Cornering The Market: Handcuffs
The draft strategy that Purple Reign hangs his hat on when it comes to College Fantasy Football is targeting specific coaching systems. It is a good strategy to target players that play in roles within their offense that have a history of good fantasy production. There are times when we know who the starter is going to be, but there are also times where we don’t. When fantasy owners don’t know which player will be “the man” they utilize the “Handcuff” technique.
Handcuffing a position is a way to “corner the market” on a specific position from a specific team. You want Texas’ starting RB but there’s two guys competing for the job, which guy should you draft? When utilizing the Handcuff technique, you’ll draft both. This ensures that whoever wins the starting job is on your roster.
If you want fantasy success just remember, “greed is good.”
**This article will be updated as position battles sort themselves out through the summer**
HONORABLE MENTIONS
COASTAL CAROLINA
QB Emmett Brown
QB MJ Morris
After an underwhelming offensive performance in 2024, Coastal Carolina hired Drew Hollingshead to take over the offensive coordinator duties. During his two seasons at Western Kentucky Hollingshead’s QB1 has averaged 297 fantasy points. The quarterback position was left wide open in 2025 for Coastal Carolina and the team hit the transfer portal to finds its next starter. Emmett Brown transferred in from San Jose State and would be the slight favorite in this position battle. But he was not able to pull away enough from Maryland transfer MJ Morris in spring camp, leaving this race open for fall camp.
Update 6/12
COLORADO STATE
WR Armani Winfield
WR Jordan Ross
WR Keyonta Lanier
Offensive coordinator Matt Mumme has a knack for producing fantasy relevant wide receivers. The outside WR1 in this offense is up for grabs and we don’t have a clear picture of who’s the favorite in this position battle. Armani Winfield is the most experienced candidate with 29 career game appearances. He would be the favorite to be the WR1 for 2025. Jordan Ross is equally talented but lacks career production like Winfield does. Beat writers have mentioned Northern Arizona transfer Tay Lanier as a potential breakout player for 2025. There is a good chance that the ball gets spread around this season and we don’t see a target magnet receiver from this group.
MIDDLE TENNESSEE
TE Tayvion Galloway
TE Evan Poticher
TE Hunter Tipton
Last season Holden Willis was one of the best players on the offense and the coaching staff utilized him as a TEINO (Tight End In Name Only). He was used like a wide receiver in the offense, garnering 85 targets. The big question is if there is anyone who could play the same type of role this year? Purdue transfer Tayvion Galloway has all the physical tools to be the next TEINO for Middle Tennessee and my personal favorite to win this job. He got injured in spring camp and missed time, meaning that we won’t get a great picture of the position battle until fall camp. Evan Poticher was splitting reps with Galloway on the first team offense before Galloway went down with injury this spring. Hunter Tipton played with the #1 offense during the spring game and scored a TD.
NOTRE DAME
WR Malachi Fields
WR Jaden Greathouse
If you ignore the historical fantasy performance of offensive coordinator Mike Denbrock’s 2023 season, his WR1 tends to top out its fantasy value around 160 fantasy points. I see the Notre Dame offense throwing the ball more this season with CJ Carr under center which means that the target share for the eventual WR1 should increase. Jaden Greathouse was the WR1 for the Irish in 2024 while playing in the slot. From 2023-2022 a balanced WR role was the WR1, meaning that Greathouse could potentially fill that balanced role in the offense. Malachi Fields transferred in from Virginia and is an outside receiver, which we see was the WR1 in 2018 and 2021. Greathouse had a great spring camp but you can’t ignore Fields’ past production and talent level.
OHIO STATE
TE Will Kacmarek
TE Max Klare
When Max Klare announced he was signing with Ohio State in the winter transfer portal everyone expected him to be the TE1. When spring camp opened Klare was running with the #3 offense and it was Will Kacmarek that was running with the #1 offense. Kacmarek was already in the program and likely started spring camp with the 1’s as a seniority thing, and Klare starting with the 3’s was probably a “earn your way” in the offense thing. By the end of spring camp Kacmarek was injured and walking in a boot. I still think Klare is the guy to bet on but we just didn’t get a good enough picture from spring camp to tell exactly where this position battle is.
PRIMARY HANDCUFFS
ARIZONA STATE
RB Kanye Udoh
RB Kyson Brown
Cameron Skattebo is off to the NFL and he vacates 338 total touches. Kanye Udoh transfers in from Army where he rushed the ball 179 times for 1117 yards and 10 TDs. While it appears he could be the locked-in replacement for Skattebo, don’t forget about Kyson Brown. Brown served as the RB2 last year for the Sun Devils and he could make a push to eat into Udoh’s workload. Even if ones of these guys is the unquestioned RB1, don’t expect the same fantasy numbers that Skattebo put up last year.
