep and gets everything he can out of his skill set.

This is not to say Holani is a zero as an athlete; a 38-inch vertical leap during high school testing indicates there is a level of explosiveness here. He’s just maturing physically, all while showcasing incredible instincts. Productive, savvy, and a natural receiver, Holani is etched-in as the Broncos’ lead back for the next two seasons, always a lucrative gig.

2020 Outlook: From Doug Martin to Jay Ajayi to Jeremy McNichols to Alexander Mattison, Boise State has generally identified its lead back and let them eat. Holani should be the next Bronco to feast, and he is a versatile weapon merely scratching the surface of his potential.

82: Khalil Shakir, WR Boise State Broncos (2021 Draft Eligible)

Profile: It is back-to-back Idahoans within the Devy 100, as we venture further away from the line of scrimmage to Shakir, though he does so many things it is hard to pin him down. After attaining more positions than Doc Antle has girlfriends in his freshman season, Shakir settled in as a more traditional slot/gadget guy in 2019. It allowed him to really thrive and put his playmaking skills on display.

As you’d expect from someone who has bounced around the offense during his career, Shakir has shake; he is not one to go down without sniffing the sticks. His gifts as a playmaker serve him well in the slot, though it is fair to wonder what his upside is given undefined role; he’s not the physical presence a multi-purpose weapon like Deebo Samuel is.

2020 Outlook: A second season settled in as mainly a slot receiver should bode well for Shakir. He gets to build on his 63-872-6 line from 2019 and grow with ascending sophomore Hank Bachmeier. He has the potential to be one of devy’s biggest risers if his game takes the same leap from sophomore to junior year it did from freshman to sophomore.

81: Damonte Coxie, WR Memphis Tigers (2021 Draft Eligible)

Profile: Seemingly around forever, Coxie nonetheless enters his senior and – presumably – final campaign with the Tigers. He was one of Mike Norvell’s most trusted weapons and a coaching change should not alter his standing given it came from in-house.

Coxie is slim yet utilizes his lithe frame to climb the ladder and make plays in traffic. Perhaps his most impressive trait is his willingness to go after the football; nobody can accuse Coxie of lacking the will to make tough catches. With trustworthy hands and wide catch radius, Coxie has a lot of appeal as a complementary weapon in an NFL offense, though he will have the usual questions to answer with regards to the offense he played given its basic concepts.

2020 Outlook: Coxie returns for his third consecutive season as Memphis’ top receiver. A third straight 1,000-yard season should be in the cards, and there is a potential for a truly monster campaign if the quarterback play cooperates.

rob willette