Category Archives: Bowl previews/recaps

2021 Reese’s Senior Bowl Photo Gallery/Practice Notes: American Team, Day 2

We spotlight a hard-charging safety, two hybrid defensive line prospects, an underrated SEC wideout and a couple of intriguing tight ends in our breakdown of the American team’s Day 2 practice at the 2021 Reese’s Senior Bowl.

2021 Reese’s Senior Bowl Photo Gallery/Practice Notes: American Team, Day 1

There were several players who stood out during Day 1 of the American team practices at the 2021 Reese’s Senior Bowl. We go inside a few plays and give some of the notes from our film review in our photo gallery breakdown.

2020 Boca Raton Bowl, UCF vs. BYU, in-game report: STOCK WATCH

2021 NFL Draft prospect Zach Wilson’s 425-yard, five-touchdown performance (3 PASS, 2 RUSH) led the day -and rightfully so- and now we take a look at some of the other pro prospects from BYU’s 49-23 victory over the UCF Knights in the 2020 Boca Raton Bowl.

STOCK UP:

95 Khyris Tonga
6’4 321 DT-Senior
BYU

Tonga’s stat line will never jump off the screen. In today’s NFL, the splash interior defensive line prospects typically are able to work to half a man for quick penetration. This is not Tonga’s game. Where he does flash in the passing game revolves around his timing to cloud passing lanes.

He posted a pass breakup in this contest and recorded three in the team’s final four games of 2020. He finished his career with 12 pass deflections. The former rugby star is strong, runs well in a straight line and projects as a zero-technique in three-man fronts.

STEADY:

5 Dax Milne
6’0 189 WR-Junior
BYU

Milne has been a model of consistency all season for the Cougars and this game was no different. There were several games this season where he flashed down the field capability in terms of high-pointing the football (see Houston ’20). The former walk-on uses deception and a quick-footed style to fool defensive backs. It is a big reason he was the team’s second-leading receiver on third downs. One of his better patterns is the stutter-and-go comeback route (see Western Kentucky ’20), but there have been occasions where he’s made deft one-hand grabs from his quarterback down the field in contested situations (TD vs. Sails, USF ’19). Milne recently declared for the 2021 NFL Draft and he could be the program’s first receiver picked since Austin Collie in 2008 (Indianapolis Colts, 4th Round, 127th overall).

67 Brady Christensen
6’6 300 LT-Junior
BYU

For the most part, Christensen has been steady. There are some occasions where players get the best of him due to a questionable anchor (see Boyles, USF ’19; Wiley, UTSA ’20). In those instances, he has even been knocked to the ground. Mobility and foot quickness, however, make him a viable option to hear his name called this spring after recently declaring for the 2021 NFL Draft. In this contest, he was adept at baiting the opponent up the field, particularly on QB Zach Wilson’s quarterback draw for a touchdown in the first quarter. Christiensen is also agile as a pulling option on the perimeter (1st QTR/0:25, Boca Raton ’20). Can he long-arm the opponent when quick-setting (2nd QTR/5:11, Boca Raton ’20)?

2 Otis Anderson
5’11 174 RB-Ret-Senior
UCF

After not playing against USF, Anderson was solid in what may have been his last collegiate game (16 carries, 73 yards). He does have the option of returning for one more season. The former wide receiver finishes with over 90 career receptions and a healthy six yards per carry average.

Anderson (pictured in the slot in the 2017 AAC Championship game) has rushed for 2,187 yards (6.1 YPC), caught 91 passes for another 1,025 yards and averaged 12.3 yards per punt return. Along the way he has crossed the paint for 27 total touchdowns in four seasons.

An adept punt returner who could carve out a niche in that role, he has more than one tool in his skill-set. His foot speed will likely determine whether he can sneak into an NFL training camp.

FUTURE WATCH:

83 Isaac Rex
6’6 247 TE-Redshirt Freshman
BYU

As the season has gone on, Rex continued to work the seams both in the field and the Red Zone. He scored two or more touchdowns in five of the team’s final seven contests. The team will line him up one-on-one for back-shoulder fades (Western Kentucky ’20, 2nd QTR/0:21). And just think what this offense would have looked like had NFL prospect Matt Bushman been available all season. Versus UCF, Rex led the team with five receptions for 96 yards and two touchdowns. One of his touchdowns came on a flea-flicker where he was left wide open down the right sidelines.

