The Athletic Football Show: A show about the NFL - Prospects to Pros: Ohio State-Missouri, Penn State-Mississippi, and the best of the rest of the non-CFP bowls

Episode Date: December 20, 2023

We might be impatiently waiting for Michigan-Alabama and Washington-Texas, but there is plenty of college football goodness coming our way before we get to the Playoff. Nate Tice and Dane Brugler dig into the best of the non-playoff bowls from an NFL Draft perspective on this episode of The Athletic Football Show's Prospects to Pros.Follow Nate on Twitter: @Nate_TiceFollow Dane on Twitter: @dpbruglerSubscribe to The Athletic Football Show...AppleSpotifyYouTube Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This is the athletic football show's prospects to pros. Hello and welcome to Prospects for Pros, sponsored by Invesco QQ, the official ETF of the NCAA. I am your host, Nate Tice. It is Bullse season, the most wonderful time of the year. Those ESPN ads will always live in my brain for the rest of my life because I agreed with it back when I was young. This was the most wonderful time of the year. This time now, or this day and age, I have to worry about opt-outs, transfers. So it makes it a little bit more work than just go watch these good players all the time.

But to help me do that, to help me sift through some of the talent that has departed and some of the talent that's still there for some of these games is the beast himself, Dane Bruegler. How are you doing today, Dane? I'm good. I'm excited to get into some of these games, even though, yeah, you're right. They've lost some of its luster of what we thought bowl season used to be. Even it doesn't seem like that long ago. You know, it's just funny how things evolve. the backlash from when Leonard Fornett opted out and, you know, Christian McCaffrey, you know,

it wasn't that long ago. And now it just becomes, you know, kind of expected that all these players are going to opt out. If a player plays, it's like, wait, he's going to be a third round pick and he's going to play. Oh, my goodness. You know, it's, it's funny how things have evolved over the years. But, yeah, so we'll do our best to keep tabs on who's playing, who's not. You know, be patient with us if we maybe get one wrong here or there. But for the most part, I think we'll be pretty much covered. I know. There's a lot of websites and some track opt-outs, some track transfers, some track who declares

for the draft. And it's very, a lot of articles over the last 24 hours I had to read through. It's like, might opt out. And then, okay, so I got put an asterisk next to that one. But what we're going to do today is we're going to go over the slate of bowl games that's going to happen after Christmas. and just because that's a really packed full of bowl games and interesting bowl games. Well, interesting name title, baby in some cases.

But yeah, but interesting enough. And we're going to talk about these slated games. We're going to highlight a prospect or two guys that are playing or as of right now we think are playing. It's December 19th as we record this. So we will be going over each of these players. And to start, we're going to start with the bowl games on the day after Christmas, December 26th. We have three bowl games, the Quick Lane Bowl, Bowling Green versus Atman. Minnesota.

Bowling Green in Minnesota. We have Texas State and Rice in the serve pro first responder bowl. I believe that one's in Fort Worth. And then we have Kansas and ULV at the guaranteed rate bowl, which is in Arizona, which is actually kind of have a lot of ties to that game in a weird way. UNLV and then we got Kansas, which is where my uncle coaches. It was almost going to be Wisconsin for a split second. Wisconsin almost got to that game.

And I was like that would have been, oh, I'm sorry, no, they almost got to the Vegas Bowl. That would have been very nice for me, even though I don't think a lot of Wisconsin guys we're opting out. But of all this, this group of games, Dane, who stands out to you? Who are you keeping an eye on that's actually playing? Or maybe even someone that might have opted out.

But who are you keeping an eye on on this day of games? Look at Minnesota. Tyler Nubin, I don't believe he's opted out yet, unless you see different. I did not see different. Okay. That would be the one.

You know, he did not make my first round mock, but if a safety does crack the first round, I think it's going to be Tyler Nubin. You know, he's, a guy that would have been drafted day two last year, came back for his super senior year,

his fifth year at Minnesota. He's just, he's a well-balanced player. He can play the run. He can, you know, play the post. He can make plays in coverage.

Smooth athlete. He's aware. You know, so he's, he can drive off the numbers. He can overlap the seam. He can, he can be a four-down player.

So I do think that there are some conservative tendencies in coverage, which is kind of surprising, considering he has, I think what over the last three years, double-digit interceptions. Yeah. He makes a lot of plays on the ball. But I do think his skill set will be coveted because this is not a great safety class.

He can be a core special teamer, but then play in a lot of different coverages, a lot of different schemes. So I think this is a player that's going to be on a lot of boards. Maybe not super high, but he'll be well represented throughout the league because of all the different things he can do. The best word you used was balanced. That's it. He's a two-way player. He's fine at both, but pretty good at both, I would say, and that's what helps. And like you said, I think teams like that skill set where you do a lot of things well.

I mean, every defense right now is kind of running these variations of safeties that have to do it all. So like you said, his skill set will fit in anywhere. He's more or less scheme proof. That's kind of how I look at him. It's like, yeah, you drop my, if he goes to, I'm just making up a team here, they don't really need one. But Brian Flores and the Vikings, it's like, okay, I can see it fit there because that'll work. goes to a quarters-based defense. I think that's actually the best fit for him, but that works, like a Fangio style, playing

top-down and everything. I went to the Kansas game because it's the game after my own heart. And I went, I hope, I'm not sure if he declares, but Devin Dale the running back, I'm going to keep an eye on. He has not declared yet, but I am. He has production. You mentioned him a few times. Yeah, you like him.

He has production. He's good. I think he's firmly good. Like, I have kind of third, fourth round grade on him, give or take. He has size. I don't know. It's a weak running back class. It feels like this is an easy declare.

