Bubada

The Tennessee Titans place WR K.J. Simpson 6-2 180 R Utah [Speed] [0] 73 on IR. He suffered a severe wrist fracture in pre-season week 4 and is out for 12 weeks (eligible to be back week 13 of regular season).

Completely agree with this list. Don't think I would change anything. In this offseason someone asked me where I would put Graham and Sample all-time and I'm pretty sure I said I'd put them both between Smallwood and Harden.

Best: Alexander Cassidy (USM) Worst: Francesco Griffiths (MRSH)

Since not everyone follows C-USA football, I thought it would be a good idea to introduce the starting QBs around the conference so that there is some familiarity when looking at C-USA box scores. In alphabetical order by team: QB Chris Billings 6-2 213 Sr Edisto (Cordova SC) 5.0 of 5.0 [Scrambling] Career Stats: 36 starts, 6-30 record, 7982 yards, 59 TD-34 INT, 120.2 QBR, 553 rush yds, 3 rush TD Summary: Billings was a top croot coming out in 2019. He was ranked the #10 croot in the country. After a battle against Clemson that lasted the season, Billings chose to go to Charlotte. With Charlotte spending all their resources on Billings, he has never had talent around him to work with. His offensive line has never been able to protect him, resulting in a ridiculous 11 fumble season as a sophomore. Many thought he would transfer after this disastrous season but Billings stick it out and is heading into his fourth season as the 49ers starting quarterback. Billings began to show some improvements last season throwing 24 TD to 6 INT but still struggled as he has never completed more than 60% of his passes. This is Billings' last chance to prove himself to NFLHC scouts. QB Desmond Fraley 6-2 217 (So) Godby (Tallahassee FL) 3.0 of 4.5 [Scrambling] Career Stats: None Summary: Part of the great recruiting class that coach randye brought in during his one season as coach of the Owls, Fraley was one of the headliners of the class. Fraley is taking over after 4-year starting QB Gregory Crowder graduated. He will be one of the younger starting QBs in the conference. With new coach bugspit1 very recently leaving the team, it will be a tough start to Fraley's career. However, the Owls look to be the most talented team in the C-USA East and will only get better as randye's class grows older in the next couple seasons. QB Gavin Copeland 6-4 193 Sr Mt. Pleasant (Providence RI) 3.5 of 3.5 [Scrambling] Career Stats: 39 starts, 17-22 record, 6986 yards, 39 TD-30 INT, 125.4 QBR, 1028 rush yds, 12 rush TD Summary: It was a surprise when Copeland committed to the Panthers back in 2019. The battle came down to the wire between UCONN and FIU and the Rhode Island native decided to take his talents to South Beach. After leading the Panthers to winning the C-USA East last season, Copeland was named the 2nd Team All C-USA Quarterback behind Eric McLean. Crowder has drastically improved since starting as a freshman, having gone from throwing 10 TD-15 INT to 16 TD-3 INT while adding 9 TDs on the ground last season. This will be Copeland's last hurrah as he looks to take the Panthers back to the title game behind his dual threat attack. QB Khalil Simpkins 6-0 223 (So) Central Catholic (Morgan City LA) 3.5 of 4.0 [Scrambling] Career Stats: 12 starts, 1-11 record, 2519 yards, 14 TD-16 INT, 96.9 QBR, 169 rush yds, 1 rush TD Summary: Simpkins committed early in the process to in-state Louisiana Tech and quickly became the starter as a redshirt freshman. The Bulldogs actually won their first game of the season against SEC opponent Ole Miss...due to a forfeit after it was revealed that Ole Miss played an ineligible player. The Bulldogs