Players That HAVE to Make the Most of Camp: Alexander, Jennings, etc | GSMC College Football Podcast

all righty welcome back everyone we just talked about some of the things that these big time contenders just have to take steps forward in in 2024 if they really want to compete a ton of big time things that they're just going to have to be a little bit better at if they want to lift that trophy at the end of the year so we'll continue doing that probably throughout next week breaking down some of the other title contenders but wanted to start with the big four as I'm calling them as we head to this year so but let's get into segment three here and let's talk about the players that just have to make the most of the next couple of weeks some are because of injuries some are because I just think that's where they need to kind of hit that next level in their uh in their college football or in this upcoming year so let's get into this real quickly and we're going to start with Texas A&M and we're going to start with Ruben father a very very talented player someone that absolutely can play really good football but when you look at last year A&M was hurt by their o line probably more than any other part of this team I I think they had tons of talent all across this roster but it was a tough time keeping Conor Wegman upright and that's because and that was why he went out with an injury and they had a number of different troubles throughout the year A lot of it was because of that offensive line now I think trun is going to be incredible over at that left tackle he does need to take a little bit of a step forward but should be more than fine there the right tackle is where I'm focused with Ruben I think he's one of those guys that has a huge effect on what this team success is going to be because I think their interior players are solid I do think they have guys on that interior that are going to be able to make plays although losing someone like Bryce Foster as your Center does not help that at all I do think they'll be more than fine making sure that you have the tackles to give Connor Wegman time to step up in the pocket and make a throw is hugely important and it doesn't matter if it's left tackle or right tackle it's going to hurt you one way or the other so he has to make sure that he has a great great couple weeks and they're heading to the season feeling really good about those two tackle positions the other side of this is the backend uh part of the defense because frankly I think they have plenty of dudes back there I'm not necessarily worried about Bryce Anderson I'm not necessarily super worried about Tariq Chappelle although would love to see him take a little bit of a step forward but the guy I want to talk about is BJ uh Mae excuse me BJ Mae he came over from UAB this past cycle and is a very talented kid is one of those guys that if you watch the UAB tape it looks like a power five kid playing in group of five conference and frankly it was for quite some time so a very talented kid I think when you look at this back end Bryce Anderson I'm not worried about a bit um Tariq Chappelle I think is going to be fine I think Dalton Brooks is a really fun player you need someone at that other Corner position across from Tariq Chappelle that you can feel really confident in because it's not like A&M is playing one trick pony type wide receiver groups they're playing wide receiver groups that are as deep as can possibly be whether it's Texas whether it's I'm blanking on the rest of their schedule but there's plenty of ones out there that could cause them trouble I believe they play LSU that's absolutely another one that could cause them plenty of trouble and you're going to need corners on the outside that you feel really good about so overall I think BJ Mays could be that guy that kind of just brings everything together I think they're very very close to being where they want to be on that back end another player you know playing at an elite level like BJ Mae would definitely put you over the hump there but let's continue on to USC here and be Alexander is the layup on this list frankly both of these were layups but be Alexander especially they need a Difference Maker on the interior of that defensive line and if you walk off the bus and you see these guys walk off the bus bear Alexander looks different he's the one that you look at and you say man that is a big dude that is a guy that absolutely will be playing Sunday football at some point in his career and I do think he's one of those guys that opens up so many doors for them on the defensive side of the ball I don't think it's any you know secret that this is not the deepest defense in the world it's not even the most talented defense in the world regardless of you bring in depth or not but you look at uh bear Alexander he's a guy that if you can feel confident that he's walking out there and he is going to hold it down let's say he is a tandre sweat type player for this team where you put him on the field and maybe he's not on the field all the time but the second that he steps on the field the entire game changes the entire uh back the entire identity of your defense changes you feel really confident um because it's not necessarily that you know maybe the backend guys get a little bit torched maybe it's not the most pretty thing all the way throughout but if you know that when a number 90 step steps on the field he's going to make a number of plays for you that's really all you need as a USC defense you're not trying to take Leaps and Bounds steps forward this year you're just trying to make more plays than you did a year ago and getting this guy in really good uh situations will absolutely lead to that but the other guy I want to talk about is Kamari Ramsey he came over from UCLA was the leader of that backend for much of last year and was a huge pickup for this team going into this year CU not only is he a very good communicator a very talented player but he understands what deanon wants and that's a thing that a lot of USC players are having to figure out throughout spring and fall camp but this guy's coming in and helping that he's kind of another coach on that defense to kind of make sure everyone is fully up to par and fully up to what they need to be doing on a specific play so I think is a huge addition I think they have talent on that back end I think the structure of that back end was an absolute nightmare last year and having someone in that uh back there that is kind of a players coach in sorts uh definitely will be a huge help for them moving on to Virginia Tech this is kind of an interesting too because they're both offensive players even though I think this Virginia Tech offense is going to be more than fine I think they could be elite and I think that's kind of what I'm going for here Malachi Thomas is the backup running back for the hokes going into this year and the Run game is not necessarily going to be an issue I don't necessarily think they're going to really struggle to run the ball especially with someone like KY and drones calling the plays they'll be more than fine running the ball but what I will say is if they want to take that big time step forward if they want to you know really hit the ceiling that this offense is absolutely capable of hitting they're going to have to take a little bit of that pressure off drones um they're going to have to make sure that they have running backs that they can go to down after down and feel really confident in now they do still have byaw Tutton a very talented running back that I believe rushed for about 900 yards a year ago and he will be the feature back there's no two ways about that but