College Stars and their Professional Counterparts.
As football season goes into full swing I started thinking to myself "which college players most closely resemble pro players?" This piece is not about which prospect will have the best career at the next level, it is more about similar skill level, traits and size. Starting it off with the most intriguing player of the whole class Jabrill Peppers. Most people are not quite sure what position Mr. Peppers is going to play in the NFL and that adds immense value. Peppers has played nearly every position for the Wolverines except kicker and long snapper. Peppers uses his speed, quickness and football IQ to be a consistent playmaker at whatever position he is needed at. NFL Counterpart: Charles Woodson.
Moving onto the Quarterback who's stock continues to rise, Mitch Trubisky. The one they call "Mr. Biscuits" is a unique player, he does not have any physical traits that stand out, nor does he have a top 25 team behind him. The thing that Mr. Biscuits does have is efficiency. Trubisky is an extremely smart player who never tries too much and rarely makes mistakes. NFL Counterpart: Andy Dalton
This player may be the most electric player in the whole country. Deshaun Watson. Watson started the season as the consensus number one quarterback but has seen his projections fall of a cliff, but the results are extremely varied. The easy comparison here is Marcus Mariota, but I do not see it that way. Mariota was clear cut a top 2 pick where as nobody really has any idea of where Watson is gonna get drafted. Some projections still have Watson going number one overall, while others do not even having him in the first round. Regardless of what anybody says, Watson is still a joy to watch. A true dual threat QB who uses his legs just as much as his cannon. Time will tell if Watson can have as sucsessful of a career as his comparison, but both of them have roughly the same skill set. NFL counterpart: Colin Kaepernick.
The last one of these comparisons that I am going to do is Curtis Samuel . Samuel might be the most unique offensive player College Football has seen in a while. The thing about Samuel is that he does not really have a set position, he just finds ways to make plays on the offensive end. Samuel is the number one running back and receving option for the Buckeyes so it seems only fitting that his NFL comparison is a Buckeye. Samuel and his comparison are both elite level half backs who also help out their team a lot by receving the ball and blocking well. NFL Counterpart: Ezekiel Elliot.