Life is full of surprises.
– John Major, politician
Note: I’m using five point passing TD scoring as a middle ground between four and six point formats, which I believe are the most commonly used amongst CFFers.
- Thomas Castellanos (FSU) — It’s a match made in heaven, isn’t it? Castellanos is a good runner, and his new OC, Gus Malzahn, has a history of getting the best out of dual-threat QBs, notably John Rhys Plumlee at UCF not long ago. I wonder how FSU will rebound this year after a disastrous season in 2024. Amazingly, Castellanos may actually be downgrading in WR talent from Boston College to Florida State. Tell me if you ever thought you’d hear that sentiment uttered in your life.
- Caden Veltkamp (FAU) — Veltkamp had a solid season in 2024, averaging 20 PPG. However, it was a disappointing year by WKU QB standards, and he transferred to FAU in the offseason to reunite with a former WKU OC in Zach Kittley, who became famous in the CFF world for his work with Bailey Zappe. It should be noted that Kittley failed to recreate that success in his three years at Texas Tech, but maybe a step down in competition is just what the doctor ordered for him. What will be interesting to monitor is who Kittley’s preferred slot receiver turns out to be. Early money is on Easton Messer. A stack combo of he and Veltkamp will be popular in drafts.
- Jaylen Henderson (WVU) — We won’t know who the starter under Rich Rod is for WVU for quite some time, but I’m just picking Henderson for now because I’m most familiar with him. When you look at what Tyler Huff did last year at Jax State with RRod (top 10 QB), it’s clear that if there is a capable runner at QB in this system, there can be a lot of value for drafters. Experienced CFB fans will also recall Pat White’s success under RichRod in the 2000s during his first stint. The point is, keep your eyes peeled here.
- Reese Poffenbarger (UNT) — Similar to WVU, I’m just going to plant a flag on Poff here for the time being. Poffenbarger has one year of eligibility left, and the former FCS transfer wasted a season behind Cam Ward at Miami last year. We don’t know how good he’ll be at the FBS level, as he was a backup in 2024, but he was a productive FCS player at Albany. The system he potentially inherits at UNT is strong (think Chandler Rogers and Chandler Morris in 2023 and 2024, respectively).
- Braylon Braxton (SMiss) — Braxton showed once again what he can do at his high end vs. ODU and App State last year. He’s a good runner and a good enough passer at the G5 level. He’s also playing under his former coach at Marshall, so there’s familiarity there. It’s not guaranteed, but it is assumed that Braxton will be the starter once again under Charles Huff for SMiss. He got an upgrade at OC this year with former Utah State HC Blake Anderson joining the fold. Color me intrigued!
- Rickie Collins (SYR) — Collins is an interesting player coming in by way of LSU. We haven’t seen much of him, so there’s little to comment on. However, ‘Cuse went out of their way to get him this offseason, and they are replacing a productive player in Kyle McCord. If the Orange continues to throw the ball 40+ times a game as they often did with McCord, then there could be some nice value here at the end of drafts via Collins.
In addition to my work at C2C, you can find more of my work here.
