DG166

DG166, the last of 6 dread galleries covering the 2015 NFL season, is "All About the Dreads" - meaning that most of the photos are shots of players with some of the best dreads, including many of whom were ranked in the countdown of the league's 30 players with the longest dreads that I did in my Week 22 report. Then to wrap things up we'll take a look at a few shots I saved of some of great dreads from college football.

1. S Kendrick Lewis' dreads go flying as he sends WR Doug Baldwin flying after Baldwin crosses the goal line with a 22-yard TD reception, upping the Seahawks' lead to 21-6 over the Ravens during 3rd quarter in Week 14. Lewis had 3 tackles (1-2) and Baldwin scored 3 TD in Seattle's 35-6 road win.
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2. With the Dolphins leading by 2 with 4:29 remaining in the game in Week 13 and looking for first downs to run out the clock, RB Lamar Miller breaks loose on the first play of the drive and picks up 17 yards before being stripped of the ball by Kendrick Lewis at the 37-yard line. Lewis briefly has possession of the ball before losing control, but it was recovered by teammate Courtney Upshaw. 4 plays later (after a three-and-out) the great Jason Tucker missed a 55-yard FG attempt, and the Dolphins held on to win 15-13. Lewis finished with 5 tackles (5-0) and 1 FF. As you can see, Kendrick has some of the best dreads in the league. What a shame it is that he chooses to keep them reduced so often.
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3. Falcons LB Philip Wheeler makes the tackle, but it's too late to prevent QB Cam Newton from getting the 1st down, as he scrambles for 6 yards on 3rd and 5 late in 3rd quarter in Week 16. The Panthers punted 4 plays later. Wheeler finished with 3 tackles (2-1) in the Falcons' big 20-13 upset of the Panthers.
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4. Philip Wheeler sets to tackle RB Adrian Peterson, something he did often during the Falcons' Week 12 home game vs. the Vikings. In 43 snaps on defense Wheeler recorded a season high 11 tackles (6-5), including tackling Peterson 6 times during the Vikings' 20-10 victory. I dropped Wheeler from the #1 spot for having the longest dreads; but Philip is always #1 in the best presentation of dreads. Throughout his career, which began when he was drafted by the Colts in 2008, he always has had his dreads flowing at full blast - never reduced, never even banded together, always completely loose. The NFL would be so much more fun to watch if everybody with dreads would follow his lead. In case you hadn't noticed, Wheeler has changed jersey numbers for the 2016 season, from #51 to #41 - which was the number he wore in college at Georgia Tech.
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5. Browns WR Travis Benjamin hurdles the last obstacle in his path - Titans P Brett Kern, down after being flattened by a block by CB Pierre Desir (#26) - at the 20-yard line as he takes a punt return 78 yards to the house to up the Cleveland lead to 21-0 late in 2nd quarter of the Browns' home opener in Week 2. Benjamin wisely choose to leap so that he didn't have to slow down. Had he cut around Kern, he probably would have been tackled from behind before reaching the end zone. This was the 2nd of 3 TD in the game for Benjamin in the best performance of his career so far. He caught 3 passes for 115 yards, including a 50-yard TD and a 60-yard TD, and he had 154 yards on 6 punt returns to earn AFC special teams player of the week honors. His 269 all-purpose yards were a career high; and, oh, the Browns actually won too, 28-14.
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6. WR Marlon Brown catches a short pass for a 7-yard gain on 2nd and 6 to pick up the Ravens' 1st first down of the day during 1st quarter at Oakland in Week 2. The drive ended with a FG 8 plays later. Brown was on the field for 70 snaps but had just 2 catches for 12 yards in the Ravens' thrilling but tough 37-33 loss to the Raiders. I included only one WR in my top 30 countdown of the league's players with the longest dreads (Dwayne Harris); but if you're talking WRs only with the longest dreads, Marlon makes the top 5 easily on that list. I just hope his career isn't over yet. After catching 14 passes for 112 yards in 10 games, he missed the last 6 games of the season due to a back injury. It's the same injury that apparently wasn't healed when the Broncos released him just one week after 2016 training camp began. Hopefully he'll be healthy enough to play later on this season or at least by 2017 at the latest.
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7. Outweighed by 70 pounds, CB Jason Verrett brings down Seahawks TE Jimmy Graham after a 10-yard reception as S Jahleel Addae comes flying in late to give him a hand late in 2nd quarter of the Chargers' 16-15 loss during Week 3 of the preseason. With RB Melvin Gordon doing so much better in 2016 than he did last season, I've been watching Chargers games as much as possible. But those games just are not as much fun with the sick dreads of Verrett and Addae missing from their secondary. Verrett tore his ACL in Week 4 and is out for the season, while Addae has been out since Week 3 with a broken collarbone but should be back before the season ends.
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8. Texans LB Jadeveon Clowney lets his dreads fly during a break at training camp practice on Aug. 17. It's great to see Clowney starting to play up to his potential (through Week 8 of the 2016 season he's tied for 3rd in the NFL with 9 TFL). What's not great is that he's not letting his dreads flow like this very much anymore. More often than not these days he's on the field with his dreads reduced.
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9. In his first training camp with the Falcons (after playing his first 4 NFL seasons with the Buccaneers), DE Adrian Clayborn, shown here sacking QB Matt Ryan during a scrimmage on Aug. 7, had his long dreads back to normal, giving me hope that he was going to keep them that way. But once the games started he was back to his familiar look, with them reduced so seriously you would only need your two hands to count the number of his locks - a look which obviously he loves but which I can't stand. Dreads aside, I certainly like the way he has been playing. He already has 3.5 sacks (a half sack more than in all of 2015) and recently scored his 1st career TD.
