College football schedule, Week 1: NFL Draft prospects to watch for Friday, September 4

Week 1 of the college football season is upon us, and with the start of the 49ers regular season just around the corner, we are going to take a look at our potential future. Each week throughout the college season, we will break down a few college football games providing highlights and profiles of draft-eligible prospects. So, sit back, put your scouting hat on, and let's get things started with Week 1.

No. 5 Michigan State at Western Michigan   |  4:00 PM PST  |  ESPNU

We start our season opener with the "Celebrate the State" football series in Kalamazoo, where the Michigan State Spartans battle against the Western Michigan Broncos. The Spartans boast several draft-eligible players, one of which is arguably the top quarterback in the 2016 NFL Draft, QB Connor Cook No. 18. Cook, the most pro-ready quarterback in this years' quarterback class, is poised to improve upon his inconsistency by showcasing his impressive pinpoint accuracy and beautiful throws over-the-top.

OT Jack Conklin No. 74, the redshirt junior, is a tough powerful mauler at left tackle (has experience at right tackle too) that excels in the run game and is reliable in pass protection, but does have issues with speed off the edge. DE Shilique Calhoun No. 89 (possible 3-4 OLB in the 49ers scheme), showcases good speed to power off the edge and can set the edge in the run game, but will need to be more consistent and gain more strength. Lastly, DT Joel Heath No. 92, a very athletic and strong player easily capable of occupying blocks, is stout at the point of attack, and has the nice size (6'5" - 296 lbs.) to be a five-technique in the 49ers scheme

Other Michigan State players to keep an eye on: WR DeAnthony Arnett No. 5, C Jack Allen No. 66, DT Lawrence Thomas No. 8, OLB Darien Harris No. 45, and SS RJ Williamson No. 26.

Western Michigan has a few draft-eligible prospects; however, the two most prominent prospects to keep an eye on are WR *Corey Davis No. 84 and OT Willie Beavers No. 70. Corey Davis, a junior, is a very good route runner with nice size (6'3" - 205 lbs.), speed, ball skills, and production (78 REC 1408 YDS 15 TD). Willie Beavers is an athletic left tackle showcasing quick feet, nice movement speed with agility, and is an ideal candidate for a zone blocking scheme. Beavers and Shilique Calhoun will be a good matchup to keep an eye on.

Michigan State

QB Connor Cook No. 18, 6'4 - 220 lbs., 4.89 40 - Michigan State (1st)
FB Trevon Pendleton No. 37, 5'11 - 250 lbs., 4.93 40 - Michigan State (UFA)
WR DeAnthony Arnett No. 5, 5'11 - 182 lbs., 4.49 40 - Michigan State (7th) Transfer from Tennessee.
WR Aaron Burbridge No. 16, 6'1 - 208 lbs., 4.57 40 - Michigan State (UFA)
WR Macgarrett Kings Jr. No. 85, 5'10 - 186 lbs., 4.53 40 - Michigan State (UFA)
OT *Jack Conklin No. 74, 6'6 - 318 lbs., 5.43 40 - Michigan State (1st)
OG Donavon Clark No. 76, 6'3 - 317 lbs., 5.43 40 - Michigan State (UFA)
C Jack Allen No. 66, 6'2 - 298 lbs., 5.24 40 - Michigan State (5th)
DT Joel Heath No. 92, 6'5 - 296 lbs., 5.13 40 - Michigan State (5th)
DT Lawrence Thomas No. 8, 6'3 - 300 lbs., 5.12 40 - Michigan State (7th-UFA)
DE Shilique Calhoun No. 89, 6'5 - 252 lbs., 4.78 40 - Michigan State (2nd)
OLB Darien Harris No. 45, 6'0 - 220 lbs., 4.67 40 - Michigan State (7th)
OLB Ed Davis No. 43, 6'2 - 233 lbs., 4.76 40 - Michigan State (UFA) Out for year. Suffered knee injury August 2015. Will seek a medical redshirt for sixth year.
SS RJ Willaimson No. 26, 6'0 - 215 lbs., 4.63 40 - Michigan State (4th-5th)
LS Taybor Pepper No. 52, 6'5 - 230 lbs., 5.06 40 - Michigan State (UFA)

