Continuing the weekly tradition, we have another weekly College Football Stock Report. If this week’s edition is the first you’re seeing, each week, I take a look at two quarterbacks, running backs, wide receivers, and tight ends who have raised their draft stock and two at each position who may have dropped their stock. Now, let’s get to it and catch up on some of the performances from last weekend! Also if you play dynasty and want personalized team advice, click the link below and shoot me a message!
Stock Up
Cam Ward
QB - Miami Hurricanes
Though USF doesn’t look like a tough matchup on paper, their defense has given quarterbacks issues this year, including Jalen Milroe from Alabama. So, Cam Ward completing 24 of his 34 passes and throwing for 404 yards, three touchdowns, and an interception while adding 43 yards on the ground on five carries deserves recognition. Ward continues to put up good performance after good performance to start this season. With the ACC being a bit weaker this season compared to previous seasons, I’m hoping to see Ward continue to play well and potentially even push to be a possible Heisman finalist.
Cade Klubnik
QB - Clemson Tigers
After a rough start against Georgia, Cade Klubnik has been on fire. I didn’t give too much attention to Klubnik’s performance against Appalachian State due to the level of competition. However, I can’t ignore him completing 16 of his 24 passes for 209 yards and three touchdowns while adding 70 yards and a rushing touchdown on four carries in the team’s win against North Carolina State. I’m still skeptical of Klubnik as an NFL starting quarterback, but if he keeps protecting the ball and continues to play better against pressure, he might have a chance to be a bridge starter for a team.
Kaleb Johnson
RB - Iowa Hawkeyes
Kaleb Johnson has started the season on fire and has essentially turned into the Iowa Hawkeyes’ offense as the team continues to struggle to pass the ball. I expected Johnson’s early season success to decrease moving into Big Ten play, but he continued his success by rushing for 206 yards and three touchdowns on 21 carries against Minnesota. I still have concerns about how much Johnson is being used in the passing game, as he only has a total of seven targets in four games in 2024 and still is a bit too reliant on bouncing runs outside and being the better athlete than his opponents. However, if he can keep this up all season, it will be hard to argue with these results.
Devin Neal
RB - Kansas Jayhawks
Though it wasn’t the most statistically dominant performance this weekend, I’ve been really impressed with the way Devin Neal has been able to step up for the struggling Kansas offense. After being underused to start the season, Neal has had back-to-back games with at least 20 touches, including last weekend against West Virginia, where he put up 110 yards and a touchdown on 27 carries and added a reception for two yards. Neal has had his workload fluctuate in previous seasons so it will be interesting to see if it starts to trend down or stay where it’s been at these past two games. With Jalon Daniels continuing to struggle, I’ll be curious to see if they keep riding Neal and work to get him more involved in the passing game.
Tre Harris
WR - Ole Miss Rebels
I’ve been avoiding having Tre Harris on this list since Ole Miss has had a very easy start to their schedule, with their toughest opponent being a currently 1-2 Wake Forest team. However, at a certain point, and especially after a 225-yard and two-touchdown performance on 11 receptions, I have to give Harris recognition. I still have a lot of the same concerns about his separation and I’ll be interested to see how this holds up against better competition. With the team beginning their SEC schedule next week, Harris may be one of the most interesting receivers to watch these next few weeks.
Dorian Singer
WR - Utah Utes
It feels like I’m back in the preseason leading up to the 2023 season now that I’m talking about Dorian Singer again. After a breakout season at Arizona in 2022, Singer was set to be Caleb Williams’ top receiver at USC for 2023 but failed to make a significant impact and transferred to Utah for the 2024 season. Whether the transfer got him to a better situation or the poor 2023 season lit a fire under him, Singer has revived his career, already nearly matching his 2023 season totals thanks to putting up 95 yards on seven receptions against #14 ranked Oklahoma State. I’ll be interested to see if Singer decides to declare or wait another year, but it’s really great to see him recapture the magic that made me a fan in 2022.
Harold Fannin Jr.
TE - Bowling Green Falcons
I’m kicking myself for not including Harold Fannin Jr. on my watchlist last week since I made a note to myself to watch his matchup against Texas A&M and then completely forgot when I was rushing to get the video ready. So, I’m definitely not going to miss him in the stock report, especially after catching eight receptions for 145 yards and a touchdown. He’s used all over the field and showed that his athleticism, receiving ability, and blocking all translate to SEC-level competition. With some of the other top tight ends disappointing to a degree, Fannin could be a big sleeper selection and could push for a Delanie Walker-type career coming from a small school and becoming an athletic dual-threat tight end in the NFL.
Jack Velling
TE - Michigan State Spartans
The Michigan State Spartans were missing their two starting receivers, Nick Marsh and Jaron Glover, last weekend against Boston College. So, the team was going to need to rely on Jack Velling, and despite the defense knowing he’d be fed the ball, he still followed through with a strong game, catching six receptions for 77 yards. This was easily Velling’s best game of the season, in part due to circumstance, but hopefully could be the jump start he needed to be a focal point for the offense. With the uncertainty of when either receiver will be back, Velling will have a great opportunity to showcase his talent as a receiver.
