John Laub and Justin Heisey pull together and identify the top additions for the Week 3 College Fantasy Football Waiver Wire.
Quarterbacks
Kaleb Barker, Troy
Fantrax Ownerships Percentage: 25%
Troy and Southern Mississippi fashioned one of the most thrilling games all season with 89 points as the teams combined for over 1,000 yards passing. Kaleb Barker set a career-high with 504 yards and tied a career-best with four touchdowns. In Week 3 College Fantasy Football, he finished the week as the ninth-highest scoring signal-caller with over 39 points. Despite his memorable performance, he was disappointed in the results of the game. “I don’t know the stats and all that…I just know we lost,” Barker lamented in the montgomeryadvertiser.com.
A senior, the 6-foot-1, 206-pounder was on a historic pace at Troy last year before a knee injury ended his campaign in early October. He had thrown for 1,013 yards, rushed for 261 and totaled 13 touchdowns. In 2019, Barker has played even better. He has tossed six touchdowns and passed for 786 yards.
Over the next two weeks, Troy plays Akron and Arkansas State and both contests will provide plenty of opportunities for Barker to continue his ascent up the rankings. With upcoming bye weeks, meager performances and distressing injuries in college football, I have placed free agent tenders on the terrific Trojan triggerman. — John
James Blackman, Florida State
Fantrax Ownerships Percentage: 26%
Although still the size of a toothpick, James Blackman is filling the role of the Kendal Briles quarterback to a T. Blackman has thrived in three contests and posted nine passing touchdowns with another one on the ground. He’s also benefitting from throwing to a new and improved Cam Akers on check-downs and a surprisingly talented receiving corp.
Florida State takes on Louisville this week and Blackman should have another three-score game. The schedule really never picks up outside of the Clemson game and the Florida State defense hasn’t shown much promise in any matchup this season so the offense will be in high-scoring affairs. — Justin
Dillon Gabriel, UCF
Fantrax Ownerships Percentage: 11%
The year of the Freshman quarterback just incorporated another rising figure. In week 3, the UCF signal caller finished 16th among CFF QBs with over 34 fantasy points. He passed for 347 yards and four touchdowns to lead the Knights over the Cardinals 45-27. “He’s obviously got a ton of confidence. He’s unflappable,” Coach Josh Heupel said of Gabriel after the victory in the tampabay.com by Ryan Kolakowski.
Last year, Gabriel was the Gatorade Hawaii Player of the Year: He established a Hawaii high school career mark for passing yards with 9,948, which was previously held by Tua Tagovailoa. The Hawaii luminary also tossed 105 career touchdowns.
When the 2018 season kicked off, Brandon Wimbush opened the crusade atop the depth chart. However, Gabriel earned snaps in the 62-0 blowout over Florida A&M and has started the past two games. He has exceeded the most optimistic expectations with nine touchdowns and over 700 passing yards.
I don’t like the matchup against Pittsburgh on the road this Saturday, but it is the last Power Five team on the Knights’ schedule. Afterward, UCF hosts UConn and East Carolina over the following three games. Now, is the time to acquire Gabriel on your CFF roster. — John
Twitterverse on Fire!
Identify the Group of Five Quarterback that you are placing a priority waiver wire offer this week:
- Kaleb Barker, Troy: 11%
- Jack Abraham, Southern Mississippi: 8%
- Dillon Gabriel, UCF: 77%
- Other: 4%
John’s Vote: Dillon Gabriel
Running Backs
Brenden Knox, Marshall
Fantrax Ownerships Percentage: 18%
One of the many position battles that garnered CFF Expert’s attention this past offseason was the carry split between Brenden Knox and Tyler King. Well, King made that decision for himself by getting dismissed from the team this past week, and Knox capitalized on this loss with 133 yards and a score on 16 carries.
Knox is the main contributor for the Thundering Herd offense for now, and I for one am targeting him in whatever leagues I can grab him. If you are like me and need to replace a variety of running backs, Knox is your guy to target this week on the wire. — Justin
Darius Anderson, TCU
Fantrax Ownerships Percentage: 4%
Even though I live in the North East, I enjoy watching Big 12 football, and it has been an awesome Conference to maximize profits for College Fantasy Footballers over the past decade. For years, the Horned Frogs provided many weekly studs in lineups. Unfortunately, Coach Gary Patterson’s program slipped in the standings last year with a 7-6 record and non-existent fantasy-worthy starters.
So far, TCU has won both of their games while scoring 73 points. Against Purdue, Patterson wanted to control the clock and limit Purdue’s possession. Mission Accomplished! The Frogs rambled for 346 yards and scored three times on the ground in the 34-13 beat down of the Boilermakers. Darius Anderson paced his backfield mates with a career-high 179 yards and two touchdowns on only 16 carries. Among all running backs, he finished seventh with 32.2 fantasy points for the week.
Anderson played in 11 games as a freshman and has gained 1,366 yards with 11 touchdowns over the past two seasons. At 5-foot-11 and 212 pounds, the Senior is a smooth runner who runs well between the tackles but has not been able to stay on the field. Anderson looks healthy and ready to reach career highs across the board as TCU begins its Big-12 schedule in two weeks. — John
Kobe Lewis, Central Michigan
Fantrax Ownerships Percentage: 1%
I’m not sure exactly how long he is out, but Jonathan Ward is expected to be sidelined for a significant amount of time after sustaining an injury against Wisconsin. In his absence, Kobe Lewis took advantage of his opportunity against Akron and ran for 146 yards and two scores.