The former San Clemente High School (Calif.) product was a basketball recruit and part of the 2017 recruiting class. He has already served a mission in Samoa for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. Is the future now?

2020 Myrtle Beach Bowl, in-game report: Appalachian State vs. North Texas

The Mountaineers rolled the Mean Green in the inaugural 2020 Myrtle Beach Bowl by a score of 56-28. We take a look at several prospects that we’ve had our eye on this season.

Appalachian State Mountaineers

6 Camerun Peoples
6’2 202 RB-Sophomore

For Peoples it was all about getting downhill over the course of the last year. In 2019, he missed most of the season with a knee injury. How would he return in 2020? The results were a bit up-and-down, as he put the ball on the turf four times (fumbles). In the 2020 Myrtle Beach Bowl, the game MVP displayed a build speed stride that often outpaced the angles of North Texas’ defense. His upright running style is offset by his quick one-cut ability. He scored on an outside zone late in the second quarter, displaying very good straight-line speed. Continued flexibility gains are in order for the redshirt sophomore.

12 Zac Thomas
6’1 210 QB-Senior

Thomas came into the season as perhaps the Sun Belt’s most ballyhooed quarterback, but his final stanza ended on a bit of a sour note. He struggled with decision-making in the Coastal Carolina contest and -despite a bounce back performance against Troy- ended the final month with the ball largely out of his hands. His impact as a running threat gradually faded over the final month of the year.

70 Cooper Hodges
6’4 295 RT-Sophomore

Hodges works his hands on the outside lanes. On Peoples’ 64-yard touchdown run near the end of the second quarter the sophomore finished a knockdown block by simply running his feet through the long arm of the defensive end. His hinge blocks on the backside of run away are technique-sound. He is a player to keep an eye on moving forward.

51 John “Baer” Hunter
6’3 295 RG-Senior

Hunter’s name is appropriate because he runs down the opposition. Hunter won to the spot versus North Texas DT Dion Novil on a reach block and then he flipped his hips to cut him off on the team’s outside zone run schemes (on more than one occasion). The former defensive lineman displays good hip torque on contact. He possesses good vision to pick up linebackers running through his gap control on run action away. The questions on Hunter revolve around length and whether he can transition into the center spot.

9 Demetrius Taylor
6’1 295 DL-Senior

Taylor posted one quarterback hurry and just two tackles in this contest. Taylor’s impact can largely go unnoticed until it doesn’t. He plays bully ball on the edge and has been one of the stronger players in the conference dating back to 2017. He finished his career with 35.5 tackles for losses and at least part of his emergence began with current Kentucky defensive line coach and former CFL standout Anwar Stewart (https://journalnow.com/sports/college/asu/app-states-demetrius-taylor-has-the-talent-to-make-a-big-impact-his-position-coach/article_7bdadc68-9943-5133-bc25-f7bfcb73f097.html).

North Texas Mean Green

North Texas DT Dion Novil (No. 97 pictured) finished his career with 28 tackles for losses.

97 Dion Novil
6’4 330 NT-Senior

This was a game that Novil needed to put a stamp on what had been a productive senior campaign, but he was reached and scooped by Appalachian State RG John “Bear” Hunter on Peoples’ long touchdown run near the end of the second quarter. His inactivity in this game was evidenced by a final line that included zero tackles. He was moved off of the ball versus double teams due to a tendency of playing on his toes (3rd QTR/0:21). Perhaps more disconcerting was the fact that he was unable to adjust his game versus the Mountaineers angle blocking schemes.

Austin Trammell WR-Ret Rice, 2021 NFL Draft

DN SNAPSHOT

Trammell has averaged 28.5 yds/KR through two games for the Owls in 2020 to go along with five receiving touchdowns. In 2018, he posted a 27.4 yd/avg on kickoff returns and posted a 9.3 yd/avg on punt returns in 2019. In addition, he has posted back-to-back 60-catch seasons for the team (2018-19).

Rice wide receiver/returner Austin Trammell may rank as quicker than fast, but he is efficient and strong with the ball in his hands. The former Klein High School (TX.) product broke his shin as a senior at the prep level, but his durability concerns have not shown up at the collegiate level. In fact, he has yet to miss a game for the Owls. Versus Middle Tennessee in 2020, he had a rare muffed punt near the end of the third quarter (1:53 mark).

