Five Underrated Players heading into the 2020 college football season
I don’t know about you guys, but I’m about ready to tie a vacuum cord around my neck and call it a day if I hear one more “Trevor Lawrence vs. Justin Fields’ debate, quit acting like they both aren’t pound for pound the best players in the country, and are merely preparing to collect the bag this time next year, hopefully on a draft stage. I want to know about the players who aren’t on ESPN First Take everyday, the ones who are talented and only need one more year to really break out onto the national scene, the guys who are certified ballers and for some unfortunate reason, we just missed them. So here are five players I came across who I think can really fuck some shit up, and will either prepare to shoot themselves up the draft board after next season, or get ready to terrorize the nation until at least their junior season.
Note: There will be a link for each player’s highlights under their summary
Kylin Hill, RB, Mississippi State
I turned on this film and obviously noticed his compact and short 5’11 frame, and I immediately thought power runner. That narrative lasted for about 10 seconds in my mind before I realized this guy LOVES to leave his feet. That southern athleticism is clearly on display with this guy, he’s mighty agile, is sneakily very shifty and never shies away from contact, I love running backs that know how to fall forward. I think he’s definitely a one-cut back, but he definitely knows how to make people miss when necessary, he absolutely reminds me of Clyde Edwards-Helaire just for the fact that in the right environment, he’s a walking big play waiting to happen.
He was second team All-SEC last season, but in a conference such as the SEC, you know how easy it is to get overlooked, while I doubt Mississippi State as a whole will make noise next season, you can ensure there will be eyes on them just because of that major talent they have in the backfield. Keep tabs on this guy he’s really exciting to watch.
Hamilcar Rashed Jr, LB, Oregon State
One of the big things I love about Rashed Jr, is how relentless he is in getting to the ball. He simply always found his way into the backfield and it paid off for him to the tune of 62 tackles, 14 sacks, 22.5 tackles for loss and two forced fumbles, the guy is simply very talented at terrorizing offenses. A season alone like that would’ve gotten him a Combine invite, but the fact that he chose to return to school for this season just makes the potential for his increase in value very exciting.
I’m not going to sugarcoat it, at 236 pounds in a 3-4 scheme he absolutely needs to add weight, but he more than makes up for it with impressive length and athleticism. I love how he’s able to make tackles off of the backside of plays, I think that’s extremely valuable, and he’s fantastic at setting the edge on tackles and being relentless getting to the quarterback. He’s definitely primarily a finesse rusher, but if he adds weight, the power rushing potential is certainly there, I feel like Pac-12 players are overlooked quite often and this is no different, but this guy can be special, he’s definitely someone you’ll want to follow next season.
Kyle Hamilton, DB, Notre Dame
I’m scrolling through some of these guys online, and I see a 6’4, 210 safety just chilling in the mix, and I immediately thought “Oh I’ve got to get a load of this”. Hamilton is literally a created player on Madden with how long and imposing his frame is, he honestly looks like a stupid athletic small forward/power forward hybrid just running around the field making plays, there’s no shot the high school basketball coach at his school let him walk the halls without trying to seriously recruit him. I’ll be honest you just don’t see players like him every day, especially at the safety position, sure you’ve got guys like George Iloka and Obi Melifonwu who are as big as this guy, but I’m convinced their ceiling is nowhere near as high as this kid.
He finished his freshman year with 41 tackles, four interceptions and six pass breakups, keep in mind he only started in one game last season, imagine what type of numbers he’ll put up with a full season starting. I love the way he tackles,how he covers the field when he’s defending the run and the pass along with his instincts, the crazy part about this is, this guy has so much more room to grow. Even with just two years to strengthen his frame and hone his technique there’s no way he falls outside of the top 15 selections when it’s time for him to declare for the NFL draft.
Kadarius Toney, WR, Florida
You guys already know, southern kids are something different when it comes to football, especially the playmakers, I’m telling you Toney is the cream of the crop when it comes to certified studs down south. I’m such a big fan of this guy, he’s had to deal with injuries but when he’s healthy I’ll take my money to Vegas on the odds that he’s the most exciting player to watch in all of college football. All 5’11, 194 pounds of him is just ridiculously athletic, he bends as well as anybody in the country, and while it frankly sucks, he single handedly tore a potential top draft pick’s ACL just because of his unbelievable balance.
Toney is as agile as a cat and while he runs a 4.69, his game speed is much faster than that believe me. There’s definitely special teams value with this guy simply for his ability to make people miss and get down the field right away. I’d love to see him stay healthy, some more north and south movement and maybe even clock a sexier 40 times but aside from that, this is the versatile chess piece that has the potential to put points up in a hurry.
David Bell, WR, Purdue
I had the personal privilege of playing and losing to David Bell’s high school team for three straight seasons, we could’ve been teammates at Purdue during the recruiting process but I chose to go in a different direction. He was dominant in high school, and that certainly didn’t change during his freshman season at Purdue, the Boilermakers went 4-8, but he won Big Ten Freshman of the Year, Freshman All-American and was an All-Big Ten honorable mention as a true freshman.
If that doesn’t tell you what you need to know about this guy, I don’t know what will. He got things going with a huge touchdown against Nevada in the first game of the season, and the rest has simply been history from there, despite an injury-riddled team he reeled in 86 catches, 1,035 yards and seven touchdowns along with one rushing touchdown. Rondale Moore went down halfway through the season, but Bell picked up the slack like Moore never left. Bell has some of the best hands I’ve personally seen and just always knows how to get open in space, it’s crazy to see what he’s doing entering his sophomore year, it’s no doubt to say that he’s well on his way to becoming one of the best receivers in the country.
