U-Sports (a commissioner service) is a leader in Fantasy College Football and one of their features is called ‘Player Trends’.  This shows the Top 10 most added free agents and Top 10 most dropped players each week.  When you are talking about the thousands of teams that uses U-Sports, it is interesting to see which players are being given up on and which ones are getting a lot of love.  These are also very likely the same type of players available in your league or are players you are wondering if you should give up on.

Looking over the report reveals 5 running backs, 3 on the most added and 2 on the most dropped.  Let’s look at each one closer.

Andre Dixon – UConn: (pictured left, thanks Icon SMI) Dixon had a monster game last week against Baylor with 31 rushes for 149 yards and 3 TDs.  People want to assume that the Huskies want one back to emerge and give him 35+ touches a game, because that is what happened last year with Donald Brown.  However, historically the UConn coaches have split carries and with the talent that Dixon possesses it doesn’t surprise me to see his carries increase.  If you look at the play-by-play of the game you will see two players that had basically a 50/50 split on series and both played late into the game.  Grabbing Dixon isn’t a mistake, but at the same time as long as Jordan Todman is healthy and running strong, I don’t see Dixon becoming a fantasy star- so bid accordingly.  What this game from Dixon does do, is gain the confidence from the coaching staff and has to cut into Todman’s carries.  If you own Todman you may wish to sit him if you have other options, just to see how much Dixon cuts into his carries.

Toben Opurum – Kansas: Opurum is a true freshman that comes to the Jayhawks as one of the most talented running backs to commit in a long time.  Opurum is a big bruising back that most teams were recruiting to be a fullback. This helped Kansas land him as they plan on having him carry the rock.  Opurum is a must pick-up in all keeper leagues as he has already gained the trust of the coaching staff and starting back Jake Sharp will be gone next year.  Regarding this year, he is someone that could score 10+ TDs and have some use as a spot starter especially in scoring leagues.  Also makes a great handcuff for Sharp owners.

Carlos Brown – Michigan: While I can make a case for Dixon and Opurum to be picked up, Brown I cannot.  He showed up on the free agents list thanks to his 30 point performance last week against Eastern Michigan.  The problem is that he did this on only 13 carries and isn’t going to have a difficult time breaking 10 points a game without an increase.  This is the same back that got only 4 carries for -3 yards against Notre Dame, so before getting too excited just realize that the Wolverines running backs situation has been a mess since Rodriguez got there.  I have found little rhyme or reason to which back is going to blow up on a weekly basis. You could find yourself with a just a few points from him if you start him.

Baron Batch – Texas Tech: People have finally given up on Batch and considering he fell in most drafts due to his injury, it isn’t a huge blow.  However, seeing that Batch was a 3rd round pick before the injury and is healthy- it still hurts to have to give up on him.  Texas Tech has never been a big running team but Batch was expected to be a guy getting 20+ touches a game in an offense that would provide him plenty of opportunities to score.  The Texas Tech coaching staff is notoriously hush-hush on injuries so who knows if Batch is having issues with his injured arm; but the facts are that he is not part of the offense.  Cutting him makes sense at this point but don’t forget about Batch completely- if this injury doesn’t hold him back, then he could be a nice pick up for the 2nd half of the season.

Moise Plancher – South Florida: Plancher goes from being one of the most added, to one of the most dropped in one week’s time.  The reason is that no one believes in Plancher and he’s not a big name in the fantasy world. So, after his 8 carries for 16 yards performance against Charleston Charles (has South Florida even played a Div 1A school yet?) people quickly asked themselves; why did I even get this guy? The truth is that people are probably over-reacting with dumping him so quickly.  As I have said before, starting players against vastly inferior teams is just dumb luck so why make a roster move based on it unless you are sure you are getting a better player to replace him? As a general rule, South Florida players don’t make good fantasy players but Plancher should see 12-15 touches a game and score a touchdown every other game- a spot starter in deeper leagues.

Just a random thought…

Jeremy Avery – Boise State: With the loss of DJ Harper for the season, there is a lot of excitement surrounding Avery’s fantasy potential for the remainder of this season.  I think a lot of people are going to start Avery and potentially be disappointed if he doesn’t score some long runs because of a player named Doug Martin.  The Broncos have been a committee team for many years even when it appeared they didn’t have anyone other than Ian Johnson.  Martin has been called the most exciting player on the team and splits time between defense and offense- but now has been moved to the #2 back officially.  I expect to see a similar split in carries making Avery’s value increase only slightly, if at all.

Related posts:

1. Power I: Week 8
2. Power I Week 6
3. Power I: Week 2 Thoughts on RBs
4. Power-I Week 7
5. Power I: Specific Week One Strategies for Starting RBs

Tags: U-Sports