But we'll see. That third, fourth round, that's going to be the sweet spot for running back this year. We'll see if any of them get into the top two rounds. But between, and we'll see, we haven't, you know, Travion Henderson, Ohio State hasn't officially declared yet. I saw that. I think it'd be surprising if he doesn't. But waiting on him, obviously Donovan Edwards playing in the playoffs. So we won't get an official declaration from him until after those.

those games are over. But we do know Braylon Allen's going to be in this draft. We do know, Audra Gestimee from Notre Dame is going to be in this draft. Bucky Irving, Oregon, and Trey Benson just declared and opted out from Florida State. So, yeah, all these guys are going to be in that third, fourth round range. And, you know, it'll be interesting as, you know, the differing skill sets and how teams figure out, okay, where would we feel comfortable drafting this guy. Yeah, Neil will be part of that conversation.

no doubt. The guys you just mentioned, like every guy's totally different, too. It's very funny. Like how wildly different. Yeah, like even the guy that I was high on, Rocket Sanders from Arkansas transferred as opposed to declaring, which I thought, I know he battle injuries this year. The other Kansas player was Dominic Pony, the offense alignment. Right.

Transfer from D2, Central Missouri has played left tackle, left guard, has practiced at center. And I believe he is going to the Senior Bowl. So I think that's going to be a guy. Yeah, good solid player. He's got some accolades to him now for offensive alignment. and it's just game started and Big Ten or Big Twelve and All-American, you don't have like some stat I can point at. But solid player, the fact that he has versatility, I think it's going to be really interesting. And I think the Senior Bowl is going to be huge for him.

No, no doubt. And especially because he'll be playing multiple spots. You know, teams will want that. Yeah. And Jim Nagy's good about this. He makes sure that guys line up where teams want to see them. So that's why Graham Barton's going to be playing at center during the Senior Bowl, probably also a guard. But a guy like Poonie, we'll see.

him multiple spots and a chance to just show off that versatility. One other player I did want to mention too in the third game, Luke McCaffrey, wide receiver from Rice. Obviously, the bloodlines are there. He's really good through contact. Former quarterback, highly recruited quarterback, Nebraska, transfers for Rice. He had a big game, I believe it was against FAU that got Rice bowl eligible. It was like 12 for 141 or something like that. So McCaffrey is, and he's going to the Shrine Bowl. So a great opportunity for him in this game. And then in Frisco, where the Shrine Bowl is this year. So he's a draftable talent. And so eager to see what he does. I've been aware of him for years, it seems like, because he was such a highly thought of QB recurrent.

And obviously, whose dad and brother, brother are brothers are. Yeah, brothers. We had one of them with the Raiders. He was kind of practice squad receiver. But yeah, no, that's a great shout out. I've been very curious of how his transition to receiver has been, so I'm definitely going to keep an eye on him. And hopefully I can make it to the Shrine game. I'm still deciding. Still deciding between the Senior Bowl shrine game. We're going to get a battle between my time there.

But next we have, we'll move on to the next day, two days after Christmas, December 27th. We have four games here. Virginia Tech. God, I keep doing at Tulane. Virginia Tech Tulane and Military Bowl. This is the opt-out day. A lot of offense on this one. This one was work.

It's one of his work trying to find who that was A lot of quarterbacks. Yes. And we got a center job not opt now from West Virginia. I was like that. Well, he's injured. Yeah, he's injured, right? He's got the broken leg.

Okay. I wasn't sure if his ankle were broken. Okay. And then, yeah, North Carolina, West Virginia, the Duke's Mayo Bowl. Sorry, no Drake May. Louisville USC, no Caleb Williams in the Holiday Bowl. And then Texas A&M, Oklahoma State in the Texas Bowl. God, so many Texas Bulls.

The, who we got here? Who's staying? Who's playing? Yeah, Zach Frazier isn't playing, but who'd you have here? I was actually very curious. I have a lot of question marks in my notes in this section. There's a lot of good players that if they were playing would be on this day. So no Michael Pratt from Tulane, no DeVontes Walker, wide receiver in North Carolina, no Cedriceray, the lineback for North Carolina.

For Louisville, no Jammari Thrash, no Jordan, the running back, both running backs in that game. Marshaun Lloyd, who is a really underrated player, USC. running back. He's not playing. And then for A&M, No Edron Cooper, the linebacker, be one of the first linebackers drafted this year. And Noah Smith, the wide receiver, who I believe just had surgery,

finger surgery, so he's out in this one. But other than that, how was the play, Mrs. Lincoln? Yeah, exactly. No kidding. I'm going to go with an underrated player from Louisville. Quincy Riley. He's a coroner who transferred from Middle Tennessee State, he has a lot of traits. He's a former, he won 100 meters, 200 meters in high school coming out of South Carolina.

Okay. You know, he's a guy that has ball production. He's got the traits. It's a little inconsistent, a little up and down. But again, I think he has the traits that has the attention of scouts. And that that's, they would want to see him in this game. So I don't, I don't believe he's opted out of this game. But, and we know USC, even though no Caleb, they've got some some good players at

receiver that that will be playing. So that that should be a matchup that could could help a guy like Quincy Radley for Louisville. Yeah, I had like I was like Ted Walker, Drake May not playing. I was like his Nesbit doesn't look like he's not playing as well either. I couldn't find anything for sure on that. Yeah, Zach Frazier, I mentioned that. Kaelin Bullock, safety from USC. I think he's playing. He hasn't opted out yet, but that was where I defaulted to. Yeah, day two safety to me. That's where it kind of seems like the safety class is general. But yeah, more of a round three type. But I, yeah, that was kind of the best of the bunch from that game.