Update 6/10
BOISE STATE
RB Sire Gaines
RB Malik Sherrod
Boise State is another backfield that has a huge workload that is up for grabs for the players competing for the starting running back job. Sire Gaines has the best resume to be the next Broncos stud as he brings the perfect combination of size, power, and speed to the field. Gaines was injured early in the 2024 season, costing him his season and this year’s spring camp. Word is that Gaines will be 100% healthy for the start of fall camp. Malik Sherrod transfers in from Fresno State and brings 40 career game appearances with him. There’s a chance the offense will utilize two back formations this season so they can make the most of this talented but crowded backfield.
Update 6/8
FLORIDA STATE
RB Roydell Williams
RB Jaylin Lucas
RB Gabe Sawchuk
Florida State has a very talented and experienced backfield coming back this season. Roydell Williams has 45 career game appearances under his belt but has never rushed for 600 yards and 6 TDs in a single season. Jaylin Lucas has made improvements in his game which has been noticed by the coaching staff this spring. Gabe Sawchuk had a good 2023 at Oklahoma but injuries derailed his 2024 season. He transferred into Florida State in the spring portal. While offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn has shown the willingness to feed 200+ carries to his RB1, this situation may very likely be running back by committee this season.
IOWA
RB Kamari Moulton
RB Jaziun Patterson
RB Nathan McNeil
Kaleb Johnson was phenomenal last season, scoring 321 fantasy points on 240 carries. Kamari Moulton was the RB2 last season and looks like the best bet to replace Johnson. But Jazian Patterson received just slightly less work than Moulton last year. In last season’s bowl game with Johnson sitting out, Moulton and Patterson split up the running back workload. Patterson has been dinged up with an undisclosed injury this spring. In his absence, true freshman Mathan McNeil shined in spring camp, even taking reps with the first string offense. I think he’s a name we can’t entirely count out as someone who could eat into this workload. We’re probably going to have to wait until fall camp for a clear picture on how the carries are going to be divided out, but my gut tells me we won’t see the RB1 getting 225+ carries.
JACKSONVILLE STATE
RB Cameron Cook
RB Andrew Paul
Seasoned fantasy owners know that you want to lock down offensive coordinator Clint Trickett’s RB1. Cameron Cook transfers in from TCU where he started last season as the RB1 but failed to produce and saw his workload decrease as the year went on. Many people expect him to be the guy in 2025 but one name those people forgot was Andrew Paul. He has similar talent as Cook but just hasn’t produced the same type of stats that Cook did last season. I’m expecting to see this position battle go deep into fall camp.
Update 6/12
JAMES MADISON
QB Matthew Sluka
QB Alonza Barnett
QB Camden Coleman
Alonza Barnett played outstanding last season as a first time starter. He suffered a leg injury last December that he has slowly been recovering from. If it were not for that injury Barnett would likely have been a top 20 fantasy quarterback this summer. But the picture has changed now with the head coach grabbing Matthew Sluka in the transfer portal, someone that played for him previously at Holy Cross. While fantasy analysts expected the quarterback job to be a lock for Sluka, it was Richmond transfer Camden Coleman who looked the best in the spring game. I doubt Barnett will be in good enough shape to start the season opener, meaning that Sluka and Coleman will likely be the two favorites heading into fall camp.
KANSAS
RB Daniel Hishaw
RB Leshon Williams
Daniel Hishaw looked to be the next in line at Kansas until he took a personal leave from the team last November. That caused the coaching staff to add Leshon Williams through the winter transfer portal. Hishaw returned to the team and joined spring camp to get this position battle going. We need to see how he responds on the field after this long leave from the team to assess how this battle will unfold.
Update 5/28
LOUISIANA-MONROE
RB Braylon McReynolds
RB D’Shaun Ford
RB Zach Palmer-Smith
Head coach Bryant Vincent loves to feed the rock to his RB1 and last summer I was planting my flag on his coaching system. Vincent chose to run with true freshman Ahmad Hardy who scored 220 fantasy points in 2024. Hardy left in the transfer portal and Vincent went out and signed another talented freshman in D’Shaun Ford who has a real chance to win this starting job. But the team also went into the transfer portal and snagged Braylon McReynolds from South Alabama. McReynolds has 25 career game appearances giving him the experience edge over Ford, but McReynolds has never produced 350 yards and 2 TDs in a single season at South Alabama. Zach Palmer-Smith transfers in from Richmond where he ran the ball 263 times for 1382 yards and 13 TDs. He was impressive in spring camp and might have the inside track at the starting job.
