There is nothing on Earth like college football.
Unbelievable upsets, fans storming the field, highlights that can only come from 18-to-22-year-olds that have no regard for their well-being. It’s a level of chaos befitting of taking up an entire Saturday.
Amidst all that chaos, there are those diamonds that can help elevate an NFL team to the next level. Most notably at the quarterback position.
Today, we discuss draft-eligible quarterbacks that are looking to take over the reigns of an NFL team in the next year.
Here are some of the matchups to look for this weekend that feature draft-eligible quarterbacks:
- UCF @ #6 Oklahoma (11 a.m. CST, ABC)
- Mississippi State @ Arkansas (11 a.m. CST, ESPN)
- Western Michigan @ Ohio (11 a.m. CST, CBSSN)
- Washington State @ #9 Oregon (2:30 p.m. CST, ABC)
- #17 Tennessee @ #11 Alabama (2:30 p.m. CST, CBS)
- South Carolina @ #20 Missoui (2:30 p.m. CST, SECN)
- North Texas @ #23 Tulane (2:30 p.m. CST, ESPN 2)
- #8 Texas @ Houston (3 p.m. CST, Fox)
- Virginia @ #10 North Carolina (5:30 p.m. CST, CW Network)
- Coastal Carolina @ Arkansas State (6 p.m. CST, ESPN+)
- #2 Michigan @ Michigan State (6:30 p.m. CST, NBC)
- #16 Duke @ #4 Florida State (6:30 p.m. CST, ABC)
- Army @ #19 LSU (6:30 p.m. CST, SECN)
- #14 Utah @ #10 USC (7 p.m. CST, Fox)
- Clemson @ Miami (7 p.m. CST, ACCN)
- Arizona State @ #5 Washington (9:30 p.m., FS1)
Tennessee QB Joe Milton
If anyone needs a good performance on Saturday, it’s Tennessee quarterback Joe Milton.
He and this Tennessee Volunteer team came in with a lot of hype, most of it surrounding Milton’s raw talent.
If you look at his measurables, it makes sense. He’s listed at 6’5″, 235 pounds and has an absolute rocket-launcher for an arm. He has the mobility and athleticism to extend plays outside the pocket and add to the run game.
It’s just the nuances of the position that he doesn’t execute. For instance, his decision-making. His interception against Texas A&M was questionable to say the least. Locking on to his wide receiver and ignoring the middle of the field defensive back is not the best process.
He hasn’t produced a whole lot of optimism as far as his draft stock is concerned this season, but a big game against #17 Alabama (2:30 p.m CST, CBS) in Tuscaloosa could change the narrative very quickly.
Oregon QB Bo Nix
Oregon quarterback Bo Nix went blow-for-blow with Heisman front-runner Michael Penix last week in what could be considered college football’s game of the year.
Nix and Penix battled mightily, but ultimately Washington pulled it out in the waning moments. Nix had some good moments but he faltered in a few key situations. There were a couple of third- and fourth-down throws that the fifth-year senior would probably want back.
With his draft status hovering around that early second-round range, Nix needs every signature performance possible to sneak into the back end of the first.
He has a chance to go toe-to-toe with another intriguing quarterback prospect, Washington State’s Cam Ward (2:30 p.m. CST, ABC).
Washington State QB Cam Ward
On the other side of that matchup is a quarterback that needs a good performance badly.
In the last two outings, Washington State quarterback Cam Ward has been 41-of-69 for 389 yards with one touchdown and three interceptions. He threw for 404 yards and four touchdowns without an interception on half the attempts against Oregon State the week before.
Ward is a truly impactful playmaker with the ball in his hands and he can make any throw you need him to at the next level. His arm talent keeps him in the day two conversation.
Another performance like those last two against Oregon (2:30 p.m. CST, ABC), especially his no-touchdown game against UCLA, could see him drop even further, though.
Or, with Ward only being a Junior, see him return to school instead of declaring.
Tulane QB Michael Pratt
One of the prettiest throwers of the football in this draft cycle is Tulane quarterback Michael Pratt. It had to be said because watching him play quarterback seems so effortless. His dropback, his footwork in the pocket, the ball when it comes out of his hand, it all looks smooth.
