Someday Seahawks: Week 6
This morning I got curious as to who the top FCS passer is in the country and the answer is Tim DeMorat of Fordham University. With 2,153 passing yards, DeMorat has 420 more passing yards than FBS leader Michael Penix, Jr., and DeMorat’s 25 touchdowns is six more than FBS leaders Drake Maye and Will Rogers.
DeMorat only has three interceptions on 199 attempts (a comparable number of passing attempts to the FBS leaders) and the fifth-year starter (yes this is his fifth year as the team’s starter thanks to NCAA’s mulligan on 2020) can also run a little bit. Maybe most in his favor is that the former 0-star prospect in the 2018 recruiting class is 6’4 with a strong arm, and he’s improved every year, developing into the top player in the Patriot League over the past two seasons after he was sacked 84 times in his first two campaigns, something he says helped him grow up a lot in short period of time. And now he could be a shoo-in to win the FCS’s version of the Heisman this year.
It will be a remarkable accomplishment just for DeMorat to get invited to a pro day where NFL scouts can evaluate him in 2023, so he’s not getting invited into QB Survivor just yet. But I like to keep tabs on as many interesting stories as possible.
Obviously DeMorat would be a perfect fit for The Underdogs and that’s who I want to spotlight this week, since they went 5-1 in their games in Week 5.
Grayson McCall, Coastal Carolina
I really had to hold myself back from writing a long breakdown of Grayson’s comeback effort against Georgia Southern this week. There just wasn’t enough time and I’m sure at least a few Seasiders could feel not only overwhelmed by my Grayson mentions, but feel that I’m not making it an even playing field by giving him so much attention. However, we are all allowed to have our favorites and I know this: Everyone of you who have started watching Coastal Carolina every week have thanked me for it!
Nothing can really capture the magic of watching last week’s game unfold without knowing the final outcome. But it’s still remarkable. The entire game is on YouTube, but I’ve queued this clip up to 12:09 remaining in the fourth quarter, when Coastal trailed 24-14. Have at it:
Jalon Daniels, Kansas
“I wasn’t the guy that they expected to win. But I went into everyday with the mentality that I have to prove something and that kept a chip on my shoulder.”
Here is a College Gameday feature on Jalon Daniels that was just posted on Saturday morning:
Daniels is tied with Dillon Gabriel for the eighth-best AY/A in the nation at 10.8. He has 11 touchdowns, one interception, and five rushing touchdowns with 335 yards on the ground. He may be the closest thing to a true “dual threat” in the country for the 2023 draft class because of his rushing prowess.
Dillon Gabriel, Oklahoma
Gabriel took a hard hit in Week 5 and he is out this week, replaced by Pitt transfer Davis Beville to get the start against Texas. Here is a feature from ESPN on whether Gabriel is the most impactful transfer in the Big 12 this year:
Gabriel has 11 touchdowns and no interceptions so far this season, on 133 attempts.
Sam Hartman, Wake Forest
Anyone who says I’m pulling for McCall and nobody else other than McCall is seriously underestimating how smart I’ll feel based on a number of other QB prospects in the country that nobody else was as high on going into the year, including Hartman. Trust me, there are at least a dozen QBs on the QB Survivor cast who I’m personally rooting for and pulling for, including pretty much all the options in The Underdog Tribe.
Here are highlights of Hartman’s 6-TD day against Clemson:
Cameron Ward, Washington State
I think Ward is the most intriguing QB prospect in the Pac-12. He’s the youngest quarterback eligible for the 2023 draft, he’s got the size, the arm strength, and the athleticism. He’s managed to transfer from FCS to a Power 5 program without much dropoff in his production so far, even if he is also suffering through a few growing pains: seven interceptions in five starts.
It doesn’t mean that Ward will end the season as the best prospect out of the Pac-12, he might need to return for another season in 2023, but definitely the most intriguing. Nobody expected him to be here when he was coming out of high school as a 0-star recruit.
Stetson Bennett, Georgia
Despite winning a national championship, and going for his second right now, Bennett may be the longest longshot in this group. How did he get to being the starting quarterback for the most talented roster in the country last season? Here’s a feature on Bennett before last season’s national championship:
Man I like all the underdogs. That’s kind of a Seahawky thing to do, I guess, given who the team has started at that position over the years.
Zorn, Krieg, Kitna, Hasselbeck, Wilson, Smith—that’s an underdog tribe right there
Since I am helping to put the stats together I get to see how the entire cast measures up to each other. The clear "top 3" by the stats we track are Stroud, Hooker, and McCall, and there isn't much light between the three of them. I have nicked McCall as "Moxy" just based on the comeback. Make sure you watch the tape!