Hello one and all and welcome to this week six edition of the Draft "Expert's" quarterback prospect rankings for the 2023 NFL Draft. As always, I am aware that this list will mean absolutely nothing when the draft comes around in April, but it's still fun to do, so imma keep on keeping on.
This past weekend we saw some very impressive performances from the likes of CJ Stroud, Hendon Hooker, and others, while also seeing some big time quarterbacks sitting out due to injury, with Bryce Young and Will Levis missing their team's game Saturday due to a shoulder and foot injury. Hopefully they're both back and healthy going into this weekend, where they match-up against some other quarterbacks in this top 10.
If you don't like where a player is ranked, or just don't like the list in general, I do apologize, and I will try to be better next time we drop a top 10. In this list though we see a new face enter the top five, some bounce back performances, and more!
So, without any more delays, I present to you the Draft "Expert's" week six quarterback prospect rankings! Please, enjoy!
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Pictured: Hendon Hooker, Tennessee; CJ Stroud, Ohio State; Bryce Young, Alabama
1. CJ Stroud, Ohio State
Wk 5 - 21/26 361 yds 6 touchdowns 1 interception/1 carry -4 yds 0 touchdowns v Michigan State (49-20 W)
Season - 113/160 1,737 yds 24 touchdowns 3 interceptions/10 carries 4 yds 0 touchdowns
As expect, CJ Stroud and Ohio State had their way with the Michigan State Spartans this past Saturday, taking MSU out 49-20 in their first road game of the season. Now, though it eventually got really easy, it was a mixed bag at the start. On Ohio State's first drive, after a Payton Thorne interception, CJ Stroud found Marvin Harrison Jr. at the near pylon to put the Buckeyes up 7-0. On Harrison, dude is an absolute baller, scoring three touchdowns in the game while also posting 131 receiving yards. That first touchdown though, what a play by Harrison. On Ohio State's second drive though, it did not go as well. Did it end in a touchdown? Technically, yes, just for the other team. This whole play can just go down to a miss communication between Stroud and Emeka Egbuka, who has been Stroud's favorite receiver this season. Seemingly, what this was was a choice route, where Egbuka would make a decision whether to cut the route off short or take the top off the defense and hit them deep. In this case Egbuka chose the latter. Unfortunately, Stroud chose the former, with no one standing in the way of Charles Brantley and the end zone to tie the game at seven. After that though, Stroud was borderline unstoppable, with Ohio State's offense scoring on six straight drives. Whether it was to Egbuka up the slot, Fleming on a post, Harrison Jr. two more times, or Gee Scott Jr., who Stroud hit from the two yard line on fourth down while Ohio State was already up 42-13. Ohio State is seemingly out for blood this year, and are doing it in the most disrespectful ways possible, and I can't say I hate it. Whether it's going for it on fourth down at the two yard line while already up 29, or doing a fake punt against Rutgers last week, they're on their disrespectful shit right now. As for Stroud, he's looking as accurate as ever, and they're not all short throws. Some of the throws he made in this game were really special, like his throw to Marvin Harrison Jr. down the near sideline, placing the ball beautifully between the sideline and the defender, putting it only where Harrison could catch it. Or later, hitting Harrison again, this time though with a defender down by his ankles, dude threw a very nice back shoulder-ish throw to the far pylon, putting it, again, in a spot where only Harrison could get it. Everything CJ Stroud did in this game was near perfect. He looks incredibly poised and calm in the pocket and is hitting his receivers with ease, and this is without his best weapon in Jaxon Smith-Njigba. As of right now, Stroud is not only the number one quarterback in the upcoming draft, but probably the favorite for the Heisman Trophy, along with Bryce Young and Hendon Hooker. Though it's a week and a half away, I am terrified for Ohio State's match-up against Iowa. A bye week will serve well, but Ohio State looks crazy good right now.
