College Football week 7 - Games and players to watch

Good morning New York Giants fans!

Happy Saturday and welcome to week seven of the 2019 college football season.

One look at the schedule and you know the game everyone is waiting to watch today — Florida at LSU this evening.

There will also be a bunch of good games on during the day to occupy our time before the prime time match-up kicks off. For our first two games I want to look at the SEC and ACC, paying particular attention to two teams that haven’t gotten much press of late. Of course, they’re playing teams that have gotten plenty of press, so we’ll get to see draft prospects playing against high quality opponents.

South Carolina at Georgia (3)

ESPN - Noon

This game might not be the most exciting one on the slate, Georgia is favored to win by three touchdowns after all. But that it could be an interesting one from a draft perspective.

South Carolina doesn’t get much talk in the national media these days, but they seem to be making a bit of a comeback from a recruiting perspective. They might not have any first round picks in the upcoming draft, but there should be a few players on the field who could be Day 2 picks. Keep an eye on EDGE D.J. Wonnum, who missed most of 2018 with an ankle injury but is coming off of a 5 tackle, 3 sack game against Kentucky. He’ll face a tough test against Georgia’s offensive line.

Meanwhile, we all know Georgia is a consistent NFL factory, and this year will be no different. Considering how much the Giants like to favor familiarity when acquiring players, we should always keep an eye on Georgia and Georgia’s defense in particular, when it comes to the draft.

Players To Watch

South Carolina

• Javon Kinlaw (iDL)
• D.J. Wonnum (EDGE)
• T.J. Brunson (Off-ball LB)
• Bryan Edwards (WR)

Georgia

• Jake Fromm (QB)
• Andrew Thomas (OT)
• D’Andre Swift (RB)
• Monty Rice (LB)
• Richard Lecounte III (S)
• J.R. Reed (S)
• Eric Stokes (CB)

Florida State at Clemson (2)

ABC - 3:30 pm

I wouldn’t blame anyone who opts to watch Alabama (1) vs. Texas A&M (24), but this game should definitely be an interesting one from a draft perspective.

In particular what the NFL eventually makes of FSU safety Hamsah Nasirildeen. He is in a similar situation to Derwin James as a defensive back who might be best played as a safety/linebacker hybrid. The NFL is quickly growing more accepting of hybrid players who don’t fit traditional molds, But that acceptance is far from universal and while some teams look at hybrids as an advantage in an era of football designed to attack those traditional roles, others don’t seem to know what to make of them.

Players To Watch

Florida State

• Hamsah Nasirildeen (S/LB)
• Dontavious Jackson (LB)
• Marvin Wilson (iDL)
• Cam Akers (RB)

Clemson

• Isaiah Simmons (OLB)
• A.J. Terrell (CB)
• Sean Pollard (iOL)
• Travis Etienne (RB)
• Tee Higgins (WR)

Florida (7) at LSU (5)

ESPN - 8pm

The marquee match-up of the weekend. We don’t just get ranked opponents, we get a game which could determine one of teams in the College Football Playoffs.

One of the most pleasant surprises of the 2019 season has been how much fun LSU’s new spread offense has been. In fact, red-shirt senior QB Joe Burrow has emerged as a potential first-round quarterback, joining Tua Tagovailoa and Jake Fromm.

LSU also has some of the best defensive players in the land, and while the hope is that the Giants won’t have the opportunity to draft safety Grant Delpit he is definitely worth watching, just in case.

Florida will provide a good test for LSU, and they have a good chance to win in their own right. Lamical Perine and Freddie Swaim will be a good one-two punch for LSU’s front seven and secondary.

Players To Watch

Florida

• Lamical Perine (RB)
• Freddie Swaim (WR)
• C.J. Henderson (CB)
• Jonathan Greenard (EDGE)
• Brad Stewart (S)

LSU

• Joe Burrow (QB)
• Justin Jefferson (WR)
• Grant Delpit (S)
• Kristian Fulton (CB)
• K’Lavon Chaisson (EDGE)
• Rashard Lawrence (iDL)