1. Malik Willis, QB Liberty

There might not be a player with more to prove down in Mobile than Liberty’s Malik Willis. Despite bursting on the scene last year with the Flames, Willis is in his fourth season! After sitting behind Jarrett Stidham for two years, Willis transferred to Liberty in 2019. For the past two years, Willis has found himself on NFL radars, impressing fans and scouts with his great athletic abilities and plus arm. After a breakout junior season in which Willis scored 34 touchdowns, Willis experienced a bit of regression, throwing 12 interceptions and not really progressing how scouts hoped he would.

Willis has a ton of raw talent. As a runner, he is second to none. He has special abilities in the open field, combining great speed with great agility. His arm is phenomenal, Willis generating a ton of velocity despite his footwork being very inconsistent. A good way to describe Willis’ game would be inconsistent. The flashes of talent are very obvious, but he’s just so raw. His offense really did not help him, questionable play-calling coupled with drops hampering Willis this season. At Mobile Willis will have a chance on a big stage to show just what he can do, and why his traits should be bet on in this year’s draft.

2. Desmond Ridder, QB Cincinnati

Desmond Ridder in some ways is similar to Malik Willis. Both have obvious traits that teams desire. Ridder checks off the eye test immediately. He’s tall, can run, and has a good arm. A four-year starter, Ridder has improved over the years at Cincy. He’s shown strides as a quarterback, showing that he can do a bit more than just run the ball. The accuracy has improved, but it’s still not the best. Ridder still at this point appears to be a good college quarterback with some high-end NFL traits. There is also the question of the level of competition, soon to be answered a bit in Cincinnati’s Cotton Bowl matchup against Alabama. On an even playing field at the Senior Bowl, Ridder has a lot to prove for teams looking for a quarterback this draft.

3. Chad Muma, LB Wyoming

Chad Muma is an extremely talented football player. Muma is currently fourth in the nation in total tackles, and the tape backs up the stats. Much like his former teammate Logan Wilson in 2020, Chad Muma has gained a pretty big following in draft circles. He has impressed with his great football IQ and instincts, looking like a potential star tackler at the next level. He has great size and can move from sideline to sideline. What’s held Muma back is his level of competition. Playing in the Mountain West conference for Wyoming, there were not a ton of eyes from the mainstream media on Muma all season. With a strong week amongst the elite of the elite in Mobile, Muma could be one of the hottest linebacker prospects in the draft.

4. Trevor Penning, OT Northern Illinois

Trevor Penning is a lot like both former North Dakota State tackle Dillon Radunz and former teammate Spencer Brown. Both players dominated the FCS level, gaining a good amount of hype in the process. For an FCS offensive lineman, the level of competition will always be a question. Trevor Penning is huge standing at 6’7 320, he is able to outmuscle a lot of FCS-level players. Will he be able to do so against top-level edge rushers from the FBS level, and there are a plethora of extremely talented pass rushers in mobile this year. Radunz and Brown were both day two picks in the recent draft, and with a big week in Mobile Penning could go even higher.

5. Jalen Tolbert, WR South Alabama

Jalen Tolbert has been ridiculous the past two seasons. His game log this season reads off like a cornerback’s nightmare. Tolbert had seven games with over 100 yards, two games with over 90 as well. He finished with a ridiculous 1,474 yard eight touchdown stat line, by far the best receiving yardage in the Sun Belt. Tolbert is a tall deep threat who pretty much catches everything. Not a ton of people know much about Tolbert, the Mobile native playing in a lesser-known conference. As with nearly everyone playing in a group of five conference, level of competition is always a question that needs to be answered. Playing in his home stadium, Tolbert could earn himself a lot of money down in Mobile this year.

Writer

-By: Jacob Keppen

The 2021 season has looked different than most seasons in the SEC. For The University of Georgia, it has been refreshing to be the most dominant team in the SEC. Obviously, over the last 10 seasons, Alabama has been the perennial SEC champion and big brother of the entire league. In a turn of events, Alabama is now the underdog in this SEC championship matchup as UGA comes into the game undefeated and Alabama has one loss on their record. Despite the general consensus of UGA fans alike, until the game is over, we cannot crown UGA as the best team in the SEC. 

University of Georgia 

Coming into this game, UGA is the only SEC  unbeaten and the only SEC team likely to make the playoff even with a loss this week. Through the 2021 season, the pure dominance of UGA has been expected due to their rock-solid run game and suffocating defense. Without weighing heavily on numbers, UGA is in the top 5 for rushing yardage offensively and rushing defense. While the passing game has not been their money maker, they have been extremely effective when throwing the ball and now with Stetson Bennett playing well, the UGA team has hit their stride. 

