Category: College Football

I break down the injury news from this past weekend with notes on each player who may have been dealing with injuries.

A few notes about this list, being on it does not for sure mean a player is “injured”, but rather:

• They may have missed the game due to a known injury (ok, this does mean they are injured)
• They may have gone out of the game due to injury and not returned (sometimes with an official announcement from the team)
• They may have left the game but returned, or at least attempted to return (sometimes these guys end up banged up enough to miss future games)
• They may have had a vague twitter mention about possibly being injured or leaving a game, so it’s something on my radar

I’ll continue to post any updates I see during the week, those will be added to daily updates as well as the injury database.

If you are aware of a fantasy-relevant injury from this weekend that you don’t see here (or don’t see listed in the database), or think anything shared here is incomplete, please tag me on twitter with a link and let me know, thanks!

List of Potential Injury News from Saturday Oct. 3 (alphabetical by last name):

• RB Oscar Adaway, North Texas – was listed as unavailable pregame for undisclosed reasons
• WR Jordan Addison, Pitt – left the game and later in the first half had his pads off, postgame quote was that it was thought to be “not too serious”
• QB Josh Adkins, UTSA – started in place of Frank Harris but on his first offensive play was knocked out of the game. It is feared he may have a broken collarbone.
• QB Christian Anderson, Army – left in the first quarter with a leg (?) injury, spent the second quarter in the injury tent. The team officially announced that he would not return to the game
• QB Alan Bowman, Texas Tech – injured his right lower leg after getting hit throwing a pass. Left the game, tried to return doing some warmups before the second half but was unable to go. In postgame it was said he’d get X-rays and possibly an MRI.
• RB Rakeem Boyd, Arkansas – left in the 2nd quarter and did not return, saw reports that he apparently got an X-ray and may have been in a walking boot. Broad postgame quote that none of the Arkansas injuries were thought to be season-ending.
• WR Treylon Burks, Arkansas – left the game with an injury, seen on sideline without pads
• RB Daniel Carter, Pitt – limped off the field after his only carry of the game
• RB James Charles, Florida Atlantic – in postgame was said to have gone down with a “stinger” – (same description for FAU RB BJ Emmons)
• RB James Cook, Georgia – left the game with a right hand/wrist injury – in postgame was said to be fine, and “could have returned”
• RB Chris Curry, LSU – did not play, according to a radio broadcast it was an “undisclosed illness”
• QB Jalon Daniels, Kansas – left the game with an injury, did not return
• RB BJ Emmons, Florida Atlantic – in postgame was said to have gone down with a “stinger”
• WR Wykeen Gill, Kansas State – left in the third quarter with an air cast on his left arm
• RB Kylin Hill, Mississippi State – injured on a big hit in the first quarter, was on sideline without his helmet in the first half and then not in the pads in the 2nd (presumption was concussion-protocol)
• WR Keyon Lesane, NC State – was seen going down the tunnel with a trainer, had 1 catch for 12 yards
• RB Travis Levy, Boston College – team officially announced in game that he would not return due to a shoulder injury.
• QB Thomas MacVittie, Kansas – did not play, in postgame said to be “maybe a week away”
• RB Greg McCrae, UCF – was seen on the sideline in the 2nd half with no pads
• RB TJ McDaniel, SMU – was carted off early in the game with an apparent leg injury, did not return
• WR Joshua Moore, Texas – in postgame was said will be evaluated for knee injury suffered in game
• QB Dalen Morris, Navy – didn’t travel with a medical (non-covid) condition. Tyger Goslin got the start.
• WR Reggie Roberson, SMU – left late with an apparent non-contact knee injury, no postgame update
• RB Shaun Shivers, Auburn – broadcast said he was “nicked up” last weekend, did not play
• WR Jyaire Shorter, North Texas – left the game with a foot/leg injury – came back out on crutches with a boot on his foot
• RB Kavosiey Smoke, Kentucky – team officially announced he would not return for the second half, was dealing with bruised ribs
• WR RJ Sneed, Baylor – left the game in the 4th quarter after taking a big hit across the middle, appeared woozy and got assistance leaving the field
• WR Eli Stove, Auburn – Sounds like he was injured early in the game (?) and was described as out mid-game
• RB Bentavious Thompson, UCF – was seen with no pads on the sideline late in the game (similar to Greg McCrae)
• QB Skylar Thompson, Kansas State – left after a late hit and didn’t return. In the second half he was out of uniform with a sling on his right arm. No postgame update.
• WR Marlon Williams, UCF – a bizarre scene at the end of the game as he was injured on the last play. Remained down injured on the field for around 10 minutes, eventually went to a knee and was helped off walking slowly with trainers.
• WR Seth Williams, Auburn – appeared to be hobbling in the fourth quarter, missed time
• QB Malik Willis, Liberty – warmed up with a left elbow brace but did not play. Postgame quote that he “could have played” but more precautionary.

