College Fantasy Update

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In injury updates, top 100 freshman recruit Mike James (Louisville) is out for the season with a torn Achilles and will have surgery on Friday, and for Mississippi State Rocket Watts (Michigan State transfer, 7.7 ppg), is expected back mid-November after a summer hip procedure, and Tolu Smith (12.6 ppg, started all 30 games) is expected back late November after a foot procedure.

Earl Timberlake (Memphis) is 90% back from neck surgery, Xavier Foster (Iowa State) has not been practicing due to an unspecified health-related issue, and Liam Robbins (Vanderbilt, (Minnesota transfer) and Keon Ambrose-Hylton (Alabama) are expected back in a few weeks.

In more minor injuries, Walker Kessler (Auburn, (UNC transfer) has a minor concussion, Aljaz Kunc (Iowa State, (Washington State transfer) is dealing with back soreness

Notable names in the transfer portal included DeAnthony Tipler (Coastal Carolina, 13.4 ppg), Tipler is the biggest name in the transfer portal over the past few weeks.

Announcing transfer destinations were Alejandro Vasquez (St Bonaventure to Tarleton State).

(Injuries & Updates in the first section, Transfers down below.)

Injuries and Updates from Oct 5-7:

• Keon Ambrose-Hylton, Alabama – dislocated kneecap, out 2-3 weeks, should not miss any games
• Xavier Foster, Iowa State – has not been practicing due to a health-related issue, had previously been said to be cleared in August after foot surgery last season
• Mike James, Louisville – freshman will miss the season with a torn Achilles, will have surgery
• Walker Kessler, Auburn – has a minor concussion after getting hit in jaw
• Aljaz Kunc, Iowa State – dealing with some back soreness which has held him out of some
• KeShawn Murphy, Miss State – no timeline for return after offseason surgery
• Liam Robbins, Vanderbilt – being cautious with a foot injury that is keeping him out of practice, expected back in the next few weeks
• Adrian Rodriguez, UTSA – announces his retirement from basketball for medical reasons – 2.8 ppg
• Kristian Sjolund, Portland – UTEP transfer is eligible to play this season – 4.9 ppg
• Tolu Smith, Miss State – expected back in late-November (foot)
• Earl Timberlake, Memphis – described as 90% back from neck surgery, almost back
• UNLV – Mike Nuga, Donovan Williams, Reece Brown and David Muoka did not practice Wednesday, was said they were held out due to precaution since the team has five days in a row of practice, which is rare
• Rocket Watts, Miss State – is expected back in mid-November (hip)

Transfer Updates from Oct 5-7:

• DeAnthony Tipler, Coastal Carolina – enters the portal – 13.4 ppg
• Alejandro Vasquez, St Bonaventure – transfers to Tarleton State, had previously committed to Samford – 4.4 ppg

See For Yourself:

Reminder – the daily player update post as well as some other content moved to a premium content level, to become a subscriber click Subscribe.

Reminder – the daily player update post as well as some other content moved to a premium content level, to become a subscriber click Subscribe.

Reminder – the daily player update post as well as some other content moved to a premium content level, to become a subscriber click Subscribe.

Some of these 16 stats after Week 5 are just for trivia, but most are good to know as you look at fantasy trends/leaders across the season or look for specific positions or teams to focus on or avoid.

As we are now in the middle of the season the stats this week are a mix of players who had big week 5s, players who have had multiple games with strong statistical output, and a few outstanding as well as some not so good team stats. When I put these together I always find at least a few players stand out to me who I knew were playing well but didn’t realize were really excelling to a certain degree (at least statistically), this week those guys were Coastal Carolina QB Grayson McCall and East Carolina RB Keaton Mitchell. I hope a few jump out to you as well.

Through five games Clemson has thrown a total of four TD passes. WR Justyn Ross is the only player currently on the Clemson roster with a TD catch this season, with three. The other TD catch was by RB Lyn-J Dixon who has since entered the transfer portal. Last season the Tigers had 11 different players with a TD reception. Clemson has a problem…

The Pac 12 team who won with less than 50 yards passing – In Oregon State’s 27-24 win over Washington last weekend Chance Nolan was 7/15-48-0 passing. Only one receiver had at least two receptions (Zeriah Beason, 2/9) and the leading receiver by yardage was Anthony Gould (1/22). While they only had 48 yards passing, they had 242 yards rushing.

