College Fantasy Update

I take a look at some key stats & fantasy takeaways that stood out for 12 different teams last weekend and/or trends that are emerging over the course of the season. The “Stat to Know” from each team is bolded, as well as players who are mentioned.

Fantasy Takeaways from Week 6 (teams listed in alphabetical order):

Arkansas – QB Feleipe Franks passed for 22/30-318-4 against Auburn, while also running 15 times (for only 28 yards). 318 yards & 4 TDs were both career highs against FBS teams for Franks. In his previous two games he threw for 200 yards and 212 yards, so I’m not ready to hype Franks, but in an SEC that seems to be giving up a lot of passing yards this season he is on my radar.

Arkansas State – QBs Logan Bonner & Layne Hatcher have been sharing time, which essentially means I’d been ignoring them, but I wanted to take a closer look after Bonner went 11/19-233-3 this weekend against Central Arkansas, while Hatcher was 10/19-153-3. On the season Bonner is 58/91-741-8, while Hatcher is 41/70-564-6. They have both rushed for negative yards on the season. This is the first time I can recall in recent memory where there was a QB rotation between two QBs with similar skill sets, and neither seems to be separating, so essentially this is still a situation to avoid.

Auburn – Just a couple weeks ago I (and a beat writer) joked about avoiding the Auburn potential 4-5 man RB rotation on twitter, then a few injuries happened and RB Tank Bigsby entered the conversation. Bigsby ran for 20/146-0 against Arkansas and also had 4 receptions for 16 yards. Now I’m not convinced that when Shaun Shivers returns to health that Bigsby might not lose some of that volume (or receptions), but I do think there is a chance he may be emerging as RB1. This is a wait and see for me (FYI – I grabbed him in one of my own CFF leagues to put on the bench).

Boston College – Last season RB David Bailey looked great as the RB2 behind AJ Dillon as Bailey ran for 148/844-7. But this season Bailey has run for 48/148-1, a 3.1 average. He is 7/60-1 receiving on the season. Last week he rushed 15/36 for a 2.4 avg. Boston College is airing the ball out and they either can’t run the ball or aren’t committed to the run, but either way Bailey has been a huge disappointment so far.

Georgia – WR George Pickens came into the season as the likely name to know, but WR Kearis Jackson has been the standout so far. Jackson has 19 catches for 300 yards, while the next highest is Pickens with 8/87. Jackson has had at least 62 yards receiving in each of the first three games.

Kansas State – A stat I shared on twitter as well – the WR unit as a whole has 24 catches for 299 yards this season, while RB Deuce Vaughn has 9/279 (31.0 average!) and TE Briley Moore has 14/201. WR Chabastin Taylor has 10/169-1, but other than him WR Malik Knowles has been MIA, WR Wykeen Gill is out for the season with an injury & WR Joshua Youngblood announced his transfer Tuesday.

MTSU – While I’ve spent a lot of time on the QB ups and downs, in the meantime WR Jarrin Pierce has put up 36/366-1 over 5 games. Over the last four games he has averaged 8 catches for 83.25 yards a game. While in this offense no WRs may grab many TDs, he is emerging as the go-to receiving option.

North Texas – In his last 2 games as the clear starter QB Austin Aune has thrown for 28/47-339-2 and 23/43-382-3, and QB Jason Bean is no longer sharing time. While I wish the completion percentage was a touch higher, Aune has established himself as a fantasy starter, especially with the North Texas defense having given up 41+ points to every FBS opponent this season.

Temple – In their season-opener Temple was basically who they were last season, and that is overall a good thing. QB Anthony Russo threw for 21/30-206-1 and rushed for 2 TDs, RB Re’Mahn Davis ran for 23/97-1, and WR Branden Mack had 7/80-1 on 10 targets. Last year’s other top WR Jadan Blue was 5/40 on 7 targets. Blue’s output was a little disappointing, but Navy chewed a ton of clock in this game limiting the Temple offense.

