Sports blog information from USA TODAY.
This past week, quarterbacks ruled the college football world especially in the late night slot
Week two of college football is in the books and it was a wild one.
Things were chaotic across the board as we saw three teams in the top 12 lose on Saturday.
As things were last week, one of the biggest takeaways were the quarterbacks, especially the ones that kicked off after 9pm central time.
Here are five noteworthy performances from Saturday that Vikings fans need to know.
BYU brings a huge offensive line, a good quarterback, and an efficient offense into Autzen Stadium on Saturday.
The BYU Cougars offense isn’t going to jump off the page with big highlights. They’re not likely going to throw many bombs or try to trick a defense with fancy formations.
What they will do, however, is get first downs and go at their own pace and before you know it, they have plenty of points on the board.
BYU features a huge offensive line, perhaps the best line the Cougars have ever had. They’re led by 6-foot-8, 305-pounder Blake Freeland, who is definitely a future first-round NFL draft pick. Usually, a man of Freeland’s size wouldn’t have anyone that can look him in the eye. but in Provo, Utah, that’s not the case.
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The offensive line also features 6-foot-6, 305-pounder Clark Barrington and a name familiar to Oregon fans, Kingsley Suamataia, a 6-foot-6, 325-pounder who was a Duck last season before transferring to BYU. He was the top offensive lineman recruit in the country in 2020.
With protection like that, it makes it a lot easier for quarterback Jaren Hall to distribute the ball where he wants. He was a very accurate passer in 2021, throwing for 2,583 yards and 20 touchdowns with five interceptions. He also completed 64 percent of his passes.
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“Over time, they’ve been one of the most explosive offensive as far as getting the ball down the field,” Dan Lanning said when asked about BYU on Monday. “They really stretch the field. (Jaren) Hall does a great job of distributing the ball, he throws a good ball and understands their offense, but also has the ability to run so he presents some good challenges with his ability to scramble. But I’d say he’s a quarterback that looks to throw it and keeps his eyes downfield.”
Whether or not he has some of his favorite receivers available for this game is still in doubt. BYU went into the Baylor game without two of their leading receivers in Puka Nacua and Gunner Romney. Nacua missed last week with a sprained ankle and Romney hasn’t seen action this year due to what is being described as a lower leg injury.
It didn’t seem to hurt the Cougars all that much as Hall threw for 261 yards in the 26-20 double-overtime win over the once No. 9 Bears.
[mm-video type=video id=01gcy6xxshbvt04ccb9y playlist_id=01f27mq9z7hjgk6vc6 player_id=01f1jz1vgtfhzk6ner image=https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/video/thumbnail/mmplus/01gcy6xxshbvt04ccb9y/01gcy6xxshbvt04ccb9y-5731cfb1f9f3a5da5a782114cbf17c68.jpg]
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BYU brings a huge offensive line, a good quarterback, and an efficient offense into Autzen Stadium on Saturday.
The BYU Cougars offense isn’t going to jump off the page with big highlights. They’re not likely going to throw many bombs or try to trick a defense with fancy formations.
What they will do, however, is get first downs and go at their own pace and before you know it, they have plenty of points on the board.
BYU features a huge offensive line, perhaps the best line the Cougars have ever had. They’re led by 6-foot-8, 305-pounder Blake Freeland, who is definitely a future first-round NFL draft pick. Usually, a man of Freeland’s size wouldn’t have anyone that can look him in the eye. but in Provo, Utah, that’s not the case.
[lawrence-related id=29213]
The offensive line also features 6-foot-6, 305-pounder Clark Barrington and a name familiar to Oregon fans, Kingsley Suamataia, a 6-foot-6, 325-pounder who was a Duck last season before transferring to BYU. He was the top offensive lineman recruit in the country in 2020.
With protection like that, it makes it a lot easier for quarterback Jaren Hall to distribute the ball where he wants. He was a very accurate passer in 2021, throwing for 2,583 yards and 20 touchdowns with five interceptions. He also completed 64 percent of his passes.
[lawrence-related id=29158]
“Over time, they’ve been one of the most explosive offensive as far as getting the ball down the field,” Dan Lanning said when asked about BYU on Monday. “They really stretch the field. (Jaren) Hall does a great job of distributing the ball, he throws a good ball and understands their offense, but also has the ability to run so he presents some good challenges with his ability to scramble. But I’d say he’s a quarterback that looks to throw it and keeps his eyes downfield.”
