The Watch List: 2019 MAC Season Preview
Welcome to The Watch List, a resource to help RSO owners identify the players from the college game that deserve your attention. To view my observations, follow me on Twitter @robertfcowper. Check back throughout the Spring and Summer as The Watch List will preview the top prospects and let you know who is fantasy relevant and worth your valuable draft capital.
Storylines to Watch
Heisman Contender: Nathan Rourke, QB, Ohio. In a recent article for The Athletic, writer Max Olson compiled a list of 2018 quarterbacks who led the FBS in his preferred efficiency metric: Yards Per Play. The leaders in the stat, Alabama QBs Tua Tagovailoa and Jalen Hurts, were no surprise. The third name on the list was unexpected for me: Nathan Rourke. I expect Rourke to stay atop the leaderboard and put up gaudy numbers in 2019.
Underclassman to Watch: Jaret Patterson, RB, Buffalo. Patterson won MAC Freshman of the Year honors in 2018 with an impressive 1,013-14 output. He’s listed at 5090/195 but looks bigger in highlights because of his play style. Patterson is difficult to bring down because of his excellent contact balance and his powerful leg drive. At the line of scrimmage he has shifty and frequent feet which help him pick his way through the trash. Another 1,000+ yard season seems like a lock since the Bulls passing offense was gutted by transfers and players leaving for the NFL. The offensive focus will need to be Patterson and his running mate Kevin Marks (6000/200, 845-13).
Newcomer of the Year: Joachim Bangda, RB, Kent State. I wasn’t expecting to feature a player from Kent State in my preview but I came across Bangda’s name in Phil Steele’s preview magazine. Steele had Bangda ranked as a “very highly touted” recruit and his 38th best running back of the class (other recruiting services had him ranked 31st, 67th and 69th). According to a local news report, Bangda originally committed to Georgia Tech but flipped when coach Paul Johnson retired; he also had scholarship offers from Alabama, Ohio State and Michigan among others. I watched Bangda’s pinned Hudl reel and he appears to be a powerful, angry runner who can break tackles and has ample speed to get the edge. Incumbent senior Jo-El Shaw may begin the season as the nominal starter but Bangda should end the year with more touches.
Coaching Carousel: Does Jim McElwain’s name sound familiar? It might because the Internet had a lot of fun at his expense a few years ago when he “had to field questions about whether or not he’d humped a dead shark while naked on the deck of a boat.” McElwain joined Michigan as their receivers coach last year, partly I presume to restart his career after Florida and partly to get away from the ocean. This year McElwain finds himself at the helm of the Central Michigan Chippewas. CMU had an abysmal 1-11 mark last season but had gone to four consecutive bowl games prior. McElwain should bring a Power 5 recruiting touch with him and right the ship.
Player to Watch
Nathan Rourke, QB, Ohio
The Ohio passing offense relies on short and quick patterns so it was disappointing to see Rourke’s accuracy match his subpar career completion percentage (57.4%). I was hopeful that the percentage might have been dragged down by numerous missed deep balls. In both games I watched, Buffalo 2018 and Bowling Green 2018, Rourke sailed an early pass that should have been an easy completion. There were also multiple missed short outs. There were a few short passes that lacked touch too. Overall though, he did lead receivers well on swing and screen passes. Rourke’s ball placement improved on targets in the middle of the field where he could better anticipate the receiver’s movement. On this pass he is able to step up in the pocket and delivery a strike, in stride, which leads to a score.
https://t.co/Ltml16txKU pic.twitter.com/054f4anFN1
— Robert F. Cowper | RSO (@RobertFCowper) July 8, 2019
Maybe it would be more accurate to say that Rourke has inconsistent ball placement and touch because there are some moments when he flashes. On this play, for example, Rourke throws a nice 25-yard back-shoulder touch pass to the end zone which results in a touchdown.
https://t.co/CXq4axeovm pic.twitter.com/k3SKA6CZFN
— Robert F. Cowper | RSO (@RobertFCowper) July 8, 2019
I only saw a few deep passes from Rourke and I believe this was the only one I saw him complete. He essentially throws his speedy receiver open by leading him towards the middle of the field. It’s the type of pass he’ll need to complete more of in 2019 in order to fill out his repertoire.
https://t.co/wJ8dJsBQm3 pic.twitter.com/g8wKqazMM4
— Robert F. Cowper | RSO (@RobertFCowper) July 8, 2019
Ohio’s offense features a lot of option which is ideal for Rourke. He is also quick to evade the pocket and scramble. As a runner he is patient and elusive. He does not have much straight-line speed but he is able to plant his foot and burst upfield for bonus yardage. He’s also not afraid of contact, in fact he often initiates it. In this clip you can see Rourke’s improvisational skill which makes him a dangerous scrambler.
https://t.co/GDUNpVFrYe pic.twitter.com/z5SC73oP68
— Robert F. Cowper | RSO (@RobertFCowper) July 8, 2019
I had a hard time settling on a final verdict for Rourke. I have enjoyed watching him so far in his career and I really wanted to see a draftable quarterback. Ultimately, I think he’s a fantastic college quarterback, however, I think he lacks the polish as a passer to be a true NFL prospect.