Louisville QB Malik Cunningham has rushed for 2 TDs in all five games he has played this season. Two players have four games with two rushing TDs – RB BJ Baylor (Oregon State) and RB Jaren Mangham (South Florida).

Among the bottom five teams in passing yards per game after week 5 includes four option teams and Colorado, who is 127th in the nation with only 100.4 yards per game. Colorado was hit with the surprise transfer of QB Sam Noyer to Oregon State this summer, then the season-ending knee injury to QB JT Shrout in late August. Starting QB Brendon Lewis is 48/90-475-2 over five games, and their only receiver with over 100 yards is TE Brady Russell (9/124-0).

Florida State QB Jordan Travis threw for 22/32-131-2 last weekend against Syracuse, 5.95 yards per completion. He was the first QB this season to have 20+ completions but throw for less than 135 yards. Georgia QB JT Daniels previously had a 22/30-135-0 game.

Since volume matters for RBs, three RBs had 35 rushing attempts in week 5 – Brian Robinson (Alabama, 36/171-4), Jaylen Warren (Oklahoma State, 36/125-2), and Bijan Robinson (Texas, 35/216-2). The only higher total this season was Sincere McCormick (UTSA, 41, revised from 42). Warren became the only player with two 32 carry games this season, and Warren’s 3.5 yards per carry was the lowest average of any player with a 30 carry game this year.

Only five times this season has a QB passed for 150 yards and rushed for 125 yards in a game, and two of those were in week 5 – Liberty’s Malik Willis (287 pass, 144 rush) and Syracuse’s Garrett Shrader (150 pass, 137 rush).

There were six 200 yard rushing games in week 5 – Chase Brown (Illinois, 26/257-2), Keaton Mitchell (East Carolina, 15/222-2), Tyler Allgeier (BYU, 22/218-3), Bijan Robinson (Texas, 35/216-2), Logan Wright (Georgia Southern, 10/208-2) and De’Montre Tuggle (Ohio, 17/201-1). There had only been nine 200 yards games prior to this week. Of all 15 games this season, Wright had the fewest carries (10) and the highest yards per carry (20.8), while Bijan Robinson had the fewest yards per carry (6.2).

Kansas State RB Deuce Vaughn became the first player this season to have a game with 15 rushing attempts and 10 receptions, with a 15/51-0, 10/104-1 game against Oklahoma. Next closest is Missouri RB Tyler Badie who had a 14/61-0, 10/88-1 game against Kentucky earlier this season.

In Wisconsin’s 38-17 loss to Michigan last weekend, the Badgers did not have a player rush for 20 yards. Jalen Berger (8/13), Chez Mellusi (6/13), Braelon Allen (5/19) and WR Kendric Pryor (2/17) and Isaac Guerendo (2/7) came closest. They were 32/43 total as a team on the ground.

Coastal Carolina QB Grayson McCall leads the nation both in passing percentage (80.2%) and yards per pass attempt (12.9). Oklahoma QB Spencer Rattler is second in percentage (76.3%) and Liberty QB Malik Willis is second in yards per pass attempt (10.5).

Only two teams in the country are averaging less than 70 rushing yards per game – Mississippi State (56.2) which is understandable in their high-volume passing offense, and Bowling Green (47.2). Bowling Green’s leading rusher after five games is RB Jaison Patterson (39/120-1, a 3.1 average).

Through five games this season SMU QB Tanner Mordecai has thrown 24 TDs. Next closest, a full five TDs behind, is Pitt QB Kenny Pickett with 19. Only 10 QBs have thrown even 13+ TD passes on the season, meaning Mordecai has twice as many as the #11 ranked TD passer on the season. Mordecai has thrown for at least 4 TDs in all five games he has played this season.

Western Kentucky WR Jerreth Sterns set a season-high with 17 receptions in a game, putting up 17/186-1 against Michigan State. The previous high was 14 by Jalen Cropper (Fresno State) and Emeka Emezie (NC State), which was also reached in week 5 by Hassan Beydoun (Eastern Michigan, 14/167-0). Beydoun was the first to have 14 receptions in a game this season without also catching a TD in the game.