Looking at that. Also, USC does still have some very interesting younger players that are going to be really fun to keep an eye on. Like you just mentioned, they're always going to have, you know, talent. I thought I was going to be able to talk about Antoine Powell Rilin from Virginia Tech, but he's returned to school. Yeah. But that's another guy, another edge player I'm going to keep an eye on for next year. He had some production. I actually watched him recently and then he declared and that was a lot of fun for me.

Or did not declare and that was a lot of fun. But yeah, this kind of day is kind of drab as far as the amount of prospects available. Oh, so you have any other guys that you could think of. I was kind of grass-match draws for this one. For A&M, McKinley Jackson, I don't believe he's opted out yet. So he's a former big-time, big-time recruit. Didn't really have the senior year, I think, many expectations. him to have, but still he's an explosive nose tackle.

And those guys are always going to find their way to the NFL. So, yeah, McKinley Jackson might be a good player to look at against Oklahoma State. Okay, now getting into kind of the day actually where there's more guys here that I thought going in that I'll find. But this is December 28th. This is Thursday. This is, the first game of the day would be SMU in Boston College in the Fenway Bowl, which is kind of fun for Boston College. I bet. Ruckers in Miami at the pad.

I got to say a sponsor here. The Bad Boy Mowers Pinsstripe Bowl in New York. Got it. We're just covering all the baseball stadiums. And then we got NC State, Kansas State, the Pop-Tarts Bowl. Where's the Pop-Tarts Bowl now? Which one's that one? This is the first year for it.

I don't know what this. Is it? This replaced the cheese. I don't remember. I can't see track of it. Okay. Okay. This one's for Orlando.

Yeah. Okay. Oh, this used to be the Champs Bowl. Oh, okay. I've been a member of this bowl. Okay. Had some good ones that. We played Miami in this one.

All right. The next one is Arizona, Oklahoma. We had two ranked teams. We actually have a couple of rank matchups here, but this is the Alamo Bowl, which is always going to be the Alamo Bowl. Always some fun matchups usually in the Alba Bowl. So hopefully this would be a good one. But Dan, these four games, who is standing out to you among prospects? We'll start with Cooper Beebe.

Kansas State Guard, who I would have loved to actually see his reaction when, you know, he was asked if he was going to play in this game. I'm sure he just kind of chuckled. It's like, what do you ask him? Of course I'm fine. I know. It's funny. He's like, I'm a football player, so I'm going to play football. My name's Cooper Bibi, and I go to Kansas State. That's his mentality. That's just kind of who this guy is. But I mean, he's been around. This is his fifth year, fourth year starter. He started a left tackle. He started a right tackle. Now, mainly a left guard. So, you know, he's just a, a rock solid player. Like, I don't think he has a super high ceiling. He's not a very long player, but I really like his floor. You know, he's like, he's not a guy. that's going to be going to wow you with his recovery skills or the, you know, just that

length. He doesn't really play with it. But the discipline dies, the veteran awareness, he is stout. He plays with balance, power at contact. So I think both Gap and Zone schemes are going to be really interested in what he has to offer and just the experience that he brings. So, you know, I mean, he is, he is a team first guy through and through. I mean, he is Kansas State.

that that's his identity. I mean, he came, one of the reasons he came back was to play with his little brother who was his, I believe a freshman this year. And then, I mean, he talked all about his,

his goal was to leave Kansas State to be in a position to one day be in their ring of honor. And I think he's on track for that. I mean, the impact he made with that program is really impressive. So, yeah, this is his swan song,

kind of his chance to go out with, see him go out with a win. Yeah, he, he reminds me body typewise. I'm going to be curious what his length is like you just mentioned it. Reminds me Gabe Jackson speaking of former Raiders. Wide body. We've got some power and pop when he's polling.

Okay in zone, but can do it. Like way better than you would think he would be for a wide body kind of more thumper type. But yeah, no, that was kind of the guy that I keep coming back to. And I think it's just how he looks because he's built like Spongebaw's square pants. I say he's like 3.30. He's thick. Yeah.

And he's not, you know, he's, he's, he's, he's, six three. He's not six four, six five. I mean, he, yeah, it's, it wide body is, is definitely apt. Yeah. And it's funny with the measurements is Gabe Jackson was six three, three, three 35. So it's kind of, yeah, very, kind of one, kind of one, uh, one. The, uh, one and a half inch arms is what I have. And that's obviously, um, Gabe was long. I mean, that might be the, the, yeah, that 31.5 might be the shortest of all offensive linemen in this track. I'm trying to think. Yeah. It's so Sam Baker. Sam Baker. Yeah, I mean, Cedric Van Pran, I think he's got really short arms too. I'm trying to be kind of in that range. Like the sub 32, though. Yeah, that's interesting. He's so strong, though, and his feet are better than you would think.

Yeah, and he plays on time, and that really helps. Yeah, he's very aware. I think you said that you're talking about his eyes. I think that's the big thing. And he's so wide, it's kind of like if he's in the right spot, get around him. Yeah. I had kind of more, no, B. You was kind of one A for this discussion. I have kind of some mid-level guys or actually one guy I want to ask you about. Hit me. Well, first, Miami, because I watched too much Tower of Van Dyke this year,

Xavier Restrepo has not opted out or has not done anything. I believe he's a senior anyway, so he's going to the draft. Well, he could go back. Because of the COVID stuff, yeah. Yeah, it sounds like he's leaning to come out. That's the last I heard, but yeah, these things change daily. I really like him. I think he's, yeah, I mean, not, I'd say fourth round.