LSU
TE Trey’Dez Green
TE Bauer Sharp
I was very high on the fantasy potential of Trey’Dez Green after his bowl game performance of 7 targets for 6 receptions, 53 yards and 2 TDs. He’s a 6’7” athletic pass catcher who has all the makings of a defensive nightmare to cover. But then the team went out and signed Bauer Sharp in the winter transfer portal. Sharp is more of an H-Back, block and slip into the flat type of tight end. I figured both might see the field with Green being the downfield passing option and Sharp being a blocking option. During the spring game the two split reps with the first team offense, which makes me worried about Sharp limiting Green’s snaps. We need to get a clearer picture from fall camp reports to find out how much Green will be featured in the offense.
Update 7/25
MIAMI, FL
WR Nathaniel Joseph
WR Keelan Marion
WR Tony Johnson
WR Malachi Toney
I am focusing purely on guys that “should” play in the slot this season. Before spring camp I mentioned that we couldn’t count out CJ Daniels or Joshia Trader moving inside to the slot. As spring camp played out we saw news that Nathaniel Joseph was neck and neck with Malachi Toney for the starting slot position. Then in the spring transfer portal the team signed Tony Johnson from Cincinnati who is talented enough to beat out both Joseph and Toney. I’m going to place my bet that one of these three ends up taking the coveted slot receiver role which has been featured as the WR1 the last two seasons in offensive coordinator Shannon Dawson’s offense.
MICHIGAN
RB Justice Haynes
RB Jordan Marshall
Fantasy owners have loved to turn to head coach Shannon Moore for workhorse running backs. This offseason he hired Chip Lindsey as the new offensive coordinator, and this spring Lindsey stated that he favors having two running backs that can carry the load. Justice Haynes is a former 5 star prospect that transfers in from Alabama. While that move grabbed the eyes of the CFF community during the winter transfer portal, Jordan Marshall is a returning back that can’t be ignored. I believe that Marhsall’s playing ability is likely what spurred the interest in moving into a split backfield. This backfield could still be worth “cornering the market” for since we won’t know exactly how the workload will be distributed until Week 1.
TE Marlin Klein
TE Hogan Hansen
The tight end position has been super productive the last two seasons with Colston Loveland. Marlin Klein was the TE2 for receptions last season, but Hogan Hansen was the TE2 in fantasy production. Klein has the experience advantage, while Hansen has the talent advantage. We don’t know if one of these guys can lock down a large workload or if both will be used in a split production fashion.
MISSISSIPPI
TE Daequan Wright
TE Luke Hasz
Last season Daequan Wright and Caden Prieskorn shared TE duties and each scored just above 70 fantasy points. Wright returns but Luke Hasz comes in through the portal and looks to take over Prieskorn’s role. I don’t see this as a position battle since both are likely to play and see production. But from the last two seasons of head coach Lan Kiffin’s coaching history, we can still find fantasy value with the top TE, we just need more news from fall camp to determine which of these two guys will be featured most.
NORTH TEXAS
WR Miles Coleman
WR Landon Sides
WR Simeon Evans
Head coach Eric Morris knows how to make good fantasy WR1’s, doing it with both outside and slot receivers. In the final two games of 2024 Miles Coleman playing out of the slot had 19 targets for 14 receptions, 136 yards and 1 TD. That caused his name to be the guy to target for 2025. Landon Sides also plays in the slot and is just as talented as Coleman. Simeon Evans is a name not getting enough attention in this discussion. He has played a balanced mix of outside and slot receiver, and is likely the most talented guy in this receiver room. Not only that, but last season Evans scored more fantasy points than Coleman or Sides.
NORTHERN ILLINOIS
RB Telly Johnson
RB Jayden Poe
RB Chavon Wright
Last season at Charleston (WV), offensive coordinator Quinn Sanders created a monster at running back. Chavon Wright scored 472 fantasy points on 355 carries, for 2235 yards, and 38 TDs. This winter the fantasy community looked to Telly Johnson as the man to carry this workload in 2025 as he is the only back returning from last year’s top three running backs. News emerged from spring camp that Jayden Poe has a slight edge over Johnson for the RB1 job. But the coaches limited Johnson during the spring game and made statements like he is the #1 guy. But to add more confusion to this, the coaches signed Chavon Wright in the spring transfer portal. We’ll likely have to wait until fall camp to see who emerges as the RB1, and if this monster workload will get split between multiple backs.
