It's that time of year again, when we all get the chance to spend time with family while huddled around the TV to watch the Meinike Car Care Bowl. Good times.
Actually, I like watching the bowl games to get a final chance to watch some players perform in a real game who are going to be makng an impact in the NFL. To me, game tape is better than combine tape, and this is my last chance. Here are some guys to watch, heralded and lesser known, who may be making a huge impact on (Thursdays, Saturdays) Sundays (and Mondays) next year.
Cam Newton, QB, Auburn
Cam is probably going to be the most talked about prospect heading into the 2011 draft, and I'm a fan. He's better than Tebow was in college and his running abiltiy is going to be a boon for fantasy purposes. He plays in the championship game against Oregon, you may have heard.
Mark Ingram, RB, Alabama
I'm a huge believer in Ingram as a pro and the comparison to Emmitt Smith is a good one. If you watch him in the Capital One Bowl on January 1, watch for how good he is at maintaianing balance, breaking tackles and gaining tough yards. He's a potential fantasy first rounder on the right team (Seattle?), and should be the first player taken in dynasty drafts.
AJ Green, WR, Georgia
Green was suspended early in the year, then lit the SEC on fire with nine TDs in the team's last eight games. Green is 6'4, and has the athletic ability to dominate in the NFL. He should be featured by the Bulldogs offense in the Liberty Bowl on New Year's Eve.
Julio Jones, WR, Alabama
Hard to separate Jones and Green. To me they are the same guy, big and fast and good hands, thought Jones has known to play well down by the schoolyard. He should be a touchdown machine in the NFL, and he'll join Ingram against Michigan State on January 1st.
Andrew Luck, QB, Stanford
If you want another Sam Bradford (and I do), this is your guy. He is a polished dropback passer with some mobility that should be the number one pick in the draft, should he declare. Luck is a guy who is going to take a bit of time to make a fanatsy impact if he goes to a team like Carolina, but we thought the same thing about Bradford with the Rams. Luck faces a decent Virginia Tech defense in the Orange Bowl on January 3rd.
Ryan Broyles, WR, Oklahoma
Broyles may be the guy I'm most excited to watch in the bowl games. He's small (5'11), but he is the best WR going in college football, and I think he has a chance to be a very good NFL player, though he is likely a second rounder at best. Broyles has over 2500 yards and has scored 28 TDs in the last two seasons for the Sooners, who play Connecticut in the Fiesta Bowl on January 1st.
Justin Blackmon, WR Oklahoma State
Blackmon joins Broyles as a very productive college WR without the fantastic measurables (he's only 6'1). He plays big, but may be caught in between the slot type (Broyles) and the bigger outside WRs (Jones, Green), kinda like Michael Crabtree was two years ago. I like Blackmon, because he seems to get open on every play (and because he had over 1600 yards and 18 TDs THIS YEAR), and it will be fun to watch him against Arizona in the Alamo Bowl on December 29th.
Jon Baldwin, WR. Pitt
Baldwin is interesting due to his size (6'5), but he doesn't have the production to go with the rest of these guys, as he amassed just 5 TDs this year. Part of that surely has to do with bad QB play, but 810 yards and five TDs is still not enough for me. Larry Fitzgerald didn't have Dan Marino throwing to him when he was at Pitt and he seemed to do OK. The Panthers play Kentucky on January 8th in something called the BBVA Compass Bowl.
Others to watch...
Ryan Williams, RB, Virginia Tech
Wasn't as great this year as in 2009. Could go back to school. Orange Bowl, January 3rd.
LaMichael James, RB, Orgegon
He has the huge numbers, but were the solely due to the teams's incrdible offense? He's also only 5'9. Watch him in the title game.
Ryan Mallett, QB, Arkansas
He's huge and has a big arm. Questions are about his mobility and accuracy. He gets a nice test in the Sugar Bowl January 4th against Ohio Sate.
Jake Locker, QB, Washington
He'e the anti-Mallett. Very mobile, good intangibles, but no gaudy numbers. He also gets a big test in a rematch with Nebraska, who dominated the Huskies and Locker earlier in the year. They face off December 30th in the Holiday Bowl.
Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays. Catch you Sunday morning.
Cheers,
TFAM
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