CFB DeptHITS: Tuesday, August 20
News and notes, including quite a few more starting quarterback announcements. Other injury news from camps as many move from full-on training camp; into more game preparation mode.
We make hundreds of small tweaks to our depth charts on the daily. We wanted to pull out a few that you should really know more about in our DeptHITS feature. Here is what we found most interesting over the past 24 hours:
Ole Miss ::: DL Zxavian Harris was arrested and charged with domestic violence and obstructing arrest. Added to Injury & Status report as very "doubtful' until this is cleared up. And, we don't have a lot of time for that.
Further: Ugh. More legal woes for the talented defensive tackle. This all needs to play out and the timing is not great. Lane Kiffin did not have a comment, which is the protocol for these types of situations. Again, we are putting him as “doubtful” and won’t project him to be a part of the rotation until we hear more.
Hawaii ::: Official two-deep was released today; made some slight updates and edits. Most notable is that WR Steven McBride is not listed and appears to still be working through some eligibility issues. He is unlikely to play week one.
Further: Here is a quick list of the other updates we made based on the official depth chart:
RB: Kamalu DeBlake moves up to third based on the depth chart; passing David Cordero.
WR: Alex Perry appears ahead of Tylan Hines at this point. Switched the two in the receiver rotation and projected target share.
DT: Dion Washington appears to have beat out Daniel Williams for one of those defensive tackle spots. Both remain 1/2 snaps and will rotate.
CB: Virdel Edwards II is not listed. Had him as a starter. We’ll see what we can find out about this situation.
RET: Tylan Hines is listed as the top punt and kick returner.
View full, updated and live (ready for week 0) Hawaii depth chart »
Tennessee ::: RB Cameron Seldon returned to practice and contact drills. In fact, Josh Heupel say he was been a 'full go' for some time now. All signs are pointing to a healthy Seldon and that should be fun to watch. Updated him to "probable" on the report.
Further: This is good news for the Vols and bad news for opponents. A healthy Seldon gives them another weapon in the backfield. He has shown spurts of greatness and since he will be coming in after starter Dylan Sampson, his fresh legs will make some things happen. Sampson himself is still dealing with some minor injury; so we’ll keep an eye on that.
On to the starting quarterback announcements:
Washington State ::: John Mateer is named the starting quarterback for the Cougars, beating out Zevi Eckhaus.
Further: Mateer has waited his turn. This is an example of a guy committing to a program despite being buried behind a star (Cam Ward) and sticking it out to earn his opportunity. While our numbers say that Eckhaus, the transfer from FCS Bryant, is further along as a player (13.3 rating), the coaching staff usually knows best. Emphasis: usually.
Mateer just hasn’t had a chance to really show us what he can do. As a data-driven operation, we’re really going on his recruiting chops (a 3-star recruit out of Texas in the class of 2022) and a slight boost based on the confidence shown by his coaching staff. That puts him at a 10.8 rating. Average by our books. We’ll get to see him ease into things against FCS Portland State in week one, before getting a tough test against Texas Tech at home in week two.
Duke ::: Maalik Murphy wins the starting QB job in Durham. Not unexpected, but he was given a nice run for his money from Grayson Loftis.
Further: Exactly as most expected on this one. Murphy comes in from Texas, where he was buried behind two stars (Quinn Ewers and Arch Manning), and gets his shot to run this offense. Murphy did see some time for the Longhorns and performed well, but we’ve seen a little more of Loftis - playing in six games last year while injury befell starter Riley Leonard. He had 161 pass attempts, completing 91 of them (56.5%), for 1,001 yards, 8 TD and 4 INT. He didn’t do a whole lot with his legs but the PFF grades for Loftis are pretty impressive beyond the numbers.
This is either a big vote of confidence for Murphy, or a little mistake that could only be corrected by getting Loftis into game situations. We’ll have to see how it plays out.
USC ::: Miller Moss was officially announced at the starter for the Trojans. While this was expected, it wasn't a foregone conclusion as they also brought in a talented signal-caller from UNLV, Jayden Maiava this off-season. Moss will lead this potent offense to start 2024.
