Running back Ameer Abdullah rescued Nebraska from a possible upset last weekend (Photo: journalstar.com)
DraftBrowns.com Staff Writer: Justin Higdon
Week Two of the college football season began last Thursday with Arizona visiting Texas-San Antonio, and few could have guessed that it would turn out to be the best matchup until well into Saturday afternoon. The weekend’s early slate presented a perfect opportunity for me to grab a late breakfast and take a leisurely stroll with my wife (an easy way to score brownie points during a long football season), and I still settled in with enough time to watch Nebraska avoid a huge upset at the hands of McNeese State. I eventually watched the game in its entirety a few days later, and this week’s notes will kickoff with the player who saved the Cornhusker’s bacon that day…
1. Ameer Abdullah RB Nebraska
Abdullah is just south of 200 pounds, but he’s shown to be a tough inside runner. On Saturday McNeese had him bottled up for most of the game, and he finished with just 54 yards on 17 carries against the FCS defense. Abdullah has speed to turn the corner, and is quick and shifty in the open field, but he isn’t big or strong enough to break tackles in the backfield, where the Cowboys’ defenders seemed to have an open invitation at times last weekend. The senior running back still managed to run for one short touchdown, and, with time running down he proved why he was the best player on the field. Abdullah plucked the ball out of the air in the right flat, stopped on a dime and stepped back from one tackle, ran through another tackler, and showed breakaway speed to sprint to the end zone for a 58-yard touchdown. He’s a fun guy to watch – a little, big man who’s elusive in space and not shy around contact. But I’m relatively certain that he is destined for a time share in the NFL. That’s really nothing new, as more and more teams opt for committee backfields, but it will impact Abdullah’s draft status. He is a weapon in a good NFL offense, but he isn’t the weapon.
2. Leonard Williams DT USC
In draft circles, Oregon quarterback Marcus Mariota is the early favorite to be chosen first overall. But should the NFL opt for a defensive player as it did this past offseason, Williams is considered a viable candidate. On Saturday leading up to USC’s game against Stanford, Williams was a game time decision thanks to an ankle injury, and reportedly didn’t look good in warmups. Then, on the game’s first play he forced a false start penalty – a sign of things to come – and he continued to be a force thoughout the contest. The big lineman chased down receiver Ty Montgomery on a bad snap out of the wild cat, stuffed a number of runs near the line of scrimmage, and finished the game with 11 tackles. For having a bum ankle, Williams barely seemed to miss a beat, and with under a minute to play in a close game he got pressure right up the gut for a crucial sack. I don’t think Williams will be selected first overall next spring, but he certainly looked like a top five pick, and after Saturday’s performance, nobody is going to question whether he has the toughness and desire to match his ability.
3. Nelson Agholor WR USC
Williams’ teammate on the offensive side of the ball, junior receiver Agholor, is guaranteed to start arguments whenever he enters the NFL Draft. Listed at 6’1” and 190 pounds, he doesn’t have the size that I typically look for in top receiver prospects, and he’s also known for the occasional drop. Last weekend he started by pulling down a catch at the right sideline and getting both feet down in bounds. He routinely found soft spots in zone coverage, showed patience as a runner and return man, and demonstrated that he can both make defenders miss in space, and take on contact at the end of runs. True to form, Agholor dropped an easy one that would have gone for a first down, double caught one out of bounds when he appeared to worry about his foot placement, and was unable to come up with a low ball from quarterback Cody Kessler. Agholor finished the day with nine catches for 91 yards, and a long of 29. It was a perfect performance to satisfy his fans and fuel his critics, and not many players are capable of both on the same afternoon. Agholor may truly be a unique talent after all.
Quick Hits
4. In Arizona’s win over UTSA last Thursday, I tuned in to watch Wildcats’ senior receiver Austin Hill. After a monster 2012 season in which he caught 81 passes for 1364 yards and 11 touchdowns, Hill tore his ACL and was forced to miss the following year. Back for 2014, he caught three passes for 110 yards against UNLV in Arizona’s opener, but was held to just two catches for nine yards last week. Hill missed a couple of catchable passes, was overthrown in the end zone, and was otherwise held in check by a surprisingly (to me, anyway) formidable UTSA secondary. He was ultimately overshadowed by teammate Cayleb Jones, a Texas transfer who finished with four catches for 143 yards and long touchdown. Jones is only a redshirt sophomore, but at 6’3” and over 200 pounds, he’s a player to watch going forward.
5. As for UTSA, I didn’t really expect to see NFL prospects on their side of the ball, so I was pleasantly surprised with a couple of Roadrunners: defensive back Triston Wade and guard Scott Inskeep. Wade broke up two passes in the end zone, made a number of strong, open field tackles, and even downed a punt inside the five yard line. Despite a thin build, he looked like a legitimate late round or priority free agent prospect. Inskeep had started 33 games heading into his senior season, and saw action at left guard against the Wildcats. On run plays he was able to chip men at the line of scrimmage before heading out and blocking at the second level. Inskeep also showed some strength anchoring in pass protection, and turning his man outside on passing and running downs. He looked fairly athletic, and should get a look in a rookie minicamp next spring at the very least.
6. Last week I wrote about Wisconsin running back Melvin Gordon’s lack of involvement in the passing game; particularly the fact that he’d caught only three passes in 32 games. Last weekend, he more than doubled his career total with four receptions (for 22 yards). So Gordon can catch, but what about the fact that he ran for just 38 yards on 17 carries (2.2 yards per attempt) against FCS Western Illinois? The Leathernecks clearly geared up to stop the run, and every opponent will continue to do likewise against Wisconsin until the Badgers can prove they can pass consistently. So while the run game was ugly, it really was nice to see Gordon get those catches.
7. LSU redshirt sophomore Travin Dural has caught six passes for a staggering 291 yards (48.5 yards per reception!) and four touchdowns through two games. This past week he was involved in a car accident, and reportedly suffered minor injuries. His status for this weekend is up in the air. Here’s hoping the young man can return quickly and continue his ridiculous pace.
8. Lastly this week, Utah State quarterback Chuckie Keeton is a player I saw get off to a hot start last year before his season was derailed by an ACL injury. He apparently hasn’t recovered. The Aggies beat FCS Idaho State last weekend, but Keeton was an abysmal 13 for 30 passing with an interception against a program that has a 6-30 record since 2011. Again, this is an awful FCS football team we’re talking about, and the senior QB struggled mightily. Keeton has completed fewer than 50% of his passes through two weeks, has averaged four yards per attempt, and has one TD against three picks. An undersized prospect from the Mountain West coming off a serious injury, Keeton will need to significantly step up his play if he hopes to be drafted.
