CFF Monthly Round Up - July 2023
Summary of the notable events relating to CFF in July
The difference between involvement and commitment is like ham and eggs. The chicken is involved; the pig is committed.
Gather in to the tavern, my friends. In today’s ‘Monthly Round Up’, I will cover at a high level the notable headlines, rumblings, and quotable quotes in College Football and their relevancy to CFF. These will include spring/summer camp rumblings, notable transfer portal news, and injury/suspension events. I will also provide an overview of the content I have published over the month on the VolumePigs platform and on other platforms.
If you’re reading this with an interest in CFF, I would encourage you (if you haven’t already) to join us over at the Pig Pen. In addition to getting content directly to your inbox, in the future there will be additional features such as group chats, video content, and more.
You can find the previous installment of the series here:
In case you missed it
July was yet another prolific month on VolumePigs as we covered topics ranging from the SEC to the MAC, and everything in between. Some of the most popular articles of July include:
I also wrote some articles with the Campus2Canton crew:
Tulsa Has a Potential Rising Superstar at WR : Tulsa WR Malachai Jones
The West Texas PHENOM is BACK: UTEP WR Tyrin Smith
Former FCS WR is about to go HARD for the COCKS in 2023: SCAR WR Antwane Wells
I contributed to the C2C 2023 CFF Guide released on July 1st (20$)
Notable summer camp rumblings
Wyoming RB Dawaiian McNeely is listed ahead of Northern Illinois transfer Harrison Waylee (knee), who will sit out the 2023 Cowboys' first few games injured. Waylee figures to be in for a monstrous season with the Cowboys, but this injury casts some doubt of whether he’ll be the go-to guy on his return. Accordingly, I’ve discounted him some in my own rankings as a result.
Cincinnati QB Evan Prater has converted to WR. Head coach Scott Satterfield announced the official switch and believes Prater will contribute at the position right away. This likely means QB Emory Jones will be taking over as QB1. Notably, however, is that there is also freshman QB Brady Drogosh who had a very strong spring. My inclination is to lean Jones due to his experience. He also fits what Satterfield likes and has had success with in the past (e.g., Malik Cunningham). I wrote about Jones here.
CMU head coach Jim McElwain noted that Bert Emanuel and Jase Bauer may split starting duties after not naming a starter. This would be a kiss of death for both of their CFF stocks. Emanuel holds immense upside, if he can just get the reigns of this offence he could be a strong CFF asset in November, in particular.
Penn State QB Drew Allar is said to be battling Beau Pribula for the starting role (per head coach James Franklin). S/O to
for this nugget of information (his Substack is great for QB information updates, by the way, which makes drafting in CFF that much easier). I’d wager a guess that Allar is going to get the nod in the end.Per
: Oregon State head coach Jonathan Smith said the DJ Uiagalelei vs. Ben Gulbranson QB battle will play out through the first few weeks of fall camp.Ball State QB Layne Hatcher looks to have been named the starter to open the season. Kiael Kelly is #2 on the depth chart, and is said to have certain packages in place for him. While Kelly is more athletic, Hatcher is as experienced as they come, making stops at Arkansas State and Texas State in his career. Yet, he’s always been a streaky player. He did support former volume pig in Arkansas State WR Jonathan Adams Jr. to some pretty nasty stat lines in 2020. I think the less-mobile Hatcher being the starter benefits the pass catchers (in particular those two TEs they have), versus Kelly. So at least there’s that.
Iowa State WR Jayden Higgins played primarily with the first-team offence during Iowa State's spring game. Higgins transferred to Iowa State after spending his first two seasons at Eastern Kentucky, where he racked up 58 catches for 757 yards and 10 touchdowns last season. He and Jaylin Noel appear to be the top two candidates to take over as WR1 of an offence that targeted its top guy over 160 times last season. I’ve written about Noel here, where I also cover the system and new OC.
Rutgers QB Gavin Wimsatt was named Rutgers' starting quarterback ahead of training camp. Wimsatt is a former four-star recruit, and one of the Scarlett Knights’ highest rated recruits ever. He will need to work on his completion percentage (44.8% in 2022) to be an effective CFF asset. He also finished four out of his eight games played with negative rushing yardage last season. 2022 was essentially his freshman season, though, so let’s see how he improves this year.
Clemson QB and former five-star commit Christopher Vizzina is expected to redshirt 2022. This is not overwhelmingly surprising, as it looks to be Klubnik’s year with the Tigers (and likely next year too). Still, I’m a little disappointed that Vizzina hasn’t made more buzz so far this offseason. Redshirting means the player can still play in up to four games, so if Klubnik struggles, Vizzina could still get the call—but it doesn’t look like he’s even the next guy up.
Former Georgia Tech QB Jordan Yates will be playing RB for the newly minted FBS program Sam Houston. Yates is unlikely to be a marquee CFF asset, but there are a lot of question marks whenever there is a new program, which usually means opportunity for hidden gems (see James Madison in 2022).
Mizzou QB Brady Cook will start fall camp as the top option under center in what projects to be a contested battle for the starting spot in 2023. Even if Cook (or whoever else) wins the battle, it’s unlikely that they’ll be potent in CFF.
