CFB Waiver Wire: Players to Pick Up Week 6

It was another great week as Virginia Tech's Khalil Herbert highlighted my picks with 358 all-purpose yards, including 208 rushing yards & two touchdowns while my three QB recommendations combined for nine total touchdowns. I'll take an "L" for Joshua Moore's zero catches, but I'm in love with Kansas State's Deuce Vaughn who had 194 total yards and two touchdowns. A bunch of top-25 teams faltered in Week 5 which only helps us as we move forward as we get to feature players from all kinds of different teams that are available on the waiver wire.

Slate Background: I'm going to go out on a limb and say that Week 6 is going to be one of the best weeks of the year for entertainment purposes. We have some monster match-ups; Florida at Texas A&M, Tennessee at Georgia, Texas and Oklahoma in Dallas, Florida State at Notre Dame, and Miami at Clemson which is probably the game of the year so far. It will only get better when the other conferences start up in a few weeks, but this will be some unbelievable football.

AAC

Clayton Tune, QB, Houston
It's a small slate in the American conference in Week 6 with just three games on the schedule. It starts with Tulane and Houston on Thursday Night with the Cougars playing their first game of the year. I like Tune in this game because he has a stud receiver in Marquez Stevenson and Tulane showed they have a leaky defense when Navy came back to beat them in Week 4. I fully expect this weekday game to have a ton of points and let's cross our fingers that Houston doesn't have yet another game canceled due to COVID-19.

Cameron Carroll, RB, Tulane
Sticking with that same game, I'll also recommend Carroll who has eight total touchdowns for the Green Wave. He's had double-digit touches in each game this year and he took over the number one spot when Tyjae Spears went down with a torn ACL (out for the season). In that primary role, Carroll had four total touchdowns against Southern Miss in Week 4. That's way too much production for the redshirt sophomore to be owned in less than 50 percent of leagues in Fantrax.

Week 5 Rewind; UCF WR Jaylon Robinson (three catches for 111 yards) & Cincinnati RB Gerrid Doaks (22 carries for 102 yards and 1 TD, 6-yard reception)

ACC

Brennan Armstrong, QB, Virginia
The Cavs kind of competed with Clemson and the big reason why was their sophomore quarterback. Armstrong is averaging 44 pass attempts and 17 rushing attempts through two games. That's a ton of volume and he's produced too with six total touchdowns. Yes, he has four interceptions which are not great, but I'm not that worried about those against the likes of NC State and Wake Forest over the next two weeks.

Michael Mayer, TE, Notre Dame
I'm digging deep for this pick as the true freshman has just four catches for 43 yards on six targets in Notre Dame's first two games. With the Fighting Irish taking on a horrible Florida State team, I think it would be in their best interest to see what they have with Mayer. He's a huge target at 6'5" and 235 pounds. If they can figure out how to unlock this kid's potential, I think Notre Dame can be a playoff contender in 2020 as they already have a couple of above-average offensive weapons in Ian Book and Kyren Williams.

Week 5 Rewind; Virginia Tech RB Khalil Herbert (20 attempts for 208 yards, 2 TD) & Pittsburgh WR Jordan Addison (Two catches for 77 yards, 1 TD – Left with Injury)

BIG 12

KeSean Carter, WR, Texas Tech
Carter has surprisingly been the best receiver for the Red Raiders with 21 catches for 215 yards and four touchdowns through three games. He did sustain a wrist injury in Texas Tech's game with Kansas State but was able to return to the game. The injury status will be worth watching, but otherwise, Carter should be rostered in more leagues when you consider the Air Raid offense going up against an Iowa State team who also likes to run up and down the field.  

Austin Stogner, TE, Oklahoma
Through the first three games, Stogner has been one of the Sooners' top pass-catchers with 11 catches for 174 yards. That's been with Brayden Willis in and out of the line-up, thus it appears that Spencer Rattler trusts the sophomore tight end. That's good enough to go out and snatch him up in all leagues as any piece of the Oklahoma offense is fantasy-worthy. It's also worth noting that fullback Jeremiah Hall had five catches and two touchdowns this past week, so that's a development worth watching as well. If Hall catches multiple passes in ongoing weeks, he should also be picked up in deeper leagues.

Week 5 Rewind; Texas WR Joshua Moore (No catches) & Kansas State RB Deuce Vaughn (16 carries for 113 yards, 1 TD, three catches for 81 yards, 1 TD)

BIG TEN

Currently Postponed (*Coming Back in Week 8)

C-USA

D'Vonte Price, RB, FIU
Not the biggest fan of single-game sample sizes, but Price was fantastic in his only appearance in 2020 with 13 carries for 148 yards and two touchdowns to go along with a six-yard touchdown reception at Liberty in Week 4. Moreover, he's not new to FIU as the senior has been dependable in 25 games for the Panthers in 2017 and 2018. With an enticing match-up against a bad Middle Tennessee squad, I think Price can be a great return on value, especially considering FIU did not play this past week, so he's available in many leagues.

