Mock Draft Monday 9/9 '24
Legend
Legend
- NFL Draft ‘25 Build a Board
- Gongaza Hoops
- YouTube Rabbithole
Alright @YouTheReader,
Today’s tune is Legend by Drake because it’s my dad’s birthday and he’s a legend. It’s also the opening song on Drake’s mixtape album called If You’re Reading This It’s Too Late.
Rough weekend in terms of College Football picks…
…Mistakes were made. Lessons were learned. Back to the drawing board…
If you’re reading this it’s too late, Week to Week Notes has already done So Far Gone, Thank Me Later, Take Care, and Nothing Was The Same so we’re on to the next project every Monday this fall. To be honest, not having to think about a song to pick every Monday is very helpful, plus I grew up listening to these albums a ton.
If You’re Reading This It’s Too Late was a surprise project and was simply released by a Tweet.
I happen to remember where I was when it came out. It was a winter Thursday night (February 12) and I was up at school in Albany at a bar called The Smokin’ Bull. In my sophomore semester, surely I must’ve not had a class on Fridays. Anyway, I don’t have a legendary story, all I remember is going outside to The Smokin’ Bulls’ patio to listen to a few of the songs and then calling a few friends from home who were fans as well.
Ahh, such fond memories…
Thankfully by the time the Associated Press caught wind of The Smokin’ Bull, I was 21 on to greater pastures like WT’s and Pearl Street Pub…
On to some sports…
Back to building on to the ‘25 Draft Board, here’s what we got so far…
Dontay Corleone, DT, Cincinnati
Dontay Corleone is from Cincinnati, Ohio. As a senior at Colerain High School, Corleone was named the Greater Miami Conference Defensive Player of the Year, racking up 8 sacks that season. He decided to play for his hometown team and redshirted for the Cincinnati Bearcats in ‘21. As a redshirt freshman in '22, Corleone was rated one of the PFF College’s Top Rated Defensive Player as the underlying stats loved his game. He was named 1st Team All-AAC for his 45 tackles, 5.5 TFLs, 3 sacks, 2 fumble recoveries, and 2 forced fumbles in ‘22. “The Godfather” as he’s been nicknamed, backed up his strong start to his career with a ‘23 All-Big 12 2nd Team season. He finished with 39 tackles, 6.5 TFLs, 3 sacks, and a forced fumble. At 6’2” and 320 lbs., The Godfather is one of the top nose tackles in College Football. During the recent offseason, Corleone had a scare with blood clots in his lungs which forced him to miss the beginning of his junior year. This past Saturday, Dontay Corleone returned to the Gridiron as he racked up 6 tackles and a sack against Pittsburgh in his ‘24 debut.
Oronde Gadsden II, TE, Syracuse
Oronde Gadsden II is from Fort Lauderdale, Florida. His father, Oronde Gadsden, was an undrafted free agent who signed on to the Dallas Cowboys’ practice squad for their 1995 Super Bowl run. He credits Michael Irvin for teaching him how to play WR as he would eventually get an opportunity with the Miami Dolphins and Dan Marino as a 27-year-old rookie who enjoyed a 6-year NFL career with 227 receptions to go with 22 TDs. Oronde Gadsden’s son played for Patrick Surtain (Sr.) at American Heritage before choosing to head to Syracuse for college. He entered the Orange as a freshman WR in ‘21 as he played sparingly and only caught 2 passes while missing a few games with injury. Gadsden II returned as a sophomore and made a position change to TE. This move paid off big-time for him and the Orange as he put up a 1st Team All-ACC season with 61 catches for 969 yards along with 6 TDs. He led all the land in receiving yards amongst college TEs in ‘22. As a junior in ‘23, Gadsden II was expected to have yet another major season but was dealt with a major blow instead when he sustained a Lisfranc injury just 2 games in. The foot injury forced him to redshirt the remainder of the season. Oronde Gadsden II has returned for the ‘24 season as a redshirt junior. In his first 2 games back, he already has 13 catches for 201 receiving yards along and 3 TDs. At 6’5” and still with some speed WR speed, Oronde Gadsden II is an excellent receiving TE with NFL-pedigree.
