College football Saturday: Giants’ GM Joe Schoen to scout Ohio State vs. Notre Dame?

Good morning New York Giants fans! Happy Saturday and welcome to the 2022 college football season.

While the season got started last weekend, the biggest game was an upset win by Northwestern over Nebraska. With all due respect to both of those schools, as well as everyone else who played last Saturday, the season really kicks off this week.

We had some intriguing games on Thursday and Friday nights, but Saturdays are for college football.

Ordinarily we would run down games, and players, worth watching in each of today’s time slots. However, Giants’ GM Joe Schoen revealed to reporters on Thursday that he would be in attendance for Ohio State’s game against Notre Dame at 7pm on Saturday.

With that in mind, we have to take the time to concentrate on that game, as well as the potential implications for the Giants’ draft.

(2) Ohio State vs. (5) Notre Dame

ABC - 7 p.m.

GM ALERT! - New York Giants’ GM Joe Schoen will be in attendance for this game.

While the game between Georgia and Oregon is a tasty appetizer, this is the main course for the day.

All eyes will be on the OSU offense as quarterback C.J. Stroud pushes for sole possession of the “QB-1” spot on draft boards. Considering the questions regarding the future of the Giants’ quarterback position, it makes absolute sense that Schoen will be at this game. Receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba will also be looking to impress the NFL, and build on his breakout 2021 performance to lock down the top of the wide receiver depth chart.

Notre Dame tight end Michael Meyer could wind up being the top tight end in April’s draft class and certainly the center of bad movie puns throughout the draft process. Edge defender Isaiah Foskey has all the tools to be a breakout pass rusher, and playing against Ohio State’s offensive line should be a great early test. Finally, safety Brandon Joseph is a newcomer to the team after transferring from Northwestern. He had a breakout sophomore campaign, but was stifled on a poor Northwestern team a year ago. Joseph has good size and athleticism, versatility, and has has been a ballhawk in his career (he lead the nation in interceptions in 2020).

Both of these teams are talented and have plenty of future NFL players on their roster. This is one of those games where it’s best to just enjoy the game and see who jumps off the field at you.

Note: OSU linebacker Steele Chambers is a definite candidate for the “All Name Team”.

Players to watch

Ohio State

• C.J. Stroud (QB)
• Jaxon Smith-Njigba (WR)
• Julian Flemming (WR)
• Paris Johnson (OT/G)
• Dawand Jones (OT)
• Matthew Jones (G)
• Luke Wypler (C)
• Taron Vincent (iDL)
• Jerron Cage (iDL)
• Zach Harrison (EDGE)
• Javonte Jean-Baptiste (EDGE)
• Steele Chambers (LB)
• Cameron Brown (CB)
• Ronnie Hickman (S)

Notre Dame

• Jarrett Patterson (OC)
• Michael Mayer (TE)
• Jayson Ademilola (DL)
• Rylie Mills (DL)
• Isaiah Foskey (EDGE)
• Marist Liufau (LB)
• Bo Bauer (LB)
• JD Bertrand (LB)
• Cam Hart (CB)
• Clarence Lewis (CB)
• Brandon Joseph (S)

Other games to watch

East Carolina vs. (13) NC State
ESPN - noon

(8) Michigan vs. Colorado State
ABC - noon

(3) Georgia vs. (11) Oregon
ABC - 3:30 p.m.

(19) Arkansas vs. (23) Cincinnati
ESPN - 3:30 p.m.

Florida vs. (7) Utah
ESPN - 7pm

Sleeper game

San Diego State vs. Arizona
CBS - 3:30pm

Maybe you don’t want to watch a game on ESPN or ABC. Or maybe you don’t feel like watching a game against ranked opponents. After all, the Giants surprised a lot of people by drafting relatively unheralded players from mid-level programs.

San Diego State has some intriguing options on its roster. WR Tyrell Shavers is long at 6-foot-6, 210 pounds, and he was a freshman at Alabama when Brian Daboll was the Crimson Tide’s offensive coordinator. Center Alama Uluave is a powerful and athletic player who is capable of creating movement in the run game, is a reliable pass protector, and comes into the season with 18 straight starts at the position. Finally, safety Patrick McMorris is a capable coverage player (13 passes defensed, four interceptions) and a solid run defender as well. He plays the hybrid “Aztec” position in SDSU’s defense, which could appeal to Wink Martindale’s sub-package heavy scheme.

Arizona’s talent is likely all on the defensive side of the ball. Defensive tackle Kyon Barnes (6-foot-3, 300 pounds) could be on the verge of a breakout season after posting 8.0 tackles for a loss and 5.0 sacks a year ago. Cornerback Christian Roland-Wallace has solid size (6-foot, 200 pounds) and is a ferocious run defender. He’s athletic, physical, and versatile, having played both outside and in the slot.

Finally, safety Christian Young is a legitimate athletic freak who could make waves over the course of the draft process. He’s played all over the Wildcats’ secondary and has an impressive height-weight-speed ratio. Young weighs in at. 6-foot-3, 222 pounds, and was clocked at 22.6 miles per hour in Arizona’s game against Oregon. He could be an intriguing safety/linebacker hybrid, or even transition outright to WILL linebacker at the NFL level.