Western Michigan

WR *Corey Davis No. 84, 6'3 - 205 lbs., 4.62 40 - Western Michigan (6th)
OT Willie Beavers No. 70, 6'5 - 312 lbs., 5.17 40 - Western Michigan (6th-7th)
OG James Kristof No. 79, 6'3 - 320 lbs., 5.44 40 - Western Michigan (UFA)
CB Ronald Zamort No. 7, 5'10 - 175 lbs., 4.49 40 - Western Michigan (UFA)
SS Rontavious Atkins No. 1, 6'0 - 207 lbs., 4.63 40 - Western Michigan (UFA)

No. 4 Baylor Bears at SMU Mustangs |  4:00 PM PST  |  ESPN

The next game up is at the same time as the previous game, so break out your second TV and/or smartphone/tablet and watch both of these games multitasking like a boss! Baylor is highlighting three intriguing draft prospects definitely worth keeping an eye on. On the offensive side of the ball is OT Spencer Drango No. 58, showcasing great size (6'6" - 310 lbs.), length, agility, power, good technique, and sound awareness. Drango, the three-time Academic All-Big 12 Honoree, is likely to be kicked in at guard at the next level. On the defensive side of the ball we have DT *Andrew Billings No. 75 and DE Shawn Oakman No. 2. Billings, a junior, is a high-motor tenacious athlete with tremendous power to his game. A weight room phenom (805 lbs. squat, 500 lbs. bench press, and 705 lbs. deadlift), the junior harnesses his strength to collapse the pocket and showcases impressive quickness. Billings would make a great nose guard in the 49ers scheme as a stout run defender in the middle easily capable of occupying blocks and providing the quickness and speed to be extremely disruptive in the backfield.

Shawn Oakman is an eye-popping jaw-dropping humongous athlete coming in at 6'9" - 280 pounds. A physical freak, he displays tremendous length, quickness, burst, agility, and power. Although he has very good speed, he relies heavily on his power and agility to get into the backfield. Oakman is an ideal 3-4 defensive end in the 49ers scheme, but his continued growth and foot speed could make him more versatile. Unfortunately, it looks like Oakman will not be playing this game, since it was recently reported that he was suspended for the season opener for a violation of team rules.

Other Baylor players to keep an eye on: RB *Shock Linwood No. 32 (junior), WR *Corey Coleman No. 1 (junior), and CB Terrell Burt No. 13.

It is unlikely that any current draft-eligible SMU player will get drafted in the 2016 Draft (looks like Kenneth Acker is holding down the SMU fort for us); nevertheless, the following players have an outside chance of being undrafted rookie free agent signings: OT Kris Weeks No. 75, C Taylor Lasecki No. 52, and FS Shakiel Randolph No. 28.

Baylor

RB *Shock Linwood No. 32, 5'8 - 195 lbs., 4.44 40 - Baylor (6th)
WR *Corey Coleman No. 1, 5'10 - 190 lbs., 4.45 40 - Baylor (5th)
WR Jay Lee No. 4, 6'2 - 215 lbs., 4.57 40 - Baylor (UFA)
TE LaQuan McGowan No. 80, 6'6 - 392 lbs., 5.57 40 - Baylor (UFA)
OT Pat Colbert No. 69, 6'5 - 305 lbs., 5.27 40 - Baylor (UFA)
OT Spencer Drango No. 58, 6'6 - 310 lbs., 5.14 40 - Baylor (2nd-3rd) Had back surgery November 2013.
OG Blake Muir No. 73, 6'5 - 310 lbs., 5.26 40 - Baylor (UFA) Transfer from Hawaii.
DT *Andrew Billings No. 75, 6'1 - 300 lbs., 5.04 40 - Baylor (2nd)
DT Beau Blackshear No. 95, 6'3 - 300 lbs., 5.19 40 - Baylor (UFA)
DE Shawn Oakman No. 2, 6'9 - 280 lbs., 4.88 40 - Baylor (1st) Dismissed from Penn State for violation of team rules. Suspend first game in 2015 for a violation of team rules.
DE Jamal Palmer No. 92, 6'2 - 240 lbs., 4.78 40 - Baylor (UFA)
CB Terrell Burt No. 13, 5'10 - 185 lbs., 4.52 40 - Baylor (7th)

