College Football Sleepers for the 2022 Season

 

In the coming weeks and months, I’m going to be highlighting players that are currently flying under the radar. I think I have a problem, I love sleepers more than anyone else on the planet. I’ve compiled a huge list of college players to watch this year. There are the big name players from the big name schools, but there’s also my breakout candidates. This is going to be the first article about “small school” college players to watch this upcoming college football season. 

 

Alabama A&M


Let’s take a trip to Huntsville, Alabama and check in on Alabama A&M. The Bulldogs currently play in the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC), which is a conference in the FCS, formerly 1AA football. Alabama A&M is an HBCU, and has recently produced NFL talent including a guy named Robert Mathis. The Bulldogs stood out as they have two players that I’m going to be keeping an eye on this season. Jeremiah Payton and Marquez Beason are both very intriguing players. Will they break out? I can’t say for sure, but I can guarantee they have everything necessary to be big time NFL players. 

 

Jeremiah Payton

 

Jeremiah Payton is a tall, lanky wide receiver with mouth watering ability. He is very quick in his cuts and movements. Payton is versatile, he can play outside or in the slot. His hands are excellent and he displayed those hands in traffic regularly. Payton initially committed to the University of Miami before transferring to Alabama A&M in 2021. He was the number ten receiver in the nation, number nine overall player in Florida and 54th best player in the nation. In addition to Miami, Payton also had offers from Arkansas, NC State, Oregon, Minnesota, Tennessee, Auburn, Florida State and Alabama. He had his choice of power five schools. With the emergence of HBCU schools, I can’t wait to see what Payton does.

Payton has six catches for 58 yards from his time at Miami. I think he’s too good to stay hidden for one more year. I expect him to contribute early and often for the Bulldogs this coming year. He really has everything you look for in a wide receiver. Payton was even a good blocker in high school. He can really do it all and it’s going to be exciting to watch this year.

 

Marquez Beason

 

Will fellow transfer Marquez Beason be playing on the same side of the ball as Jeremiah Payton? Maybe. You know what’s a good way to get my attention? Being a two way player like Beason. Is he a wide receiver? Is he a cornerback? He’s an athlete, that’s for sure. Beason was the fifth best athlete in the entire nation according to 247. It does appear that Beason will be joining Payton in the wide receiver room at Alabama A&M. Beason came to the Bulldogs from the Illinois Illini. He looked very strong in spring practices and even started two games at Illinois. He also had offers from USC, UCF, Arizona State, LSU, Ohio State, Florida State and the University of Oregon just to name a few. 

There’s a huge elephant in the room with Beason though, his health. If Beason stayed healthy, he would have likely gone pro and been a high pick in this past NFL Draft. Injuries have really slowed Beason’s career down, but he looks to be fully healthy now. Beason needs to show he can stay healthy and make a position change. That’s a lot for anyone, but he looked sooooooooo good in his limited time on the field at Illinois. I don’t think you can teach what Beason has. If he stays healthy, look out, he’s one of my guys.

 

Final Thoughts on College Football Breakout Players

 

Two wide receivers from Alabama A&M, this is how I love starting my scouting season. We’re gonna be going deep here folks, get ready to read about sleepers, breakout candidates and big names. If you read DraftDive, you’ll be a college football expert before the season even starts.