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10. RB Daryl Richardson, shown here about to be tackled by LB Najee Goode during the Jets' 24-18 home win over the Eagles in the final preseason game (he rushed for 72 yards and 1 TD in the game), several years ago decided he was going to keep his dreads reduced all the time (much to my disappointment), and now it looks like they've become permanently reduced. These look like longer dreads than any other RB in the league has; too bad we never got a chance to see them flowing full blast. Dreads aside, it was nice to see Richardson finally get a bit of playing time with the Steelers while Le'Veon Bell was suspended earlier this season. After rushing for almost 700 yards for the Rams in his first two seasons (2012-13), he spent all of the next two seasons on the practice squads of various teams. The Steelers let him go when Bell's suspension ended, and he is currently on their practice squad. He'll be the next man up if any of their RBs gets injured. 
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11. CB Ron Brooks is fired up as he heads off the field at the end of pregame warmups before the Bills face the Colts in the season opener. He ending up making 1 tackle in the game as the Bills won 27-14. You can always count on Ron to add some color to his dreads. He's been dyeing his tips one color or another since his 2nd season in the league (2013). After playing with the Bills for four years, Brooks signed with the Eagles during the offseason; but unfortunately his first season with them is already over, as he recently went on IR with a torn quad tendon.
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12. Who does Tre Mason think he is, Marshawn Lynch? ..... Mason, the Rams' 2nd year RB, tries to see if that Skittles thing will work for him the same way it does for Beast Mode as he takes a break during the Week 2 road game vs. Washington. Not quite, apparently, as he gained only 26 yards on 7 carries in the Rams' 24-10 loss. After rushing for 765 yards in a productive 2014 rookie season, Mason really stood out in 2015, changing to dreads dyed almost entirely blond. But unfortunately once Todd Gurley was ready to play, Tre saw his playing time decrease drastically (his total carries dropped from 179 to 75). Dreads aside, hopefully we haven't seen the last of Mason; but serious substance abuse and mental health problems (the last photo AP has of him is a mug shot) have sidelined him for 2016 and put his career in jeopardy. 
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13. I have already had several shots of Bills WR Sammy Watkins' big game in Week 12 vs. the Chiefs in previous posts; and here are a couple more - just because I really loved the way he had his dreads flowing for this game. Sammy had 4 receptions of 20+ yards, and this was the first (and longest) of them, as he makes the catch behind CB Sean Smith for a 48-yard gain to the KC 15-yard line on the game's third play from scrimmage. The Bills settled for a FG 4 plays later. Watkins finished with 6 catches - 4 for 1st downs, the other 2 for TD - for 158 yards to lead the Bills to a 16-7 lead late in the 2nd quarter; but he was shut out from then on as the Chiefs came back to win 30-22.
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14. CB Stephon Gilmore goes low to try to knock Bengals RB Jeremy Hill out of bounds at the 2-yard line but misses, as Hill dives over him and with a long reach gets the ball over the goal line for a 13-yard TD reception, tying the game with the Bills at 7 late in 1st quarter in Week 6. Gilmore finished with 5 tackles (5-0) and 2 PBU in the Bills' 34-21 home loss.
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15. Stephon Gilmore eyes the penalty flag, knowing it's there because he's guilty of committing pass interference in the end zone on 2nd and goal with 3 seconds remaining until halftime vs. the Dolphins in Week 9. Actually though, getting a penalty in that situation wasn't a bad play at all on his part, because ..... whenever it's the closing seconds of the 1st half AND it's not 3rd or 4th down AND the other team is already in FG range AND there's enough time for more than one play (this play began with :05 on the clock), you always do whatever it takes on defense to make sure the other team doesn't get a touchdown - even it means taking a penalty intentionally. By committing PI here, Gilmore prevented a TD and forced the Dolphins to settle for a FG on the next play - only they didn't feel like settling for a FG since they were trailing 19-7. So they ended up coming away with no points at all after throwing an incomplete pass on the next play. Nice going, Stephon! He finished the day with 3 tackles (3-0) and 1 PBU in the Bills' 33-17 home win.
Now that Rashean Mathis is retired, Stephon has the longest dreads of any CB in the league - an honor he seems to be serious about keeping for a while.
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16. Dolphins G Dallas Thomas enjoys his favorite musical selection during early warmups before taking on (and defeating) the Eagles in Week 10. Thomas no longer is the O-lineman with the longest dreads in the league - but only because he's not in the league right now. He and fellow dreadhead lineman Billy Turner were kicked off the team, blamed for that sack fest the Titans' defense had against the Dolphins a few weeks ago. Turner is now with the Broncos, but Thomas remains unsigned.
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17. LB Dannell Ellerbe tries to put the clamps on Colts RB Frank Gore during the Saints' Week 7 game at Indianapolis. Ellerbe tied for the team lead with 7 tackles (7-0), including 5 stops of Gore, in the Saints' 27-21 win. Once again this season (for the 3rd straight season) fans haven't been able to see Dannell's awesome dreads on the field nearly enough. After playing only 1 game in his only season with the Dolphins in 2014 and 6 games in his first season with the Saints in 2015, he missed the first 6 games of 2016 with a quad injury before finally making his season debut in Week 8.
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18. RB Charles Sims picks up 11 yards on a reception on 2nd and 10 but is stopped at the 2-yard line by S Tre Boston and DE Jared Allen with :07 to go until halftime during Week 17 at Charlotte. The Buccaneers threw incomplete passes on the next two plays and came away empty on the 13-play drive, keeping the Panthers' lead at 24-3. Boston finished with 5 tackles (2-3), including 1 TFL, as the Panthers won 38-10. Tre, just like with Philip Wheeler, is fun to watch because he always keeps his dreads completely loose, and they go flying every which way whenever he makes a tackle. 
