College Fantasy Football: Quick Hitters from Around the Nation

Out of the loop?  Trying to play catch up on all the latest college fantasy football news?  Here is a rundown of the happenings at fall camp from around the country, courtesy of CollegeFootballGeek.com.

AIR FORCE

News: Sophomore Tim Jefferson took almost all of the first-team snaps at quarterback during the Falcons’ practice on Saturday while his competitor, Asher Clark, spent much of his time in the backfield.
CFG Analysis: Jefferson is someone to watch on the waiver wire this fall.  The AFA QB position can rack up the rushing stats.

ARIZONA

News: Coach Mike Stoops hopes to have a resolution to his QB battle by the end of the week.  Nick Foles and Matt Scott are battling it out.
CFG Analysis: The Arizona QB position is only relevant in Pac-10 heavy leagues.

BUFFALO

News: Star RB James Starks is out for the season with a torn labrum.
CFG Analysis: This is crushing news to many fantasy owners.  Our advice is to soften the blow by grabbing Brandon Thermilus, who now becomes the likely number one guy for the Bulls.

BYU

News: Receiver McKay Jacobson was held out of the scrimmage due to concussion-like symptoms. Trainers originally determined Jacobson was just ill on Tuesday, but he developed more symptoms and now coaches believe he suffered a “bell-ringer” hit during a kickoff drill Monday.
CFG Analysis: The news flowing out of BYU camp has been nothing but negative.  Keep an eye on this one.  You can bet the Oklahoma safeties will know about his condition and try to ring his bell in the opener.

FLORIDA

News: Wide receiver Deonte Thompson has established himself as the #1 WR target for the Gators.
CFG Analysis: Its good to know how Tebow’s top target will be. But with so much talent to spread the ball to, don’t expect to see Percy Harvin type numbers.

IOWA

News: Paki O’Meara leads the Iowa depth chart at RB.  Adam Robinson is listed as the No. 2 man right now.
CFG Analysis: We are surprised that Jeff Brinson isn’t listed on the two-deep.  With Jewel Hampton still sitting out with his bum knee, the Iowa RB situation might be a work in progress for the early part of the season.

IOWA STATE

News: There’s a Darius shuffle on Iowa State’s football depth chart released Thursday. Darius Reynolds is in. Darius Darks is out—at least as a starter for next Thursday’s 7 p.m. season-opening football game against North Dakota State at Jack Trice Stadium.  Darks, Iowa State’s top returning receiver, has been slowed with a hamstring injury.
CFG Analysis: Those who drafted Darks are probably going to have to wait a few weeks to see if he can recover from this injury.

MICHIGAN

News: Head coach Rich Rodriguez made comments at Big Ten media day that all three of this QBs (Tate Forcier, Denard Robinson, and Nick Sheridan) will be used in the season opener against Western Michigan.
CFG Analysis: The fact that the “speed-challenged” Sheridan is still in the mix shows that both Forcier and Robinson are not completing passes as much as Rodriguez would like. This smells like a bad situation for fantasy owners in the early going of 2009.  However, keep a close eye on Denard Robinson towards the latter half of the season.  We’re hearing he is looking like a real threat to eventually win the starting job.

RICE

News: Rice wide receiver Toren Dixon is nursing a hamstring injury.
CFG Analysis: Lots of hamstring injuries across the country.  Let’s hope Dixon is back before the opener where his Owls face UAB’s terrible defense.

SAN DIEGO STATE

News: Senior running back Atiyyah Henderson has an arm in a sling to protect a broken bone in his upper back. Coach Brady Hoke isn’t sure when Henderson will be ready to play.
CFG Analysis: Henderson was a nice sleeper option in PPR leagues.  Not anymore.  Brandon Sulivan moves into the starting RB role.

SMU

News: SMU WR Aldrick Robinson missed some practice time with a hamstring injury, but he returned to the field this week and appears to be fine.
CFG Analysis: This doesn’t sound like anything to be worried about.  Unless he has a setback, he should be ready for the opener.

SOUTHERN MISSISSIPPI

News: HattiesburgAmerican.com’s Patrick McGee reports that DeAndre Brown is looking like his old self, but there are still doubts on whether or not he will play in the opener. “My concern at this point is obviously his cardio and conditioning,”  said Darrell Wyatt, USM’s offensive coordinator and associate head coach.

“He had 32 snaps in the scrimmage Saturday so he’s come along well. He’s not at the point he can play 40 or 50 snaps like we’re accustomed to. But we’re really pleased with his progress.”
CFG Analysis: Good news for those who rolled the dice on DeAndre on draft day.  However, we’d like to hear more before recommending putting him in your starting lineups week one.

News: Damion Fletcher had missed practice time with a hamstring injury.  He was back at practice taking reps, and looking better.
CFG Analysis: We’re a bit concerned about Fletcher in Week One considering Southern Miss’ opponent is Alcorn State.  The coaching staff could keep out their stars in this one.  Stay tuned.

TENNESSEE

News: Tennessee freshman tailback Bryce Brown will not be punished as the result of an NCAA investigation into his eligibility, coach Lane Kiffin said Wednesday.
CFG Analysis: Good news for Vols fans.  We’re still very skeptical of his fantasy options in 2009.

TEXAS

News: Texas coach Mack Brown handed the top running back spot to Vondrell McGee on Thursday.  “If Vondrell is making yards, he’ll get a bunch. If not, we’ll get someone else in there,” Brown said. “Fozzy had an outstanding summer. He will play if he’s healthy.” Cody Johnson is being listed as third string.
CFG Analysis: He might have been named as the starting back, but we are skeptical if McGee will truly be used as a feature back. Cody Johnson was the front-runner for the job this spring, but he missed time with hamstring injuries which gave Whittaker and McGee an opportunity. We’ll have to see how things shake out in the first couple weeks.

TULANE

News: More than two dozen Tulane football players are back at practice after coming down with mild flu-like symptoms last week.
CFG Analysis: There was no mention of Andre Anderson in this story, leading us to believe he has been cleared to practice. That is our hope, anyway.

USC

News: Freshman Matt Barkley has been named No. 4 Southern California’s starting quarterback. Coach Pete Carroll unexpectedly announced his decision Thursday, several hours before practice and two days before USC’s mock game.
CFG Analysis: Barkley is going to be a very good fantasy quarterback down the line.  However, don’t expect fireworks right out of the chute.

WISCONSIN

News: As promised, Wisconsin head coach Bret Bielema released his Week 1 depth chart Thursday, but he didn’t name definitive starters at either quarterback or running back. Junior Scott Tolzien and redshirt freshman Curt Phillips are listed as co-starters at quarterback ahead of senior Dustin Sherer, who started the final seven games last fall.

Junior Zach Brown and sophomore John Clay are listed as co-starters at running back, even though running backs coach John Settle said after Saturday’s scrimmage that Brown had moved into the top spot.
CFG Analysis: We’re going to just have to wait and see who gets the bulk of the work in Week One, Brown or Clay.  Our fear is that this battle could last well into the season.  Co-backs are not what fantasy players want to hear.

Todd DeVries is the founder of CollegeFootballGeek.com, your premier destination for all things college fantasy football.