These updates are a mix of inactives, players who returned to action, QB starters, and some simple injury updates (but not all). Look for a separate post later today (Sunday) with in-depth Saturday injury news.

List of Updates from October 3:

QBs: The most surprising news of the day was likely some of the surprise starters – Tate Rodemaker (FSU), Katravis Marsh (USF), and Tyger Goslin (Navy) for Dalen Morris who was out. Listed below are many of the starters in situations that were uncertain going into Saturday.

• Josh Adkins, UTSA – started with Frank Harris out, injured on first offensive play of game
• Austin Aune, North Texas – gets first start
• Stetson Bennett, Georgia – started and likely won the job going forward
• James Blackman, Florida State – not in early warm ups but came out later
• Ben Bryant, Cinci – not in warmups
• Haaziq Daniels, Air Force – starts the season opener
• Jalon Daniels, Kansas – started
• Max Duggan, TCU – started
• Chris Ferguson, Liberty – started
• Cade Fortin, South Florida – season debut in a rotation
• Tyger Goslin, Navy – started with Dalen Morris out
• Frank Harris, UTSA – was GTD but did not play
• Hendon Hooker, Virginia Tech – was available, did not play
• Shane Illingworth, Oklahoma State – started again
• Emory Jones, Florida – not active in pregame
• Devin Leary, NC State – started over Bailey Hockman
• Thomas MacVittie, Kansas – not active in warmups, still not healthy
• Katravis Marsh, South Florida – surprise starter in a rotation
• Dalen Morris, Navy – didn’t travel due to non-covid medical condition
• Chubba Purdy, Florida State – dressed and warmed up
• Chris Reynolds, Charlotte – returned to action
• Tate Rodemaker, Florida State – started
• Will Rogers, Mississippi State – not dressed
• Spencer Sanders, Oklahoma State – dressed, did not play
• Jordan Travis, Florida State – played after getting banged up last week

RBs: The biggest news of the day here may have been Oscar Adaway (North Texas) not playing for undisclosed reasons.) Chris Curry (LSU) and Shaun Shivers (Auburn) also unexpectedly did not play.

• Oscar Adaway, North Texas – unavailable
• Otis Anderson, UCF – played after injury last week
• Isaiah Azubuike, Arkansas State – played
• Demarckcus Bowman – transferring from Clemson to Florida
• Marcus Crowley, Ohio State – participating in practice
• Chris Curry, LSU – did not play with undisclosed injury
• AJ Davis, Pitt – not dressed
• Zach Evans, TCU – debuted
• Darrian Felix, South Florida – unavailable
• Gerald Green, Georgia Southern – inactive
• Jalen Hampton, Virginia Tech – unavailable
• Evan Johnson, North Texas – unavailable
• Keshawn King, Virginia Tech – available
• Marcel Murray, Arkansas State – season debut
• Bijan Robinson, Texas – despite multiple end of week reports that he would play he didn’t end up getting game action (was apparently misidentified as playing on the broadcast, didn’t see that)
• Shaun Shivers, Auburn – did not play
• Tre Siggers, North Texas – returned to action
• A’Montae Spivey, Arkansas – did not travel
• Harry Trotter, Kansas State – returned to action
• Christian Turner, Michigan – opts back in to season
• La’Damian Webb, Florida State – returned to action
• Terius Wheatley, Virginia Tech – unavailable

WRs & TEs: In receiver news Tim Jones (Southern Miss) was unavailable again while Obi Obialo (Oklahoma) made his debut. Jared Wayne (Pitt) was unexpectedly out, and Dalton Rigdon (Texas Tech) didn’t play after an injury last week. And on Saturday Dahu Green (Arkansas State) and Tarique Milton (Iowa State) returned to action.