Among the top 100 receivers by yardage so far this season (at least 292 yards) there are 5 tight ends – Trey McBride (Colorado State, 36/398), Sean Dykes (Memphis, 22/391), Michael Mayer (Notre Dame, 32/360), Greg Dulcich (UCLA, 16/313) and Gerrit Prince (UAB, 15/299).

Among the top 50 rushers by yardage so far this season (at least 384 yards) there are 5 QBs, the highest being 33rd of 50 – Emory Jones (Florida, 70/438), Christian Anderson (Army, 58/431), Haaziq Daniels (Air Force, 71/419), Malik Willis (Liberty, 66/418), and Adrian Martinez (Nebraska, 80/412).

Credit to the CFB Reference and cfbstats.com sites for their stat-keeping, if you see any stats you feel are incorrect please let me know.

In injury updates, Darryl Morsell (Marquette) is expected to be fully cleared after a shoulder injury he suffered while playing at Maryland before transferring. Morsell started 108 games of the 126 he played in for the Terrapins, averaging 8.7 ppg. Bryan Antoine (Villanova) will be out around six weeks due to a patella tendon knee injury. Antoine only played in ten games last season as he was limited by a shoulder injury.

New Mexico’s Valdir Manuel has been suspended indefinitely, including from participating in team activities. Manuel only started six games last season but was the team’s third leading scorer with 7.9 ppg in 20.2 mpg and was primed to likely increase both of those numbers. In more positive news, DePaul’s Yor Anei was confirmed to be eligible this season after a transfer from SMU, he began his career at Oklahoma State and has averaged 7.7 ppg over three seasons.

Announcing transfer destinations were Collin Smith (UCF to NC A&T), Mo Arnold (Jacksonville to Southern Miss), and Tyree Corbett (Alcorn State to Coppin State). You’ll also see below in the transfer section I did some internet sleuthing trying to track down some other players who entered the portal, revealing that Elijah Childs (Bradley) and Ahmed Ali (Portland, previously Washington State) signed to play pro ball overseas.

(Injuries & Updates in the first section, Transfers down below.)

Injuries and Updates from Oct 1-4:

• Rati Andronikashvili, Creighton – fully cleared for season (ACL)
• Yor Anei, DePaul – SMU transfer receives a waiver to be eligible this season – 6.6 ppg
• Bryan Antoine, Villanova – will be out around 6 weeks with a patella tendon injury in his knee
• Modestas Kancleris, Creighton – fully cleared for season (ACL)
• Valdir Manuel, New Mexico – has been suspended indefinitely and cannot participate in team activities – 7.9 ppg
• Darryl Morsell, Marquette – Maryland transfer will be fully cleared next (now this) week (shoulder)
• Liam Robbins, Vanderbilt – was not participating in pro day Monday, no obvious sign of injury

Transfer Updates from Oct 1-4:

• Ahmed Ali, Portland – entered the transfer portal in March (18.2 ppg), signed with a professional team in Croatia
• Mo Arnold, Jacksonville – transfers to Southern Miss and has been cleared to play – 7.1 ppg
• Yame Butler, Fordham – transfers to State Fair CC – 1.3 ppg
• Elijah Childs, Bradley – he entered the transfer portal in May (14.2 ppg) but signed with a professional team in Italy in late July
• Tyree Corbett, Alcorn State – transfers to Coppin State (late Aug) – 7.8 ppg
• Brandon Davis, Sacramento State – entered transfer portal in March, signed with a pro team in Puerto Rico
• Takiula Fahrenson, Portland – entered transfer portal in March, signed with a pro team in New Zealand
• Collin Smith, UCF – transfers to North Carolina A&T – 12.6 ppg in ’19-20, Smith began his career at George Washington in ’16-17, sat out a year, spent two years at UCF, then opted out of ’20-21.

See For Yourself:

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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), or missed the game for another stated reason
• 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.

Reminder – the daily player update post as well as some other content moved to a premium content level, to become a subscriber click Subscribe.