Week 1 of the college football season is upon us, and the football world is ready. While having the NFL pre-season is kind of nice, football fans are ready for some meaningful football. While Week 1 of the college season doesn’t feature many high profile matchups, there are a couple I am interested in. With most of the top 25 teams playing lesser competition, the 2 games I will look at this week are going to be #3 Georgia at Vanderbilt and #11 Oregon vs #16 Auburn.
#3 Georgia at Vanderbilt
D’Andre Swift-RB Georgia
Georgia sent 3 wide receivers and a tight end to the draft in April, however, none of those 4 guys were high profile prospects by any means. Georgia still has plenty of talent to watch in this game with a star RB and arguable the number 1 fantasy prospect in the 2020 draft in D’Andre Swift. Swift ran for over 1,000 yards and scored 10 times last year on 163 carries (6.4 ypc) and added another 300 yards and 3 scores through the air. Swift is an every-down back whose game will translate to the next level. Another essential piece of data when looking at devy players is their dominator ranking, this is simply the percentage of the team’s yards and touchdowns that this player accounted for. At the running back position, the number to be considered a breakout season is 15%. Swift eclipsed this mark and accounted for over 20% of Georgia’s offense in 2018.
Zamir White-RB Georgia
Now if you thought I was only going to mention 1 RB from what has become knows as RB University, you were mistaken. Playing behind Swift is running back Zamir White. The common college football fan likely won’t recognize this name as he has yet to take a snap in a college game. White was highly recruited as the number 1 running back in the 2018 recruiting class according to the ESPN 300. As a Freshman, White tore his ACL in Spring training before we could ever see what he was capable of doing as a freshman. This led to him having a redshirt first season. White tore his opposite ACL in high school his senior year, so now there are many questions to be answered in regards to his health. If Zamir White shows that he is healthy, he is yet again a high profile running back with NFL measurables that could be elite at the next level.
Jake Fromm-QB Georgia
By this point in his college career, most fans know who Jake Fromm is. Fromm is in his Junior season now and will once again be looking to get Georgia into the playoffs. In his career, he has thrown for 54 touchdowns and opposed to 13 interceptions. Unfortunately, the film on Fromm is sort of limited with Georgia being very run-heavy. When watching his game, Fromm looks rather mediocre as he doesn’t have any standout physical traits. He has the average arm strength, fails to fell blindside pressure, and doesn’t make his way through his progression very well. That being said, Fromm does have very good leadership abilities and plenty of in-game experience. Look for Fromm to be drafted in Round 1 of 2020 by a QB needy team putting Fromm as a first-round pick in 2020 Superflex leagues.
Ke’Shawn Vaughn-RB Vanderbilt
Ke’Shawn Vaughn was once at a pace to be a college star and a high-level prospect heading into the pros. Vaughn started his career at the University of Illinois and broke out as a true freshman at the age of 18. What came next led to a spiraling next season under head coach Lovie Smith. Following 2016, Vaughn transferred to Vandy to finish out his college career. After sitting out 2017 due to NCAA rules many had forgotten about this young star. Then 2018 came. Vaughn ran for 1,250 yards and 12 scores on 157 carries (7.9 ypc). Vaughn profiles as an early-down back with not much natural receiving ability. This game will be a huge game for Vaughn to show how good he can truly be as he goes up against what is usually a highly ranked defense in Georgia.
#11 Oregon vs #16 Auburn
With only 1 game featuring 2 top 25 schools this week I figured it had to be included in this weeks devy games to watch. This game is being played in neutral territory at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, the home of the Dallas Cowboys. This game features a prolific QB at the University of Oregon against Auburn who hopes to get back to the top after some average years. Auburn was 3-5 in the conference last year which is not where Gus Malzahn wants this team. With a big win week 1, this team could become a viable threat to the SEC including Alabama and Georgia.
Justin Herbert-QB Oregon
If you were to ask me who my number 1 QB for the 2020 draft was, my answer at this moment would be Justin Herbert. Ask again in an hour and it may be Tua but that is beside the point. Herbert has a prolific arm and enough mobility to be a franchise QB in the NFL. One thing that I liked about Herbert is his competitiveness. He returned to Oregon in his senior season to try and lead this team back to being considered one of the best in the country. Another great thing about Herbert is he not only has the arm strength, but he also has great accuracy even when on the move. A lethal combination. When looking at the rest of Oregon’s offense there isn’t much to see in terms of NFL talent on the offensive side of the ball and he never has had much to speak of outside or Royce Freeman and rookie Dillon Mitchell. This makes his college numbers even more impressive. Through his Junior season, Herbert has accounted for over 7,000 yards, 63 TD and only 17 interceptions.
Auburn Offense
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While Auburn doesn’t have many guys that I am excited about for this coming 2020 draft, they do have some highly touted weapons. True freshman Bo Nix is starting at QB and is not NFL draft-eligible until 2021. As of right now, he does not seem to have the elite arm strength, but he is very athletic and has a high football IQ. These things can make up for arm strength, which could still come as he is still only 18. Next at Auburn is running back JaTarvious Whitlow. Boobie Whitlow had a breakout season in 2018 with a dominator rating of 18%. However, Whitlow wasn’t a running back in high school and came from a small school. What I am excited to see from the redshirt sophomore is how his second year of being a tailback in the daunting SEC looks. Lastly, we have receiver Seth Williams. Williams is a guy that I like. He is a big-bodied receiver that accounted for 534 yards and 5 TD as a true freshman. Like most large receivers, Williams biggest question mark is his route running ability, but if he can win the 50/50 balls and be great vertically he will have a spot on an NFL roster.
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