The UGA defense forced three shutouts this season, held teams to less than 3 yards per carry, and was the top-ranked passing defense in this matchup. They have the uncanny ability to create scoring opportunities for their offense which undoubtedly increases the offensive production in the process. By suffocating the run game, UGA forces teams to throw the ball and then create turnovers. With this formula, Alabama may not be as susceptible considering that they have a similar defensive philosophy.  

The two players that dictate UGA’s success in this game include Linebacker Nakobe Dean and Quarterback Stetson Bennett. Defensively, Nakobe Dean has put up great numbers that have anchored the Georgia defense. He currently has 5 sacks on the season and 2 interceptions. His impact is typically immediate and he can be devastating for offenses. A big game by Stetson Bennett is essential for a UGA to win. Stetson Bennett has been a good game manager, but with a great running game, we have yet to see the team rely heavily on their quarterback and in a quarterback-heavy matchup, UGA does not match up well with Alabama. 

University of Alabama 

For Alabama fans, this season has been unlike many seasons in recent years. The University of Alabama has lost only 4 games since 2018 and despite their one loss this season, they are deemed as vastly inferior when compared to UGA. Despite losing to a solid Texas A&M team, they otherwise have shown how well they can finish a game.  

Alabama has obviously shown a different identity in that they are predominantly passing and have seemed to abandon the run game due to the lack of depth. However, Alabama’s offense has still been able to produce on a high level and put up major yards. 

The star power in Alabama’s offense is still present in Bryce Young and receivers like Jameson Williams. Bryce Young is in his first season as a starter and yet he has proven to be a winner. In high-pressure situations, Bryce Young is like an elite point guard that commands the entire attention of the defense. Defensively, it will be a full team effort, but the defense is surely capable of coming up with big plays in crucial situations. 

If you have made it this far, great because now things get real. 

Things to Consider

• Strength of Schedule 

Alabama’s SEC West schedule is surely better than Georgia’s but when you compare the margin of victory against similar opponents, UGA has the upper hand. However, UGA’s best SEC East competition was the University of Kentucky, who they beat 30-13. 

• Alabama Defense vs Georgia Offense

We all know that Alabama’s offense is high flying and the UGA defense has given up an average of 7 points a game. This matchup may be one of the most competitive of the season, but with uncertainty around Stetson Bennett’s play and Alabama’s defensive struggles at times, the great equalizer for both teams will be in this matchup.

Writer

-By: Lemarkus Bailey

         The College Football Playoff management committee is considering an expansion of the playoff format from the current 4 teams to a field of 12.  The committee meets this week to formally consider the change, as reported by ESPN.

         No conference would be given any guaranteed spots in the playoff, but neither would there be a limit on the number of teams that could come from one conference.  The six highest-ranked conference champions would be joined by the next six highest-rated teams, with the top four teams receiving a first-round bye.

         The CFP needs to be expanded.  While better than the previous system that relied on media polling to determine the “national champions,” the four-team playoff does not allow for the excitement and potential long-shot bids that have made the NCAA Basketball Tournament so popular.  The possibility of filling out brackets for a CFP playoff is sure to interest even more casual fans of the game.

         Under the new proposal, the first-round games between seeds 5 to 12 would be played on the higher seed’s home field, with later games being played at neutral sites.  This is another good idea.  College football is built around the support of the student body and the surrounding communities.  High attendance is almost guaranteed with crowds of over 50,000 possible in many instances.

         One problem that the new playoff format creates is the number of games that student-athletes could be playing each season.  With many programs playing 13-game seasons already the possibility exists that with a conference championship game and three games in the CFP players would be involved in 17 games in a year.  Even if that is unlikely, 16 games are probable for at least a few teams each year.  This means that if a student-athlete in a very successful program played for four years it would be the equivalent of playing four full National Football League seasons.  That is a tremendous amount of wear and tear on players’ bodies before they even reach the NFL.  The length of an NFL career has been dropping over recent years, with many players retiring at or around age 30.  An expanded CFP might see those careers shortened even further.

         If the CFP does expand in the future, it would be wise for colleges to consider shortening the regular season by a game or two.  The added revenue from an expanded playoff should offset any losses incurred from losing a game or two from the regular season. 

         Additionally, any expansion of the CFP should finally put an end to the parade of meaningless bowl games that proliferate in December and early January.  Student-athletes preparing to enter the NFL draft are already skipping bowl games to avoid serious injuries that would hurt their draft status.  Eliminating useless games will eliminate any pressure from coaches for players to play another game or be viewed as selfish for not putting the team first.   The only non-CFP post-season college games that would make any sense are games like the Senior Bowl that give players looking to increase their draft stock an opportunity to show off their skills.

College football has needed a real playoff for almost a century. This new proposal gives the hope that it will finally get one. Hopefully, it will come with a reduction in regular-season games and the elimination of other bowl games. A real college football playoff with a bit more thought into the health of the unpaid student-athletes that play the games would be a win for all.

Writer

-By: Damian Mastrangelo