by In recent years, my Six From Saturday notes have been included at the bottom of my Monday morning MMQB column. This year they will be published as a separate post each week. Here are my thoughts on this week in the college world, mostly geared towards what should be of interest to NFL fans.
Six from Saturday (or in this case, Monday): With TCU and Georgia up for the national title Monday night, I assembled a panel of three top evaluators who work primarily in college scouting to tell us what they’ll be looking for. for in the fight.
1) We’ve done this before, and it’s worth doing again: TCU isn’t Georgia, but talent-wise, it’s not the old Mountain West TCU either. I asked the evaluators how many guys each team has that will go in the top 100 in the draft. For Georgia, I got DT Jalen Carter, OT Broderick Jones, C Sedrick Van Pran, LB Nolan Smith (who’s out), TE Darnell Washington (who’s knocked up), CB Kelee Ringo, and potentially S Christopher Smith and RB Kenny McIntosh. For TCU, it’s WR Quentin Johnston, LG Steve Avila, DE Dylan Horton and RB Kendre Miller (who has been acquired). Now, the difference with a program like Georgia, of course, is its depth—the second wave of players who will later become draft picks, and non-draft-eligible stars (like Brock Bowers), and guys who aren’t. playing a lot yet who will grow into stars. Still, coming up with four TCU names to Georgia’s eight indicates the gap might not be quite as deep as you’d think.
Ringo is one of several players with a huge opportunity ahead of him on Monday night.
Jordan Prather/USA TODAY Sports
2) Because of that perception, you would normally think there would be a lot of players on the TCU side with something to prove against Georgia players. But we have one spot where it’s probably the other way around – with Ringo having a chance to put better tape out there than he has (there are a lot of teams that aren’t wild about him), and prove he’s more than just a freakish height/weight/speed guy. As one AFC executive put it, this should give Ringo a chance to “play a clean game against one of the top wide receivers in the draft. … Ringo has played like crap, but he’s so big and fast. On a time you have to justify it with more than all that speed and size.” On Ringo, an AFC college director adds, “I just don’t think he’s that good. He looks good, runs fast, he wants all the combine numbers and it’s great. But when it comes to covering people and being a consistent football player, the receiver [Johnston]is better than him.” Which means Ringo can prove anyone wrong, and make money on Monday night.
3) On the flip side, Carter — a likely top-three (or so) pick — should provide a similar test for TCU’s interior linemen, and especially Avila (who could sneak into the bottom of the first round) and C Alan Ali , who is a solid mid to late round prospect. “They’re good interiors, but they’re going up against guys now,” says our AFC college scouting director. “Carter can do pretty much whatever he wants, and Avila vs. Carter should be for Carter. Carter’s strengths are all. But Avila is a mauler, so it will be interesting to see him at the point of attack, in phone booths, to see if he can lock him down. Carter is so athletic, so explosive, he’s hard to block. But Avila is brave, he has a chance.”
4) Horton had four sacks against Michigan’s Joe Moore Award-winning line, and I’ve heard since then that he could—could– sneak into the bottom of the first round. I still think Day 2 is more likely, but he has a real chance to make a statement against Georgia’s future NFL tackles. “He was a monster against Michigan, then the game against Broderick [Jones] will be interesting, says another AFC boss. “He’s their best player in defense and I think this kid has to take over if they’re going to have a chance. He’s probably a second-round value … but he looked big and disruptive against a very good Michigan line, and this isn’t a great defensive draft at the top, so there’s a chance here for him to rise. “
5) Our scouts think both quarterbacks are going to be drafted. And there are plenty of similarities between the two, starting with the fact that TCU and Georgia tried to replace Max Duggan and Stetson Bennett, respectively, at points over the past few years. When I asked about a competition for Bennett, our first AFC executive quipped, “Senior quarterback at Liberty High? … He’s not big. He’s an athletic kid. He’s a gamer with feel and instincts and a good enough arm, no good. He might be Case Keenum, Colt McCoy, but he’s smaller than those guys.” And on Duggan, the boss continues, his floor would be like a long-term NFL backup. “The one thing you like about him, he’s athletic. He wants to run the ball, he’s tough, he knows when to throw it, the boss continues.” He’s a bit of a streaky passer. He gets hot and connects on seven in a row, and then he can miss four in a row. I think he started 0-for-3 in the Michigan game, and it goes like this: Oooh. But then he settled down. He has that versatility that he can pull off and he’s tough and has a good feel. He is smart. I think both of them are examples of strength and perseverance, which is why they are in these moments right now. They have had to deal with adversity in their careers.” And while we’re at it, there’s a fun, distinct difference between the two that I managed to pick up on. Duggan is seen as very serious, and very much a program guy. Bennett? Let’s just say his representative is like a guy who lives the life most of us would if we were in his position. He will have many memories from his time as the Georgia quarterback.
6) One thing that I think gets overlooked a bit, to wrap things up here: the job Kirby Smart has done managing superstar recruits that have come into his program. He has found a way to deal with big egos and expectations, as his old boss, Nick Saban, always did at Alabama. Carter and Ringo are two examples of guys who will be looked at hard from a character standpoint by NFL teams, with scouts knowing what kind of job Smart has done with it (and perhaps wondering if these guys will be as tractable in the NFL). “It’s not fatal character issues,” says our first AFC boss. “I’ve had people tell me that Ringo isn’t a bad boy, he just frustrates you. And Carter, I don’t know if he’s malicious, it’s nothing criminal, but he’s not easy to train.” And Smart has made it work, building a championship program by finding a way to handle top talent, and he deserves a lot of credit for that, with his second national title likely Monday night.