Texas – With four games of data is any Texas RB worth your time? Here are season totals so far – Keaontay Ingram 35-188-0, 10/93-1 receiving – Roschon Johnson 32/142-2, 1/7-1 receiving, Bijan Robinson 14/67-0, 5/59-0 receiving. Johnson and Robinson have dealt with injuries early, so keep that in mind, but all are averaging between 4.4-5.4 yards per carry, while Ingram is complimenting the rushing with some receiving. What actually stands out to me is that QB Sam Ehlinger has rushed for 5 TDs on the season (4 last week) as compared to 2 rushing TDs for the RBs combined. Until any of these backs start getting goal line carries I don’t see their value.

Texas Tech – Let’s look at the WRs as sometimes on teams who pass a lot the situation can seem somewhat muddled – here are the top 5 on the season – KeSean Carter 21/215-4, Erik Ezukanma 21/295-3, TJ Vasher 14/163-2, Ja’lynn Polk 12/120-0, Dalton Rigdon 10/103-0. Carter was out last game with an ankle injury, while Rigdon has missed time as well. I love Vasher’s physical tools, but he was only targeted once last game, seems very high risk/reward right now. Polk was actually the 2nd most targeted last game with 5/54 on 6 targets. The only two I can really justify playing right now are Ezukanma and Carter (if/when) healthy.

Virginia Tech – Coming into the season it felt like Virginia Tech had a lot of names in the backfield, but RB Khalil Herbert has clearly distinguished himself, rushing for 43/449-5 on the season, a crazy 10.4 average. Fellow transfer RB Raheem Blackshear is a distant second with 29/108-1 on the season, a 3.7 average, with RB Jalen Holston next at 6/54-0.

Monday brought news that Kansas State QB Skylar Thompson is out for the season after having upper body surgery, and Virginia QB Brennan Armstrong is in concussion protocol. SMU WR Reggie Roberson and RB TJ McDaniel were also confirmed out for the season as feared. Texas A&M WR Caleb Chapman is also expected to be out for the season after getting injured at the end of his big day Saturday.

List of Injuries & Updates from October 12 (or from Sunday where noted):

QBs:

• Brennan Armstrong, Virginia – concussion protocol, day to day
• Myles Brennan, LSU – sore, will not practice Monday but will return Tuesday
• Colorado – Sam Noyer and Tyler Lytle splitting first team reps
• Hendon Hooker, Virginia Tech – will start this weekend
• Miles Kendrick, Kansas – will start this week
• Thomas MacVittie, Kansas – back practicing and full-go
• Kenny Pickett, Pitt – is banged up and will be evaluated but sounds likely to play
• Skylar Thompson, Kansas State – out for the season after having had surgery for an upper-body injury
• Jordan Travis, Florida State – limited by hand injury in practice Sunday but trending positive
• UTSA – likely won’t announce starter before Saturday, Frank Harris OR Lowell Narcisse

RBs:

• Israel Abanikanda, Pitt – moved up to RB2 on depth chart
• Otis Anderson, UCF – expected to be available
• James Cook, Georgia – expected back this week
• Sione Finau, BYU – may be available this week or next
• Roschon Johnson, Texas – re-aggravated shoulder sprain
• Travis Levy, Boston College – didn’t play Saturday, set to practice Sunday, hopeful to play this week (Sunday)
• Vavae Malepeai, USC – knee looking good but dealing with tight hamstring
• Greg McCrae, UCF – expected to be available
• TJ McDaniel, SMU – will have surgery and is out for the season
• Elijah Mitchell, Louisiana – listed on depth chart this week after missing a game for covid-related reasons (Sunday)
• Marcel Murray, Arkansas State – expected to play Thursday
• Don Ragsdale, Southern Miss – expected to play this week
• Shaun Shivers, Auburn – hopeful to return this week (Sunday)
• Chris Smith, Louisiana – has been practicing after suffering ankle injury but sounds like he has been limited in what he can do (Sunday)
• Bentavious Thompson, UCF – expected to be available
• Sean Tucker, Syracuse – apparently injured last weekend, status unclear this week

