Hello everyone and welcome BACK to another Draft "Expert" blog post! As you probable noticed, we did not post any prospect rankings last week, so this one is kind of a combination of both, I guess, as there are some players listed below that were not listed in our week nine rankings. I do sincerely apologize for missing last week, had a pretty busy week.
This week though promises to be one of the more interesting lists that we've had in a while as we've got more movement than we have in previous weeks while also introducing some new faces to the top 10, which is always exciting!
Since we missed last week I'll try to take up as little time as possible on the dissertation and just let y'all scroll down and read the list for yourselves. That work? Good. So, without any further delay, I present to you our week 11 quarterback prospect rankings for the 2023 NFL Draft. Enjoy!
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Pictured: Will Levis, Kentucky; Michael Penix Jr., Washington; Anthony Richardson, Florida
1. Bryce Young, Alabama
Wk 11 - 21/33 209 yds 3 touchdowns 0 interceptions/7 carries 10 yds 0 touchdowns @ no.11 Ole Miss (30-24 W)
Season - 192/305 2,443 yds 22 touchdowns 4 interceptions/37 carries 157 yds 3 touchdowns
As expected, this was a pretty tough game for the Crimson Tide on Saturday. After losing to LSU the previous week, Alabama traveled to Oxford, Mississippi to take on the Ole Miss Rebels, in a game where they were favored by 11. After watching Alabama so far this season one thing is kind of clear, if Bryce Young doesn't play at his best, Alabama is going to struggle throughout, as this is, honestly, one of the weakest Bama sides under Nick Saban in recent memory. Out of the Playoff and already lost two games, Alabama is on the ropes... Not really, but this just shows how different expectations are for Alabama vs the rest of us mere mortals. That being said, this has been a weird season for the Crimson Tide, and Bryce Young has to be near his best if they want a chance at winning games against tough ranked opposition. I'm not saying Saturday was his best game, but once again, Young's play making ability came in big for Alabama on Saturday against Ole Miss. After punting one their first two drives and turning it over on downs the next, things weren't looking great for Bama, especially since Ole Miss was up 10-0. That being said, Bama would eventually get on the score sheet, curtesy of a Bryce Young touchdown pass to Jermaine Burton. But like we were talking about before with Young's play making, we saw it on this drive. As on second and seven, deep in their own territory, Bryce Young had to escape the pocket to deliver a pass to JoJo Earle for the first down. He tried stepping up to the left side of the o-line, but ended up reversing out once he saw nothing was there in order to pick up the first down. We see something similar a couple plays later, as on second and six, Young, with a free rusher coming in his face, would have evade, step up in the pocket, and then get the ball out to Cameron Latu for the first down. Now, that play won't show up on the stat sheet as Ole Miss committed a hands to the face penalty, but it was still a great play by Young to pick up another first down. Then, a play later, Young would find Burton on a slant route for the score. With two Ole Miss defenders in the area, Young decided to throw it a little low, forcing Burton to make a play. This throw made it difficult for the defenders to make a play on the ball, which saw Burton's momentum carry him into the end zone for the score, making it 10-7. Fast forward a little bit, after an Ole Miss fumble, Bama would find the end zone again, with Young hitting Cameron Latu. Before that though, on third and four, Young would pick up the first down using his legs, getting it all the way down to the three-ish yard line. A delay of game penalty would push them back to the eight, which is where we see Young hit Latu on a dart across the middle for the score. With Latu having the size advantage on the defenders, Young threw the ball high, making Latu high point the ball for the score. Latu was essentially stopped in the middle of the end zone, so all he had to do was jump up and little to snag the ball for the score. Moving into the third quarter we see Young's athleticism proving key, again, as with another free rusher up the middle, grabbing at his back, Young evaded the sack, stepped up the the right and dumped it off to Ja'Corey Brooks for a 35-yard gain. From an almost guaranteed sack to a 35-yard gain, it just shows you how key Young is to this Alabama offense. They'd end up settling for a field goal on that drive. Young would then get his third passing touchdown for the game, hitting the aforementioned Ja'Corey Brooks in the end zone from five-yards out. Young was able to extent the play out to the right before hitting Brooks in the end zone for the score. Later on in the game, on a third and six play, Young would pick up a massive first down on a 10-yard run, which not only extended the drive, but led to Alabama's eventual game winning field goal. Again, if Bryce Young isn't at his elusive best, Bama doesn't win a lot of games. Young's ability to extend plays and make something happen out of nothing is truly special, and they needed him to be like that in order to pull this one off. This week against Austin Peay though I don't really foresee Bama having too many issues, no matter how much Nick Saban wants to hype this game up.
