Week 6 SCOUTING NOTEBOOK: Cam Ward's comeback, Ricky White and more

By Jack Brentnall

Week 6 was one of the most unpredictable weeks we’ve seen at the college football level for quite some time.

In amongst all the chaos were some noteworthy performances from NFL Draft prospects. Here are a few of the things that caught my eye.

Cam Ward leads another comeback, but concerns remain

After an impressive fourth quarter comeback against Virginia Tech in Week 5, Miami decided to one-up themselves this week against Cal, overcoming a 25-point deficit to come away victorious and maintain their unbeaten start to the season.

Unsurprisingly, much of the post-game praise fell on quarterback Cam Ward, who seems to be fast becoming draftniks’ quarterback darling. 

It’s easy to see why people are so enamoured with Ward as a prospect. His live arm and tendency to churn out highlight reel throws is the sort of stuff that gets you out of your seat on a Saturday. You don’t have to work very hard to find a way to paint him as the saviour of what is an otherwise lacklustre quarterback class.

Those outlandish throws were on display again this weekend and were a big part of the reason the Hurricanes were able to get back into the game. But just like in the Virginia Tech game, there were some real stinkers too. Going back and watching the film it is clear that Ward still has some way to go as an NFL prospect. For every jaw-dropping dime downfield, there’s a head-scratching decision to counteract it.

These plays were always part of Ward’s game – if you ever watched him during his time at Washington State you’ll be well aware. Through the first four games of the season, Ward did a pretty good job of minimising those throws, but they’ve begun to creep back in. 

Through the first four games of the season, PFF charted Ward with just two-turnover worthy plays on 135 dropbacks. In the last two weeks he has had five on 107 dropbacks. For you mathematicians out there, you’ll notice that’s more than a threefold increase.

The most egregious play this weekend was a classic case of Ward trying to do too much, rolling out of the pocket on first down and firing a throw late across his body, straight into the arms of a waiting defender who took it for a touchdown.

When projecting to the NFL, it is always important to look beyond those otherworldly out of structure highlights and try and find some consistency. Ward has shown this season that he can work through his progressions and make difficult NFL throws from the pocket. Whether he can live by those throws down-to-down and take what the defense gives him is what will dictate whether he succeeds at the next level.

Donovan Ezeiruaka’s breakout season continues

Boston College will have been disappointed to lose against Virginia, but they couldn’t have asked for much more from edge rusher Donovan Ezeiruaka.

The senior had another strong outing in what is fast becoming a breakout 2024 season. He was a consistently disruptive force in the trenches against the Cavaliers and finished the game with nine pressures on 32 pass rushing snaps. He also contributed six defensive stops.

Entering the season, the question facing Ezeiruaka was whether or not he could successfully develop as a technician. The early signs are encouraging and his pass rushing arsenal was on full display against Virginia, deploying a range of moves including the swim and the spin.

As things stand, Ezeiruaka leads the country with 26 pressures and he leads all edge rushers with 24 defensive stops. With that sort of production and his impressive length – Senior Bowl director Jim Nagy reports him as having 34 ⅝” arms – he is playing his way into day two contention.

Another running back you need to know

It feels like I’m picking out a different running back to highlight every week at this point, but that just speaks to the depth of the position in this year’s class. This week I wanted to highlight Arizona State’s Cameron Skattebo.

The fifth-year senior has been excellent so far this season and he had another strong outing this weekend against Kansas. Skattebo finished the game with 26 carries for 183 yards and a touchdown, whilst adding two catches for 19 yards as a receiver.

Through five games, Skattebo now has 616 yards and six touchdowns on 112 carries, with another 209 yards as a receiver. He ranks fifth amongst Power Four backs in both forced missed tackles and explosive runs.

He might not be the fastest open field runner, but at 5’11” and 215 lbs he has NFL size and physicality. His tough-as-nails running style is also perfectly suited for a league that is moving more and more towards downhill gap-heavy run games.

Skattebo’s game-to-game consistency has been hindered by a poor Sun Devils offensive line, but scouts will still want to see him improve this as the season goes on. Next week’s game against Utah should be a great test.

Take a bow Ricky White

Matthew Sluka’s decision to depart UNLV midseason over alleged broken NIL promises didn’t cover the Rebels in glory, but it certainly seems to have got the best out of wide receiver Ricky White.

In 2023, White had ranked third in the country in receiving yards and second in yards per route run, but through the first three weeks of the season he was noticeably quiet. He had just 11 yards against Houston and had just four against Kansas in Week 3. His only good game came against FCS competition in Utah Tech.

The emergence of Hajj-Malik Williams at quarterback has worked wonders for White, who has topped 100 yards in each of his last two games. Against Syracuse this weekend he had his best game of the season so far with 10 catches for 135 yards and a touchdown. He also made an impact on special teams, with his second blocked punt of the season.

If things continue the way they are, White’s production could go supernova. UNLV is clearly trying to funnel him the football and he accounts for 52.3% of their targets and 59.5% of their receiving yards in the last two games.

White might not be the biggest or fastest receiver in the country, but his impressive track record of production paired with some outstanding ball skills and special teams ability means he should hear his name called when the draft rolls around. If he keeps playing like he did against Syracuse at the weekend, he’ll only keep rising up boards.

JACK BRENTNALL

HEAD OF NFL DRAFT CONTENT

Previously the founder of The Jet Sweep, Jack joined The Touchdown as head of Draft Content in 2024. A Scouting Academy alumnus, Jack has been Covering the NFL Draft since 2020. Follow him on Twitter @Jack_Brentnall.

5/5