Welcome back for the second edition of The Weekly Devy Notebook. I hope you enjoyed my notes from last week, but if you missed them, please go back and read up on some of the Devy highlights from week one. With each consecutive article, we will see what names continue to make a name for themselves while others reveal themselves as simply a flash in the pan. Let’s see who made the cut in this week’s edition of the Devy Notebook.
- Jeremiah Smith is an absolute stud. Over 100 yards in the first half alone and he appears to be Will Howard‘s favorite player to target. He is going to be moved all over the field in the Chip Kelly offense and looks like he could go for 1,000 yards as a true freshman (this is unheard of).
- Ashton Jeanty looked incredible against the Ducks. To this point in his college career, he had not performed well against higher-level competition. But if you had any concerns that he couldn’t play against the big dogs, you should crumple them up and throw them in the trash. I know I have at this point. He is tough, physical, explosive, and displayed fantastic breakaway speed on his game-tying run in the fourth quarter. Without a doubt, he should be mentioned in every conversation with the top running backs in the 2025 class moving forward. I believe he is currently the safest running back in the class to obtain Day 2 draft capital.
- Evan Stewart quieted some of the concerns in Week 2, going over 100 yards and scoring a touchdown, too. The offense looked a bit different this week, and they actually threw the ball outside the numbers. As they open up the playbook in the coming games, I would like to see more targets going Stewart’s way.
- The drumbeat got a smidge louder for Kyle Monangai against an Akron team that did reasonably well with TreVeyon Henderson and Quinshon Judkins last week. Over 200 yards on the ground and 3 touchdowns is impressive. Monangai is firmly on the watch list heading into Big Ten play.
- Jordan Moore is THE guy for the Duke Blue Devils. Another 100-yard game and a touchdown to go with it. He is one of my favorite sleepers early on in the draft process.
- Jaydon Blue split carries nearly 50/50 with Tre Wisner against a stout Michigan run defense. What impressed me in this game was his usage out of the backfield in the passing game. We are always looking for running backs who can catch passes, as it is an easy way to project fantasy points. He caught six passes for 37 yards and a touchdown on Saturday. I’m excited to see his development in the passing game in SEC play.
- A quick note on the Michigan offense…they might be one of the worst in the country. They are completely incapable of throwing the football at this point in the season. I believe only Colston Loveland is a true Devy asset on this offense, but they are so bad that we really won’t be able to make any more judgments until the Combine and draft night.
- In a much tighter game than what they were involved in against West Virginia, Penn State turned to their star tight end, Tyler Warren, when they needed a playmaker. Any time I see a tight end go over 100 yards in college, it catches my attention. Could he be the next great tight end to come from Penn State?
- For the second week in a row, Harold Fannin gets his name mentioned in the Devy Notebook. I said it catches my attention when a tight end can go over 100 yards in college, but to do it against an incredible defense is another story. He tallied nine catches for 121 yards and a touchdown against the Nittany Lions. He should be untouchable in your C2C leagues at the TE position and is showing real promise as a Devy asset in a difficult position to evaluate.
- Ollie Gordon had one of the more inefficient performances that I can remember from a player widely considered to be at the top of his position group. Arkansas does not have a highly touted run defense, either. This Oklahoma State team has always given me pause with running backs because of their system. I don’t view Ollie Gordon as a truly different prospect than Chuba Hubbard or Justice Hill.
- Darius Taylor returned for the Golden Gophers this weekend and promptly received about 60% of the carries. We need to monitor his touch share as he gets farther away from injury. We also need to see how his body holds up against the upcoming conference opponents, where he might have to run the ball more than 14 times.
- Connor Weigman only had 14 passes for 125 yards and two touchdowns in a blowout. The initial thought is, “Who cares? It was McNeese.” However, I half expected the coaching staff to try to regain some confidence in the passing game after a rough showing last week. Unfortunately, we did not see that, and it looks like Texas A&M may be relying on the running game to keep them in football games. The Devy hope for Weigman is rapidly fading.
- Freshman Mazeo Bennett at South Carolina was a favorite deeper stash of mine in drafts this year. For him to catch a touchdown against a conference opponent in only his second game is something to take serious note of. He came in around 6′ and 185 lbs. but he should be able to add some muscle to his frame. Athletic comps for Bennett that make me even more interested include: Antonio Williams, Randall Cobb, Isaiah Bond, Eugene Wilson, and Kayshon Boutte.
- Ryan Williams was able to build on last week’s performance, catching four balls for 68 yards and a touchdown. He is an elite mover who is extremely fluid and balanced with the ball in his hands. At only 17 years of age, he has already put the college football world on notice that he is the next great Alabama wideout.
- The two backs at Ohio State are special, and both do something unique. Treveyon is probably the better pass protector and pass catcher, but Judkins just looks different with the ball in his hands. His burst and long speed make defenses look like they’re standing still. He likely ends up as my RB1 in the 2025 class.
- It’s looking like the Josh Heupel offense has done it again and churned out another runningback that we should all be excited about. Dylan Sampson was under the radar coming into the year but has now produced 150+ scrimmage yards and multiple touchdowns in back-to-back games. I was skeptical after he put up these numbers against Chatanooga in Week 1, but to replicate it on the road versus a ranked NC State team has caught my eye. We will likely dive into him a bit more once conference play begins.
- I’m starting to get a little worried about Justice Haynes in the early part of the season. A top-five Devy runningback in my rankings coming into the year, Haynes has failed to be efficient with his touches and has looked like the lesser-talent back between him and Jam Miller. In a tight game heading into the fourth quarter against USF, the Alabama coaching staff entrusted the ball to Miller rather than Haynes, and Miller looked very explosive.
