2022 NFL Draft: Week 0 prospects to watch around the country
Southern Utah at San Jose State 10:00 PM ET CBSSN
This game is for the night owls and the curious, as it features defending Mountain West champions San Jose State. The Spartans went 7-1 last year largely because they controlled the line of scrimmage, and this list will feature three upperclassmen 2022 NFL Draft prospects who contributed to that.
San Jose State DE Cade Hall
This might be the best player on this list. Cade Hall took home the Mountain West Defensive Player of the Year trophy last season as he tallied 10 sacks and 12 tackles for loss along with a fumble recovery. Hall has good size (6’3” 270), plays with nice leverage, and has a high motor. In the Mountain West Conference Championship game against Boise State, he was named defensive MVP after recording 2 sacks and 3 tackles for loss.
His performance in that game prompted the announcer Tim Brando to exclaim about Boise State’s offense, “They just can’t do anything with 92 (Hall) and 42 (fellow San Jose State defensive end Viliami Fehoko).” The sky’s the limit for Cade Hall, as he was named the preseason Defensive Player of the Year in the Mountain West, and NFL teams could always use another elite pass rusher.
San Jose State DE Viliami Fehoko
Mountain West teams had a hell of a time trying to block both Hall and Fehoko, who would frequently line up opposite each other on the defensive line and were a chief factor in San Jose State finishing the regular season undefeated.
Like Hall, Fehoko was named first-team All-Mountain West last year and is a preseason All-Mountain West selection as well. He had 6 sacks on his ledger in 2020 and led the conference in tackles for loss at 12.5. Fehoko also showed he could play inside a little bit and defend the run, and that versatility could serve him well at the next level.
He has the build (6’4” 263) and the bloodlines (a second cousin of former first-round pick Vita Vea) to play in the NFL, and he’ll have a genuine chance to improve his stock in 2021 and convince scouts that he’s more than just the beneficiary of one-on-one blocking assignments, playing across from Hall.
San Jose State OT Jack Snyder
Pro Football Focus’s metrics adored Jack Snyder last year, as they had him ranked in the top 3 in the FBS for left tackles in both pass protection and run blocking. Snyder’s size (6’5” 310), versatility (he’s started at both right and left tackle in his career), and durability (38 consecutive starts) should be enough to intrigue some scouts from the NFL.
He’s a four-time academic All-Mountain West recipient, in addition to making the All-Mountain West first-team offensive line last year. San Jose State’s offense ran up at least 28 points in all but two of their games in 2020, and Jack Snyder’s ability to set and protect on passing downs combined with his propensity to maul people in the run game were two big reasons why.