Eric Edholm (Yahoo Sports)Â —Â In lieu of a 2022 mock draft (LOL) or an early rankings list, we figured we might change it up and list 25 of the most intriguing 2022 NFL prospects who especially caught our eyes and could be in line for big jumps in the upcoming season.
USC EDGE Drake Jackson
Jackson is a well-built, strapping end with great burst and quickness. He drops well for his 6-4, 255-pound frame and can finish in a hurry. Although Jackson tailed off last season and has only 7.5 sacks in 17 college games, he has some serious potential to break out for the Trojans this season.
Kedon Slovis, USC
Slovis pushed Daniels into transferring with his strong play in 2019 but wasn’t quite as effective in 2020, seeing his interception rate rise and his yards per play decline despite having one of the deepest receiving groups in college football. The 6-2 QB still has Drake London and Bru McCoy his top targets this season but needs to be more efficient to enter the first-round discussion.
JT Daniels, Georgia (I always think of Doc Holliday — American gambler, gunfighter, and dentist — when I see JT’s sparsely mustachioed face)Â
When the Bulldogs finally turned the ball over to the USC transfer, good things happened for UGA. He outgunned Desmond Ridder (CIN) in Georgia’s Peach Bowl comeback, leading them to three fourth-quarter scoring drives, throwing for 137 yards in the quarter after two turnovers early in the game.
Daniels still has some work to do, but his four-game snapshot last season is proof that this former elite recruit hasn’t lost his chops despite a torn ACL in 2019 that indirectly led to his transfer to Athens.
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Palaie Gaoteote- Million $ body, 10 cent head.
Rumor has it that Palaie Gaoteote is headed to TEXAS. Turnaround is fair play, but if this is the best Sark can do, he’s in big trouble.
This one’s no loss for the Trojans IMO. The five-star prep ILB from LV Bishop Gorman was simply vastly over-rated, couldn’t make plays, and he roamed around out there like you’d expect a tentative walk-on to play at USC. It happens.
Longhorns Wire calls this a “major addition” for the TEXAS D. That’s pure homer delusion at its finest.
He’s physically gifted, I’d argue more so than any other LB on our roster. I think he would have thrived under TO’s see ball get ball philosophy. He’s big, fast, and aggressive but wasn’t a great fit with Clancy. I wouldn’t be surprised to see him play great at Texas. We shall see.
That’s crazy IMO, but that’s only me, of course. I’m totally glad he’s no longer taking up unproductive space on the USC roster.
I’m just glad for him personally that he doesn’t have to sit around in the portal anymore.
Physically gifted? I would describe him more as physically and mentally disappointing, and a classic example of a “five-star bust”, at least as I define the term.
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I focuse on him during some replay time and I swear he was either in another world or was just flat looking for a way to make sure USC lost the game. I was amazed they kept him playing as long as they did.
If linebackers are supposed to tackle, Palaie Gaoteote wasn’t your guy at USC. He was an all-get-off-the-bus guy who frequently looked lost to me out there.
If this turns out to somehow be USC’s fault because they didn’t coach, or use, him right, then Trojan coaching will have just sunken to yet another low.
I told a client of mine from San Antonio (who follows USC carefully) that they were getting in Palale the 5-star version of Whitney Lewis. Boy, did he bitch & moan. 😎
Whitney was pretty bad. He probably takes the cake as the all-time USC five-star bust. But he could eat food like nobody’s business!
Whitney was the first California player to ever both rush and receive for 1,000 yards in one season.
His parents should have let him go to FSU and be with his best friend Lo Booker in Florida, like he wanted. Instead, they forced him into USC, where he took a permanent seat at training table, and basically disappeared from college football.
I had forgotten about him, so I typed his name in the google search bar and here are the first two articles that came up. 1) College Football Recruiting: Worst 5-Star Recruiting Busts Of The Last Decade (2000-2010) : #1: Mitch Mustain (QB, USC/Arkansas), #2 Willie Williams (LB – never made it into any division 1 school after being arrested on a recruiting trip to Florida), #3 Ben Olson (QB, UCLA/BYU), #4 Whitney Lewis, (WR: USC/Northern Iowa). 2) His wikipedia entry: Whitney Lewis (born August 13, 1985) is a FORMER American college football player. Lewis started his college career at… Read more »
“He takes the cake?” Is that another eating joke? 😀
Glad you caught that. The question is, was I really trying that out as a joke, or did it just slip in as a matter of speech? I’ll never tell. ✌
A good LA Times headline in the next 12 months ? >>>>>> LUKE FICKELL USC HEAD COACH .
Or just >>>>> USC FIRES HEAD FOOTBALL COACH .
I’ll take either!
Supposedly NFL Network is doing an interview with Clay Helton (because they think he has “football knowledge” I guess ) to discuss the draft at 1PM ET ( 10AM PT ) Today .
They asked Helton about Amon-Ra St. Brown……. Alijah Vera-Tucker .Which Helton gave both RAVE reviews on both those players and then they asked him about Sam Darnold being traded and Helton felt Sam can still be a starter in the NFL .
Too bad they didn’t ask Gentleman Clay about why USC can’t ever run the ball, why so many USC assts have to be fired every year and can’t get jobs, why USC can’t beat Notre Dame anymore (I thought we had already been through this when Lou Holtz had our number), why he promised to fix USC’s horrible penalty/sloppy play situation but couldn’t do it, why USC fans in large numbers are no longer buying tickets to the games, why the so-called spring game only attracted about 2,000 fans max, and why most USC fans would much rather have a… Read more »
Well Allen you know how many times I typed the name Urban Meyer on this blog ……Well my favorite name now is …………………Luke Fickell ……..FIGHT ON !!!!!!
It’s funny how time can rearrange our expectations. For instance, there was a time when I felt USC should only replace Clay Helton when it could bring in a super heavy hitter like Urban Meyer, the kind who rarely become available. Those were the days when I still had the highest of standards for Trojan football. Now, at my wits end, I’d be willing for USC to replace Helton with literally ANY coach, and that includes 1/2 of the Pac-12 coaches still on the job. I really have no idea whether Luke Fickell could be very successful at a place… Read more »
I would rather be waterboarded than listen to Helton talk about anything football related
We will now have about 3 months of marketing propaganda out of SC. We all know that Clay is a symptom of the problem – does SC’s administration wish to honor SC’s legacy of elite football? We all know Clay is incapable of producing teams which can compete on the national stage. I expect (Allen disagrees) that next year Clay will have taken SC football to the point where it cannot compete for regional championships (in the weakest of the Power 5 conferences). We will find out in the fall. IMO, the failure of JT under Clay and his success… Read more »
Notre Dame recruiting with a Long Beach billboard along the 405. The game has become even more competitive.
As long as we have Hugs we will always have one hand tied behind our back on recruiting.
Gentleman Clay = Death by a Thousand Cuts
Sad but oh so true.
The nfl draft sure gave ammunition to the recruiting competition.