NFL Draft 2015: Updated Prospect Radar, Post-Week 12
This past week in college football was the calm before the storm, featuring few marquee matchups and dramatic results, but that doesn’t mean NFL scouts weren’t paying attention.
As the college football season is nearing its end, the opportunities are dwindling for 2015 draft prospects to impress in live game action. That makes every week all the more important for seniors and draft-eligible underclassmen who intend to become professionals after the season.
There were some players who stood out in games between major programs this week, including Kansas State wide receiver Tyler Lockett against West Virginia and a pair of UCLA defenders who led the Bruins’ dismantling of crosstown rival USC on prime-time national television.
That said, the lack of premier games on Saturday also allowed some lesser-known prospects, including a trio of pro-caliber talents from Colorado State, to steal a piece of the spotlight.
Stock Up: Owamagbe Odighizuwa, DE, UCLA, Sr.
1 of 14
This Week: Five total tackles, two sacks, 10 total quarterback pressures
Opponent: USC
Owamagbe Odighizuwa’s name is tough to spell, but it’s one that NFL scouts need to know, the UCLA senior defensive end made clear Saturday.
As a whole, UCLA’s defensive front dominated USC’s offensive line throughout Saturday’s game, but Odighizuwa was the clear standout.
The 6’3”, 270-pound defensive end in UCLA’s 3-4 alignment displayed his strength, acceleration and hand skills all night as he consistently was able to push a lineman back, shoot gaps between blockers or work to shed his way off an opponent. He worked from both sides of the line and was able to give USC’s big men trouble both outside and inside.
Odighizuwa finished the night with five tackles, including two sacks, but created disruption on more plays than not. Able to close on USC passer Cody Kessler quickly, he had a whopping total of 10 quarterback pressures, according to Pro Football Focus’ “College Game of the Week” charting.
A player who gave a relentless effort on Saturday night, Odighizuwa often frees up his teammates to steal the highlights while he occupies blockers, but this game was his time to shine.
He projects best for a 4-3 defensive scheme as a defensive end in which he could also play inside in pass-rushing situations, but his experience playing in UCLA’s 3-4 makes him a scheme-versatile option, likely as a second-day pick, in the 2015 draft.
Current Draft Projection: Rounds 2-3
Stock Up: Leonard Williams, DE, USC, Jr.
2 of 14
This Week: Four total tackles, one fumble recovery, five quarterback pressures
Opponent: UCLA
Like his aforementioned UCLA counterpart who also plays defensive end and wears No. 94, USC’s Leonard Williams was also the best player on the field when his defense was in the game.
The Trojans defense as a whole struggled on Saturday night, but Williams was as excellently disruptive as usual and continued to solidify himself as one of the 2015 draft’s top prospects.
Williams had four tackles, but like Odighizuwa, the simple statistics don’t tell the whole story. He was credited by Pro Football Focus with five pressures on UCLA quarterback Brett Hundley, while he was a consistent presence in either stopping or redirecting runs between the tackles as well as pursuing multiple run plays out toward the sidelines.
As ABC color commentator Todd Blackledge noted on multiple occasions during Saturday night’s contest, Williams moves more like a linebacker than a 300-pound defensive lineman. He tackles like one too, as he was able to free himself and make strong wrap-up stops on a number of occasions.
The most noticeable display of Williams’ explosiveness came on a Hundley fumble in the red zone, on which Williams quickly burst to the loose ball and dove on top of it. His only big mistake of the game came at the end of a third-quarter pressure on which he forced Hundley to throw the ball away but got flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct after the play.
Current Draft Projection: Top five
Stock Up: Eric Kendricks, ILB, UCLA, Sr.
3 of 14
This Week: 14 total tackles, one tackle for loss, one interception
Opponent: USC
In a game that USC managed only two offensive scoring drives, Odighizuwa was not the only standout on the UCLA defense. Another was linebacker Eric Kendricks, who led the Bruins in total tackles and made a spectacular play in coverage.
The latter came in the second quarter, when Kendricks made a one-handed pluck off a deflected pass, all the while diving to the ground, for an interception. The play was reviewed and could have been overturned, as it looked as though his foot might have slid out of bounds before he secured possession, but it was an outstanding effort no less from a regularly excellent coverage linebacker.
Throughout the game, Kendricks was consistently around the ball as he usually is. He blew up one screen pass for a two-yard loss and in total had eight tackles within five yards of the line of scrimmage.