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19. Practice squad S Marcus Ball makes a catch in practice three days before the Panthers take on the Cardinals in the NFC championship game. If Ball had been good enough to get on the field with Tre Boston, the Panthers could have had a pair of safeties with the sickest dreads ever. But after playing in 12 games (including 2 starts) for the Saints in 2014, he spent all of 2015 on the practice squad with the Panthers. He finally got into a game this season, playing 20 special teams snaps in the Panthers' loss to the Vikings in Week 3 - and was promptly released two days later. He then spent a couple of weeks on the Jaguars' practice squad but was released from there also and is currently a free agent.
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20. Rams WR Bradley Marquez tries his best but can't catch a short pass as 49ers CB Keith Reaser defends late in 4th quarter in Week 17. The Rams punted 2 plays later and went on to lose 19-16 in overtime. Not selected in the 2015 draft, Marquez had only 22 passes thrown to him (catching 13) during his rookie season but played so well on special teams that we may get a chance to see his dreads get much longer than they already are before his career is over.
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21. As Jahleel Addae helps LB Manti Te'o tackle Jaguars TE Julius Thomas after the catch in Week 12, his dreads spread out so much that you're almost able to count how many locks he has. Te'o and Addae each got credit for 2 solo tackles of Thomas in the game, and I don't know who got the tackle here. Jahleel finished with 6 tackles (5-1) and 2 PBU in the Chargers' 31-25 road win.
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22. Jahleel Addae's dreads defy gravity (briefly) as he stops Raiders RB Taiwan Jones after a 5-yard reception on 1st and 10 late in 3rd quarter in Week 16. The Raiders punted 3 plays later. Addae finished with 4 tackles (4-0), one of which was a sack. The Chargers and Raiders gave fans an entertaining game to watch on Christmas Eve, with the Raiders getting the win 23-20 in overtime.
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23. With dreads even longer than Jahleel Addae's, DT Ricardo Mathews tries but fails to stop Bears RB Jeremy Langford on one of his 21 touches on Monday night in Week 9. Mathews unfortunately keeps an extra band around his dreads about halfway down, so they don't get the chance to look as impressive as could. Mathews played 45 snaps on defense in this game but didn't make any tackles as the Chargers lost at home to the Bears 22-19. After playing with the Chargers in 2014 and 2015, Ricardo is now with the Steelers for 2016 on a one-year contract.
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24. Here we have Jahleel Addae and Ricardo Mathews are in the same shot. As Mathews gets blocked by Broncos OT Ryan Harris, Addae chases after a ball that was fumbled by RB C..J. Anderson (#22) at the 21-yard line early in 3rd quarter in Week 17. Addae recovered the ball at the 32-yard line for his 1st FR of the season and the Broncos' 5th turnover of the game. After the Chargers scored a TD on the ensuing possession to take a 13-7 lead, Peyton Manning replaced Brock Osweiler at QB for the Broncos and led them back to a huge 27-20 home victory.
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25. What? You didn't think I wasn't going to include a couple last shots of Rashean Mathis before he retired, did you? ..... Mathis and S Isa Abdul-Quddus both get credit for a PBU as they make sure WR Emmanuel Sanders doesn't catch the pass from Peyton Manning on 3rd and 1 with 13 seconds remaining in 1st half in Week 3. But their efforts went for naught because the Broncos remarkably scored a 45-yard TD on the next play, increasing their lead to 14-6 .....
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26. ..... Earlier in the game TE Owen Daniels gets no yards after the catch as Mathis drops him for a 4-yard loss on the first play of the Broncos' 2nd drive of the game. The Broncos converted on 3rd and 13 two plays later but punted 5 plays after that. Rashean finished with 6 tackles (5-1), 2 TFL, 1 FF, and 2 PBU; but the Lions lost their home opener to the Broncos 24-12.
Will this be the last you ever see of Rashean in this blog? Nah. Someway, somehow, I'll figure out a way to mention him again again, even though his 13-year NFL career is now over.
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27. Vikings rookie CB Trae Waynes is finding Seahawks CB Jeremy Lane to be a formidable obstacle while trying to get downfield and cover a punt during the Vikings' 38-7 home loss in Week 13. I included Waynes as one of the 30 players with the longest dreads; but if you've seen him since the 2016 season started, you know that's no longer true, as he has cut his dreads 6 inches or so shorter.
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28. Of all the photos I saved of RB DuJuan Harris from 2015, this is the one that gives you the best look at how long his dreads are, as he picks up some of his 42 yards rushing for the Seahawks during their 35-6 road victory over the Ravens in Week 13. With Daryl Richardson (photo #10) not appearing in any regular season games during the season, I gave Harris the nod for the RB with the longest dreads in the league.
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29. And now here's the WR with the longest dreads - Dwayne Harris (no relation to DuJuan), returning a kickoff during 1st quarter vs. the Cowboys in Week 7. Later in this game Dwayne took a kickoff return to the house to break a tie midway through the 4th quarter and give the Giants a 24-17 home victory. It was his 1st career TD on a kickoff return, and it earned him NFC special teams player of the week honors.
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30. Dwayne Harris can't stay on his feet after being hit by Buccaneers CB Alterraun Verner and gains only 1 yard on his only reception of the game on 1st and 10 during 1st quarter in Week 9; but his dreads, as always, look great. Just like with Philip Wheeler, Harris ihas been one of my favorite players because he's always on the field with his dreads completely loose.
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31. Dwayne Harris' dreads point in every direction as he is tackled by CB Brice McCain during 1st quarter on Monday night in Week 14. I think this is a shot of Harris' 10-yard reception to the Miami 17-yard line on 3rd and 13 on the Giants' opening possession. The Giants settled for a FG on the next play. Dwayne had 5 catches for 41 yards and 98 all-purpose yards in all in the Giants' 31-24 road win over the Dolphins.
