The Michigan State coaching staff knew heading into the 2008 preseason that finding a replacement for former standout wide receiver, Devin Thomas , wasn’t going to be an easy task. Fortunately, it seems that incoming freshman recruit at wideout, Fred Smith , is about to make that process a much less stressful one than head coach Mark Dantonio initially thought.
Regarded by many as the top-recruit for the class of 2008 for the Michigan State football program, Smith ranked the #34 receiver in the nation by Scouts.com , provides the Spartans with a fantastic target in terms of size (6’2" and 207 pounds) and brings sprint-quality speed to a Big Ten Conference team seeking a home-run hitting target deep down field.
Smith was a three-year starter at Southeastern High School in Detroit, Michigan, where, not only did he play wide receiver but also spent time as a quarterback and in the defensive backfield.
In the aftermath of the shocking announcement by UNLV head coach Mike Sanford that former quarterback Travis Dixon would be shifted to the defensive side of the ball as a safety, we bring you a Player Spotlight on sophomore quarterback Omar Clayton.
Clayton made his debut in the middle of last season as a true freshman walk-on who was highly inexperienced (he was #5 on the depth chart at the start of the Rebels’ 2007 season), but brought a degree of enthusiasm and athleticism unlike that under both Dixon and Rocky Hinds. Against Colorado State, he was electric despite committing four turnovers in the first half to the Rams,. By the end of the contest he was the first UNLV quarterback ever to pass for at least 300 yards and rush for at least 100 yards in the same game.
Time to kick off my first round of Player Spotlights for the 2008 season and where better to start things than with a Top 15 fantasy running back that many people might not know much about.
Meet JahvidBest from University of California , a 5-10 193lb speedster who is expected to be the full-time back this season. Best has a lot of things going for him as he plays for a great fantasy RB system and is arguably the biggest talent coming out of high school to carry the rock for California in a long time.
Best starred in both track and football at Salesian High in California and even competed in the Junior Olympics in the 100 and 200 meter dashes. After averaging 10.8 ypc and scoring 20 TDs his senior year, Best found himself as a Top 10 rated RB with Rivals.com. He was faced with scholarship offers from USC, Notre Dame, Michigan and a bevy of other major big-time programs.
Introduced to new head coach Paul Wulff during the off-season , the Washington State Cougars have the daunting task of finding a suitable replacement for now-departed star quarterback, Alex Brink. Attempting to institute a new no-huddle spread offense, Wulff has yet to identify a competent starter under center for 2008 .
The offense is dependent on a QB that can throw accurately through the air and remain mobile enough to scramble on the ground. As the fall quickly approaches, fantasy owners need to become a heck of a lot more familiar with senior quarterback Gary Rogers (right, Icon SMI). It appears, as of now, that Rogers has established himself as the favorite to head up the Cougars offense once late August rolls around.
Heading into spring scrimmages, Rogers carried a slight advantage over his competition (junior Kevin Lopina emerged as his major competitor) given that he’s played at real-time speed in actual games as a back-up to Brink. His numbers to date have been anything but impressive.
It would be one of the worst puns of all time to say that BYU WR Austin Collie (right, ICON SMI) is a man on a mission, but it looks true to me this year. Collie has taken a circuitous route to play major college football (at least for those outside Provo) and looks ready to be a top 20 fantasy WR in 2008.
First, the requisite background – Collie was the Mountain West Conference (MWC) Rookie of the Year way back in 2004 (caught 8 TDs from John Beck ), then did the requisite two-year mission that all LDS Cougars are asked to do, he just got assigned to Argentina.
In 2007 he returned out of shape , so you didn’t notice him until November when he ripped off 100+ yards in five of the last six including the bowl game win over UCLA – give him a pass as he was getting reacquainted to football plus was working with a brand-new starter at QB in Max Hall .
The Michigan State coaching staff knew heading into the 2008 preseason that finding a replacement for former standout wide receiver, Devin Thomas , wasn’t going to be an easy task. Fortunately, it seems that incoming freshman recruit at wideout, Fred Smith , is about to make that process a much less stressful one than head coach Mark Dantonio initially thought.
