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This could be one of those games people watch and take notice of a player or two whose name and effort stays in the brain.
A few years later, a fan is watching an NFL game on TV and hears that name and is instantly transported back in time.
Sure, the big schools produce several NFL stars, but the mid-majors tend to send relative unknowns to the next level as well. DeMarcus Ware made a name for himself one night as he and his Troy Trojans beat a ranked-Missouri team on ESPN with Mike Tirico, Kirk Herbstreit and Lee Corso in the booth. Randy Moss would routinely run amok in opposing secondaries as a wide receiver at Marshall. And don’t forget a quarterback named Colin Kaepernick from Nevada.
Speaking of Nevada, guess who visits College Station, Texas, this week?
Texas A&M heads into the game with a lot of momentum after its first two wins this season. Nevada, 1-1, lost opening night to No. 20 Arizona, but rebounded to beat UC-Davis. Here are five players who could have an impact on the game and who knows, they might be heard from again wearing an NFL uniform.
1. Kyle Allen, Texas A&M, Soph., QB: The Scottsdale, Ariz., product is off to a great start to the 2015 season. In the opening win over Arizona State, he threw for 198 yards and two touchdowns and followed that up by passing for 126 yards and three scores in the first half against Ball State. For the season, he is 25-of-39 for 324 yards with five touchdowns and only one interception.
That averages to 162 yards per game, although he has only played six quarters.
His success is not a surprise in Aggieland. As a freshman, he was named the most valuable player in the Auto Zone Liberty Bowl in the win over West Virginia.
2. Asauni Rufus, Nevada, RS Fr., DB: In his first two games as a collegiate player, Rufus has become known as a big hitter and a run stopper. The 6-foot, 190-pound Bakersfield, Calif., native has registered double-digit tackles in each of his first two shots at game action.
He had five unassisted tackles and five assists against Arizona and followed that up with seven solo stops and five more assists against UC-Davis.
Those numbers amass to 22 total tackles. He also has broken up a pass for the Wolfpack.
Although it is still early in the season, this kid could be looking at freshman All-America honors.
3. Christian Kirk, Texas A&M, Fr., WR: Kirk is listed on the Aggies’ roster as a wide receiver, but that is only one place he is dangerous. As a receiver, he is pacing the team with 10 catches for 149 yards and a pair of touchdowns. He averages 74.5 yards per game and he has a long reception of 66 yards on his resume.
But the 5-foot-11, 200-pounder is just as dangerous returning kicks. He has returned four punts for 179 yards and has taken one back 79 yards for a touchdown. He is averaging 37.2 yards a return.
He returns kickoffs as well, bringing three back for 60 yards for a 20 yard average. His long return of the year has been 24 yards.
Kirk has 358 total yards, good for an average of 179 yards per game.
4. Don Jackson, Nevada, Sr., RB: The Sacramento, Calif., native is coming off his best performance of the young season. Against UC-Davis, the 5-foot-10, 210-pound senior pounded the UCD Aggie defense for 124 yards on 37 carries.
The Wolfpack workhorse has 215 yards on the ground this year with a pair of rushing touchdowns. He is averaging 5.8 yards per carry and 107.5 per game.
Jackson also has two catches for 18 yards.
5. Daeshon Hall, Texas A&M, Jr., DL: It was not so long ago when the moniker, “Freak,” was an insult. But then came monsters like Javon Kearse, Julius Peppers and J.J. Watt.
There is a new member of the freakish group in the Aggies’ Daeshon Hall.
The Seattle native has nine tackles on the season (four solo). But amazingly, 4.5 of those tackles were for a loss of yardage. Couple that with a four-sack performance against Arizona State and it seems Hall lives in the opposing backfield.
To put his four-sack night in perspective, the junior only had 4.5 sacks all of last year.
Just to put some icing on the cake, Hall has also forced two fumbles this year.
Steve Barnes is a contributing writer for Saturday Down South. He covers SEC football.