This belies his down-to-down consistency in the return aspect of his game. Trammell catches kickoffs coming forward, which often allows him to get on top of kick coverage units when the team uses double teams. His shiftiness nearly allowed him to score on a 34-yard punt return versus Wake Forest in 2019.

As a receiver, he is capable of executing on the post-corner-post pattern and is fluid on stop routes outside the numbers. His footwork allows him to be effective on option routes in the slot. He understands how to work the leverage points of defensive backs. Last season, Trammell averaged 13.2 yards per reception on third downs. In the Wake Forest contest (2019) referenced earlier, he did drop an out route from the No. 2 slot position. There is also some slight stiffness in the lower half.

Trammell is known for his backflips around the Rice program (https://twitter.com/RiceFootball/status/1324833265702871042) but his coaches agree that his overall impact has moved the team forward.

While at Klein HS (Tex.), Trammell set the school record for stolen bases as a member of the team’s baseball squad. He has been both a three-time C-USA Honor Roll member and All-C-USA performer.

“He is a role model for everything we want our program to be,” said former UNC-Central head coach and current Rice offensive coordinator Jerry Mack back in 2019.

We feel his playing style carries similarities to former New York Jets wide receiver Wayne Chrebet, who entered the NFL as a lightly-regarded undrafted prospect out of the now-defunct Hofstra football program. Chrebet finished his Jets career with 580 receptions for 7,365 yards and 41 touchdowns.

Through just two games in 2020, Trammell has already set a career-high in touchdown receptions (5) and is currently averaging 21.9 yards per reception.

2019 Franklin American Mortgage Music City Bowl Gallery

First-year Louisville Cardinals (8-5) head coach Scott Satterfield led the team to a 38-28 victory over the Mississippi State Bulldogs in the 2019 Franklin American Music City Bowl. Despite moving on prior to last year’s New Orleans Bowl as head coach of the Appalachian State Mountaineers, Satterfield has now led teams to four consecutive bowl victories. Led by redshirt sophomore signal-caller Micale Cunningham’s Music City Bowl MVP performance (350 total yards, 2 TDs), the Cardinals amassed over 500 yards (510) of total offense.

Louisville cruised to its first bowl victory since the last time they were in Nashville (2015 Music City Bowl). During the 2015 Music City Bowl , game MVP Lamar Jackson accounted for 453 total yards (4 TDs). The 2019 Franklin American Mortgage Music Bowl MVP this time was redshirt sophomore quarterback Micale Cunningham, who totaled 379 yards (2 TDs).

2019 Playstation Fiesta Bowl Gallery

Clemson sophomore quarterback Trevor Lawrence accounted for 366 total yards and three touchdowns in leading the Tigers back from a 16-point deficit to defeat the Ohio State Buckeyes 29-23 in the 2019 Playstation Fiesta Bowl. The game MVP got a lot of assistance from ACC Offensive Player of the Year Travis Etienne, who chipped in with 150 all-purpose yards and three scores in the comeback effort.

2019 SDCCU Holiday Bowl Photo Gallery

Iowa’s Ihmir Smith-Marsette took his second kickoff return of the season to the house and scored touchdowns three different ways in the team’s 49-24 victory over the USC Trojans in the 2019 SDCCU Holiday Bowl. Along with Holiday Bowl Defensive MVP A.J. Epenesa’s 2.5 quarterback sacks, the Hawkeyes went on a 21-0 run to end the contest.

The Hawkeyes used a 21-0 run to extend away from the USC Trojans 49-24 in the 2019 SDCCU Holiday Bowl.

2019 Mitsubishi Motors Las Vegas Bowl Photo Gallery

Washington head coach Chris Petersen ended his career with a resounding 38-7 victory over his former team, the Boise State Broncos, in the 2019 Mitsubishi Motors Las Vegas Bowl. Junior quarterback Jacob Eason passed for 210 yards and one touchdown while fellow junior running back Salvon Ahmed added two rushing scores. Junior defensive back Elijah Molden took home game MVP honors with nine tackles, one forced fumble and a 31-yard interception return.

2019 East-West Shrine Practices, Day 2, 1-15-19: Gallery/Recap

In what proved to be a competitive day for both the East and West squads, DraftNasty dove even deeper into the action. Find out which players either continued to make an impact or stood out for the first time on Day 2 of 2019 East-West Shrine practices.