Kendricks put his athletic range on display throughout the game in making plays from sideline to sideline, and most of his tackles included strong wrap-ups and driving his opponent back, although he was also knocked for three missed tackles by Pro Football Focus.
What Kendricks, perhaps the most visible playmaker on a talent-loaded UCLA defense, did Saturday was nothing out of the ordinary for the senior linebacker, who is sixth nationally with 124 total tackles this year and also has five passes defensed. He’s smaller than the prototypical inside linebacker, at 6’0” and 227 pounds, but his ability to make plays all over the field should make him a solid Day 2 draft pick.
Current Draft Projection: Round 2
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Stock Down: Nelson Agholor, WR, USC, Jr.
4 of 14
This Week: Three catches for 24 yards, one drop; three punt returns for -5 yards, one muffed punt
Opponent: UCLA
Last week, USC wide receiver Nelson Agholor merited praise in our Prospect Radar after he posted a 16-catch, 216-yard, two-touchdown game against California. This week, against a much tougher defense from UCLA, Agholor made more mistakes than positive plays.
Agholor caught two passes for 19 combined yards on USC’s opening drive of the game then was virtually a non-factor for the rest of the game, gaining just five yards on a short catch late when UCLA already had full control of the outcome.
He dropped what should have been a 25-yard touchdown or close to it on an incredible throw by Cody Kessler pinpointed between two defenders late in the first quarter. For the rest of the game, UCLA was able to blanket him in coverage. His three catches came on a total of nine targets.
Agholor’s aptitude in returning punts should bolster his draft stock, but he was even worse in that capacity Saturday. He muffed UCLA’s first punt of the night; the loose ball was recovered by UCLA at the USC 8-yard line and led to a touchdown.
On another punt he caught late in the game, he tried too hard to create a big play, weaving toward the middle of the field and then back out to the sideline before he ended up being forced out of bounds for an eight-yard loss.
The junior wide receiver remains USC’s best offensive playmaker and is still within the top 12 nationally in receptions, receiving yards and touchdowns. He still projects as a second-round draft pick and as an NFL team’s second or third receiver, but he needs to avoid disappearing in big games going forward.
Current Draft Projection: Round 2
Stock Up: Tyler Lockett, WR, Kansas State, Sr.
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This Week: 10 receptions for 196 yards; two punt returns for 66 yards, one touchdown; three kickoff returns for 59 yards, one fumble
Opponent: West Virginia
Tyler Lockett played a pivotal role in deciding the outcome of the first big game of the week on Thursday night when the Kansas State receiver accounted for nearly half of his team’s offensive yards and also made a big impact in the return game.
Kansas State had 401 yards of total offense in its 26-20 win over West Virginia; Lockett, on 10 receptions, accounted for 196 of them.
The senior wideout’s most impressive play of the game came on a 54-yard gain in the fourth quarter. Lockett burned a West Virginia cornerback on a hitch-and-go up the left sideline but had to slow down to adjust to an underthrown pass about 25 yards downfield.
Although that allowed the cornerback to catch back up to him, Lockett put his open-field playmaking ability on display as he kept his balance through a low trip-up tackle attempt then made two more defenders miss en route to his final yardage.
Lockett was able to beat defensive backs throughout the game by running sharp routes and added yards after the catch on most of them by quickly turning downfield off the reception. He was flagged for offensive pass interference on one target and had some issues separating at times, but he brought in every pass that hit his hands, including an 11-yard grab that required a tough two-foot toe-drag at the right sideline.
Lockett is a small receiver at just 5’11” and 175 pounds, but his combination of quickness, route-running ability and sure-handedness makes him a strong candidate to be an NFL slot receiver, while he also adds value as a return specialist.
The senior weaved his way to a 23-yard gain on his first punt return of Thursday night’s game then fielded a short punt in West Virginia’s own territory, with a head of steam as he caught the ball, to score a 43-yard touchdown in the second quarter.
His lone major mistake Thursday came on one of his three kickoff returns, on which he was stripped of the ball at the 22-yard line. Lockett’s other two kickoff returns on Thursday night weren’t very impressive either, as they exposed his lack of exceptional acceleration.
Still, with an overall total of 321 all-purpose yards Thursday, Lockett was the star player on the field. He made big plays throughout the game as a pass-catching target, and he continued to put his NFL-caliber skill set on display on both offense and special teams.
