December 27th Bowl Prospect Preview

2019 NFL Draft Rumors

Bowl season continues with a good three game late for your Thursday. In our first game we get to see potential first round draft Daniel Jones against an underrated Temple defense. In the afternoon game we get a rematch of last year’s Orange Bowl and see Wisconsin takes on Miami in New York while the late game while the Texas Bowl pits Baylor and Vanderbilt. Our December 27th Bowl Prospect Preview takes a look at the best prospects in each of the bowl games.

December 27th Bowl Prospect Preview

Temple Owls vs Duke Blue Devils
12:30 CST on ESPN

Temple Prospects
WR Ventell Bryant (#10 WR)
RB Ryquell Armstead
RG Jaelin Robinson
DT Michael Dogbe
CB Rock Ya-Sin
SS Delvon Randall

Duke Prospects
QB Daniel Jones (#5 QB)
WR Jonathan Lloyd
WR TJ Rahming
TE Daniel Helm
MLB Ben Humphreys
WLB Joe Giles-Harris

The star of this game is Duke quarterback Daniel Jones who is one of the best quarterback prospects in this draft. Jones is an accurate thrower who can get the ball out quick to his receivers on short to intermediate throws while also dropping the ball in with touch and anticipation on longer throws. While Temple doesn’t have the athletes that a Clemson team does, they are a physical defense with some NFL talent on it that will look to test Jones throughout this game. Temple’s top prospect is cornerback Rock Ya-Sin whose done well stepping up from FCS who has starting potential due to his ability to change direction well speed and plus ball skills. Ya-Sin is joined in the backfield by strong safety Delvon Randall who is a hard hitting safety with good range. At defensive tackle Temple’s Michael Dogbe is an undersized tackle who is tough to block with his burst and motor. While Daniel Jones against this Owl defense is the main attraction, this bowl game also offers another prospect battle in Temple running back Ryquell Armstead and Duke linebackers Ben Humphreys and Joe Giles-Harris. Armstead is a tougher runner and will try and get yardage against two downhill linebackers.

Miami Hurricanes vs Wisconsin Badgers
4:15 CST on ESPN

Miami Prospects
LT Tyree St. Louis
C Tyler Gauthier
DT Gerald Willis (#10 DL)
DE Joe Jackson (#8 Edge)
LB Shaquille Quarterman (#2 LB)
CB Michael Jackson (#8 CB)
FS Sheldrick Redwine
SS Jaquan Johnson (#6 S)

Wisconsin Prospects
FB Alec Ingold
RT David Edwards (#2 OT)
LG Michael Deiter (#2 iOL)
RG Beau Benzschawel (#9 iOL)
C Tyler Biadasz
OLB Andrew Van Ginkel
LB TJ Edwards (#7 LB)
SS D’Cota Dixon (#5 S)

Leading up to the start of the season nobody would have been too surprised to see these two teams matched up in a Bowl Game but we thought it would have been a New Year’s Six Bowl, not the Pinstripe. While neither team lived up to to the preseason hype, both teams still have plenty of good NFL Draft talent. This is especially true when the powerful Wisconsin offensive line takes on an athletic Miami front seven. Even though the Badgers offensive line is talented on a yearly basis, this year’s unit is especially loaded with NFL Draft talent. Right tackle David Edwards is the best of the group showing both power in the run game and enough lateral agility to cut off the edge in pass protection. But what makes Edwards stand out is his upper body and hand strength that allows him to lock down defenders once he gets a hold of them. Edwards won’t see a lot of Miami defensive end Joe Jackson because Jackson lines up mainly in the opposite side, but when they do go one on one it will be a joy to watch. Jackson is an athletic edge defender that uses his burst and ankle flexibility to beat tackles around the corner.

On the inside we’ll get to see plenty of Miami defensive tackle Gerald Willis taking on the trio of Michael Deiter, Tyler Biadasz and Beau Benzschawel. Willis is an athletic penetrator who lines up at the three technique on both sides looking to use burst, lateral agility and a swim move to get past guards to make plays in the backfield. He’ll be tested in this game because Deiter is a versatile athlete who can move laterally while Benzschawel is a stout defender. At center Biadasz (redshirt sophomore) is the best of the trio and will deal with Willis on third downs and some obvious passing situations. Miami will want to slow down the Wisconsin rushing attack and force quarterback Alex Hornibrook to have to throw the ball. That could go in Miami’s favor as their secondary is talented with two safeties in Jaquan Johnson and Sheldrick Redwine, while Michael Johnson has good length and moves well on the outside. While the Wisconsin offense vs the Miami defense is strength on strength, the other side of the ball tends to be a bit more one sided as the Hurricanes offense has struggled all year long. Wisconsin on the other hand has some defenders to watch in linebackers TJ Edwards and Andrew Van Ginkel. Edwards is excellent in space as he’s able to change direction quickly and uses his speed to cover ground quickly. At safety D’Cota Dixon is a do it all safety who plays like his hair on fire flying up to stop the run or even back on zone coverage. His playing style reminds me a lot of former Steeler Troy Polamalu.

Baylor Bears vs Vanderbilt Commodores
8:00 CST on ESPN

Baylor Prospects
WR Jalen Hurd
WR Denzel Mims

Vanderbilt Prospects
QB Kyle Shurmur
LT Justin Skule
DE Dare Odeyingbo
SS Ladarius Wiley
CB Joejuan Williams

Before the horrible problems that happened at Baylor the Bears were beginning to produce NFL Draft prospects on a regular basis, especially at receiver. While there is no Corey Coleman for Baylor they do have a couple of receivers that are very intriguing prospects. Jalen Hurd is going to get most of the headlines as he was once a heralded prospects who was a standout running back at Tennessee (started ahead of Alvin Kamara) before transferring to Baylor and moving to receiver. Hurd has good size at 6’4, is fast off the line and catches the ball naturally. Hurd is still raw as a route runner, but he has the athletic traits and his ability to be a weapon with the ball in his hands is still evident. Unfortunately Hurd will not be playing in this game because of a minor knee procedure, but teammate Denzel Mims is a better prospect with a quicker to success path. At 6’3 with explosive traits Mims is talented at the catch point able to go up to make catches and is a vacuum with the ball near to him. Both receivers will see plenty of Vanderbilt cornerback Joejuan Williams who is a sleeper name whose been rumored to be declaring. At 6’3 Williams has the size to match up with the bigger receivers but he also has the ball production to show for it with four interceptions and ten passes defended on the season. Vanderbilt quarterback Kyle Shurmur is also worth watching in this game as he has the traits and pedigree that likely sees him getting drafted during day three. The son of current New York Giants head coach Pat Shurmur, Kyle shows the ability to make short to intermediate throws with good ball placement while showing some touch. However Shurmur’s lack of arm strength really limits his throws and forces him to have to anticipate and throw to spots too often.