Pre-Season - 1
Wk 1 - 1
Wk 2 - 1
Wk 3 - 2
Wk 4 - 2
Wk 5 - 2
Wk 6 - 2
Wk 7 - 2
Wk 8 - 1
Wk 9 - 1
Wk 10 - 1 (didn't post)
Wk 11 - 1
Wk 12 - v Austin Peay
2. CJ Stroud, Ohio State
Wk 11 - 17/28 297 yds 5 touchdowns 0 interceptions/4 carries 8 yds 0 touchdowns v Indiana (56-14 W)
Season - 186/277 2,750 yds 34 touchdowns 4 interceptions/29 carries 83 yds 0 touchdowns
Last week was a weird one, wasn't it? Normally, when you see Ohio State taking on Northwestern, you expect the Buckeyes to come out and dominate by 100 points, or thereabout, not win by only 14. The football gods were really on Northwestern's side that day, as the weather didn't necessarily cooperate with the Buckeyes and their game plan. Though the game itself was tough to watch, we saw CJ Stroud utilize his legs, which is something that he hasn't really done throughout his collegiate career. Against Northwestern, Stroud totaled 79-yards on the ground, which was easily a career high and the most yards he's rushed for in a game since his freshman season. Though he didn't put up the same numbers on the ground this week as he did last week, he blew away his passing numbers, going from 76 yards and no touchdowns to 297 yards and five touchdowns, pretty neat stuff. But yeah, this game was just really easy for Ohio State, as most people should've expected. That being said, like a lot of Ohio State games this season, the Buckeyes started off rather slow before blowing the roof off of Indiana as the game progressed. After a three and out on their first drive, Stroud and the offense got things cooking, as we would see Stroud throw his first of his five touchdown passes of the game to Emeka Egbuka from six-yards out. Their first drive after the punt was really dominated by Miyan Williams running ability, but Stroud capped it off with an easy pass to Egbuka to go up 7-0. Their next drive saw Dallan Hayden score from 14-yards out, with Stroud hitting Xavier Johnson on a little screen pass earlier in that drive to set up the touchdown. The next Buckeye drive though saw Ohio State do what they do best, throw the football, and it only took them one play to have a big hitter, with Stroud hitting Marvin Harrison Jr. for a 58-yard score. This was just a very easy throw for Stroud as Harrison had about two yards between him and the Indiana defender. All Stroud really needed to do was not over throw him and he didn't, as the Buckeyes would go up 21-0 in the first. Then, after a punt, we'd see Ohio State score again via a Miyan Williams run, scoring from 48-yards out to go up 28-7 early in the second. On their next drive, we'd see Stroud, arguably, have his best throw of the game, hitting his tight end Cade Stover for a 32-yard gain. With Stover running a vert down the seem with a defender on his back, Stroud had to kind of lead Stover back inside to avoid the defender, putting the ball on a line which gave the defender little to no time to react. Could it have been a throw over top? Sure, but I think the placement of this ball made the percentage of a completion go up tenfold, in my opinion. Just a great throw and catch by Stroud and Stover. We'd then see Harrison have by far the catch of the season, someone managing to get one foot in bounds on a 3rd and 10 play late in the second. Sadly for both of those plays, the Buckeyes would stall out and turn it over on downs. Thankfully though, Indiana would mess up on a punt, which set Ohio State up at the one yard line. Unsurprisingly, two plays late Stroud would find Cade Stover for the one-yard score. After slightly rolling to his left, the defender left Stover to pressure Stroud, the only problem was there was no help on the back side, which left Stover wide open for the score. Stroud hit Stover for a touchdown again on their next drive, this time from 12-yards out. This was set up by a very nice throw and catch between Stroud and Emeka Egbuka, who took a nice little shot from the defender after seeing the ball in. This was somewhat similar to the throw to Stover on the vert, where Stroud put this ball on a line, making it an easier catch from Egbuka. This time though, there was a defender over the top, so is was even smarter to put the ball on a line here than it was to Stover. Regardless, both ended up with big gains for the Buckeyes. We'd then see Xavier Johnson score on a very impressive 71-yard touchdown run before Stroud capped off his game by hitting Kamryn Babb for the eight-yard score. Rolling out to his right, Stroud would hit Babb by the front pylon on the far sideline for the score. Babb separated from his defender which made for a very easy pitch and catch between the quarterback and receiver. Overall, this was a nice game from Stroud. With much nicer weather, we saw the Buckeye offense at full strength and saw Stroud playing at his best. This game against Maryland could be pretty fun on Saturday, though Stroud should have another solid outing for the Buckeyes.