WRs & TEs:

• Brenden Bates, Kentucky – out a few weeks with an injury
• Cjay Boone, Missouri – enters transfer portal
• Tommy Bush, Georgia – concussion after car crash
• Caleb Chapman, Texas A&M – out for the season after injury last weekend
• Lavel Davis, Virginia – now starting on depth chart over Ra’Shaun Henry
• Jaylen Dixon, Utah – enters transfer portal
• Dontae Fleming, Louisiana – listed as OR on depth chart after missing last game with a lower body injury, no specific clarity that he would return, was not listed in injured section on depth chart (Sunday)
• Noah Frith, Liberty – doubtful this week
• Hezekiah Jones, Texas A&M – day to day
• Tim Jones, Southern Miss – practiced Sunday, looked good, close to returning
• Tavares Kelly, Virginia – probable this week
• Peter LeBlanc, Louisiana – listed on depth chart after a possible injury (undisclosed) last game, was not listed in injured section on depth chart (Sunday)
• Jonah Morris, Akron – in the transfer portal, did not play in 2019
• Joseph Ngata, Clemson – hopeful to play this week (Sunday)
• TE Evidence Njoku, UCLA – eligibility request still pending for this season (Miami transfer)
• Reggie Roberson, SMU – will have surgery and is out for the season
• Gunner Romney, BYU – fine after briefly leaving the game last weekend
• Jake Smith, Texas – hamstring, expected back by the end of the week
• Eli Stove, Auburn – hopeful to return this week (Sunday)

Some of these 16 stats from Week 6 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 (if you enjoy this post please share it!).

Alabama QB Mac Jones threw for 418 yards on Saturday. He and Dillon Gabriel (UCF) are the only QBs with two 400+ yard passing games this season.

North Texas WR Jaelon Darden caught 13 passes for 244 yards and 3 TDs last weekend. 244 yards eclipsed Reggie Roberson’s (SMU) previous season high of 243. It was the fourth 200 yard receiving game this season.

Missouri QB Connor Bazelak was the first QB to have 400 passing yards, 4 TD passes, 85% completion rate, and 0 interceptions in a game since 2017 (Max Browne, Pitt).

Houston held Tulane to 70 rushing yards, snapping Tulane’s streak of 56 consecutive games with at least rushing 100 yards (credit – Joseph Duarte)

RB Michael Carter (UNC) rushed for 17/214-2, while Najee Harris (Alabama) ran for 23/206-5 last weekend. There have only been 5 200+ yard rushing games this season, and those totals were 2nd & 5th on the list. Carter had the fewest carries of any back with 200 yards, only needing 17 attempts. Ulysses Bentley, SMU, has the season high with 227 yards.

Only 3 times this season has a QB passed for 200 yards and rushed for 100 yards in a game and 2 were in Week 6 – Sam Ehlinger, Texas, 287-112, and Asher O’Hara, MTSU, 268-106. The only other this year was Frank Harris, UTSA.

Iowa St RB Breece Hall ran for 27/135-2 last weekend. He now leads the nation in 100 yard rushing games this season with 4. Next with three 100 yards games are Spencer Brown (UAB), Khalil Herbert (Virginia Tech), & Joshua Mack (Liberty).

4 players have had three 100 yard receiving games this season – Jacob Cowing (UTEP), Jaylon Robinson (UCF), Gunner Romney (BYU), & Jaylen Waddle (Alabama).

Mississippi State RB Kylin Hill had 15 receptions for 79 yards last weekend. The last time a player had 15+ receptions and less than 79 yards was 2002. It was only the third time since the year 2000 that a player had less than 100 yards receiving when having 15 catches or more.

RB Najee Harris (Alabama) had 5 rushing TDs last weekend, while QB Sam Ehlinger (Texas) ran for 4 TDs. Harris’ TD total was a season-high, beating App State RB Daetrich Harrington’s 4. Only three times in 2019 did a player rush for 5+ TDs, with Buffalo RB Jaret Patterson’s 6 in a game the high.

