Devy Digest: Week 4 Preview

Devy Games to Watch

(4)Florida State at Clemson
For Clemson, QB- Cade Klubnik has looked okay in their non-conference play and will need to bring his best performance to be able to beat Florida State. He'll have a bevy of wide receivers to throw to, including WR- Antonio Williams, WR- Beaux Collins, and WR- Adam Randall and a good running back duo of RB- Phil Mafah and RB- Will Shipley. For Florida State, it's about finding a right balance on offense with QB- Jordan Travis and the passing attack, which will feature WR- Keon Coleman, WR- Johnny Wilson, WR- Winston Wright and TE- Jaheim Bell and the running attack of RB- Trey Benson and RB- Rodney Hill. This game will come down to the coordinators and who schemes up their players best.

(19)Colorado at (10)Oregon
For Oregon, QB- Bo Nix will continue his Heisman case as he'll continue to look for his top targets WR- Troy Franklin, WR- Gary Bryant Jr, WR- Tez Johnson, and WR- Traeshon Holden, this probably isn't a game for highly coveted true Freshman WR- Jurrion Dickey who has yet to see the field. RB- Bucky Irving and RB- Jordan James lead the way on the ground. For Colorado, they will be without sensation WR/CB Travis Hunter, which will hurt them on both sides of the ball. It looks like QB- Shedeur Sanders will need to put his team on his back and try to make plays when needed. WR- Xavier Weaver and WR- Jimmy Horn Jr have really stepped up as key weapons for this offense who likes to deploy quick, short passes and try to have them create yards on their own. RB- Dylan Edwards was able to find his way through the ground last week and will look to improve on that as Colorado will need to be more balanced in conference play. We are still awaiting RB- Alton McCaskill.

(22)UCLA at (11)Utah
For Utah, QB- Cam Rising has not been cleared(at the time of this writing). QB- Nate Johnson has filled in well and is a threat to pass and to run the ball, which is aided by RB- Ja'Quindon Jackson, who was thrust into the starting role when starting RB- Micah Bernard was ruled out for the season. The pass catchers are led by true Freshman WR- Mikey Williams and WR- Money Parks. The tight end play has been led by TE- Thomas Yassmin, as TE- Brant Kuithe has been working his way back from injury. For UCLA, this will be their first test as a team and the first test for True Freshman sensation QB- Dante Moore, who has looked great in his opportunities and makes quick decisions to get the ball out of his hands and when needed, has used his legs to extend plays. He'll be looking for his stand out WR- J.Michael Sturdivant. WR- Logan Loya and WR- Kyle Ford have also been solid options for Dante Moore. Out of the backfield is the duo of RB- Carson Steele and RB- TJ Harden, both have looked great this season and gives the Bruins a balanced attack.

(15)Ole Miss at (13)Alabama
For Alabama, they benched QB- Jalen Milroe and the team did not fair that much better without him as they struggled for much of the game against South Florida to do anything offensively. After that failed experiment, they turn back to Jalen Milroe, who should be given another chance, we'll see how the team rally's behind him. The running attack should be something Alabama leans on, no matter who is taking the snaps under center. RB Roydell Williams looked explosive last week and is the clear RB2, taking that job from RB- Jam Miller. We'd like to see true Freshman RB- Justice Haynes get more work, but we know Alabama likes to reward the guys that have seniority. More than likely it'll be RB-Jase McClellan and RB- Roydell Williams leading the way. The wide receivers have taken the biggest hit with the Quarterback position in flux. WR- Isaiah Bond leads the way with 10 receptions. WR- Jermaine Burton has looked good with his chances and is averaging over 20 yards per reception, they just haven't gotten enough chances. WR- Malik Benson, who probably is the most all around talented receiver, has been relegated to limited snaps and more of the short to intermediate option in this offense which has been neutered by the play calling. For Ole Miss, they need to get right. QB- Jaxon Dart has played really well and has been efficient and smart with his decision making, with a receiving room that has been plagued by injuries. WR- Zakhari Franklin has been plagued by injuries since the spring and WR- Tre Harris was forced to miss last week due to injuries, it's been a revolving door at that position and speaks volumes of the command QB- Jaxson Dart has with this offense. We'd like to see true Freshman WR- Ayden Williams get more opportunities, he made a nice reception in the opening drive last week and didn't have another catch in the game after that. RB- Quinshon Judkins has not looked like his explosive self and has been nagged by injuries. RB- Ulysses Bentley IV has looked fine filling in for Judkins, when he needs to be subbed out, but we'd like to see true Freshman RB- Kedrick Reescano get involved. He's an electric runner with very soft hands and is a threat to take it to the house.

