The bowl season gives fans and scouts alike a chance to analyze NFL Draft prospects against solid competition. The bowl season schedule allows all eyes to be on each game. Here are the NFL Draft prospects in the 2018 Hyundai Sun Bowl.
Stanford Cardinal Prospects
*Running back Bryce Love will sit out this bowl game to prepare for the NFL Draft. He is a projected first to second round pick.
J.J. Arcega-Whiteside, WR
Arcega-Whiteside knows how to do one thing extremely well and that is getting touchdown catches. At Stanford, he has 132 receptions for 2,129 yards and 28 touchdowns. He has had his best season yet as a senior with 60 receptions for 969 yards and 14 touchdowns
He has good size at 6-foot-3 and 225 pounds. Arcega-Whiteside uses his size well to go up and high point the football for a lot of his touchdown receptions.
Projected draft range: Second round-third round
Alijah Holder, CB
Holder thought about entering the 2018 draft, but decided to complete his degree. In his career, he has 125 total tackles, 6.5 tackles for loss, two interceptions, one touchdown, 23 passes defended and five forced fumbles. This year he has 52 total tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss, eight passes defended and one forced fumble.
He has good size for an NFL cornerback at 6-foot-2 and 188 pounds. His length disrupts wide receivers, but he’ll need to show better ball skills in the pros.
Projected draft range: Second round-fourth round
Kaden Smith, TE
Smith is questionable with a foot injury for this game. The junior has 79 catches for 1,049 yards and seven touchdowns in his career. This season he has 47 catches for 635 yards and two touchdowns. He only has one season as a primary tight end, as Dalton Schultz was just drafted last year out of Stanford.
At 6-foot-5 and 252 pounds, Smith has decent size for a tight end. His blocking in the Stanford offense will help him in the pros.
Projected draft range: Second round-fourth round
Other Stanford Cardinal prospects: G Nate Herbig (Third round-fifth round), LB Bobby Okereke (Fourth round-sixth round), C Jesse Burkett (Fifth round-seventh round), OT A.T. Hall (Sixth round-undrafted free agent), P Jack Bailey (Sixth round-undrafted free agent), K Jet Toner (Undrafted free agent)
Pittsburgh Panthers Prospects
Qadree Ollison, RB
Ollison is a unique prospect in that he had his best two seasons as a freshman and as a senior. As a Panther, Ollison has racked up 2,836 rushing yards and 29 rushing touchdowns. In 2018, Ollison has 1,190 rushing yards and 11 touchdowns.
He has a good build at 6-foot-2 and 225 pounds. His production was spotty at Pitt for the middle two years, but Ollison has enough talent to contribute a little bit in the NFL.
Projected draft range: Fourth round-seventh round
Darrin Hall, RB
Hall is the second Pitt running back who was able to get to 1,000 yards on the season. For his senior season, he has 1,021 rushing yards and nine touchdowns. In his career, Hall has totaled 2,066 rushing yards and 20 touchdowns.
He is shorter at 5-foot-11, but also has a nice build at 225 pounds. While he is a backup, he is much better than most and warrants NFL Draft consideration.
Projected draft range: Sixth round-undrafted free agent
George Aston, FB
Aston is one of the few fullbacks with a chance to get drafted. He has 85 rushing yards and six touchdowns for his career. Aston has also shown a proficiency for catching passes with 45 catches for 277 yards and eight touchdowns while at Pitt.
He is 6-foot and 240 pounds, which is fine for a fullback. If teams feel he can block, and actually carry a fullback, Aston is a candidate for them.
Projected draft range: Seventh round-undrafted free agent
Make sure to check out our college football page for more updates and rankings.
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