San Francisco 49ers: Players to Watch for in the Early Bowl Games

With the San Francisco 49ers mathematically eliminated from playoff contention, the only postseason that matters for the team happens at the college level.  For 49ers fans who may find the playoffs depressing to watch without their team involved, there are always bowl games to watch, with an eye on finding the next rookie sensation for San Francisco.

Last year, for example, 49ers fans who watched the Capitol One Bowl would have had the chance to see Bruce Ellington pull in six receptions for 140 yards and two touchdowns, as well as Chris Borland forcing a fumble at the end of the game.  It was an opportunity to see two future 49ers go head to head.

Of course, that’s only clear in retrospect—obviously, no one knows who the 49ers will end up taking come draft day.  If you haven’t been paying much attention to the college football schedule, you might not even know which players are draft eligible and which aren’t.

That’s where this guide comes in.  We’ll take a quick look at all 38 NCAA bowl games (minus the national championship, which hasn’t been decided yet) and highlight at least one player in each game that 49ers fans should take an interest in—potential draftees who might find their way into the red and gold when all is said and done.

For some of the earlier bowl games, we’re looking mostly at late-round lottery tickets or high-priority free agents, whereas the larger games often will have some potential first-round picks scattered through them.  Regardless of the quality of the matchup, however, we can find at least one player in each game who could reasonably be taken by the 49ers in the 2015 NFL draft.

Early slides will highlight individual days of bowl season, while the bigger games will get their own slide—it’s obviously more entertaining to watch potential first-round picks than potential seventh-round picks, so we’ll adjust accordingly.

Today’s article covers the first 18 bowl games, up through December 27, with the bigger bowls to be covered in upcoming articles.

All times Eastern.

December 20

David Zalubowski/Associated Press

11:00 AM: New Orleans Bowl: Nevada vs. Louisiana-Lafayette

With only one quarterback on the roster next season, the 49ers will probably use at least one pick, likely in the latter half of the draft, on a developmental prospect.   Colin Kaepernick came out of Nevada, so why not pick his replacement up to back him up here?  Cody Fajardo is a potential Day 3 pick, and only he and Kaepernick have 3,000 rushing yards and 9,000 passing yards in NCAA history.  Makes sense to have a similar player backing up Kaepernick and learning the system, right?

2:20 PM: New Mexico Bowl: Utah State vs. UTEP

The best player on these two teams is probably quarterback Chuckie Keaton, but he’s hurt and won’t be playing.  Focus, then, on tight end Eric Tomlinson from UTEP, a potential undrafted free agent and blocking specialist.  He might move to offensive tackle in the NFL.

3:30 PM: Las Vegas Bowl: Utah vs. Colorado State

This is the game of the day from a draft perspective.  Utah is loaded with potential mid-round prospects like receiver Dres Anderson, guard Junior Salt, linebacker Nate Orchard and safety Eric Rowe.  The player I’m most interested to see, however, is Colorado State offensive tackle Ty Sambrailo, who could be a second-round pick. He’s big and aggressive, and he could move inside to guard if need be.  Colorado State hasn’t provided the toughest competition, so seeing him against a better team could be enlightening.

5:45 PM: Famous Idaho Potato Bowl: Western Michigan vs. Air Force

Not much going on in this game from a draft standpoint.  The best I could find is Western Michigan cornerback Donald Celiscar, an upperclassman who was named to the Jim Thorpe Award watch list before the season.  Not much to watch for cornerbacks against Air Force, who ironically runs a run-first offense, but Celiscar is a potential UDFA to watch out for.

9:15 PM: Camellia Bowl: South Alabama vs. Bowling Green

When South Alabama has the ball, look for tight end Wes Saxton, a potential Day 3 pick.  Raw and undeveloped, Saxton runs a 4.65 40-yard dash despite being 6’4” and 235, so that’s a rather impressive bit of athleticism there.  He needs to put on some mass to succeed at the NFL level, but he caught 50 passes in 2013 for 635 yards, so there’s some production here.

December 22-24

Al Goldis/Associated Press

December 22, 2:00 PM: Miami Beach Bowl: BYU vs. Memphis

This is all about BYU, who has a couple interesting names to keep an eye on.  I keep highlighting tight ends, but Devin Mahina is another late-round pick to watch in case the 49ers decide to move on from Vernon Davis.  More notable, perhaps, is Marques Johnson, the defensive tackle.  At 6’2”, 308 pounds he’s already got the right NFL-sized frame, which is something you can’t teach.  He’d be a late-round flier, but he’s your prototypical nose tackle for a 3-4 defense.

