April 12, 2022
Welcome back to the NCAA Spring Game Schedule and Players to Watch updating article! This week, I will discuss the games that will be played this upcoming weekend. If you missed the updates over the past two weeks, scroll down to check it out. Let’s get started:
Florida’s quarterback Anthony Richardson showed flashes when he came in to relieve Emory Jones in 2021. The junior quarterback forced Jones to transfer and he is now the clear starter for 2022. Expect a lot of big plays and tantalizing runs from “AR15,” as he makes a late push to get into the first-round conversation among Bryce Young and C.J. Stroud.
Iowa State will have its second Spring Game a week after its first one. If we can not tell who emerges as their starting running back in the first game, this game will certainly give us clarity.
Another critical Saturday of Spring games brings us some big-time transfers along with emerging youth. We start with Tulane who had a bad season record-wise but went toe-to-toe with Spencer Rattler-led Oklahoma early last season. Michael Pratt showed immense toughness at the quarterback position while displaying the intangibles to succeed–let’s see if he continues to progress when it comes to accuracy and decision-making. Arkansas is losing big-play receiver Treylon Burks to the draft, which opens the door for Raheim Sanders to become the offensive playmaker. Watch out for big plays from the guy nicknamed “Rocket.”
Miami will be incredibly interesting with Mario Cristobal coming from Oregon to coach “The U.” While Brashard Smith is still an unknown WR commodity for the team, he has Tyreek Hill-level athleticism and is dynamic with the ball in his hands. Mississippi State runs the classic Mike Leach offense, which spreads the ball around and cycles through receivers and running backs. We likely won't see an individual player breakout in this system but if I had to guess, it would be Jaden Walley. Mike Leach, however, is a national treasure and I expect some awesomely eclectic sound bites to come from this game.
Georgia’s Spring Game will be their first televised action since winning the National Championship, and there is no player I am more excited to see what role they can carve out than incoming freshman Branson Robinson. Built like a tank, this man is NFL ready, it's just a matter of where he fits in with the likes of Kendall Milton and Kenny McIntosh. Oregon State likely does not have any players you want on your devy team, but wide receiver Sam Mason is a player who could break that mold.
Mike Wright was the Vanderbilt backup last season but the team is likely to give him the chance to start. Even though it is Vanderbilt and we don’t expect much from this program, Wright can make a push to gain some draft capital as a late-round flier. As we move along to Alabama, there is no question whether Jahmyr Gibbs will be a dominant running back in the SEC. This game, however, will give us an idea on whether Gibbs will be on the field as the workhorse or if Alabama will use all their backs. Gibbs has the skillset to play all-three downs and even move into the slot for a different back to come in but does Nick Saban see what the devy community does in Gibbs?
Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports
Virginia Tech’s running back Malachi Thomas can take the starting job and run away with it. He ran for 440 yards and three touchdowns as a freshman last year. With Raheem Blackshear gone and dual-threat quarterback Braxton Burmeister transferring out, Thomas should get the lion's share of the work out of the backfield. Duke’s new starting quarterback is Luca Diamont. It seems unlikely but the program could run high on the emotions of legendary basketball coach Mike Krzyzewski retiring and Diamont could have a Daniel Jones level ascension.
Finally, we get to South Carolina and new Oklahoma transfer Spencer Rattler. Rattler was famously replaced at Oklahoma by Caleb Williams and forced to transfer out. Rattler has red flags surrounding his personality that have surfaced ever since he was on the Netflix series “QB1.” Before the 2021 season, Rattler was a consensus top-three devy asset but his stock has collapsed. Can Rattler use the next year or two against SEC opponents to restore his draft and fantasy stock to a portion of what it once was? This is our first look at Rattler when divorced from the statistical-friendly Lincoln Riley system
Below, please find the previews from the games played the weekend of April 8: 
It will be interesting to see who emerges as Iowa State’s next featured running back in the line of succession from David Montgomery and Breece Hall. Their spring game will likely foreshadow whether redshirt junior Jirehl Brock will hold the position or if three-star true freshman Cartevious Norton can usurp him.