Duke RB Deon Jackson had 30 rushing attempts for 169 yards on Saturday. It was only the 3rd time this season a player had 30 rushing attempts, and the first time a player with 30 didn’t rush for a TD.

South Florida QB Jordan McCloud passed for 298 yards but 0 TDs last weekend. That was the third highest passing yard total without a TD this season – the only two higher were Jack Abraham, Southern Miss (314) and Gavin Hardison, UTEP (302)

Ole Miss WR Elijah Moore leads the nation averaging 154.0 receiving yards per game. Terrace Marshall (LSU) is 2nd with 141.3. For reference in 2019 Omar Bayless (Arkansas State) led the nation averaging 127.2

Does it seem like the SEC has had a lot of high-scoring games so far? 5 of the top 6 passing yards per game leaders are from the SEC, only UCF QB Dillon Gabriel #2 breaks into the top 6 from other conferences.

Amongst tight ends, Memphis’ Sean Dykes leads the nation averaging 8 receptions per game. Boston College’s Hunter Long is close behind with 7.8.

One more tight end stat – in 2019 TEs Kylen Granson (SMU) and Josh Pederson (Louisiana-Monroe) led the nation for TEs with 9 TDs. Florida TE Kyle Pitts already has 7 TDs in 2020 through only 3 games. Amongst all receivers North Texas WR Jaelon Darden leads the nation with 9 TD catches.

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. 10 (alphabetical by last name):

• QB Brennan Armstrong, Virginia – left the game in the first half after taking a hit that was ruled to be targeting, did not return. There was no postgame update when asked.
• RB Rakeem Boyd, Arkansas – did not travel to the game after injury last weekend
• QB Chase Brice, Duke – he took a big hit then missed some time (I believe there was erroneous reporting he was being benched), but returned to action.
• WR Treylon Burks, Arkansas – dressed but did not play, no updates
• RB Mulbah Car, Houston – reported to have a sprained ankle, but is expected to be ok (Thursday)
• WR KeSean Carter, Texas Tech – was announced in pregame to be out in what was later shared to be an ankle injury
• WR Caleb Chapman, Texas A&M – had a huge game, but had an apparent lower body injury near the end of the game, team did not have a postgame update but Chapman posted Sunday afternoon “without the lows the highs mean nothing” and there is some buzz that it may be serious
• RB James Cook, Georgia – after suffering an arm injury last game he appeared limited in warmups and did not play
• QB Tommy DeVito, Syracuse – left the game with an injury, came back out to the field on crutches with a boot, a postgame quote from the coach said things didn’t look good, and later reporter sources were saying he was believed to be out for the season
• QB Max Duggan, TCU – went to the locker room midgame but returned to action
• TE Arik Gilbert, LSU – appeared to have missed some time in the second half with a possible shoulder issue but returned in the 4th quarter
• QB Frank Harris, UTSA – after being a gametime decision got the start, but had another apparent leg injury in the first half and did not return as he was replaced by Lowell Narcisse. Injury didn’t appear serious but some coach quotes basically made it sound like he is acknowledged to be injury-prone and they don’t want to play him at less than 100%.
• RB Roschon Johnson, Texas – came out for the second half not in pads, and in postgame was revealed to have re-aggravated a shoulder injury
• QB Jemel Jones, Army – started in place of an injured Christian Anderson, but appeared to suffer an injury in the 4th quarter and was replaced
• TE Brevin Jordan, Miami – missed time late in the game with a shoulder injury and went to the locker room. In postgame he was interviewed and said he felt fine and expected to play next week.
• RB Jawhar Jordan, Syracuse – was revealed in pregame to be out and then in postgame it was said he would be out for a while
• RB Joshua Mack, Liberty – not an injury, but in postgame it was shared that he had gotten limited time it what sounded like a disciplinary measure but should be good going forward
• RB Seth McGowan, Oklahoma – he personally tweeted out a broken heart emoji on Friday night after there had been some unconfirmed chatter about his availability, then on Saturday morning it was confirmed that he would be out due to concussion protocol
• WR Tarique Milton, Iowa State – did not play as he was seen in pregame with his arm in a sling
• WR Joseph Ngata, Clemson – warmed up but seen during the game without his helmet. The sentiment here with his abdominal strain seems to be that the team doesn’t want to play him at less than 100% (similar to a hamstring injury)
• QB Kenny Pickett, Pitt – left the game limping, went to the medical tent and missed some time (replaced by Joey Yellen), returned to finish the game
• TE Kyle Pitts, Florida – there was a mid-game report that he was dealing with a left foot injury
• QB Spencer Rattler, Oklahoma – left the game, had his arm briefly looked at but was essentially benched for a while before returning to action.
• WR Jake Smith, Texas – a few minutes after the game started there was word that he might not play, then the team said he was available mid-game, then in post-game it was revealed he had aggravated a hamstring injury in pre-game
• QB Skylar Thompson, Kansas State – did not travel to game after injury last weekend, the team said they’d likely have further updates on Monday (I had previously had a note that perhaps he didn’t travel to let him heal, that was clearly incorrect as on Monday he was shared to be out for the season having had surgery)
• QB Jordan Travis, Florida State – it was shared in postgame that he was having a hand issue and was struggling to grip the ball and would get the hand looked at, he was interviewed postgame and said his hand was fine

