College Football - 2021 Bowl Games

When I was growing up, the New Year's Day Bowl games were big deals. But between the Semifinal games already taking place and the amount of 2022 prospects opting out of today's game, I feel like these games are nothing more than exhibitions for FR or SO players heading into the 2022 season. The one game I really want to watch is the Rose Bowl game between Utah and Ohio State - I feel like Utah has some solid prospects and it's one of those "David vs Goliath" matchups in a bigtime bowl game. The Cinderella teams yesterday - Cincinnati and Michigan - couldn't hang with the SEC "Goliaths" yesterday...can New Year's Day deliver some excitement?

Prospects to watch - 1/1/2022 New Year's Day

Outback Bowl (Penn St vs Arkansas) - Noon ET
- Rasheed Walker, OT, Penn State: a strong run-blocker, but had some bad tape against speed rushers off he edge (including Hutchinson/Ojabo). Probably late Day 2 / early/mid Day 3 developmental OT.
- Tariq Castro-Fields, CB, Penn State: redshirt Sr that didn't have much ball production; probably Day 3 prospect that will have to play ST to make NFL roster.
- Joey Porter, Jr, CB, Penn State: redshirt SO so not sure if he'll declare, but I liked him a bunch at the start of the season. I watched a bunch of Penn St early and I thought he played really well. 6'2" and 190 lbs he has the length to be an outside CB. Probably Day 3 development but I'd rather take a shot on him vs Castro-Fields.
- Myron Cunningham, OT, Arkansas: transfer from Jr College that immediately became a 3-season starter for the Razorbacks. Solid and move so he could play in a wide-zone system.
- John Rideway, DT, Arkansas: still yet another Arkansas DT that's a Day 3 developmental prospect, but the difference between him and Watts (and other recent 3T Arkansas prospects) is that Ridgeway is a true DT/NT - he's not a gap-shooter. He's more Shamar Stephen - a block-eater. It's an overall weak DT class, but Ridgeway could be a solid Day 3 pickup; former HS wresting champion and at 6'5" 320 lbs and a 34" wingspan, he's got the physical attributes to be a depth DT in the NFL.

Vrbo Citrus Bowl (Iowa vs Kentucky) - 1PM ET
- Tyler Linderbaum, C, Iowa: #10 on Feldman's 2021 "Freaks List"; top C prospect in college and Top 25 prospect in the 2022 Draft. If he declared last year, he would have bee drafted high (probably Day 2) and he had an even better 2021 season, per PFF (some of PFF's highest grades for a C, ever). I'm still not completely sold because he's under 300 lbs and he's 6'3", so he's leaner than I'd like and we all know how anchoring along the IOL has been problem going against Kenny Clark and A Hicks the last few seasons. I'm not worried about his athleticism, I'm just worried about pass protection and if he can anchor vs 300+ lb NFL DT's. I think the pre-Draft process will be huge - those lower body/upper body strength test #'s will be big. I'm not sure if there's any decent DT's that he faced in the BIG10 the last 2 seasons, either.
- Sam LaPorta, TE, Iowa: still yet another classic Iowa TE; I don't think he's George Kittle, but I do like him. He's a solid blocker and I thought he showed good athleticism in the BIG10 Title game vs Michigan and was the only bright spot for their offense. I think he's a bit better than Wisconsin's Jake Ferguson in terms of a mid-Rd TE prospect - let's see how he ends his 2021 season and if he declares. 
- Riley Moss / Matt Hankins, CB, Iowa - both are somewhat similar in that they're decent CB's around the same physical frame (Moss is 6'1", 195 and Hankins is 6'0" and 185) and both are ball hawk type CB's that have a nose for the football - both were responsible for turning opposing teams over during Iowa's great 1st half of the season. Moss is getting a bit more hype, but I feel like he's more of a zone coverage guy or FS prospect (like Bynum - converted CB to S). Both are probably Day 3 prospects - Moss maybe earlier on Day 3. 
- Darrian Kinnard, OT/IOL, Kentucky: really big OT/IOL prospect and probably more suited for power/gap run schemes. 
- Wan'Dale Robinson, WR/RB, Kentucky: the Wildcats always seem to produce a player like this - a RB/WR "scat-back" type offensive weapon that can play numerous positions (ie, a "gadget" player). The problem for Minnesota is they currently don't have the coaching staff to utilize players like this and they already kinda have one in Kene (who probably needs a bit more development in 2022 offseason). 