lost the rest of the games last season and Simpkins struggled to put any points on the board. He is improved this season but as the Bulldogs are still without a head coach and without weapons around him, the chances for Simpkins to succeed are slim. QB Francesco Griffiths 6-3 237 (Jr) Princeton (Princeton WV) 3.0 of 3.5 [Scrambling] Career Stats: None Summary: Griffiths has been patiently waiting for his chance to start for his favorite childhood team. A lot has changed since Griffiths committed to the Thundering Herd in 2019. The teams has hired and let go of four different coaches. Marshall was coming off back-to-back division titles. Now, they are coming off a 1-11 season. Griffiths has a lot of work to do and not much to work with. It's a good thing he's 237 pounds because he's likely going to take a beating this season. QB Tim Pritchard 6-0 199 (Sr) Dale County (City, AL) 4.0 of 4.0 [Pocket] Career Stats: 36 starts, 6-30 record, 7858 yards, 54 TD-43 INT, 114.3 QBR Summary: There are not a lot of reasons to watch a MTSU football game. The team has won 8 games in their 5 year history. But Pritchard gives at least one reason to pay attention. The Blue Raiders put a lot of trust into Pritchard as a freshman and let him throw it 48 times per game which resulted in a 1-11 season and 22 INTS fo Pritchard. Now with a more balanced offense, Pritchard improved to a 23 TD-9 INT statline last season. Pritchard has become a game manager (who loses) with the emergence of RB Gregory Crosby. Pritchard has the chance to break the career interception record of 56 set by Josh Beckett. The Blue Raiders better appreciate Pritchard though as the future looks a lot dimmer. QB Elias Noble 6-5 214 (Jr) La Marque (La Marque TX) 4.0 of 4.0 [Scrambling] Career Stats: 24 starts, 7-17 record, 4857 yards, 35 TD-29 INT, 123.5 QBR, 595 rush yards, 4 rush TD Summary: Noble has started the last two seasons for the Mean Green after redshirting behind the disappointing Kamari Terry. Noble did not have much help on the offense last season but received a big care package in the offseason when North Texas landed the #1 JUCO RB Gray Stewart. With Stewart becoming the focus of the offense, it opens up the field for Noble. Noble does have some running ability, the Noble and Stewart tandem may be a lot of fun to watch. QB Jaden Harrell 6-4 232 (Jr) Orangeburg-Wilkinson (Orangeburg SC) 3.5 of 3.5 [Scrambling] Career Stats: None Summary: The Monarchs got lucky after losing 4-year starter Dylan Hamlin this past season. Clemson QB Jaden Harrell decided to transfer to Old Dominion. Harrell was recruited by Clemson and South Carolina and decided on Clemson late in the process. After seeing his opportunity to start dwindle, Harrell made the move to ODU and this will be his first season as the starter. Hamlin struggled early in his career but put together a pretty successful senior season that led to the Monarchs first bowl win. Hopefully Harrell can pick up where Hamlin left off. QB Martin Hudson 6-3 201 Jr South Grand Prarie (TX) 4.0 of 4.0 [Pocket] Career Stats: None Summary: Martin Hudson will not be Eric McLean. He won't have to be Eric McLean. The Owls are changing the offensive gameplan and hoping to allow Hudson to be a game manager and allow the playmakers around him to make the plays. The whole team won't rely on his play like the McLean era. Hudson will have some of the top WRs in the country to throw to in Biletnikoff Award winner Deontray Clay, WR Darius Watkins, and TE Jordan Cunningham. Those outside the C-USA may want to pay attention to Hudson as backup QBs Benjamin Yates and Damian Dixon may replace him and cause Hudson to