What a way to open up the first weekend of college football. Michigan State and Penn State both survived upset scares, Stanford had four touchdowns that didn’t come from Bryce Love, and Maryland pulled one over on Texas again. Now that we’ve seen what our teams can and can’t do, let’s look into some replacements for those gambles that didn’t quite pay off. Here are my CFF waiver wire adds and and All-Fantasy team for Week 1.
Week 1 CFF Waiver Wire Adds
Quarterbacks
Bryce Perkins, UVA
Ownership: 28%
Bryce Perkins is a guy I’ve mentioned before in my Impact JUCO list and it seems like he’s going to pull through in a big way. The former Arizona State quarterback took off for four total touchdowns with 185 yards passing and 108 on the ground. If they weren’t playing against Richmond the Junior likely would’ve finished with more. Perkins is the perfect fit for the Bronco Mendenhall offense and will continue to be a fantasy points machine if he can avoid injury.
Brady White, Memphis
Ownership: 11%
This one may come as a surprise considering it took him until last week to finally beat out David Moore for the top spot on the Memphis depth chart. White debuted with 358 yards and five touchdowns against Mercer in the Memphis home opener. Memphis relies on their offense to win games and there is no shortage of talent at the skill positions with Darrell Henderson, Damonte Coxie, and Patrick Taylor Jr. all at White’s disposal. Expect White to continue to throw touchdown passes at an above average rate all season long.
Zac Thomas, Appalachian State
Ownership: >5%
Call it a slight overreaction but Zac Thomas looked great against a Penn State team that some have pegged to win the Big Ten this season. I had Thomas pegged as a wait and see player after being named the starter, but a three-touchdown game against a top tier power five team makes him hard to pass up against an easier Sun Belt schedule. Thomas is a solid passer, but benefits from what he can do with his legs (43 yards and a score) which is important for most fantasy leagues. He’s also a sophomore which bodes well for Dynasty leagues in the long run.
Others to Consider
David Pindell UConn, >5%; Woody Barrett Kent State, >5%
Running Back
Michael Warren II, Cincinnati
Ownership: >5%
Cincinnati shocked the world by ruining Chip Kelly’s return to college football and Michael Warren II was a big reason why. The sophomore back took advantage of a lackluster UCLA rush defense and took 35 carries for 142 and three scores. Given that they relied so heavily on Warren II against one of the tougher opponents on their schedule, it’s safe to assume that he will see similar action on a week-to-week basis. Warren II is currently owned in less than 5 percent of leagues making him one of the hottest adds heading into Week 2 when the Bearcats take on Miami (OH).
Scottie Phillips, Ole Miss
Ownership: 9%
Yet another one of my top JUCO transfer players coming in on this list, Scottie Phillips took off against an experienced Texas Tech defense. Phillips’ 204 yards is currently the fourth most in the FBS for 2018 with the top two both being guys who benefitted from the week zero slate of games. Phil Longo will undoubtedly utilize Jordan Ta’Amu, but loves to run the running back which is something he did often with 1,000-yard rusher Jordan Wilkins a season ago.
Tim Jordan, Tennessee
Ownership: >1%
In a shocking development, Ty Chandler was not the lead back for the Tennessee Volunteers in their matchup against West Virginia. Tim Jordan came out on the field and took the initial snaps for the Vols and finished with 118 yards and a score on 20 carries. Tennessee is looking like a run-first team in 2018 under Jeremy Pruitt and Jordan is the bell cow. There is a tough slate of three games when Tennessee faces Georgia, Alabama, and Auburn, but his late-season schedule is incredibly soft. Grab Jordan while you can because his ownership is about to skyrocket.
Others to Consider
Nick Brosssette LSU, 5%; Jaqwis Dancy La Tech, 15%; DaLeon Ward TTU, 3%
Wide Receivers
Terren Encalade, Tulane
Ownership: 3%
Tulane’s game against Wake Forest was one of the better games on the Thursday slate and Terren Encalade was a big contributor for it. Encalade caught eight passes for 189 yards and two touchdowns. Tulane quarterback Jonathan Banks seems to highly favor the senior receiver considering 189 of Tulane’s 281 passing yards went to Encalade.
Rondale Moore, Purdue
Ownership: 5%
Jeff Brohm’s 2017 Boilermakers were defined by their defense and given the losses on that side of the ball, the offense has stepped up. Rondale Moore is the big name to know on the Boilermakers roster regardless of who plays quarterback, and he made that clear with double-digit receptions and over 100 receiving yards in a heart-breaking loss to Northwestern. Snatch up Moore now, especially in leagues with PPR formats.
Sean Modster, Boise State
Ownership: >5%
We all knew that one of those Boise State receivers were going to be a fantasy stud. This was one of the larger position battles all offseason and Sean Modster appears to have overcome Octavius Evans and AJ Richardson as the top dog for the Bronco’s. Modster is the least owned of the three (less than 1% ownership) and he caught seven passes for 167 yards and two touchdowns against a rather difficult Troy defense. If he can keep up this level of production, Modster could finish as a top-15 receiver by years end.
Others to Consider
Jamal Custis Syracuse, 1%; Scott Miller BGSU, 22%; Quez Watkins SMiss, 7%
Tight End
Jace Sternberger, Texas A&M
Ownership: 21%
Yet another CFF waiver wire add from my top JUCO-transfers list, Jace Sternberger made a splash by catching eight passes for over 100 yards in the Aggie Spring game. He followed up that performance by leading all fantasy tight ends with 17 fantasy points in a non-PPR format. Sternberger caught five passes for 56 yards and two touchdowns against Northwestern State. This is his second big performance as an Aggie and it’s safe to assume that he will keep it up. The upcoming weeks will be rough with Alabama and Clemson on the schedule, but he should be a stud going forward.
Kemari Averett, Louisville
Ownership: >5%
Louisville has utilized it’s tight ends in a key role multiple time over the past several seasons with Cole Hikutini. Jawon Pass hit Kemari Averett four times for thirty yards and a pair of touchdowns. Averett did this against Alabama who is notorious for its defenses and this is the hardest defensive squad he will go up against until he plays Clemson in Week 10. His red zone looks make Averett a must-add if you missed on a tight end in the draft.
All Week One Team
QB: Keytaon Thompson, Mississippi State; 56 fpts
QB: Justice Hansen, Arkansas State; 42 fpts
RB: Trayveon Williams, Texas A&M; 42 fpts
RB: Mike Weber, Ohio State; 42
WR: JJ Arcega-Whiteside, Stanford; 40
WR: D’Wayne Eskridge, Western Michigan; 36
WR: Terren Encalade, Tulane; 33
TE: Jace Sternberger, Texas A&M; 17
K: Chase McGrath, USC; 19
DST: Fresno State; 49
For more great College Fantasy Football information please check out CFF on Campus. Each Thursday Bogman, Laub, and Heisey preview the coming week’s schedule, go over the best CFF waiver wire adds, and provide plenty of fantasy nuggets to help keep you on top of your league.