- Jeremiyah Love only ran the ball 11 times against Northern Illinois due to the game script, but he has looked very impressive in back-to-back weeks. He is decisive, explosive, and displays great physicality when finishing his runs. Of all of the runningbacks I have seen play live early in the year, Love is easily one of my favorites.
- Rocco Becht put up zero points in the first half against Iowa but led his team to a comeback win by scoring 20 in the second half. He threw for 272 yards and two touchdowns in the game. I said last week that it would be a nice feather in his cap to score some points on Iowa, and he absolutely earned it. He is another player we will dive into more deeply as the season progresses.
- Kaleb Johnson is the guy at Iowa, and they are going to continue to feed him the ball out of the backfield. I probably have had him too low in the Devy rankings to this point. I’m not sure he has the athletic chops to really enter my Devy rankings, but he is a guy to start keeping tabs on.
- Against a bad Nicholls team, Kaleb Jackson only ran the ball nine times for 19 yards. I have two problems with him so far this season. 1) He added weight in the offseason and turned himself into Raheim Sanders 2.0. He didn’t need the weight in the first place, and he doesn’t carry it well. 2) I’m not sure the staff really wants to run the ball in the first place. Not a single player of the five that ran the ball had over 20 yards. Nussmeier also had six touchdowns through the air on Saturday. I am worried, to say the least.
- Luther Burden has been underwhelming in back-to-back weeks. He is a player who shows a flash here and there of greatness and has everyone yelling at their TV, “See, see, he is a stud!”. I like my studs with better size and better target share than what Burden has. He needs to get more involved. Don’t get me wrong, he will still be easily in my top 5 wide receivers in the 2025 class, and I expect him to test very well, but the profile will not be what we hoped it would be.
- Devin Neal outshined Kaden Feagin this weekend, but the Illini stole the win at home. Unfortunately, Neal doesn’t get the recognition he deserves, but if you sit down and watch him, I don’t think he does anything worse than TreVeyon Henderson. If you put him in an Ohio State or Texas uniform, the whole world might be calling for him to be the RB1.
- Cam Ward broke 300 yards and threw for three touchdowns again, and I wouldn’t be surprised if he hits those benchmarks in every game this season. Miami has given him the keys to the car, and looking ahead at their schedule, I don’t know that we get to see Ward truly tested until the playoffs. Heisman favorite?
- Gavin Sawchuk was primed to take over the Oklahoma backfield this season, but through two games, he has arguably looked like the worst running back in this room. He only carried the ball four times for 4 yards in Week 2. I haven’t liked hardly any snap I have seen from Sawchuk, and he should be moved for any value possible in all league styles.
- Jackson Arnold is the latest member of the 2023 quarterback class to underwhelm us. He has not been what he was hyped up to be coming into the year in either of his first two games. In Week 2, he threw for a measly 5.4 yards per pass attempt. Woof.
- I fully expected Squirrel White to get the Jalin Hyatt treatment in the Tennessee offense this season. Unfortunately, this has been far from the case. He is third amongst the wide receivers in snap share and has received only five targets through two weeks. Both Brazzell and McCoy have gotten 10+ targets so far. I am officially concerned and am probably okay with nixing White as a Devy asset until further notice.
- DJ Lagway got his first official start against Samford. He threw for 456 yards and three touchdowns on only 18 completions. He is an exceptional athlete who, in my opinion, has a ceiling akin to his Gator counterpart, Anthony Richardson. His footwork at this stage of his career is atrocious, but there is plenty of time to clean that up. Billy Napier would be smart to keep starting Lagway even after Graham Mertz returns, but no one ever said Napier was smart.
- Quinn Ewers just seems to show up in big games. He went into Ann Arbor this weekend and looked fantastic, even making a couple of deep throws. His ability to push the ball downfield has been lacking in recent years, so this was encouraging to see. I still want to see him continue this type of play consistently, but his start to the season has been impressive.
- Nick Marsh put up a very intriguing stat line against Maryland this weekend, catching eight passes on 10 targets for 194 yards and one touchdown. Though the stat line is gaudy, his profile coming out of high school was that of a straight-line player who makes his money at the catch point. He struggles with his agility and route running, which gives me doubts about his overall development. He profiles similarly to a guy like Dane Key at Kentucky. Nonetheless, he is one to make a note of for now.
What I’m looking for heading into Week 3
- Tetairoa McMillain needs a bounce-back week on the road against a solid Kansas State team. We get an added bonus of monitoring DJ Giddens in this game.
- Wisconsin is a notoriously tough environment to play in. How will Jalen Milroe, Germie Bernard, and freshman sensation Ryan Williams perform in Madison? I am also curious to monitor the backfield splits.
- Garrett Nussmeier faces a South Carolina defense that just gave Kentucky a ton of problems. This will be another road test early in the season for the budding QB.
- Boston College heads to Missouri for a ranked showdown. Dual-threat QB Thomas Castellanos has a chance to make a real name for himself. For now, he is a CFF player only, but a good showing against this defense could catch some eyes. On the other side, Brady Cook and Luther Burden both have designs on the NFL. They need to show up big in this one to keep their stock going up.
- In-state rivalries are always fun. Oregon goes on the road to face Oregon State and tempers will be flaring. Can the Ducks keep their cool after two close games and continue to get Evan Stewart involved?
Thank you for reading the second edition of The Devy Notebook. If you have any thoughts or questions regarding any of the players mentioned, or if you would like my opinions on a player who is not mentioned in this article, you can reach out to me on Twitter @Evan_Kerr_. #DFFArmy #AlwaysBeBuilding
