College football Week 6: What happened and how does it impact 2022 NFL Draft?
McCall, Texas A&M, Walker III, and a whole lot more
The sixth week of the 2021 college season is completed and there was a lot going on from Thursday to Saturday. Things started off with Coastal Carolina QB Grayson McCall not only extending his own lead in many key passing categories, but TE Isaiah Likely had one of the best games for anyone at his position this season and by season’s end he could be a lock for the first round.
The week then basically concluded when Texas A&M upset Alabama, sending this year’s CFP into chaos … up until the point that the Tide climb back into the top-four and probably win another championship in January anyway.
Kentucky QB Will Levis and Arizona State DL Tyler Johnson were the offensive and defensive players of the week. Here’s what else happened in Week 6.
Five games of note
Michigan State 31, Rutgers 13
Michigan State RB Kenneth Walker III had his second 200-yard game of the season (third over 170) with 233 rushing and a touchdown against Rutgers in Week 6. Walker, a transfer from Wake Forest, now leads FBS with 913 rushing yards on 129 carries. He’s averaging 7.1 YPC but has only caught four passes for 30 yards. Walker has run from “afterthought” to one of the leading Heisman candidates and potentially a day two pick in the 2022 NFL Draft.
Let’s not leave other Spartans behind. WR Jalen Nailor caught five passes for 221 yards and three touchdowns against Rutgers. Before the season, Nailor wasn’t mentioned as one of Michigan State’s top-5 prospects. (Neither was Walker.) Nailor is 6’, 185 lbs, and he’s a former Nevada state sprinting champion, so he should get suitors. QB Payton Thorne threw for 339 yards and three touchdowns, improving his season numbers to 14 touchdowns against two interceptions with 11.2 AY/A. Barring an exceptional second half of the season, Thorne should return to school in 2022. S Xavier Henderson had seven tackles, including one TFL, and he’s a draft prospect as well.
Texas A&M 41, Alabama 38
A&M QB Zach Calzada isn’t building an NFL resume yet, but he had one of the best games against Alabama of any signal caller in this century. Calzada went 21/31 for 285 yard with three touchdowns and an interception in the upset win over the Tide. TE Jalen Wydermyer had the key pass interference penalty drawn against him and finished with three catches for 73 yards and a touchdown. RB Isaiah Spiller only had 46 yards on 17 carries, but caught four passes for 43 yards, proving where versatility in a back can matter when you face a stiff run defense. Senior DB Leon O’Neal, Jr. — there’s something about his name that makes me think he’s been in the NFL already, maybe I’m thinking about former Bengals CB Leon Hall — had a sack, a pass defended, and a fumble recovery. Draft him.
Future first round defensive tackle Demarvin Leal had seven tackles for A&M. Nobody has talked about DE Tyree Johnson with the draft, but he had two sacks against Alabama. Johnson might have been a seventh round pick in a weak 2021 class but a few more games like this one could solidify his position in the draft next year. Sophomore RB Devon Achane had a 96-yard kickoff return TD. Senior DL Michael Clemons had a sack and could be involved in next year’s draft process too. WR Ainias Smith has been called one of the “most versatile” players in college football and he had 85 yards and two touchdowns.
All told, how many 2022 draftees does A&M have? If you beat Alabama, you definitely get to make some noise in that regard. It seems like Leal, guard Kenyon Green, Wydermyer, and Spiller are all challenging for first round status. At least O’Neal, Johnson, Clemons, Smith should be looking to get their names called at some point. If only Alabama could get the NFL to sniff around their prospects …
Alabama JuCo transfer WR Jameson Williams might solidify his first round status soon. He had 10 catches for 146 yards and two touchdowns, at one point taking over the game for the Crimson Tide late in the fourth quarter. Williams had been slow between Week 1 (126 yards vs Miami) and now but did he prove to be dominant when needed? He did for one week against a very good team that beat Alabama. Williams almost prevented the loss by himself.
