Top 20 College Prospects The list includes those who we feel will be elite by next year, which includes some sophomores mixed in that won't be draft eligible until 2011, but who make our projected top 20 elite offensive skill-position players nonetheless. We are looking for talent here as opposed to production. We want the Darrius Heyward-Beys of the college landscape, players with 1st or 2nd round tools regardless of stats (which can be inflated by systems). Think of this as a watch-list of talent you might come across flipping through games on a lazy Saturday; if not, then don't worry because we'll be watching anyways. The first 10 are lock 1st round talents; the next 10 are in the 2nd and 3rd range, but could easily move up or down on a variety of factors. Here are the Dynasty Rogues Top 20 College Prospects:
20. RB Stafon Johnson, 5'11", 216 lbs. - Southern California Stafon Johnson's another RB that got lost in the shuffle of highly-touted recruits at USC. Pete Carroll only recruits players that aren't afraid to compete. It's his way of keeping his players hungry. Johnson will never get all the carries but he should lead the Trojans in carries again this season. He excels at finding cut-back lanes and getting through the trash at the line. He’s not fast enough to break long ones but he can get to the edge when he has to. Johnson was in a timeshare back in high school with Oregon’s Jeremiah Johnson (now with the Houston Texans; undrafted rookie), numerous backs at USC, and he probably won't escape his destiny in the pros.
19. WR Eric Decker, 6'2", 215 lbs. - Minnesota Decker is an extremely technical receiver whose biggest strength is his route running. He makes sharp cuts and has enough football smarts to break off a route and work back to his QB when under duress. He won't time particularly well (4.5 range) but has adequate speed, route acumen to get open and making tough catches in traffic isn't a problem. Decker will be an ideal WCO possession WR and will probably get a similar grade to Brian Robiskie. Decker is also an excellent baseball player and has received interest from MLB teams.
18. RB Charles Scott, 5'11", 230 lbs. - Louisiana State Heading into 2008 there was some question as to how the workload would be split between Keiland Williams and Charles Scott after the departure of Jacob Hester (Chargers). Scott was the first to climb the mountain and lay stake to his claim. In the first game of 2008 Scott rumbled over Appalachian State for 160 yards and 2 TDs on only 16 carries. He then fired off the three straight games of 100+ yards until the Florida game, where they built a 20-0 lead and took Scott out of the game. Scott's a bruiser back with only adequate speed, but he has a good first step to get through holes quickly. He has excellent vision and can read weaknesses in the defensive front, sees holes before they develop, and if they don't he'll get behind his pads and make one. Currently Scott has a high 3rd round grade and could easily be the 1st second day pick like Kevin Smith and Shonn Greene for a team looking for a reliable grinder in a one-cut scheme.
17. QB Tim Tebow, 6'3", 240 lbs. - Florida If Mike Vick was a tailback playing QB, then Tebow is his FB counterpart. He has collected various accolades throughout his college career like the first sophomore to ever win the Heisman as well as the first player to ever pass and rush for 20 TDs. The problem is that while his leadership and intangibles are off the charts, a lot of the qualities that make him so great in Urban Meyer's offense simply won't translate well to the NFL. He rarely drops back, is always in a shotgun offense, is only comfortable throwing to his left, and only sees half the field. Tebow rarely goes through route progressions opting to tuck the ball and run with it. Scouts are all over the board on his projection, but most agree he's a project. He could have some success as a Wildcat QB if the formation is still successful after the 2009 season. Off the field, Tebow is positive force in any community he touches.
16. WR DeAndre Brown, 6'6", 222 lbs. - Southern Mississippi DeAndre Brown is the second sophomore to make our list. He was heavily recruited by Florida, Alabama, Auburn, and Tennessee. In the end it came down to Les Miles's LSU Tigers and Larry Fedora's Golden Eagles. He chose to play closer to home, and it was the right decision. He had a monstrous freshman season. He now holds the Golden Eagles single-season record for receptions with 67, to go along with his 1,117 yards and 12 TDs. Brown suffered a gruesome fracture of his left tibia on December 23rd at the New Orleans Bowl, but he is on track to make a full recovery. Brown is a legitimate 6'6" and will be draft eligible in 2011.
15. WR Mardy Gilyard, 6'1", 187 lbs. - Cincinnati Mardy Gilyard is a feel good story of a student athlete flunking out of school and having to live in his car for a year, then comes back and makes good on his talent. That's exactly what Mardy did on his way to posting 81 catches, 1,276 yards and 11 TDs. He also lead the Big East in kickoff returns with a 27.6 average and 2 TDs. He gets high marks for his burst, speed and willingness to work the middle.
14. RB Joe McNight, 6'0", 194 lbs. - Southern California Joe McNight hasn't done much at USC, but he's still regarded as a top talent. So much so, he started a bit of a recruiting controversy after everyone had him going to LSU and then he switched his mind at the last minute in favor of USC. At the time he was considered the #2 overall high school prospect behind QB Jimmy Clausen (Notre Dame). The story goes that McNight had admitted on National Signing Day to speaking to Reggie Bush somewhere along the recruiting timeline. Alumni trying to persuade recruits is an NCCA violation, but it eventually blew over. McNight hasn't had the opportunity to breakthrough yet in USC’s loaded backfield of C.J. Gable, Stafon Johnson (more on him later), Curtis McNeal, Allen Bradford and Marc Tyler. However, McNight is the most dynamic runner they have and his versatility on returns will keep him prominent in their game plan. USC lost 8 defensive starters and will need to open up the offense until the reloaded defense gels. McNight's a junior but has made his intentions known early on that he'll bolt for the money as soon as he can.
13. WR Damian Williams, 6'1", 191 lbs. - Southern California Williams is a savvy, natural receiver that knows how to get open. He has a variety of moves in his armamentarium to fool opposing DBs. He understands the game and was USC's go-to WR last year catching 55 passes for 869 yards and 8 TDs after sitting out 2007 because of transferring in from Arkansas. Damian separated his shoulder in December 6th yet still found a way to have a big game (10 rec, 162 yards, TD) in the Rose Bowl. Scouts love his toughness, strong hands, and innate feel for the game.
12. WR Dezmon Briscoe, 6'3", 200 lbs. - Kansas As a sophomore last season, Briscoe made a name for himself in a Big 12 conference loaded with WR talent like Michael Crabtree, Dez Bryant and Jeremy Maclin. He's a tall, lanky WR that is deceptively fast. Some think Briscoe might be too slow for the pro game but he’s able to cover a lot of ground. He already owns the Kansas career receiving TD (22) and the single game yardage record (269) as well, a shoot-out at Oklahoma. However, it hasn't been a smooth road for Briscoe under HC Mark Mangino. In the beginning of the 2008 season, Mangino criticized him as needing "a lot, a lot of work" in the run-blocking aspect of his game. Then in March, Mangino suspended him for violating team rules. He's since been reinstated after missing Spring practices.
11. WR Golden Tate, 5'11, 195 lbs. - Notre Dame
Golden Tate is the type of WR that provides his QB a very reliable
target. He is so athletic that he runs by DBs on go routes even when
they know it's coming. This opens up the comeback which takes
advantage of his brilliant stop-start ability. He's excellent in
space and leaping as well. Last year HC Charlie Weis only had him
running slants in addition to the two routes just mentioned, so he
still has to learn a complete route tree. The other negative is he
needs to give a more consistent effort when he's not the primary
target as all too often he comes off the ball slow not selling the
play. This is a common problem with young WRs and can be corrected
for. Tate has missed a couple spring practices so he could play
baseball, which could negatively affect his draft stock because of
questions to his commitment to the game.
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