transfer next season. QB Alexander Cassidy 5-11 197 (Sr) Huntsville (Huntsville, AL) 4.5 of 4.5 [Pocket] Career Stats: 39 starts, 24-15 record, 8443 yards, 76 TD-26 INT, 146.8 QBR Summary: Cassidy is expected to be the top quarterback in the conference this season. The records back up this prediction. He has a 76 TD-26 INT statline during his 3 seasons as a starter. He's very efficient and protects the ball. Cassidy has options to throw to in WR Samuel Gray, WR Afasa Ponifasio, and Mackey Award winner TE Jeremiah Kendrick. Southern Miss has one of the strongest teams in the conference this season and with Cassidy leading them, they could stop Rice's streak as C-USA champions. Cassidy has hopes of making it in the NFLHC and will likely be a mid-late round pick. QB Corey Mays 6-4 195 (Jr) Blinn College (Brenham TX) 4.0 of 4.0 [Scrambling] Career Stats: None Summary: Mays has had an interesting path to UAB. He was recruited in college by Houston, UTSA, and UTEP and chose to sign with Houston. After redshirting his freshman season, Mays was 4th on the depth chart behind current Houston starting QB Omar Workman. Mays decided to transfer to a junior college team, Blinn College in Texas. After one season at JUCO, Mays made the jump back to FBS, landing at UAB. UAB had a hard decision to make on who the starter would be this season. Elijah Currie-Madison has started the past three seasons for the Blazers and had a 21 TD-4 INT performance last season. Right now, Mays is listed as the starter but Currie-Madison may make an appearance if Mays doesn't get the job done. QB Darnell Prince 6-5 214 Sr Prestonwood Christian Academy ( TX) 3.5 of 3.5 [Hybrid] Career Stats: 37 starts, 15-22 record, 6667 yards, 49 TD-27 INT, 130.9 QBR, 366 rush yards, 9 rush TD Summary: Prince has been a staple of consistency for UTEP in his three seasons as a starter. He has had between 15-18 TDs and 7-10 INTs in each season. He can add a small benefit in the rushing game but is more comfortable passing. UTEP has not posted a depth chart and may opt for the younger QB Matteo Hayden 6-6 213 (Jr) River Road (Amarillo TX) 3.5 of 3.5 [Pocket] as the starter but Prince has earned his spot. He has been one of the safer QBs in the conference the past few seasons. QB Justin Radford 6-0 200 (Jr) Coronado (Lubbock TX) 4.0 of 4.0 [Hybrid] Career Stats: 25 starts, 13-12 record, 5703 yards, 44 TD-19 INT, 136.4 QBR, 130 rush yards, 7 rush TD Summary: Radford has started the past two seasons for the Roadrunnners and is a big reason they were able to turn it around and get to their first bowl game last season. Radford was one of the better QBs in the conference having over 3000 total yards, 29 total TDs, and only 6 INTs. UTSA has one of the better receiving corps in the C-USA to give to Radford. Radford may never be a star QB but he's more than enough to win a good amount of games. QB Riley West 6-1 190 (Sr) Munroe Day (Quincy, FL) 4.0 of 4.0 [Pocket] Career Stats: 40 starts, 19-21 record, 9953 yards, 89 TD-37 INT, 135.2 QBR Summary: The Hilltoppers offense has heavily relied on West, letting him attempt 45 passes per game in the past two seasons. Over the past three seasons, he has fought with Alexander Cassidy for the right to be the second best QB in the conference. But it looks like the Hilltoppers are going to have a very different look on offense this year behind the two-headed attack of RB Trevor Workman 5-6 194 (Jr) Western (Louisville KY) 4.5 of 4.5 [Speed] and RB Qua'sean Bell 5-8 215 Sr Kishwaukee College (Malta IL) 4.5 of 4.5 [Power]. The WRs for WKU are very questionable, West may not have the kind of senior season he was hoping for.