This season, he’s dealt with injury that has kept him out of a number of games, including Tulane’s only loss of the season against #13 Ole Miss. But when he has played, he’s undefeated (4-0).
Pratt has the ability to throw the ball anywhere on the field, even showing off some Matt Stafford-like ability with a no-look pass in their conference win against Memphis.
He’s not a supreme talent like a Drake Maye or Caleb Williams, but he deserves some notoriety for his consistently good quarterback play.
He has a chance to show it off again against North Texas on Saturday (2:30 p.m. CST, ESPN 2)
USC QB Caleb Williams
Speaking of USC quarterback Caleb Williams, the questions have started to mount for him after Saturday’s debacle against Notre Dame.
In what could be his worst performance as a college quarterback, Williams was 23-of-37 for 199 yards with a touchdown and three interceptions.
Williams showed some flaws that some evaluators were wary of when it came to his game. While supremely talented, he likes to go for the big play instead of taking his layups. This puts the ball in harms way and can lead to games like Saturday.
This isn’t to say that Williams shouldn’t take those shots at all, his arm talent is insane, you don’t limit that. But you do have to control it.
Turnovers are back-breakers in the NFL and sometimes, you don’t get that second chance to make up for it, no matter how talented of a player you are. Sometimes, it’s just better to take what the defense gives you.
Either way, Williams is going to need a heck of a bounce-back as #10 USC hosts #14 Utah and their stellar defense (7 p.m. CST, Fox).
Coastal Carolina QB Grayson McCall
A name that has flown under the radar this season is Coastal Carolina quarterback Grayson McCall. After mulling over his draft status last season, McCall decided to return and stay in Coastal Carolina for his senior season, despite head coach Jamey Chadwell heading to Liberty.
Unfortunately, the shift from Chadwell to Tim Beck has not been fruitful for McCall and his draft stock. McCall has been known as one of the more productive and efficient quarterbacks in college football.
He was also very risk-averse as he had only eight interceptions total in his three years as a starter. He has six this season, including four in one game against Georgia State.
McCall is another quarterback that can make all the throws you want from a prospect, but his ability to stay away from the mistakes made him an even more attractive get.
He’s had his best game under Beck and set a career-high in passing yards against Appalachian State last week. Hopefully, he can ride that momentum into this week and his matchup against Arkansas State (6 p.m. CST, ESPN+)
Duke QB Riley Leonard
Last, but certainly not least, we have our premier matchup between two intriguing draft prospects in primetime. A potential ACC Championship preview, we have #4 FSU hosting the #16 Duke Blue Devils at 6:30 p.m. CST on ABC.
For the visitors, there have been rumblings that Riley Leonard will play through his ankle injury and be available for this key conference matchup.
Duke has never beaten FSU in the game of football, the Seminoles are 21-0. But these are not the same old Blue Devils. This team is playing inspired football and that is mostly behind the play of Leonard.
Using both his arms and his legs, Leonard has placed himself firmly in the QB3 conversation of the draft and has shown the same traits that made his predecessor Daniel Jones such an intriguing prospect.
He creates outside of the pocket, he’s able to turn a broken play into a 20-yard explosive run, he has a good arm that can make the difficult throws, Leonard is ready for the next level.
There’s no better stage to show it than in primetime against a college football playoff contender.
Florida State QB Jordan Travis
On the other side of that coin, the expectations continue to mount on the backs of the Florida State Seminoles and quarterback Jordan Travis.
After surviving a bit of a slump in the middle of the season, Travis showed some of the ability that made him a pre-season Heisman candidate in FSU’s 41-3 thrashing of Syracuse.
He ran in two scores and went 23-of-37 on the day for 284 yards and a touchdown. All of this while dealing with an injury to his non-throwing hand in the second quarter. Last week, I said that Travis needed a signature performance and this was it.
Now, he needs another one if FSU wants to keep their national championship hopes alive.
Receivers Keon Coleman and Johnny Wilson make that job a bit easier, but it will ultimately come down to Travis making the play when it matters.