Kyle Monangai, RB, Rutgers
Kyle Monangai is from Roseland, New Jersey, and played for Don Bosco Prep in Ramsey, NJ. At Don Bosco as a senior, the Jersey RB had over 900 rushing yards with 11 TDs on the ground and over 400 receiving yards with 5 TDs through the air. In ‘19 he was named 1st Team All-Bergen County by NJ.com and 2nd Team All-North Jersey by the Bergen Record. He chose to play for his home state school as a Scarlet Knight, where he redshirted in ‘20. He earned his first carries as a redshirt freshman in ‘21, finishing his season with 235 yards and 4 scores. As a sophomore in ‘22, Monangai took over the Rutgers’ starting job and had 109 carries for 445 yards with 2 TDs. His ‘23 junior season could be considered his breakout year as he was voted 2nd Team All-Big Ten, leading the conference in rushing yards with 1,262 yards. He became the first Scarlet Knight to rush for over 1k yards in over a decade and added 8 scores on the ground for the season while concluding it with the Pinstripe Bowl MVP at Yankee Stadium. The senior RB is off to a great start to his ‘24 season with 2 games combining for 46 carries and 373 rushing yards along with 4 TDs. He’s been named to the Academic All-Big Ten team on multiple occasions and is a back-to-back captain of the Rutgers program the past two seasons.
Jaylin Noel, WR, Iowa State
Jaylin Noel is from Kansas City, Missouri, where he was All-State as a high school senior. As a 3-star recruit, Noel picked Iowa State over offers from Nebraska, Iowa, Wisconsin, and Kansas State. As a freshman for the Cyclones, Jaylin Noel caught 39 passes for 269 yards while also doubling duties as the team’s primary returner. As a sophomore in ‘22, he continued his solid play with 60 receptions for 572 yards and 3 scores while maintaining his job as the returner as well. His ‘23 junior season could be considered his biggest breakout yet as Noel improved to 66 catches for 820 yards and 7 TDs. Noel became the first player in the FBS in nearly a decade to have four 50+ yard receptions, two 50-yard kick returns, and two 30-yard punt returns. This season as a senior, the 5’11” playmaker has already has 13 catches for 268 yards and 2 scores in 2 games, which included a 75-yard TD catch in Iowa State’s win over rival Iowa.
Kyle Kennard, Edge, South Carolina
Kyle Kennard is from the greater Atlanta, Georgia area. His first school out of high school was Georgia Tech where he made 42 appearances as a defensive end. His best season as a Yellow Jacket was his senior year in ‘23 where he led the team in TFLs (11) and sacks (6). This past offseason, Kyle Kennard transferred to the South Carolina Gamecocks. He immediately became a team leader at his new school, earning the South Carolina Spirit Award for their defense during spring workouts. In his 1st 2 games as a Gamecock, the 5th year graduate student is off to a great start with 3.5 sacks and 2 forced fumbles. Kennard and true freshman Dylan Stewart thus far are establishing themselves as a premier pass-rushing combination rushing off opposite ends.
Previewing possible College Basketball starting 5s for this upcoming season. So far it’s been Duke, UConn, St. John’s, Kansas, Alabama, and Houston. This week it’s the Gonzaga Bulldogs.
Graham Ike, C, Senior
Graham Ike is from Aurora, Colorado. He played high school hoops at Overland HS, where as a junior he averaged 17.6 points and 12 rebounds per game. His senior year was cut short due to injury and thus he was only recruited as a 3-star prospect entering college. His first stop in college was at Wyoming as he returned from injury towards the end of his freshman year to average 11.2 points and 5.4 rebounds in 12 games. His sophomore campaign at Wyoming would be his best as a Cowboy as he made 33 starts to average 19.5 points and 9.6 rebounds per game. This earned him 1st Team All-Mountain West recognition. Unfortunately for Ike, during the ‘22 offseason, he suffered a leg injury at practice which forced him to medically redshirt for the entire year. Graham Ike then decided to transfer to Gonzaga last season as he led the Bulldogs in scoring and rebounding with 16.5 ppg + 7.4 rpg. While certainly more of a post player, Ike can hit a 3-pointer shot if open (37% from 3 last season.) The honorable mention AP All-American and 1st Team All-WCC member is one of the best big men in college hoops.