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.

A few updates from teams not yet playing (but have begun practice) are mixed in as well.

List of Updates from October 10:

QBs: Alan Bowman (Texas Tech) started after getting injured last week, but Skylar Thompson (Kansas State) did not travel as Will Howard got the start. Brady McBride (Texas State) started, but Tyler Vitt returned and was rotated in. Frank Harris (UTSA) started but was banged up again.

• Christian Anderson, Army – did not play
• Hank Bachmeier, Boise State – taking first team practice reps
• James Blackman, Florida State – played
• Alan Bowman, Texas Tech – started
• Mike Collins, Rice – named starting QB
• Chase Cord, Boise State – limited by injuries right now
• Malik Cunningham, Louisville – played after hard hit took him out in previous game (Friday)
• Frank Harris, UTSA – returned, started
• Hendon Hooker, Virginia Tech – season debut
• Emory Jones, Florida – didn’t travel
• Katravis Marsh, South Florida – unavailable
• Jordan McCloud, South Florida – started
• Brady McBride, Texas State – started
• Dalen Morris, Navy – started
• Will Rogers, Miss State – dressed
• Skylar Thompson, Kansas State – did not travel
• Tyler Vitt, Texas State – played

RBs: SEC had a lot of the focus here as Rakeem Boyd (Arkansas), James Cook (Georgia) & Shaun Shivers (Auburn) did not play. But Kylin Hill (Miss State) & Chris Curry (LSU) were in action.

• Rakeem Boyd, Arkansas – did not travel
• Keyon Brooks, Vanderbilt – played
• James Cook, Georgia – limited in warmups, did not play
• Chris Curry, LSU – played
• AJ Davis, Pitt – warmed up, did not play
• Emari Demercado, TCU – out
• Darrian Felix, South Florida – played
• Kylin Hill, Miss State – warmed up
• Roschon Johnson, Texas – played, re-injured
• Jawhar Jordan, Syracuse – unavailable, is injured
• Keshawn King, Virginia Tech – unavailable
• Johnnie Lang, Iowa State – not dressed
• Travis Levy, Boston College – out
• Ja’Veon Marlow, Vanderbilt – unavailable
• Sandon McCoy, Army – out
• Bijan Robinson, Texas – played
• Shaun Shivers, Auburn – not available
• A’Montae Spivey, Arkansas – season debut
• Terius Wheatley, Virginia Tech – unavailable

WRs & TEs: In receiver news Jordan Whittington (Texas), Jordan Addison (Pitt) & Seth Williams (Auburn) were back in action Saturday, while Jake Smith (Texas), Treylon Burks (Arkansas), KeSean Carter (Texas Tech), & Damon Hazelton (Missouri) were among those who did not play.

