Joel Buchsbaum's college notepad

By Joel Buchsbaum, Contributing editor
Sept. 18, 2001

• RB Cedric Cobbs of Arkansas has 27 carries for only 40 yards through two games so far this season.

• >Washington State’s Nakoa McElrath has emerged as a big-play maker after a year of obscurity in Pullman. In two games thus far, he’s caught 18 passes for 351 yards and five touchdowns.

• It appears as if North Carolina A&T OG Quasim Mitchell will be eligible for next year’s draft. With his awesome size and potential, he could be a high draft pick.

• Miami (Fla.) CB Mike Rumph looks like an overrated player to this point this season, as does South Carolina CB Sheldon Brown. However, one cornerback who is playing very well is Miami’s junior CB Phillip Buchanon. He looks like one of the best, if not the best, cover corners in the country.

• Patrick Ramsey of Tulane is one of the better senior quarterbacks in the country, but Tulane is going nowhere, and the Green Wave has a super young quarterback in sophomore J.P. Losman, which means Ramsey could eventually lose his job through no fault of his own.

• Pete Carroll’s vow coming into Southern Cal was to improve the defense, especially the run defense. Kansas State ran all over USC for 340 yards, but obviously it’s still very early.

• Michigan State was very disappointing last year, as the Spartans failed to even make a bowl game in a year many believed they had the talent to go to the Rose Bowl. Fundamentals are a big part of the game, and already in one game this year, the Spartans had four punts blocked, which is not a good thing if you’re a coach.

• Wisconsin’s Lee Evans has stepped up to the point where he and Michigan’s Marquise Walker probably will be the two best wide receivers in the Big Ten this year. Evans is fearless going over the middle and has shown the type of big-time talent very few Badger receivers have shown. He looks even better than Chris Chambers did last year, though he doesn’t have Chambers’ speed.

• It looks as if Virginia RB Antwoine Womack’s ankle injury is so severe, he may miss the entire season.

• Brandon Doman, the quarterback at Brigham Young who was just a part-time player last year, has really stepped up big-time this season and could be a possible draft pick despite his average arm strength and lack of size. In a recent game against Cal, he threw for three touchdowns and ran for three more.

• North Carolina DE Julius Peppers has as much athletic ability and talent as anyone in the country, but he still has to learn how to use his hands much better in order to shed blocks easier. On potential alone, however, he could be a very high first-round draft pick.

• Texas WR Montrell Flowers suffered a lacerated kidney a few weeks ago. When they went in to check on him, they discovered that he did not have a second functioning kidney. Thus, his football career is over.

• Nebraska's Jason Lohr had knee surgery and probably will redshirt.

• Talk about hard-luck stories, Florida State RB Davy Ford has never been able to stay healthy. He recently hurt his knee again and had to have surgery, which probably ended his college career.

• The Washington Huskies finally may have the big-play wide receiver they’ve been looking for in super freshman Reggie Williams. He appears to have the most talent of any Washington receiver in recent memory, and he stepped up with a big game against Michigan coming out of the chute.

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2001 - 2002 Season