I don't think he has overwhelming juice. I don't think he has much returnability. They didn't really give him a shot back there anyways, but this guy's a ball player. This guy is like every, every game. Yeah, he is reliable. He is a classic, reliable slot player and that has some physicality to him. He has some decent size. He's not a buck 80.

He's like almost 200. It's like 190 something. Yeah, I really liked him. Good hands, good route runner, decent speed. But I think he's just useful. Just one of those guys that I, yeah, I fell in love with him this year. And he had a ton of production. The other one, I actually wanted to ask you about this is NC State linebacker,

Peyton Wilson. Yeah. Did he say he's playing? It's maybe as a five days ago was the last article I read. So, yeah, I got to watch him. He's in this linebacker class. He's better than a lot of other ones I've watched. And yeah, just an interesting name.

And hopefully he plays because he's got some flashes to him. Have you, you have any thoughts on Wilson? I mean, he's, he's so much fun. And he, because he can do everything. You know, he can, he can blitz. He can cover. He can play the run. He's so, so productive.

I mean, I believe he won. He cleaned up in the award. I think he won the butt kiss, top linebacker. I mean, he's a three-time team captain. He's been around a while. The biggest thing for him is going to be the medicals. He has had double-digit surgeries since, considering including high school and in college.

What kind of entries? Do you know? We've got so it's like three shoulders. Okay. He had an ACL, I think it was senior year in high school. Okay. Then he re-injured that knee, which caused in the red shirt that first year. So, I mean, it's just, it's one thing after another.

Every year there's something. Luckily, the NFL is not physical. Yeah, right, exactly. So that's going to be, obviously, he's going to play a major part in all this. The tape is fantastic. Yeah, I mean, he's a quick-footed athlete. He's got speed to him. He's, I mean, he reached, he was over 23 miles per hour on field GPS this year.

Wow. Love the range. And he's smart, too. The way he can key, mirror, make plays is really impressive. He reached the heart really well. And Dorn's still a good defensive coach. So he's probably taught really well there from. Oh, and he raves about about Wilson.

He called him, I believe, was like the most competitive guy he's ever coached. That's saying some from Doran. Right, exactly. He was our defense coordinator at Wisconsin. Right. I was okay with him. I was the scout team quarterback my first year because I didn't mess up too much. But yeah, I've seen him coach.

He's a tough coach. Right, exactly. So, but yeah, this is a guy that has four down potential. Again, just comes. down to because he plays every game like it's or every play every play like it's like every play it's like okay there's a last play i might ever play so i'm going to give it everything i have and that's you know a great thing but uh that intensity my backfires a little bit with uh with all these injuries but yeah as long as he hopefully gets a clean bill of health uh and if he does yeah it'll be

interesting to see where he ends up because yeah four down potential and can do he's got a more impressive resume than a lot of linebackers in this class. And it's, I think, you know, obviously if he does test, like he moves like he's going to test well and he has length and size and range. There is some place.

I believe he's a freaks guy for, for Bruce Feldman's, yeah, I believe, I believe he was at one point. I mean, he's been around for six years. I know,

he's been forever. One of those years, yeah, he made the freaks list. He had a player recovered on a scrambler, and I was like, holy crap. Like,

because he stopped, got square, and then, you know, how college is. There's a lot of quarterbacks that were run. And the guy tried to pump fake him and get around him. And you can tell that quarterback is used to doing it.

And he, like, Wilson just recovered. And I was like, holy crap, that's impressive. That's 6'4. So, yeah, I'm glad we got to talk about him because I finally got to watch him. And yeah, he's a really fun player. But, yeah, of course, medicals. Yeah, and not surprising. He was also a big time lacrosse player in high school.

Okay. And also, no, he's from North Carolina. I mean, he's in North Carolina. He was officially, or he was a, first he was a Tar Hill commit, then he flipped NC State. But he also won state championship in wrestling in high school. So, yeah, this guy's got a lot. Mix the cross in wrestling. He's got a lot going on.

You don't get that two for that pairing a lot when you get these former sports guys. And then also a US Army All-American in high school. So, yeah, no, it's a, Peyton Wilson's an really interesting prospect for a lot of different reasons. One thing I wanted to add on Restrepo too is watching him, it just felt like a big play after big play. So I went and looked up how many explosive plays he has this year. He's got 19. That's the same amount as Marvin Harrison Jr. Wow.

The same amount as a lot of or more than a lot of receivers in college. So that's another thing that kind of sets him apart. I think is when you hear slot guy, okay, he's not the tallest guy. He's still thicker though. But it's, okay, he's going to be the little shit. He's going to be Josh Downs, you know, Shifty. He's going to be Hunter Renfro and everything. Xavier Restrepo was back-shouldering guys.

Like, he was catching stuff down the field. So that's a great step because that matches up with kind of how he played. I wanted to play. I wanted to ask you about Boston College's Christian Mahogany. Yeah. It's just a classic Boston. It's what you picture. You close your eyes and say Boston College Guard.

It's like, got it. Got it. Okay. And this name's Mahogany, which I think is even better. But do you have any notes on Mahogany? Because I, I, I, starting to watch some of these kind of day two, day three offensive lineman. He was one that hasn't opted out.

Looks like he's playing. And I finally found a guy. Yeah. And he's, I mean, his measurables, he's 6.3, 330, almost 34 inch arms. So another Gabe Jackson type in terms of just looking at him. Gabe Jackson, player of the day. Yeah, there you go. I didn't expect that, but it makes sense.

