By: Ryan Moreland (@ryanmoreland)
The CFSL’s second-ever Three-Star Draft is just a couple of nights away. While some may believe this is a place for teams just to add depth, last season showed us that drafted players can impact their teams. Here are just a few examples to highlight this.
Strong Safety Billy Davis was the second overall pick in the Season 22 Three-Star Draft. He was taken by West Virginia and had a major impact on their defense. He finished the season with 63 tackles, 7 TFLS, 4 PDs, and an interception.
Ryker Repko was seen as one of the best defensive linemen heading into the draft, so Penn State had to be stoked when he fell to them at the #10 overall pick. Repko did not disappoint. He had 9 sacks last season, which was tied for the fifth most of any player in Season 22. His fantastic season was rewarded with a Freshman of the Year nomination.
And it wasn’t just the first-rounders that had major impacts. Second-rounders like Tyrell Lawson (had 3 interceptions for Texas) and Mykel Stevenson (had 68 tackles and 10 TFLs for Colorado) shone early. Miami took Bill Cruz with the 45th pick, and he was one of only four players to have double-digit sacks last season.
And the big names kept coming. West Virginia struck gold again with the 74th overall pick by taking MLB Brandon Carr, who went on to have 70 tackles for them last season. Alabama took wideout Kolby Coffey with the 87th pick, and he had 597 receiving yards and four touchdowns for the Tide.
A pair of great players were taken late in the draft and made huge impacts on the teams that played in the National Championship Game. Texas A&M found a diamond in the rough at pick #91 with WR Anthony Weston. Weston had 843 receiving yards and six receiving touchdowns, including 164 receiving yards in the Natty.
Miami had the same luck with CB Jack Jones, whom they took with the 153rd pick. Jones had 7 interceptions last season, which was the third most in the league. This includes a pair of pick-sixes he had in the National Championship Game.
There were impact players even at the end of the draft. Notre Dame landed WR Rowan Perez with the second-to-last pick (#293). Perez had over 400 receiving yards last season for the Irish.
For all of you headed into the draft, don’t sweat if your name starts dropping. Last season proved to us that there are great players to be had in every round of the draft. Best of luck to all the players on the draft board in Season 23!