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32. Sadly, Reggie Nelson doesn't always have his dreads flowing at full blast; but when he does, they are amazing. Here in Week 14 Nelson's dreads hang way past his number 20 and all the way down his back as he warms up before the Bengals' home game vs. the Steelers and as Coach Lewis has a word with him as he returns to the sideline during the game. If he plays much longer, they'll be down past his butt too.
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33. S Reggie Nelson sets to make the tackle after a catch for 8-yard gain by Bills WR Robert Woods on 2nd and 7 during 3rd quarter in Week 6. The Bills punted 4 plays later. Reggie finished with a career high 12 tackles (8-4), including 1 TFL, and 1 PBU as the Bengals got the 34-21 road win.
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34. Reggie Nelson tied for the league lead with 8 INT in 2015; but here in Week 16 he makes one of his better plays that wasn't an interception. You probably remember this if you were watching the key Monday night game between the Bengals and the Broncos. On the 12th play of the opening possession in overtime the Broncos try for the TD on 2nd and 9 but are denied as Nelson's hard hit separates Owen Daniels from the ball at the 3-yard line for an incomplete pass.
http://www.nfl.com/videos/nfl-game-highlights/0ap3000000611747/Reggie-Nelson-makes-big-stop
It was Nelson's 2nd PBU of the game. He also had 1 tackle (1-0). The Broncos settled for a FG two plays later to take a 20-17 lead. But that turned out to be enough, as the Bengals turned the ball over on the 2nd play of the ensuing possession, ending the game.
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35. Travis Benjamin bids farewell to Browns fans after the Browns lose to the Steelers 28-12 in the final game of the season. See ya! ....... No, actually the caption says this shot was taken before the game. But it might just as well have been after the game, because it turned out to be his last game for the team that drafted him in the 4th round in 2012. He scored 13 TD in the 54 games he played in his 4 seasons with the team. The Browns went 5-11, 4-12, 7-9, and 3-13 and (of course) missed the playoffs every year. Travis has scored 3 TD so far in 2016 in his first season with the Chargers and is finding the wins still very hard to come by in the AFC West.
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OK. Now as we transition from the NFL to College Football here in DG166 I thought we'd take a little dread journey of a player who transitioned from college to the NFL during the last two years. CB Vernon Hargreaves didn't have dreads during his first two seasons at Florida but decided to start growing them for his junior season - partial dreads, that is, which seems to be the most popular style (for now) for athletes just beginning their dreads.

36. We might as well use this as the starting point because these dreads look like they've been twisted for only a week (or even less). Here Vernon Hargreaves signs autographs for fans at Florida's spring football game on Apr. 11.
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37. Hargreaves is looking dapper and his dreads a lot longer 3 months later as he takes questions at SEC Media Day on July 13.
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38. Here are Vernon Hargreaves' dreads at 6 months, as he is shown before the Gators' game at LSU on Oct. 17. He had 3 tackles (2-1) and 1 FF in the game as the Gators dropped to 6-1 with a 35-28 loss in a battle of teams ranked in the top 10.
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39. 6 weeks later Hargreaves greets fans during the Gator Walk to the stadium before playing what would be his final home game in a Florida uniform on Nov. 28. He had 2 tackles (2-0) as the Gators lost to Florida State 27-2. They lost to the Seminoles in all three years he was on the team.
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40. Moving into 2016, here are Hargreaves' dreads 3 months later, as he participates in the NFL Combine on Feb. 29.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hcg4QZRJAD4
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41. Vernon Hargreaves' dreads at 13 months, as he spends Friday the 13th at the bowling alley, two weeks after being drafted in the 1st round by his hometown team, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Hargreaves and the other Buccaneer rookies took on rookies from the Tampa Fire Department in a friendly bowling event.
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42. And finally, Hargreaves' dreads at 16 and a half months, during the Buccaneers' preseason game vs. the Browns on Aug. 26. Obviously they're still too short to be seen with his helmet on; but they're growing as fast as they should, so they should start becoming visible by next year.
Vernon won't turn 22 until next June and has a bright future in front of him. As expected, he's had his ups and downs so far during his rookie season. Teams certainly have been putting him to the test. He already has 41 tackles in the Bucs' first 8 games. He also has 5 PBU and is still looking for that 1st career INT.
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My coverage of the 2015 College Football season was limited to just the 3 reports I did (Weeks 8, 10, and 14). But I saved a bunch of photos from every week. I know, it's more than a bit late; but let's take a look at some of the things that happened during the parts of the season I didn't cover before.

43. Coach Dantonio gets a kick out of it as 325-pound O-lineman Donavon Clark runs after the catch - the kind of play you'll see only during a spring practice game. In this case it's Michigan State's spring game on Apr. 25. Clark started at three different positions during his 47 career games for the Spartans; and apparently that versatility is what made him attractive to the San Diego Chargers, who drafted him in the 7th round earlier this year. Unfortunately he is spending his rookie NFL season on IR after tearing his ACL during a preseason game.  
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44. After near misses by Trent Richardson and Melvin Gordon in recent years, we finally have the second ever Heisman Trophy winner with dreads, with Alabama junior Derrick Henry posing with the trophy at the ceremony on Dec. 12. The first with dreads was Ricky Williams way back in 1998. Henry made Coach Saban look like an idiot for keeping him out of the starting lineup during his first two seasons for the Crimson Tide, as he rushed for 2,219 yards (148 per game) and 28 TD as a junior. Evidently Derrick is going to have to wait his turn in the NFL too. Despite being drafted in the 2nd round by the Tennessee Titans, he has only 53 carries so far during the first half of his rookie season.
