Summer afternoon; summer afternoon; to me, those have always been the two most beautiful words in the English language.
– Henry James, writer
JaMario Clements (5’11″, 205), Wake Forest, RB
Clements, an unranked high school prospect from Lafayette, GA, joined Wake Forest this spring after a productive campaign with the Duquesne Dukes. There, he rushed for 986 yards and six TDs on 150 carries. He also caught five passes for 29 yards.
I’m all in on WF workhorse Demond Claiborne this season, and I believe he’ll be in-line for another heavy workload in 2025, but Clements could be a nuclear option as an unknown handcuff behind him. It’s also possible that he cuts into Claiborne’s rush share more than most expect, which would be unfortunate for his CFF stock.
From a dynasty perspective, Clements is listed as junior, as he’s played only three seasons of four games or more. So, if he plays more than four games with WF in 2025, that’ll close the book on his career. On the other hand, if he doesn’t achieve that feat, he could be a next-in-line type of player for what may end up being a productive backfield in 2026.
It remains to be seen what the new staff at WF wants to do on offence, but it’s expected Claiborne will be relied on heavily this year as the Deacons’ best player by far.
Jaylen Bonelli (5’11″, 160), Arkansas State, WR
Bonelli was a first-team All-American Freshmen FCS selection in 2023 during his first season with Wagner. In 2024, he tallied 732 receiving yards and five touchdowns on 50 receptions.
Formerly of America’s #1 high school for producing NFL talent, St. Thomas Aquinas, Bonelli was remarkably an unranked prospect coming out of high school, but interestingly, 247Sports lists Florida as an offer on his recruiting profile.
Arkansas State returns their star receiver Corey Rucker, who will presumably be WR1 again in 2025. However, they are replacing some of the other bodies in the room, namely Courtney Jackson, who caught 42 passes for 494 yards and two scores. Not incredible, but QB Jaylen Raynor will also be entering his third year of starting, and prognosticators have been expecting a breakout year any day now from him, which would have downstream effects in the WR room.
Bonelli has two seasons of eligibility left, so even if he fails to make an impact in 2025, he could be well-positioned in 2026.
CharMar Brown (5’11″, 215), Miami, RB
Brown is probably my favourite of the three transfers covered today. He was a true freshman last year at North Dakota State (FCS), where he went apeshit, rushing for 1,181 yards and 15 TDs on 244 carries. His receiving usage was minimal, as he caught six passes for 57 yards.
Miami’s backfield is in flux this offseason after having to replace Damien Martinez from a year ago, who somehow rushed for 1,002 yards and 10 scores despite very shoddy and inconsistent usage.
I don’t believe this staff wants to have one bellcow, as evidenced by their collective histories, so that caps the upside of any player who becomes the Miami RB1. However, as evidenced by Martinez, there can still be some value at a cheap enough entry point,
Brown is currently undrafted in 30-round bestball formats, making him a cheap dart-throw option with legitimate RB1 upside. He contends with last year’s RB2 Mark Fletcher, who played at one of America’s top high school programs near St. Thomas Aquinas: American Heritage in Fort Lauderdale, FL.
Jordan Lyle is another one in the room, and he, like Bonelli, played at St. Thomas Aquinas before graduating to Miami in the class of 2024. He had some notable performances as a true freshman and is likely to be just as involved in year two as last year.
I imagine all three players will drink from the same milkshake in 2025, but at least one will probably transfer out next offseason. At the current juncture, it’s hard to know Brown’s potential, as all we know is that he dominated the FCS as a true freshman.
What I find most impressive is that Brown immediately became the guy at a top FCS program, NDSU. The offensive line and offense were likely dominant at the FCS level, so Brown’s season stats should be taken with a grain of salt.
However, that being said, Brown became NDSU’s first RB to top 1,000 yards rushing since at least 2017 (stats I was looking at stopped being recorded). That has more to do with NDSU spreading the love in the backfield, but it’s probably all the more impressive that Brown became the first Bison RB in several years to hit 200+ carries.
Before you ask, the current head coach of NDSU has been there since 2023, but there was a different OC in 2024. So perhaps his influence (he’s now the RBs coach at ISU) had something to do with the increase in usage, too.
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