Yesh’s Thoughts: Once again, I’m really looking forward to the Armed Forces Bowl. There were three bowls that were highlighted by many as potential offensive shootouts: Toledo-Air Force, Baylor-Washington, and BYU-Tulsa. The first two have not disappointed and I don’t expect this one to either. Both teams have great offenses and better-than-advertised defenses. This game won’t be a shootout due to terrible defense, but it will be exciting due to good offense and the defenses making plays when necessary. Tulsa has the better offense but BYU comes in with the slightly better defense.
This game will not tell us so much about the future for Tulsa as they have a lot of outgoing seniors, most notable quarterback G.J. Kinne. BYU, on the other hand, will give us a good indication of their next few years in this game, though star tailback J.J. Di Luigi will be leaving after this year as well. Both teams are talented and had good seasons. In fact, Tulsa’s only 4 losses were to Boise State, Oklahoma State, Oklahoma (before Broyles got hurt), and Houston. That’s not a bad resume at all.
Prospects to Watch:
Matt Reynolds, OL BYU:
Again we come to a bowl game without great depth of prospects, but we do have some intrigue, those guys that are drafted in the in between rounds who can put good teams over the top.
Reynolds is one of those guys. A blue collar lineman, with great size who is a nasty pass blocker that projects to being more of a guard in the NFL, you will see him lined up at tackle tonight.
He has great bulk, and as cliché as it sounds, is country strong. Takes on power rushers with ease, and loves taking on big guys in the passing game.
He has good feet for his size and moves well on pulls and traps.
Problem is he can’t play LT at the next level. He is doughy, and will have to tone up if he wants to be able to stay on the field every down and not be a career back up.
Not great with speed rushers, and can get a little stiff in pass blocking, and can get high in run blocking.
NFL Fans that Need to Watch: Bills, Cardinals, Vikings, Bucs
Projections: 2nd Round
Hebron Fangupo, NT BYU:
Hebron is a rotund run stopper who has a good motor and a higher ceiling than a lot of other players due to his late start in the sport.
Has good get off, and ok lateral movement, but can get out of place quickly and relies to often on strength rather than technique.
He needs time to develop, probably a good practice squad candidate or developmental pick for a deep team, like the Steelers, Ravens or Packers.
Projections: 6th round
GJ Kinne, QB Tulsa: Improved his completion percentage dramatically in, up to 64% after posting an alarmingly low 59.8% in 2010.
Footwork and pocket presence have a lot to do with low accuracy, as he doesn’t feel pressure well and when he does, he can’t move in the pocket to beat it.
Kinne put up good numbers most of the year, but in his four games against high level competition, three if you don’t count Houston as high level, he threw only 4TD’s and 7int’s.
Projections: 7th round
If you found this post interesting please consider either subscribing via RSS, becoming a fan on Facebook or Google+, or following us on Twitter.