Pre-Season - 2
Wk 1 - 2
Wk 2 - 2
Wk 3 - 1
Wk 4 - 1
Wk 5 - 1
Wk 6 - 1
Wk 7 - 1
Wk 8 - 2
Wk 9 - 2
Wk 10 - 2 (didn't post)
Wk 11 - 2
Wk 12 - @ Maryland
3. Anthony Richardson, Florida (+1)
Wk 11 - 11/23 112 yds 2 touchdowns 0 interceptions/15 carries 96 yds 1 touchdown v South Carolina (38-6 W)
Season - 142/258 1,951 yds 11 touchdowns 7 interceptions/89 carries 588 yds 9 touchdowns
Anthony Richardson and the Florida Gator offense have been on a very impressive tear as of late. After losing 42-20 to the Georgia Bulldogs, Florida has outscored their opponents by a combined score of 79-30, with one of those games coming on the road. Over these past couple games, we have seen Anthony Richardson play some his best football this season, and last Saturday against South Carolina we were treated to a nice little display from the Florida quarterback. Like, things started off as good as they could've for the Gator offense, with Florida putting together nice long drives and score touchdowns on their first two possessions, while scoring on two on their third. Starting with their first offensive drive, we would see Anthony Richardson punch it in from three yards out for the score on third and goal. That drive was extremely run heavy, as Richardson was only asked to throw the ball three on that opening possession, completing one of them to Caleb Douglas. Though Montrell Johnson Jr. at up most of the yards, again, it was Richardson who punched it in. Nothing too crazy on the run, though he did have to lower his should to get into the end zone. Richardson also had a nice little 10-yard run earlier in the drive, which picked up a first down on second and 10. On their next drive, we would see Richardson throwing the ball a little more, making a beautiful throw to Caleb Douglas for a 27-yard gain. With a defender either side of Douglas, Richardson placed it right on his body, helping him avoid the hit, doing a nice job at not leading his receiver into danger. Just a beautifully thrown ball. Later on, we'd see Richardson possibly out do that previous throw on his touchdown pass to Ricky Pearsall. I say this all the time when talking about Richardson but you just have to see how effortless this toss was. Just a 15-yard pass, but it's still impressive. What makes this play even better is the fact that I'm pretty sure Richardson threw that ball without actually looking at Pearsall, which could explain why the pass was slightly behind the receiver. Regardless, absolutely loved this play from Richardson, which put Florida up 14-0 later on in the first. The next drive, Richardson did next to nothing, as Trevor Etienne broke off an 85-yard run to go up 21-0. Fast forward to late late in the first half, and while trying to get the Gators into field goal range, to score just before the half, Richardson, on 3rd and 19, picks up a big first down using his legs. With most defenders on the right side of the formation, Richardson tucked it and ran up the left side of the offensive line. Then, after making first contact about five yards short of the marker, Richardson shrugs off about three defenders before picking up the first. Did. they end up scoring on that drive? No, but Richardson's ability to pick up that first, and get out of bounds with nine seconds left is pretty damn impressive. Fast forward to the third quarter and we see Richardson get his second passing touchdown of the game, this time hitting Jonathan Odom from four-yards out. After faking the hand off, Richardson made somewhat of a jump pass to Odom, as there was a defender diving at his ankles. Richardson put a lot of zip on the ball and it wound up help the Gators extend their lead, 31-6. The next few drives would stall out for Florida before Montrell Johnson Jr. punched it in from eight-yards out to make the score 38-6. This was a very nice game for Anthony Richardson and the Florida Gators last Saturday, and I hope they can continue to build on their recent successes. Richardson, though making the odd head scratcher, is playing really well at the minute and is showing off his tools every chance he can. Now, unlike another SEC team, I don't expect Florida to have too many problems against Vanderbilt this Saturday. The Commodores are fresh off a win but Florida is just playing too good right now, in my opinion. I'm expecting a very nice game from Richardson this weekend.
Pre-Season - 5
Wk 1 - 3
Wk 2 - 3
Wk 3 - 4
Wk 4 - 4
Wk 5 - 4
Wk 6 - 4
Wk 7 - 4
Wk 8 - 4
Wk 9 - 4
Wk 10 - 4 (didn't post)
Wk 11 - 3
Wk 12 - v Vanderbilt
4. Will Levis, Kentucky (-1)
Wk 11 - 11/23 109 yds 0 touchdowns 1 interception/6 carries -16 yds 0 touchdowns v Vanderbilt (24-21 L)
Season - 154/233 2,012 yds 16 touchdowns 9 interceptions/62 carries -123 yds 2 touchdowns
I don't I'm too out of line when I say this but what was that? Now, I missed almost all college football action this week due to a wedding but I'm honestly glad I didn't watch this. It must be said though, congrats to Vanderbilt on snapping your 26-game SEC losing streak but c'mon, Kentucky? Losing 24-21 at home to Vanderbilt? Really? Like I said, I missed a lot of action this weekend so I've had to watch more film this week than I have previously, but there's nothing out there that suggests this game actually happened. No film or highlights to be found anywhere. Maybe I'm looking in the wrong places but after reading that Levis went 11/23 with 109 yards and a pick against the worst pass defense in the SEC, I'm glad I can't see anything. I still believe in Levis as a prospect, he's got all the physical tools to be a top quarterback and I still think he'll be one of the first quarterbacks taken in April, as I sit here now, but c'mon, you cannot lose to Vanderbilt at home. The problem for Levis and Kentucky is that it doesn't get any easier, as they're taking on Georgia this weekend. Yes, it's at home, but after seeing what Vanderbilt did does that matter anymore. I'm just hoping Levis comes out of the game unscathed, as Georgia's defense will eat up Kentucky's horrific offensive line. Just be healthy enough to face Louisville Will, alright?
