4 Cowboys prospects to watch in USC-Utah matchup
As we put a bow on another fantastic college football season the last week of the regular season didn’t disappoint us as we saw a handful of top ten teams fall along with some exciting finishes to rivalry games. Now that championship weekend is upon us, we have a clearer picture as to how the teams in contention will make the College Football Playoff.
Everyone loves a good rematch, and it appears USC is one win away from punching their ticket to the College Football Playoff, the only thing standing in their way is a Utah team who defeated them 43-42 earlier in the season.
Utah is looking to ruin USC’s redemption story and repeat as PAC-12 champions, punching their own ticket to a New Year’s Six bowl. If they can, it will likely be a second straight Rose Bowl appearance.
Today we take a look at the four most impactful, draft eligible players in Friday night’s PAC-12 Championship battle between (4) USC Trojans and the (11) Utah Utes, along with why the Cowboys will be keeping a close eye on these prospects leading up to the draft.
Utah | CB Clark Phillips
Cornerback
Height: 5-foot-10
Weight: 183
Class: Junior
Phillips has quickly established himself as one of the best cornerbacks in the nation and is a finalist for the Jim Thorpe award (best defensive back in the nation). Phillips has started every game since he has arrived on campus (30). While weighing in a 5-foot-10, 183 pounds he has a very defined physique. Phillips does an excellent job staying in-phase mid-route and can effectively make plays in either man or zone.
Phillips possesses good ball skills with eight career interceptions. Not only can he take the ball away, but once he does, he has the playmaking ability to turn turnovers into touchdowns. He is the only active player in the PAC-12 with four career Pick-6s. So far this season Phillips has 21 tackles, two tackles for loss, one sack, five interceptions, and eight passes defended. Phillips has positioned himself to be one of the first corners off the board when the drafts rolls around in April.
With Anthony Brown set to hit free agency, and only one year remaining on Jourdan Lewis’ deal there are some questions that will need to be answered at the position. Brown has struggled giving up explosive plays and his inability to find and locate the ball has been a reoccurring problem throughout his career. Phillips may not be the prototype for the position but what he lacks in size he makes up his competitive nature, natural ball skills and high football intelligence.
USC | TE Dalton Kincaid
Height: 6-foot-4
Weight: 240
Class: Senior
The John Mackey Award semifinalist leads all PAC-12 tight ends with seven touchdowns and leads the Utes with 13.0 yards per catch. Kincaid put the world on notice with his exceptional game versus USC when he had 16 catches on 16 targets for 234 yards and a score, and now he gets a chance to replicate that with the PAC-12 Championship on the line.
Kincaid projects as an F-tight end in the pros, one who can create mismatch opportunities from the slot versus linebackers with his speed and also take advantage of smaller defensives backs with his size and RAC ability.
According to PFF, Kincaid has a 90.7 receiving grade the highest among tight ends in the FBS. He is a good athlete that can create after the catch and is sure handed. Don’t be surprised if Kincaid is the first Senior tight end drafted next year.
Lunda Wells (Cowboys tight-end coach) deserves a ton of credit for the progression of this tight end group and those guys have done an excellent job working with each other on and off the field. The Cowboys love what they have in rookies Peyton Hendershot and Jake Ferguson but it’s likely that Dalton Schultz gets a lucrative contract from another team when he hits free agency that the Cowboys won’t be able to or choose not to match. That would leave the Cowboys with a need for a pure pass catcher and Kincaid would be the perfect F-tight end to step in and be a mismatch weapon in the middle of the field.
USC | WR Jordan Addison
Wide Receiver
Height: 6-foot
Weight: 175 pounds
Class: Junior
Addison followed up his Biletnikoff Award winning season with another highly productive and effective showing in 2022. Addison quickly established himself as the No. 1 receiver in the Trojan offense, and has had a strong chemistry with sensational sophomore quarterback Caleb Williams. He was a huge get for the Trojans from the transfer portal and has been a huge reason for their quick turnaround.
Addison is a precise route runner with excellent mechanics making him a very difficult one-on-one cover. His ability to gear down and get in and out of his breaks makes him a very QB-friendly target. He has good top end speed to create explosives over-the-top and on short and intermediate routes he is subtle and shifty with the ball in his hands to create yards after the catch.
Addison will get dinged for his size (6-foot, 175 pounds) despite that fact, he is firmly in the race to be one of the first receivers taken in next year’s draft. The belief is some teams will see his as a slot only player because of his size and that could affect where he is taken.
The draft is a fluid process and what may seem like a strength of the roster now by next April could be a glaring need. The receiver position since Prescott’s return has been trending up. CeeDee Lamb has solidified his claim as the No. 1 receiver. Michael Gallup has been impressive over the last few weeks with some big-time catches.
Adding a player like Addison would be a great fit with what’s already on the roster.
USC | DT Tuli Tuipulotu
Height: 6-foot-4
Weight: 290
Class: Junior
Tuipulotu leads the nation in sacks with 12.5 and has been a force playing up and down that Trojan defensive line. Along with that he has three passes defensed, two forced fumbles and he ranks second in the FBS with 20 tackles for loss. Tuipulotu has not only been a game wrecker when it comes to getting after the quarterback but has lived in the opposing team’s backfield all year long. With all of the on-field production it’s no surprise he is a finalist for The Chuck Bednarik Award (defensive player of the year) and the Nagurski Award (DPOY voted by the Football Writers Association).
Tuipulotu is a skilled rusher who uses his relentless motor and reactive hands to win quickly both as a pass rusher and a run defender. Tuipulotu can play multiple positions along the line and has the size and length to play in an odd or even front. Tuipulotu won’t be an elite tester but what he lacks in athleticism he makes up with his motor and competitiveness.
After the struggles this year against the run it would be wise for the Cowboys to invest in defensive lineman who can not only rush from a multitude of alignments but who has the size, length and power to set the edge and do the dirty work as a run defender to go along with the heat seeking missiles, they currently have on the roster. Tuipulotu would make for a great mid-round addition who could earn his way into the rotation early in his rookie campaign.