Jonathan Ward’s injury keeps the door open for Lewis who is the clear breadwinner in the Central Michigan offense. It also appears that the floodgates are opening with Memphis-transfer David Moore throwing for 300-plus yards last week as well. The Chippewas are about to be open for business on offense. — Justin
Isaiah Spiller, Texas A&M
Fantrax Ownerships Percentage: 33%
In highly competitive and deep leagues, Isaiah Spiller was likely plucked off waivers by shrewd CFF owners last week after the news that Jashaun Corbin’s season came to an end. If Spiller is still available, he is a must purchase now.
An Under Armour All-American last year, the Aggies rising star was named the 2017 and 2018 15-6A Offensive MVP in Texas. As a high school senior, he concluded a remarkable career with 1,493 rushing yards and 20 touchdowns, and during high school, he totaled 3,587 yards from scrimmage and 53 touchdowns. At 6-foot-1 and 220 pounds, Spiller possesses nearly every physical attribute—durability, size, vision, and burst—required to succeed in the SEC. He is also a good pass catcher with strong hands.
In two games this season, Spiller has exceeded the century mark with 106 versus Texas State and 116 against Lamar. He has also snatched 4 passes for 43 yards and scored twice. The schedule gets more difficult moving forward for Texas A&M as SEC play commences; nonetheless, I expect Spiller to continue earning the majority of carries and trampling opponents.
Wide Receivers
Andrew Parchment, Kansas
Fantrax Ownerships Percentage: 3%
While setting my DFS lineup on Friday afternoon, I noticed that Andrew Parchment provided salary relief on DraftKings. I placed the Kansas wideout on my roster and watched with glee as he burned Boston College all night with eight catches for 100 yards and two touchdowns. Immediately, I scanned the waiver wire in my CFF season-long leagues and noticed that only three percent of teams owned Parchment. I surmised that it was time to put in some bids.
Coach Les Miles has cajoled the Jayhawks to a 2-1 start after opening up the offense versus the Eagles and he has inspired his JUCO transfer to new heights. A prospect from Fort Lauderdale, Florida, Parchment enrolled at Northern Illinois for two seasons before transferring to Iowa Central Community College. Finally, the 6-foot-2 and 180-pound junior arrived at Kansas this year. “After everything that I have been through and with coach Miles taking a chance on me coming out of JUCO. I just thanked him for the opportunity for me being in this position. Blessed everything happened that way,” Parchment stated in kusports.com by Shane Jackson.
I remember the halcyon days of Jayhawk football under Coach Mark Mangino and a wide-open aerial assault piloted by QB Todd Reesing in 2007. Let’s hope that Coach Miles can continue to transform the program at Kansas back to fantasy prominence. College fantasy footballers should also take a chance on Parchment…I’m on board now. — John
WR Sam James, West Virginia
Fantrax Ownerships Percentage: 4%
I am the first one to admit my errors: I never thought the Mountaineers would beat the Wolfpack last Saturday after a beat-down against Missouri. I was so wrong (and my wallet is lighter for sure).
Why was I so incorrect? The West Virginia offense finally came to life after a sluggish start. Quarterback Austin Kendall tossed four touchdowns and guided the Mountaineers to 44 points in the victory. While Kendall ignited the passing game, Sam James lived up to the high expectations coaches placed on his shoulders at the beginning of the year.
He finally became the home run hitter new Coach Neal Brown projected. He burned the North Carolina State secondary with nine catches for 155 yards and a touchdown. A redshirt freshman, James leads the club in targets (32), catches (20) and yards (222). It is now time to acquire James before the masses catch on to his true value in Morgantown, WV.
Jaylond Adams, Southern Miss
Fantrax Ownerships Percentage: 6%
Jaylond Adams came on strong last week with two special team touchdowns and followed that up by leading the Eagles in receptions even with the talented Quez Watkins in the mix. Adams caught 11 passes for over a hundred yards in a thriller against Troy, and he’s got an excellent stretch of games after an obvious benching against Alabama.
Adams’ speed alone is enough for an add. He’s ownable in standard leagues and a must-own in leagues that account for return yards given that he went 89 yards in 11 seconds on a kick return last week. Adams is almost universally unowned and that will change drastically after this week. — Justin
Twitterverse on Fire!
Identify the most impressive receiver in college fantasy football over the weekend:
- Devonta Smith, Alabama: 21%
- Sam James, West Virginia: 47%
- Andrew Parchment, Kansas: 21%
- Other: 11%
John’s Vote: Andrew Parchment
Honorable Mention CFF Gemstones
- QB Anthony Russo, Temple
Fantrax Ownerships Percentage: 14% - RB Elijah Collins, Michigan State
Fantrax Ownerships Percentage: 14% - RB Khalil Herbert, Kansas
Fantrax Ownerships Percentage: 1% - RB Ty’Son Williams, BYU
Fantrax Ownerships Percentage: 11% - WR Johnny Johnson III, Oregon
Fantrax Ownerships Percentage: 3% - WR Brandon Arconado, Washington State
Fantrax Ownerships Percentage: 7% - WR Jadan Blue, Temple
Fantrax Ownerships Percentage: 8% - TE Xavier Gaines, Marshall
Fantrax Ownerships Percentage: 2%
The CFF All-Americans: Week 3
QB: Malcolm Perry, Navy: 55.1 points
QB: Ian Book, Notre Dame: 48.6 points
RB: Chuba Hubbard, Oklahoma State: 43.6 points
RB: Michael Warren, II, Cincinnati: 36.3 points
WR: Tyler Johnson, Minnesota: 37 points
WR: Quez Watkins, Southern Mississippi: 36.4 points
TE: Hunter Bryant, Washington: 20 points
FLEX: Kobe Lewis, Central Michigan: 36.8 points
Got another name for our Week 3 College Fantasy Football Waiver Wire? Let us know in the comments below. Also, check out our 2019 College Fantasy Football Rankings!
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