C-USA is going to be very interesting this year. The gap is closing between Rice and the rest of the pack. USM has a legit shot at winning the conference. Rice at USM in week 15 is likely going to be a huge game. I bet it's going to be Rice 8-2 (6-0) at USM 10-1 (7-0). North Texas has a chance to surprise some people if JUCO RB Gray Stewart turns out to be a stud. The C-USA East is up for grabs. FAU is the most talented team but their coach (bugspit1) actually hit two weeks inactive today. WKU is my favorite (if FAU can't get a coach) but they are a lot different this season. They have always been a pretty heavy passing team behind Riley West. West is a SR this season but their WRs are pretty garbage and they have two 4.5/4.5 RBs now. FIUs got a shot to win it again but their roster isn't really any better than last season. And then who knows what Chris Billings will do in Charlotte, probably nothing again.

Here are my predictions for the C-USA for 2023. They are listed by predicted conference record. The offense/defense/special team rankings come from this spreadsheet. I broke down the formula from the spreadsheet into sections to make the unit (backfield, receivers, etc) rankings. 1. Coach: Bubada (8th season) Last Year: 11-3 (9-0), C-USA champs Key Players: WR Deontray Clay 6-0 226 Jr Cooper (Cooper TX) 5.0 of 5.0 [Target] WR Darius Watkins 5-11 168 (Jr) Denison (Denison TX) 4.5 of 4.5 [Speed] ATH Brandon Dawkins 6-7 268 (Jr) Floydada (Floydada TX) 4.0 of 4.0 [Blitz] Offense: 1st Backfield: 3rd Receivers: 1st OL: 1st Defense: 3rd DL: 4th LB: 6th Secondary: 1st Special Teams: 5th Projection: 10-2 (8-0), C-USA champs 2. Coach: Ricky Campbell (3rd season) Last Year: 9-4 (5-3) Key Players: QB Alexander Cassidy 5-11 197 (Sr) Huntsville (Huntsville, AL) 4.5 of 4.5 [Pocket] TE Jeremiah Kendrick 6-5 197 (So) Eupora (Eupora MS) 3.5 of 5.0 [Receiving] ILB Micah Griffin 6-1 225 (Sr) LaSalle (Olla, LA) 5.0 of 5.0 [Will] Offense: 2nd Backfield: 5th Receivers: 5th OL: 3rd Defense: 1st DL: 2nd LB: 4th Secondary: 3rd Special Teams: 3rd Projection: 10-2 (7-1) 3. Coach: bugspit1 (1st season) Last Year: 8-5 (5-3) Key Players: QB Desmond Fraley 6-2 217 (So) Godby (Tallahassee FL) 3.0 of 4.5 [Scrambling] DE Terrence Perry 6-3 255 (So) Pensacola Catholic (Pensacola FL) 4.5 of 4.5 [Contain] OLB Darrelle Paige 5-11 243 Sr Lake Gibson (Lakeland FL) 4.5 of 4.5 [Coverage] Offense: 7th Backfield: 11th Receivers: 3rd OL: 5th Defense: 2nd DL: 1st LB: 1st Secondary: 6th Special Teams: 13th Projection: 8-4 (6-2), C-USA East Division champs 4. Coach: Mahrowkeen (2nd season) Last Year: 9-4 (5-3) Key Players: QB Justin Radford 6-0 200 (Jr) Coronado (Lubbock TX) 4.0 of 4.0 [Hybrid] WR Tyler Hansen 6-4 225 Jr Goliad (Goliad TX) 4.5 of 4.5 [Target] CB Dillon Bradley 6-2 193 (Jr) W.B. Travis (Austin TX) 4.5 of 4.5 [Zone Coverage] Offense: 6th Backfield: 7th Receivers: 2nd OL: 9th Defense: 4th DL: 5th LB: 7th Secondary: 2nd Special Teams: 12th Projection: 8-4 (6-2) 5. Coach: Boogyman10 (3rd season) Last Year: 4-8 (4-4) Key Players: QB Riley West 6-1 190 (Sr) Munroe Day (Quincy, FL) 4.0 of 4.0 [Pocket] RB Trevor Workman 5-6 194 (Jr) Western (Louisville KY) 4.5 of 4.5 [Speed] DT Felix Jennings 6-0 298 Jr Oconto (Oconto WI) 5.0 of 5.0 [1-Gap] Offense: 8th Backfield: 4th Receivers: 10th OL: 11th Defense: 6th DL: 3rd LB: 5th Secondary: 5th Special Teams: 8th Projection: 7-5 (6-2) 6. Coach: Rocketcan (4th season) Last Year: 9-5 (6-2), C-USA East champs Key Players: QB Gavin Copeland 6-4 193 Sr Mt. Pleasant (Providence RI) 3.5 of 3.5 [Scrambling] DE David Tracy 6-5 240 Sr Archbishop McCarthy (FL) 4.0 of 4.0 [Blitz] ILB Cordarelle McGill 6-3 222 Sr Blinn College (Brenham TX) 4.5 of 4.5 [Will] Offense: 11th Backfield: 14th Receivers: 12th OL: 8th Defense: 7th DL: 8th LB: 2nd Secondary: 7th Special Teams: 11th Projection: 6-6 (5-3) 7. Coach: WonderBread (6th season) Last Year: 8-5 (5-3) Key Players: QB Corey Mays 6-4 195 (Jr) Blinn College (Brenham TX) 4.0 of 4.0 [Scrambling] RB Lorenzo Deaton 5-7 187 (Sr) Westminster Academy (Opelousas, LA) 4.0 of 4.0 [Speed] OT Sam Duvall 6-4 295 (Jr) Hazlewood (Town Creek AL) 5.0 of 5.0 [Run Blocking] Offense: 3rd Backfield: 8th Receivers: 6th OL: 2nd Defense: 14th DL: 11th LB: 14th Secondary: 10th Special Teams: 2nd Projection: 7-5 (4-4) 8. Coach: Qupax (2nd season) Last Year: 5-7 (5-3) Key Players: RB Gray Stewart 6-1 220 Jr Angelina College (Lufkin TX) 4.5 of 5.0 [Power] OLB Joseph Nugent 6-3 242 Jr Mesquite (Mesquite TX) 4.5 of 4.5 [Blitz] SS Jayden Bellamy 6-0 215 (Sr) DeLeon (DeLeon, TX) 4.0 of 4.0 [Man Coverage] Offense: 4th Backfield: 2nd Receivers: 7th OL: 6th Defense: 5th DL: 7th LB: 8th Secondary: 4th Special Teams: 6th Projection: 6-6 (4-4) 9. Coach: TheTacoOfDoom (3rd season) Last Year: 8-5 (5-3) Key Players: QB Jaden Harrell 6-4 232 (Jr) Orangeburg-Wilkinson (Orangeburg SC) 3.5 of 3.5 [Scrambling] DE Omari Pearson 6-6 246 (Jr) Indian River (Chesapeake VA) 4.5 of 4.5 [Contain] ILB Trevor McClelland 6-1 236 (Jr) East Georgia College (Swainsboro GA) 4.5 of 5.0 [Mike] Offense: 12th Backfield: 12th Receivers: 9th OL: 10th Defense: 8th DL: 9th LB: 3rd Secondary: 11th Special Teams: 8th Projection: 5-7 (3-5) 10. Coach: LamboThrone (2nd season) Last Year: 6-7 (3-5) Key Players: WR Uzumati Jones 6-2 233 Sr Ranger College (Ranger TX) 4.5 of 4.5 [Target] OG Tristan Painter 6-1 311 Jr Alcee Fortier (New Orleans LA) 4.5 of 4.5 [Run Blocking] CB Kevin Miles 6-1 171 (Jr) Van Vleck (Van Vleck TX) 4.0 of 4.0 [Man Coverage] Offense: 5th Backfield: 10th Receivers: 4th OL: 4th Defense: 10th DL: 6th LB: 10th Secondary: 8th Special Teams: 10th Projection: 5-7 (2-6) 11. Coach: Isaac (5th season) Last Year: 4-8 (3-5) Key Players: QB Chris Billings 6-2 213 Sr Edisto (Cordova SC) 5.0 of 5.0 [Scrambling] RB Maximillian Carmichael 5-11 180 (Jr) Davie County (Mocksville NC) 4.0 of 4.0 [Speed] ATH Chris Darling 5-11 236 (So) North Atlanta (Atlanta GA) 3.0 of 4.5 [Will] Offense: 10th Backfield: 1st Receivers: 13th OL: 12th Defense: 13th DL: 14th LB: 13th Secondary: 13th Special Teams: 1st Projection: 5-7 (2-6) 12. Coach: Vacant Last Year: 2-10 (1-7) Key Players: RB Gregory Crosby 5-11 194 (Jr) Cloudland (Roan Mountain TN) 4.5 of 4.5 [Power] OLB Aaron Darling 6-4 239 Jr Fulton City (Fulton KY) 4.5 of 4.5 [Coverage] SS Jaylin Glenn 5-10 199 (Jr) Cloudland (Roan Mountain TN) 4.5 of 5.0 [Zone Coverage] Offense: 8th Backfield: 6th Receivers: 11th OL: 7th Defense: 9th DL: 12th LB: 11th Secondary: 12th Special Teams: 14th Projection: 3-9 (1-7) 13. Coach: Vacant Last Year: 1-11 (0-8) Key Players: QB Khalil Simpkins 6-0 223 (So) Central Catholic (Morgan City LA) 3.5 of 4.0 [Scrambling] DE Javorius Key 6-0 273 Sr Archbishop Rummel (Metairie LA) 3.5 of 3.5 [Blitz] CB Michael Scruggs 6-1 195 Sr Central Catholic (Pittsburgh PA) 3.5 of 3.5 [Man Coverage] Offense: 13th Backfield: 9th Receivers: 8th OL: 13th Defense: 11th DL: 10th LB: 12th Secondary: 9th Special Teams: 4th Projection: 2-10 (1-7) 14. Coach: Vacant Last Year: 1-11 (1-7) Key Players: QB Francesco Griffiths 6-3 237 (Jr) Princeton (Princeton WV) 3.0 of 3.5 [Scrambling] OLB Milo Mize 6-4 244 (So) Hazlewood (Town Creek AL) 3.5 of 4.5 [Blitz] SS Asher Hopper 5-11 185 (Jr) Pendleton County (Franklin WV) 3.5 of 3.5 [Zone Coverage] Offense: 14th Backfield: 13th Receivers: 14th OL: 14th Defense: 12th DL: 13th LB: 9th Secondary: 14th Special Teams: 7th Projection: 0-12 (0-8)

Titans counter offer for Chad Dess: 3 years // 24.0 million // 66.67% Guaranteed G//8.0//8.0//0.0//Total:16.0 $//0.0//0.0//8.0//Total:8.0 Total//8.0//8.0//8.0//Total:24.0 Value//13.056964470628461

Georgia Tech is adding another Ramsey into the mix. Titans plan to hoard all these guys when they make it to NFLHC. (TEN) CB Jack Ramsey 6-2 172 5 Virginia Tech [Zone Coverage] [-2] 93 (FSU) OLB Jack Ramsey 6-4 221 Sr Northview (Bratt FL) 4.0 of 4.0 [Blitz] (PSU) QB Jack Ramey 6-6 218 Jr Pocono Mountain West (PA) 4.0 of 4.0 [Pocket] (GT) QB Jacob Ramsey 6-5 212 (Fr) Northeast (Macon GA) 2.0 of 4.5 [Pocket]

Elijah Harden is a traitor, he played for Florida State. Funny thing is that Robert Harden is probably already better than Elijah. I'm definitely interested in how Harrison develops as a QB and see if he can become a stronger passer. That trio is going to be a lot of fun to watch especially if Harrison/Harden stick around until they're seniors.

McLean's are always winners. Except for bowl games.

Yeah, that was a crazy game. You beat me 63-56 without any overtime. My RB Kwendi Nkwenti had 26 for 148 yds, 4 TD with 2 rec for 51 yds, 1 TD. We might have been the two worst teams in the sim at that point. Tulanes QBs the last 4 weeks of the season: Week 11: Randall Moulton: 18/67 for 194 yds, 0 TD/ 6 INT Week 12: Edward Mullins: 43/74 for 499 yds, 7 TD/ 2 INT Week 13: Edward Mullins: 18/67 for 194 yds, 0 TD/ 4 INT Week 14: Andrew Miller: 22/71 for 119 yds, 0 TD/ 8 INT Mullins was a 1.0/2.5 (FR) and those were the only two games he played in his career.

Eric McLean probably has the 10 best offensive performances for a Rice player. Best one was probably week 1, 2022 against Eastern Michigan: 32/43, 535 yards, 7 TD, 0 INT. He had seven games with >400 yards, 5+ TD, 0 INT. Best defensive performance would be Koren Donahue in week 2, 2018 against Oregon State. 6 tackles, 3 INT, 1 TD, and was named national defensive player of the week.

Titans place RB Abdoul Pearson 6-1 228 R Alabama [Power] [0] 68 on IR with a Severe Hamstring Rupture suffered in rookie minicamp, he is out for the season. OT Aaron Walls 6-7 273 R Utah State [Pass Blocking] [+1/C] 82 on IR with a Severe ACL Rupture suffered in rookie minicamp, he is out for the season.