• Jordan Addison, Pitt – played
• Isaiah Alston, Army – out
• Jackson Anthrop, Purdue – shoulder surgery, could return this season
• Rico Arnold, Charlotte – played
• Kevin Austin, Notre Dame – season debut
• Devin Boddie, Vanderbilt – unavailable
• Treylon Burks, Arkansas – dressed, did not play
• Craig Burt, Western Kentucky – returned to action
• KeSean Carter, Texas Tech – out
• Keke Chism, Missouri – out, contact tracing
• Joshua Crabtree, NC State – inactive
• TE Dylan Deveney, Georgia Tech – returned to action (Friday)
• Sione Finau, BYU – still out, getting close to return
• Dominic Gicinto, Missouri – out, contact tracing
• Damon Hazelton, Missouri – out, contact tracing
• Lawrence Keys, Notre Dame – played
• Jaylin Lane, MTSU – returned to action
• TE Dylan Leonard, Georgia Tech – returned to action (Friday)
• McLane Mannix, Texas Tech – not in warmups
• TE Tre McKitty, Georgia – played
• TE Devin Miller, Marshall – did not travel
• Tarique Milton, Iowa State – not dressed out
• Joshua Moore, Texas – played
• Joseph Ngata, Clemson – dressed, did not play
• Obi Obialo, Oklahoma – not warming up
• Bryce Oliver, Kentucky – not dressed
• TE Dylan Parham, NC State – unavailable
• Jasiah Provillon, NC State – inactive
• Dalton Rigdon, Texas Tech – returns
• Brad Rozner, Rice – opts out of season
• Stone Scarcelle, Marshall – did not travel
• Darryle Simmons, Virginia Tech – unavailable
• Emery Simmons, North Carolina – unavailable
• Ben Skowronek, Notre Dame – did not play
• Jake Smith, Texas – aggravated hamstring in pregame
• Eli Stove, Auburn – not available
• Jared Wayne, Pitt – returned to action
• Jordan Whittington, Texas – returned to action
• Ethon Williams, Boston College – unavailable
• Seth Williams, Auburn – played
• TE Brayden Willis, Oklahoma – out again
• TE Kyi Wright, Pitt – warmed up

(continually updated)

On Thursday we learned Kansas head coach Les Miles tested positive for coronavirus. QBs Skylar Thompson (Kansas State) and Christian Anderson (Army) are questionable for the weekend. UCF WR Marlon Williams is expected to be ready to go next week (after the bye this weekend).

On Friday the Pac-12 started practice and a number of updates came through including a handful of USC injury updates as well as that Arizona RB Bam Smith has opted out of the season.

List of Injuries & Updates from October 8-9:

QBs:

• Christian Anderson, Army – improving but unsure if will be able to play Saturday
• David Moore, Central Michigan – suspension from last year expired October 7, likely starter
• Spencer Petras, Iowa – QB1 on preseason depth chart
• Spencer Sanders, Oklahoma State – full speed in practice
• Skylar Thompson, Kansas St – described as day to day, depends how he feels on gameday

RBs:

• Antwuan Branch, North Carolina – transfer portal as grad transfer, last played 2018
• Josh Crawford, Central Michigan – opted out
• La’Darius Jefferson, Western Michigan – waiver request pending for Michigan State transfer
• Shaun Shivers, Auburn – may be a gametime decision Saturday
• Bam Smith, Arizona – opts out of season
• Deion Smith, Colorado – likely out for the season with a knee injury
• Markese Stepp, USC – ankle, looks healthy

WRs & TEs:

• Jordan Addison, Pitt – lumped into a group of players injured last week as all were described as gametime decisions
• Craig Burt, Western Kentucky – expected to play Saturday, could possibly be on a play count/limited
• TE Dylan Deveney, Georgia Tech – expected to be available even though not on Above the Line chart
• Kyle Ford, USC – ACL, out season
• TE D.J. Johnson, Oregon – converted defender has been limited in practice
• Jalen Johnson, Arizona – suspended for violating team Covid protocols
• Jordan Kerley, Arizona State – opting out of season
• TE Jacob Kizer, Washington – opt out of season
• TE Dylan Leonard, Georgia Tech – expected to be available even though not on Above the Line chart
• Munir McClain, USC – currently suspended from the team
• Bru McCoy, USC – hamstring, full-speed
• TE Jared Poplawski, Colorado – knee injury but nearing a return to action
• TE Ethan Rae, USC – knee, out
• Wan’Dale Robinson, Nebraska – will focus on playing WR this season and not play RB
• TE Khameron Taylor, Indiana – South Alabama transfer is dealing with undisclosed injury issues
• Marlon Williams, UCF – expected to be ready to go next week
• Joshua Youngblood, Kansas State – expected to play Saturday

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 8-10.

• 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

Thursday October 8:

Houston depth chart:

• 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 (2861-21)
• RB: Re’Mahn Davis (936-8)
• WRs: Branden Mack (59/904), Randle Jones (1/32), Jadan Blue (95/1067)
• TE: David Martin-Robinson (5/64)

(Placeholders for UMass & Rice below)

Saturday October 17:

UMass depth chart:

• QB: Mike Fallon (40-0) OR Josiah Johnson (TE last season) OR Will Koch
• RB: Ellis Merriweather
• WRs: Samuel Emilus (27/273), Jermaine Johnson (37/272), Javon Turner (1/3) OR Melvin Hill (7/39) OR Zamar Wise
• TE: Taylor Edwards (2/13)

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)

(Post will be continually updated throughout the week)

As the season gets closer to practices starting next week on October 14 (official date), we are beginning to get more injury updates from teams as well as waivers for eligibility that continue to get approved.

List of College Basketball Updates, Injuries & Transfers this week:

• Bryce Aiken, Seton Hall – limited to non-contact and individual drills right now, expected to be ready by end of November
• Lorne Bowman, Wisconsin – taking personal leave of absence from team
• Darnell Brodie, Drake – eligible after transfer from Seton Hall
• Chaundee Brown, Michigan – school will submit waiver request for the Wake Forest transfer “very soon”
• Caleb Christopher, Arizona State – out 6-8 weeks after thumb surgery
• Christian David, Butler – not yet cleared after knee injury last season
• Luke Frampton, Western Kentucky – eligible after transfer from Davidson
• Anthony Gaines, Northwestern – fully medically cleared after only playing 10 games due to injury last season
• Anthony Harris, North Carolina – knee, has not yet been fully cleared
• Frankie Hughes, San Diego – eligible after transfer from Duquesne
• Andre Jackson, UConn – fully back after minor meniscus surgery this summer
• Kamani Johnson, Little Rock – enters transfer portal (11.0 pts last season)
• Lake Kasubke, Kansas State – foot surgery, walking boot through the end of the month
• Amari Kelly, Duquesne – has been fully cleared for basketball activities
• Kimani Lawrence, Arizona State – dealing with knee issue, hopes to begin practicing in around 3 weeks
• Trey McGowens, Nebraska – eligible after transfer from Pitt
• Sean Miller-Moore, Grand Canyon – eligible after transfer from Oregon State
• Takal Molson, Seton Hall – sidelined by a sprained ankle right now
• Jack Nunge, Iowa – not yet fully cleared but expected to be able to begin practice Oct 14th
• Tyler Polley, UConn – fully cleared for live action after knee injury last year
• Anthony Roberts, St Bonaventure – eligible after transfer from Kent State
• Jacob Toppin, Kentucky – school is awaiting results on waiver for eligibility, had been discussion he might sit year out (which he still might)
• Alexis Yetna, South Florida – so far only cleared for non-contact work after missing all of last season

On Wednesday Auburn RB Shaun Shivers & WR Eli Stove were described as questionable, while Arkansas RB Rakeem Boyd & WR Treylon Burks are hopeful to play. Earlier in the week also came news that Florida WR Jordan Pouncey received a waiver for eligibility after his transfer from Texas.

