Two players to watch in the two biggest games today
Good evening New York Giants fans!
We’ve finally reached the culmination of a chaotic 2024 college football season. All that remains is the conference championship games, then we’re on to bowl season.
We have the best teams in the country on tap for the weekend, and we’re getting started with the Mountain West and AAC championships. As usual, feel free to use this post to discuss the games, but we’ll be talking about them from a draft perspective. With that in mind, we’ll be highlighting two players in each game to watch.
Mountain West Championship
(10) Boise State vs. (20) UNLV – Fox, 8:00 p.m.
Boise State – Ashton Jeanty, RB
From an NFL perspective, there’s Ashton Jeanty and then there’s everybody else.
Jeanty is the most dominant offensive player in the country — actually, “dominant” is a bit of an understatement. It isn’t just that his 2,288 rushing yards leads the nation in rushing by 680 yards, but just his 1695 yards after contact would still make him the nation’s leading rusher.
We’ve talked about Jeanty before, and he’s almost the perfect modern running back. He sports a dense, compact physique at 5-foot-9, 215 pounds which gives him great natural leverage as well as the power to run through arm tackles. He’s quick, and agile, as well as explosive and fast, and sometimes looks like he’s playing the game in fast forward compared to everyone else.
It isn’t hyperbole to say that Jeanty might be (or is probably) the best running back prospect since Saquon Barkley.
UNLV – Jalen Catalon, S, UNLV
UNLV has several draftable prospects I could touch on here, but Catalon is a very intriguing prospect who could be on scouts’ radar, if not on the national radar yet.
Or perhaps it’s better put that he might not be back on the national radar yet.
Catalon got his start at the University of Arkansas before his college career was derailed by injuries. He attempted to get back on track by transferring to Texas but ultimately ended his college career at UNLV. Catalon is a compact and physical safety at 5-foot-10, 205 pounds, and plays a highly instinctive game. He’s coming into the game with 3 interceptions and 5 passes defensed, as well as 78 total tackles, 5 tackles for a loss, and 2 sacks.
Catalon was talked about as a possible first round pick back before injuries sidelined his journey. He could be a real steal in the middle or later rounds.
AAC Championship
(24) Army vs. Tulane – ABC, 8:00 p.m.
With all due respect to Army, I’m going to focus on Tulane for this game from a draft perspective.
Patrick Jenkins, iDL
Jenkins is likely the best prospect in this game, and bears watching as a mid-to-late round pick.
He’s a (slightly) undersized defensive lineman at 6-foot-2, 295 pounds, but he excels at attacking individual gaps. Jenkins makes good use of his natural leverage with a good first step and active hands to defeat blocks, and as been a consistent pass rusher for Tulane.
Jenkins was considered a 4-star recruit out of high school, and started his college career at TCU before transferring to Tulane in 2022. He has 4.5 sacks so far this year, and finished with 5.5 sacks in 2023.
Jenkins’ greatest value will be for teams that feature attacking one-gap defenses. He doesn’t have the size or strength to anchor in a two-gap defense, but he could play a variety of roles in a one-gap 3 or 4-man front.
Mario Williams, WR
Williams is somewhat similar to Catalon as an under-the-radar player who could surprise at the next level. Once upon a time, Williams was con]
Williams doesn’t have great size at 5-foot-9, 180 pounds, and that will hurt him with many teams. However, he also has elite short-area quickness as well as advanced route running skills. Williams has the ability to change directions on a dime, creating separation with his breaks as well make defenders miss as a ball carrier.
He also has upside as a return option, and could find his way onto a 53-man thanks to his special teams acumen. Once there, however, his team could create a package of plays to take advantage as his upside with the ball in his hands.