• Sean Atkins, South Florida – unavailable
• Elijah Bowick, Virginia Tech – unavailable
• Craig Burt, Western Kentucky – was GTD, did not play
• Dexter Carter, Georgia Southern – inactive
• Leroy Deshazier, Arkansas State – played
• TE Brandon Frazier, Auburn – not available again this week
• Noah Frith, Liberty – out
• Dahu Green, Arkansas State – returned to action
• Shedrick Jackson, Auburn – played
• Tim Jones, Southern Miss – out again
• Tavares Kelly, Virginia – not dressed
• TE Lucas Krull, Pitt – not dressed
• Jaylin Lane, MTSU – on injured list
• TE Nick Lenners, Kansas State – played
• Jaivian Lofton, Liberty – played after being GTD
• McLane Mannix, Texas Tech – available
• TE Tre McKitty, Georgia – tested knee in pregame
• Tarique Milton, Iowa State – returned to action
• Ryan Mitchell, Navy – season debut
• Joseph Ngata, Clemson – returned to action (a target but no catches), “still not 100%” coach quote in postgame
• Tre Nixon, UCF – not suited up
• Obi Obialo, Oklahoma – season debut
• Bryce Oliver, Kentucky – late scratch, unavailable
• Dalton Rigdon, Texas Tech – unavailable after injury last week
• Tyler Page, SMU – available
• Darryle Simmons, Virginia Tech – unavailable
• JJ Sparkman, Texas Tech – unavailable
• Brannon Spector, Clemson – returned to action
• Donald Stewart, Wake Forest – inactive (Friday)
• TE Major Tennison, Alabama – available
• Jared Wayne, Pitt – not dressed
• TE Brayden Willis, Oklahoma – self-reports on twitter he is out after injury last weekend
• CJ Windham, MTSU – returned to action
• Dallan Wright, Virginia Tech – unavailable
• TE Kyi Wright, Pitt – not dressed
• CJ Yarbrough, Liberty – returned to action
• Joshua Youngblood, Kansas State – unavailable
• TE Jake Zilinskas, Pitt – available

(continually updated)

The biggest news on Thursday was Tulane RB Tyjae Spears had knee surgery for a likely ACL tear suffered last weekend and is done for the season. Spears had rushed for 274 yards & 2 TDs this season. Tulane also announced they’ll have a new starting QB, Michael Pratt, for their game next week.

On Friday came a series of updates about Texas QB Sam Ehlinger and RBs Bijan Robinson and Roschon Johnson, who are all expected to play Saturday.

List of Injuries & Updates from October 1-2:

QBs:

• Kennique Bonner-Steward, Temple – opts out of season
• Sam Ehlinger, Texas – dealing with minor quad, left hand injuries, expected to play Saturday
• Cade Fortin, South Florida – will be available on Saturday, expected to be in QB rotation
• NC State – won’t reveal starter between Bailey Hockman and Devin Leary until gameday
• Jack Plummer, Purdue – says his ankle is 100%
• Michael Pratt, Tulane – will be the starter next week against Houston (Oct 8)
• Malik Willis, Liberty – looking good in practice, sounding likely to play on Saturday

RBs:

• Demarkcus Bowman, Clemson – enters transfer portal
• AJ Davis, Pitt – improving after injury last weekend, should be back soon, possibly this weekend
• Roschon Johnson, Texas – minor rib injury, expected to play Saturday
• Bijan Robinson, Texas – practiced Thursday, expected to play Saturday
• Tyjae Spears, Tulane – knee surgery for likely ACL tear, done for season

WRs & TEs:

• Kevin Austin, Notre Dame – on track to play Oct 10
• Craig Burt, Western Kentucky – described as a gametime decision but didn’t sound hopeful
• Noah Frith, Liberty – hamstring, out this week
• Donavon Greene, Wake Forest – has rehabbed and practiced, expected to play this week after back bruise last game
• Shedrick Jackson, Auburn – will play this weekend after missing last week
• TE Keilan Knight, UAB – transfer portal (listed as TE on online roster, defender in previous seasons)
• Jaylin Lane, MTSU – not on depth chart this week
• Jaivian Lofton, Liberty – ankle, will try to play this week
• Omar Manning, Nebraska – dealing with nagging injuries
• TE Tanner Mathias, Western Michigan – not on fall roster (possible opt out)
• Tre Nixon, UCF – coach was asked but essentially gave no update, said “nothing has been finalized”
• Bryce Oliver, Kentucky – should be available on Saturday
• Ben Skowronek, Notre Dame – will be healthy for Oct 10 game
• Pop Williams, Memphis – not on roster, appears to still be away on personal leave of absence
• CJ Windham, MTSU – not on depth chart this week

Following are the fantasy-relevant starting depth charts released by the teams, along with any notes and last year’s stats, for FBS teams playing their FIRST games of the season October 3rd.

• Teams are in alphabetical order on the date they play.
• Starters on depth chart are listed, for full charts see posts on twitter
• Stats listed are from 2019

Saturday October 3:

Air Force depth chart:

• QB: Haaziq Daniels OR Warren Bryan
• FB: 1) Timothy Jackson (745-6) 2) Matthew Murla (44-0)
• TB: 1) Kadin Remsberg (1050-8) 2) Joshua Stoner (207-1)
• WRs: Ben Peterson (3/25), Daniel Morris (1/10)
• TE: Kyle Patterson

Florida Atlantic depth chart:

• QB: Nick Tronti (180-2)
• RB: BJ Emmons (237-6) RB2: James Charles (413-5)
• WRs: TJ Chase (7/70 – Clemson), Jordan Merrell, BJ Alexander (Kentucky transfer)
• TE: Michael Irvin (2/33 – Miami)