Pre-Season - 2
Wk 1 - 2
Wk 2 - 2
Wk 3 - 1
Wk 4 - 1
Wk 5 - 1
Wk 6 - 1
Wk 7 - BYE
2. Bryce Young, Alabama
Wk 5 - 0/0 0 yds 0 touchdowns 0 interceptions/0 carries 0 yds 0 touchdowns v Texas A&M (24-20 W)
Season - 90/134 1,202 yds 14 touchdowns 3 interceptions/18 carries 154 yds 3 touchdowns
To be honest, I thought Alabama would have a pretty easy time handling Texas A&M on Saturday, with or without star quarterback Bryce Young, who sat out due to a shoulder injury which he suffered against Arkansas the week before. After watching this game, one thing is clear, Alabama is a much different team without Young behind center. Now, Jalen Milroe will probably develop into a nice quarterback for the Crimson Tide, but for now, Bama are a much better team with Bryce Young, and having him back for the Tennessee game will be massive, which could have massive implications over who wins the Heisman Trophy this season. I am really excited to watch that game this weekend.
Pre-Season - 1
Wk 1 - 1
Wk 2 - 1
Wk 3 - 2
Wk 4 - 2
Wk 5 - 2
Wk 6 - 2
Wk 7 - @ no.6 Tennessee
3. Will Levis, Kentucky
Wk 5 - 0/0 0 yds 0 touchdowns 0 interceptions/0 carries 0 yds 0 touchdowns v South Carolina (24-14 L)
Season - 97/141 1,405 yds 12 touchdowns 4 interceptions/40 carries -56 yds 2 touchdowns
Unlike Bryce Young's injury, I felt this one fell a little more under the radar. Like, I knew Levis dislocated a finger on his non-throwing hand, but I wasn't aware he injured his foot in the loss to Ole Miss as well. In warmup gear and a boot on his left foot, Levis was a bystander in Kentucky's 24-14 loss to South Carolina on Saturday. Like Young before, Levis' absence was massively felt in Kentucky's loss, and there hasn't been any real reports concerning Levis' health going into a big game against Mississippi State on Saturday. Again, like Bryce Young, Levis will be going up against another top quarterback, this one in the form of Will Rogers. If Kentucky wants to keep up/beat Mississippi State, they need Will Levis behind center. Much like the Tennessee v Alabama game, I'm really excited for this game come Saturday.
Pre-Season - 3
Wk 1 - 4
Wk 2 - 4
Wk 3 - 3
Wk 4 - 3
Wk 5 - 3
Wk 6 - 3
Wk 7 - v no.16 Mississippi State
4. Anthony Richardson, Florida
Wk 5 - 8/14 66 yds 1 touchdown 1 interception/5 carries 45 yds 0 touchdowns v Missouri (24-17 W)
Season - 81/145 1,182 yds 5 touchdowns 7 interceptions/47 carries 286 yds 5 touchdowns
Missouri always seems to be a thorn in Florida's side. Since joining the SEC all the way back in 2012, Florida and Missouri have played 12 times, both teams coming away with six wins. Though Florida has started getting the better of Missouri as of late, the Tigers were up five games to three before 2019, with Florida now winning three of the last four fixtures, with two of those coming by way of double digit victories. This time around though, we had a similar-ish match-up to what we had last year, a game where Missouri won 24-23 in overtime. Florida came into this game as 10.5 point favorites and were coming off a blowout win vs Eastern Washington, which was expected, of course. Missouri was fresh off of back-to-back tough losses to Auburn and Georgia, where the Tigers were beating the latter 22-12 a third of the way through the fourth quarter, so maybe this could've been a nice statement victory for the Gators. Though they won, Florida, and Anthony Richardson in particular, didn't look all that great, to be honest. Saturday saw Richardson reach a season low in passing yards, with just 66, while also throwing just one touchdown and one interception. Now, this Missouri secondary has played well this year, as through six games they've intercepted as many passes as they have allowed touchdowns, both at five. For Richardson, though he didn't put up the greatest numbers, he still flashed his potential, from time to time. Like on his run play on fourth and two, that started off with a decent pumped fake before going up the middle for 32-yards, probably feeling a little hard done by since he didn't score, getting tackled at the three-yard line. His first/only touchdown of the game didn't come until the fourth quarter, but man, was it nice. Rolling out to his right, he hit Ricky Pearsall in the back of the end zone to go up 24-10. This was one of those throws that only a select few can actually make. On the move, Richardson throws an absolute dart in between two defenders, hitting Pearsall right in the numbers for a touchdown. The thing is, most quarterbacks in college football, and even some in the pros, don't even think of making that throw. Third and three on the Missouri nine-yard line, most quarterbacks may just throw it out of bounds and settle for a field goal, but Richardson, like Josh Allen, has a strong enough arm to make throws like that. It just seems routine to him. We said the same thing last week when Florida beat Eastern Washington, watch this touchdown and his first two plays against the Eagles and you'll see why I still have Richardson this high on the list. He can make plays that most can't even think of doing, and once he puts it all together, he could be a very special quarterback, he just needs to refine some things. This week, Richardson and the Gators are hosting the LSU Tigers, a team that is fresh off a loss to the fifth quarterback on this list. LSU will be a tough test for Richardson and the Florida passing attack, as they rank solidly compared to the rest of college football against the pass. If Richardson can put on a show against LSU, maybe some people will start jumping back on the Richardson express.