Pre-Season - 3
Wk 1 - 4
Wk 2 - 4
Wk 3 - 3
Wk 4 - 3
Wk 5 - 3
Wk 6 - 3
Wk 7 - 3
Wk 8 - 3
Wk 9 - 3
Wk 10 - 3 (didn't post)
Wk 11 - 4
Wk 12 - v no.1 Georgia
5. Hendon Hooker, Tennessee
Wk 11 - 25/35 355 yds 3 touchdowns 0 interceptions/8 carries 50 yds 1 touchdown v Missouri (66-24 W)
Season - 204/287 2,888 yds 24 touchdowns 2 interceptions/99 carries 405 yds 5 touchdowns
I feel kind of bad for the Missouri Tigers, as they were the first team to match-up against the Tennessee Volunteers since their first loss of the season to Georgia the week before. Anyone who has watched Tennessee this year knows how explosive their offense is, so, how much more explosive would they be coming into a game extremely pissed off? Well, I guess we have our answer, as Tennessee ass blasted Missouri 66-24 while putting up a whopping 724 yards of total offense. Good Lordy. Would you be surprised if I told you that was a school record? No? Ok, well, it was, and Hendon Hooker was the main reason behind Tennessee's offensive explosion last Saturday. Hooker, one of the front runners for the Heisman Trophy, threw for 355 yards with three touchdowns while also putting up a further 50 yards on the ground with a touchdown there as well. So, in total, Hooker went for over 400 yards of total offense with four touchdowns, again, sorry Missouri. This is one of those situations where Missouri fans can't even be too upset because as Josh Allen once said, 'if you stand in front of a train, don't be mad when it hits you.' Like, Tennessee was so pissed off going into this game that in the first half, during the rare occasion they didn't score a touchdown, they would go for it on fourth down rather than punt. That being said, the Volunteers did show mercy to the Tigers in the second half, punting twice and settling for a field goal once. But yeah, nine touchdowns in one game is pretty insane, right? So, after Tennessee's defense forced a three and out on Missouri's first drive, Tennessee came out swinging, with Hooker hitting a deep ball down the far sideline to Bru McCoy on their fourth play of the game. Now, this wasn't the best ball by Hooker, but it showed you Tennessee's intentions in this game from the jump. In that same drive, we'd see Hooker use his legs, as on a second and 10, with the pocket collapsed around him, Hooker broke out to the left and picked up the first down, picking up 17 on the play. The Vols would score a few plays later on a Jabari Small run. Fast forward a few drives, moving to the second quarter, we saw Hooker hit a couple nice throws while marching down the field before scoring a touchdown. His throws to Ramel Keyton and Bru McCoy were followed by some very good catches from the receivers, and his touchdowns throw to Princeton Fant, though behind, was a nice throw that resulted in six. We saw Hooker run the ball on this drive as well, picking up seven yards before getting another 15 thanks to a horse collar tackle. We would then see Hooker score his lone rushing touchdown of the day on their next drive, pulling it from the belly of Jaylen Wright before scampering in from 14-yards out to go up 28-14 late in the second. On their next drive, Hooker again would be seen using his legs, picking up 28-yards on a third and two speed option play. He did a very nice job at reading his blocks before cutting up the middle and kind of reversing fields on the play to pick up the big gain, though the drive would end up stalling out. Then, on the Vols second drive of the second half, Hooker would find a wide open Jalin Hyatt for a 68-yard touchdown. There must have been a communication break down by the Missouri players, because there was only one defender on the near side of the field. I bet Hyatt could've started high stepping or walking from the 50-yard line and still would've scored, that's how open he was. Then, on their next drive, Hooker would get his third passing touchdown of the day on their next drive, hitting Princeton Fant from two-yards out to go up 42-24 late in the third quarter. After that, Hooker quieted down, with Tennessee's rushing attack taking on most of the responsibilities before Hooker was eventually pulled for Joe Milton. Again, this was just a dominating game by the Tennessee Volunteers, and I'm kind of expecting a similar performance this coming week against South Carolina.
Pre-Season - 10
Wk 1 - 8
Wk 2 - 8
Wk 3 - 7
Wk 4 - 6
Wk 5 - 6
Wk 6 - 5
Wk 7 - 5
Wk 8 - 5
Wk 9 - 5
Wk 10 - 5 (didn't post)
Wk 11 - 5
Wk 12 - @ South Carolina
6. Jaren Hall, BYU
Wk 11 - BYE
Season - 218/330 2,622 yds 24 touchdowns 5 interceptions/70 carries 264 yds 1 touchdown
After posting some pretty nice numbers in both the pass and run game last week against Boise State, in a game where they came out 31-28 victors, Jaren Hall and the BYU Cougars had the week off, with all their attention focused on the Utah Tech Firebirds. Though BYU has looked shaky in some games recently, I don't foresee them having too many issues against the Trailblazers on Saturday, though they're coming off three straight wins. Like we said before, Hall looked good last week against Boise State, hopefully he and the rest of the Cougars can carry that moment forward, especially with bowl eligibility on the line.