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45. Notre Dame junior LB Jaylon Smith is comforted by a teammate and then helped off the field after suffering a devastating knee injury during the Fiesta Bowl against Ohio State on Jan. 1. Smith played well enough during the season to make the AP All-America 1st team. But, as you know by now, his injury was so serious that no NFL teams drafted him in the 1st round. The Dallas Cowboys rolled the dice and picked him in round 2. It remains to be seen if his knee if his knee will fully recover and allow him to be the great player he was in college. We should know by next year. The writer of this article from a blog on the Cowboys thinks drafting Smith in the 2nd round was a good gamble: https://insidethestar.com/cowboys-headlines/jaylon-smith-still-a-good-draft-choice/
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46. After missing most of his 2010 freshman season due to injury and then suffering another season-ending injury in the 2014 season opener, Cincinnati CB Adrian Witty was granted a 6th year of eligibility by the NCAA. Unfortunately that 6th year lasted all of 3 games. It came to an end during 4th quarter in Week 3, as Miami (Ohio) WR Chris Hudson lands on his leg while preventing him from intercepting a pass during 4th quarter of a tie game. Witty suffered a broken ankle; and no, the NCAA did not give him a 7th year. According to his bio on the UC website, Witty, who was a HS teammate of Denard Robinson (and who originally committed to go to Michigan to be with Robinson until academic issues detoured him to UC), had already graduated in 2013 and was working on a masters degree. So even though he's not earning NFL millions like Robinson, hopefully his work in the classroom will allow him to do well for himself.
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47. Jaylon Smith and Adrian Witty aside, the scariest injury of the season that I know of suffered by a player with dreads happened to Clemson junior WR Mike Williams. On the opening drive of the season opener Williams is off balance as he makes a 4-yard TD catch and can to nothing to protect himself when Wofford CB Chris Armfield shoves him in an attempt to keep him from making the catch inbounds. As a result, Williams goes crashing into the goal post, and the goal post wins. He suffered a broken bone in his neck, which ended his season but thankfully not his career. For the full story on Williams' injury and recovery, the first link below is to a Sports Illustrated article from August. Or if you want a shorter, video version, the second link is to a 2-minute feature from the ACC.

http://www.campusrush.com/clemson-tigers-mike-williams-1973843697.html
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r8lRA3R6jgM

Any doubts that Williams wasn't fully recovered were erased when he caught 9 passes for 174 yards in the 2016 season opener at Auburn. And through 9 games he is the Tigers' leading receiver with 52 catches for 754 yards and 5 TD. So it looks like he's back on course to be an NFL draft pick, possibly a 1st rounder and probably next year.
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48. Fans at Michigan games probably had no idea that RB De'Veon Smith had started growing (partial) dreads for his junior season. For those that didn't know, they found out early in 2nd quarter of the Citrus Bowl on New Year's Day, as Florida DT Jonathan Bullard yanks Smith's helmet off while tackling him for a 6-yard loss. Of course, facemask penalties behind the line of scrimmage are assessed from the line of scrimmage, so the loss didn't go on Smith's record. He would go on to make the dread stars list, rushing for 109 yards on 25 carries as Michigan routed Florida 41-7. In his first season with dreads De'Veon finished with 753 yards rushing, 159 yards receiving, and 7 TD.
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49. 2015 was a roller coaster ride for the Texas Longhorns; and the ups and downs were expressed by the moods of sophomore WR Armanti Foreman, who will never be accused of not wearing his emotions on his sleeve. Here Forenan is consoled by senior WR Marcus Johnson after the Longhorns lose at home to California 45-44 in Week 3. Texas trailed 45-24 after 3 quarters before roaring back with 3 touchdowns - only to miss the extra point following the last TD with 1:11 remaining. Foreman finished with 4 catches for a season high 70 yards, while Johnson had no stats in the game. Johnson, by the way, is currently hoping to sign with an NFL team (any NFL team) after being released from the Philadelphia Eagles' practice squad after the 1st game of the 2016 season.
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50. One week later Armanti Foreman is down in the dumps again after another bitter home defeat, 30-27 to Oklahoma State. The Cowboys tied the game on a FG with 1:33 remaining in the game and then, after the Longhorns botched a punt, kicked the game-winning FG with :06 on the clock. Armanti had only 1 catch for 10 yards in the defeat.
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51. But things are all better two weeks later. Even though he did not touch the ball in the game, Armanti Foreman takes his turn wearing the Golden Hat while celebrating with teammates after the Longhorns upset #10 ranked Oklahoma 24-17. Texas ended up not going to a bowl game, finishing the season at 5-7. Foreman finished the season with 11 catches for 182 yards and 2 TD, numbers almost identical to his freshman season. So far in 2016 he has 33 receptions and 3 TD already; but it is his twin brother who is really making an impact. Junior RB D'Onta Foreman currently is almost on pace for a 2,000-yard season (he'll get 2,000 if the Longhorns play in a bowl game - they're 5-4 now) and is even getting some consideration for the Heisman, which was unheard of when the season began.
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52. The dreads of freshman G Lukayus McNeil are the center of attention during the postgame celebration in Week 13 as Louisville takes the Governer's Cup, coming back from a 21-0 deficit for a 38-24 road win over Kentucky. McNeil has had more to celebrate than just this so far during his time at Louisville. The Cardinals went 8-2 (after starting 0-3) after he moved into the starting lineup at left G in Week 5. And so far in 2016 he has started every game at right OT for a team leading the FBS in yards per game (593) and points (50). I don't care what anybody else says; but unless the teams currently in the top 4 remain undefeated, it'll be a crime if Louisville finishes 11-1 (with the only loss at Clemson) and isn't included in the 4-team playoff for the championship.