Pre-Season - 5
Wk 1 - 3
Wk 2 - 3
Wk 3 - 4
Wk 4 - 4
Wk 5 - 4
Wk 6 - 4
Wk 7 - v LSU
5. Hendon Hooker, Tennessee (+1)
Wk 5 - 17/27 239 yds 2 touchdowns 0 interceptions/10 carries 56 yds 0 touchdowns @ no.25 LSU (40-13 W)
Season - 98/140 1,432 yds 10 touchdowns 0 interceptions/45 carries 231 yds 3 touchdowns
The Hendon Hooker for Heisman train is starting to leave the station, and there's even more passengers on there now after Tennessee's 40-13 win over LSU in Death Valley on Saturday. Unlike some of the quarterbacks before, whose games started a little more stressful/harder than they would've liked, Hooker's game started off as good as it could, registering points on their first four drives of the game, with LSU fumbling the opening kick off, resulting in a Tennessee touchdown five plays later. Though the next two drives resulted in field goals, Hooker dialed up a beautiful ball down the far sideline that resulted in a touchdown, hitting a streaking Jalin Hyatt for a 45-yard touchdown to go up 20-0 towards the beginning of the second quarter. This was one of those throw you have to be extremely careful about. With all the receivers on the left side of the formation, after one came in motion, it can be predictable as to where you're going to throw it, as again, they're all on the left side of the formation. That being said, the throw can be made even harder by the fact there were two safeties high-ish safeties in the defensive backfield, with one playing over Hyatt and the other in more of a free/adaptable role. To make this throw you have to be inch perfect, and it was. The first defender got beat and the second defender didn't get over in time but I don't it mattered, as again, Hooker led Hyatt perfectly to the back of the end zone. Remember, I said this a couple weeks ago, I think Hendon Hooker may throw the best deep ball in all of college football. Does he miss some throws? Sure, everyone does, but the amount of touch he has when he throws the ball deep is very impressive, to me anyways. He then found Jalin Hyatt again, this time on a well run post route that saw the defender fall over in coverage. Again, though the defender fell, this was another well placed ball. If you watch the play a few times you can see that this could've been jumped and gone the other way for LSU, as the second safety tried to come over and cover for his fallen comrade. Though he was in front of the play, the defender could've jumped it if Hooker tried to lead his receiver a little too far or put it too much on a line, but again, it resulted in six. On that drive as well, Hooker showed off his running ability. Much like Florida's Anthony Richardson, Hooker had a very nice run on a quarterback draw play, which ended up setting up the touchdown for the Vols. Though he did get hit pretty hard towards the end of the run, Hooker's size and speed allowed him to shrug off defenders, even putting one on the ground before the tackle came in. The final play I want to talk about was Hooker's pass to Bru McCoy in the third quarter. This is a pass that you have to be careful with, but Hooker did a nice job. Firstly, he looked off the single high safety, forcing him to go more towards the right side of the formation. He then put the ball on a line, and in these situations, when the receiver beats the coverage at the start and with a single high safety, you have to place that on a line, allowing McCoy to work back towards the ball. This type of throw diminishes the chances of an interception and the chances of the receiver getting his head taken off trying to reach for the ball. Tennessee would then get two field goals to end the game at 40-13. Like I said before with some of the other quarterbacks, Hooker is firmly in the 2022 Heisman Trophy race. Having not thrown a pic over five games while playing/beating three top 25 teams (at the time they played them) is extremely impressive, not even mentioning what he's doing running the ball. This week though is Hooker and Tennessee's real real test of the season, taking on the Alabama Crimson Tide. Bryce Young should be good to go for the game Saturday, making this a potential Heisman Trophy winning game for the pair of quarterbacks. I am very very excited for this game come Saturday.