Notable Transfers
Rice WR Bradley Rozner has transferred to NC State. This is a notable move as the Wolfpack offence figures to be supercharged this season with new OC Robert Anae and QB Brennan Armstrong. The only concern was that NC State lacked experienced weapons on the perimeter—it seems like that’s been addressed. I expect Rozner to be the WR1 of this offence. I provided coverage on NC State’s new offence via a write-up on Armstrong here.
Colorado TE Seydou Traore has transferred to Mississippi State. His move to Boulder was always an odd one, given the new OC’s usage of TEs historically. It sounds like Traore wants to be used like a big WR. Something to note is that the Bulldogs are likely going to be much more balanced on offence than in years past—so the overall ‘pie’ of passing volume should be reduced. Still, this is not a bad landing spot and Traore still has his TE eligibility on Fantrax.
UL Monroe RB Malik Jackson has transferred to newly minted FBS program Jacksonville State. He logged 141 rushes for 507 yards (3.6 averaged per rush) across his 12 games during Louisiana-Monroe's 2022 season. The Gamecocks already have RB Anwar Lewis, so it seems like at best this will be a RB1/RB2 situation.
Akron RB Jonzell Norris is in the portal. He was used minimally in 2022, but in 2021 he rushed for 573 yards (4.9 ypc) and caught 153 yards receiving in 10 games played.
Notable injury & suspension news
Syracuse RB Le’Quint Allen has been granted availability to play football this fall. There were concerns earlier this spring that he might be suspended for the entire semester, but it appears he’ll be good to go come week one.
UTSA's WR De’Corian Clark (knee) may not be available for the opener. Head coach Jeff Traylor on Clark's recovery from knee surgery: “He’s right where he’s supposed to be. These next three weeks will be big. We won’t put him out there until he’s ready. Whenever that is, I don’t really know. Could be Houston, it might not be”.
UTSA WR Joshua Cephus is not expected to face further punishment from a DWI charge. The DWI occurred last December, after which Cephus was suspended by the university and missed the team’s appearance in the Cure Bowl against Troy on Dec. 16. He returned to team activities in January.
Iowa State football is amidst an investigation for gambling amongst its players. Among those rumoured to be under review include QB Hunter Dekkers and RB Jirehl Brock. Those who are found to have been participants will likely be suspended for the year.
Wake Forest WR Donovan Green went down with an undisclosed non-contact injury on the opening day of Fall camp. The details of his return timeline have not yet been released.
Michigan RB Blake Corum (knee) has been cleared for Michigan's fall camp.
Ohio QB Kurtis Rourke (knee) is reportedly full go entering fall camp after a season-ending injury late in 2022.
Utah QB Camron Rising (knee) remains questionable for the season-opener against Florida. According to head coach Kyle Whittingham, the QB2 is Brandon Rose by a small margin. Rose might find himself as the starter week one vs. UF.
UTSA QB Frank Harris (knee) has progressed through a series of offseason knee surgeries, and he is "back to almost 100 percent" ahead of fall camp.
Oklahoma RB Javontae Barnes, who underwent a minor offseason foot surgery to fix a lingering issue, has reportedly avoided any setbacks in his recovery process. The sophomore running back is expected to be fully healthy to open fall camp.
Indiana WR Cam Camper is expected to be ready for the opener.
Virginia Tech WR Ali Jennings, who missed the last three games of the 2022 season and was limited during spring ball, will be fully activated for full camp.
Rutgers RB Samuel Brown (lower body) will be full-go for the start of Rutgers' training camp. Checkout
for an in-depth write-up on Brown’s CFF outlook (Luke also does CFF related content on his Substack, which I enjoy quite a bit).USF QB Gerry Bohanon (shoulder) did not participate in spring camp after undergoing surgery to repair his throwing shoulder, but appears on track to be ready for fall camp and week one. He is expected to be the week one starter.
Auburn RB Jarquez Hunter’s status for fall camp remains in question after being suspended earlier this year. My two cents on this situation: the coaching staff have been clear that they want to distribute the load in the backfield anyway, so regardless of Hunter’s status, I advise readers to steer clear.
UGA RB Kendall Milton will be a full participant to open fall camp.
UGA RB Branson Robinson (lower leg) will be a limited participant to open fall camp. From UGA insiders I follow, the word is he likely won’t be available until October. Quote: “He’ll continue to rehab it, get a lot of mental reps, and take part in any activities that he can, but I don’t think we will see him much or at all during the first month of the season. There were some pratices during spring ball where he looked like a clear #1 RB and was running physically enough that multiple sources compared some of his carries to things they saw out of Nick Chubb.”
Iowa QB Spencer Petras (shoulder) will not play in the 2023 season but will stick around the Iowa program.
Auburn RB Brian Battie (toe) is expected to return for fall camp.
ULLAF QB Ben Wooldridge (knee) has been fully cleared for fall camp.
LSU RB Armani Goodwin (undisclosed) sat out spring practice, and is questionable headed into the season.
LSU RB John Emery (academics) sat out all of LSU's spring practices due to academic reasons. He is still in the process of being cleared for 2023.
Boise State WR Latrell Caples (lower leg) will miss the 2023 season.
SMU RB Tyler Lavine is on track to be available for the season-opener.
Arkansas RB Dominique Johnson (knee) has been cleared to return for the start of Arkansas' training camp
Clemson WR Beaux Collins (shoulder) has returned to full health.
UTEP QB Gavin Hardison (ankle), who’s 2022 season was cut short with a season-ending ankle injury in November, has been cleared for fall camp.
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