Current Draft Projection: Round 3
Stock Up: Michael Bennett, DT, Ohio State, Sr.
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This Week: Five total tackles, 1.5 tackles for loss (one sack)
Opponent: Indiana
Less than a month ago, Michael Bennett’s senior season could be characterized as disappointing. In Ohio State’s first eight games of the year, Bennett didn’t show the same explosiveness and disruptiveness that he had as a junior, and he had just three tackles for loss as a result.
Bennett has responded well to the criticism, standing out so far in each of Ohio State’s three November games.
Using his quick burst and strong hands, Bennett was able to penetrate the backfield to blow up multiple plays in Saturday’s game against Indiana, including a four-yard sack of quarterback Zander Diamont after he worked off Hoosiers left guard Collin Rahrig.
Bennett also led a solid effort by the OSU run defense between the tackles that—with the exception of a 54-yard touchdown in late-game garbage time on which Bennett got sealed by a block and Tevin Coleman ran right by him—was able to keep one of the nation’s best running backs mostly in check.
In the past three games alone, Bennett has recorded 4.5 tackles for loss, including two sacks. He’s playing with as much intensity as ever before.
He’s a bit undersized for a defensive tackle at 6’2” and 288 pounds, and he sometimes gets pushed back off the line of scrimmage against runs. But with his ability as a penetrator he projects well as a 3-technique defensive tackle for a 4-3 defensive line. In the past three weeks, he’s re-established himself as a potential first-round pick.
Current Draft Projection: Rounds 1-2
Stock Down: Everett Golson, QB, Notre Dame, Jr.
7 of 14
This Week: 16-of-24 passing for 236 yards, two touchdowns, one interception; six rushing attempts for -48 yards, one fumble
Opponent: Louisville
There weren’t any strong standouts among draft-eligible players in Saturday’s game between Notre Dame and Louisville, despite there being a significant number of prospects in the contest, but the draft stock of Fighting Irish quarterback Everett Golson continued its decline from earlier in the season.
Notre Dame suffered its fourth loss in five games Saturday, and although Golson’s play might not have had as much to do with the defeat as a porous defense and special teams miscues, costly turnovers by the quarterback have been a constant in the team’s nosedive from being a highly ranked team to one in disarray.
A lobbed pass that Golson attempted to force to Notre Dame’s top receiver, William Fuller, was broken on and picked off by Louisville cornerback Charles Gaines in the second quarter. The interception set up a field goal for the competition and extended Golson’s unwanted streak of games in which he has thrown at least one interception to eight in a row.
In addition to his 13 interceptions, Golson has also fumbled 11 times this year, including once on Saturday. After spinning away from one rusher, he got hit by another and lost the ball, as his flaw of holding the ball too loosely continues to get exposed this year.
Making matters worse, Golson evidently did not give a full effort to recover the fumble, instead assuming that teammate Nick Martin would handle it. This goes against what football players should know when there is a loose ball, and though Golson ultimately ended up chasing it down and knocking it out of bounds, the play resulted in a 32-yard loss for his team.
While players are often praised for having short memories, showing that they can bounce right back from turnovers and make big plays for their teams, the same does not get said for Golson. His turnovers seem to breed turnovers, and after his fumble led to cries from Notre Dame fans for the team to switch to Malik Zaire at quarterback, his confidence seemed visibly shaken.
To Golson’s credit, he did make some impressive plays rifling the ball down the field and throwing on the run in leading a second-half comeback. The quarterback’s athleticism and arm strength allow him to remain an intriguing long-term talent for the NFL.
Yet even some of his biggest plays, such as a 28-yard touchdown reception in the end zone by Fuller, were more lucky than good.
Golson has great playmaking ability, but while the start of his comeback season built hype that he could be an early-round draft pick in 2015, it’s become clear in recent weeks that Golson really should return for his final year of eligibility.
His game needs refinement, and while he could still be a Day 3 draft pick because of his upside, he simply has had too many turnovers and sacks in recent weeks to be taken seriously as a possible top-100 pick for 2014.
Current Draft Projection: Rounds 4-5
Stock Up: Dee Hart, RB, Colorado State, Jr.
8 of 14
This Week: 20 rushing attempts for 230 yards, five touchdowns; two receptions for 42 yards, one touchdown
Opponent: New Mexico
If you’re not an avid college football follower, Colorado State might be the best team in the Football Bowl Subdivision that you don’t even know about. The Rams are 10-1, having won nine games in a row, and that’s largely because of their offense, which is ranked 12th nationally in yards per game and features at least four players who should have NFL futures.
