NFL Scouts Share What They’ll Watch in the Georgia-TCU National Title Game

Kelee Ringo covering Quentin Johnston. Dylan Horton against NFL-caliber tackles. QBs Stetson Bennett and Max Duggan. And more on the big game Monday night.

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The last few years, my Six From Saturday notes have been included at the bottom of my MMQB column on Monday mornings. This year, they’ll be published as a separate post each week. Here are my thoughts on this week in the college world, geared mostly toward what should be of interest to NFL fans.

Six From Saturday (or in this case, Monday): With TCU and Georgia set to square off for the national title Monday night, I gathered a panel of three top evaluators who work primarily in college scouting to tell us what they’ll be looking for in the matchup.

1) We’ve made this point before, and it’s worth making again: TCU’s not Georgia, but, talent-wise, it’s also not the old Mountain West TCU, either. I asked the evaluators how many guys each team has that’ll go in the top 100 in the draft. For Georgia, I got DT Jalen Carter, OT Broderick Jones, C Sedrick Van Pran, LB Nolan Smith (who’s out), TE Darnell Washington (who’s banged up), CB Kelee Ringo, and potentially S Christopher Smith and RB Kenny McIntosh. For TCU, it’s WR Quentin Johnston, LG Steve Avila, DE Dylan Horton and RB Kendre Miller (who’s nicked up). Now, the difference with a program like Georgia, of course, is in its depth—its second wave of players that’ll be later draft picks, and non-draft-eligible stars (like Brock Bowers), and guys who aren’t playing much yet who will grow into stars. Still, though, coming up with four TCU names to eight for Georgia indicates the gap might not be quite the cavern you’d think.

Ringo is one of several players with a huge opportunity in front of him Monday night :: Jordan Prather/USA TODAY Sports

2) Because of that perception, you’d normally think there’d be a lot of players on the TCU side with something to prove against Georgia players. But we have one spot where it’s probably the other way around—with Ringo having a chance to put better tape out there than he has (there are a lot of teams that aren’t wild about him) and prove he’s more than just a freakish height/weight/speed guy. As one AFC exec puts it, this should give Ringo a shot to “play a clean game against one of the top-tier wideouts in the draft. … Ringo’s played like crap, but he’s so big and fast. At some point, you have to justify it with more than all that speed and size.” On Ringo, an AFC college director adds, “I just don’t think he’s that good. He looks pretty, runs fast; he’ll have all the combine numbers, and that’s great. But in terms of covering people and being a consistent football player, the receiver [Johnston]’s better than him.” Which means Ringo could prove some people wrong and earn himself some money Monday night.

3) On the flip side, Carter—a likely top-three (or so) pick—should provide a similar test for TCU’s interior linemen, and in particular Avila (who could sneak into the bottom of the first round) and C Alan Ali, who’s a solid mid- to late-round prospect. “Their interior’s good, but they’re going up against dudes now,” says our AFC college scouting director. “Carter can do pretty much whatever he wants, and Avila versus Carter should be in favor of Carter. Carter’s strengths are all of them. But Avila’s a mauler, so it’ll be interesting to see that one at the point of attack, in phone-booth situations, to see if he can lock him up. Carter’s so athletic, so explosive, he’s hard to block. But Avila’s gritty; he’s got a chance.”

4) Horton had four sacks against Michigan’s Joe Moore Award–winning line, and I’ve heard some talk since then that he could—could—sneak into the bottom of the first round. I still think Day 2 is more likely, but he has a real chance to make a statement going against Georgia’s future NFL tackles. “He was a monster against Michigan, so the matchup against Broderick [Jones] will be interesting,” says a second AFC exec. “He’s their best player on defense, and I think this kid has to take over if they’re going to have a chance. He’s probably a second-round value … but he looked big and disruptive against a really good line from Michigan, and this is not a good defensive draft at the top, so there’s a chance here for him to rise up.”

5) Our scouts think both quarterbacks are going to get drafted. And there are a fair number of similarities between the two, starting with the fact that TCU and Georgia tried to replace Max Duggan and Stetson Bennett, respectively, at points over the last few years. When I asked for a comp for Bennett, our first AFC exec joked, “The senior quarterback at Liberty High? … He ain’t big. He’s an athletic kid. He’s a gamer with feel and instincts and a good enough arm, not great. He may be Case Keenum, Colt McCoy, but he’s smaller than those guys.” And on Duggan, the exec continues that his floor would be as a long-term NFL backup. “The one thing you like about him, he’s athletic. He’ll run the ball, he’s tough, he knows when to tuck it,” the exec continues. “He’s a little bit of a streaky passer. He’ll get hot and connect on seven in a row and then he may miss four straight. I think he started 0-for-3 in the Michigan game and it’s like, Ooh. But then he settled in. He’s got that versatility where he can take off and he’s tough and he’s got a good feel. He’s smart. I think both of them are examples of fortitude and perseverance, which is why they’re in these moments right now. They’ve had to deal with adversity in their career.” And while we’re here, there is one fun, distinct difference between the two I was able to pick up. Duggan is seen as very serious, and very much a program guy. Bennett? Let’s just say his rep is as a guy who’s living the life most of the rest of us would if we were in his position. He’ll have a lot of memories from his time as the Georgia quarterback.

6) One thing that I think gets overlooked a little, to wrap things up here: the job Kirby Smart has done managing superstar recruits who have come into his program. He has found a way to deal with big egos and expectations, like his old boss, Nick Saban, has forever at Alabama. Carter and Ringo are two examples of guys who’ll be looked at hard from a character standpoint by NFL teams, with scouts knowing the sort of job Smart’s done handling that (and maybe wondering whether those guys will be as manageable in the NFL). “It’s not fatal character stuff,” says our first AFC exec. “I’ve had people tell me Ringo’s not a bad kid, he just frustrates the hell out of you. And Carter, I don’t know if he’s malicious, it’s nothing criminal, but he’s not easy to coach.” And Smart has made it work, and built a championship program by finding a way to handle top talent, and he deserves a lot of credit for it, with his second national title probably coming Monday night.

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