It was an eventful week of college football filled with plenty of upsets, highlight reel plays and some game-winning drives. While some national games didn’t live up to the hype there were plenty of draft prospects who took over the stage and dominated. From Florida State to North Carolina there was plenty to love but things weren’t so cheery in UCLA.
Risers
Lamarcus Joyner - Free Safety, Florida State Seminoles
The Florida State-Clemson battle was expected to be a quarterback battle between two top-five teams that came down to the end. But the game was never close as the Seminoles exploded offensively and their defense continued to stay hot.
The playmaker for the Seminoles defense was Joyner and it just continues a trend of what Joyner has done this season. It was a masterful performance and an example for NFL scouts to show what he can do in the NFL. Joyner came down in the box off the blitz and wrecked havoc in the Tigers backfield and sacked Tajh Boyd. He ripped the ball out of Boyd’s hands and the ball was recovered by Mario Edwards Jr and returned for a touchdown. Joyner also made big plays in the secondary picking off a Boyd pass when Clemson was driving down the field and he returned it 15 yards. When he wasn’t causing turnovers he was wrapping up the ball carrier and stopping first downs as he finished the game with a season high eight solo tackles. You couldn’t ask for a better performance on a big stage as Joyner was the difference-maker for Florida State’s defense and is a big reason why they are the second best team in the BCS Rankings.
Eric Ebron - Tight End, North Carolina Tar Heels
It has been quite a year for the 2014 class with storylines all over the season. It’s all been highlighted with an Austin Seferian-Jenkins suspension, Colt Lyerla leaving Oregon and Jace Amaro stating he will return for his senior season. So the podium has been open to be this year’s top tight end prospect and it appears Ebron has captured the crown.
If you want evidence of just how good Ebron can be, go and watch what he did last week against the Miami Hurricanes. It may have been a loss for the Tar Heels but Ebron was sensational and unguardable for Miami’s defense. He hauled in eight receptions for 199 yards and a touchdown, with his biggest play coming on a short pass where he broke two tackles then sprinted past the rest of the defense for a big 71-yard touchdown. The Hurricanes knew that Ebron was North Carolina’s top weapon and they had to stop him but even with a game plan against him it didn’t work. It was Ebron’s second 100-yard game this season and third time this year he has had six or more receptions in a game. Ebron is clearly showing how much of a physical threat he already is as a receiver and he has even more room to grow. With questions surrounding the rest of the 2014 tight end class, Ebron has taken over as this year’s top tight end.
Brandin Cooks - Wide Receiver, Oregon State Beavers
The nation’s leading wide receiver finally finds his way on the risers list after another fantastic performance this past week against California. No receiver is on a bigger hot streak than Cooks and his draft stock has been soaring up the board.
Cooks came up big again this week against the Golden Bears hauling in 13 receptions for 232 yards and a touchdown. He also added two carries for 10 yards and a rushing touchdown, making it the second straight week he has scored a rushing and receiving touchdown. Cooks set a career-high in yardage with 232 which is impressive in itself, but even more remarkable was that this was his second 200-yard receiving game this season. Cooks has shown excellent ability to break away from coverage with his speed, he does an excellent job adjusting his body to catch any football thrown his way and he can line up anywhere on the field. Cooks is having one of the best starts to a season in recent memory and proving he should be one of the first wide receivers off the board.
Fallers
Vinnie Sunseri - Strong Safety, Alabama Crimson Tide
One of the sleepers who was emerging this year for Alabama and the 2014 draft class was Sunseri, but unfortunately his season came to an abrupt end on Saturday. Sunseri tore his ACL and now will face months of rehab before making a decision about his future.
Fortunately for Sunseri he has eligibility beyond this year and could return for his senior season with a chance to prove he is healthy and push himself back up in the draft discussion. Sunseri was the vocal leader for the Crimson Tide’s defense, and making big plays including two interceptions returned for touchdowns. He is a big reason why Alabama’s defense leads the country in points allowed with just 9.7 points per game allowed, and that includes a 49-42 victory over Texas A&M where Sunseri returned a Johnny Manziel interception for a touchdown. This year’s safety class faced plenty of questions outside of Sunseri’s teammate Ha Ha Clinton-Dix and would have provided Sunseri a chance to push himself up the rankings. Now he will have to spend the next several months rehabbing and hopefully he can come back healthy for the 2014 season.
Brett Hundley - Quarterback, UCLA Bruins
Hundley was one of the hot names for most of the season and there was plenty of debate between draftniks about who they would rather have between Marcus Mariota or Hundley. But after a miserable performance against Stanford this past week, the answer is now clearly Mariota.
Everyone knew this was going to be a tough test for the Bruins and Hundley but it was a major disappointment to see them score just 10 points. Stanford was allowing a modest 22.2 points points per game entering the week but did an excellent job shutting down the Bruins’ offense and never letting Hundley look deep. While Hundley threw the ball 39 times on the night, he completed just 24 of his attempts for a season low 61.5 completion percentage. The Bruins’ play calling was extremely conservative with a large percentage of Hundley’s throws going less than five yards. Hundley finished the night averaging just five yards per completion and a 34.7 QBR. Hundley finally threw a touchdown pass to begin the fourth quarter but it was outweighed by his two interceptions. This was not the type of performance you expect to see from a quarterback who was seen earlier in the year as a top-10 talent, and now there are questions about if Hundley should even enter the upcoming draft. Hundley may be better off staying another season with UCLA so he can have the offense open up more for him and we can see his arm strength and accuracy more.
Tajh Boyd - Quarterback, Clemson Tigers
This was the game where Boyd had a chance to shine for NFL scouts and college football fans, a primetime battle against the fifth ranked Seminoles and their outstanding defense. But four quarters later and it was Boyd’s worst start of his career.
Boyd was having a nice 2013 season, his Tigers were 6-0 and the third team in the country as they started their march to a potential BCS National Championship appearance. He was putting up great numbers with 15 touchdowns and just two interceptions. He completed 66.5 percent of his 185 pass attempts and really was showing improvement in his decision-making and ball placement. But all of that progress and shine has been clouded by an absolutely horrendous performance against Florida State. In a 51-14 blowout loss, Boyd completed just 17 of his 37 passing attempts while throwing two interceptions and losing the ball on a sack and having it returned for a touchdown. He threw for just 156 yards and a touchdown as Clemson’s offense failed to move the ball down the field and even when they were successful moving the chains there would just be a turnover to kill the momentum. Boyd wasn’t helped by a few miscommunications and drops but terrible decision-making and just weak throws were a big reason why Clemson was blown out. I still consider Boyd to be a potential starting quarterback in the NFL, but this performance is something scouts will look back on and his stock is certainly going to suffer.