December 23, 6:00 PM: Boca Raton Bowl: Marshall vs. Northern Illinois

This might be the single least enticing bowl from a draftnik’s perspective, but no matter.  Free safety Dechane Durante for Northern Illinois has produced throughout his career, often across from last year’s first-round pick, Jimmie Ward.  He has a couple interceptions this year and was described as “just as active and fast” as Ward by Dane Brugler.  As a seventh-round pick or UDFA, that’s worth taking a look at.

December 23, 9:30 PM: Poinsettia Bowl: Navy vs. San Diego State

Service academies don’t give good draft prospects, so just focus on SDSU in this one.  Tackle Terry Poole is a name I’ve heard bandied about, but I’ll be paying most attention to receiver Ezell Ruffin, who has come back from a broken collarbone to finish the season.  Last year, Ruffin had 68 receptions for 1,136 yards, and he’s contributed when healthy this year too.  Against Air Force in November, he had seven receptions for 126 yards and has gone over 50 yards receiving in five of his seven games played.  He’s a potential late-round playmaker.

December 24, Noon: Bahamas Bowl: Central Michigan vs. Western Kentucky

The search for a wide receiver continues in this game thanks to Central Michigan receiver Titus Davis, a third-day pick waiting to happen.  Davis was Central Michigan’s MVP this season, and he’s the only player in FBS history to have eight touchdown receptions in all four seasons as a starter.  This year, he’s racked up 54 catches for 843 yards.  He has above-average speed and size, and he could be a very solid developmental player.

Hawai'i Bowl (December 24, 8:00 PM): Fresno State vs. Rice

Otto Kitsinger/Associated Press

Fresno State has a couple interesting prospects to keep an eye on in the Hawai’i Bowl, which is the first bowl game of the year to actually feature some potential Day 1 or Day 2 picks.

Had the 49ers not taken Jimmie Ward last year, I might be highest on free safety Derron Smith, who’s currently slated somewhere around the second round.  With Ward and Eric Reid as the future, and Antonie Bethea holding down a safety slot now, Smith would be a luxury pick—but with 15 career interceptions and Earl Thomas-like ability, it’d be quite the luxury pick.

More likely for San Francisco, though, is receiver Josh Harper.  The 6’1”, 185 pound receiver has now had back-to-back 1,000 yard receiving seasons for Fresno State, and he’s a legacy pick—his father, Willie Harper, played 10 years as a linebacker for San Francisco from 1973-1983.

Harper has blazing speed, somewhere in the 4.4 40-yard range, most likely.  He’s a catch-and-go type player—the kind of guy who takes a small crossing route and turns it up the field for massive yardage.  There was some concern on how he’d do without Derek Carr throwing him the football, and his senior year hasn’t been quite as good as his junior one, but he’s definitely an interesting prospect.  If the 49ers go with a lineman in the first round, Harper is the kind of player they’d look to pick up in Round 2.

December 26

John Raoux/Associated Press

1:00 PM: Heart of Dallas Bowl: Illinois vs. Louisiana Tech

There aren’t many good bowl games coming the day after Christmas, so we have to reach a little to find prospects.  Here, look for Jon Davis, the tight end from Illinois as a potential UDFA.  He’s versatile, lining up as tight end, wide receiver and even occasionally a short-yardage running back as a sophomore.  He only has 13 receptions on the year, though, so don’t go too crazy.

4:30 PM: Quick Lane Bowl: Rutgers vs. North Carolina

North Carolina’s outside linebacker Travis Hughes finished the season with 58 tackles and a few quarterback hurries.  Thanks to his January assault charges, however, and considering the nightmare the 49ers had with off-field incidents in 2014, it’d be a long shot to see him picked up, even if he was a draftable prospect and not a likely UDFA.

8:00 PM: St. Petersburg Bowl: NC State vs. UCF

UCF has a couple interesting names to look out for in the third day of the draft.  Safety Clayton Geathers is its highest-rated prospect by ESPN, but more relevant for 49ers fans is receiver Rannell Hall, who CBS has going in the sixth round at the moment.  Hall missed a few games with injury this season, but when healthy, he was an exciting playmaker, lining up in the slot and backfield.  Hall has had 35, 57 and 42 receptions in the last three seasons and over 100 rushing yards in each of the last two.

Non-Notable December 27 Games

Gene J. Puskar/Associated Press

1:00 PM: Military Bowl: Cincinnati vs. Virginia Tech

Both teams have players to look out for in this game.  For Cincinnati, focus on defensive end Terrell Hartsfield, but the best players are likely the pair of safeties for Virginia Tech.  Both Detrick Bonner and Kyshoen Jarrett are potential Day 3 draftees.  Of the two, Bonner’s my favorite so far, as he’s the most versatile.  He’s lined up as a linebacker, a cornerback and a safety, so he has some versatility as a very late-round flier.