(following are the upcoming October games for FBS teams from the original 6 conferences playing this fall who have yet to play a game)

Thursday October 8:

Houston depth chart (from prior to previous postponement):

• QB: Clayton Tune (1533-11)
• RB: Kyle Porter (615-3) OR Mulbah Car (375-3)
• WRs: Jeremy Singleton (26/381), Keith Corbin (11/192), Marquez Stevenson (52/907), Nathaniel Dell OR Tre’von Bradley (16/326)
• TE: Christian Trahan (22/244)

Saturday October 10:

Temple depth chart:

• QB: Anthony Russo – coaches have said he is QB1
• RB:
• WRs:
• TE:

Saturday October 24:

Rice depth chart (PRECAMP depth chart):

• QB: Mike Collins (49-0 – TCU) OR JoVoni Johnson (97-1)
• RB: Juma Otoviano (114-0)
• FB: Brendan Suckley
• WRs: Austin Trammell (60/726), Bradley Rozner (55/770)
• TE: Jordan Myers (16/123)

For those of you who play College Fantasy Football, these are players who may be “free agents” in your league as the waiver wire claim period has likely already passed. Many other sources already offer waiver wire recommendations, so this is geared a little differently in case you missed out on waivers.

I’m not claiming these guys are going to be stars (but they may be!), but if you are in need at a position I consider them players whose potential value exceeds their Fantrax rostered % (potentially a similar principle for DFS as well).

• For right now this only includes the 6 leagues currently playing
• I strive to only list healthy players who have a game this week, but if not that is noted
• Every player listed this week is under 50% rostered as of mid-day Wednesday

QB Free Agents to Know (Fantrax rostered %):

• 44% – Matt Corral, Ole Miss – 395 yards
• 43% – Malik Willis, Liberty – 418 passing, 253 rushing (questionable)
• 23% – Jarret Doege, West Virginia – 513 yards
• 21% – Brennan Armstrong, Virginia – 269 yards
• 5% – Collin Hill, South Carolina – 290 yards
• 2% – Bryson Lucero, UAB – 457 yards

RB Free Agents to Know (Fantrax rostered %):

• 49% – Destin Coates, Georgia State – 150 yards
• 46% – Tre Harbison, Charlotte – 87 yards
• 39% – Rodrigues Clark, Memphis – 105 yards
• 35% – Joshua Mack, Liberty – 207 yards
• 35% – Cameron Carroll, Tulane – 251 yards (7 TDS! – bye this week)
• 34% – Oscar Adaway, North Texas – 222 yards
• 21% – Deuce Vaughn, Kansas State – 92 rushing, 153 receiving
• 10% – D’Vonte Price, FIU – 148 yards (bye this week)

WR Free Agents to Know (Fantrax rostered %):

• 46% – Rashee Rice, SMU – 240 yards
• 45% – Jordan Addison, Pitt – 169 yards
• 43% – Treylon Burks, Arkansas – 102 yards
• 35% – Shi Smith, South Carolina – 140 yards
• 29% – Jaylon Robinson, UCF – 255 yards
• 28% – Gunner Romney, BYU – 272 yards
• 27% – KeSean Carter, Texas Tech – 163 yards
• 13% – Adrian Hardy, Louisiana Tech – 148 yards
• 12% – JaVonta Payton, Miss State – 122 yards
• 9% – Lavel Davis, Virginia – 101 yards
• 5% – Jaray Jenkins, LSU – 85 yards
• 3% – Dax Milne, BYU – 175 yards

(continually updated)

The biggest news on Tuesday was that Charlotte QB Chris Reynolds is expected to play this weekend, and that Louisville QB Malik Cunningham is practicing and good to go after a scary hit last weekend.

On Wednesday Minnesota WR Rashod Bateman shared he will be able to play this season after opting back in.

List of Injuries & Updates from September 29-30:

QBs:

• Malik Cunningham, Louisville – practicing and good to go
• Kevin Doyle, Arizona – opts back into the season
• Joey Gatewood, Kentucky – ruled eligible after transfer from Auburn
• Emory Jones, Florida – spotted with brace on hand
• McKenzie Milton, UCF – practicing in full pads, not a rush to bring him back though
• Missouri – depth chart still Shawn Robinson OR Connor Bazelak
• NC State – depth chart Bailey Hockman OR Devin Leary
• North Texas – depth chart still Jason Bean OR Austin Aune
• Chris Reynolds, Charlotte – expected to play this week
• Anthony Russo, Temple – limited by muscle strain but should be good to go for practice next week
• Skylar Thompson, Kansas State – good to go despite some limping last week
• Tyler Vitt, Texas State – not at practice today as works way through protocol but expected back soon

RBs:

• Keyon Brooks, Vanderbilt – did not practice Tuesday, hopeful Wed, missed last weekend with illness
• AJ Davis, Pitt – “making progress” after apparent shoulder injury last game, this felt very vague and I’m not reading too much into it yet
• Zach Evans, TCU – practiced Sunday, had missed about a month due to contact tracing
• Willie Parker, Eastern Michigan – opts out of season
• Larry Rountree, Missouri – RB1 on depth chart, no OR with Tyler Badie
• Len’Neth Whitehead, Tennessee – has begun taking scout team reps as he comes back from a foot injury

WRs & TEs:

• Rashod Bateman, Minnesota – reinstated and will be able to play this season
• TE Tyler Carr – in transfer portal again as grad transfer, transferred from Texas Tech to Hawaii in January
• Adam Cousins, UTEP – transfer portal
• Brennan Eagles, Texas – starting over Tarik Black on weekly depth chart
• TQ Jackson, SMU – eligible after transfer from Arkansas
• TE Tre McKitty, Georgia – practiced Tuesday, may be able to play this weekend
• Tarique Milton, Iowa State – described as day to day (missed last weekend)
• Dalton Rigdon, Texas Tech – not expected “to be down for an extended period” after apparent upper body injury last weekend
• TE Major Tennison, Alabama – dealing with intestinal issue

Some of these 18 stats from Week 4 are just for trivia, but most are good to know as you look at fantasy trends/leaders across the season or for specific positions or teams (at least I think they are interesting, leave me alone!).

Since 2015 QBs have passed for 600+ yards in a game only 4 times – Patrick Mahomes, Texas Tech – 734, KJ Costello, Miss St – 623 this week, Anthony Gordon, Washington State – 606, Alan Bowman, Texas Tech – 605.

14 times this season a player has rushed for 3 TDs in a game, but Daetrich Harrington, Applachian State was the first player to rush for 4, which he did against Campbell last weekend. His 32 carries was the 2nd most in a game this season (Destin Coates, Georgia State-34).

Baylor RB Trestan Ebner is the only player since 2000 to have a rushing TD, receiving TD, and 2 kickoff return touchdowns in the same game

While Miami QB D’Eriq King passed for 267 yards and rushed for 65 yards last weekend, only one player has passed for 200+ and rushed for 50+ twice this year – Jeff Sims, Georgia Tech.

Syracuse RB Sean Tucker rushed for 112 yards against Georgia Tech last weekend. Syracuse’ leading rushers in the previous two games rushed for 40 and 30 yards. Tucker is the only Syracuse RB averaging more than 2.5 yards a carry (4.8)

There have only been 6 400+ yard passing games so far this season – the only player to make the list twice – Dillon Gabriel from UCF (417 & 408).

Boston College TE Hunter Long has caught 7/93-1 and 9/81-1 in his first two games of the season, strong numbers from the TE spot.

When Florida QB Kyle Trask threw for 416 yards last weekend it was the first time a Florida QB passed for 400+ since Tim Tebow did it in 2010.

Over his past two games Oklahoma State RB Chuba Hubbard has rushed for 27/93 and 22/101. Hubbard has at least 20 rushing attempts 15 times in his career, and the past two weeks’ yard totals rank 14th and 15th on that list.

Amongst players who have played more than one game – Iowa St RB Breece Hall has the highest average rushing yards per game (128.5), next are SMU’s Ulysses Bentley (126.6), Liberty QB Malik Willis (126.5) and UTSA RB Sincere McCormick (125.6)

Ole Miss WR Elijah Moore had 227 yards receiving last weekend – it was the first time this year a player had over 200 yards. The next highest this year is 183 – Austin Watkins (UAB) & Osirus Mitchell (Miss. St)

When Kansas State RB Deuce Vaughn rushed for 45 yards and received for 129 yards on Saturday it was the first time this season a player had rushed 40+ and received 100+ in a single game. The next two closest statlines also came last weekend, Kylin Hill, Mississippi State (34-158) & Wesley Kennedy, Georgia Southern (29-105).

Texas A&M RB Isaiah Spiller was the only player in the SEC to rush for over 100 yards in the SEC’s opening weekend as he rushed 8 times for 117 yards.

I’m officially down on Louisiana-Monroe RB Josh Johnson. After rushing for 1298 yards and 11 TDs in 2019, in 2020 over 3 games he has 38/108-0, a 2.8 avg. Perhaps he can have a breakout week like MTSU QB Asher O’Hara did this past weekend, but until then avoid.

Kansas State QB Skylar Thompson threw for 334 yards and rushed for 3 TDs against Oklahoma. He was the first player with that combo (300+ & 3 rush) this season. It only happened 5 times in 2019, ironically twice by Oklahoma QB Jalen Hurts.

The QBs from the two SEC Mississippi schools (KJ Costello and Matt Corral) passed for over 1000 yards combined last weekend (1018).