WR John Metchie has been way more disappointing, but he posted season highs with seven catches for 88 yards. Senior RB Brian Robinson, Jr. had 24 carries for 147 yards and four catches for 60 yards. Robinson now has 526 rushing yards (5.4 YPC) and 77 receiving yards on the season. LB Henry To’oto’o has been called one of the best players in the country — maybe a top-10 defensive player period — and the junior transfer from Tennessee had six tackles and a pass defended. DB Demarcco Hellams had an interception, his second of the season. While the Aggies have Green, Alabama has a top-10 offensive lineman also: OT Evan Neal could be the first or second overall pick, he’s that good. He most likely won’t go first, but in the right here, that’s where he’d go.
Some Alabama players listed at Mock Draft Database as draftees who I rarely, if ever talk about with their rank in parentheses: S Jordan Battle (29), CB Josh Jobe (60), TE Jahleel Billingsley (61). I will say that these rankings are outdated. Listing Metchie as the 38th-ranked prospect should serve as a clear example of that.
Georgia 34, Auburn 10
Georgia DT Jordan Davis had five tackles in a “handling” of the previously-18th ranked Tigers. Honestly, for a defense as amazing as Georgia’s, it’s kind of interesting that Davis is clearly the best player on the team and yet he’s not even a top-10 lock. This is still not a defense where I personally identify a lot of future NFL talent but that’s also because I’m not yet well versed enough in every college football player … still, I have become quite familiar with the 2022 prospects and Davis’s name is strangely the only one that has popped off on defense to me yet despite the fact that clearly Georgia has one of the best college defenses of recent memory.
Of course, there are other draft prospects at Georgia. Good ones! LB Nakobe Dean had five tackles and an interception. He could be a first round pick. DB Derion Kendrick had a tackle. WR George Pickens sat out with injury. RB Zamir White had 18 carries for 79 yards and 2 TD. LB Quay Walker had a sack and a TFL. This site lists up to 19 Georgia Bulldogs who could be drafted next year.
Georgia QB Stetson Bennett couldn’t be a draft prospect yet, but he’s averaging 13.2 AY/A with eight touchdowns and two interceptions when he’s taking over for J.T. Daniels. Bennett likely won’t ever be a draft prospect at 5’11, 190.
Not much to love from Auburn’s side.
Iowa 23, Penn State 20
No offensive weapon in this game had an outstanding day. Iowa WR Nico Ragaini had four catches for 73 yards and RB Tyler Goodson had 25 carries for 88 yards. Iowa C Tyler Linderbaum is in the running as 2022’s top center or interior lineman. There are some concerns that he is undersized, but his technique is sooooo good that scouts don’t seem to have many worries about it. Iowa DB Riley Moss was one of four players on the defense with an interception. Seems like Moss just shows up every single week. He leads the team with four picks, followed by DB Matt Hankins with three.
Iowa held Penn State WR Jahan Dotson to 48 yards on eight catches. NFL Mock Draft Database (now known as NFLMDD) lists OT Rasheed Walker as Penn State’s top prospect, slotted around 50th.
This is another one of those odd games between two talented programs that doesn’t seem to give us a ton of insight into next year’s draft despite the fact that both were ranked inside the top-5.
Oklahoma 55, Texas 48
Maybe if I had been following college football this closely during the 2019 recruiting cycle or certain games in 2020, I would also think that Spencer Rattler is “falling” in the draft process. But because I’ve only been closely tracking Rattler since the start of this year (including watching his 2020 film) I don’t see him “falling” at all. At what point was QB Spencer Rattler a “good” college quarterback? We’ve never really seen it. Having a good game or a good throw is far from being a good quarterback and Rattler was benched on Saturday, getting outplayed by true freshman Caleb Williams. Now Rattler could be in danger of not only not being a first round pick next year — he might need to transfer to another program just to attempt to build his stock to anything near what people thought it was a couple months ago.
