10 Best Pro Prospects Playing in College Football Playoff Games
The four teams playing in the College Football Playoff this season are comprised of some of the best players in the country. And possibly some of the top future stars in the NFL.
Bleacher Report NFL draft expert Matt Miller has 16 players from the rosters of Alabama, Clemson, Michigan State and Oklahoma either listed among his top 100 on his most recent 2016 draft big board or ranked in the top 10 among draft-eligible players for their position. And that's not even counting the promising younger stars who won't be able to turn pro for another year or two.
Though each will be focused most on helping their respective teams win a national championship, the near future is also on their radar. With than in mind, here's a look at the 10 best pro prospects who will be battling it out in the College Football Playoff.
QB: Connor Cook, Sr., Michigan State
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He might have been a first-round pick a year ago, but Connor Cook opted to return to Michigan State for a fifth season because he had “unfinished business,” per ESPN.com's Dan Murphy. He has made good on this goal so far, leading the Spartans to a Big Ten championship and a spot in the playoffs, though along the way he's battled a right shoulder injury that might raise question marks ahead of the 2016 draft.
Cook, who has thrown for 2,921 yards with 24 touchdowns, missed the Spartans' win over Ohio State because of the shoulder, and it impacted him in the conference title game against Iowa. The time off since that Dec. 5 win, though, has him feeling much better.
"When you have an injury, you can rehab it, ice it, do whatever, but rest is key," Dan Wolken of USA Today wrote. "I was able to do that and didn't really throw a whole lot."
The 6'4", 220-pound Cook remains the top-rated senior quarterback, according to NFLDraftScout.com, and WalterFootball.com has him pegged as the No. 18 pick this spring.
RB: Derrick Henry, Jr., Alabama
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The reigning Heisman Trophy winner leads the nation in rushing yards, with 1,986, an in Alabama's last two games, he's carried the ball 90 times. Expect another heavy dose of the 6'3", 242-pound junior in the Cotton Bowl, and though Derrick Henry doesn't shy away from all that work, it could impact his draft status.
Bleacher Report's Matt Miller has Henry as only his seventh-best running back prospect, despite what he's accomplished in college, but in mid-November, he tweeted a warning to not "get sucked in by the stats, folks. Derrick Henry is not an elite RB prospect."
While Henry's workload this season—his 339 carries are the most of any player in FBS—might create concern about wear, as a sophomore, he split touches with T.J. Yeldon and only ran the ball 35 times (for 382 yards) in 2013.
WR: Sterling Shepard, Sr., Oklahoma
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A promising freshman season in 2012 made it look like Sterling Shepard was a shoo-in to be the next great Oklahoma wide receiver. But then injuries—and a drastic drop in passing production—caused his sophomore and junior years to be rather unimpressive.
Fully healthy and the No. 1 target in an Air Raid attack, Shepard has put together a career year with 79 catches for 1,201 yards and 11 touchdowns. All of those numbers are far and away the best among Oklahoma's pass-catching targets.
For his career, the 5'10", 193-pound senior has 226 receptions, 3,395 yards and 26 TDs. He's ranked by NFLDraftScout.com as the second-best senior wideout in the country, behind TCU's Josh Doctson.
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TE: O.J. Howard, Jr., Alabama
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If O.J. Howard opts to turn pro after Alabama is done in the playoffs, don't base his chances of making it in the NFL on his college numbers. Mostly because he's hardly had any in three seasons despite near-constant hype of his potential.
The 6'6", 242-pound junior has caught 30 passes this season, which is one fewer than he had in his first two years with the Crimson Tide. But he hasn't had a touchdown catch since November 2013, and he failed to make a reception in Alabama's last two games.
The numbers are due both to how the Tide have used Howard but also his slow development as a pass-catcher. He'll be one of the first tight ends taken whenever he comes out, simply because of his size.
OL: Jack Conklin, Jr., Michigan State
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A former walk-on, Jack Conklin might end up being the first Michigan State player drafted in the spring if he decides to forgo his senior season.
The 6'6", 325-pound offensive tackle has anchored the left side for the past three seasons, during which the Spartans have allowed only 45 sacks in 40 games.
"Depending on which mock draft, Conklin is projected as a potential first-round NFL draft pick," wrote Justin Dacey of MLive.com.
DE: Shaq Lawson, Jr., Clemson
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A year after Clemson had two of its defensive linemen—end Vic Beasley and nose tackle Grady Jarrett—drafted, the Tigers might be even better up front. And once again, this push is paced by a dominant edge-rusher, as Shaq Lawson has 9.5 sacks and an FBS-leading 22.5 tackles for loss.
"Few defensive ends can boast the well-developed all-around game of Clemson defensive end Shaq Lawson, who plays the run as well as any edge in the draft," USA Today's Jon Ledyard wrote.
At 6'3" and 270 pounds, Lawson could play either inside or out depending on the team that takes him and the alignment it goes with on the defensive line.
DT: A'Shawn Robinson, Jr., Alabama
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Alabama has arguably the best front seven in college football, a unit that's paced the nation's No. 2 defense and the most sack-happy group of pass-rushers in the land. A veteran group filled with more seniors than normal for the Crimson Tide, it's one of the youngest guys who stands out from the pack.
Well, at least in terms of his age, since the 6'4", 312-pound Robinson doesn't look like he's still more than three months from his 21st birthday.
"After standing next him today, you can't convince me that A'Shawn Robinson isn’t a 45-year-old superhero," Bleacher Report's Adam Kramer tweeted.
Robinson, projected by WalterFootball.com as the No. 10 pick in the spring (if he turns pro), has 3.5 sacks, 7.5 tackles for loss, a fumble return and a very impressive blocked extra point this season.
LB: Reggie Ragland, Sr., Alabama
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Considering the number of pro prospects that annually come from the conference on the defensive side of the ball, Reggie Ragland getting named the 2015 SEC Defensive Player of the Year will look pretty good on his draft resume. It will also validate his choice to return for his senior year instead of jumping to the draft.
The 6'2", 252-pound Ragland has a team-high 90 tackles this season for Alabama, along with 2.5 sacks, 6.5 tackles for loss and two forced fumbles. NFLDraftScout.com has him rated as the No. 1 senior inside linebacker, and WalterFootball.com projects him as the No. 21 overall pick.
CB: Mackensie Alexander, R-So., Clemson
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He's only played two seasons of college football and is still seeking his first career interception, but Mackensie Alexander would likely be high on many NFL teams' draft boards if he chooses to turn pro after the playoffs are over.
If Alexander were in charge of a team's draft, he knows whom he'd go with.
"I think every guy that talks about Mackensie knows I'm the best corner in college ball," he said in August, per Aaron Brenner of the Post and Courier. "It's not even close. It's not even close."
Rand Getlin of NFL Network tweeted earlier this month that Alexander, a 5'11", 195-pound redshirt sophomore who missed the 2013 season because of injury, is considering an entry into the draft.
S: Jayron Kearse, Jr., Clemson
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With the success the Arizona Cardinals have had turning college safety Deone Bucannon into a pro linebacker, more and more NFL teams figure to look for fast and strong defensive backs who can move up from the secondary. Jayron Kearse could be one of the next of such projects, assuming he turns pro after this season.
The 6'5", 220-pound junior is the top-rated safety in the 2016 draft, according to Mark Gunnels of FootballInsiders.com. Gunnels wondered why Kearse didn't try to be a wide receiver in college, considering he has seven career interceptions, but then he noticed how much Kearse enjoys coming up to the line and making hits on ball-carriers.
"Kearse isn't afraid to lay the wood," Gunnels wrote of Kearse, who has 6.5 tackles for loss among his 52 takedowns this year.
Follow Brian J. Pedersen on Twitter at @realBJP.
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