Stock Down
Miller Moss
QB - USC Trojans
After a breakout performance in the team’s bowl game last season and starting out the season on fire, I think we learned that Miller Moss is human. Moss struggled against Michigan’s pass rush, leading to an up-and-down performance, completing 28 of his 51 passes for 281 yards, three touchdowns, and an interception. He also took four sacks and lost a fumble. Moss still had some great throws and showed off his ball placement, but still had several throws and decisions that were clearly rushed that, led to either missed opportunities or major mistakes, like his pick-six that ended up being the difference in the game. I expected we would see Moss come down to Earth eventually, and I fully expect him to rebound next week.
Brady Cook
QB - Missouri Tigers
It’s been a disappointing start to the season for Brady Cook. I never expected Cook to transcend and become a capable NFL starter, however, I was hoping he could progress and at least show the makings of a strong NFL backup. Unfortunately, he’s struggled with pocket management and accuracy with his most recent performance against Vanderbilt completing 23 of 37 passes for 226 yards and two touchdowns being much worse than the stats indicate. Cook is going to need to step up if Missouri wants to be taken seriously as a national title contender and also to help his draft outlook.
Kyle Monangai
RB - Rutgers Scarlet Knights
If you follow my weekly watchlist video series, you know I’ve brought up some concerns about Kyle Monangai including his lack of involvement in the passing game and a disappointing forced missed tackles per rush attempt rate. Despite these concerns, Monangai has been blowing up the stat sheet thanks to playing against lesser competition. Though Virginia Tech isn’t a high-quality opponent, it still was a step up in competition, which we saw gave Monangai trouble, only being able to manage 84 yards with a touchdown (the touchdown was on a fake quarterback sneak which was the epitome of silly play calling we see in college that shouldn’t work) and failing to get a single target. Rutgers didn’t open many holes for Monangai, but I’d be interested to see how his contact balance holds up as the schedule continues to get harder.
DJ Giddens
RB - Kansas State
Just as I have had concerns about Kyle Monangai, I also have had concerns with how much of a difference-maker DJ Giddens is or if he is primarily benefiting from volume. His past two games haven’t been very encouraging, with an underwhelming 93 yards rushing on 19 carries, a fumble, and no receptions or targets in his most recent performance against BYU. Now, that isn’t a terrible stat line, but Giddens’ contact balance has been reverting to last season and now he’s starting to have some major drop issues with three drops on just 11 targets in the first four games this season. I think Giddens is capable of handling all responsibilities that are asked of him but I’m just not positive I’ve seen a player who is a difference-maker at any specific skill.
J. Michael Sturdivant
WR - UCLA Bruins
I don’t want to overreact, but I think I may finally be fully out on J. Michael Sturdivant. I was interested in seeing how he did against LSU, but he again failed to make much of a difference, finishing with two catches for 26 yards on three targets. I feel we keep trying to make excuses for why Sturdivant isn’t more productive but at a certain point we need to recognize that this has been an ongoing issue for multiple years now and if he can’t earn targets in college he certainly won’t in the NFL. As I mentioned, I’m likely out as a believer but won’t judge anyone who still believes in him since the traits are there.
Will Sheppard
WR - Colorado Buffaloes
After a solid game against Colorado State, I was hoping to see Will Sheppard continue to take steps in the right direction. Unfortunately, Sheppard had a nightmare of a game, making only a single reception for 5 yards and dropping a pass that went right through his hands and hit him in the chest on a pass that should have cost Colorado the game had the team not converted on their hail mary the following play. Sheppard has always been more potential than actual difference maker and his game against Baylor was the worst example of that. Hopefully, Sheppard can turn things around next weekend.
Mitchell Evans
TE - Notre Dame Fighting Irish
There weren’t too many tight ends who are serious draft prospects who played this last weekend so it made it hard to decide on individuals who actually lowered their stock. That being said, I did want to include Mitchell Evans since he took a bit of a step back as a receiver, going out for fewer routes and being used more as a blocker last weekend. His blocking last weekend was just okay at best and he only managed to get two receptions for 15 yards in the routes he did go out for. The team didn’t need him that much but hopefully, he goes back to being more involved in future weeks.
Oronde Gadsden II
TE - Syracuse Orange
I was also a bit disappointed to see the limited impact Oronde Gadsden II had last weekend despite playing more snaps in the slot and outside than in previous weeks. Gadsden only managed to get two receptions for 12 yards and was unable to be the weapon he was the previous two games. Also, I wanted to see him continue to get more experience in-line so it was disappointing to see him get fewer opportunities there and for it to not at least translate to more production as a receiver. Hopefully, Gadsden can work more in-line for the remainder of the schedule since I think every rep will be valuable as he continues his transition to tight end.