The next player on this week’s JB’s Star Watch is probably a name a lot of college football fans don’t know yet.
Fresno State quarterback Jayden Mandal.
That’s exactly why he’s on this list.
Mandal won the Fresno State quarterback job after missing all of last season with an injury, and now he gets one hell of an opportunity to introduce himself to the rest of the country.
Friday night.
Under the lights.
Against USC.
And I’m going to be watching him closely.
USC beat San Jose State last week, but the Trojans also gave up 26 points doing it.
That caught my attention.
Now here comes Fresno State with a quarterback who has something to prove.
What interests me about Mandal isn’t necessarily whether Fresno State can walk into the Coliseum and beat USC. I’m interested in seeing whether this kid can make the Trojans uncomfortable.
Can he protect the football?
Can he handle the pressure?
Can he make the throws when Fresno State gets opportunities down the field?
And most importantly, can he keep this football game interesting long enough to put some pressure on USC?
Mandal apparently won this job because of his timing, accuracy, ball security and command of the offense.
Those are exactly the things I’ll be watching.
Because when you’re playing a team with more talent than you have, you can’t give them anything.
You can’t miss easy throws. You can’t turn the football over. You can’t consistently put yourself behind the chains.
But if Mandal can play clean football and Fresno State can move the chains, this could become a much more interesting Friday night than USC would like.
That’s what Star Watch has always been about for me.
It’s easy to tell you to watch the five biggest stars in college football.
I’d rather occasionally give you a name you may not know on Thursday — and see if you’re talking about him Saturday morning.
Jayden Mandal. Fresno State quarterback.
He’s officially on JB’s Star Watch.
