Who Caught My Eye Week 2

September 15, 2015

Thanks to late Summer weather here in Florida I’m running late with all of my post-weekend reports. I can’t even begin to tell you how many significant game interruptions I encountered, going all the way back to Thursday’s NFL opener, because serious heavy rain and thunderstorms knocked out my Direct TV coverage all weekend long. Clearly, from a viewing interruption perspective cable is a more reliable option down here compared to relying on satellite reception. But on we go.

DEVONTAE BOOKER/RB/UTAH 5’11/212 #23
BOOKER may be the best all-around RB prospect in the 2015 senior class. He’s a solidly built power runner, who also shows some shiftiness and enough speed to get around the corner. He runs with power and acceleration between the tackles. He also displays excellent receiving skills and of course run-after-catch ability. He put on a marvelous display of all his talents in the big in-state rivalry game with UTAH STATE last weekend. He also was asked to carry a heavier load than usual because of an injury to starting QB WILSON, who we profiled last week. On the ground BOOKER carried 31 times for 120 yards ad 1 TD. He also grabbed 2 catches for 13 more yards. In Week One he did most of his damage against MICHIGAN as a receiver. He will also block in the pocket. BOOKER rushed for over 1500 yards in 2014 and caught 43 balls. He’s probably not a First Round prospect, but should go in Round 2 to a team in need of an all-around RB.

IKE HARRIS/OT/EAST CAROLINA 6’7/304 #69
HARRIS is a good college football player who has the body to interest NFL scouts. He is not the niftiest of guys and takes a while to get moving. He plays LT for the Pirates, but I would project a move to the RT slot at the next level. He moves his feet pretty well in his back-pedal, but has a tendency to get his upper body back ahead of this feet, thus rendering himself a bit off balance and making him susceptible to a strong bull rush. That happened several times against Florida and he was walked right back to his QB. He also plays a bit high, which is typical for a lot of guys over 6’5. He could use a bit more upper body strength to deliver a stronger hand punch. But most of what I saw looks potentially fixable with fundamental technical pro coaching and a strong work ethic on his part. The Combine and All-Star action will go a long way to determining if he is draftable or not.

JORDAN JENKINS/DE/OLB/GERGIA 6’3/252 #59
JENKINS might have entered the 2015 Draft and been a Top 100 player, but he’s back at UGA and looking for a big season. Of note, the talented senior was voted the team’s most improved player in this Springs practices. He’s a high energy guy with a devastating combination of quickness and power. He goes around and through blockers to spend a great deal of his time in opponent’s backfield. He ate the VANDY OL up all day. His biggest asset in this game seemed to be his explosive nature at the snap of the ball. JENKINS recorded 6 tackles Saturday which included 2 Sacks. He is a Captain this season. A big question will become whether he can play standing up at the next level. If not he’s a pass-rush specialist, which lowers his overall draft value. He recorded 70 tackles and 5 sacks as a junior and looks to be ready to surpass those numbers this season. Please keep in mind the fact that UGA relies on a 2-deep DL rotation that limits snaps even for the stars.

NICK MARTIN/OC/NOTRE DAME 6’5/301 #72
This will be short, but not sweet, since MARTIN was completely outplayed by UVA DT/DAVID DEAN. MARTIN looked long and awkward trying to get to DEAN’s low pad level. I even saw him literally whiff on a couple of second level blocks. He does not look strong enough for NFL play in the box right now. He’s still going to be considered a pro prospect, but this MARTIN is sure as hell no ZACH. He’ll get more looks and if I see him play better a couple of times I’ll give him another review. Everybody has a bad day or two, and to my eyes this clearly was a poor day for MARTIN.

BRIAN POOLE/CB/FLORIDA 5’10/208 #24
We all know that a guy named HARGREAVES is the star of the Gators secondary, but he has a history of being nicked up as he was in the ECU game. But FLORIDA never seems to be short of other solid defenders in their secondary and POOLE is another example of that. He’s a tough guy who packs a punch with his weight on that shorter frame. He is always around the play ad an active participant in run support, as evidenced by an alert fumble recovery in the 2nd Quarter of the game. Last year the GATORS coaches were not hesitant to send him on run blitzes and he responded with 3 TFL and 2 QBH.
He had 1 more INT than his heralded teammate last season. Lots of GATOR DB get drafted and POOLE has a chance to be selected next April. NFL teams will also see him as a solid potential addition to their Special Teams units.