Florida TE Kyle Pitts 4 receiving TDs was the most of any player in a game this season. 3 players have caught 3 TDs in a game – Johnathan Adams (Arkansas State), Jaelon Darden (North Texas), & Joshua Moore (Texas).

Only 2 players have rushed for 2+ TDs in 3 games this season – Ulysses Bentley, SMU & Cameron Carroll, Tulane.

In Monday QB news Georgia’s JT Daniels will be medically cleared this week and Oklahoma State’s Spencer Sanders practiced Sunday. Texas WR Jake Smith is expected to play this week, while it was revealed that Florida State WR Tamorrion Terry was limited by an injury last week and continues to be evaluated.

List of Injuries & Updates from September 28:

QBs:

• Air Force – Haaziq Daniels OR Warren Bryan on first depth chart
• Luke Anthony, Louisiana Tech – QB1 on depth chart, no more OR with Aaron Allen
• JT Daniels, Georgia – will be medically cleared this week
• Cade Fortin, South Florida – expected back this week
• Frank Harris, UTSA – gametime decision this week
• Jamil Muhammad, Georgia State – moved to LB
• Chubba Purdy, Florida State – getting closer to being able to play, on depth chart this week
• Will Rogers, Miss State – hopeful to return this week
• Spencer Sanders, Oklahoma State – practiced Sunday
• Jordan Travis, Florida State – suffered apparent lower-leg injury last weekend, was “moving around some” on Sunday
• Desmond Trotter, South Alabama – “protocol for illness”, expected to practice later this week, might be available this weekend
• UTSA – Josh Adkins OR Frank Harris (GTD) on depth chart
• Malik Willis, Liberty – day to day, left elbow

RBs:

• Otis Anderson, UCF – expected to be 100% this week after injury last weekend
• Bijan Robinson, Texas – didn’t practice Sunday, expected to try Tuesday or Wednesday
• Quinton Cooley, Wake Forest – out for the year, should be back for spring
• Chris Smith, Louisiana – ankle injury not expected to be a long-term issue, not season-ending

WRs & TEs:

• Edwin Carter, Illinois – entering transfer portal
• Noah Frith, Liberty – hamstring injury
• Shedrick Jackson, Auburn – hopeful to play this week
• Hezekiah Jones, Texas A&M – injured, had boot on last weekend and didn’t dress
• Tim Jones, Southern Miss – hamstring injury, chances to play this week improving, ran around some Sunday
• Peter LeBlanc, Louisiana – undisclosed injury
• Marquis McCoy, Southern Miss – in the transfer portal (2/43 this season)
• Eddie McDoom, South Florida – enters transfer portal, had opted out
• Jake Smith, Texas – expected to play this week
• Tamorrion Terry, Florida State – didn’t practice until Friday last week with an injury, was limited on Saturday, will continue to be evaluated

I take a look at some key stats & fantasy takeaways that stood out for every SEC team’s opening game last weekend. The “Stat to Know” is bolded, as well as players who are mentioned.

Opening Week SEC Passing Leaders (yards):

• 623 – KJ Costello, Miss St
• 416 – Kyle Trask, Florida
• 395 – Matt Corral, Ole Miss
• 345 – Myles Brennan, LSU
• 290 – Collin Hill, South Carolina

Opening Week SEC Rushing Leaders (yards):

• 117 – Isaiah Spiller, Texas A&M
• 98 – Najee Harris, Alabama
• 86 – Ty Chandler, Tennessee
• 79 – Jerrion Ealy, Ole Miss
• 71 – Zamir White, Georgia

Opening Week SEC Receiving Leaders (yards):

• 227 – Elijah Moore, Ole Miss
• 183 – Osirus Mitchell, Miss State
• 170 – Kyle Pitts, Florida (TE)
• 158 – Kylin Hill, Miss State (RB)
• 140 – Shi Smith, South Carolina

Teams (listed in alphabetical order):

Alabama – RB Najee Harris (98-3) and WRs Jaylen Waddle (8/134-2) & DeVonta Smith (8/89) all were the studs we expect them to be. What actually stood out to me though was QB Mac Jones’ stats – 18/24-249-2. Not outstanding from a shear volume perspective, but I liked the 75% completion percentage. In 2019 Tua Tagovailoa completed 71.4% of his passes, in 2018 it was 69%. If Jones can complete passes at the same clip as Alabama has the past few years that is a great indicator for the overall success of all the pieces around him.

Arkansas – No one usually runs that well against Georgia, but RB Rakeem Boyd disappointed with an 11/21-0 performance on the ground. WR Treylon Burks hauled in 7/102-1, right at 50% of Arkansas’ 203 passing yards. Burks was targeted 11 times, the next highest was 6.