Honorable Mentions
Quinten Dormady, QB, Central Michigan: I had never heard of Dormady prior to my MAC research but my interest was piqued because he had such an interesting path to CMU. He was a 4-star recruit out of high school who 247Sports predicted would land at Alabama. He chose Tennessee instead and transferred after just thirteen appearances over three seasons. He went to Houston where he sat behind D’Eriq King and ultimately took a redshirt. Now he’s likely to be the leading signal caller for the Chippewas. He has NFL size at 6040/222 but he’s the ultimate wildcard right now. He could be the reason they upset Wisconsin or Miami; or he could end up benched and buried on a depth chart with two returners and two new signees. In his Tennessee highlights, Dormady looks like a throwback quarterback, circa 1995, so I’m actually very excited to watch him in the aforementioned Power 5 tests.
Jonathan Ward, RB, Central Michigan: I wrote about Ward a number of times last year because I was expecting him to progress after a flag-planting 2017 outing. In 2017, Ward had 178-1,024-10 rushing and added 48-470-3 receiving. The receiving numbers are what stood out to me because you rarely see that production from a college running back. Ward was ineffective to begin 2018 and then finished the season hurt, totaling just 253 yards on 88 touches. I’m hopeful he’ll regain his role and rebound in 2019 because he has a promising combination of size (6000/202), speed, power and hands.
Levante Bellamy, RB, Western Michigan: Bellamy is a smaller scat and speed back who returned from a season-ending injury in 2017 to earn first team All-MAC honors last season. He’s a burner — apparently he ran a 4.32 laser-timed 40 yard dash last season — and it shows on his highlight reels. At just 5090/185, he shows enough strength to shrug off chasing defenders and does surprisingly well battling through traffic. Bellamy contributes as a receiver (30 receptions) but unfortunately that aspect of his game was largely absent from the film I watched (he did have one impressive catch on a swing pass though). Bellamy shared carries last year but will be the unquestioned lead back in 2019 which will allow him to make a name for himself.
Notes: Heights listed are using a notation common among scouts where the first digit corresponds to the feet, the next two digits correspond to the inches and the fourth digit corresponds to the fraction, in eighths. So, somebody measuring 5’11” and 3/8 would be 5113. This is helpful when trying to sort players by height. When studying a player I rely on game film “cuts” which are most frequently found on Youtube. If game film is not available I will search for highlight reels. Keep in mind these highlight reels are the best plays of that player. When I have the option, I will choose to watch a game versus the better defense. Full disclosure, I am not watching film of every single game any player plays, instead I am looking for a representative sample. There are a lot of analysts out there who have a deeper depth of knowledge about certain players but I pride myself in a wide breadth of knowledge about many players. When researching my articles I use a number of valuable resources. I would recommend bookmarking the below sites:
- Stats: espn.com, sports-reference.com, pro-football-reference.com, cfbstats.com, herosports.com, fcs.football, mcubed.net, expandtheboxscore.com, washingtonpost.com
- Recruiting: 247Sports.com, espn.com, sbnation.com, rivals.com
- Film: 2020 NFL Draft Database by Mark Jarvis, youtube.com
- Draft info and mocks: draftcountdown.com, draftscout.com, mattwaldmanrsp.com, draftek.com, thedraftnetwork.com, nfl.com
- NFL rosters, depth charts and contract info: ourlads.com, spotrac.com
- Draft history: drafthistory.com
- Combine info: pro-football-reference.com, espn.com, nflcombineresults.com, mockdraftable.com
- Season preview magazines: Phil Steele, Lindy’s, Street and Smith’s, Athlon Sports
- Podcasts: ESPN’s First Draft, The Audible by Football Guys (specifically episodes w/ Matt Waldman), UTH Dynasty, Draft Dudes, Saturday 2 Sunday, Locked on NFL Draft, Cover 3 College Football
- Logos & Player Media Photos: collegepressbox.com
- Odds & Gambling Stats: vegasinsider.com
Robert F. Cowper is a freelance writer who lives in New Jersey. He is a proud member of the Football Writers Association of America and the Fantasy Sports Writers Association. Robert works as a certified park and recreation professional, specializing in youth sports, when he isn’t acting as commissioner for his many fantasy sports leagues.