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53. Arguably the three best players with dreads on the Tennessee roster, sophomore RB Alvin Kamara (#6), senior LB Curt Maggitt (on crutches after injuring his hip a week earlier), and junior LB Jalen Reeves-Maybin walk off together after the Volunteers' easy 55-10 victory over Western Carolina in Week 3. Kamara scored 2 TD in the game, including one on a 50-yard punt return. Reeves-Maybin would go on to lead the team with 105 tackles and 14 TFL; but his 2016 senior season has ended after 4 games after he injured his shoulder and had surgery on it. Kamara finished 2015 with 1,089 all-purpose yards and scored 11 TD and was on a similar pace in 2016 until suffering a minor knee injury recently. His ability to catch the ball likely will land him an NFL roster spot at some point in the near future. Maggitt already is in the NFL, playing in 7 games (out of 9) for the Colts so far in a reserve role. The injury to his hip ended his senior season and caused him to not be drafted; but he's healthy now and just getting his feet wet in his rookie season. Hopefully Kamara and Reeves-Maybin have Sunday football in their futures as well. Here's a video from midway through the season of Jalen claiming his 4-year old dreads are better than Maggitt's: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D3h7r-sk0VE ..... Sorry, Jaylen, but I got to go with Von Pearson for the best dreads on the team.
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54. Unlike the three Volunteers in the previous photo, I doubt you'll ever see this trio of Memphis Tigers ever playing on Sundays. Junior CB B.J. Ross (#23), junior CB Dontrell Nelson (#10), and sophomore CB Jamil Collins (#9) are all smiles after the Tigers improve to 8-0, defeating Tulane 41-13 in Week 9. The Tigers would lose their next three games and finish at 9-4. Nelson started 8 games, finishing with 47 tackles and 2 INT, while Ross and Collins didn't play much. All three are in similar roles so far in 2016. Collins, by the way, is the younger brother of Atlanta Falcons CB Jalen Collins.
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55. In what arguably was the most controversial finish of the season Miami laterals the ball 8 times on a kickoff return for a TD on the last play of the game to steal a 30-27 victory at Duke in Week 9 - and senior S Dallas Crawford carried the ball on two legs of the relay. After catching the 7th lateral back at the 3-yard line, Crawford runs the ball out to the 15 (left photo) before throwing it across the field to CB Corn Elder and then seconds later follows the play as Elder (#29), after getting several good blocks, breaks into the clear at the Duke 35-yard line (right photo) and takes it to the house for an incredible 91-yard TD: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=17SoN_dvnBU
Duke seemingly had the game won after taking a 27-24 lead on a TD with 6 seconds left, only to have this happen. By the way, the sick dreads in Duke jersey #6 are on the head of freshman RB Nicodem Pierre (who just happens to be from Miami).
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56. Northern Iowa senior WR Rod Hall has the coverage of Illinois State S Alec Kocour and sophomore CB Davontae Harris beaten on 3rd and 6 but can't hang onto the pass after being hit by Kocour during 2nd quarter in Week 5. UNI punted on the next play. Harris finished with a season high 10 tackles (6-4) as ISU won 21-13 in the Missouri Valley opener for both teams. Hall, as you recall, played 129 games and was a 3-year starter for Clemson's basketball team but wasn't good enough for the NBA. So, he decided to see if he might be good enough for the NFL (he was all-state in basketball and football in high school), impressing at Clemson's pro day and then transferring to UNI with one season of eligibility remaining. Unfortunately he injured his knee in the season opener and ended up playing in only 4 games, finishing with 2 catches for 19 yards. I haven't heard or read anything about him since; and that's too bad, because I was kind of hoping to see these dreads in the NFL.
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57. If Indiana DT Robert McCray had only grabbed dreads, he would have gotten credit for a 9-yard sack on 2nd and 8 during 3rd quarter in Week 4; but he also gets a piece of the facemask of Wake Forest freshman QB Kendall Hinton and gets hit with a 15-yard penalty instead. The penalty moved the ball to the Indiana 46, but Wake Forest punted 4 plays later. Hinton rushed for 57 yards and 2 TD and went 19 for 46 passing for a season high 245 yards and 1 TD (and 1 INT), but the Demon Deacons lost at home to Indiana 31-24.
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58. Kendall Hinton is congratulated by teammates after his 8-yard TD run cuts Clemson's lead to 20-7 with 5:26 remaining in 2nd quarter in Week 12. Splitting time at QB with John Wolford, Hinton rushed for 51 yards on 7 carries and later threw a 30-yard TD pass, but Wake Forest dropped to 3-8 with the 33-13 road loss to Clemson. Hinton needs a lot of work as a passer but did not perform badly for a true freshman. He went 93 for 179 (just 52.0%) for 929 yards and 4 TD (5 INT), rushed for 390 yards (4.2 per carry) and led the team with 7 TD. Unfortunately his 2016 season recently came to an end. A knee injured he suffered in Week 3 has been slow to heal, and it was announced that he'll be redshirted for this season. 
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For a change there was no shortage of QB with dreads who had success on the field in 2015. I never went over all of the stats from all of the games; but if I had done an all-America with dreads teams, I think I would have put Kendall Hinton on the 3rd team, with the starting spot up for grabs between ODU junior David Washington and ......

59. ..... junior Bennie Coney of Eastern Kentucky, here about to throw a pass vs. Austin Peay in Week 4, a game in which he went 28 for 35 for 261 yards and 1 TD in helping the Colonels to a 51-13 win. Coney had 5 other games with 275+ yards passing, including a school record 417 at Murray State in a 41-34 victory in 2 OT in Week 11. For the season he went 225 for 367 (61.3%) for 2,471 yards and 23 TD (8 INT) and rushed for 193 yards and 2 TD. EKU finished with a 6-5 record.
