Devy Digest: Monday Musings Week 0
Devy Darlings
Quarterback
USC- Caleb Williams continues to be a magician, this is low hanging fruit but need to mention as a devy darling. He threw for 278 yards, 4 touchdowns, completed 72% of his passes and continues to show why he will be the first player selected in the 2024 NFL draft
Photo courtesy: USC Athletics
Wide Receivers
Notre Dame- Jaden Greathouse had himself a day as the true Freshman hauled in 2 touchdowns from 3 catches totaling 68 yards. He has shown chemistry with starting Quarterback Sam Hartman throughout spring and fall camp.
Photo courtesy: Daily Jefferson County Union
USC- Zachariah Branch showed out in his debut with a 96 yard kickoff return and returned 3 punts for 66 yards. He also had 4 catches for 58 yards and a touchdown. He showed his electric movement and a truly unique skillset that we will see on Sundays down the road.
Photo courtesy: Los Angeles Times
Devy Faller
Wide Receivers
USC- Mario Williams- Those who haven't sold off their shares aren't too pleased, in a crowded USC receiving room he failed to make an impression and his value will only continue to fall.
C2C names to watch
Umass' QB Taisun Phommachanh used his legs for 96 yards and a touchdown, completed 10-17 passes for 192 yards.
San Jose State's RB Quali Conley, a Dixie State transfer made the most of his limited opportunities with 6 carries for 108 yards and an explosive run for 57 yards and hauled in 2 catches, he'll be pushing for more playing time as the season goes on.
Hawaii's WR Pofele Ashlock, a redshirt Freshman, won the starting job and had himself a day with a stat line of 7-127-1. On his touchdown grab, it was a play drawn up for him. It was a 4 WR set, he motioned to the bottom of the screen and the two wideouts cleared it out for him and he went into the flat for a one read touchdown. It was nice to see a play like that drawn for him as a redshirt Freshman.
Hawaii's WR Steven McBride, a Kansas transfer is the speedier of the two options had himself a day as well with 7-98-2. He has two years of eligibility left and we knew we wanted pieces of Hawaii's offense but the wide receiver room was too murky to predict, we now at least have an indication on how things will be ran in the modern run and shoot offense of Timmy Chang.
San Jose State's WR Nick Nash filled in for the incumbent WR1 Justin Lockhart. Nash hauled in 3 touchdowns on 6 grabs for 89 yards. Lockhart has been injured and has tried to make his way back, even when Lockhart does return, Nick Nash is one to watch as he is a Junior.
Week 0 wrap up
Week 0 was pretty light, in the upcoming weeks we'll have devy risers, devy sleepers and more games to mention as we watch the week that was. Week 0 is typically the appetizer for the season and we saw three devy darlings really shine as mentioned above, USC's QB Malachi Nelson and WR Makai Lemon both saw action as well for USC and another player that was used well was Duce Robinson who was flirting with possibly being more baseball than football, than the positions quandary, from tight end to wide receiver also made some plays, we do believe his NFL future will be as a tight end ala Mark Gesicki type of a player where he is more of a receiving tight end, than a traditional in line tight end that blocks. Hawaii showed us some CFF production that we knew was there but needed to figure out which pieces to target, while they struggled running the ball, we saw what they can do through the air with Quarterback Brayden Schager mastering Timmy Chang's version of the run and shoot.
Fantasy football was always a hobby, rooting for the Michigan Wolverines was always a passion. It was only a matter of time when the world’s collided. Then came devy, what started as watching film to being a better fan, I became obsessed with finding the next NFL fantasy stud while in college. Devy is a passion and I’m excited to talk about potential stars you may not know about today, and why you should know their name for tomorrow.