His stats on Saturday were so outlandish that if you accumulated them while playing a video game, it would be time to increase the level of difficulty.
Texas A&M freshman receiver Uzoma Nwachukwu gave new meaning to the cliche "he can take it to the house every time he touches the ball" against Utah State in Week 3.
Nwachukwu literally took it to the house every time he touched the ball.
The true freshman from Allen, Texas, who didn't even touch the ball in A&M's first game in Week 1 against New Mexico, caught three passes for a team-leading 101 yards, each going for a touchdown. He also took one carry on an end around and scampered by the defense 39 yards for another score. In all, Nwachuku touched the ball four times and found pay dirt on all of them.
Nicknamed "EZ" by players and coaches -- who must find it much easier to pronounce than his given moniker -- Nwachukwu went from learning the offense in a secondary role to being thrust into the spotlight in one week's time.
Saturday's performance was no fluke, either. Any player who can score four times on four touches has serious talent. And Nwachukwu was one of the top high school recruits in the nation last season as he chose Texas A&M over top BCS programs like Oklahoma, Notre Dame and Nebraska.
Expected to learn behind top Aggies receiver Jeff Fuller, who caught a school-record nine touchdown passes last season, Nwachukwu was going to be brought along slowly. That may no longer be an option.
Fuller cracked the fibula in his left leg during that same game against Utah State early in the second quarter. He's out indefinitely and could miss the entire season. Nwachukwu knew he needed to step up his game and that the time was now for him to break out. And break out he did.
"When a guy like Jeff Fuller goes down, we all have to step up," Nwachukwu told the Austin American-Statesman after Saturday's game. "Not just me, the receivers, the quarterback. The defense has to step up as well."
The injury to Fuller, as well as an injury to running back Christine Michael -- he strained a calf muscle and should be fine but could still miss some time -- will create the need for the Aggies to utilize all their playmakers to the best of their ability, and that will focus front and center on Nwaschukwu.
Fantasy owners need to be on high alert for this guy, who has Peter Warrick-type playmaking ability and blazing speed, because his Week 3 game against Utah State could mark an exceptional beginning to what could prove to be an outstanding career.
However, take this game with a grain of salt as well. Big 12 defenses will now know going forward that they must be very cognizant of the man they call "EZ." Trust me, we at CBSSports.com College Fantasy Football aren't the only ones who noticed his four-touchdown performance Saturday.
Owned in 0 percent of Fantasy leagues, Nwachukwu definitely deserves to see a boost in ownership, but you'd like to see him be the focal point of the offense in Week 4 at home against UAB. If quarterback Jerrod Johnson finds him as often as he did Fuller, we could have a bona fide Fantasy stud on our hands.
Quarterback
Jacory Harris, Miami, Fla.
Owned: 18 percent of
leagues
Analysis: If you didn't notice, the Miami Hurricanes
have used two impressive wins to jump from unranked and disrespected to
the class of the ACC and a No. 9 AP ranking after just three weeks and
two games. With wins over ranked opponents at Florida State and at home
against Georgia Tech, what is different from the team that was so
disappointing last season? That's easy. The play of their sophomore
quarterback. Sharing time last season with now departed Robert Marve,
Harris didn't get to fully showcase his abilities as a freshman. He's
getting that chance now and has been named ACC offensive player of the
week for the second time after he went 20 of 25 for 270 yards and three
touchdowns in last Thursday's game. The 6-foot-4, 190-pound Harris was
21 of 34 for 386 yards and two touchdowns -- with two picks -- in the
season's first week at a very raucous Doak Campbell Stadium. These two
games have him currently ranked seventh in average weekly Fantasy
scoring and they came against top BCS-quality defenses, not cupcakes and
FCS opponents. It doesn't get any easier in Week 4 as the 'Canes travel
into Blacksburg, Va., to face No. 11 Virginia Tech. The following week
they meet Oklahoma at home. Still, Harris has proven the ability to
produce Fantasy points even against very good defensive teams and their
schedule gets a whole lot easier after the Sooners. You might not start
him every week, but owned in 18 percent of leagues, he should be on far
more rosters right now.