Pre-Season - 8
Wk 1 - 7
Wk 2 - 6
Wk 3 - 6
Wk 4 - 5
Wk 5 - 5
Wk 6 - 6
Wk 7 - 6
Wk 8 - 6
Wk 9 - 6
Wk 10 - 6 (didn't post)
Wk 11 - 6
Wk 12 - v Utah Tech
7. Bo Nix, Oregon
Wk 11 - 19/27 280 yds 2 touchdowns 0 interceptions/9 carries 59 yds 1 touchdown v no.25 Washington (37-34 L)
Season - 219/300 2,775 yds 24 touchdowns 5 interceptions/78 carries 516 yds 14 touchdowns
Welcome to the top 10 Bo Nix! To be 100% honest, I didn't really see this coming at the start of the season, and even more so after Oregon's 49-3 blowout loss to Georgia in week one. Like, Bo Nix has always been a solid quarterback in my eyes, but when he was at Auburn the hype surrounding him at times was kind of crazy, and I didn't really see where it all came from. Now, since transferring to Oregon, we have seen Nix realize his full potential, or at least getting close to it because dude is absolutely balling out so far this season for the sixth rated team in college football. Up to this point in the season, Nix has accounted for a career high 3,291 total yards, with 2,775 of those coming way of the pass and 516 coming via run. He has also totaled 38 touchdowns this season, which is the best mark in college football, so far. He has completely transformed as a quarterback and has put himself in the Draft discussion, which again, is something I wasn't expecting when the season started. After a dominating game against Colorado last weekend, where dude totaled four touchdowns and came away with a 49-10 victory, Nix and the Ducks faced a much tougher match-up this week, going up against the 25th ranked Washington Huskies and their star quarterback, Michael Penix Jr., more on him in a little bit. As we hinted before, Nix has been extremely effective when running the ball this year, and we saw that on Oregon's first offensive play, with Nix picking up a first down on a 12-yard run. Though Oregon's drive ended up stalling out, they did manage to get some point by way of field goal. Nix also made a nice throw to Troy Franklin, picking up 20-yards on a crossing route. The Ducks next drive, though started solidly enough, ended poorly, as Nix fumbled the snap at the Husky four yard line, which Washington pounced on, giving them the ball near the one. Out of all the ways you can turn the football over, 'mesh point' or 'quarterback-center exchange' fumbles will drive coaches insane. We'd see Nix use his legs to good use again on the next drive, scrambling to the right and picking up an Oregon first down on 3rd and six. He would then score a few plays later from the 10-yard line, running right up the middle and getting into the end zone relatively untouched. He'd pick up another third down attempt early on in the third quarter, running right up the middle on a possible quarterback draw play, picking up 13-yards in the process. Nix would then throw his first touchdown pass of the evening a play later, hitting Dont'e Thornton for a 46-yard score, which put Oregon up 17-13 early on in the third. With a couple defenders barreling down on him, Nix stood tall in the pocket and delivered a beautiful deep ball to Thornton. Then, after Noah Whittington scored on a 29-yard run to put Oregon up 24-20, Washington would score to make it 27-24. Then, on a 2nd and 15, Nix rolled out to the right and uncorked a bomb down the middle of the field, hitting Troy Franklin for a 67-yard touchdown. This throw was made even more impressive by the fact that Nix was on the move while he made this throw, throwing the ball from an unbalanced stance. That's what a lot of teams are looking for, someone to make off balanced throws, with the goal of scoring six on the play. Nix would then help orchestrate a 20-play drive after a Michael Penix interception, but would take a big shot to the leg on the last play before the field goal, which didn't look like it really felt the best if I'm being honest. Nix would then help Oregon move down the field after Washington went up 37-34 late in the fourth, with some very nice throws to Troy Franklin and Kris Hutson, with Nix avoiding a game ending sack on the throw to Hutson. Nix would then make an insanely impressive throw on the far sideline, hitting Franklin again, this time on a back shoulder throw with a defender on Franklin's back. It was a really great throw. Shame the last one wasn't as good, as the heave towards the end zone came way way short, and even had Franklin caught the ball at the eight, or so, I doubt it would've resulted in any points. I don't know what the cause of the poor throw was, but it realistically could've had something to do with him bum leg. So, sadly for Nix and Oregon, they came up short, losing 37-34 to the Washington Huskies, essentially torching their playoff chances. Washington was a tough match-up for the Ducks and it's not getting any easier, as Oregon is hosting the 10th ranked Utah Utes, who are coming off a dominating win over Stanford. There's some doubts in regards to Nix playing, if he does end up playing, we could be in for a real treat come Saturday night.