2018 JUCO My strategy was to shotgun. A couple points on some of the top guys and hope someone falls through the cracks. Ten minutes before the deadline I decided to take my 3 points off the top RB, J.B. Blacknall, and put them on some 4.5/4.5 WR because I thought someone would definitely go all in for the top RB. Blacknall went to UAB and I didn't get the WR. I asked @Wonderbread later how many points he spent on him, I believe he spent 2 points. I don't second-guess and change my croot points anymore. 2018 HS One of my top targets was CB Elijah Williams 6-1 199 Fr Wylie (Wylie, TX) 1.0 of 5.0 [Zone Coverage]. I spent a decent amount on him round 1 but went all in round 2 and 3. I ended up tying with Oklahoma for him and Oklahoma won the coin flip. He was the Big XII Defensive Player of the Year last season with 6 INT, 9 PD, 3 TD. Almost had him. 2022 HS WR Dominique Dixon 6-4 225 Fr Iraan (Iraan TX) 1.5 of 5.0 [Target]. I think it's safe to say this is the most amount of points spent on a croot. Texas Tech and I battled for him all season. Took all my crooting points from like week 6 to the end of the season. I think it ended up between 900-950 points. I was in the lead and had a 2 point advantage over TTU so I thought he was all mine until TTU took the lead with a couple weeks left. Didn't realize they actually had the advantage because they put WR as a need and I didn't. Going all in for him cost me a lot of other 4.5s and 4.0s as well. I think if TTU would have given up early, I could have gotten a top 15 class but ended up with #44 instead.

Position Battles QB Martin Hudson 6-3 201 Jr South Grand Prarie (TX) 4.0 of 4.0 [Pocket] VS QB Benjamin Yates 6-4 229 (So) Shelton (Dallas TX) 3.0 of 4.5 [Pocket] Neither QB looked like Eric McLean. Neither QB can be expected to be Eric McLean. The younger QB, Yates, was more efficient posting a QB Rating of 139.7 while Hudson had a QB Rating of 127.1. Hudson was the early favorite to be the starting QB and Yates didn't show enough to overcome that. Winner: Martin Hudson RB Alex Terry 5-10 210 (Fr) Floydada (Floydada TX) 3.0 of 5.0 [Power] VS RB Darrelle Armstrong 5-7 200 (So) Robert E. Lee (Baytown TX) 3.0 of 4.5 [Power] VS RB Jasiah Braxton 5-10 233 (Sr) Empire (Duncan, OK) 4.0 of 4.0 [Power] Darrelle Armstrong and Jasiah Braxton came into the game hoping to carve out their piece of the offense but really ended up solidifying Alex Terry as the all-around running back. Terry didn't blow anyone away but averaging 5.0 YPC is promising. Rice has not had a RB average over 5.0 YPC in a season since Kwendi Nkwenti in 2016. Darrelle Armstrong failed to impress in his limited 9 carries. He may still get in the mix this season but this may be another sign of his departure from the team. Jasiah Braxton was the short yardage RB for the Gray Team but did not see the field. Given Alex Terry's size and strength, Braxton's role may not be needed. Winner: Alex Terry DE Mario Staton 6-0 262 (Sr) Bridge City (City, TX) 3.5 of 3.5 [Contain] VS DE DaJuan Banks 6-3 258 Fr New Deal (New Deal TX) 3.0 of 4.5 [Blitz] Old school vs new school. Three year starter and team career sack leader vs newcomer top croot. DaJuan Banks had the opportunity to earn playing time and to start this season if he was able to make some plays in the spring game. But neither player appeared on the statsheet. The original plan of having Banks redshirt and Staton being the starting LE will continue. Winner: Mario Staton Surprises OL Performance With the OLs divided up somewhat evenly, it was great to see OL ratings of 5.2 and 4.4. Rice averaged 4.9 last season so having a 5.2 rating with only 2 starters is encouraging. The Gray Team's 4.4 rating would have been 2nd place in the C-USA last season, behind Rice. The OL combined only gave up 1 sack in 79 pass attempts Backup Safeties Second string FS Shaun Gamble and second string SS Ashton Copeland came away with the two interceptions in the game. Although this pair may never become starters, it is re-assuring to know there is some depth in the secondary. Future Star? CB Deacon Jackson III 6-1 185 Fr New Deal (New Deal TX) 1.0 of 5.0 [Zone Coverage] made his presence felt despite hardly seeing any action. He showed off his athletic ability as he ran back a punt return for a touchdown. Too early for Keyshawn Thompson comparisons? Spring Game MVP WR Deontray Clay 6-0 226 Jr Cooper (Cooper TX) 5.0 of 5.0 [Target] 13 receptions, 180 yards, 1 TD, 0 drops