Further: Moss, like Mateer, stuck around for his opportunity. He just waited a bit longer. Moss was a 4-star recruit in the 2021 class and has two years of eligibility remaining (one more after this season). It may have been his six touchdown performance in the Holiday Bowl that propelled him to the top of the list to replace Heisman-trophy winning and first overall NFL Draft pick, Caleb Williams. It has to be other things as well. They hit the portal to bring in some competition in Maiava, from San Diego State. He certainly is no slouch and got some good experience with the Aztecs a year ago. Maiava’s decision to transfer was equal parts opportunity with a bit-time program like USC and a coaching change (Sean Lewis). That decision (for now) appears to have slightly put his career off course. It is a long season and he may just get that opportunity to show what he can do if poor play or injury slow Moss.
Arizona State ::: No changes to our projection that Sam Leavitt would be the starting quarterback for the Sun Devils. He beat out Nebraska/Georgia Tech transfer Jeff Sims. This was widely expected, but confirmation has been provided.
Further: Just about everybody saw this coming as word was leaking from camp that Sims was falling behind (maybe even to third string) with scrimmage performances. While Sims is technically the backup; it would be unsurprising if we saw third-stringer Trenton Bourguet see action if something were to happen with Leavitt. For now, it’s the former Michgan State Spartans team.
Cincinnati ::: Indiana transfer QB Brendan Sorsby has won the job for the Bearcats. He was given a slight challenge from Brady Lichtenberg, but ultimately, it was Sorsby who won out and now will lead this offense to start 2024.
Further: Sorsby is an exciting dual-threat option coming over from Indiana. He wins this job with relative ease as he was hand-picked by head coach Scott Satterfield to take over the reigns. This one is more of a confirmation and we’re excited to see what he can do in this offense.
Nevada ::: Brendon Lewis wins the starting quarterback job officially in Reno. This as expected ultimately, but getting confirmation from Pete Thamel (again) will end any doubt that existed. Quarterback depth chart updated.
Further: Another less surprising result here. Lewis had a good bit of hype coming out of Colorado, where in 2021 he got a shot to show what he could do. He played here last year and really struggled throwing the ball (55.6% completion percentage; 2 TD, 6 INT); but made up for it with his legs (641 yards, 4 TD). He did fumble eight 8 times and ball security is the main cause of concern with this pick.
It should be noted that his primary competition for the role, Nebraska transfer Chubba Purdy (brother of NFL star, Brock) is nursing a shoulder injury that didn’t really allow him a chance to compete. This Nevada squad as a week 0 game (THIS SATURDAY!!!) against SMU and it could quickly turn into a shootout, giving Lewis a good opportunity to put up some numbers (granted, we have SMU’s defense at a 24th ranking overall according to AIR).
Baylor ::: Word has leaked that Dequan Finn has won the starting QB job in Waco. This is little surprise to anybody who knows of his work previously at Toledo. He was enaged in a camp battle and appears to have won the job. Updated quarterback depth chart.
Further: Another expected on here. Finn comes in from Toledo where he was phenomenal and now gets to lead a Big XII offense here with the Bears. This is an exciting situation to be in for the former 3-star recruit in the 2019 class out of Detroit. Sawyer Robinson was his primary competition and will remain as the backup and first in if anything happens to Finn.
A backup quarterback was also announced:
Auburn ::: Redshirt freshman Hank Brown has beaten out Holden Greiner for the backup QB role to Payton Thorne in 2024.
Further: Somewhat of a surprise here as many (us included) had Greiner winning this backup spot. Brown has impressed since joining the squad last year and now is one step away from leading this offense. Looking ahead, it sets him up to take over for Thorne, who is (finally) out of eligibility beyond this season, in 2025 and beyond.
And some other news and notes to consume:
Syracuse ::: CB Marcus Washington Jr. has a torn biceps and will need surgery. Recovery time is 3-4 months and that likely puts him out for the entire 2024 season. He was projected to be in the rotation; but not a primary starter. Still, depth is key and this hurts that.
Georgia ::: LB Smael Mondon Jr. has resolved his reckless driving case and racing charges. This doesn't appear to be a lingering issue. He remains on the Injury & Status report as he is working through a minor injury.
Kansas State ::: Removed OL Camden Beebe from the Wildcats offensive line room as news broke that he has been forced to retire for medical reasons.
South Alabama ::: Removed Lucas Taylor from the offensive line as he revealed on instagram that he is having to medically retire from the game. He was penciled in as a starter on USA's offensive line. We tentatively move Kenton Jerido over to start at right guard.
That’s what we have today. Follow us on X for updates throughout the day and be sure to subscribe and share! Thank you.