PlayStation Fiesta Bowl (Notre Dame vs Oklahoma St) - 1PM ET
- Isaiah Foskey, DE/OLB, Notre Dame: #45 on Feldman's 2021 "Freaks List"; he transitioned to more of a OLB role for the Fighting Irish in 2021, but he does have the length to play DE in a 4-3 at 6'5" and 255 lbs. Very athletic but I'm curious with the move to OLB in 2021: does he not have the pass-rush refinement to get around OT's off the edge? I read he's solid in run-support which is something our rotational DE's have had trouble with. He hasn't declared yet and will have to make a decision after the game - perhaps if he plays really well he'll make a decision to enter. 
- Jaret Patterson, IOL, Notre Dame: the lone returning starter from last year's "loaded" OL for Notre Dame; he's played C and OG and is probably one of the better C prospects in the 2022 Draft behind Linderbaum (which isn't saying much, quite honestly). Notre Dame traditionally uses more power/gap blocking schemes and I don't believe Patterson is athletic enough for wide zone schemes in the NFL, but it will depend on the testing #'s during the pre-Draft process. I like his experience playing all along the interior and I believe he's had a solid 2021 season per PFF. 
- Kolby Harvell-Peel, S, Oklahoma St: I read about him heading into the BIG XII title game so I was focused on him and I didn't see anything that stood out. He's light a little stiff at 6'0" and 220 lbs and I didn't see any great athleticism, playmaking ability or tackling. Probably a very late Day 3 or UDFA player and I'd rather take a shot elsewhere (someone with more athletic upside). 

Rose Bowl presented by Capital One (Utah vs Ohio State) - 5PM ET
- Devin Lloyd, LB, Utah: All-American LB and potentially LB1 in the 2022 Draft - I really like him a bunch. He's not the most athletic LB prospect (not as athletic as Micah Parsons for example), and he's more of a "field general" type; pretty much doing it all: tackling, coverage, pass-rush - he does everything and does it really well. He doesn't have any injury concerns (that I know of) and his play has just one up each season which is something I think is key when evaluating prospects. I've said it for a while, there are three LB prospects that I really like (Lloyd, Chad Muma and D Beavers) and I'd like any one of them in purple, but Lloyd is my favorite. 
- Nick Ford, IOL, Utah: has played everywhere along the OL at Utah, but has played the most at RG and OC (hmmmm). Has earned All-Conference honors the last 3 seasons. He seems to be a really solid player that has position versatility and reminds me somewhat of Austin Corbett - someone who also played every position in college and took a few seasons to blossom in the NFL. I'd love to draft Ford on Day 3 and let him sit/develop for either OC or RG until he's ready in Year 2 or Year 3. 
- Jeremy Ruckert, TE, Ohio State: came on during the end of the 2020 season and decided to return to another season to boost his draft stock. I've read he's a solid run-blocker, but he hasn't shown out as a pass-catcher with just 23 rec this season, but I don't know if that isn't the result of Ohio St having premier WR's and Ruckert having limited targets. If he's a solid run-blocker and his testing #'s pan out, he very well could be a nice Day 2/Day 3 TE depth target for the Vikes. 
- Thayer Munford, IOL, Ohio State: has played both OT and LG for Buckeyes, but he's not athletic and has been very inconsistent from what I've seen. Meh, pass for me. 

Allstate Sugar Bowl (Baylor vs Ole Miss) - 8:45PM ET
- Matt Coral, QB, Ole Miss: he's probably going to be a 1st Rd QB in the 2022 Draft because he has a solid arm and is mobile. The problem I have with Corral is his pre-post snap decision-making: he's played in a real "simple" RPO Lane Kiffin system that may have hidden some of Corral's decision-making processes. He had trouble with turnovers last year and although he has improved in 2021, I don't know if it was the play-calling or Corral himself which is responsible. I also haven't seen much in NFL-level throws from him: those tough out-routes to the outside, the passes thrown before the WR gets out of his break, the touch throws over the LB/CB but before the S, etc. Let's see if Corral can show some of that in this game vs a solid Baylor defense. 
- Sam Williams, DE, Ole Miss: call me a little crazy, but I'm wondering if Williams has a bit of Everson Griffen in him; his size is similar to Griffen at 6'4", 265lbs and Williams does have athletic ability and should put up solid testing #'s during the pre-Draft process. He has shown the ability to be a power rusher, as well as get around the edge, too. I like this prospect and is someone I would consider a depth/developmental DE piece on Day 2, although we have a bunch of depth/rotational DE on our roster already and we really need starters who can play immediately. 
- Dontario Drummond, WR, Ole Miss: he's a very interesting player to me: he's built "thick" for a WR at 6'1" and 220 lbs and is more like Deebo Samuel, but when I watch Ole Miss games, he's very "silky smooth" on tape. He's a classic bubble screen WR - catching the ball in space and getting the majority of his yards after the catch. I don't know how much of a route runner he is which is what he needs to show in this bowl game, to me, and I'm not sure the RPO Lane Kiffen offense gives him chances to show off any route-running ability he might have. 
- Jalen Pitre, S, Baylor: a very good S prospect that should be a Day 2 prospect. Had a very good game in the BIG XII Championship. Known as a SS/box defender, but he's shown a bunch of playmaking abilities, too. This is someone to watch during the pre-Draft process and could be a very real Viking target. 

Wan'Dale Robinson (UK) helped his draft stock with a solid game 10rec/170yds