Saturday morning, I settled near a television, a laptop, an iPhone and a tablet to monitor as much college football as technology and my eyes allowed. With blazing starts from offenses like West Virginia's and East Carolina's, it didn't take long for some wide receivers to jump out. That's where we'll keep our focus in the third week of the Draft Watch.
Kevin White, West Virginia:The 6-foot-3, 209-pounder has ample size, but showed off his speed on a screen pass for a 44-yard touchdown that helped the Mountaineers grab a 21-3 lead at Maryland.
White's improvement from last year has been massive; he runs better routes and is more decisive with the football in the open field. His 13-catch, 216-yard performance against the Terrapins came two weeks after a breakout nine-catch, 143-yard, one-touchdown day against Alabama in the season opener.
West Virginia's offense is receiver-friendly, but White also has the size measurables that some past WVU prospects like Tavon Auston and Stedman Bailey lacked.
Justin Hardy, East Carolina:After posting back-to-back seasons with at least 1,100 yards -- and 114 catches last year -- the speedy 5-foot-11, 186-pounder has yet to catch fire, and was limited to four receptions for 47 yards against Virginia Tech.
So far this season, Hardy has 267 yards on 23 catches -- with no play longer than 23 yards. But it was a tour de force for quarterback Shane Carden, who quickly read Virginia Tech's man-to-man coverage, exposed it and continued to dice it up when the Hokies did not adapt. Virginia Tech managed to take away Hardy, but not his other targets.
Hardy's teammate, Cam Worthy, had a more productive game against the Hokies; the 6-foot-3, 220-pound senior averaged 37.3 yards on his six receptions Saturday. His 224-yard total nearly matched his 295-yard season output last year. He has good athletic measurables, but is raw, and his performance last week might be a fluke. But if it's not, his stock should rise.
Phillip Dorsett, Miami (Fla.):The question for the 5-foot-10, 185-pound mid-round prospect was how he would recover from the torn medial collateral ligament that ended his junior season. He was limited to 83 yards on four catches in the first two games -- including just one for 39 yards against Louisville -- but torched Arkansas State for 201 yards on four catches last week.
His speed appears all the way back. According to the Palm Beach Post, Dorsett had an average 4.21-second 40-yard dash time on timing day this summer, with a low of 4.16 seconds.
Matt Miller, Boise State:A two-touchdown performance against Connecticut continued yet another strong start for the prolific 6-foot-2, 222-pound receiver. Barring injury, Miller should have yet another productive season; he already has 235 career receptions for 2,897 yards and 29 touchdowns. But his draft slot could be determined by whether he can shave a tenth of a second or two off his 40-yard dash time, which has hovered between 4.5 and 4.7 seconds.
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