Pre-Season - 10
Wk 1 - 8
Wk 2 - 8
Wk 3 - 7
Wk 4 - 6
Wk 5 - 6
Wk 6 - 5
Wk 7 - v no.3 Alabama
6. Jaren Hall, BYU (-1)
Wk 5 - 9/17 120 yds 2 touchdowns 1 interception/5 carries 11 yds 0 touchdowns v Notre Dame (28-20 L)
Season - 129/188 1,558 yds 14 touchdowns 2 interceptions/39 carries 75 yds 0 touchdowns
Maybe it's just me, but I was not a fan of either uniform on Saturday. Like, I dig BYU's black uniforms, I'm just not a massive fan of the gradient helmets. That being said, Notre Dame's were a lot worse, in my opinion, but let's get to the start of the game, which went as good as Notre Dame's uniforms as Jaren Hall threw only his second interception of the season on the very first play of the game for BYU. This wasn't necessarily the worst read, but it wasn't a good throw from Hall, who usually has such good placement on his balls. This one though, Hall just put too little on the pass. With pressure in his face, he tried to lob it to Gunner Romney but just had his shoulder pointed to high, which caused the ball to get caught up, landing in the grateful arms of the Notre Dame defender. Now, Hall did manage to get one back o Notre Dame two drives later. After a solid punt return that got the Cougars to the Notre Dame 26-yard line, on fourth down, Hall hit Kody Epps for an easy two-yard touchdown pass. This was an RPO-ish style of play which saw Epps come in motion before breaking back out, basically directly where he came from. Notre Dame stayed in line as if Hall was going to read the d-end, but Hall just fake the handoff before hitting a wide open Epps for a touchdown. The rest of the first half for Hall did not really go as planned, as BYU went three and out on their next drive before seeing Hall get sacked in the end zone for a safety on the drive after. After the safety things started looking up again, as Hall hit a pretty wide open Kody Epps for a 53-yard pass to close the gap on Notre Dame. Epps did an excellent job at losing the defender, making it a relatively easy throw for Jaren Hall. BYU then scored on their next drive with a rushing touchdown from Christopher Brooks but it wasn't enough, as the Cougars fell to the Fighting Irish 28-20. This was a weird game for Jaren Hall as he wasn't asked to do too much in this game, throwing a season low 17 passes in the game on Saturday. Apart from the two touchdown passes, this was easily Hall's worst game of the season. That's probably harsh but it's not like it was against a terrible team or anything, as Notre Dame possesses a fairly solid defense. Against Arkansas next week, I think Hall could have a nice little bounce back game, as the Razorbacks have a bottom five pass defense in all of college football. If Hall can get back on track, I don't see why BYU couldn't come out victors against this SEC opponent.