List of Injuries & Updates from October 7:

QBs:

• Kennique Bonner-Steward, Temple – enters transfer portal, had opted out
• Jalon Daniels, Kansas – may take a while to return, but expected back sometime this season
• James Graham, Georgia Tech – not listed on “Above the Line” chart
• Oregon – QB1 starting fall camp is Tyler Shough, Anthony Brown is #2

RBs:

• Rakeem Boyd, Arkansas – hopeful to play this weekend
• Deshawn Collins, Cal – not listed on roster
• James Cook, Georgia – wearing a non-contact jersey in practice, may be a gametime decision
• Emari Demercado, TCU – questionable this weekend
• Travis Levy, Boston College – back at practice after leaving the game last weekend
• Lorenzo Lingard, Florida – got banged up in fall camp, is catching up and learning the system
• Jordan Mason, Georgia Tech – not listed on “Above the Line” chart
• Shaun Shivers, Auburn – described as questionable
• Taequan Tyler, Boise State – juco transfer out for season with Achilles injury

WRs & TEs:

• Ahmarean Brown, Georgia Tech – listed on Above the Line after possible injury before the bye week
• Treylon Burks, Arkansas – hopeful to play this weekend
• TE Dylan Deveney, Georgia Tech – not listed on Above the Line
• John Dunmore, Penn State – withdraws from school
• Jeremiah Hawkins, Cal – not listed on roster
• TE Dylan Leonard, Georgia Tech – not listed on Above the Line
• TE Jackson Marcotte, Wyoming – full speed after injury last season
• Jordan Pouncey, Florida – gets waiver for eligibility
• Eli Stove, Auburn – described as questionable

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 47% rostered as of mid-day Wednesday
• Stats after names are yards unless otherwise noted

QB Free Agents to Know (Fantrax rostered %):

• 47% – Malik Willis, Liberty – 418 passing, 253 rushing
• 45% – Jeff Sims, Georgia Tech – 695 passing, 185 rushing
• 44% – Phil Jurkovec, Boston College – 823 passing
• 28% – Brennan Armstrong, Virginia – 539 passing
• 19% – Terry Wilson, Kentucky – 390 passing, 171 rushing
• 13% – Devin Leary, NC State – 501 passing
• 10% – Austin Aune, North Texas – 726 passing
• 6% – Collin Hill, South Carolina – 502 passing
• 4% – Stetson Bennett, Georgia – 451 passing
• 3% – Jordan Travis, Florida State – 222 passing, 139 rushing

RB Free Agents to Know (Fantrax rostered %):

• 40% – Khalil Herbert, Virginia Tech – 312 yards
• 34% – Joshua Mack, Liberty – 337
• 31% – Tyler Allgeier, BYU – 275
• 30% – D’Vonte Price, Florida Intl – 148
• 15% – Sean Tucker, Syracuse – 135
• 15% – Chris Rodriguez, Kentucky – 146
• 14% – Frank Gore, Southern Miss – 208 (130 last week)
• 1% – Stephon Huderson, Tulane – 149

WR Free Agents to Know (Fantrax rostered %):

• 47% – Gunner Romney, BYU – 373 yards
• 36% – Zay Flowers, Boston College – 243
• 35% – Jacob Cowing, UTEP – 377
• 22% – Jason Brownlee, Southern Miss – 301
• 18% – Justin Garrett, UTEP – 287
• 14% – Kearis Jackson, Georgia – 209
• 14% – Taye Barber, TCU – 133
• 14% – DJ Turner, Pitt – 319 (186 last week)
• 12% – Dax Milne, BYU – 264
• 11% – Jarrin Pierce, MTSU – 286
• 3% – Josh Ali, Kentucky – 186