It does. Heavy physical hands. I mean, he is a guy that wants, he wants to be the bouncer at the club. I mean, he wants to bash head. be forceful in his play. I think he has the play strength of an NFL starter. It's just he doesn't play with enough control. And especially in space where he's going to,

I think NFL athletes are going to out-athlet him. So in any type of- What's that? He's a kill-shot guy. Like really gets head over head over feet. Yeah, he wants a brawl. Yeah, he wants to brawl with you. I think it was the Florida State tape.

If you haven't watched that tape, watch that tape. I think it's a good summation of what he is. Like, he will make some plays where he just, you know, demolishes guys. He latches on. It's over.

It's over, over. He can clear run lanes, no problem. And he can sit down versus power. He does have balance through contact, what you like to see. You like to see the displacement.

But again, when any type of space, that's where, you know, he needs, his angles aren't on point. He'll lunge. He'll whiff and pass pro.

His footwork gets a, little narrow. So I think that, you know, it's, he needs to be in the right scheme, protect it a little bit. But yeah, he has the makings of an NFL starter if, if again, he's just protected a little bit more than what you ideally want. My note on him was some teams are going to love them or like some old line coaches are, but then some aren't like because of exactly what you're saying. Like some are going to go, oh yeah, I can work with that. Lange especially. I didn't know his arm length, but that makes a lot of sense. But yeah, strength is a great one. I'm glad you brought up the Gabe Jackson comparison again.

That's another shrine guy. So that's one where teams will be interested to see one-on-one, see how he does in the shrine bowl practice. How he mirrors and moves those feet. Yeah, head over. Yeah, head over feet. That's a common thing. Some of these guys are so strong. And they're used to just like mulling guys that as soon as they go, oh my God, that guy's strong and he's fast, that defender.

And he just makes me whiff. No, that's not fun. And he's a good athlete, too. he's just, he's not a controlled athlete. You know, like he has quickness to him. It's just he's, he needs to be more controlled with the, it's like Trey Smith a little bit, maybe, coming out of Tennessee. Sure, not quite as big, but yeah.

Yeah, but kind of like goes for those kill shots once in a while we miss and just like falls over, but it's not because he's a bad, yeah, not because he's bad athlete, yeah. Moving on to the next day with December 29th, we have Clemson and Kentucky in the Gator Bowl, the Oregon, which will never change, that name will never change either. Oregon State, Notre Dame. and Tony the Tiger Sun Bowl That name will ever change Never change

Everyone raves about the Sun Bowl too Everyone that plays in it Says that's one of their They're like one of the best bowls How it's run The fun things you can do Yeah so Shout out to El Paso

But Memphis, Iowa State The Liberty Bowl In Missouri and Ohio State In the Cotton Bowl Classic All right This could have been If this was 10 years ago This was loaded

No opt outs No transfers nothing But who It's still pretty good Still some good wads, of course. Yeah. But who from the slate of games stands out to you, Dane? Clemson, Kentucky, let's just start with that one.

I'm looking at the running backs because I think both these starting running backs are playing. Will Shipley for Clemson. He has not officially declared, but scouts expect him to declare. Not a home run hitter, but I mean, he's well balanced in terms of athleticism, physicality. I think the best thing about him is what he brings on passing downs. He's a dynamic screen target. And he's in Pass Pro, he's a blocker that can remove rushers from their feet. I like him better on tape than I do watching them on TV copy.

That makes sense. Yeah, sure. Like him better. He grew on me on all 22, but sorry to get you all. Another guy who, big time lacrosse player in high school. So he's, uh, Will Shipley's a good player. Just if not a great player, uh, or not a great player, should say, but he is a good player.

And then for Kentucky, Ray Davis, uh, who already declared for the draft and he'll be in the Shrine game, but he did say he would play in this game. He's had, he's got one of the best backstories in, uh, in this draft class. Just amazing that he's gotten to the NFL's doorstep, uh, to this point. But he had just a really good senior year that game against Florida might be the best running back tape in this cycle. What he did against Florida was remarkable, quick, controlled feet. Um, he, he has the vision so you can see a few plays ahead, a few moves ahead on the chess

board, what you always like. And then he can, uh, help you. out on passing downs too. So Ray Davis, I'm a big fan of, that'll be to me, because a lot of Clemson especially hit with a lot of opt-outs with, you know, Jeremy Trotter's out, Wiggins, Nate Wiggins is out, you know, quite a few for Clemson, but also for Kentucky. Andrew Phillips, the corner, I believe, is opted out. You know, they've got a few other ones, too. But to me, when that game, we'll be watching the running backs. That's something that to pay attention to. That's a great call. I, Kentucky's offensive.

transloids. Like you were watching Chris Rodriguez last year. It's like, oh, this is watching the Rams offense. This is great. Under center. Like, we got all the zone runs. It was great. No, I had Shipley as well.

And I wanted, I'm glad you mentioned him because it was like, like already said it. But it's, he has grown on me. I went from liking him to not so much liking him to back to liking him. But just because everything you said, I think he's a three down type of player. I think he's a great, great. He could be a very, very good two for a team that maybe had. a guy that's an early down guy that you want to spell and then using a pass and downs. But he has a role that's easy to fill in the, or that is, well, he can easily fill in the

NFL. Like a lot of teams can use a will shippily. Notre Dame, I think Blake Fisher's playing, I think. Is he? Okay. I think. I haven't seen, I've been trying to find something. I saw one that did not have him listed.

They had alt listed, of course, and several other Notre Dame players. But Fisher wasn't one of them. So if he is playing, that would be one, of course, because he's. He said such an up and down to year. He did opt out. He did opt out. Okay, so never mind. Take that one away.