Pre-Season - 8
Wk 1 - 7
Wk 2 - 6
Wk 3 - 6
Wk 4 - 5
Wk 5 - 5
Wk 6 - 6
Wk 7 - v Arkansas
7. Will Rogers, Mississippi State
Wk 5 - 31/48 395 yds 3 touchdowns 0 interceptions/0 carries 0 yds 0 touchdowns v Arkansas (40-17 W)
Season - 202/282 2,110 yds 22 touchdowns 3 interceptions/14 carries -60 yds 0 touchdowns
To be 100% honest, there was nothing that really surprised me about this game on Saturday. Will Rogers, who leads the nation in passing yards and is top two in touchdowns, is going up against one of the worst secondaries in college football? Yeah, I'm not too surprised Mississippi State came out big victors, especially since KJ Jefferson, Arkansas' quarterback, didn't see the field due to a possible concussion. Like we said before, Rogers leads the nation in passing yards and is top two in passing touchdowns, and he showed why he ranks so highly on Saturday, picking apart a pretty beat up Arkansas secondary for 395 yards and three touchdowns. After a very nice throw and catch between Rogers and receiver Austin Williams set up a Bulldog rushing touchdown, Rogers then found Jaden Walley for a nice touchdown to go up 14-0 early in the game. The play with Walley was really nice because Rogers showed off his pocket awareness and mobility, which is something you don't see a lot from Rogers, in regards to how well he moves. Rogers scanned the whole field, then when the play broke down, Rogers rolled out to his left before throw a well place ball to Walley for the touchdown. Could it have been intercepted? Yes, in many ways it should've been, but it resulted in six for Mississippi State, so I'm sure Rogers will take it. His second touchdown was somewhat similar to his first. Forced to roll out to his left, he hit his tight end Austin Williams for a 10-yard touchdown. Once again though, Rogers scanned the entire field before breaking out of the pocket and throwing the ball low and to the side of his tight end near the pylon, away from the Arkansas defender, which resulted in six. His third and final touchdown went to Caleb Ducking, who has been Rogers' favorite target this season. Like we talked about with Hooker before, this was a throw he, kind of, had to put it on a line. After Ducking beat the first defender, the safety will come over top, but since Rogers put this ball on a line, the safety didn't have time to really react, which resulted in a touchdown. I just really like seeing Rogers cook. The dude is one of the most precise passers in all of college football. He may not be the fastest, but he proved Saturday that he's no slouch with the ball in his hands either. This week Rogers and the Bulldogs will be traveling to Lexington to take on the Kentucky Wildcats. If Will Levis is able to play, we could have a very fun quarterback dual on our hands. Rogers and the Bulldogs are starting to heat up and it's really fun to watch.
Pre-Season - N/A
Wk 1 - 10
Wk 2 - 9
Wk 3 - 10
Wk 4 - 9
Wk 5 - 7
Wk 6 - 7
Wk 7 - @ no.22 Kentucky
8. Tyler Van Dyke, Miami (FL)
Wk 5 - 42/57 496 yds 3 touchdowns 1 interception/6 carries 2 yds 0 touchdowns v North Carolina (27-24 L)
Season - 112/175 1,305 yds 7 touchdowns 4 interceptions/21 carries -15 yds 0 touchdowns
Would you be surprised if I told you that Saturday was a career day for Tyler Van Dyke? To be honest, I'd hope not. Dude threw damn near 60 passes in Saturday's loss to North Carolina, completing 42 of them for 496 yards and three touchdowns. Now, he's had some games in the past where he's thrown almost 50 passes, almost reaching the half century mark four times last season, but he's never gotten this close to 60. My arm hurts just thinking about it but hey, the weakness in North Carolina's defense was/is the secondary, as they are in the bottom 10 in regards to passing yards allowed per game. It's just a shame though that Van Dyke wasted 57 passes on an 'L.' Now, this game took a little while to get going for the Hurricanes, punting, missing a field goal, and turning it over one downs on their first three drives of the game which saw North Carolina jump out to a 14-0 lead about mid-way through