Pre-Season - H/M
Wk 1 - N/R
Wk 2 - N/R
Wk 3 - N/R
Wk 4 - N/R
Wk 5 - N/R
Wk 6 - N/R
Wk 7 - N/R
Wk 8 - N/R
Wk 9 - N/R
Wk 10 - 7 (didn't post)
Wk 11 - 7
Wk 12 - v no.10 Utah
8. Tanner McKee, Stanford
Wk 11 - 11/23 155 yds 0 touchdowns 0 interceptions/11 carries -15 yds 1 touchdown @ no.13 Utah (42-7 L)
Season - 204/341 2,363 yds 11 touchdowns 7 interceptions/66 carries -75 yds 2 touchdowns
I know I've said this before, but I actually feel bad for Stanford's Tanner McKee. If you watch him for a few seconds you can see the talent is there, at least in regards to throwing the ball. The problem is that Stanford's offense is borderline archaic, with extremely long reads that the offensive line cannot properly block for. Not to mention the amount of drops Stanford's receivers have accumulated so far this season. Now, this game actually started off pretty good for the Stanford Cardinal, as they forced Utah to go three and out on their first drive, or at least that's what they thought was going to happen, until Utah decided to be a bunch of little tricksters and run a fake. Thankfully though for Stanford, Utah's drive would eventually stall out, and they'd be forced to actually punt. Then, after a back-to-back three and outs by Stanford and Utah, the Cardinal would finally punch it in on the fourth drive of the game, putting them up 7-0 early. On this drive, McKee would help Stanford pick up a 3rd and 15 with a throw down the middle to Elijah Higgins, which went for 51-yards. Before the big gain, McKee would take the snap and try to slide up to the right side of the offensive line, trying to avoid a potential sack. Though he was slightly tripped up, he caught himself and was able to rebalance before delivering the ball to a pretty open Higgins. Just with all the chaos around him, and his ability to toss the ball down the field with ease, was very impressive. Yes, the throw didn't necessarily lead Higgins perfectly, but when things are falling around you, you've just got to make the throw, which McKee did. McKee would then cap off the drive with a one-yard touchdown run on a quarterback sneak, again, putting the Cardinal up 7-0. Though they were winning the battle early, the definitely lost the war, as Stanford would go three and out on five of their next six drives, though they found themselves only down 14-7 at half, which is kind of a win in itself. It was just a route after that though, as Utah would go on to win the game 42-7, which shouldn't have been that big of a surprise to anyone, really. I believe in McKee's ability and think he can keep them in games to a certain extent but Stanford's defense can't stop anything, and once Utah eventually broke them down it was over. McKee would have some decent passes throughout the rest of the game, i.e. his ones to C.J. Hawkins on a crossing route early in the third, John Humphreys on a dig-ish route late late in the third, and Elijah Higgins, where he rolled slightly to the right and hit Higgins across the field. All in all, McKee only completed 11 passes on the game Saturday, a season low. He also only threw for 155 yards, which is only worsened by his 115 yards against UCLA two weeks ago. That being said, it was against Utah, a very hard defense to break down that does everything super solid. For an offense like Stanford, it's damn near impossible to break that down, which is why they struggled to get anything going in this game. Stanford are not a good team, I just hope they can protect McKee enough so they can look somewhat competent throughout the remainder of the season. Got to get a win over rivals Cal this weekend though.
Pre-Season - 6
Wk 1 - 6
Wk 2 - 7
Wk 3 - 8
Wk 4 - 8
Wk 5 - 9
Wk 6 - 10
Wk 7 - 9
Wk 8 - 8
Wk 9 - 8
Wk 10 - 8
Wk 11 - 8
Wk 12 - @ Cal
9. Michael Penix Jr., Washington (NEW)
Wk 11 - 26/35 408 yds 2 touchdowns 1 interception/2 carries 20 yds 0 touchdowns @ no.6 Oregon (37-34 W)
Season - 286/426 3,640 yds 25 touchdowns 6 interceptions/28 carries 46 yds 2 touchdowns
Welcome to the top 10 Michael Penix Jr.! Two years ago, Michael Penix being considered a top quarterback prospect wouldn't have been that crazy. In his first two years as the starter, while at Indiana, Penix 3,039 yards with 24 touchdowns and just eight interceptions, being widely considered as the, or at least one of the, top quarterbacks in the Big 10. Now, I don't know if that was more of an indictment on the Big 10 or just speaking on how good Penix could be, but that was true at the time. Then, with Indiana starting the season ranked 17th in 2021, Penix and the Hoosiers, for lack of a better term, crapped the bed. Penix finished with just 939 passing yards with four touchdowns and seven interceptions, just one away from his total from the previous two seasons combined. You could see he was talented, as dude has a quick arm and is fairly athletic, but he and the Hoosiers struggled mightily, which led to Penix transferring to Washington, where he has been astounding. As of right now, Penix is leading the nation in passing yards with 3,640 and is top 10 in touchdowns with 25, all while completing around 67% of his passes. He's just having a very impressive season and the Huskies should be thankful that he decided to transfer there, as they have had some nice wins against some quality opponents this season, but maybe none more impressive than last Saturday's win against sixth ranked Oregon. The very first drive of the game went about as good as it could if you're a Washington fan, as the Huskies marched right down the field on 12-plays to go up 7-0 early, with