OHIO STATE
QB Julian Sayin
QB Lincoln Kienholz
Spring camp opened with Julian Sayin and Lincoln Keinholz splitting reps with the first team offense. These two battled all spring and continued to split reps during the spring game. Both Sayin and Kienholz played well in the final showing of spring camp, ensuring that this position battle will continue into fall camp.
Update 5/30
OKLAHOMA STATE
WR Cam Abshire
WR Christian Fitzpatrick
The passing game is being completely retooled for 2025 so every position is up for grabs. The focus for this write up will be the outside receiver position. Talyn Shettron tore his ACL and is out for 2025. Cam Abshire (Emory & Henry) was signed in the spring portal to contend for one of the outside receiver roles. He has a long 6’4” frame and is highly efficient in the red zone. Christian Fitzpatrick was granted an extra year of eligibility by the NCAA. He’s another 6’4” outside receiver that has 40 total career game appearances under his belt. With a new quarterback this season its too hard to tell if the outside or slot receiver has the best chance to be the WR1.
RUTGERS
RB Antwan Raymond
RB CJ Campbell
Antwan Raymond finished the 2024 season off strong scoring 50 fantasy points with five TDs over the last two games of the year. It looked like he was going to be penciled in as the new starting running back for 2025 until the coaching staff signed CJ Campbell in the winter portal. Campbell scored 235 fantasy points at Florida Atlantic last season and brings excellent pass catching skills into the offense. Raymond has a good chance of winning the starting job, but Campbell’s presence might turn this backfield into a split carry scenario in the fall.
Update 7/25
SMU
RB Tomarion Harden
RB Dramekco Green
RB Derrick McFall
This spring saw a bunch of turnover at the running back position for SMU. Multiple players transferred out of the program and Dramekco Green was fully in command of the RB1 position by the end of spring camp. Then SMU went and signed Tomarion Harden who had been sitting in the “free agent” pool since the winter. Harden has been a guy that's full of potential but we haven’t seen him live up to the expectations that were put on him when he was a recruit. Will his talent level be too much for Green to hold off or will Harden just become one piece of a two-man split backfield? A split carry scenario is what we’ve seen most from offensive coordinator Rhett Lashlee but when he settles on a workhorse back there’s great fantasy value there. Word over the summer is that Derrick McFall has emerged as the guy with the best chance to earn a workhorse share.
SOUTH ALABAMA
QB Bishop Davenport
QB Zach Pyron
The quarterback position opened up this spring when starter Gio Lopez entered the transfer portal. Bishop Davenport was the QB2 last season and played fairly well in last fall camp’s position battle. The coaches went out and signed Zach Pyron to create a full-fletched position battle for this fall camp. Both players are similar from a talent perspective, so I expect this battle to go deep into fall camp. But neither Davenport or Pyron are the same talent level as the previous fantasy worthy quarterbacks that head coach Major Applewhite has had. This makes me think that the type of fantasy numbers you see in the chart below might been out of reach for this season’s eventual starter.
SYRACUSE
QB Rickie Collins
QB Steve Angeli
Over the past two seasons Collins had watched the LSU offense from the sidelines. During the winter transfer portal he decided to leave for Syracuse to compete for the starting quarterback job. Collins stood apart from the competition so well that he was named the starting quarterback before the spring game was played. He was held out of the spring game due to a hand injury that should be fully healed over the summer. But out of nowhere the coaching staff signed Steve Angeli from Notre Dame in the spring transfer portal. Some fantasy analysts think this is an open competition again. I think if that was the case we would have seen Collins leave the team, so the signing of Angeli might just be an insurance policy if Collins’ hand injury is worse than the coaches think. Both of these guys are mobile and I think we could see stats that line up more with what Charlie Brewer produced at Baylor.
WR Darrell Gill
WR Johntay Cook
The Syracuse receiver room was turned upside down when Trebor Pena and Jackson Meeks both left in the spring transfer portal. Darrell Gill was left as the top returning receiver on the roster who plays on the outside. The coaching staff signed Johntay Cook who was released from the Washington team after breaking multiple team rules. Cook played a balanced receiver role at Texas in 2024, and could be a fit to replace Pena’s role in the offense. He is the most talented of these two, but Cook’s off the field behavior make it too risky to bank on him as the rock-solid WR1.
Update 6/10
TCU
RB Jeremy Payne
RB Trent Battle
RB Nate Palmer
Head coach Sonny Dykes doesn’t always feature a workhorse running back but he has done so three times since 2019. This position is wide open this season, and Jeremy Payne looks to have the most talent in the running back room. He’s the top returning back from last season, but he never played at a level in 2024 to command a 10+ carry workload. This leaves the door open for Trent Battle to contend for the starting job. He is more experienced than Payne, but Payne did leapfrog him on the depth chart last year despite the fact that Payne was a true freshman. Nate Palmer has also been turning heads in spring camp. If one of these three doesn’t take off early in fall camp, don’t be surprised if these two will share the running back production.