Nick Tronti, QB, Florida Atlantic
We finally had a chance to see the Owls in Week 5 after their first two games were postponed and the signal-caller led the team in rushing production, both attempts (10) and yards (94). While he had just 98 passing yards on 11-of-22 passing, he did have three total touchdowns. I would expect these numbers to be even better against a bad Southern Miss defense in Week 6. At the very least, he'll have a nice rushing day which is a good enough floor if in a pinch at quarterback.

*Old Dominion is not playing in Fall 2020

Week 5 Rewind; Memphis TE Sean Dykes (Six catches for 85 yards, 1 TD) & Western Kentucky QB Tyrrell Pigrome (21/36 for 188 yards, 2 TD, 55 rushing yards)

MAC

Currently Postponed (*Coming Back in Week 10)

MWC

Currently Postponed (*Coming Back in Week 8)

PAC-12

Currently Postponed (*Coming Back in Week 10)

SEC

Shi Smith, WR, South Carolina
I'm kicking myself for not recommending Smith last week, but I needed to see another week from quarterback Collin Hill. Hill is completely capable of getting Smith the ball as they have combined for 22 catches for 225 yards and two touchdowns through their first two games. The Gamecocks have Vanderbilt this week which means they should have a large offensive output and quite possibly Smith's third consecutive double-digit catch week. He's still available in over 50 percent of leagues on Fantrax.

Ainias Smith, RB/WR, Texas A&M
Smith was a bright spot against the vaunted Alabama defense with five carries for 29 yards and six catches for 123 yards and two touchdowns on ten targets. With his flexibility at the RB and WR position, he's an interesting play against Florida. The Gators look like they're going to run up the score on every opponent this season, so there's no reason Smith can't be heavily utilized in the passing game once again. He's also viable at Mississippi State in Week 7.

Week 5 Rewind; Mississippi State WR Osirus Mitchell (Five catches for 61 yards) & Tennessee QB Jarrett Guarantano (14/23 for 190 yards, 1 TD and two rushing TDs)

SUN BELT

B.J. Smith, RB, Troy
This was completely unintended, but this is my third "Smith" recommendation in a row. Available in pretty much all leagues, Smith was the only player who was semi-decent against a tough BYU defense in Week 4 as he had seven carries for 16 yards and a touchdown to go along with six catches for 36 yards. While those are not figures to get too excited about, the BYU defense is really good. Texas State is one of the worst teams in college football, so I expect Smith and Troy to have a much better week than the 14 points they mustered against BYU.

Grayson McCall, QB, Coastal Carolina
I'm doubling down on McCall who came through in the clutch with four touchdowns and a 300-yard passing performance against Arkansas State. While the Chanticleers do not get to play on their teal field this week, they're playing an interesting team in Louisiana-Lafayette. Moreover, I'm just giving myself more reasons to tune in to the game with two 3-0 teams as you don't ever get to see that in the Sun Belt conference at this point in the season.

Week 5 Rewind; Coastal Carolina QB Grayson McCall (20/29 for 322 yards, 4 TD, 1 INT and 44 rushing yards)

INDEPENDENTS

Malik Willis, QB, Liberty
I'm going back to the dual-threat Willis who sat this past week with an elbow injury when Liberty played an FCS foe. I absolutely love the next three match-ups which include UL-Monroe, Syracuse and Southern Miss which are some of the worst defenses in the nation. All reports suggested that Willis could have played this week if needed, so I would expect to see the senior in there this upcoming week. He should be owned in all leagues at this point.

*New Mexico State, UConn & UMass are not playing in Fall 2020

Week 5 Rewind; BYU RB Lopini Katoa (11 carries for 23 yards)

DEFENSE RECOMMENDATIONS

BYU (vs. UTSA) – Yeah, I don't think this is going to go well for the Roadrunners.

South Carolina (at Vanderbilt) – Pretty clear Vandy is the worst team in the SEC this season, so you can go with the Gamecocks this week.

Marshall (at Western Kentucky) – The Thundering Herd held App State to seven points, so I'm willing to take a chance here on the road.

Week 5 Rewind; Oklahoma State at Kansas (7 PA, 4 Sacks, 1 TA), Florida State vs. Jacksonville State (24 PA, 2 Sacks, 1 TA) & BYU vs. Louisiana Tech (14 PA, 3 Sacks, 2 TA)

SUMMARY & TOP RECOMMENDATIONS

Utilizing the two players for each conference, I'll list out who my top recommendations are on a weekly basis by position:

QB: Houston Clayton Tune, Liberty Malik Willis, Virginia Brennan Armstrong
RB: Tulane Cameron Carroll, FIU D'Vonte Price, Troy B.J. Smith
WR: South Carolina Shi Smith, Texas Tech KeSean Carter, Texas A&M Ainias Smith
TE: Oklahoma Austin Stogner & Notre Dame Michael Mayer
D/ST: BYU (vs. UTSA)