In case you wondering if the 23 TD passes was the most ever by a Division 1 QB with dreads, I was too. I know I had Robert Griffin on my all-America with dreads team a couple of times, but he turned out to have braids instead of dreads. So he doesn't count. Then I remembered that great season that Omar Jacobs had when he was at Bowling Green. As a sophomore in 2004 he passed for 4,002 yards and 41 TD with only 4 INT. It's going to be difficult for anybody with dreads to ever top that.
As for Coney, he was unable to duplicate his success again in 2016. He threw more INTs that TD passes; and with the team struggling through a 2-7 season, it was recently announced he has been dismissed from the team (with no real explanation given by the coach).
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I'm sorry, but I didn't do a college dread all-America team either for 2015. So, for the rest of DG166 let's take a look at some of the players who would have gotten serious consideration for being included on the team.

60. Georgia Southern junior Vegas Harley played mostly on special teams, but I would have put him as been one of the QBs on the team. He threw no passes during the season on his 42 offensive snaps but carried for 58 yards, including this 4-yard run against South Alabama in Week 13, and 1 TD on 9 carries.
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61. The sickest TD connection in Division 1 had to be Tulane freshman WR Rickey Preston's 17-yard reception on a pass from junior QB Devin Powell, upping the Green Wave's lead to 45-17 midway through 4th quarter of a 45-31 home win in Week 5. Now you can watch all of the game highlights if you want; but if you just want to see this TD, then you'll have to skip to almost the end of this video, starting at the 4:26 mark: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pm3BR5BZMGI
It was the only TD pass for Powell in 5 games and the only TD catch for Preston, who had 8 catches for 82 yards in 11 games. Neither is with the Green Wave anymore. Powell transferred to Nicholls State for his senior season but hasn't played much. Preston transferred to Southeastern Louisiana, according to his Twitter profile; but if he has, he must be redshirting this season because his name isn't even on the roster listed on the team's website.  
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62. Sophomore WR Antonio Messick does the air bump with WR Michael Summers to celebrate Summers' 19-yard TD catch, the 4th of 5 Georgia Tech touchdowns in the 1st quarter of their season opening 69-6 win over Alcorn State. After making 16-yard TD catch the only time he touched the ball during his 2014 freshman season and returning a kickoff for 13 yards on his only touch as a sophomore, Messick apparently decided to blame his dreads for his lack of playing time. But after cutting them off, he hasn't played much in 2016 either (no touches in 4 games so far).
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63. Appalachian State sophomore LB Devan Stringer, with the long dyed dreads, tries to stop Ohio U RB Daz'mond Patterson during 1st half of the Camellia Bowl on Dec. 19. Mercy, Devan, what are all those wristbands around your legs for? If Stringer made the tackle here, it was for a 5-yard gain after the catch on 3rd and 9 early in 2nd quarter. That was the only time he tackled Patterson but certainly not his only tackle of the game. He finished with a team high 10 tackles (4-6) as the Mountaineers came back from a 24-7 deficit in the 4th quarter to defeat Ohio 31-29 on a last-second FG. Devan isn't just any other player with great dreads. He was named honorable mention all-SBC in 2015 and is playing well again this season.
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64. The caption for the photo on the right says that Houston senior S Trevon Stewart is celebrating his INT with WR Chance Allen during the 3rd quarter of the Peach Bowl on Dec. 31 - but it doesn't say which one. Stewart had interceptions on back-to-back Florida State possessions, the first of which (left photo) came at the FSU 48-yard line. Houston, champion of the AAC, got the one New Year's Six bowl bid reserved for teams not in one of the Power 5 conferences and took full advantage of it, defeating the Seminoles 38-24. Stewart wrapped up his stellar career for the Cougars by making the dread stars list, finishing with 4 tackles (3-1), 1 TFL, 1 PBU, and 1 FR in addition to the 2 INT. The fumble recovery was the 10th of his career, adding to his school record. Stewart, who was in the starting lineup for almost every game during his 4 years for UH, has dreads much longer than Reggie Nelson did when he entered in the NFL in 2007; but it doesn't look like Stewart is going to have a long NFL career like Nelson. I can understand that he didn't get drafted; but for not one team to sign him as a free agent just doesn't make any sense. He's just too productive a player to not even get a chance. I don't know; hopefully he'll get a shot next year.
http://www.galvnews.com/sports/columns/boothreview/article_ef4b7628-fc73-5b1b-b503-37b5b4edfbad.html
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65. Here's another sick safety getting an INT. The Louisiana-Monroe Warhawks' defense recorded only 5 interceptions in 2015, and leading the way was junior S Tre Hunter with two of the 5. I guessing this one in Week 4 was the more satisfying of the two. Not only was it his 1st career INT, it came against the great Alabama Crimson Tide - on a deep pass on the first play of a drive early in 2nd quarter with the score 14-0. His 12-yard return moved the ball to the 50-yard line, but ULM went three and out on the ensuing possession. Alabama won 34-0. So far in 2016 Hunter is 6th on the team in tackles but has no picks yet.
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66. Junior RB Alex Collins carries the ball against Tennessee-Martin in Week 9, the game which Arkansas won 63-28 in which he rushed for 173 yards and scored a career high 5 TD - and the game where his dreads never looked better. Collins probably would have been a 1st team selection if I had done a dread all-America team. And he would have made the all-America with dreads team too, finishing the season with 1,577 yards and 20 TD. The jury is still out if he's going to make it in the NFL or not. So far in his rookie season with the Seahawks he has carried the ball only 9 times, taking one of them to the house.
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67. East Tennessee State had a player with sick dreads carry the ball for them in their first football season since 2003. Sophomore RB Falon Lee picks up some of his 78 total yards (35 rushing, 43 receiving) in the Buccaneers' 1st win of the season, 42-9 over Warner in Week 9. Lee, who didn't play much in his two years at Miami (Ohio) (including a redshirt season) due to a knee injury, rushed for 324 yards (3.4 per carry), caught 8 passes for 132 yards, and scored 2 TD in his first season after transferring to ETSU.