Arkansas at (12)LSU
For LSU, QB- Jayden Daniels played extremely well last week and will need to carry that momentum into SEC play, targeting WR- Malik Nabers is a good way to ensure that. WR- Brian Thomas has been a very solid #2 option in this system and we'd like to see WR- Aaron Anderson get more involved, all offseason we heard how they have set packages for him and want to get him involved as he just moves different from the receivers they have on the roster. LSU hasn't really decided on their run game, some games they lean on RB- Josh Williams, sometimes it's RB- Logan Diggs, and at times they use RB- Noah Cain, whose proven to be inefficient. They do like to use true Freshman RB- Kaleb Jackson when the game is out of reach, so for devy purposes, he is one to hang onto for next year and beyond. For Arkansas, they missed RB- Rocket Sanders last week in their lost to BYU, he has been limited in practice all week and looks to be unlikely to play. QB- KJ Jefferson has looked really good in the system, but the way it is set up, it truly goes through Rocket and sets up KJ to make plays on play action and RPO's, without Rocket, teams aren't respecting RB- AJ Green and RB- Rashod Dubinion. True Freshman RB- Isaiah Augustave is an electric runner with track speed, but is probably not someone who will be used this early on in the season. WR- Andrew Armstong has been leaned on in the passing game to make plays, but he can't do everything all by himself. This game truly depends on if RB- Rocket Sanders is healthy enough to play.

(6)Ohio State at (9)Notre Dame
For Notre Dame, when RB- Logan Diggs transferred out, people were concerned that RB- Audric Estime would be the lead back, but he's been the bright spot in that offense and has looked extremely efficient, averaging ober 8 yards per carry and a team leading 5 touchdowns. QB- Sam Hartman has been the steady heartbeat at the position that they've needed for over a decade. True Freshman WR- Jaden Greathouse has been the possession receiver that we've expected and WR- Chris Tyree has been the threat to take it to the house each time he gets a target. WR- Jayden Thomas has led the team in receptions and WR- Tobias Merriweather has been someone that's on our radar, he has all the tools, just needs to make it work in the afternoons. For Ohio State, they put it together last week against Western Kentucky and QB- Kyle McCord looked really solid and in command of that offense, at the end of the day, all you need to do is toss up to WR- Marvin Harrison Jr and WR- Emeka Egbuka and chances are it will work out. RB- TreVeyon Henderson looked pretty explosive last week and looks to continue that in what should be a great game and a game with a ton of devy assets.

Memphis at Missouri
For Missouri, QB- Brady Cook has full command of this system and has looked very sharp and decisive. WR- Luther Burden has started to run routes and be more than just a glorified Rondale Moore type, and has justified his cost. RB- Cody Schrader leads the backfield. For Memphis, they are led by QB- Seth Henigan, who holds a little devy potential in our eyes. He is quick at processing and has a good arm and mobile enough to extend and create on his own. RB- Blake Watson has been the do it all gadget type back as he is averaging over 7 yards per carry and tied for team lead in receptions at 15. I can see day 3 draft capital for Watson, this is a sneaky devy game.

C2C Games to Watch

SMU at TCU
For TCU, their offense funnels through RB- Emani Bailey who is the lead back for a system that likes to feature a lead back and Bailey has made the best of his opportunities, averaging over 6.5 yards per rush. Bailey is also a threat in the receiving game as well, he has soft hands and has juice to turn it upfield. QB- Chandler Morris is completing over 67% of his passes without a true alpha in the receiving room, and he is a threat in the run game. They'll need to be efficient as TCU's defense is not very good. For SMU, QB- Preston Stone will need to get WR- Jordan Hudson involved early, and often. He only has 5 receptions on the year with 2 of them being touchdowns. The targets have been spread around with WR- Jake Bailey and TE- RJ Maryland lead the team in receptions.

Western Michigan at Toledo
For Toledo, QB- Dequan Finn is the do it all for this offense, he is involved in the run game and as a passer, has been pretty good, completing over 64% of his passes and his leading receiver is WR- Jerjuan Newton, who has a team leading 3 touchdowns. For Western Michigan, they lean on redshirt Freshman RB- Jalen Buckley, who has looked very good with the ball, averaging 6 yards per carry, including a 75 yard touchdown run against Syracuse. He has a bright CFF future.

Rice at South Florida
For South Florida, QB- Byrum Brown is an exciting and electric Quarterback who does it all for his team. His go to possession receiver is WR- Sean Atkins, whose his security blanket. For Rice, multi portal transfer QB- JT Daniels will lean on WR- Luke McCaffrey and RB- Dean Connors is a threat on the ground and in the receiving aspect. This should be a fun C2C/CFF game.

New Mexico State at Hawaii
For Hawaii, they made it out of non conference play and now focus on familiar conference foes. QB- Brayden Schager has looked pretty solid in this modern day run and shoot, his favorite target is one of our favorites, WR- Pofele Ashlock, who has a team leading 27 receptions. Not far behind is WR- Steven McBride, who has 20 receptions and a team leading 5 touchdowns. The run game got a boost when they placed RB- Jordan Johnson into the lineup, if they can have balance, this Hawaii team could make noise in the Mountain West. For New Mexico State, they lean on the run game, with 3 players over 170 yards on the ground. QB- Diego Pavia has been good when he's been asked to throw the ball, the leading receiving threat is WR- Jonathan Brady, who averages over 25 yards per reception.