Friday, December 21st bowl preview

December 20, 2018

FLORIDA INTERNATIONAL (8-4) vs TOLEDO (7-5); Bahamas Bowl; 12:30 PM ET; ESPN … Hey if you are an 8-4 C-USA team or a 7-5 MAC squad you could do worse than having to play your bowl in the Bahamas. Not sure how much beach time the players are actually going to get, but at least it ain’t snowing. Not a bad gig for pro scouts either, although the actual game doesn’t offer much in the way of draft prospects. Indeed, Toledo WR Cody Thompson (#25, 6-1, 210) is likely the only senior from either team with the potential to be selected in the later rounds, although several other veteran Rockets could get some free agent consideration including DE Tuzar Skipper (#99, 6-3, 245), FS Josh Teachey (#8, 5-11, 195), along with offensive linemen Sami Rassen (#67, 6-3, 320), Yazeed Atariwa (#78, 6-3, 315) and Brock Ruble (#71, 6-6, 330). Same story for FIU OG Jordan Budwig (#66, 6-3, 315), OLB Edwin Freeman (#5, 6-0, 250) and P Stone Wilson (#6, 5-10, 180). Also keep an eye on juniors Sage Lewis (#3, 6-0, 240), a productive ILB who had 126 tackles this past season, and electric Toledo WR/KR Diontae Johnson (#3, 5-11, 185).

WESTERN MICHIGAN (7-5) vs BYU (6-6); Famous Idaho Potato Bowl; Boise: 4 PM ET; ESPN … While FIU and Toledo bask in 80F temps in the Bahamas, BYU and Western Michigan will be playing in 40F weather conditions in Boise in the Potato Bowl which I guess is what you get when you are coming off 6-6 and 7-5 type seasons. It could be a cool day for pro scouts as, as with so many of these early bowl games, there aren’t many legit draft prospects in action. In a perfect world, BYU would have had one of the better all-around DEs in the country in CorbinKaufusi, but he’s out for the year with a knee injury after he rang up 8.5 sacks thru the 10 games he did play. Cougars’ OT Austin Hoyt (#71, 6-7, 315), though, could draw some free agent interest as might ILB Sione Takitaki (#16, 6-0, 230). WMU is even thinner than BYU, but does have a quality C in John Keenoy (#52, 6-2, 300), a three-time all-conference honoree. The Broncos also feature a pretty good 1-2 combo at RB in junior Levante Bellamy (#5, 5-9, 185) and Jamauri Bogan (#32, 5-7, 190), although neither is very big.