Sat Nov. 17th NOON/ET FOX PITTSBURGH (6-4) by 5 @ WAKE FOREST (5-5) After a slow start to the season, PITT has rallied and is already Bowl eligible, and Wake is looking for that last W to join them. I don’t think it comes this weekend though. The Panthers have been rolling, and look to have found their… Read More »
AUSTIN BRYANT #7 DE 6’5/265 CLEMSON BRYANT is the final piece in the work of art that is the Clemson DL, for me to thumbnail. I still think this is the finest front 4 that I have ever seen in college football during my 60 years of watching games. BRYANT is the long, lean edge protector opposite FERRELL.… Read More »
Week 11 was pretty quiet at the top of the rankings, but to me once out of the Top 10 there was significant upheaval. With only two full weeks left for most teams in FBS action, everyone should be on the alert for a few upsets, and watching your favorite players in the Heisman race. 1) ALABAMA 10-0… Read More »
Always a bit scary to me when I see double digits show up behind the word Week… on any of these football reports. Plus it gets a bit frustrating trying to scout the prospects when so many are out, or not playing at peak efficiency, because of injuries. And this is certainly one of those years. So, I… Read More »
ANDRE DILLARD #60 OT 6’5/305 WASHINGTON STATE Once again Mad Scientist MIKE LEACH has his team achieving things that few of us projected from them last Summer. And without doubt, some of their success is indeed due to the creativity of LEACH and his staff, but let’s also acknowledge that they do find talented players and develop them… Read More »
JOHNATHAN ABRAM #38 SS 6’0/210 MISSISSIPPI STATE The Bulldogs roster, during the DAN MULLEN era in Starkville, became a home for a steady stream of JC players from around MS and AL. ABRAM came to State from the JUCO ranks after one failed season at Georgia. In 2017, he started 7 games and recorded 71 tackles for State.… Read More »
BEAU BENZSCHAWEL #66 OG 6’6/320 Wisconsin Yes, the Badgers laid an egg against Michigan, but much of the discredit for that goes on a way too conservative game plan from HC PAUL CHRYST, and a very bad performance from uneven QB ALEX HORNIBROOK, in this observer”s opinion. It’s hard for an O-Line to look its best when their… Read More »
KRIS BOYD #2 CB 6’0/196 TEXAS The CB positions have been a big strength for the Longhorns most of this decade. The leader of the pack for them this season is BOYD. BOYD is not the glamour guy that HOLTON HILL was last year, or that DEVANTE DAVIS is turning into this season for the Longhorns. But he… Read More »
The schedule keeps rolling along with some interesting matchups for the first weekend of October. For more than a few teams, another Loss and they are pretty much out of the running for a New Years Bowl slot, even if they manage to run the table in the second half of their schedule. So some of these 1-2… Read More »
JAKE BAILEY #14 P 6’2/202 STANFORD 2018 was a veritable bonanza year for Rookie kicking and punting prospects on NFL Training Camp rosters. And more than a few of them made the 53-man roster cut-downs. Any team with a big need going forward on their Special Teams better get lucky and/or risk a fairly early Pick for a… Read More »
And so the chaos begins in earnest for the 2018 College Football season. ARMY takes OKLAHOMA into OT, in Norman, before the thin gray line breaks. STANFORD comes from well behind to beat the Ducks on the road. KELLY BRYANT loses his starting job at Clemson, and is leaving school. The biggest bad news is that top NFL… Read More »
As time goes by, I often realize it is flying at warp speed. This weekend marks game 4 for most colleges, which means their regular season is 1/3 done. Say what?! The number of quality games picks up a bit this week, but many conference schedules don’t get into full swing ’til next week. By the way an… Read More »
I have been perusing NFL rosters since the day after Labor Day. In reality those 53-man rosters, in addition to Reserve lists, are the most significant numbers to evaluate how good recruiting was by the 3 main Star Games last January. I did an initial summary after the actual 2018 Draft to indicate how many players were Drafted… Read More »
The Week 3 game schedule was a bit weak, as many teams prepped for their pending Conference schedules with cup-cake tune ups. Then again there were more than enough solid matchups to view, with pro prospect status in mind. So once again let me share with you some thumb-nail sketches of players Who Caught My Eye! SQALLY CANADA… Read More »
I have to keep reminding myself to try to temper early season player thumbnails because overall play suffers a bit the first couple of weeks of the season, since college has no pre-season games… thank God. So in general I try to avoid QB evaluations this early. But as you will see below I have made an exception,… Read More »
Members of the 2018 Rookie Class continue to shine, if not dominate this pre-season. MARCUS DAVENPORT/DE/Saints made his Saints debut and though he did not dominate play he held his own, and certainly displayed once again his freakish athleticism. From the Saints perspective I have to believe they are hoping/expecting that DAVENPORT will be rolling at full tilt… Read More »
Week Two of the full pre-season was concluded by a game on Monday Night Football on ESPN, that was actually played on… wait for it… Monday Night. Go figure! Watching the ‘SKINS game the other day it struck me that given the talent on their roster right now, and the fact that ALEX SMITH/QB is new to DC,… Read More »
Just so we don’t get bogged down by semantics of any sort, I realize to some this was Week Two of the pre-season. But to me a work-week night single game at the Hall of Fame is not Week 1. Not to be an ‘I told you so’, but I mentioned on multiple occasions that the 2018 Draft… Read More »
Football is back and all teams are in their Training Camps around the NFL. By next week we will be looking forward to weekly full slates of pre-season games. To yours truly, one of the fascinating watches over the next month is the performance and emergence of undrafted Rookies. With the emergence of Practice Squads as a serious… Read More »
If you cherish the NFL Draft process like we do here at the GBN Report then you never tire of hearing more about the January College All-Star venues. Now that I have wrapped up all 32 team Draft Reviews, and prior to the bulk of the League teams opening their Training Camps around the 25th of July, I… Read More »
I jus got past my birthday and Wedding Anniversary last week to wake up this morning to the realization that the first NFL training Camp of the 2018 season is scheduled to open up today when the RAVENS welcome in their Rookies. They will also become the first team to bring in their veterans on the 18th. The… Read More »
I chose to finish my team Draft Reviews with the RAVENS as a mini (very mini) tribute to retiring GM OZZIE NEWSOME for whom 2018 was his final Draft effort as Captain of the good ship RAVENS. NEWSOME became a favorite of then Owner ART MODELL during his playing days as a TE for the Cleveland Browns. NEWSOME… Read More »
Good news for PATRIOTS fans. The team actually had a Draft this year picking 9 players. More good news. Little Bill traded around a bit, as is his way, and got a couple extra Picks for 2019 in the process. The question now is whether or not it’s enough, or is it a case of too little, too… Read More »
I find two items worth remembering as you look at this draft effort by the TEXANS. You must remember that the reason the team doesn’t pick until Round 3 is because of the trade to move up in 2017 to draft DeSHAUN WATSON/QB. Prior to his knee injury WATSON was off to a fantastic start to the 2017… Read More »
The FALCONS have been on a very nice roll since the hiring of DAN QUINN as Head Coach. Despite losing their Super Bowl team OC KYLE SHANAHAN, before last season, the team scrambled their way into the Play-Offs in good measure thanks to their 4-2 divisional record. The NFC South has become one of the toughest divisions in… Read More »