the second quarter. Van Dyke had some nice throws here and there through those drives, but his best probably came right after the second quarter started, hitting Jaylan Knighton down the far sideline for a 41-yard gain. Knighton, a running back, ran a wheel route out of the backfield that the defender just couldn't keep up with, and Van Dyke placed it perfectly in the bread basket to set up Miami at the North Carolina 22. Miami ran a few run plays after the big gainer, but like we said before, Miami ended up stalling out on this drive, getting all the way down to the one yard line. Then finally, Miami started to show some life on offense, as Van Dyke hit his tight end, Will Mallory, for a big gain across the middle. This was a very impressive throw by Van Dyke, as there were two defenders over top of Mallory, not to mention the one trailing him, who could've easily come away with an interception. On this throw, Van Dyke did an excellent jump turning Mallory around and having him go up for a jump ball, allowing him to avoid the big hit while also having his big tight end sky over the smaller defender. His first touchdown came a few plays later, hitting Key'Shawn Smith for a 20-yard touchdown. Nothing too insane here, Smith ran a nice post route and the defender fell trying to break up the pass, which resulted in a walk in touchdown for Smith. Van Dyke did do well to stick it on Smith's chest with pressure all his face, coming away with a nice touchdown. They weren't done there though in the first half, after driving the Hurricanes down the field after a North Carolina touchdown, Van Dyke hit Henry Parrish Jr. from seven yards out to close the gap to 21-14. Van Dyke was moved the ball extremely well on this drive, even going for it on fourth down, but his touchdown to Parrish was really nice. After the pocket broke down, Van Dyke stepped up to his right, stiff arming a defender before hitting a wide open Parrish in the end zone for a touchdown. His rushing numbers may not show it, but Van Dyke is a very solid athlete, capable of doing this on every play. Hell, Miami does like giving him opportunities to run, as they've run a quarterback draw a few times this season for Van Dyke. Fast forward to the fourth quarter, Miami is down 24-17, and after having their first three drives end on downs, a punt, and a fumble, Van Dyke brings the troops onto the field on fourth down at their own 49-yard line. On fourth and two, Van Dyke hits Henry Parrish Jr. on a great throw down the far sideline. With pressure up the middle, Van Dyke rolled to the right, and delivered an absolute strike to Parrish, putting it only where Parrish could get it. Unfortunately though, this was the drive that ended in a fumble. That being said, the offense would get another chance, with Van Dyke hitting Brashard Smith across the middle for a first down. With defenders all around Smith, Van Dyke did an excellent job at stepping up in the pocket and hitting Smith right between the numbers, which set up Miami nicely on the UNC 33. A few plays later, Van Dyke hit Colbie Young down the far sideline for a touchdown. Young, a 6'5" 215 lbs. wide receiver was in single press coverage on the top of the formation. Van Dyke smartly saw the mismatch and led Young perfectly to the back of the end zone. Unfortunately though, that wasn't enough, as Van Dyke's last throw would result in an interception, seeing Miami lose 27-24 at home. This may sound cynical, but as far as numbers go, that's kind of what I expect when you throw the ball 57 times. That being said, he did make some very nice plays throughout the course of the game and was very good on third down. Miami had their chances to win this game, but sadly couldn't get it over the line. They're taking on a 2-4 Virginia Tech team on the road this week who has a much better defense than North Carolina. I think Miami should win, but it could be a tough one for Van Dyke and co. given that it's on the road. This though was a nice bounce back for Van Dyke, hopefully regaining some confidence after the Middle Tennessee debacle.
