College Open Thread - Aug. 30

IT IS UPON IS.

The path to the 2013 NFL Draft begins tonight. Throughout the college football season, we'll have open threads often with occasional depth pieces you won't get over at Mocking the Draft with an eye toward the Rams' future. It starts tonight.

In lieu of the Excel watchlist I put together last year, I'm going to put a but more into these open threads and pieces here at TST. Let me know what other things you're interested in in terms of content.

#9 South Carolina at Vanderbilt (7 p.m., ESPN) - MTD Watch Notes

ERRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRMEHGGEEEEEEEEERD. SEC football on evening numero uno? We are all blessed.

Obviously, South Carolina RB Marcus Lattimore will be a prospect NFL Draft folks will be watching all year. While the Rams are comfortable at DE, Devin Taylor is an impressive prospect. Without Melvin Ingram, he and (superhuman bionic freakshow robot alien) true sophomore Jadaveon Clowney form an impressive pass rush duo. Rams fans will want to get a good look at two Gamecocks: FS D.J. Swearinger and OLB DeVonte Holloman.

Head Coach James Franklin is taking Vandy out of the basement. That's no small task in the SEC. So while you can expect them to be more competitive than in years past, they're still a bit bottom heavy. If they can hang on to the majority of their 2013 class, they're going to be more noticeable on prospect watch lists. There's not a ton there this year for Rams fans, but OT Ryan Seymour is worth your time when Vandy has the ball. I could see him creeping up into the latter rounds if he improves this year.

Other MTD Watch Notes:

Washington St. v. BYU (10:15 p.m., ESPN)

Other prospects worth checking out for Rams fans:

UCF FS Kemal Ishmael (at Akron - 7 p.m., ESPN3) - fringe UDFA

Utah DT Star Lotulelei (v. Northern Colorado - 7:15 p.m., Pac-12) - top 3 DT prospect, 1st round stock

Washington St. WR Marquess Wilson (at BYU - 10:15 p.m., ESPN) - top 8 WR prospect