But Shipley, of course, the guy I wanted to ask you, because I do not think he opted out, was T.J. Tampa from Iowa State corner? Like, what are your thoughts on T.J. Tampa? Because I saw his name. He did not look like he was opting out. I'm just curious what in your notes that you have on Tampa, which I think is perfect. He should be in a cover two defense. Yes.

No, he should be. No, no. It works great. It does with the name, but I think that's where he kind of fits back. because he can click, close, make plays. You know, he... Good eyes. Yes, because he recognizes route combinations

and is not afraid to come off his guy to go make a play. I believe he was the Oklahoma State tape. He made a game clinching interception in the final minutes. That's the game I watch, one of them. There you go. I mean, Cincinnati, he had an interception,

if I'm remembering correctly from tape. Cincinnati had one. Ohio, he had one. So he can make plays. Yeah, I'm a big T.J. Tampa fan. He is a good player who, I don't know if he's accepted a senior bowl or Shrine invite yet, but he definitely has both. I'd be shocked if he didn't.

So he's a game or a guy that I hope to see in one of those games. For Notre Dame Morgan State, because, yeah, you're right. Notre Dame is kind of decimated with, you know, no Sam Hartman, no Adraguestime, no Joel. It'll look a lot different. But Javante and Jean-Baptiste, the defensive end. This is a big opportunity for him in his final game. Ohio State transfer.

I like them a lot of Ohio State. I remember you talking about him. Right. He was just blocked in Columbus. And so he goes to Notre Dame. He starts for Notre Dame. He wasn't dominant this season, but he was a solid starter for the Irish. He makes plays versus the pass, versus the run.

He plays hard. He's got enough upfield quickness where he's going to affect the quarterback. Someone you have to at least be aware of. Then he has pursuit speed. So he can be a rotational, a solid. rotational player in the NFL. So that's definitely, even though the Irish, again, they're decimated by these opt-outs, someone who is playing and has a chance to make a name for himself in that one.

And then Missouri, Ohio State, this might have one of my favorite matchups of the entire bowl season in this one. Denzel Burke from Ohio State, I believe, is playing. He is not officially declared or anything like that yet. But seeing him go up against Luther Burton, the sophomore wide receiver for Missouri, who not draft eligible. So, but we'll be talking about him a lot. We're very aware.

Next year, yeah. So anytime we see these guys match up is going to be big. I mean, Burke is obviously, you know, we talked about a ton this year, had that great freshman year. Last year, the sophomore banged up wasn't quite what we expected this past year, a lot better. He can, you know, read and drive on throws.

I like this take a lot this year. I, yeah, yeah, I, I, he can flip and play deep. I mean, he has, I mean, if he was a little bit bigger, I think a better run defender. We'd be talking about him more as a first round type of guy, but he could still be top 50. I mean, he has a lot of ingredients that you like at the position. So waiting on a decision for him,

but anytime we get to see Burke against burden, that will be a fun one. In Missouri, you know, they've got two corners with Rake Straw and Abrams Drain. They're a top 10 team. They have talent. It's crazy. They do. They do.

And Missouri, I don't think, has the type of opt-out. outset, you know, a lot of these teams have had Darius Robinson, the defensive end, Foster the left tackle. So a lot of NFL talent on that Missouri team. The corners I'm interested in seeing, because even though Ohio State, I mean, Marvin Harrison Jr. is not going to play. I don't believe that Bucca's playing. A lot of Julian Fleming enter the transfer portal.

But Ohio State's so deep a receiver that, you know, Colonel Tate and some of these up and coming receivers. Next five star. Exactly. Right. So to see them how, you know, Rick Straw and Abram Strain, who I like, I don't, you know, they're more, the feedback I get from NFL scouts is third to fifth round on these two guys. So, you know, I think this is another game where they can, you know, improve upon that and help themselves.

You know, they're just, they're not big guys. They're, I don't think either are four, three athletes, but they're just quality players. You know, Rick Straw is really physical, especially in the first 10 yards. Abrams Strait just has a knack for timing up the catchpoint being disruptive. A lot of ball production on his resume. So this Ohio State Missouri game is going to be a little different when you see this Ohio State team especially. But Missouri's got a lot of guys that are the reason they were a top 10 team this year, a lot of those guys are still playing. So this should be an interesting one.

Yeah. No, that's great. I know the Ohio State kind of opt out stuff. I was trying to sift through. And it's like whoever's playing, of course, I'm going to be interested in Ohio State. We've talked about their lines a bunch, especially their defensive lines. So whoever plays, I'll be interested in Ohio State. I love that matchup.

They've been pretty quiet with the quarterback carousel. I mean, Kyle McCord going to Syracuse, I think. Kind of sums up what we've been saying all year on Kyle McCord. Like, and that's not throwing shade at Syracuse. It's just, you know, there's a reason a lot of these other teams, big time teams, weren't going after Kyle McCord. But, you know, what's. what's their answer going to be next year?

Is it going to be, I mean, Devin Brown, who, where's 33 for a quarterback? First thing you notice about him. Looks like James Lauren Knight is playing quarterback for Ohio State. It's really strange. But what does he look like in the bowl game? And this will kind of be his first audition to be the full-time starter next year, because Ohio State, unless they pull a rabbit out of their hat with one of these. Yeah, I mean, USC's, and their highly recruited quarterback just went in a transfer

portal, you know, there's always late movement. I mean, Justin Fields was a late movement type of guy when he transferred to Ohio State. So we'll see what Ryan Day has up his sleeve, if anything. Yeah. It's fascinating. It feels like it's school that had an answer at quarterback for years. It's been so loaded there. It's just so weird to talk about it.

Especially imagine being a receiver there being like, hey, why not, why now? Like, I want to play with Fields and Stroud. Right. I know. I mean, I don't. They always figure it out. And so I'm not too. Yeah, exactly.