Pre-Season - 4
Wk 1 - 5
Wk 2 - 5
Wk 3 - 5
Wk 4 - 7
Wk 5 - 8
Wk 6 - 8
Wk 7 - @ Virginia Tech
9. Cameron Ward, Washington State (+1)
Wk 5 - 19/32 172 yds 2 touchdowns 0 interceptions/13 carries 5 yds 0 touchdowns @ no.6 USC (30-14 W)
Season - 150/223 1,617 yds 15 touchdowns 7 interceptions/39 carries -11 yds 1 touchdown
Man, I was hoping Washington State could pull off the upset on Saturday against sixth ranked USC. Though the Cougars couldn't come away with the dub, I thought their quarterback, Cameron Ward played a pretty solid game, going toe-to-toe with Caleb Williams, who is widely considered to be one of the top quarterbacks in all of college football. Now, I'm not saying it was a spectacular performance from Ward, but this was only the second game this season, and the first since week one, where he hasn't thrown an interception. Out of all the other quarterbacks in this class, they only other person that comes close to Ward in regard to interceptions is Florida's Anthony Richardson, who has also thrown seven interceptions this season. Besides not throwing an interception, Ward and the Cougars offense did a really nice job at extending drives in this game, at least early on, as their first touchdown drive came with Washington State starting on their own eight yard line. A couple big runs by Jaylen Jenkins moved them up the field before Cameron Ward found Robert Ferrel on a hitch route for a 12-yard touchdown. This drive, Ward did an excellent job at extending plays with his feet, whether that was getting a first donw on third and three or just moving around the pocket in order to get the ball to his playmakers. On his touchdown though, Ward faked the hand off to the running back before hitting Ferrel at the five, allowing Ferrel to do the rest. This throw was actually kind of impressive just because of how fast it left his hand. Like, Ward carried out the fake, and right after the back was past him, he flipped his shoulders in order to hit Ferrel before the defenders crashed in. Was it an insane throw? Not necessarily, but it was still nice. His second touchdown came on a similar-ish play, in regards to the start of it, as Washington State ran a fake RPO esc play, which just saw the running back dart out to the left after carrying out the fake, allowing him to be wide open and walk into the end zone from the one yard line. Before that though, Ward hit his running back Jaylen Jenkins on a wheel route that Ward probably waited a little too long on to throw. Jenkins had his defender beat, but Ward threw it way behind him and was lucky that this ball wasn't intercepted. That being said, what a great job by Jenkins to work his way back to back to the ball, which set up Washington State's touchdown a few plays later. With Washington State up 14-10 early in the second, I was hoping things would stay somewhat like that, unfortunately that wasn't the case. Ward would have some nice throws here and there but ultimately, Washington State punted on five of their last seven drives (technically eight, but they ran one play before halftime so I don't want to count it) with one drive ending on a failed fourth down attempt. Again, I think Ward played an alright game on Saturday, and probably thinks he and the Cougs could've won the game. Though that wasn't the case this time around, they have a chance to rectify this loss in a match-up against Oregon State on Saturday. Oregon State is a tough team, but I think the Cougars have what it takes to pull off the dub in Corvallis, Oregon.
Pre-Season - H/M
Wk 1 - H/M
Wk 2 - N/R
Wk 3 - H/M
Wk 4 - H/M
Wk 5 - 10
Wk 6 - 9
Wk 7 - @ Oregon State
10. Tanner McKee, Stanford (-1)
Wk 5 - 20/33 269 yds 2 touchdowns 1 interception/2 carries 5 yds 0 touchdowns v Oregon State (28-27 L)
Season - 98/154 1,249 yds 10 touchdowns 5 interceptions/28 carries -56 yds 1 touchdown