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68. Junior FB Kenneth Goins is congratulated by TE Derrick Hayward after scoring Maryland's 1st TD of the game and his 1st TD of the season on a 1-yard catch to tie the score at 7 midway through 1st quarter in Week 3. The Terrapins went on to defeat South Florida 35-17. Goins, a 5-foot-9, 233-pound bowling ball whose main job is to block, touched the ball just 11 times all season, rushing for 60 yards on 9 carries, catching 2 passes for 14 yards, and scoring 2 TD. He has been getting a few more carries so far in 2016 and has scored 3 TD already in his senior season.
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69. With some of the best dreads of any RB in the FCS, Texas Southern sophomore Darrell Robinson carries the ball against Prairie View A&M in the season opener at Houston. Robinson rushed for 18 yards on 4 carries in the Tigers' 38-11 loss, but he would go on to lead the team with 539 yards rushing and 6 TD. Unfortunately we haven't been able to see these dreads at all in 2016. He hasn't touched the ball in any of the games yet; so I'm guessing that he's injured and probably redshirting. 
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70. Texas Southern wasn't the only team in the SWAC with a RB with sick dreads. Here in Week 2 junior Jeremy Dobson carries the ball for Mississippi Valley State in their 50-13 home loss to Southern U. I don't know what happened, but Dobson didn't carry the ball at all after this game. The last game he played in was in Week 5, and by the end of the season his name wasn't even on the roster listed on the team's website - and it's not on it this season either.
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71. Every now and then fans in attendance at UMass games got a chance to see the awesome dreads of freshman RB Sekai Lindsay, including here during 2nd quarter of a 15-10 home loss to Kent State in Week 7. Unfortunately Lindsay suffered an ankle injury the next week and missed the rest of the season. In 6 games he averaged about 6 carries per game and finished with 114 yards and 1 TD rushing. The dreads are still awesome this season, and he's still 2nd string on the depth chart behind another RB with dreads, Marquis Young.
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72. The three players in uniform with the sickest dreads for the Week 8 showdown between Richmond and JMU are all shown in this shot. Of course, the shot would have looked a lot better if Richmond senior RB Jacobi Green didn't have his dreads reduced. Sophomore S Raven Greene (#5) helps tackle Green as senior DE Alex Mosley (#90) looks on from behind the play. This was the game, as you might remember, where Green went crazy, rushing for 236 yards and 5 TD in Richmond's 59-49 win. Greene had 11 tackles (5-6) and 1 PBU in the game, while Mosley finished with 4 tackles (2-2). Both teams had only 1 TFL each in the entire game, with Richmond outgaining JMU 720-585 in total yards.
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73. Much to my disappointment, West Virginia sophomore WR Ka'Raun White played almost the whole season with multiple bands around his long dreads, including the Week 9 game vs. Texas Tech (left photo) in which he had 5 catches for 80 yards - his best game of the regular season. At least he unleashed his dreads for one game, the Mountaineers' 43-42 win over Arizona State in the Cactus Bowl. Although he can't make this catch (right photo) as senior CB Solomon Means defends during 1st half, White had his best game of the season, making the dread stars list with 4 catches for 116 yards. But that excellent performance wasn't enough to convince him to keep his dreads loose. This season so far he's been on the field with reduced dreads for every game. Ka'Raun is hoping to one day join his brother in the NFL, although right now he's not nearly as talented as Kevin White, who was a 1st round draft choice by the Bears in 2015 but has been mostly injured in his first 2 NFL seasons.
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74. I had Troy WR Jarvis Bentley on the honorable mention list on my 2014 dread all-America team, and he certainly would have made the team if 2015 if I had done one. Bentley finished his 2015 senior season with 3 TD catches instead of 4 because this 5-yard TD early in 4th quarter against South Alabama in Week 5 didn't count. It was nullified by an ineligible man downfield penalty. As a result Jarvis didn't get his 1st TD of the season until Week 8. After redshirting at UMass in 2011 and then playing two seasons in junior college and then catching only 9 passes in his first season for Troy in 2014, he had 22 catches for 325 yards and the 3 TD as a senior. Despite standing 6-foot-5, Bentley apparently didn't do enough at Troy's pro day to convince any NFL scouts that he was worth drafting or signing; so unless he's playing minor league football somewhere, we're not going to be seeing these dreads again.
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75. I didn't necessarily want to show Jaleel Lorquet getting beat for a TD; but I did want to show the best shot that I saved of his awesome dreads from 2015, and this happened to be it. Lorquet, the Western Carolina senior CB, gets beat by WR Preston Williams for a 25-yard TD reception on the final play of Tennessee's 5-play, 51-yard opening drive in Week 3. Lorquet ended up with 3 tackles (1-2) as Tennessee rolled to a 55-10 victory.
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76. It was a much happier time for Jaleel Lorquet on senior day in Week 10. According to the caption of this photo on the Western Carolina website, "In a tradition started a year ago, the WCU defensive backs carried their seniors off the field ... following the home victory." Junior S Fred Payne is one of the players giving Lorquet his ride after Western Carolina defeated Furman 48-10 to finish the season 5-0 at home - the first time the Catamounts have gone undefeated at home in 29 years. Lorquet finished tied for the team lead in interceptions with 2 and PBU with 5 as the Catamounts went 7-4 overall. This after going 7-5 in 2014 for their first winning season in 9 years. Lorquet is one of the rare players to make my dread all-America list for all 4 years of his career. His dreads were already awesome when he was a freshman and just got better from there. Too bad we won't be seeing them anymore. There ought to be a rule that all players (at least all defensive players) have to always have their dreads flowing freely when they're on the field - like Lorquet always did. Watching football would be so much more fun if there was.