So, I mean, even when they had J.T. Barrett and, you know, guys like that, they were still cranking out these receivers. So, yeah, they'll be just fine. Moving on to the next day. And I believe the last day of this bunch that we are talking about. And that is December 30th. That is Saturday. That is, there should be some NFL games on that day as well. But the, we have Ole Miss Penn State.

in the Peach Bowl, Auburn, Maryland, and the Music City Bowl, Georgia, Florida State, and the Orange Bowl, and Toledo, Wyoming, and the Arizona Bowl, which actually might have my favorite prospect of all this. But we have, we'll start out. I don't think he is. I was going to say, there is zero chance that guy is playing in this day. He played in that Mac championship game, and he's like, good. I got 13 games of tape. He doesn't need to play on the CW Network. He's good.

He's not. It's Wyoming. I'm sorry. He does not have to play in the Barstool Sports Bowl. So, yeah, apparently Fashondra is not opting out yet. I did not see it at least. He's not playing. Yeah.

Here. Spoiler alert. Olu Fashondra is not going to play. Okay. Thank you. What are we doing here? I bet you've done it up. People tune on the, tune into the game.

He'll be on the sideline in sweats, you know, rooting on his teammates. Chew and seeds. People, people, you know, at. me if I'm wrong, but Olu Foshanu will not play when they suit up for that ballgame. I like, okay. So of the guys that are playing, who are you excited about? I think there's one I think you're going to lean towards, but I'm curious what your

answer is here. Well, I mean, let's stick with that Penn State Ole Miss matchup. You know, the tight ends, Theo Johnson and Tyler Warren, I believe both are going to play in this one. Okay. I'm a mix on Theo, so I wasn't sure. I was like, I'm just trying to figure out of him out. I'm pretty confident.

I believe in his announcement that he was going pro. He said, I'm going to suit up one more time. I'm a positive. Same thing with Curtis Jacobs, the linebacker on the other side. I believe Johnny Dixon's opting out, and I hadn't heard anything on King. But still, this is a Penn State squad that's still got a lot of talent that will be playing. No Chop Robinson, but still plenty of guys to watch.

And for Ole Miss, you know, it's interesting because a lot of their guys that I scouted this year are going back. for next year. Trey Harris, the receiver, pre-scoring the tight end, Bentley at running back, I believe is a lien to go back. I don't think he's announced yet. One guy that will be in this draft,

Cedric Johnson, pass rusher. He's one to watch. He's really raw, but he's long and he's athletic. I mean, there's a lot to like about him as a developmental pass rusher.

So that Ole Miss Penn State matchup definitely won, we're tuning in for. And Ole Miss, apparently just crushing it in the transfer portal. So if they're getting all these guys back in the,

Right. Yeah, I know. Ole Miss can be a very interesting team next year, and they're ranked 11th right now. They always are interesting. Whether or not they ascend past interesting. Good or bad. They are interesting.

Yeah. Isn't that such a, have you been to an Ole Miss Pro Day? No. Okay. Oxford's one of one. I'll say that. I believe it. It's the one talking about going back in time that you go into downtown Oxford.

I remember my first time going there to do, oh, man. Tonsils Pro Day. Tonsal and then who's the receiver the Vikings drafted in the first round. Treadwell? Treadwell, who had a terrible pro day. I like the other Ole Miss receiver better, core. I liked him. Yeah.

Yeah. Who the Bengals drafted, I think. I liked him better than Treadwell. Nate, that was it the third or fourth round, yeah. Yeah, yeah. It wasn't early. It wasn't early. But I watched that Treadwell, and I watched, because I had to throw some of his routes, and it would have turned

warmups. And I saw him do a stop route and then they had the real quarterback throw. But then I watched him do a stop route. I was like, this guy's potential going on the first. He had no get off. I'm sorry. I don't want to bash him all these years later. But I remember that pro days stands on my brain.

The way it played out in the NFL, I mean, you were absolutely right because he just, he wasn't the athlete that, you needed to be. Good ball skills. I think that's why I was pretty good for receiver workouts because, you know, I'm not the best quarterback in the world. So you could really see a guy's ball skills. So I let those misplaced misplaced accuracy on some of those throws. Is Mary Marius Mims playing? That's why I was that. Yeah. So in that and we haven't heard from Jared Verst for for everybody. Right. We haven't heard from Jared Verse either who yeah is the ultimate team guy. But is you really going to

play? I don't I don't I don't know. But it would be awesome if we get some Jared verse for some Marius Mims matchups. That would be. I mean, teams expect Amarius Mims to declare. He's got single digit starts. He, you know, he injured this year. But I mean, obviously he was a top five player for me in the entire country back in August. So the talent is absolutely there. It's just, you know, is he going to play in this game?

Is he will he declared? So Amarius Mims were kind of waiting on. But yeah, Florida State in this one just hit hard by opt-outs. No Trey Benson, no Johnny Wilson. I don't believe we've heard anything official on Key on Quartz. Coleman, but I can't imagine he's going to play. Yeah. And then, yeah, we'll see about Jared Verst.

Again, he's the ultimate team guy. He came back for his last year. But I don't know if he's going to suit up for this one. And then for Georgia, Brock Bowers, who again, another ultimate team guy, he was noncommittal on the bowl game. He was kind of on the fence. So by the time this comes out and you're listening, Brock Bowers may have already made a decision.

But as of right now, on the still on the fence, Carson Beck, quarterback officially announced he's coming back. senior year and he will play in this game, which is what we expected, which is, you know, good for Georgia. Want to keep an eye on next year. All we did was get better this year. When my top 50, my updated top 50 came out in early November, he was, he made the cut. I mean, he was one that has a NFL starting skill set.

