It’s yet another beautiful weekend of college football to look forward to. This means there are another batch of NFL prospects to get excited about as we get into the important stretches of the college football season.
This Saturday, we have another 50+ games on tap, including three top-25 matchups, but here are the ones you may want to keep your eye on.
Buy Vikings Tickets- #8 USC @ Colorado (11 AM CST, Fox)
- #22 Florida @ Kentucky (11 AM CST, ESPN)
- Texas A&M @ Arkansas (11 AM CST, SECN)
- Clemson @ Syracuse (11 AM CST, ABC)
- #1 Georgia @ Auburn (2:30 PM CST, CBS)
- #24 Kansas @ #3 Texas (2:30 PM CST, ABC)
- Indiana @ Maryland (2:30 PM CST, BTN)
- #2 Michigan @ Nebraska (2:30 PM CST, Fox)
- #23 Missouri @ Vanderbilt (3 PM CST, SECN)
- #13 LSU @ #20 Ole Miss (5 PM CST, ESPN)
- #11 Notre Dame @ #17 Duke (6:30 PM CST, ABC)
- South Carolina @ #21 Tennessee (6:30 PM CST, SECN)
- West Virginia @ TCU (7 PM CST, ESPN)
- #12 Alabama @ Mississippi State (8 PM CST, ESPN)
- #7 Washington @ Arizona (9 PM CST, Pac-12)
Ole Miss EDGE Cedric Johnson
#20 Ole Miss finds themselves locked in one of three games played between two top-25 teams this weekend. They host the #13 LSU Tigers in their first game after their disappointing showing in Tuscaloosa last Saturday.
This Ole Miss defense needs to bounce back after allowing Alabama quarterback Jalen Milroe to throw for 225 yards on 17-of-21 attempts. This week gets no easier with LSU’s Jayden Daniels. Daniels is adept at getting out of the pocket and extending the play for his receivers or scrambling for yards himself.
Cedric Johnson is an EDGE prospect with virtually any pre-season award/distinction that you can think of. He’s a 2024 Reese’s Senior Bowl Watch List candidate, was on Bruce Feldman’s Top 50 Freaks in 2022, on the Bednarik Award Watch List in 2023 and preseason All-SEC in 2023 and 2024. At 6’3″, 265 pounds, he has the size to play a significant role in the NFL, he just has to have the tape match up with the hype. This game could be a stepping stone for him to do just that.
USC S Calen Bullock
Another week of college football, another week that we discuss the Colorado Buffaloes. Only this time, it won’t be in a very positive light. #8 USC comes into Boulder this week, and they do not have good intentions. While the attention will be on the insane quarterback battle between Shedeur Sanders and Caleb Williams, some focus should be on the defensive backfields tasked to stop them, mainly the USC secondary and their stud safety, Calen Bullock.
Being pressured at a hefty rate this season, Sanders will throw a couple of balls to spots instead of to the receiver. The rangy Bullock can make him pay for those kinds of decisions. Bullock is usually in the right place to make a play on the football, and if Sanders experiences pressure from the jump, this could become a special night for the junior out of Pasadena.
Michigan RB Blake Corum
#2 Michigan goes on the road to Memorial Stadium in Lincoln, Nebraska and face the Cornhuskers. While Nebraska isn’t the most formidable of foes, they are ranked 20th-worst in the country against the run in yards per carry (5.5) and sixth-worst in yards per game (234.8). This game is a perfect storm for Michigan RB Blake Corum to reel off a signature game for his draft status.
Last season, Corum ran up and down on Nebraska for 162 yards on 28 carries and a touchdown. That was his second of eight straight 100-yard games on the year last year. This season, he hasn’t gotten it going at the same rate, mainly because of the upgrade at quarterback. But this game has Corum written all over it, as he is looking forward to running through his fair share of Cornhusker defenders.
Kansas CB Cobee Bryant
Kansas has been one of the more fun teams to watch offensively this season. They are ranked 25th in total offense and 27th in points per game in the country.
However, on the other side of the football, there is a player that is finding his stride at the cornerback position. Cobee Bryant was listed as a player to watch for this season. He was on the Bednarik Jim Thorpe and Bronko Nagurski Award watch lists and a preseason All-Bit 12 First Team selection by multiple publications. So far, he has not disappointed.
His ability to affect a game was on display as he won Big 12 defensive player of the week last week. Bryant blew through a BYU ball-carrier, forcing a fumble on the second play of the game and returning it for a touchdown. He also brought in his second interception of the season on an underthrow from BYU quarterback Kedon Slovis.
Saturday, he goes up against Xavier Worthy, a wide receiver who could easily go in the top ten of this year’s draft. This matchup could be a litmus test for the fourth-year junior as he starts to make his case as an NFL prospect.
Missouri CB Kris Abrams-Draine
When watching a game like #23 Missouri vs. Vanderbilt, you search for ways to enjoy the game. One of the matchups to highlight is between Vanderbilt wide receiver Will Shepard and Missouri cornerback Kris Abrams-Draine.
Listed at 6’3″, 198 pounds, Sheppard has become one of the more consistent targets in Vanderbilt history, not just this season. His ability to move as smoothly as he does at his height is impressive and will make for a good battle against the technical Abrams-Draine.
Abrams-Draine is one of the more aggressive corners that you’ll find and his explosiveness makes him a fun watch. Combine that with his ball skills from playing the wide receiver position in high school and you get a very intriguing cornerback prospect.
Arizona OT Jordan Morgan
Arizona is hosting the #7 Washington Huskies in the final frames of college football Saturday at 9 PM CST. Washington is one of the hottest offenses right now and Arizona is going to have to match their scoring if they have a chance of winning.
If they want to do that, they will have to take Washington EDGE Jalen Brice out of the gameplan. One of the ways to do that is having a great game from Arizona offensive tackle Jordan Morgan. He is an athletic specimen that enjoys the physical aspect of the trenches. If Arizona wants any chance of winning, Morgan will have to help keep Brice and the rest of the Washington pass-rush at bay.
Clemson LBs Jeremiah Trotter, Jr.
Clemson goes on the road to New York as they face Syracuse on Saturday at 11 AM CST. Syracuse’s quarterback Garrett Shrader is what one would call a dual-threat quarterback. Not just because he has over 300 yards rushing through the Orange’s 4-0 start, but because the late Mike Leach made him a wide receiver when he was at Syracuse in 2020. To combat that threat, the interior linebacker play will have to be both disciplined and aggressive.
Clemson linebacker Jeremiah Trotter, Jr. does not only have both of these attributes, they come naturally. If the name looks familiar, it’s because his father, Jeremiah Trotter, Sr., played for 11 seasons in the NFL, mostly with the Philadelphia Eagles. Trotter, Jr. shows all the instincts that made his father an All-Pro.
Trotter, alongside his running mate Barrett Carter, will be tasked to keeping Shrader’s antics outside of the pocket to a minimum.
Kentucky EDGE J.J. Weaver
Kentucky hosts #22 Florida for yet another installment of this SEC East rivalry at 11 AM CST. Graham Mertz, the quarterback for Florida, is not the most talented of throwers. However, he has done what Florida has asked of him, and they hold a 3-1 record, including an impressive win over a highly-touted Tennessee team.
However, if Kentucky can get pressure on Mertz and make him uncomfortable, there is a chance that Kentucky could make this Florida team one-dimensional early.
Kentucky EDGE J.J. Weaver has not had a particularly dominating start to the season. However, he has a chance to shine as a versatile piece on the edge of Kentucky’s defense. The hybrid pass-rusher/linebacker has a chance to cement himself as a prospect NFL teams should be excited about with this game against Florida.