Oklahoma RB Kennedy Brooks had 25 carries for 217 yards and two touchdowns. The junior rushed for over 1,000 yards in 2018 and 2019 and he’s now averaging 6.8 YPC on 79 attempts in 2021. He has no dual threat ability to speak of whatsoever, at least not in the Sooners offense. Does he have an NFL future? (More evidence that NFLMDD is outdated: Rattler at 17th.) WR Marvin Mims had five catches for 136 yards and two touchdowns. LB Nik Bonitto had 1.5 sacks and three QB hurries. DE Perrion Winfrey had one sack.
Could Texas win the national championship in 2022? QB Casey Thompson went 20/34 for 388 yards and five touchdowns; RB Bijan Robinson had 20 carries for 137 yards; WR Xavier Worthy had nine catches for 261 yards and two touchdowns. No kidding, Robinson and Worthy could be competing against each other for next year’s Heisman trophy, while Thompson is building one of the best Longhorns QB resumes of recent memory: he has 14 touchdowns and three interceptions with 11.3 AY/A and he will certainly be back as a senior next season.
One player looking to not return next year: LB DeMarvion Overshown is the highest-ranked 2022 prospect and he had a sack, an extra TFL, and two QB hurries on Saturday.
Quick 2022 prospect notes
Cincinnati QB Desmond Ridder went 22/30 for 259 yards with 3 TD in a 52-3 route of Temple. RB Jerome Ford had 149 rushing yards with 2 TD. CB Ahmad ‘Sauce’ Gardner didn’t stand out on the box score but nevertheless is a first round prospect — maybe because he rarely stands out on a box score.
Coastal Carolina QB Grayson McCall increased his country-leading stats by going 18/23 for 365 yards with 4 TD against Arkansas State. TE Isaiah Likely had eight catches for 232 yards and four touchdowns. RB Shermari Jones had 10 carries for 113 yards and a touchdown.
Ohio State WR Chris Olave had seven catches for 120 yards and 2 TD vs Maryland, while WR Garrett Wilson had five for 84 and 2 TD; we haven’t talked as much about the Buckeyes’ top two receivers — others in the country have stood out more — but Olave could still be the first WR drafted and Wilson won’t be far behind.
Maryland QB Taulia Tagovailoa went 28/39 for 279 yards with 2 TD, 2 INT vs Ohio State and I believe a lot of the good numbers came after Maryland was getting blown out.
Michigan DE Aidan Hutchinson, rising up boards from a late first round pick to maybe the top-10, had six tackles in a 32-29 win over Nebraska that keeps the Wolverines’ title hopes alive. DB Daxton Hill had an INT.
BYU RB Tyler Allgeier had 19 carries for 73 yards in 10th-ranked BYU’s loss to Boise State. WR Gunner Romney (Mitt is a distant relative, but Gunner’s brother is BYU’s starting QB) had four catches for 102 yards.
The rollercoaster continues for Stanford QB Tanner McKee: 27/45 for 356 yards, 1 TD, 3 INT in a loss to Arizona State. CB Kyu Blu Kelly had five tackles.
ASU QB Jayden Daniels went 14/23 for 175 yards with 76 rushing yards and 1 TD in the win over Stanford. RB Rachaad White had 13 carries for 96 yards. DE Tyler Johnson had two sacks.
Ole Miss QB Matt Corral stared down another highly-regarded defense/team on Saturday, beating Arkansas 52-51 on a failed two-point conversion attempt by Arkansas. Corral went 14/21 for 287 yards with 2 TD, also rushing for 94 yards and 2 TD. His season numbers are now 12 TD, 0 INT, 255 rushing yards, 8 more TD. That’s 20 touchdowns without an interception thrown. He is completing 69% of his passes for 12 AY/A and while there will be concerns about size (6’1, 205 lbs right now) and decision-making (14 interceptions last season), Corral’s just stacking games right now.