Running Back
Montario Hardesty, Tennessee
Owned: 41 percent of
leagues
Analysis: When 2009 began the Tennessee Vols knew two
things about their running back situation. They knew they could count on
Hardesty as a workhorse and that they wanted desperately to get true
freshman Bryce Brown involved. Hardesty
became the starter because of the graduation of Arian Foster but the
team hoped Brown was the back of the future. After Saturday's game
against Florida two other things are clear. Brown will get his touches
-- albeit limited -- and Hardesty is the man coach Lane Kiffin wants to
trust with the ball when the game is on the line. While it was thought
Hardesty would continually lose carries to Brown, it has been quite the
opposite with Brown struggling against the Gators and Hardesty
impressing to no end against one of the best defensive teams in the
nation, as he amassed 96 yards and a touchdown on 20 carries. "I don't
know if [Brown] kept me fresh or not, but there's no thought going
through my mind of being tired -- ever," Hardesty said after the Gators
game. "I'm a senior, I don't have any time to be tired now." That is
just the attitude that will make Kiffin continue to give him the ball.
With a game against Ohio coming up in Week 4, Hardesty might just be the
start of the week in all of Fantasy and he'll continue to be a top
option going forward.
Tight End
Kyle Rudolph, Notre Dame
Owned: 30 percent of
leagues
Analysis: Rudolph is a 6-foot-6 sophomore who was
their top receiving tight end and a decent Fantasy option before Michael Floyd got hurt. After the first two games of the season,
Rudolph had posted seven catches for 67 yards and a touchdown and had
another long catch and run taken away by the refs in Week 2 against
Michigan. He made six grabs for 95 yards in a breakout game last week
against Michigan State, but it was Floyd breaking his clavicle that
improved Rudolph's Fantasy value the most. In the wake of losing Floyd,
Notre Dame must find offensive answers and they figure to look to
Rudolph early and often. With defenses keying on Golden Tate on the outside, quarterback Jimmy Clausen should begin to continually work the ball down the
middle to Rudolph. Charlie Weis knows what he has in Rudolph and he
should begin to see more and more looks his way as the season goes on.
It is not a stretch to think he could finish the year as a No. 1 Fantasy
option. Owned in just 30 percent of leagues, owners should begin picking
him up for ND's Week 4 game at Purdue right now.
Defense/Special Teams
Oklahoma DST
Owned: 27 percent of leagues
Analysis:
Silly you. You thought Oklahoma's defense would have two down years in a
row? As if coach Bob Stoops would stand for that. True, OU lost its
season opener 14-13 against BYU and then lost Heisman winner Sam Bradford and top tight end Jermaine Gresham to injuries, but last we checked 14 isn't a lot of
points and Bradford and Gresham play offense. Oklahoma certainly didn't
have a great defensive club last season and used offense to win games.
They were young, though, and those youngsters are beginning to blossom
into one of the better defensive units in the country. In their last two
games against Idaho State and Tulsa, Oklahoma has a margin of victory of
109-0. And if you think those teams are cupcakes, consider Tulsa had
scored 81 points in their first two games and was one of the
highest-scoring teams in the nation before getting shut out. The Sooners
are currently ranked third among all Fantasy DSTs in weekly scoring and
they are third in the country with 12 sacks. Their back-to-back shutouts
mark the first time Oklahoma has accomplished that rare feat since 1987.
This defense is not only improved, it is downright special. There will
be games this season -- at Miami in Week 5, at Texas in Week 7 and at
Texas Tech in Week 12 -- where you might consider other options, but by
and large, Oklahoma should be a defense started almost every week in
Fantasy. Just keep in mind that the Sooners are idle in Week 4 before
going to Florida to meet the Hurricanes on Oct. 3.