Get 247Sports Scouting Director Andrew Ivins’ thoughts on college football roster acquisition each week, including recruiting, transfer portal, and more.
Why would anyone pick before Travis Hunter in the NFL Draft?
It’s a bird…it’s a plane…it’s Travis Hunter.
Last weekend, I took a break from admiring the view of the quad box from my couch and drove to UCF to watch the Knights play Colorado. I told myself I didn’t know what I would write after the game, but deep down I knew it was a lie. Travis Hunter was always going to be the story, so Travis Hunter was going to be the story. he is superman
Back in March 2021, I had the opportunity to scout Hunter up close and personal for the first time at a 7-on-7 tournament outside of Atlanta. I was just in awe. So much so that I immediately submitted an article from Uber declaring that I thought Hunter had the potential to go down as “the greatest prospect of all time.” You can read its contents here. Talk about underestimating a player who could be selected No. 1 overall in the 2025 NFL Draft. To me, he feels like the obvious choice over some popular quarterbacks and ruthless quarterbacks.
By now, most of the American public has seen Hunter play, but it doesn’t take a trained eye to see that he is a one-in-a-million talent who can do things that others can’t. . There’s no question that Hunter is special.There’s a lot of debate in the personnel world about whether he has the highest ceiling as a Sunday cornerback or wide receiver.
Here’s a thought: It doesn’t matter.
When we ranked Hunter as the No. 1 prospect in the 2022 recruiting cycle, we had the same questions that many NFL scouting departments are having right now. Can the perimeter playmaker really become one of the top players in his class? Will his rigid body hold up despite the physical upgrades? Can he really make an impact on both sides of the ball with so few other players around?
What scouts have to say about Travis Hunter’s NFL position prospects
It turns out the answer is a resounding yes, and that’s why any organization that acquires the top pick next April should seriously consider investing that asset in Hunter without thinking twice. is. No cornerback has ever been ranked No. 1, and the last wide receiver to be ranked this high since Keyshawn Johnson in 1996. But Hunter combines both positions into one. And if you’re a player like the Carolina Panthers or Jacksonville Jaguars who are in dire need of reinventing their franchise, Hunter could be a great option.
There was no shortage of comments about Hunter as he sat in the press box at FBC Mortgage Stadium last Saturday. My favorite quote is from a local reporter who declared that first defenders almost never tackle Hunter after watching him juke a would-be tackler and dance up the field for a first down. . That comment got me thinking.
From the jump, I’ve always seen Hunter as more of a cornerback long-term due to his length and ability to read and react to speed, but he’s too good as an offensive weapon. I’m starting to believe that you can’t have it during a game. He is always active on the field with his outstanding body control and top-notch ball skills.
Deion Sanders, one of the greatest defensive backs of all time, seems to agree. Hunter currently leads all Power Four players in snaps from wide receiver alignment this season (232) and ranks in the top five at the FBS level in both receiving yards (561) and receiving touchdowns (6). has been done.
What Travis Hunter needs to do to win the Heisman Trophy
Of course, Hunter does that on defense as well. He owns Pro Football Focus’ second-highest coverage grade among qualifying cornerbacks through the first five weeks of the season, and his NFL passer rating (30.1) ranks 25th among Power 4 defenders. Ranked.
Hunter is simply elite in two very different aspects of the game, and that was the case when he was in high school. Hunter, a two-way regular at Collins Hill in suburban Atlanta, finished his prep career with 232 receptions, 3,963 yards and 48 touchdowns. He added 19 interceptions on defense, all of which despite missing five games of his senior season due to injury.
Data and statistics certainly represent the talent of a generation, but so does the eye test. To steal my colleague Cooper Petagna’s take on The 105 from earlier this week, Hunter is one of the few players whose film cut-ups actually look like an extended highlight reel. That’s how good he is.
There’s no doubt that quarterbacks will be driving much of the buzz heading into the NFL Draft, but the front office should be prepared to draft Hunter. After all, he did it on both sides of the ball on Friday. He’s doing that on both sides of the ball on Saturday. Why can’t the soccer version of Superman do that on both sides of the ball on Sunday?
Auburn scores Deuce Knight, but still needs transfer QB
One of the biggest recruiting sprees in recent memory came to an end Wednesday night when quarterback Deuce Knight officially announced his transfer from Notre Dame to Auburn.