Corral was only the team’s third-leading rusher: RB Henry Parrish had 18 carries for 111 yards, RB Snoop Conner had 12 carries for 110 yards and 3 TD. WR Braylon Sanders had two catches for 127 yards and 1 TD. DB Keidron Smith had his second interception of the season.
Arkansas WR Treylon Burks had seven catches for 136 yards and 1 TD, again making his case to go in the top-20.
Notre Dame RB Kyren Williams had 19 carries for 74 yards and 1 TD, also catching 1 TD. S Kyle Hamilton had five tackles and 1 pass defended.
Virginia Tech LB Amare Barno had one sack and one QB hurry.
Kentucky RB Chris Rodriguez, Jr. had another banger game, rushing for 147 yards on 16 carries in a 42-21 route of LSU. Not many people seem to expect a first round RB in 2022 but there should be a few great 2021 college season resumes on the board to consider in the 25-65 range. Rodriguez has rushed for at least 120 yards in seven of his last 14 games. LB DeAndre Square had a sack.
Wake Forest QB Sam Hartman went 19/32 for 330 yards, 3 TD, 1 INT in an OT win over Syracuse. WR A.T. Berry had 137 yards and 3 TD, WR Jaquarii Roberson had nine catches for 135 yards.
Syracuse RB Sean Tucker had 26 carries for 153 yards and 2 TD. Tucker could be the top RB in the 2023 draft. QB Garrett Shrader led the Orange with 178 rushing yards on 29 carries, also throwing for two scores.
UNC QB Sam Howell wasn’t great, going 17/32 for 203 yards with 2 TD, 1 INT in a 35-25 to “surging” Florida State. Howell did rush for 108 yards on 11 attempts, but the NFL is still a passing league. WR Josh Downs had 121 yards on nine catches.
Liberty QB Malik Willis has gotten more and more recognition as a potential QB1 in 2022… Willis threw three interceptions in a 41-13 win over Middle Tennessee State. He did throw for two touchdowns and rush for 80 yards with another score, but we will need to review his three picks and what happened there.
Virginia QB Brennan Armstrong threw for 487 yards (on 60 passes) and had three touchdowns with two picks in a 34-33 win over Louisville. WR Ra’Shaun Henry had nine catches for 179 yards.
Duke RB Mataeo Durant toted it 43 times against Georgia Tech, gaining 152 rushing yards and a touchdown in the loss. WR Jake Bobo had five catches for 92 yards.
South Carolina LB Kingsley Enagbare had five tackles and a sack in a loss to Tennessee.
Tennessee QB Hendon Hooker went 17/23 for 225 yards, 3 TD, 0 INT, and 66 rushing yards with 1 TD in the win. Hooker made his first appearance on my QB rankings (not near the top-10 yet) last week.
Mizzou RB Tyler Badie had 17 carries for 217 yards against North Texas.
UTSA RB Sincere McCormick had 23 carries for 120 yards against Western Kentucky. WR De’Corian Clark had 160 yards and 3 TD.
Western Kentucky WR Jerreth Sterns, who had 17 catches last week, had 16 catches for 195 yards and two touchdowns against UTSA. Sterns now has 33 catches for almost 400 yards in the last two weeks. QB Bailey Zappe had 523 yards and five touchdowns.
Utah RB Tavion Thomas had 16 carries for 113 yards against USC. LB Devin Lloyd, maybe LB1 in the draft, had eight tackles, 1 TFL, and 1 PD. DE Mika Tafua had two sacks.
UCLA RB Zach Charbonnet was out-gained by teammate RB Brittain Brown. Charbonnet had 117 rushing yards but Brown had 12 carries for 146 yards in a win over Arizona. UCLA has a few 2022 o-line prospects, including OT Sean Rhyan.
Memphis WR Calvin Austin III had 13 catches for 200 yards in a loss to Tulsa.