Penix picking apart a very solid Oregon Ducks secondary. Like, we even got to see some of Penix's athletic ability, as on a 3rd and 14, with pressure coming from both sides of the offensive line, Penix recognized it and reverse spun away from the incoming defender and picked up the first down with his legs, extending the drive. He would then find his tight end Devin Culp down the far sideline on a back shoulder throw for a 17-yard gain. With Culp being relatively open, I don't know if a back shoulder throw was the best move on Penix's part, but there was a safety a few yards away, so maybe he thought he was going to close in faster than he did on the play. Regardless, nice catch by Culp to pick up the first down. Penix would then have a very impressive throw towards the near sideline to Rome Odunze for an 11-yard gain and a first down. This throw, on 3rd and 10, was extremely impressive. A long throw towards the sideline with two defenders on Odunze, Penix did an excellent job throwing it towards the sideline, keeping it away from the defenders. Penix put a lot of zip on this ball, so even if the defenders were somewhat closer, I don't know if they would've gotten to it. Washington would score a few plays later on a 13-yard run by Wayne Taulapapa. Then, on Washington's next offensive drive, we'd see Penix hit Jalen McMillan on a slant route for a 15-yard gain on 3rd and four. Though the throw was behind McMillan, Penix did a solid job at not leading his receiver into the path of All-PAC12 linebacker Noah Sewell, would've not ended well. McMillan did a nice job at seeing the ball in and picking up the first down on the play. Unfortunately, Washington's drive would stall out in the red zone, and they'd have to settle for a field goal, putting them up 10-3. Their next drive would see them go three and out, but the drive after saw Penix almost throw his first interception of the night. On their first play of the drive, Penix would attempt a pass to Jalen McMillan, who was running a post route. Now, there were two issues on this play. Issue number one being the ball was very high. The second issue is that McMillan was guard by Christian Gonzalez, one of, if not the, top corner back in all of college football. So, high pass mixed with elite corner? Doesn't usually work out for the offense, but McMillan made a great play on the ball ripped it out of Gonzalez's hands to pick up 34-yards. That being said, Washington would have to settle for a field goal. At the start of the third, we see Penix and the running game working well, with Penix's best throw coming near their red zone. On this throw, Penix would find Jack Westover on the near sideline, hitting him with an absolute dart, throwing it essentially through the hand of the Oregon defender, picking up the first down. Cameron Davis would punch it in a few plays later. The next drive we'd see Penix get his first touchdown of the game, hitting Ja'Lynn Polk over the middle for a 76-yard touchdown. Knowing he was going to take a shot, Penix saw Polk getting the better of his defender, creating a yard of separation for himself. Just before the hit lands, Penix tosses a dime to Polk who essentially walked into the end zone for the Huskies touchdown. Just an absolute dime from Penix. Their next drive, Penix would have some very solid passes, but none more impressive than his throw to Jalen McMillan for a 21-yard gain. Though McMillan was pretty open on the play, Penix has a very good ability a throwing deep out routes. Like, they're seemingly always on time, and if they're not, his arm talent is enough to make up for it, but this throw was just right on the money. The problem is, a few plays later, Penix would throw a very ugly interception while at the Oregon two-yard line. After rolling to his right, Penix basically threw it right to the Oregon defender. Like, on the throw, there was about five or six Ducks in the area to just two Huskies receivers, so the odds of that pass getting completed were already bad, but then he just tossed it right to the defender. With Oregon up 31-27, the Ducks had a real shot at putting this game out of reach, which they almost did, going on a 20-play drive that took up over 10 minutes. Thankfully for Washington, they settled for a field goal. We then see Penix and the Huskies tie it up a few plays after Oregon scored, with Penn hitting Taj Davis down the near sideline for a 62-yard touchdown. Should the Oregon defender make a better play on the ball? Yes, but it doesn't matter, but that's not what happened. With no one else over top, once Davis beat said Oregon defender, he was gone, waltzing into the end zone for the score. Oregon then tried to get a little cheeky on their next drive, going for it on fourth down at their own 34-yard line. Unfortunately for the Ducks, they fell short, which essentially set Washington up for the game winning field goal, taking home a 37-34 dub on the road. Like we said before, Penix has been putting up some very nice numbers so far this season for the Huskies, posting his second 400+ yard passing game of the season, with his first one coming against Arizona a few weeks ago, where he threw for 516. As everyone should've expected, this was a very exciting game from start to finish, and sadly someone had to lose, which in this case it was Oregon. Washington can carry some very nice momentum into their next game, at home against Colorado. But with how bad Colorado's defense has been this season, I don't see Penix and the Huskies having too many problems come Saturday evening.
