Which G5 And Below Players Will Be In The Buffalo Bills At Jacksonville Jaguars Matchup?

By Keith Allison from Hanover, MD, USA - Flickr

Wild card weekend in the NFL is here and now is a great time to take a look at the "small program" players that will participate in the upcoming games. We will start with the 3/6 matchup of Buffalo and Jacksonville.

Buffalo (17):

AAC (3):

• Dion Dawkins, LT (Temple): Starting left tackle. 11 starts as a rookie in 2017.
• Charles Clay, TE (Tulsa): Starting tight end. 49/558/2TD. 318 catches for 3,447 yards and 23 touchdowns during his career.
• Zay Jones, WR (East Carolina): Backup wide receiver. 27/316/2TD as a rookie in 2017.

MAC (1):

• Cap Capi, DE (Akron): Backup defensive end. 5 tkl, 1 sack in 2017.

CUSA (2):

• Jordan Mills, RT (Louisiana Tech): Starting right tackle. 16 starts in 2017. 66 career starts.
• Joe Webb, QB (UAB): Third team quarterback. 35 yards passing, 54 yards rushing in 2017.

MW (2):

• Eddie Yarbrough, DE (Wyoming): Starting defensive end. 34 tackles, 1 sack in 2017.
• Tanner Vallejo, LB (Boise State): Backup MLB. 4 tkl in 2017.

Sun Belt (1):

• Mike Tolbert, FB (Coastal Carolina): Backup RB/FB. 66/247/1TD in 2017. 696/2,649/34TD during his career.

Independents (1):

• Vladimir Ducasse, G (Massachusetts): Starting right guard. 12 starts in 2017. 42 career starts.

FCS and below (7):

• Colton Schmidt, P (UC Davis): Starting punter. 44.7 punt average in 2017. 44.1 career punting average.
• Colt Anderson, S (Montana): Backup free safety. 3 tkl in 2017.
• Ryan Davis, DE (Bethune-Cookman): Backup defensive end. 26 tkl, 3 sacks in 2017.
• Ramon Humber, LB (North Dakota State): Backup WLB. 89 tkl, 1 sack in 2017.
• Deon Lacey, LB (West Alabama): Backup SLB. 7 tkl in 2017.
• Khari Lee, TE (Bowie State): No stats in 2017.
• Cedric Thornton, DT (Southern Arkansas): Backup defensive tackle. 27 tkl, 2 sacks in 2017.

Jacksonville (15):

AAC (2):

• Blake Bortles, QB (UCF): Starting quarterback. 3,687 yards passing and 21 TD in 2017. 14,928 yards passing and 64 career touchdowns.
• AJ Bouye, CB (UCF): Starting cornerback. 56 tkl, 6 INT in 2017. Pro Bowl selection.  

MAC (2):

• Barry Church, S (Toledo): Starting strong safety. 74 tkl, 1.5 sacks, 4 INT in 2017.
• Blair Brown, LB (Ohio): Backup WLB. 15 tkl, 0.5 sacks in 2017. 

CUSA (1):

• Josh Walker, OL (MTSU): Third string left guard.

MW (2):

• Tashaun Gipson, S (Wyoming): Starting free safety. 64 tkl, 4 INT in 2017.
• Peyton Thompson, S (San Jose State): Backup free safety. 12 tkl in 2017.

Sun Belt (1):

• Montay Crockett, WR (Georgia Southern):No stats in 2017

Independents (0):

• None.

FCS and below (7):

• Keelan Cole, WR (Kentucky Wesleyan): Backup wide receiver, but second on the team in catches. 42/748/3TD as a rookie in 2017.
• Chris Ivory, RB (Tiffin): Backup running back. 112/382/1TD in 2017.
• James O’Shaughnessy, TE (Illinois State): Third team tight end. 14/149/1TD and 5 tkl in 2017.
• Donald Payne, LB (Stetson): Backup MLB. 13 tkl in 2017.
• William Poehls, OT (Montana): Third string right tackle.
• Chris Reed, OL (Minnesota State): Backup left guard.
• Josh Wells, OL (James Madison): Backup left tackle. 

Notes:

• Three of the five starters on the Buffalo offensive line are from the G5 (Temple, Louisiana Tech, Massachusetts). 
• Three of the four starters in the Jacksonville secondary are G5 (UCF, Wyoming, Toledo).
• Blake Bortles is one of 10 G5 or below quarterbacks to start a majority of the season for his team. 
• Undrafted free agent Keelan Cole is the only NAIA player to participate in this game and is second on the team in receptions as a rookie. 
• Including special teams, there are 10 starters in this game from the G5 and below. A case could be made the Zay Jones and Keelan Cole are basically starters despite being listed as #2 on the depth chart.