So, you know, he's, I don't know if he has maybe the elite physical traits that's going to ascend him into the top five pick, you know, number one overall. contender, but he is, he at least has the baseline for what you're looking for as an NFL starter. And that's going to get you drafted high. So definitely one to one. I mean, in Georgia, obviously, they always find the skill guys. No Brock Bowers next year, but they're always going to have the skill guys around them.

So Carson Beck could have another big year next year, be a Heisman contender, be someone we're talking about in first round mocks. Yeah, not, uh, no lad McConcly either. That's, that's, that's, yeah. Did he opt out? No, I'm safe for Beck next year. No old reliable there. But Beck, my kind of like one liner on him is he's a clean thrower.

It's like he, his mechanics are so repeatable. But he has some creativity to it. Yeah, he's a guy that just every time I watch him, I was like, hey, because I watched September, I was like, oh boy. And that as a season went along, but getting it done, he understands where to go with the ball. He understands what he is, which I like to, as far as risk taking. He understands, like you just said, maybe not the high, high end traits.

but he still can get away with enough. Yeah, I really like back the next year's quarterback class got super interesting the last couple of weeks. So it's going to be fascinating to keep an eye on. So I think that's it for this slate of bowl games, unless you have any more day? So we didn't talk about this before, but there are some games January 1st. Oh, yeah. I'm just seeing this on the schedule now. So Wisconsin, LSU, Iowa, Tennessee, Liberty, Oregon.

you know, no Jaden Daniels. I'm sure Malik neighbors and Brian Thomas are going to opt out. So a lot of these are going to be just destroyed by opt-outs. But I believe Bo Nix is going to play. So it's just kind of his, maybe his swan. I'm sure once he saw Liberty on the schedule too, he's like, all right, sure. You know, why not? Kind of be his final game.

Yeah, right, exactly. Go out and, I mean, he's already got, he already has so many records because he's been a fifth year player, just keep, you know, putting out of reach. Yeah. Yeah, so Bo Nix, maybe, you know, just because he's a guy that I struggle with as a prospect. Dude, I have no idea how to put him. Yeah, I think he can be, I mean, I've never been on the first round train that some people are with Bo Nix. And I've never received that type of feedback from Scouts that he's a first round player.

But some believe he can be an NFL starter. And so, you know, second round, third round, you know, we'll have to see on Bo Nix. but he is he's definitely an interesting one. Yeah, I've come around on a little bit, but I'm with you. I don't see him as a first rounder. I just, when he has to push the ball and some of the progression stuff, it's just not there for me.

And we've talked about several times. That offense was Taylor made perfectly for him as far as. Perfectly. Credit to the coaching stuff. Yeah. They do exactly what they were doing. And, yeah. Let him fire some scene balls, like throw a bunch of screens.

Like, yeah, it was perfect for him. So I struggled with him. thought this year was like under seven. It was so low. Average death of target on his throws. Just, you know, and that's, he had a few, you know, especially as a post, he's a really good post thrower. But it's just a lot of dink and dung, short, quick throws to set up the deep stuff. And I don't know.

I'm just not a big fan. Yeah, I, I've used this on another quarterback a few years ago. But I think it's the same with Nix. It's like, I like Nix until he has to hitch in the pocket. and then I'm like, you know, because you don't know where that ball's going to go or you know where his eyes are going to go. Both Washington games, you saw that. You know, when we were able to heat up the pocket and really make him think twice. They've messed with the coverages.

That was another thing I should talk about when we're talking about that game. It was just they messed with him post snap a lot. And it's like, I mean, that's what everyone in the NFL does. If he was a true junior, I'd be like, okay, you know, the reps senior that's played some of the most most games in FBS. starter history, that's where the worries come. So not negative. He can still make plays because he is so athletic and he has the arms. Good size. Yes.

Yeah. I mean, like just thinking about that Washington tape, there were a few plays where he has to scramble, get outside the pocket and, you know, somehow makes a play for a touchdown in the end zone, you know, to his tight end. But, you know, at the same time, it's, you can't live like that. It consistently in the NFL. I went from the pocket. Right. And, you know, a guy like Justin Fields were seeing that with him where he's like that touchdown he had to to commit against the Browns was so when he rolled to his left and fired to see avoided Miles Garrett and throw a seed on the move on the move to his left fantastic but his not his ability to

consistently win from the pocket and hit those throws on time it's it's his undoing and it's part of the reason they lost that game so yeah guys like that scare me shoot even what's going on with the Eagles right now everything just feels so out of whack because Because Hertz is not comfortable from the pocket right now. So he's it's one and done, true one and done. One, not even trying to get to two and then bail. And that way it's just inconsistencies. You're going to get big plays, like especially if you have a Fields or Hertz and some of those Eagles receivers.

But yeah, there's always just that lack of sustainability is kind of the term I go back to. And that's why you kind of want to, hey, you got to be able to nickel and die. You have to. Fields even just natural throwing motion limits him by default because he can't, you can't do quick. game with him. So it's like, yeah, he brings some stuff to the table, but he takes other things off. So, ah, that was, that was fun. I was like, oh, yeah, this is going to be a 20-minute show, and I do this every single week. And here we are at 50 minutes tapping out. Yep. But, no, thank you, everybody for joining us on Prospects to Prospects. Enjoy the Bull season.

Enjoy your holiday season. We will see you next time. We'll be talking about the college football playoff games, the final four. So we'll be talking about those and see you guys next time. This was the athletic football show's prospects to pro