One of those emerging players is running back Dee Hart, an Alabama transfer in his first year running for the Rams, who had an exceptional performance against New Mexico on Saturday as he posted 272 yards from scrimmage and became just the second player in the FBS this season, according to the Mountain West Conference’s Twitter account, to score six touchdowns in a game.
Hart does not have a great burst out of the backfield, but he consistently fights through contact and is dangerous once he gets in the open field, as he showed Saturday when he left New Mexico’s defense in the dust on 76- and 55-yard touchdown runs.
Both his two-yard touchdown run and 20-yard catch-and-run score—which were each among the four end-zone trips he had in the second quarter alone—were accentuated with leaps against defenders to get over the goal line.
Hart is a small back at only 5’9” and 190 pounds, but he doesn’t run like one. He consistently finishes forward when he is going down, and he is frequently able to break arm tackles. That, combined with his downfield speed, makes him capable of big plays like the ones he broke Saturday.
Though he wasn’t able to get out of the backfield on some runs, he ultimately ended up tearing up the New Mexico defense both between the tackles and outside. The only area in which Hart struggled Saturday was in pass protection, as he got pushed back on a couple occasions and took poor angles when he tried to cut block.
Hart’s standout performance might be asterisked by virtue of coming against New Mexico, which has allowed the third-most yards per game of any FBS defense this year, but the junior running back has been impressive all season. In 11 games, Hart has totaled 1,324 yards from scrimmage and 18 touchdowns.
His draft stock could certainly be bolstered by another season, so he’d be smart to return this year. But running backs tend to declare for the draft as underclassmen more than any other position. Should Hart make the jump to the league, he’s at least legitimized himself as a Day 3 draft pick at this point.
Current Draft Projection: Round 6
Stock Up: Garrett Grayson, QB, Colorado State, Sr.
9 of 14
This Week: 23-of-29 passing for 389 yards, three touchdowns; three rushing attempts for 17 yards
Opponent: New Mexico
As impressive as Dee Hart was running the ball on Saturday, Colorado State senior quarterback Garrett Grayson looked just as good passing the ball in CSU’s 58-20 rout of the Lobos.
Grayson completed 23 passes—including his last 10 throws in a row—to throw for 389 yards in his fifth 300-plus-yard game of the season. He was sharp throwing the ball to all levels of the field, including four of his five attempts that went more than 20 yards through the air from the line of scrimmage.
A pair of deep connections that went 36 yards, one to sophomore stud Rashard Higgins and another to redshirt freshman Xavier Williams, came off play action.
A 28-yard touchdown pass to Higgins came when Grayson was under heavy pressure. Grayson showed composure and mechanical soundness against the rush throughout the game, even taking off to run a few times when he needed to, and was accurate on the majority of his intermediate targets.
The consistency and downfield throwing ability that Grayson showed Saturday was nothing new for him, especially for his senior season.
Grayson, who has thrown 29 touchdowns and only five interceptions this year, is one of only two quarterbacks in college football to be averaging more than 10 yards per passing attempt this season. The other is Oregon’s Marcus Mariota, who is projected to be a first-round pick in the 2015 draft and is also the only other quarterback to have a better passer rating than Grayson this season.
There’s nothing special physically about Grayson by NFL standards, but the 6’2”, 220-pound signal-caller is an efficient passer in a pro-style offense who projects as a capable backup at the next level.
As suggested by Justin Higdon of DraftBrowns.com, it’s possible Grayson could be the top senior quarterback in an underwhelming draft class at the position. Any team looking to add young depth under center with a mid-round draft pick should get to know him.
Current Draft Projection: Rounds 4-5
Stock Up: Ty Sambrailo, LT, Colorado State, Sr.
10 of 14
This Week: Dominant as both pass- and run-blocker as offense posted 698 total yards
Opponent: New Mexico
While Dee Hart, Garrett Grayson and Rashard Higgins have each stood out both statistically and on film this year, the Colorado State prospect you really need to know for NFL draft purposes is left tackle Ty Sambrailo.
Sambrailo has been dominant all year—according to the Colorado State football team’s official Twitter account, he “has graded out above 90 percent in every game this year and hasn't allowed a sack”—but was especially so in Colorado State’s 698-yard offensive day Saturday.
