CFB Waiver Wire: Players to Pick Up Week 2

Welcome to this year's first installment of the waiver wire watch. Throughout the college football season, I'll pick two guys from every active conference who either caught my eye in the previous week or who have a favorable match-up in the near future. As always, I'll get to any questions or comments you have in the comments section below.

This year is going to be a bit wonky as there will be postponed games and late scratches for players with COVID-19, so I will attempt to keep the comments updated on a timely fashion throughout the season with any known developments regarding players I have recommended early in the week.

Slate Background: While we're technically entering Week 2 of the season, it's really the first week with the big boys as the majority of the Big 12 and ACC teams enter the mix after we were able to wet our bills with the opening games this past weekend.

AAC

Mitchell Brinkman, TE, USF
Brinkman is a graduate transfer from Northern Illinois who packed his bags for Florida to replace Mitchell Wilcox who was the Bulls' leading receiver in 2019 with 28 catches for 350 yards and five touchdowns. The tight end position is notoriously hard to fill in fantasy and if you missed out on one in the draft, Brinkman has great sleeper potential for a team that will be throwing quite a bit in 2020. South Florida has the best match-up in the conference for Week 2 as they host The Citadel.

Zach Smith, QB, Tulsa
The Golden Hurricane will take on the potent Oklahoma State offense and it's very possible that there's a ton of points in that contest as they combined for 61 points a year ago. Even better, Tulsa's experienced signal caller in Smith had five different games with over 300 yards passing last season. None better than the season finale where he threw for 331 yards and five touchdowns at East Carolina. When he played the Cowboys last season, he threw for 228 yards and a touchdown, so that's likely the floor this time around.

ACC

Taysir Mack, WR, Pittsburgh
Finding players on the wire in these power conferences will be tough as the player pool across college football has been significantly depleted. With that said, far too many people are sleeping on the number one receiver for the underrated Panthers. Mack was a solid player last season while grabbing 63 catches for 736 yards and three touchdowns on 114 targets. I like his chances to get a score when Pitt takes on a FCS opponent (Austin Peay) in their first game.

Ontaria Wilson, WR, Florida State
If you weren't lucky enough to get Tamorrion Terry (aka Scary Terry) in the draft, I would look for Wilson who could slide in to the second receiver role since D.J. Matthews has been working his way back from a COVID-19 designation. New coach Mike Norvell had a dynamic offense at Memphis, so it can be expected that Florida State will sling the ball around. They should have no problem putting up a bunch of touchdowns against Georgia Tech in their first game.

BIG 12

Trestan Ebner, RB, Baylor
The Bears are expected to utilize both Ebner and John Lovett in the backfield this season under new coach Dave Aranda. However, it appears Lovett is owned in more leagues because he led the team with 655 yards and five touchdowns on the ground compared to Ebner's 250 yards and three touchdowns. With a new coach, their roles could easily reverse and Ebner is the better pass-catcher with at least 20 catches in all three of his seasons at Baylor. It will be very interesting to see how the workload is split up against Louisiana Tech.

Jarret Doege, QB, West Virginia
Doege was recently named the Mountaineers opening day starter against Eastern Kentucky. While his 818 yards and seven touchdowns versus three interceptions in 2019 is nothing to marvel at, he's set to have at least one fantastic week. Marshall's freshman quarterback Grant Wells had himself a great day versus Eastern Kentucky with 307 yards and four touchdowns through the air in Week 1. Doege is a great spot-start if you're out there looking for a fill-in.

BIG TEN

Currently Postponed

C-USA

Josh Simon, TE, Western Kentucky
The match-up between Western Kentucky and Louisville should be sneaky good as the Hilltoppers project to be one of the best in their conference. Simon ended his freshman campaign in style with a combined 12 catches for 194 yards on 18 targets over his last three games. He was particularly impressive in the First Responder Bowl with six catches for 105 yards on 10 targets. I anticipate Simon having a handful of targets if Western Kentucky wants to try to keep up with Louisville.

Adrian Hardy, WR, Louisiana Tech
Hardy is yet another undisputed number one receiver that is available in most fantasy leagues. He dealt with a suspension last season, however, was still able to manage four different games with double-digit targets. It wasn't too long ago in 2018 when Hardy had 75 catches for 1,145 yards and six touchdowns on 130 targets. With the Bulldogs leaning on a new quarterback in Abilene Christian transfer, Luke Anthony, I can see the ball going to Hardy quite a bit.

*Old Dominion is not playing in Fall 2020

MAC

Currently Postponed

MWC

Currently Postponed

PAC-12

Currently Postponed

SEC

No Games Scheduled Until Week 4

SUN BELT

Shai Werts, QB, Georgia Southern
For Sun Belt teams, the Eagles have the easiest route to a win in Week 2 as they welcome in Campbell. Werts is slated for the start after posting a 9:1 TD:INT ratio through the air and five touchdowns on the ground in 2019. It's not the flashiest of fantasy plays, but Georgia Southern's triple-option offense is dependable enough to ensure that one of your quarterbacks has some production this week.

Thomas Hennigan, WR, Appalachian St
With projected top wide-out Corey Sutton opting out of the season, it has elevated Hennigan in to that role, a role he knows very well as Sutton was forced to miss multiple games last season. Hennigan took full advantage with a career-high 61 catches for 773 yards and six touchdowns on 91 targets. With a top notch signal caller in Zac Thomas, those numbers should only go up in 2020. His breakout season will begin against Charlotte in an early contest on Saturday morning.

INDEPENDENTS

Sandon McCoy, RB, Army
The Black Knights are the only Independent team playing in Week 2. We have a little data to play with regarding McCoy as he rushed for 50 yards and three touchdowns on 15 attempts in Saturday's 42-0 win over Middle Tennessee. The senior back had by far the most carries in the triple option offense this past weekend, so he should be fairly dependable add on the season in addition to their upcoming tilt with Louisiana-Monroe.

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

DEFENSE RECOMMENDATIONS

Georgia Southern (vs. Campbell) – The Eagles should be able to shut down this team as they held Maine to 18 points and New Mexico State to just seven points in 2019.

Army (vs. UL-Monroe) – Army completely shut down Middle Tennessee in a 42-0 win while racking up a sack, four takeaways and a touchdown. Louisiana-Monroe is one of the worst teams in FBS, so they should have another good week.

Texas (vs. UTEP) – When the Longhorns played opponents outside of the Power 5 in 2019, they gave up just 13 points at Rice and 14 points to Louisiana Tech. This is a much improved defense with nine starters returning, so it should be a productive week for the Texas defense.

SUMMARY & TOP RECOMMENDATIONS

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

QB: West Virginia Jarret Doege, Tulsa Zach Smith, Georgia Southern Shai Werts
RB: Army Sandon McCoy, Baylor Trestan Ebner
WR: Appalachian St Thomas Hennigan, Louisiana Tech Adrian Hardy, Pittsburgh Taysir Mack
TE: Western Kentucky Josh Simon, USF Mitchell Brinkman
D/ST: Texas (vs. UTEP)