TE D’Andre Rogers
TE Ka'Morreun Pimpton
Last season Jack Bech was the starting tight end but was utilized like a wide receiver. This season looks to have a return to the type of production that we’ve seen from head coach Sonny Dykes when he has a more traditional tight end. D’Andre Rogers only pulled in 12 receptions last season but is the most productive returning tight end on the roster. Ka’Morreun Pimpton transfers in from LSU and brings his huge 6’6” frame with him. His size and athleticism makes him a real threat to take command of the starting job.
Update 6/6
TEXAS A&M
RB Rueben Owens
RB Le’Veon Moss
The last couple of seasons at Texas A&M have produced split carry backfields. The Aggies have three talented rushers but Rueben Owens is the only one who has been healthy this entire offseason. He will enter fall camp at the top of the depth chart after a solid spring camp. Le’Veon Moss injured his knee last November but reports are coming out that he “should” be healthy for the start of fall camp. I want to wait and see fall camp reports before I start raising Moss’ fantasy value and before I start looking at him to over take Owens as the RB1. Moss could win this job which means this situation needs to be monitored closely.
Update 6/16
TULANE
RB Maurice Turner
RB Arnold Barnes
RB Jamauri McClure
Last season starting running back Makhi Hughes scored 269 fantasy points, but he transferred during the winter to Oregon. This leaves 265 carries up for grabs this season. Arnold Barnes returns for 2025 after serving as the RB2 last year. The coaching staff beefed up the running back room in the winter by signing Maurice Turner from Louisville. Jamauri McClure did not play much high school football and has been a diamond in the rough on this team who had a breakout spring. While Turner is the favorite to win the starting job, we didn’t hear the type of news we wanted in the spring to say that Barnes and McClure are only competing for the backup role.
Update 5/19
UTSA
RB Robert Henry
RB A’Marion Peterson
RB John Emery
Henry has been the starting running back for UTSA the past two seasons. His production each season as the starter has been in the 140 fantasy point range, and held in check with the coaches choosing to utilize a split backfield approach. The RB2 those seasons each had 93 and 147 carries and limited Henry’s touch down production. He originally declared for the NFL draft after last season but the NCAA granted him an extra year of eligibility so he returned to the team. A’Marion Peterson has been stuck on the bench in two seasons at USC but he has upside. How much he plays into this position battle will determine how well things “click” in fall camp for him. John Emery has been playing at LSU since the 2019 season. He was awarded an extra year of eligibility and transferred to UTSA after spring camp concluded. He has never been a high producer but he is talented enough to potentially split the workload with Henry. In head coach Jeff Traylor’s coaching history he had one running back hit 200+ carries in 2021, with all other RB1’s getting 156 carries or less. We’ll have to wait for news out of fall camp to determine if Robert Henry can be considered a Riser again.
WASHINGTON STATE
RB Kirby Vorhees
RB Leo Pulalasi
RB Angel Johnson
New offensive coordinator Danny Freund moves up from FCS South Dakota State. His RB1 from last season was a senior, but he brought his RB2 Kirby Vorhees and Angel Johnson with him to Washington State. Johnson sat out spring camp with a foot injury so we’ll have to wait until fall camp to see how he fits into this position battle. Don’t forget about returning running back Leo Pulaasi who is talented enough to win the starting job.
WESTERN KENTUCKY
WR KD Hutchinson
WR Jairus Mack
The best fantasy receivers from head coach Tyson Helton’s coaching history have been slot receivers. KD Hutchinson has played in 30 total games during his time at Western Kentucky and looks to be the most talented of this group. Jairus Mack was brought in during the spring transfer portal. He’s never had more than 453 yards and 2 TDs in a season despite having played in 34 career games. Mack might just be a depth piece but we won’t know exactly how he stacks up until fall camp reports start to come out.
WISCONSIN
RB Darrion Durpee
RB Cade Yacamelli
RB Dilin Jones
Last season Cade Yacamelli was part of a split backfield at the start of the 2024 season, but once late October rolled around he did not log another carry. Darrion Dupree worked his way into the running back rotation during October but never ran for more than 63 yards in a single game. These two will battle each other with the hopes they can command a 200 carry workload which we have seen from offensive coordinator Jeff Grimes’ coaching history. During spring camp Dilin Jones stepped up his game and inserted his name into this position battle. This is a competition that will go into fall camp and could likely be another split carry backfield.