I honestly kind of feel bad for Tanner McKee. So far this season, McKee and the Stanford Cardinal offense have averaged 29 points a game, with McKee playing fairly well throughout those games. The thing is, though they're scoring 29 points a game, their defense is allowing 32.8 points per game, which is exactly why Stanford is sitting at 1-4 right now. If we're being honest, Stanford's offense did enough to win them the game Saturday against Oregon State, especially after setting up a potentially game sealing field goal with just 58 seconds left. Then, like a scene out of a movie, Oregon State quarterback Ben Gulbranson throws it up down the far sideline on terrible pass that really should've been picked off, but receiver Tre'Shaun Harrison made an insane play, jumping over the defender to catch the pass before breaking away from the two Stanford defenders for a 56-yard touchdown with just 13 seconds left. Before that insanity happened, McKee, again, put forth a solid perfjoamcne. On Stanford's first drive of the game, McKee and the Cardinal offense went 78-yards on 12 plays, putting together a very solid drive which set up a one yard touchdown run by Casey Filkins. On that drive, McKee mostly just checked things down, as Stanford ran a lot of screen plays and short passes on their first offensive drive, though he did hit his tight end Benjamin Yurosek for a nice 31-yard gain across the middle to move the ball to the Oregon State side of the 50. Their next drive only resulted in a field goal but two drives after that, McKee was hitting some darts. Though it was only a hitch route, McKee zipped the ball right into Michael Wilson's chest, picking up a nice 22-yards and a first down. A couple plays later, McKee got his first touchdown, hitting the Brycen Tremayne for a 21-yard touchdown. This was very nice ball placement from McKee, who just told his big 6'4" wide receiver to go up and get it. No offense to Tremayne, but he wasn't winning the battle to the corner, which is why McKee zipped it to the near pylon for Tremayne to make a play on the ball. The Oregon State defender was none the wiser, as the ball was placed perfectly for a Stanford touchdown. The Cardinal saw their next few drives stall out, but with third quarter winding down, McKee got his second touchdown of the game. Before the touchdown though, McKee made an insanely impressive throw to Michael Wilson down the near sideline. McKee, who is not the most fleet footed, rolled out the his left, before setting up and delivering a strike to Wilson in between a couple of Oregon State defenders, before hitting Tremayne, again, for a 37-yard touchdown. After a couple of fakes in the backfield, McKee threw it to a fairly open Tremayne for the score, putting Stanford up 24-10 towards the end of the quarter. Just a very nice throw from McKee, nothing insane, but just a very nice/easy throw for McKee to extend the lead. Unfortunately though, that was all she wrote, as McKee threw an interception after Oregon State's heroics on the last play of the game. You can't really count interceptions like that though, dude has to throw it down the field, in this case he just over shot his intended receiver. This was a very tough loss for McKee and Stanford, who don't have an easy task this weekend against Notre Dame on the road. Like I said before, I think Stanford can compete with a lot of teams offensively, it's just a matter of if their defense can hold teams back long enough in order for Stanford to get the win.
Pre-Season - 6
Wk 1 - 6
Wk 2 - 7
Wk 3 - 8
Wk 4 - 8
Wk 5 - 9
Wk 6 - 10
Wk 7 - @ Notre Dame
Others
Sam Hartman, Wake Forest
Wk 5 - 13/19 246 yds 1 touchdown 0 interceptions/8 carries 36 yds 0 touchdowns v Army (45-10 W)
Season - 99/153 1,442 yds 16 touchdowns 2 interceptions/41 carries 64 yds 0 touchdowns
Grayson McCall, Coastal Carolina
Wk 5 - 19/28 246 yds 1 touchdown 0 interceptions/9 carries 41 yds 0 touchdowns @ UL Monroe (28-21 W)
Season - 111/160 1,582 yds 15 touchdowns 1 interception/48 carries 166 yds 3 touchdowns
Aidan O'Connell, Purdue (NEW-ish)
Wk 5 - 30/41 360 yds 2 touchdowns 1 interception/9 carries -25 yds 0 touchdowns @ Maryland (31-29 W)
Season - 143/215 1,559 yds 10 touchdowns 4 interceptions/16 carries -25 yds 0 touchdowns
Michael Penix Jr., Washington
Wk 5 - 33/53 311 yds 0 touchdowns 1 interception/3 carries -6 yds 1 touchdown @ Arizona State (45-38 L)
Season - 158/244 2,044 yds 16 touchdowns 4 interceptions/18 carries 19 yds 1 touchdown
Dorian Thompson-Robinson, UCLA
Wk 5 - 18/23 299 yds 4 touchdowns 1 interception/11 carries 8 yds 1 touchdown v no.11 Utah (42-32 W)
Season - 122/163 1,510 yds 15 touchdowns 2 interceptions/42 carries 231 yds 4 touchdowns
Previous Rankings
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
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