This one is going to be a very busy day. Zay Flowers is returning to Boston College to try to improve upon his breakout junior season after dealing with some injuries. He should be Phil Jurkovic’s top target next season. Curtis Deville is a highly touted prospect who steps into a Perdue Boilermakers team that is coming off losing both Rondale Moore and David Bell in the last two seasons, could Deville be the next freshman breakout receiver from Purdue? It will be very interesting to see if Clemson’s QB D.J. Uiagalelei can retain his starting job and restore his draft stock. He will have to hold off five-star recruit, and Elite11 MVP (Won over Quinn Ewers), in Cade Klubnik.
In Kentucky, we should watch for whether QB Will Levis can continue to drop perfectly passed balls into the basket for receivers with Wan’Dale Robinson gone. Potential UDFA Emeka Emezie had been NC State’s top receiver since they lost Kelvin Harmon and Jakobi Meyers, but now that position is left open. I will be taking a look at Micah Crowell, an imposing sophomore. Jordan Addison won the Biletkinof award and elevated Kenny Pickett to a potential first-round draft pick. Can he help to restore the former top-three devy quarterback in Kedon Slovis or will the USC transfer’s professional aspirations fade in Pittsburgh?
Rayshon Luke heads to Arizona and will be likely used both as a running back and a wide receiver. He may be the fastest player in college football and is a big play waiting to happen. Auburn’s star running back disappointed last season due to incompetent coaching. An internal investigation occurred and Bigsby briefly entered the transfer portal. Can coach Harsin stick to his word or will we see another confusing RBBC with Jarquez Hunter? Nebraska’s highly touted tight end Thomas Fidone was expected to have a freshman breakout season. That didn’t happen. Let’s see how he comes out in 2022.
North Carolina will be without quarterback Sam Howell, so we will see the first look at Drake Maye. Howell struggled mightily without his top two running backs and wide receivers from 2020. If Maye has success as Howell's successor, it will likely be based on a Heisman-caliber season from Josh Downs. Florida State’s 2021 Spring Game was dominated by WR Malik McClain as a true freshman, so I expect him to do the same thing this year.
Below, please find the previews from the games played the weekend of March 30: March 30, 2022
The 2022 Spring Game Schedule is underway and will continue throughout the month. As such, this article will consistently update with a look at the upcoming games for the week! Let’s get started:
Rock M Nation
The Missouri Tigers already conducted their Spring Game and true freshman WR Luther Burden emerged as the best player on the team despite his age. This makes sense given that he was seen as, arguably, the #1 WR recruit in the nation. Burden scored a touchdown in a game that featured NBA All-Star game levels of defense being played, perhaps foreshadowing things to come in the 2022 season. NCAA fans will be tuning in to Missouri games this season to watch the future first-round draft pick.
Sean Tucker emerged last season as the best running back in the Syracuse program since Jim Brown. Tucker’s 1,496 rushing yards and 12 TDs last season was impressive. Even more impressive is that he caught 20 passes for 255 yards and two touchdowns. He is looking like a discount-rack Jonathan Taylor after posting an all-time top-100 RB season as a sophomore. 2022 is his chance to cement himself as a top-five running back in the heralded 2023 class.
Former five-star recruit J.J. McCarthy, out of the iconic IMG Academy, should get his opportunity to compete for the starting quarterback job for returning Michigan Head Coach Jim Harbaugh. Harbaugh flirted with the Raiders this offseason before returning to Michigan, does this mean he thinks McCarthy is better than Derek Carr? We shall see.
Louisville had speedster Tutu Atwell a couple of seasons ago but he left the WR room to another 4.2-second 40-yard dash speedster in Tyler Harrell. Harrell can blaze and dual-threat quarterback Malik Cunningham can sling it. Look out for these two to make a draft capital push in 2022.
Stay tuned for weekly updates!
The Fantasy Football by BRoto app is now live on the Apple App Store and Google Play Store! Download it today for a start sit tool, player cards, statistics, usage, rankings, interactive tools, coaching tendencies, and much, much more. FREE for a limited time.
By Brad Hartnett
For a second straight season, I am betting against Mahomes.