4:30 PM: Pinstripe Bowl: Boston College vs. Penn State

If the 49ers feel the need to bolster their inside lineman position, they could take a look at Boston College’s center, Andy Gallik.  Otherwise, this is all about Penn State— defensive end C.J. Olaniyan, linebacker Mike Hull and safety Adrian Amos are all potential draftees.  I particularly like Olaniyan, the fifth-year defensive end with a relentless motor.  He’s not the biggest or the most powerful, but he has effort coming out of his ears.

Sun Bowl (December 27, Arizona State vs. Duke)

Rick Scuteri/Associated Press

The 49ers wide receivers under contract for 2015 are relatively slim pickings—Michael Crabtree and Brandon Lloyd are free agents, leaving Anquan Boldin and Stevie Johnson as the potential starters with Quinton Patton and Bruce Ellington in reserve.

Thus, a first-round receiver wouldn’t go amiss, and one of the top prospects is Arizona State’s Jaelen Strong.  Strong is a junior so he may not come out this year, but if he does, he’s almost surely a first-round pick.

Strong has gone over 1,000 yards receiving in each of his two years at Arizona State.  He’s a vertical threat with a prototypical frame, standing at 6’3” and 212 pounds; there’s no question he can match up with most NFL cornerbacks.

His strongest asset is his ball skills.  He has huge hands and can make incredible, highlight-quality one-handed grabs.  He works well in traffic, too, and can fight through arm tackles to pick up extra yardage.  He’d be an instant weapon on back-corner fades and plays of that nature.

His route running isn’t the most polished in the world.  He often can be found just using his physical talents to get past corners, which is fine at the college level.  In the pros, however, all the cornerbacks are physical specimens, so he may have trouble with someone like the Legion of Boom.  Still, Strong lives up to his name and plays incredibly well when leaping in the air.  He’d be an instant boost to any offense, especially San Francisco’s.

Independence Bowl (December 27, 3:30 PM): Miami vs. South Carolina

John Raoux/Associated Press

Mike Iupati is a free agent to be, and Alex Boone held out at the beginning of 2014 thanks to a contract dispute.  The 49ers do have last year’s third-round pick, Brandon Thomas, coming off of injury for 2015, but redshirt players like that have had a high hit-or-miss rate for the 49ers.

If the 49ers decide to move on from Iupati, maybe they use their first-round pick on A.J. Cann, the big guard from South Carolina.  Cann has been a great player day in and day out at left guard for the Gamecocks, missing only one game in his entire college career.  He’s also a permanent team captain, so he has the respect of his teammates.

Cann has great instincts and play recognition, and he is rarely found out of position.  He’s not very agile—a lumberer, rather than a launcher—but he can absorb the best rushes that come his way and come back for more.  He’d be a good fit in San Francisco’s power-blocking scheme, and he would be a starter from day one.

There’s not an interior lineman anywhere in college football who can match Cann’s combination of power and athletic ability.  He’s not quite the same level of mauler that Iupati is, but he keeps his motor running in the run game and can establish leverage even if he’s initially knocked around.  He has the potential to be a 10-year starter on the offensive line.

Holiday Bowl (December 27, 8:00 PM): Nebraska vs. USC

Mark J. Terrill/Associated Press

The biggest draft names in this game will be Leonard Williams of USC and Randy Gregory of Nebraska, two powerful defensive ends.  With Ray McDonald released thanks to multiple off-field accusations and Justin Smith turning 36 next season, they’re two very tempting names.  Sadly, both will likely be long gone by the time the 49ers pick, somewhere in the teens.  Watch and enjoy, but don’t expect them in San Francisco next season.

Instead, we can look at a couple of skill-position players, one for each team.  When USC has the ball, look for Nelson Agholor, the 6’0", 185-pound receiver.  A potential second- or third-round pick, Agholor’s a pro-ready receiver with elite separation skills.  He has a wide variety of routes in his arsenal, and he shows quickness and explosion going into and out of his cuts.  He’s a very smooth runner, too—he’s got above-average speed and just looks good running into empty space.

On the other side of the ball is Nebraska’s running back, Ameer Abdullah.  Abdullah’s run for 1,000 or more yards in each of the last three seasons, and he has gone over 200 yards rushing in four games this season.  He’s pretty tough, considering his 195-pound frame, with great acceleration.  Imagining him in a thunder-and-lightning combination with Carlos Hyde is intriguing, although using two second-round picks in a row on running backs might be overdoing it a bit.

We'll continue with the rest of 2015's games next time.

Bryan Knowles is a featured columnist for Bleacher Report, covering the San Francisco 49ers.  Follow him @BryKno on twitter.