Auburn – RB by committee led to DJ Williams (8/21-1), Shaun Shivers (6/29), and Tank Bigsby (6/15) all disappointing fantasy owners. The standout was WR Seth Williams with 6/112-2. In 12 games last season Williams had 6 games under 50 yards receiving along with 6 games over 50 yards, so it’s too soon for me to call this a breakout, but it’s a hopeful start.

Florida – When is QB Kyle Trask throwing for 416-6 somehow not the highlight? When your TE (really a hybrid WR) Kyle Pitts catches 8/170 for 4 TDs. 4 TD receptions was the most in a game by any player so far this season. To give Trask his deserved props, 416 and 6 were both career highs.

Georgia – QB D’Wan Mathis just didn’t look ready, passing for 8/17-55-0 in his first game as the starter. Stetson Bennett on the other hand looked like he was comfortable, throwing for 20/29-211-2. JT Daniels will be medically cleared this week, and I’m not writing Mathis off just yet, but it sure seems like Daniels is going to get his chance.

Kentucky – It was RB by committee (which it could be all season) as AJ Rose (10/31), Christopher Rodriguez (9/13) & Kavosiey Smoke (7/62-1) split carries. QB Terry Wilson had a solid first outing after his injury last year (239-1, 13/42), but what stood out to me the most was WR Josh Ali catching 9/98, getting 13 targets while the next highest was 5.

LSU – Yet another SEC team this week that was RB by committee with none of Chris Curry, Tyrion Davis-Price or John Emery getting more than 11 carries or 47 yards. QB Myles Brennan isn’t Joe Burrow yet but the volume was there – 27/46-345-3, which is very promising. As expected Terrace Marshall was the top WR (8/122-2), but the 2nd best of the day may have been a surprise, Jaray Jenkins brought in 5/85.

Mississippi State – You already know QB KJ Costello passed for 623-5, but who did he throw it to? Four players got 9+ targets, but only 3 of those had big stat days – RB Kylin Hill (8/158-1 receiving, 7/34 rush) & WRs Osirus Mitchell (7/183-2), JaVonta Payton (6/122). While Mike Leach offenses typically spread the ball around to a lot of receivers, Mitchell and Payton look to be strong plays right now until we get a few more games of data.

Missouri – QB Shawn Robinson started the game, but QB Connor Bazelak also got time. Keeping in mind that he was playing against the Alabama defense in the season-opener, Robinson’s 19/25-185-1 stood out to me for completing 76% of his passes. Unfortunately Robinson had negative rushing yardage on the day. Bazelak was 7/14-68 as the game got out of hand, but did rush for a TD. Robinson did enough to be the starter, and I’m eager to see what he can do against some lesser defenses.

Ole Miss – Most in the fantasy community may have been hoping for QB John Rhys Plumlee to be the guy this year, but instead QB Matt Corral delivered in a big way. Corral threw for 395-3 and rushed for 13/50, while Plumlee threw 1 pass for 3 yards and rushed 4/4. Corral’s favorite target was WR Elijah Moore with a monster 10/227-0. And for those needing a TE, transfer Kenny Yeboah impressed in his first game as a Rebel with 5/91-1.

South Carolina – QB Collin Hill impressed, throwing for 25/39-290-1 in his first start since transferring from Colorado State. In his first two games last season (at CSU) before getting injured, Hill passed for 374 and 367 yards, so he can sling it. Hill’s go-to WR was Shi Smith, 10/140-1 on 15 targets. I liked Hill a lot last year before he was injured, and Smith should also be rostered/started immediately if he is available.

Tennessee – QB Jarrett Guarantano passed for 19/31-259-1. 259 yards was the 4th highest total of his career. On the ground RB Ty Chandler was much more productive per carry (13/86 – 6.6 avg), than RB Eric Gray (12/40 – 3.3 avg), although Gray had a rushing TD & also caught one pass for 31 yards.

Texas A&M – None of Texas A&M’s unproven receiving corps stood out, as QB Kellen Mond only passed for 189 yards on the day against Vanderbilt. I think RB could be a play this season here, but Texas A&M curiously only gave RB Isaiah Spiller 8 carries as he ran for 117 yards. RB Ainias Smith, a converted WR, rushed for 10/51-1 while catching 2/27.

Vanderbilt – They are extremely inexperienced on the offensive side of the ball this season, and new QB Ken Seals got the start and passed for 20/29-150-1. They are running a new spread offense, and Seals was efficient but only averaged 7.5 yards a completion. Hopefully as he gets more comfortable he’ll start looking downfield more (if the O-line allows time). The only RB or WR who stood out was WR Amir Abdur-Rahman who caught 5/72-1. (If I might editorialize – as I did my undergrad work at Vanderbilt I will say I am pleased at the attempt at a spread offense. Vandy will never out-recruit the rest of the SEC nor will they control the line of scrimmage. Their best attempt at winning in the SEC is out-scheming opponents, so I’m rooting for the spread.)