Lined up against New Mexico edge defender Donnie White for much of the game, Sambrailo made it clear that White was the far inferior player as he turned him outside on run plays and isolated him away from the quarterback on most pass plays.
That said, run blocking is where the 6’5”, 315-pound offensive lineman really thrives. Possessing strong hands and a good ability to get downfield off the line of scrimmage, Sambrailo uses his two-hand punch well to move defenders away from the ball-carrier like blocking sleds.
His pass-blocking game remains a work in progress. Despite his size and strength, the tall tackle gets pushed back toward the quarterback more than he should because he tends to stand too high in his set, allowing rushers to get leverage underneath him. He also needs to get better at countering pass-rushing moves with his hands.
The good news for Sambrailo is that his flaws are technical not physical and therefore coachable. His ability to overwhelm defenders with his nastiness and athleticism in one-on-one matchups is evident.
Sambrailo is not as well-known as some of his counterparts from larger programs, but he might end up being a better prospect than they are. He’s a likely first-round pick who has a legitimate shot to be the first offensive lineman picked in the 2015 draft.
Current Draft Projection: Round 1
Hidden Gem of the Week: Vince Mayle, WR, Washington State, Sr.
11 of 14
This Week: 15 receptions for 252 yards
Opponent: Arizona State
Despite being second in the nation with 1,404 receiving yards and tied for first in the FBS with 101 receptions, Washington State’s Vince Mayle hasn’t yet become a big-name wide receiver, but that could change after he put up 252 yards on Arizona State on Saturday.
It’s always hard to know if a receiver’s success in a Mike Leach-coached offense, which always emphasizes passing heavily and leads to astronomical passing and receiving numbers, will translate to the next level. But Mayle looks to be the most talented receiver Leach has had since current San Francisco 49ers wideout Michael Crabtree played for him at Texas Tech.
A junior college transfer, Mayle had just 42 receptions for 539 yards in his junior year, but he’s emerged as a standout in a breakthrough senior season. There’s no reason to think Mayle, a 6’3”, 219-pound target with evident athleticism, can’t at least have some success outside of Leach’s numbers-inflating system.
He made a number of impressive catches that showed his NFL potential on Saturday, including three receptions that went for 30 yards or longer. Mayle is not simply a player taking advantage of open space, like many other receivers in Leach’s offenses past have, but he is also showing impressive ability to adjust to passes in the air and make plays over defensive backs with his size.
Mayle, who accepted an invitation to the East-West Shrine Game last week, should be firmly on the radar of NFL scouts. He currently projects as an early Day 3 draft pick but could continue to work his way up boards.
(Update, Monday afternoon: According to the bowl's official Twitter account, Mayle has accepted an invitation to the Reese's Senior Bowl, which likely means he will not be attending the Shrine Game.)
Current Draft Projection: Rounds 4-5
Small-School Stud of the Week: Zack Hodges, DE, Harvard, Sr.
12 of 14
This Week: Six total tackles, three tackles for loss (two sacks), one pass breakup
Opponent: Yale
This year’s Harvard-Yale game, played Saturday, featured one of the top NFL prospects in the Football Championship Subdivision, Zack Hodges, who put his pro potential on display in the Crimson’s 31-24 victory.
As it consistently does against Ivy League competition, Hodges’ athleticism stood out against Yale’s offensive tackles. A fast edge defender who turns the corner well, Hodges was able to create a number of pressures and chase down some run plays for stops.
Hodges’ biggest play of the game, however, was all about leverage. Late in the game, with Yale needing to mount a touchdown drive, the defensive end bull-rushed the Bulldogs’ left tackle straight back to quarterback Morgan Roberts and took the passer down for a six-yard sack.
At 6’3” and 235 pounds, Hodges lacks the bulk and strength at this point to be an every-down defensive end. Even against a Yale offensive line that is for the most part significantly smaller than an NFL unit, Hodges’ limitations as a run defender were apparent, as linemen were frequently able to control him at the line of scrimmage and turn him away from runs.
There should be a future for Hodges in the NFL nonetheless, at least as a pass-rusher. Harvard’s all-time leader with 27 career sacks, Hodges has the natural ability to come off the edge that should bridge the gap from the FCS to the professional ranks.
He should be a much more attractive prospect to teams that run 3-4 defenses than those that run 4-3 schemes, considering his likely future in the NFL is at outside linebacker.