Pre-Season - N/R
Wk 1 - N/R
Wk 2 - N/R
Wk 3 - H/M
Wk 4 - H/M
Wk 5 - H/M
Wk 6 - H/M
Wk 7 - H/M
Wk 8 - H/M
Wk 9 - H/M
Wk 10 - H/M (didn't post)
Wk 11 - 8
Wk 12 - v Colorado
10. Jayden Daniels, LSU
Wk 11 - 8/15 86 yds 0 touchdowns 1 interception/19 carries 10 yds 0 touchdowns @ Arkansas (13-10 W)
Season - 195/283 2,080 yds 14 touchdowns 2 interceptions/150 carries 629 yds 10 touchdowns
I'm kind of torn on how I feel about this game. On one hand, LSU is coming off a very emotional win against Alabama the previous week, so there was bound to be some sort of drop off in their next game. On the other hand though, it's against Arkansas, and no offense to the Razorbacks, but a team as good as LSU shouldn't be struggling with Arkansas' defense, especially against the pass. Like, I am very surprised Daniels couldn't get over the 100 yard mark through the air, but again, there was bound to be some sort of down turn, just be thankful they came away with the dub. What made this somewhat harder to stomach is that Daniels threw an interception on LSU's first drive of the game. It wasn't even like it was a crazy play or anything, Arkansas' Latavious Brini just timed his jump right at the line of scrimmage and came down with the football. It sucks because LSU was putting together a fairly solid drive up until that point, picking up a massive third and 18 a few plays before. Then, to only make matters worse, Daniels would fumble on the second play of LSU's third drive of the game. This play was kind of weird, because it was half way a mesh point fumble and half way a great play by the Arkansas defender. But when your backs are to the end zone, you cannot afford to turn the ball over, especially like that. Thankfully for LSU's offense, the defense was able to hold Arkansas and force them to turn the ball over on downs. All that being said, Daniels would get some things going a little later, as he ripped off a 20-yard run to open up their first scoring drive of the game near the start of the second quarter. The Tigers would settle for a field goal a few plays later, tying the game up at three. Fast forward to the third and we see Daniels hit his best throw of the game, finding Kayshon Boutte near the goal line for a 26-yard gain. On this throw, Daniels did a very nice job at looking off the safety, moving his focus from the left side of the formation back to right before hitting Boutte for the big gain. That's the stuff you want to see from Daniels, really nice work from him. LSU would score on their next play thanks to a Josh Williams run. The first touchdown of the game, for either team, came with 5:25 left in the third quarter, that tells you what kind of game this was. LSU would do next to nothing the rest of the game offensively, eventually seeing out the game to come away with a 13-10 win. Was it pretty? No, not at all, but I'm sure the Tigers will gladly take the dub over their boot rival Arkansas. This week LSU is taking on UAB, a team that has won one game in their last four. I don't foresee LSU having to much trouble on Saturday, and I expect Daniels to have a better game throwing the ball.
Pre-Season - H/M
Wk 1 - N/R
Wk 2 - N/R
Wk 3 - N/R
Wk 4 - N/R
Wk 5 - N/R
Wk 6 - N/R
Wk 7 - N/R
Wk 8 - N/R
Wk 9 - N/R
Wk 10 - 10 (didn't post)
Wk 11 - 10
Wk 12 - v UAB
Others
Max Dugan, TCU
Wk 11 - 19/29 124 yds 1 touchdown 0 interceptions/10 carries -41 yds 0 touchdowns @ no.18 Texas (17-10 W)
Season - 180/273 2,531 yds 25 touchdowns 2 interceptions/86 carries 241 yds 4 touchdowns
Will Rogers, Mississippi State
Wk 11 - 29/51 261 yds 1 touchdown 0 interceptions/1 carry -7 yds 0 touchdowns v no.1 Georgia (45-19 L)
Season - 329/490 3,173 yds 27 touchdowns 5 interceptions/29 carries -122 yds 0 touchdowns
Dorian Thompson-Robinson, UCLA
Wk 11 - 26/39 245 yds 1 touchdown 0 interceptions/11 carries 24 yds 0 touchdowns v Arizona (34-28 L)
Season - 206/290 2,385 yds 20 touchdowns 4 interceptions/84 carries 463 yds 7 touchdowns
Tyler Van Dyke, Miami (FL)
Wk 11 - Injured
Season - 156/245 1,761 yds 10 touchdowns 4 interceptions/30 carries -34 yds 0 touchdowns
Cameron Ward, Washington State
Wk 11 - 22/37 219 yds 1 touchdown 0 interceptions/5 carries -26 yds 0 touchdowns v Arizona State (28-18 W)
Season - 240/377 2,579 yds 20 touchdowns 8 interceptions/72 carries 8 yds 3 touchdowns
Pre-Season - https://www.theloganblackmanshow.com/post/the-draft-expert-insanely-early-2023-nfl-draft-prospect-rankings
Wk 2 - https://www.theloganblackmanshow.com/post/the-draft-expert-2023-nfl-draft-wk-2-prospect-rankings
Wk 10 - Didn't post
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