Thank You For Not Snitching!
By August, most of the relevant names in the CFF player pool have been discovered, but here are nine names that I’m highlighting that are STILL under the radar gems.
They be wondering where the black limo is at. All they see is the headpiece, they assume there’s a black limo, know what am I saying?
- Ed Wuncler, the Boondocks
I visited Austin, TX, this past weekend for a Scott Fish Tad Pole draft hosted by none other than the great Eric Froton. There, I had the pleasure of meeting several other titans of the CFF industry, including Elliot Mays (BaconFueled on X), Felix Sharpe, Josh Chevalier (CFFGuys), Will Stone (creator of Blue Chip), among others.
It was a great time, even if a little hot. Though, I will say, past a certain level of heat, it all feels the same anyway. What’s the difference between 32 degrees Celsius (89°F) and 39 (~100°F), really? If you’re sweating, you’re sweating, ya feel me? Either way, it’s hot.
On Saturday morning I explored on my own. I grabbed one of those Bird scooters, which are also present in my hometown, Ottawa, so I had previously downloaded the app and had riding experience. I decided to ride along in the bike lane of a major street taking me westward to Barton Spring Pools.
I met a few interesting people along the way. They were all very nice, but I have to say I was slightly disappointed not to encounter any cowboy hats or thick Texas accents. On my way back, I came across a bike store that did rentals. Given that I was only there for a few days, I traveled light, so entering the bike store was more-so reconnaissance work for a future trip.
Anyways, while in the store, I was on the phone with someone and communicating via my AirPods. I explained in the conversation that I had been meeting people—some from Seattle, some from Louisiana—and for the most part, everyone sounded the same as if they were from Canada. The sole exception was two groups I met from Lake Charles, LA, and Baton Rouge, LA.
In fact, I remarked to Josh Chevalier later that evening over dinner that I didn’t even realize we were all speaking English until midway through the conversation when I was speaking with those two groups in the elevator. That was a cool experience.
Back to the store, I’m sure—just like Ed Wuncler’s friend tells him above (voiced by Samuel Jackson)—I looked like I was talking to myself, or maybe the Americans in the store were just curious, but I realized midway through my conversation (shortly after remarking on how many fat people there were down here) that most of the store went quiet and were presumably listening in on the conversation. I departed the building in search of some refreshment shortly after.
The episode from which the clip above is taken is called “Thank You For Not Snitching” from season 2 of the Boondocks series created by Aaron McGruder. I won’t dissect the entire premise of the episode to avoid spoiling it for those interested, but one of the themes is about keeping secrets.
As it happens, we are at that time of the year where CFF drafts are kicking off, and thus information is at a premium. Not only in acquiring it for ourselves, but also in keeping it away from our competition. We’re also getting better as a CFF community in un-earthing CFF gems throughout the offseason, so identifying hidden gems at this point in the offseason is truly a complicated task.
Nonetheless, here are nine names that I’m highlighting as potential under the radar gems.
BEST KEPT SECRETS — AUG 5
WR Brian Rowe (UCLA)
Rowe completed his true freshman season in 2025 with South Carolina, and then opted for a change of scenery out West with Bob Chesney. There have been several updates this offseason stating that Rowe is poised for a starting position in the offence and is excelling in the offseason.
What that means for his CFF stock come the fall is still anybody’s guess; but it’s a good place to investigate via a dart throw when searching for low cost value that can still be acquired in the late rounds of even P4-exclusive drafts.
Now, I will say that Chesney’s history at WR could be better. Of the past seven full seasons, only one of those WRs topped 1000 yards, and only two times did the WR1 hit double digit TDs (Jalon Coker twice).
That being said, Chesney has an experienced and returning QB in Nico Iamaleava, and there is a place for players who can be productive in spurts within CFF bestball drafts and deeper formats. For example, Yahoo drafts where the player pool is P4 exclusive and teams are drafting 20+ rounds.
RB James Jones (NEW MEXICO)
I’ve covered James Jones in a few items in the past, but he’s still under the radar enough to warrant his inclusion in this list. Just to rehash some of the important points: he averaged over nine yards per carry in the FCS last year, almost accumulating 1000 rushing yards on only 98 carries.
That’s highly unusual and his own head coach called him special in the offseason. The main question will be about workload distribution given that this staff doesn’t have a great history at RB from a CFF angle, but Jones should presumably translate well to CUSA level ball.
He began his career in 2024 at ULM behind Ahmad Hardy, but even still he had a solid true freshman season, rushing 79 times for 336 yards and one score.
He has both the size and explosiveness to be an impact player at the G5 level in my opinion, and has a gorgeous opportunity to be a slate breaker in week one vs. FCS program Mercyhurst.
RB Jaylin Carter (MEMPHIS)
There have been numerous intimations out of Memphis’ camp this offseason indicating that Southern Miss transfer Jaylin Carter is leading the race to be RB1 under Charles Huff’s staff this season.