Current Draft Projection: Round 4
Other Notable Performers
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Highlighted in our Prospect Radar last week after a 307-yard rushing performance against Rutgers, Indiana junior Tevin Coleman continued to legitimize himself as a top running back prospect with a 228-yard, three-touchdown game against Ohio State.
Coleman was mostly unsuccessful running between the tackles—it could be said that 25 of his 27 runs went for just 86 yards, only slightly more than three yards per rushing attempts. On his other two runs, however, he made it clear that he has great speed by outrunning a fast Ohio State defense to the house on 90- and 52-yard touchdown scores. The second-leading rusher in the FBS with 1,906 rushing yards, Coleman looks to be a solid second-round draft pick should he choose to declare.
On the other side, junior linebacker Joshua Perry had a terrific day for the Ohio State defense on Saturday. He was a consistent presence in the box, recording 14 total tackles, including three for loss, two of which were sacks.
Perry’s not one of the more spectacular talents on the OSU defense, but he’s a solid athlete and instinctive player who tackles soundly. It would be a surprise if he declares for the 2015 draft, but more games like Saturday’s can raise his draft profile.
Wisconsin junior running back Melvin Gordon had his memorable single-game rushing yards record broken just one week after he set it, as Oklahoma freshman Samaje Perine (not draft-eligible) went for 427 yards against Kansas.
Nonetheless, Gordon continued to impress Saturday as he ran for 200 yards and two touchdowns on 31 carries, while he also had four receptions for a season-high 64 receiving yards. He set another record in the process, as he became the quickest running back to ever surpass 2,000 yards in a season when he reached the milestone on just his 241st carry of the year, according to ESPN Stats & Info.
Another player given Stock Up credit last week, Missouri senior defensive end Markus Golden, followed up last week’s showing with an even better performance against Tennessee on Saturday.
An explosive edge defender who wins with both his burst and hand skills, Golden was this week’s Walter Camp Defensive Player of the Week after he recorded six total tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss, two sacks, two additional quarterback hits and a fumble recovery in his team’s 29-21 win.
Included in this same section last week after posting a 15-catch, 181-yard game on the heels of accepting a Senior Bowl invitation, East Carolina senior wide receiver Justin Hardy made history Saturday against Tulane by breaking the FBS record for most career receptions. Now at 355 for his career, Hardy has been a consistent pass-catcher for four years and should be a solid addition to an NFL offense as a pick in the middle rounds.
Another standout from Harvard's win over Yale was junior wide receiver Andrew Fischer, who caught eight passes for 146 yards—including two impressive deep-ball touchdown catches from 40 and 35 yards out—while he also had runs of 58 and 21 yards and added 36 return yards, giving him a total of 261 all-purpose yards for the game. At 5'9" and 175 pounds, his NFL potential is limited, but his athleticism stood out Saturday and should make him a player to keep an eye on as a potential sleeper for the 2016 draft.
NFL Draft Injury Notes
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One of the 2015 draft’s top overall prospects, Alabama junior wide receiver Amari Cooper, left Saturday’s win over Western Carolina with a knee injury. “Cooper could have gone back to the game if needed,” Alabama coach Nick Saban said Saturday, according to Michael Casagrande of AL.com, but he was rested along with a number of other players who left with injuries.
Mississippi senior quarterback Bo Wallace sprained his ankle Saturday in Ole Miss’ 30-0 blowout loss to Arkansas, according to Michael Cohen of The Commercial Appeal. Wallace played very poorly in the game, completing just 16 of 31 passing attempts for 235 yards with zero touchdowns and two interceptions, but his play was likely affected by his injury. Still, Wallace’s once-rising draft stock has crashed back down to where he is likely to go unselected.
Notre Dame’s best defensive prospect, junior defensive end Sheldon Day, missed the Fighting Irish’s loss to Louisville with a MCL sprain. Senior cornerback Cody Riggs, another player with NFL potential, left the game early with a stress reaction that has forced him into a walking boot, according to IrishIllustrated.com.
Arizona State wide receiver Jaelen Strong, a potential first-round pick, did not play Saturday against Washington State due to a concussion.
Stanford’s Ty Montgomery, another wide receiver expected to be selected in the early rounds, was forced out of Saturday’s game against California with a shoulder injury, according to David Lombardi of ESPN.com.
Dan Hope is an NFL/NFL Draft Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report.
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