Florida State 41, Wake Forest 16
There was an excellent draft matchup in this game with Wake Forest cornerback Caelen Carson taking on Florida State wide receiver Keon Coleman and quarterback Jordan Travis. Overall, Coleman got the better of Carson but it wasn’t complete domination as Carson had good coverage on a number of plays as well.
On the first series of the game Travis and Coleman were not on the same page as Coleman stopped a route when Travis expected him to keep running. The ball floated right to Carson but he dropped an easy interception. The very next play Carson made a nice tackle near the line of scrimmage.
Shortly later Carson had blanket coverage on Coleman on a fade route and forced an incompletion. In the second quarter Coleman caught a quick pass at the line of scrimmage and Carson ate up the cushion to try and make a tackle, but Coleman dodged him and took off down the field for a 29-yard touchdown.
In the final two minutes of the half, Coleman struck again with a one-handed touchdown catch. Carson had really good coverage in the middle of the end zone, but Carson did not get turned around to see the ball coming in and Coleman adjusted turning to the back shoulder to catch the ball dropping in. Carson did everything right except not locating the ball. The Seminoles quickly got the ball back and Coleman ran a go route with Carson grabbing and holding him from breaking free. Coleman totaled seven receptions for 66 yards and two touchdowns.
Overall, Coleman showed why he is a potential top-20 pick in the 2024 NFL Draft. Coleman is big, quick, athletic, and tremendous ball skills. He has very good agility, body control, and ball adjustment for a big wide receiver. In this game and in other this season Coleman has made some superb acrobatic one handed catches. He is an elite receiver and it would not surprise this analyst if he ends up being a top-10 pick in the 2024 NFL Draft.
Carson has a good skill set and starting ability for the NFL. This tape is not going to help him and it made him look more like a second-round pick as opposed to a first-rounder. The dropped interception was a huge lost opportunity, and then adding in giving up two touchdowns and a pass interference are a harmful performance to his draft grade. Carson is physical, gritty, and athletic but he might have a lack of special explosion, speed, and instincts. With some pro coaching, he could turn into a solid NFL starter and as a result he could be a quality second-day pick.
Florida State defensive end Jared Verse is a consensus first-round pick, but Verse has not been as productive and noisy this season compared to 2022. Verse entered this game with only 2.5 sacks on the season with two of them coming against Virginia Tech. His tackle totals have been lower as well with only 20 stops on the season. However, Verse started to come alive taking on Wake Forest. Midway through the second quarter Verse shed the left tackle with strong hands and looped around him to chase down the quarterback for a sack. Shortly later Verse got a coverage sack. The left tackle did a nice job of shutting down Verse for many seconds but the quarterback held the ball for an eternity and then climbed the pocket just as Verse was getting some push and the quarterback ran into a sack for Verse.
There is no doubt that Verse has a pro skill set with size, strength, quickness, and athleticism. However he still has some rawness to his game and he needs to develop more pass rushing moves. Verse needs to show more variety with how he attacks tackles and has more options to keep them off balance. Next April, Verse will probably be a first-round pick but he might require some patience and development at the pro level.
Texas A&M 30, South Carolina 17
One player that has really helped himself this season is Texas A&M linebacker Edgerrin Cooper and he has been one of the best linebackers in college football this season. Cooper produced another impressive tape while taking on the Gamecocks.
In the first quarter Cooper was in zone coverage and he showed his speed to burst down to the flat and break up a pass with a hard hit on the check down receiver. Shortly later Cooper worked through three blockers to limit a screen pass to a gain of four and get his defense off the field. It was a superb play showing his speed, athleticism, strength, and tackling skills. Throughout the game Cooper was a beast versus the run coming downhill and delivering some hard tackles while preventing the Gamecocks from establishing the ground offense.
Team sources say that Cooper has been impressive this season showing explosive speed and athleticism. They feel that while Cooper is not as natural in coverage, he is very tough in the ground game. At 6-foot-3, 230-pounds, Cooper has excellent size for the NFL with ideal height and length. With more eligibility, Cooper could decide to return for another season to improve his pass coverage skills. Cooper is a riser and could turn into an early-rounder for his draft class.
South Carolina cornerback Marcellas Dial is a potential early-round pick and he was seeing a future pro competitor in Aggies receiver Ainias Smith along with some receiver talent that will be prospects in the next couple of years. Both players got wins and showed they have next level ability.
Early in the game, Dial made his presence felt when he came flying off the edge on a corner blitz and sacked Max Johnson. Dial was doing a nice job of tackling and limiting catches to short gains when he came down from his cushion or in zone. Late in the second quarter Smith got open on a slant against Dial, and then dodged a tackle attempt to break down the field for a gain of 26. Shorty later Smith got wide open about 20 yards downfield in busted coverage. He zig zagged across the field before diving into the end zone with a 42-yard touchdown. Smith totaled six receptions for 118 yards with a touchdown.
Smith could be a slot receiver in the NFL that is dangerous to get open and rip off yards after the catch. He might be a mid-rounder in the 2024 NFL Draft. This game showed that Dial has starting ability for the NFL. He breaks on the ball well with speed to come downhill and is a physical defender with size. Dial may lack the speed and fluidity of a high first-rounder, but Dial could be a late first or day two prospect that ends up being a solid pro starter.