DAK PRESCOTT/QB/MISSISSIPPI STATE 6’2/230 #15
By the end of Sept. last season PRESCOTT was a leading Heisman candidate as he led his team to an undefeated month. They lost a close one to LSU last weekend, but please bear in mind that DAK has all new starters around him on Offense. He got warmed up in the second half and led a rousing comeback that just fell short. Against one of the best secondaries in College Football PRESCOTT finished the game going 34/52 (65%) for 335 yards and 1 YTD pass. Despite being harassed in the pocket to the point where he showed -19 yards rushing he also scored one more TD with his legs. DAK is going to be a highly scrutinized prospect over the next 7 months as NFL teams try to figure out if he can adapt his game to the NFL or if he’s the next TIM TEBOW.

CANAAN SEVERIN/WR/VIRGINIA 6’2/215 #9
It looked for all the world like VIRGINIA was going to upset NOTRE DAME in their home opener last weekend. But the Irish rallied for the win. One of the primary reasons for the “almost” upset was the work of SEVERIN as the teams leading receiver, with 11 catches for 153 yards. I don’t have the official stats on it, but I counted 4 of his catches being for key first downs. And more that a few of his grabs were of contested balls by the ND Defense. Catching in a crowd does not seem to concern him, which could be huge in this day and age where more WR don’t like crowds. Virginia coaches have been high in their praise of his work ethic and potential on a team that has been pretty much QB-challenged during his stay in Charlottesville. SEVERIN led the team with a paltry 42 catches in 2014 and could top that number by the end of Sept as he and new QB/MATT JOHNS develop more game day chemistry. His size and clutch catch tendencies has gotten scouts’ attention already. A big senior season could bode well for him in pro eyes. Speed and quickness numbers in the post-season could be huge in his final evaluation.

JAYLON SMITH/LB/NOTRE DAME/JR 6’2/235 #9
SMITH has been a “star” since arriving in South Bend and has started every game he has been eligible for. This season the coaching staff is moving him around to enhance his ability ti impact the ball. He already looks better in dropping into Zone coverage than a lot of guys at the NFL level. He is aggressive to the ball and topped 100 tackles as a Soph. His biggest need for improvement would seem to be getting off of blockers more quickly. He lost coverage on a UVA TD catch because he was tied up and failed to get free. In the 3rd quarter on a 3rd down play in the Red Zone he blew up a screen pass for no gain, by playing right through a block for the tackle. On the game he was credited with 11 tackles, which included 2.5 sacks. He is the clear leader of a very talented Defense, which may now have to carry the Irish with the loss of their starting QB for the year. It would be a shock if this young man isn’t playing in his final season of college football and doesn’t come out ranked as a Top 15 2016 NFL Draft prospect.

TRA’DAVIOUS WHITE/CB/LSU/JR 5’11/191 #16
This young man has been starting since 2 games into his freshman season at LSU, which some scouts now refer to as DB-U(niversity. He has the perfect combination of speed and quickness needed to be a press cover Corner at the next level. His man got behind him a couple of times against MS State, but he displayed that CB required memory loss and showed no fear blanketing his man on the next play. He’s a willing tackler and and plays a bit beyond his size. Against State in the big win he was credited with 5 solo tackles, 1 assist and 3 PD. Based on recent history it would seem rather doubtful he returns to LSU for another season. He’s a significantly more pro-ready Corner already than JALEN COLLINS who was drafted at Pick 42 this year by the FALCONS. WHITE had 2 INT in 2014. If he can increase that this season, he could be blazing hot as a 2016 Draft prospect. Enjoy him while you can LSU fans.

CHRIS WORMLEY/DE/MICHIGAN #43 6’5/301
I almost included WORMLEY in my write-ups last week, but he just missed the cut. After watching him have another fine game in the Wolverines powerful win in the Big House last weekend I could not help but bring his name up for inclusion this week. He’s a wonderful looking athlete who they move around to take advantage of his length and athleticism, but I can’t help but envision him as a 5-Technique DE in an NFL 3-4 scheme. He’s not a quick-twitch edge rusher, but gets to the ball and disrupts the pocket. Against the Beavers he was credited with 6 tackles, with 3 of them TFL, including 1 sack. When I watch him run around the field, assignment sure and aware of play going on around him it reminds me of AARON SMITH, who had an excellent pro career with the STEELERS for over a decade. At the very least, I see WORMLEY as an early Day 3 Draft Pick. If he blows things up at a Star Game and the Combine he could push himself into the Top 100. A side note: no relation to the famous Lowly Worm of children’s books.