College football weekend notes

September 12, 2016

Put me back in coach … Perhaps the biggest news, at least for NFL scouts, on what was about as quiet a weekend on the college football schedule on one could imagine, was that star LSU RB Len Fournette did not play in Saturday’s 34-13 victory against FCS Jacksonville State because of an ankle injury. It was in fact the first game that Fournette has missed in his 3 seasons at LSU; it also snapped a streak of 19 consecutive starts for Fournette who is considered to be a potential top 5 prospect for the 2017 draft. Fournette rushed for 138 yards on 23 carries in LSU’s season-opening loss to 16-14 loss to Wisconsin, but reinjured his left ankle, which he originally hurt in mid-August  in a scrimmage during fall camp, on his final carry against the Badgers. The injury is not believed to be serious and Fournette is expected to be back when the Tigers host Mississippi State to open their SEC campaign on Saturday. What makes it all a little unsettling is that ankle injuries have a way of hanging around. In an unrelated LSU story, the Tigers replaced ineffective Brandon Harris at QB against Jacksonville State with junior transfer Danny Etling, a one-time starter at Purdue. LSU head coach Les Miles, though, has declined to name a starter for this weekend, although it would likely be a major upset if it is not Etling.

Meanwhile, star Houston QB Greg Ward also did not play this past weekend in the Cougars’ 42-0 win over FCS Lamar because of an injury to his throw shoulder suffered in the team’s huge opening week win over Oklahoma. Ward is expected back in the lineup when Houston travels to Cincinnati to play a key early season AAC game on Thursday evening.

As noted earlier, there weren’t many – well any to be truthful – big games on the college football sked last weekend, but that gave the opportunity for some lesser known players to grab a little of the national spotlight. And nobody was grabbier than diminutive San Diego State scatback Donnel Pumphrey. Pumphrey exploded for 281 yards on 29 carries and three scores in the Aztecs’ dramatic 45-40 victory over California on the Pac-12. In the process, Pumphrey passed some guy named Marshall Faulk to become the Aztecs’ all-time leading rusher. Pumphrey still isn’t considered to be among this year’s elite RB class, but NFL scouts are certainly paying attention. Pumphrey isn’t all that big – he’s generously listed as 5-9, 180 by the school – but he as quick, instinctive and elusive as they come. Plus as a former state silver medallist in the 100M he’s got that extra gear. For good measure, he’s also the team’s second leading receiver.

While his size limitations will likely keep Pumphrey out of this year’s elite RB crew, another west coast RB who is picking up steam in that category is Oregon junior Royce Freeman, who more than one team rates as the 2nd best back on the board for this year’s draft behind LSU’s Len Fournette. The 5-10, 225-pound Freeman for 207 yards and two touchdowns on 21 carries in the Ducks’ win over Virginia. For the year, Freeman is averaging over 9 yards per carry thru two games.

Coming up: For those disappointed by last weekend’s college fare we have two words: just wait! Coming up on Saturday we have Florida State at Louisville, Alabama at Ole Miss, Michigan State at Notre Dame, Ohio State at Oklahoma and Southern Cal at Stanford. Get your clickers handy!!

Condolences: Everyone here at the GBN wants to pass along our condolences to the family, friends and teammates of sophomore Army CB Brandon Jackson who was killed in a single car accident over the weekend. While not necessarily a top pro prospect he sounds like he was a great kid and who was training for a higher calling than the NFL.