Whether or not he has some of his favorite receivers available for this game is still in doubt. BYU went into the Baylor game without two of their leading receivers in Puka Nacua and Gunner Romney. Nacua missed last week with a sprained ankle and Romney hasn’t seen action this year due to what is being described as a lower leg injury.
It didn’t seem to hurt the Cougars all that much as Hall threw for 261 yards in the 26-20 double-overtime win over the once No. 9 Bears.
[mm-video type=video id=01gcy6xxshbvt04ccb9y playlist_id=01f27mq9z7hjgk6vc6 player_id=01f1jz1vgtfhzk6ner image=https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/video/thumbnail/mmplus/01gcy6xxshbvt04ccb9y/01gcy6xxshbvt04ccb9y-5731cfb1f9f3a5da5a782114cbf17c68.jpg]
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2023 NFL draft prospects to watch in CFB Week 2 with an eye for the Detroit Lions
College football enters its second full weekend of games on the Saturday before the NFL slate kicks off in full for Week 1. The Detroit Lions will have scouts out at college games around the country evaluating players who could interest them in the 2023 NFL draft.
Here are some of the players to know and watch from a Lions scouting perspective. The list features two games where Detroit is confirmed to be sending scouting staff on Saturday.
Saints add BYU quarterback Jaren Hall in pre-preseason 2023 mock draft, adding another name to our college football watch list:
Will quarterback be a position of need for the New Orleans Saints next year? Maybe. There’s a lot of pressure on Jameis Winston to play at a high level and get them back to the playoffs, and his short-term contract with the team keeps the door open for change should he fall short of expectations. If Winston flops, odds are slim that the Saints will find a future at quarterback on their roster between Andy Dalton (who is here on a one-year rental), Ian Book (who hasn’t inspired much confidence), and Taysom Hill (who is attending meetings in the tight ends room these days).
One name to remember is BYU quarterback Jaren Hall, who was linked to the Saints in a recent two-round 2023 mock draft from Luke Easterling over at Draft Wire. Hall, listed at 6-foot-1 and 205 pounds, has performed well on a small sample sizer as a passer (completing 220 of 342 career pass attempts for 3,003 yards, with 21 touchdown passes against 5 interceptions) and brings some mobility as a runner (with 95 carries for 450 rushing yards and 6 touchdown runs), but he’s missed a lot of time with injuries. He was limited to 7 games in 2019, missed the 2020 season with a medical redshirt, and was held out of BYU’s bowl game with an ankle injury in 2021. A smaller frame and an injury history aren’t a great combo.
Still, we’ve seen more undersized quarterbacks stand out in the NFL than in the past — largely thanks to the Hall of Fame-worthy career that Drew Brees accomplished in a Saints uniform. High-profile passers who don’t meet conventional weigh-in prototypes like Russell Wilson and Kyler Murray are helming Super Bowl contenders. If Hall can stay healthy this season and meet his potential, he could be in the conversation to be drafted quickly in 2023.
He’s off to a good start. Hall was recently named to the Davey O’Brien Award watch list, which is given to the nation’s best quarterback — previous winners include past No. 1 NFL draft picks Jameis Winston (2013), Joe Burrow (2019), and Peyton Manning (1997). Winning that recognition wouldn’t guarantee pro success, but it’s still interesting to see Hall in the mix at this early stage.
But what’s most clear is that there isn’t much consensus about which position New Orleans could be targeting in the 2023 draft, which makes sense given there’s an entire season to play out before the Saints start to evaluate that problem themselves. So let’s add Hall to our own draft watch list, along with other players who have been linked to New Orleans in never-too-early mock drafts like Ole Miss running back Zach Evans and South Carolina defensive tackle Zacch Pickens.
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See for yourself what makes BYU’s Jaren Hall one of the top quarterback prospects in the 2023 NFL draft
It’s never too early to look ahead to the next group of top prospects, so if you’re looking to get a head start on the 2023 NFL draft class, we’ve got you covered.
What makes BYU’s Jaren Hall one of next year’s top quarterback prospects?
Watch the tape and see for yourself:
