Analysis
10/14/22
6 min read
On the Road Again: Scouting College Football Week 7
For the seventh consecutive week, our Reese’s Senior Bowl scouting team will be on 10-plus college campuses around the country. Follow @JimNagy_SB on Twitter all day Saturday to see up-close field-level videos on the following players and many more (all times ET):
Friday
UTSA at Florida International | 8 p.m. | CBSSN
UTSA WR De’Corian Clark: We made a trip to San Antonio last November to hand out Senior Bowl invites to OL Spencer Burford, who is now a starting guard for the San Francisco 49ers, and CB Tariq Woolen, who is playing like a Defensive Rookie of the Year candidate for the Seattle Seahawks. While visiting with the UTSA staff that day, more than one coach told us to keep an eye on their receiver group, and one guy who is clearly ascending right now is Clark.
NFL teams looking for a big (6-foot-2, 214), physical possession receiver and red-zone target are going to like this guy. With his long reach (33 ¼ arms) and explosive leaping ability (24-9 long jump in high school), Carter has one of the best catch radiuses in this year’s wideout class. He’s already made a number of rewind-worthy catches on tape this season. This is the type of late-blooming player who could make a big jump up draft boards after a big week in Mobile.
Saturday
Iowa State at Texas | Noon | ABC
Texas LB DeMarvion Overshown: Overshown is among a small handful of players who received Senior Bowl invites last year yet opted to return to school for another year. That decision appears to be a wise one because he has taken a nice jump from junior tape. This will be our second live look at Overshown after seeing him in the Horn’s Week 2 loss to Alabama.
Overshown’s overall instincts have improved over the past couple seasons of tape study, which makes sense since he was moved from safety to linebacker just three years ago. But he still can get better when it comes to processing. NFL teams would like to see him continue to add bulk and strength over time. But he has two other things scouts will be drawn to: aggression and speed. This is a fun player to watch fly around, and his best linebacker play is still ahead of him.
Grand Valley State at Ferris State | 2 p.m. | FloFootball
Grand Valley State OT Quinton Barrow: It’s shaping up to be a bit of a down year when it comes to the number of potential small-school (FCS or lower) prospects who could hear their names called in April. But GVSU’s Barrow has a chance. Most Midwest scouts in the NFL have already made their way through this traditional D-II power to see Barrow, who, at minimum, has the frame (6-5, 330, 34 ½ arms) to play at the next level.
When teams get into the later rounds on draft weekend, one spot they specifically target is offensive tackle due to the usual scarcity of body types at that position. When we watched his junior tape over the summer, Barrow was definitely raw. But he did flash things such as initial quickness and body control that give him a chance to develop. He will probably face his biggest test of the season in Big Rapids on Saturday in Ferris State EDGE prospect Caleb Murphy, who already has 12.5 sacks this season.
James Madison at Georgia Southern | 4 p.m. | ESPN+
JMU QB Todd Centeio: The fifth-year double-transfer (Temple and Colorado State) is a big reason for JMU’s incredible rise from FCS level to FBS ranked in just one year. One of our Senior Bowl scouting assistants actually played with Centeio at Temple, so we know he is a great teammate and leader.
As a player, he’s a dual-threat guy that shows good toughness hanging in the pocket. He also has enough mobility to extend plays when things break down. Heading into Saturday’s game in Statesboro, Centeio has thrown 15 touchdowns with only one interception.
Rice at Florida Atlantic | 6 p.m. | ESPN+
Rice DE Ikenna Enechukwu: We haven’t had a player from Rice in the Senior Bowl since kicker Chris Boswell back in 2014. But that streak could end this year with Enechukwu, who was a player we immediately liked while watching his junior tape. Saturday’s visit to Boca Raton will be our first live look at Enechukwu. We’ll be interested to see how much more bulk he can add to his 6-4, 270-pound frame. That will greatly determine which position he projects best to as a pro.
The main things we liked off his junior tape were that he used his length well and played with great effort. The fifth-year senior has 4.5 TFL and 2.5 sacks this year, and he’s more disruptive than that when you put on the tape. Enechukwu wasn’t on many radars heading into this season. But we’re starting to field a bunch of calls from agents about him, which usually means NFL scouts are feeding good reports to the agent community.
La.-Monroe at South Alabama | 7 p.m. | NFLN
South Alabama CB Darrell Luter Jr.: Like former teammate WR Jalen Tolbert, who was taken in the third round last April by the Dallas Cowboys, one thing that will set Luter apart from many of players in his position group is his high-end football makeup. Coaches rave about Luter’s maturity, preparation, and practice habits, which is somewhat unique for most college corners entering the draft. Our staff can attest to the maturity part since Luter serves as a referee for our Reese’s Senior Bowl youth flag league (held on campus at South Alabama).
Luter has an almost ideal body type for the cornerback position in the sense that he’s just a shade under 6 feet, which gives him better change of direction and transition skills than 6-1 or 6-2 corners. Yet he has almost 33-inch arms, so he plays with the same kind of length as those taller types. NFL teams like Luter’s physicality and production on the ball (5 INT and 13 PD over the past two seasons). Right now, many teams we’ve spoken with have early Day 3 grades on him.
Memphis at East Carolina | 7:30 p.m. | ESPNU
ECU QB Holton Ahlers: Our staff got an unexpected yet welcome visit at Senior Bowl HQ this summer from ECU’s fifth-year starting QB, who was training over the summer locally with QB Country founder David Morris. Ahlers had offers out of high school from bigger programs such as Florida. But he chose to play for his hometown Pirates. Ahlers has had some big games in the first half of the 2023 season, including a six-touchdown performance two weeks ago against USF.
Ahlers worked hard on his fundamentals this off-season, and his improved throwing base has translated into better accuracy than our scouts have seen from him in the past. In what is still a greatly unsettled QB class so far, Ahlers remains in the late-draftable mix.
