Chris

Oladokun

Prince ran and jumped his way into the hearts of fantasy managers earlier this offseason, only to fade away in camp/the preseason. The former Tulsa running back faced an uphill battle to crack a running back room that features Isiah Pacheco, Clyde Edwards-Helaire, and Jerick McKinnon and is now on the outside looking in. There’s a chance Prince clears waivers and ends up back on the Chiefs’ practice squad in the coming days. In addition to Prince, the Chiefs also released/waived DE Joshua Kaindoh, DT Phil Hoskins, S Deon Bush, DT Danny Shelton, CB Reese Taylor, CB Ekow Boye-Doe, LB Cole Christiansen, S Anthony Cook, QB Shane Buechele, QB Chris Oladokun, OL Sebastian Gutierrez, DT Daniel Wise, CB Kahlef Hailassie, RB La’Michal Perine, C Austin Reiter, and TE Kendall Blanton.

Oladokun finished senior season at South Dakota State with 1,390 passes and 15 touchdowns against three interceptions in nine games after starting his collegiate career at South Florida. Oladokun is a mobile QB, rushing for nearly 500 yards in 2019. He’ll be a long shot to crack the Pittsburgh roster in 2022.

South Dakota State has become a must-watch program the last few years in regards to draft prospects. They have a couple in this year’s class including Oladoku (6'2/195). After the top-seven quarterbacks, there are a lot of contenders to be the next one off the board. Pelissero also reported that Oladokun has had workouts with three teams and virtual visits with three others including the Houston Texans. Teams want a closer look at the former South Florida quarterback.

Oladokun (6'2/195) began his college career in his hometown, spending two seasons at USF before transferring to Samford ahead of the 2019 season. In 2019 he started eight of the 12 games that he appeared in for the Bulldogs, completing 169-of-272 passes for 2,058 yards and 18 touchdowns with seven interceptions. Oladokun was also impactful on the ground that season, rushing for 491 yards and another eight scores on 127 carries. During the 2021 spring season Oladokun appeared in each of Samford’s seven games, backing up Liam Welch, and he threw for 221 yards and a touchdown while being picked off twice. Oladokun will have one season of eligibility remaining at South Dakota State.

Oladokun (6'2/197) saw scant playing time during his career at South Florida, with his final spot of action coming in a (brief) starting call in the Bad Boy Mowers Gasparilla Bowl last month. He only attempted five passes in that contest vs. Marshall prior to being benched. As he is dropping out of the FBS with this Samford transfer, Oladokun will be eligible to play immediately in the fall.

Oladokun drew the start for the Bad Boy Mowers Gasparilla Bowl, but he was benched after throwing only five passes. He had inconsistent playing time over his two-plus years with the Bulls, and likely will be looking for a chance to start. He’d be immediately eligible to play at the FCS level, but if he transfers to an FBS program, he’ll have to sit out the 2019 season unless he leaves with his degree.

Oladokun drew the start, but he only attempted five passes before usual starter Blake Barnett entered. Barnett found moderate success (212 yards and one touchdown) but it was a mostly forgettable offensive night for South Florida. Barnett is the favorite to start the 2019 season, but it needs to be an open competition.

This is not yet official, but to this point it would appear that Oladokun will start against Marshall, here, with Blake Barnett set to serve as backup. The Barnett angle is particularly interesting, as Knight had been reporting earlier in the day that he would likely be available only in an emergency. Outright backup -- over Brett Kean -- would seem to indicate that his various injuries might be bothering him less than they did at the end of the campaign.

It will be either Oladokun or Brett Kean starting, with regular starter Blake Barnett likely to be available only in emergency capacity. We saw Oladokun start against UCF in the regular-finale, when he completed 7-of-12 passes for 77 yards, a touchdown and an interception (Kean also played in that contest). Neither of these options are particularly palatable.

Oladokun and Brett Kean both received playing time on Friday, but it was clear that Oladokun was the better option. Kean only managed 36 yards on 17 pass attempts (2.1 YPA) while Oladokun averaged 6.4 yards per attempt. The sophomore quarterback also provides a rushing threat as well, so it was questionable management by the USF coaching staff. South Florida (7-5) is best off with Blake Barnett, who has been out with shoulder and lower body injuries.