we talked about it yesterday a change of pace back a different back that you can throw out there and feel confident in is the difference between a good offense and a great offense so I think this kind of opens up a ton of different things for them and it takes this weight off Kiren Dron shoulders just a little bit in the Run game so he can focus a little bit more on the pass game so definitely will help them a ton there and then in the past game olly Jennings is someone I want to talk about because I really like this offense I really like this wide receiver core I think jayen Lane's a good player I think dquan Felton's going to be a really fun player this upcoming year I think Olie Jennings could transform this offense he came over from Old Dominion before last year before getting injured early on in last year and didn't have the year that he wanted by any means but he is absolutely back to full uh full strength and he is a scary wide receiver that they brought in I do think he's a guy that could lead them in receiving I mean dayquon Felton let him uh in receiving a year ago only 67 uh 667 yards for him a year ago so the unit needs to take a big time step forward overall I think olly Jennings is the guy that kind of let them Reach the heights that they absolutely want to over there moving on to Kansas I want to talk about by joob who came over from Michigan State uh he is currently dealing with a bit of an injury so some of this might have to wait a little bit to uh get really get rolling but apparently before that he was the game changer on that defense he was the guy that was really standing out and when you look at this Michigan State team it's not going to be perfect it's probably going to be a pretty frustrating year but if you have I'm sorry I said Michigan State cuz I'm looking at Michigan State when you look at this Kansas team there's plenty in place for them to make some noise I think the one area that I worry about is true difference makers on that defensive side of the ball I think this guy could absolutely be that for them and really open so many doors for the j-hawks so I I think this is a huge player for Kansas coming over from Michigan State and definitely will be huge for this team I'm staying on the defensive front for my next pick DJ Withers needs to take a big time step forward he's kind of jumping into a starting role more often than he ever has before and he's going to be facing some really experienced offensive lines and when you look at the Difference Maker in this conference I think there's a number that you could go to but the trench play is going to be huge you know who can get through those really really experience really strong offensive lines and make those plays in the back field are going to be huge for this their team and if Kansas is going to pull this off they're going to have to be much better on that defensive front than they were a year ago and I think this is a guy that can open that door for them moving on to Arizona Mont uh Montana lemonius Craig is the guy that I want to talk about because he was the one that made tons of weight in that spring game for Colorado back in 2023 he then transferred to Arizona it was kind of a little audition for some other teams um where he had a little bit under 300 yards a year ago so not necessarily the year that he wanted or Arizona wanted but I think this is a special kid I think this is an offense that can really open up things and when you look at this offense all the energy is around no FF no faf Tori McMillan being those elite players that they are they have other guys that need to step up if they're going to be able to play with a lot of these big 12 defenses that they're going to have to face you need multiple guys that's just the reality I think R uh ramelo Murphy is someone to also to watch there but lemonius Craig's ability to stretch the field I think opens so many doors for them so I think you look at this next couple of weeks Arizona has you know a good footing they have excuse me they have enough players to make all the plays that you need them to make if they want to be dynamic if they want to be a top five top 10 offense in the country I think someone like Montana lemonius Craig could kind of open up that deep pass the way that it definitely was a year ago but you would like to see a little bit more of that for sure and then I want to talk about chuba Mahi a very very talented defensive lineman and this is somewhat because of who they lost on that defensive line Bill Norton and tia sea both made their way over to Texas after Johnny nanson made his way over to Texas and they're going to need guys to step up there's no two ways about that he is a very very talented kid as someone that has not necessarily played too much footb football early on in his career but has to take that step forward one way or the other he's going to have to make those plays on Saturdays and it's going to be really interesting to watch this group more than anyone else because they have talented guys on this defense pretty much top to bottom and when you look at someone like tario Davis on that back end an absolute monster really really like him I I think they have plenty of dudes but you need some difference makers up front that they had a year ago got to make sure you you're able to replace them with uh someone like chuba Mahi but let's move on to a last Big 12 team here in Iowa State and I want to start with Eli green he is a backup wide receiver for this team and frankly I love the duo that they have up front with Jaylen Noel and Jaden Higgins and I'm not necessarily worried about them throwing the ball but if they want to be dynamic if they want to be a total Difference Maker on the offensive side of the ball I think this is a guy that would definitely get a lot of reps he had 877 receiving yards and over 1100 allpurpose yards at North Dakota State a year ago and is a very very talented kid someone that could definitely deliver right away and I think when you open up this offense there are a number things to like but the number of options at wide receiver is definitely a little bit of a worry if you can up that with at least one more guy in that group you'll feel great about what you have and then Jaylen Travis came over from Princeton to join that Iowa State team he is going to be starting at that left tackle position it seems and they're going to need him to be perfect they're going to need to be absolutely on money from pretty much day one they got an Iowa game in week two that they do not want to lose and I think Roco Beck is one of those players that is able to make a lot out of nothing you know some pressure comes he's able to handle it the reality though is those guys can handle it if they don't need to handle it they feel a lot better about their day so I do think this is one of those players that can open up so many doors and Roco Beck is so so talented so keeping him upright letting him make the athletic plays that he's very capable of making is the most important thing for this offense and Jaylen Travis has got to have a huge huge couple of weeks as they head and do a Big Time season for them but obviously there are a ton of more players you know I could go around pretty much every team across the country but I'm not going to do that I'm not going to get all the way down to Vandy respectfully I'm not going to get all the way down to Vandy but we're going to take our third break here when we come back we're going to do some conference questions wrap it up with the Big 10 Big 12 today and then we'll get into uh a little bit of an update of all the headlines in the last segment but stick with us and we'll be right back with segment four