SMU

OT Kris Weeks No. 75, 6'5 - 300 lbs., 5.39 40 - SMU (UFA)
C Taylor Lasecki No. 52, 6'2 - 296 lbs., 5.36 40 - SMU (UFA)
FS Shakiel Randolph No. 28, 6'3 - 219 lbs., 4.64 40 - SMU (UFA)

Washington Huskies at No. 23 Boise State Broncos |  6:15 PM PST  |  ESPN

The last game of the day will be a game played on the infamous blue turf. The Washington Huskies lost a lot of high quality talent to the NFL last season (Danny Shelton, Marcus Peters, Shaq Thompson, and Hau'oli Kikaha). Although there will be plenty of draft-eligible prospect in this years' class for Washington, mostly all of them will go undrafted. One prospect to keep note of, however, is OLB Travis Feeney No. 41. Feeney is a quick, slender athlete that is great against the run, solid in coverage, outstanding in special teams, and has the skill-set to be an in-the-box safety. Another Huskies' player to keep an eye on is WR Jaydon Mickens No. 1. Part of Washington's self proclaimed "Legion of Zoom", Mickens is an explosive and dynamic slot receiver that can stretch the field and looks to score on every play. He also boasts solid production leading the Huskies with 60 REC 617 YDS 4 TD in 2014.

Boise State has three quality players to keep an eye on. For staters, if Trent Baalke is looking to add another high round safety draft pick for the fourth time in a row (I hope not), well then, FS Darian Thompson No. 4 is the guy. A true interchangeable safety, Thompson is a ballhawk in the passing game and a thumper in run support. OLB *Kamalei Correa No. 8, a junior, is extremely explosive off the edge using his quick first step and closing speed to wreak havoc in the backfield. Correa, also a solid tackler in open space, is an ideal 3-4 OLB edge rusher in the 49ers scheme. Lastly, OT Rees Odhiambo No. 71, who is another prospect that is likely to move to the inside at guard or possibly the right tackle position. The three-time Academic All-Mountain West player, showcases great quickness, swift feet, violent hands, and good balance.

Another Boise State player to keep an eye on is CB Donte Deayon No. 5.

Washington

RB *Dwayne Washington No. 12, 6'1 - 221 lbs., 4.53 40 - Washington (2017)
WR Jaydon Mickens No. 1, 5'10 - 174 lbs., 4.55 40 - Washington (6th)
WR Marvin Hall No. 16, 5'10 - 187 lbs., 4.57 40 - Washington (UFA)
TE Joshua Perkins No. 82, 6'3 - 226 lbs., 4.68 40 - Washington (7th-UFA)
C Siosifa Tufunga No. 65, 6'3 - 313 lbs., 5.36 40 - Washington (UFA)
DT Taniela Tupou No. 90, 6'2 - 293 lbs., 5.06 40 - Washington (UFA)
OLB Travis Feeney No. 41, 6'3 - 223 lbs., 4.64 40 - Washington (5th-6th)
OLB Cory Littleton No. 42, 6'3 - 226 lbs., 4.74 40 - Washington (UFA)
SS Brian Clay No. 35, 6'1 - 202 lbs., 4.62 40 - Washington (UFA) Transfer from Hawaii.

Boise State

RB Kelsey Young No. 39, 5'10 - 192 lbs., 4.53 40 - Boise State (UFA) Grad transfer from Stanford.
WR Shane Williams-Rhodes No. 1, 5'6 - 168 lbs., 4.46 40 - Boise State (UFA)
OT Rees Odhiambo No. 71, 6'4 - 305 lbs., 5.17 40 - Boise State (4th)
C Marcus Henry No. 72, 6'2 - 296 lbs., 5.18 40 - Boise State (UFA)
DT Tutulupeatau Mataele No. 55, 6'2 - 303 lbs., 5.17 40 - Boise State (UFA)
DT Armand Nance No. 40, 6'0 - 311 lbs., 5.20 40 - Boise State (UFA)
DE Tyler Horn No. 69, 6'5 - 272 lbs., 5.08 40 - Boise State (UFA)
OLB *Kamalei Correa No. 8, 6'3 - 245 lbs., 4.78 40- Boise State (3rd)
CB Donte Deayon No. 5, 5'9 - 158 lbs., 4.46 40 - Boise State (6th)
FS Darian Thompson No. 4, 6'2 - 210 lbs., 4.56 40 - Boise State (1st-2nd)

Enjoy your Friday!