QBs on parade at busy bowl day … The bowl season just kicked off on Friday, but already Saturday will be one of the busiest days on the post-season college schedule with a full half dozen games on the docket. And while it is early in the bowl season, there are what should be some surprisingly good games on Saturday including a couple featuring two of the better QBs in the country. Liberty’s Malik Willis (#7, 6-1, 215) who will lead his Flames against Eastern Michigan in the Lendtree Bowl (5:45 PM ET; ESPN) late Saturday afternoon is a legit first-round prospect for the upcoming draft. And the day kicks off with an interesting match-up in the Boca Raton Bowl (11 AM ET; ESPN) between 8-5 Western Kentucky and 10-win Appalachian State in a game which features WKU QB Bailey Zappe (#4, 6-1, 220) who led the country in passing with over 5,500 yards this fall, 500 more than anyone else in FBS. Along the way, Zappe completed just under 70% of his passes including 56 for scores with 11 picks. For the record, we’ll see Zappe again as he’s been invited to the Senior Bowl. Zappe throws to a talented group of receivers led by junior WR Jerreth Sterns (#8, 5-9, 195), the second leading receiver in the country who had 137 receptions for over 1,700 yards and 14 scores, while rangy LB DeAngelo Malone (#10, 6-4, 240) leads the Hilltoppers defense. And Zappe, Sterns and company will be challenged by App State which has one of the better CB pairings in the country in Steven Jones (#6, 5-9, 180) and Shaun Jolly (#3, 5-9, 175), while ILB D’Marco Jackson (#52, 6-0, 230) is also headed to the Senior Bowl.
For the record, Saturday’s other bowl games include UTEP (7-5) v Fresno State (9-3) in the New Mexico Bowl (2:15 PM ET; ESPN); UAB (8-4) v BYU (10-2) in the Independence Bowl (3:30 PM ET; ABC); Oregon State (7-5) v Utah State (10-3) in the LA Bowl (7:30 PM ET; ABC); and Louisiana (12-1) v Marshall (7-5) in the New Orleans Bowl (9:15 PM ET; ESPN). The BYU/UAB matchup in the Independence is probably worth a look to check BYU junior RB Tyler Allgeier (#25, 5-10, 220) who was 8th in the country in rushing this past fall with over 1,400 yards and 20 TDs. Pro scouts will also likely check out rangy UAB junior DE Alex Wright (#16, 6-7, 270) who had 7 sacks this fall and if nothing else looks the part!
