The final weekend of October should be another exciting one for college football. There are some big matchups, some interesting games out of the national spotlight and some NFL draft prospects with chances to shine.
It’s a good Saturday slate to focus on some 2024 prospects who still have something to prove to the NFL scouts who will be at their games and pore over their game film. The evaluation process is far from over, even though the college season is entering the final month for a lot of teams.
Here are a few 2024 NFL draft prospects who can answer some questions scouts might have about their NFL potential in CFB Week 9.
TreVeyon Henderson, RB, Ohio State
Henderson is expected to be back in the Buckeyes lineup when Ohio State visits Wisconsin. He hasn’t played since a very impressive performance against Notre Dame back in late September while Henderson dealt with an undisclosed injury.
Henderson also battled injuries in 2022. If he’s getting the label of being a guy who is dinged up often, he must show he can be productive despite not being at 100 percent health. The NFL asks running backs to do this, and Henderson’s draft stock will decline if he can’t be as effective when he’s banged up. Obviously, with the unknown nature of the injury it’s tough to judge, but don’t think for a second the NFL scouts in attendance aren’t looking at the gifted runner in those eyes.
Bo Nix, QB, Oregon
Nix is having a fantastic season for the Ducks. He’s thrown 19 touchdowns against just one interception, completing almost 80 percent of his passes. He’ll face the best defenses Oregon will see all year in Utah.
Those Utes made life difficult for USC’s Caleb Williams, taking away his deeper options and keeping him without a touchdown pass. Utah does that to a lot of quarterbacks. They’re smart, physical and crafty at all levels of the defense.
If Nix can perform well against that defense in the crucible that is Rice-Eccles Stadium, it’s going to further help Nix make folks forget his time at Auburn and believe even more in his first-round potential.
Chop Robinson, EDGE, Penn State
Robinson is an interesting top-50 prospect as a really good pass rusher who doesn’t get a lot of sacks. He’s proven to be a very effective pressure generator, one that can win with great hands, good cornering around the edge and some decent countermoves — but only 10 career sacks to show for it, 2.5 this year.
NFL teams typically want more sack production from a potential first-round pass rusher. Not always; there are notable exceptions, but it’s not going to work for every team. Robinson hasn’t played a ton thanks to blowout wins, so that’s certainly something for NFL teams to look at, too.
This week, the Nittany Lions play Indiana, one of the worst offenses in college football. Robinson had a stellar game against the Hoosiers last year, living in the Indiana backfield. He should be able to do so once again. It’s a good opportunity for the talented Robinson to bag a sack or two and work on finishing what he starts
Jalen Catalon, S, Texas
Catalon is a likely Day 3/UDFA prospect, a transfer from Arkansas who has battled shoulder problems throughout his college career. In order to help NFL teams worry less about his potential durability issues, Catalon needs to show he’s worth the risk by making plays at safety.
He did that early in his career for the Razorbacks. He’s got a chance to do that against a BYU offense that doesn’t challenge down the field well. Catalon hasn’t broken up a pass yet in a Texas uniform, despite ball skills being his best NFL attribute. This game affords the 5-10, 200-pound senior a chance to show what he can do with the ball in the air and at keeping the play in front of him.
Dontay Corleone, DT, Cincinnati
Corleone has emerged as one of the more prominent interior defensive line prospects even though he’s only a redshirt sophomore. He’s shown he can bull and push his way into the backfield and anchor well inside, and Corleone does have incredible athleticism for a 310-pound nose.
He and his Bearcats get an interesting challenge in Oklahoma State on Saturday night. The Cowboys aren’t a great offense, but big RB Ollie Gordon is a tough man to bring down. Oklahoma State runs a pro-friendly offensive scheme, something Corleone doesn’t see a lot of in the Big 12. It’s a good chance for the well-named standout to make a bigger name for himself in draft circles. He won’t get many more opportunities for the fading Bearcats (they’re 2-5) this year.