Carter was a true freshman last season with the Golden Eagles, and rushed 38 times for 166 yards and one score. Most importantly, he was the name mentioned by a Memphis beat writer on the G5 Hive as a potential breakout player in 2026:
Now, these writers get things wrong all the time (don’t we all), but it is a positive indicator nonetheless. I don’t know how valuable the Huff RB1 is these days—considering he continues to pursue a more “Air Raid” looking offence—but his RB1s did briefly have some productive spurts at SMiss in 2025, and perhaps Carter will follow that plan in ‘26.
I hesitate to give Huff full credit for his RB1 history at Marshall, where multiple players toted the rock 250+ times, simply because a large portion of that time overlapped with the one they call “Pig Master Trickett”, also known as Clint Trickett (now at Maryland), who was the OC at Marshall from 2022 to 2023.
Huff had Najee Harris (back to back 1000+ yard rushing seasons) at Alabama in 2019 and 2020, and also Sa’Quon Barkley at PSU, among others as a RBs coach/Associate head coach. So the man knows a thing or two about developing great RBs.
RB/FB Vic Listorti (NAVY)
Listorti is reportedly going to be the player replacing Alex Tesca as the primary RB/FB in the Navy offence this upcoming season. The problem is he has a history of concussions and is having trouble staying on the field.
That being said, in the event that he can maintain his health and stay on the field of play, he will most likely be a productive player who can offer value in best ball leagues in particular.
There are a lot of question marks as to how this Navy offence will look following the departures of Eli Heidenreich, Blake Horvath, and the aforementioned Tesca.
Listorti was another one mentioned on the G5 Hive:
TE Hunter Tipton (MEMPHIS)
Tipton was highly effective with MTSU last season replacing a very productive player at TE, and now is moving across the state to Memphis, where he’ll play at the same level and is expected to be a chess piece for OC Kevin Decker to use in his scheme.
Decker had Pat Conroy two seasons ago at TE, who finished as the second leading receiver on that team and averaged around 9 PPR PPG.
If anything, we know our man is committed:
I’ve also felt that a TE rocking the number zero was always a harbinger of good things to come.
WR Shane Carr (KENTUCKY)
Carr, the transfer from FCS program Southern Utah, comes in after accumulating just under 1400 receiving yards in two seasons.
As a refresher for the reader, Kentucky underwent a regime change this offseason opting to bring in former Oregon OC Will Stein as their next head coach. At Oregon, and previously UTSA, Stein’s offences routinely produced highly productive WRs.
Carr has also had a very productive offseason, accruing some positive praise from both coaches and other players:
We’re all waiting to see who emerges as Stein’s next WR1 at Kentucky, and Carr stands out due to his prior production, albeit at a lower level. The fact the has garnered praise in the offseason is also a good sign for his ability to translate up.
WR Tama Uilata (HAWAII)
In case you haven’t heard, returning slot receiver Pofele Ashlock is apparently currently injured and may miss significant time during the season according to head coach Timmy Chang:
Enter redshirt sophomore Tama Uilata, who caught 28 passes for 231 yards in 2025.
He is expected to be the next man up in the slot behind Ashlock, and may find himself in a lucrative role, at least to open the year, with QB Micah Alejado expected to chuck the ball all over the yard once again.
WR Tyler Morris (INDIANA)
Morris transferred from Michigan in the 2025 offseason and was an early standout before having his year cut short by injury. He played three seasons with the Wolverines, but never topped 300 receiving yards in a season.
That’s understandable considering the offensive scheme, and is presumably part of the reason why he decided to move on elsewhere last year.
Players coming off of ACL injuries are not usually my favourite in CFF, but this is potentially an important note for drafters this offseason:
WR Keith Reynolds (MIAMI OF OHIO)
Reynolds, the former UW Husky, was a productive player in Miami of Ohio’s offence this past season (56 targets, 36 catches, 352 yards and one score) behind other playmakers (Kam Shanks, 43-937-4, and Cole Weaver, 45-642-1).
It should also be said that the QB struggled at times to complete forward passes, so there’s that to consider too.
Of all the players on this list, I believe Reynolds is the most likely candidate to be a CFF relevant asset in 2026. In fact, it would not surprise me if he is one of the hottest waiver wire players following their game against Holy Cross in week two.
The problem with drafting him right now is that the Redhawks open the year against Pitt, so week one might be a dud from the former UW receiver. In fact, even after week two Miami plays Cincinnati in week three, so we’re really waiting until week four for this one to play out.
Nonetheless, I think the potential is very high for Reynolds who has the opportunity to fill in A LOT of vacated targets from a year ago with a QB who is (potentially) more pass-first oriented.
I love that Reynolds also sees usage in the run game. As I was mentioning to Josh in Austin this past weekend, it’s not so much about the actually added value of those carries (which is usually minimal), but rather: that it is an indicator that the staff have identified this player as one who they want to scheme plays for in order to get the ball in his hands (#VolumePig).
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