On the surface, this looks like a big win for the Plains folks, as quarterbacks Peyton Thorne and Hank Brown have a power-for-worst nine interceptions this season. Talent Tracker isn’t going to tell anyone not to roll Toomer’s Corner following the addition of Knight, but we’re going to try to temper expectations a little.
Night is a lottery with monster payouts, but it needs plenty of seasoning before it’s ready. Knight, who completed just 56.8 percent of his passes in his sophomore and junior seasons, performed well this offseason in both the Elite 11 Finals and the overtime OT7 Championship.
Expectations were that Knight would take a big step forward as a senior, similar to how Florida’s DJ Ragway rose to No. 1 in the quarterback rankings a year ago, but a hamstring injury derailed his plans and Knight I had to miss some games. time. He is expected to return to action at some point in the near future, but it’s still hard to ignore the fact that he has a losing record as a starting pitcher and doesn’t have the most consistent ball placement.
The Tigers will likely give Knight, who is looking for an answer at quarterback, an opportunity to compete for a starting spot next year. But Hugh Freeze and his staff would be foolish to pass up another opportunity to add a veteran signal-caller via the transfer portal..
After all, it wasn’t that long ago that all the hype coming out of Auburn had to do with a freshman wide receiver class headlined by five-star Cam Coleman. However, the ‘Freeze Four’ never got a chance to break through, or should I say unravel, mainly due to the dismal play of Thorne and Brown.
If the Freezes want to make things work and keep their receivers happy, they need to secure the services of a ready quarterback in 2025. Knight and former four-star recruit Walker White have had a much-needed growth year and should be able to fight for the No. 1 gig next year.
Traditional Red Shirts may be on life support
One of the few true holdover player development programs will be on display when Iowa State travels to Ohio State on Saturday (3:30 p.m. ET on CBS). Twenty of the Hawkeyes’ projected starters signed out of high school, and 16 of them redshirted their first year on campus. With player movement and roster turnover at an all-time high in the coming years, this could become even more of an anomaly.
Over the past week, nearly a dozen players have opted to shut down the season and opt out, hoping to retain another year of eligibility they plan to use elsewhere. Under current NCAA rules, players are allowed to redshirt after appearing in up to four regular-season games, so it’s hard to blame student-athletes for taking advantage of the system. But don’t be surprised if schools get smarter and start hesitant to redshirt their freshman classes.
Think about it. It is becoming increasingly unlikely that schools will actually receive that additional year of entitlement. Sure, there are certainly cases where a recruit isn’t ready from a physical standpoint, but the days spent trying to get the most out of a player may be commensurate with the time and resources invested in it. No. It is quite possible that an individual will benefit from another program.
Again, not every first-year player can contribute right away, but as the season progresses and injuries mount, it may make more sense for the coaching staff to break the glass and play youth. No.
Take a look at the true freshmen at your favorite schools this weekend. There are probably a few players who have hit the four-game mark or are close to it. Not too long ago, you may have been campaigning for a redshirt. now? Please play with it.
This week’s sneaky commitment
ATH From Antavious Richardson to Notre Dame Cathedral
Notre Dame has answered a variety of needs through its high school recruiting efforts under the guidance of Marcus Freeman, but one area where the Irish have struggled to find a true game-breaker is at widefield. It’s a receiver. Antavia Richardson could change that.
Richardson is one of the Peach State’s earliest prospects heading into the 2025 cycle, a two-way athlete who plays quarterback and linebacker from a small town. Has limited, if any, experience running routes or catching the football, but is a dynamic player who can use his acceleration and agility to create explosive plays on scrambles and designed runs. It has proven to be a great mover.
He originally committed to Georgia State University, but after transferring to USF this summer, multiple College Football Playoff prospects were vying to have Richardson on campus. He lowered his 40-yard dash time to 4.5 seconds.
This week’s “Freak”
Texas A&M DL commit DJ Sanders
The top 247 Class of 2025 graduates will be updated next week, and one prospect making a serious case to move up the rankings is Texas A&M defensive lineman DJ Saunders.
A mountain of a man, Sanders looks almost like a carbon copy of Michigan’s Kenneth Grant, who continues to dictate what opponents can do on offense. While size has not been independently verified, Sanders is believed to hover around 6-foot-3 and 330 pounds. This is close to the record Grant set when he graduated from high school, and both men have similar personal best records in the shot put at the same stage. Sanders was 57 feet, and Grant was 57 feet, 3 inches.
Texas A&M has had no shortage of difference-makers up front in recent years, but Sanders gives Mike Elko a unique shape to clog the drain in the midfield.