I break down the injury news from this past weekend with notes on each player who may have been dealing with injuries.

A few notes about this list, being on it does not for sure mean a player is “injured”, but rather:

• They may have missed the game due to a known injury (ok, this does mean they are injured)
• They may have gone out of the game due to injury and not returned (sometimes with an official announcement from the team)
• They may have left the game but returned, or at least attempted to return (sometimes these guys end up banged up enough to miss future games)
• They may have had a vague twitter mention about possibly being injured or leaving a game, so it’s something on my radar

I’ll continue to post any updates I see during the week, those will be added to daily updates as well as the injury database.

If you are aware of a fantasy-relevant injury from this weekend that you don’t see here (or don’t see listed in the database), or think anything shared here is incomplete, please tag me on twitter with a link and let me know, thanks!

List of Potential Injury News from Saturday Sept. 26 (alphabetical by last name):

• RB Tyler Allgeier, BYU – was seen icing his knee on the sideline late in the game
• RB Otis Anderson, UCF – he was not in pads on the sideline during the second-half for undisclosed reasons, rushed for 7/22 yesterday
• WR Tarik Black, Texas – may have gotten “dinged up on a hit” (from a postgame article)
• RB Raheem Blackshear, Virginia Tech – was limping in the 3rd quarter and headed to the trainer’s tent (from the play by play it doesn’t appear he returned)
• QB Charlie Brewer, Baylor – missed some time with a bruised quad but returned
• WR Ahmarean Brown, Georgia Tech – appeared to hit his head hard on the turf and was shaken up, unclear if returned
• QB Braxton Burmeister, Virginia Tech – left the game with hand cramps, later returned to action
• QB Malik Cunningham, Louisville (he is officially back to Malik) – took a tough hit near the end of the game – was carted off the field on a backboard, no official update but he did travel back with the team
• RB AJ Davis, Pitt – left in the first half after a hard hit to the head/shoulder, did not return
• QB Frank Harris, UTSA (Friday) – looked like his leg got rolled up at the end of the first half, came out of halftime not in pads but seemed to be walking around the sideline comfortably, had an MRI scheduled Saturday – knee sprain, described as gametime decision in a Sunday night update (Pete Thamel)
• QB Hendon Hooker, Virginia Tech – did not play, there had been some rumors throughout the week about his availability, it sounds like essentially he had not been practicing recently for covid-related reasons
• WR Tim Jones, Southern Miss – suffered a lower-body soft-tissue injury last weekend (9-19) and there was very little commentary from the team this week, he sat out yesterday
• TE Brevin Jordan, Miami – left the game for the locker room but returned, after the game he was said to be “fine”
• QB Thomas MacVittie, Kansas – at the start of the week was said to be expected back but he did not play. In postgame the comments were that he was not healthy enough to play yet, which likely led to the Jalon Daniels start but is unclear what that may mean for Kansas at QB when he is healthy
• WR Tarique Milton, Iowa State – did not play with a lower body injury
• WR Tre Nixon, UCF – did not play after injury last week, still no updates from team
• WR Dalton Rigdon, Texas Tech – he was “carted up to the Tech football building. Holding the area of the ribs on his left side” – via Don Williams
• RB Bijan Robinson, Texas – suffered a strained back (according to the team) on a tough fall after a hurdle in that clip I’m sure you saw of him landing on his head and getting bent like a slinky
• WR Stephon Robinson, Kansas – was seen grabbing at his leg early in the game, and later in the game got sandwiched in a collision and was shaken up, unclear if returned
• QB Spencer Sanders, Oklahoma State – dressed and active in pregame after ankle injury last game but did not play, my gut is this was just gamesmanship and the plan was for him to sit based on some pregame reports that correctly predicted that Shane Illingworth would start.
• RB Chris Smith, Louisiana – limped off and went to the locker room in the first half, team announced he was officially questionable to return, and he did not come back. In postgame it was said to be an ankle, but the extent wasn’t known.
• RB Tyjae Spears, Tulane – had a strong first half (8/50-2) but left with a leg injury in the first half, no postgame update from the team but there did seem to be some concern
• QB Jordan Travis, Florida State – limped out of the locker room at halftime and was seen with a wrap on his right knee trying to run on the sideline
• QB Tyler Vitt, Texas State – did not travel due to Covid-protocols, (it’s just bizarre how he and Brady McBride seem to alternate for Covid-related reasons)
• TE Brayden Willis, Oklahoma – went down with a possible injury in the fourth quarter, haven’t seen any postgame updates
• QB Malik Willis, Liberty – left the game, was wearing a sling on his left arm/shoulder on the sideline late in the game – later tweeted out that he was “all good” for whatever that is worth