It’s Week 10 of the college football season and there are a bunch of exciting matchups on display. With that in mind, we’ve produced this list of five NFL Draft prospects that you need to keep a close eye on.
Jayden Daniels – QB, LSU (6-4, 210, Senior)
There aren’t many prospects who have made themselves more money this season than Jayden Daniels. The former Arizona State quarterback decided to return to LSU for the his fifth collegiate season and it has paid dividends. He is currently inside the top three in Heisman betting odds and leads the country with 25 passing touchdowns to just three interceptions.
Daniels has always been a smart decision maker, but his playmaking capacity and big play potential have been on full display this season. Per PFF he has 20 big-time throws this season. That is as many as he had in the 2021 and 2022 seasons combined. This weekend he will face a strong Alabama defense. A good game here would keep his draft stock rising.
Caleb Williams – QB, USC (6-1, 215, Junior)
This weekend’s clash with Washington feels like a big game for Caleb Williams. Any hopes of the college football playoffs are long gone, and the Heisman conversation has dissipated. Some shaky showings in recent weeks have led to questions about Williams’ consensus status as the QB1 in the 2024 NFL Draft with some, including The Athletic’s Dane Brugler, moving Drake Maye ahead of him in his prospect rankings.
With all of that in mind, there are going to be plenty of eyes trained on Williams as he and the Trojans prepare to take on #5 Washington. The Huskies have a talented defense and a very good front, and USC will need Williams to be at his best. There’s been a lot of talk about how Williams has performed against ranked opposition. Can he step up and prove his doubters wrong?
Bralen Trice – EDGE, Washington (6-4, 274, rs-Junior)
On the other side of that exciting Pac-12 matchup is Trice. The former three-star recruit has established a reputation as one of the nation’s best pass rushers over the last two years, earning First Team All-Pac-12 honours in 2022. Last week he had an incredible game against Stanford, becoming the first player in the FBS to log 15+ pressures in a game this season.
Trice has a very translatable skillset that is going to result in plenty of interest when he enters the NFL Draft. He possesses great size and play strength and plays the game with a relentless motor. He is a good technician too, with a handful of effective counters in his arsenal. Seeing how he fares against Trojans tackles Jonah Monheim and Mason Murphy will be must-see TV.
Cody Schrader – RB, Missouri (5-9, 214, Graduate)
At 7-1 and just one game behind Georgia in the SEC East, it is fair to say that Missouri have been one of the surprise packages of the 2023 season. Their success has been driven by a high-powered offense, and Schrader has been a big part of that. The former walk-on began his collegiate career at Division II Truman State. He spent four seasons there before transferring to Missouri.
Since arriving with the Tigers, Schrader has been a consistently effective runner with an explosive dimension to his game. He already has 21 explosive runs in 2023, which ranks third in the SEC. He also leads the conference with nine rushing touchdowns and ranks second in rushing yards. Scouts will be keen to see what he can do against Georgia this weekend.
Tyrice Knight – LB, UTEP (6-2, 235, rs-Senior)
It’s not just the big teams and big conferences that are producing NFL talent. There will be plenty of exciting Group of Five prospects on display this weekend, and Knight is amongst them. The UTEP linebacker leads the FBS with a whopping 55 defensive stops in nine games. He has also managed to amass 101 tackles whilst missing just 7.3% of his attempts.
Knight began his collegiate career at Independence Community College (of Last Chance U fame) before transferring to UTEP in 2020. He is a little undersized by NFL standards, but his impressive instincts and reactive athleticism project well to the next level. Keep an eye on him against a high-powered Western Kentucky passing attack this weekend.