Ryan Nembhard, PG, Senior
Ryan Nembhard is from Aurora, Ontario, Canada. In high school, he played at Montverde Academy in Florida while also representing Canadian Basketball in the Summer of ‘21. He helped guide Canada to a bronze medal at the FIBA U19 Basketball World Cup as he averaged 15.1 points, 6.7 assists, 3.7 rebounds and 1.4 steals in seven games. Out of high school, Nembhard’s first college stop was at Creighton. In his 2 seasons with the Blue Jays, he made 64 starts while averaging 11.8 points, 4.6 assists, and 3.6 rebounds per game. His immediate production earned him the Big East Freshman of the Year in ‘21-’22. Last season the 6’ point guard transferred to Gonzaga and again made an immediate impact on his new team. The All-WCC Conference PG averaged 12.6 points, 6.9 assists, 4 rebounds, and 1.2 steals per game. His 243 assists in ‘23-’24 set a new Gonzaga school record and he will look to match it as a senior.
Nolan Hickman, SG, Senior
Nolan Hickman is originally from Seattle, Washington, where he was a 5-star recruit and McDonald’s All-American. As a freshman at Gonzaga in ‘21-’22, Hickman came off the bench to average 5.1 points, 1.5 rebounds, and 1.3 assists per game while being named to the WCC All-Freshman Team. During his following season as a sophomore, Hickman was inserted into the Zags starting lineup and his numbers improved to 7.7 points, 3.1 assists, and 2.4 rebounds per game. Last season as a junior was the 6’2” guard’s best yet as his points jumped to 14 per game while shooting 41.3% from 3. Nolan Hickman was named 2nd Team All-WCC. The veteran combo guard makes up half of Gonzaga’s underrated backcourt.
Ben Gregg, PF, Senior
Ben Gregg is from Clackamas, Oregon, where he was named the Oregon Gatorade Player of the Year as a junior in high school. He graduated high school early, joining the Zags, and redshirting in ‘20. After 2 seasons coming off the bench, Gregg started 19 games for the Bulldogs last season. As a junior in ‘23-’24, Gregg averaged 9 points, 4.2 rebounds, and 1.2 steals per game while shooting 38% from beyond the arc. At 6’10”, Gregg can both man the paint defensively and spread the floor on offense. After doing hundreds of college player profiles, I’ve stumbled upon a cool and unique fact about Ben Gregg. He has a “Grandmas for Gregg” fan club. That’s right, The Evergreen Fountains Senior Living Community of Spokane Valley formed a fan club for Gregg in March of ‘23. One of the fan club’s leaders said, “We saw him and he was so tall and so handsome and so clean-cut.” The fan club consists of women ages 70 and up. It started when 93-year-old Marilyn was watching the Zags. "I said, 'Now there’s a boy I’d like to be my grandson. I’ll adopt him.' So, I started getting teased every time he was on the floor. They would say 'Marilyn, Marilyn, there’s Gregg…Everybody brings a liberation something from milk to martinis.” They also wear matching Grandmas For Greg jerseys with their own custom logo. After hearing about his fan club, Gregg visited the seniors and held a press conference. “This is quite the group of ladies. I was expecting a much smaller group, this is awesome. I had to get my own shirt to represent you. I appreciate each and every one of you. When I first heard of the group, I thought it was just my grandma and her nursing home, but to see it was someone else’s just goes to show the Zag community is so awesome. Love you guys.” Good stuff!
(Source of Grandmas for Gregg: KREM2)
Michael Ajayi, SF, Senior
