On Saturday, August 26th, it will be 229 days since the last college football game kicked off. That’s 33 long Saturdays without college football. However, starting at 2:30 p.m., college football will officially be back. That means that we are getting our first look at some of the names that will be called next April.
Saturday has a slate of seven games on the docket, including two ranked teams:
- Navy @ #13 Notre Dame in Dublin, Ireland
- UTEP @ Jacksonville State
- UMass @ New Mexico State
- Ohio @ San Diego State
- Hawaii @ Vanderbilt
- San Jose State @ #6 USC
- Florida International University @ Louisiana Tech
In this exercise, we are going to look at some of the prospects that will be donning the field on Saturday.
Notre Dame RB Audric Estime
Estime headlines a Notre Dame running back room that Heisman voter Phil Steele ranks as a top ten unit in his college football preview. Former four-star Chris Tyree moved to the wide receiver position for the 2023 season because of the amount of talent.
2022 was the first season that Estime was a full-time contributor. He ran for 920 yards, 11 touchdowns and averaged 5.9 yards per carry.
UHND.com writer Michael Owens compares Estime’s physical running style to that of former Fighting Irish hall of famer Jerome Bettis.
Jacksonville State WR Perry Carter
Son of former Oakland Raider and CFL cornerback Perry Carter, Perry Carter II starts his senior year at Jacksonville State. In an interview with Justin Berendzen of NFL Draft Diamonds, Carter describes how he expects this season to be his best.
Carter II spent his first three years playing for the University of Louisiana-Monroe, the same team his dad coached as a defensive backs coach. When his dad moved on to Louisiana Tech, so did Carter II to Jacksonville State.
Carter II was all-state in track in high school, and that speed showcases itself on the field. When he is in space, he is dangerous and is liable to speed past the angles of would-be defenders.
UMass WR Mark Pope
UMass wide receiver Mark Pope is looking for a fresh start after a tumultuous and public end to his tenure at Jackson State.
The former Miami wideout has a chance to be the explosive playmaker he was to be out of Miami Southridge High School.
At 6’0″, 180 pounds, he has good length and size to win on the outside. He showed that against NC State in 2020 when he caught six passes for 97 yards and a touchdown in a shootout with the Wolfpack.
Hopefully, he can get back to being Mark Pope again in Hadley, Massachusetts this fall.
Ohio WR Sam Wiglusz
After seeing minimal playing time in four years at Ohio State, Sam Wiglusz decided it was time to move on. So, he went 90 minutes down US-33 and became an Ohio Bobcat.
The rest, as they say, is history.
Wiglusz played all 14 games for the Bobcats in 2022. He led the team in receptions (73) and yards (877) while hauling in 11 touchdowns. He received All-MAC first-team honors and looks to repeat that performance this season.
Ohio QB Kurtis Rourke
Nathan Rourke took the entire NFL world aback with an insane throw against the Dallas Cowboys this preseason.
His younger brother, Kurtis, may be even better. According to the CFL, where Nathan made his name, Kurtis is their number one prospect.
Last season, Kurtis was named MAC Offensive Player of the Year and earned the Vern Smith Leadership Award for being the top player in the MAC. Rourke’s 10.1 adjusted net yards/attempt ranked him sixth in the country. The five quarterbacks ahead of him are C.J. Stroud, Hendon Hooker, Todd Centeio (James Madison), Grayson McCall and Caleb Williams.
Rourke is a viable prospect in a competitive quarterback class in 2024.
Vanderbilt WR Will Sheppard
After an 0-9 season in 2020, nobody would have blamed Will Sheppard for jumping into the transfer portal. Vanderbilt had hit rock bottom, and Sheppard was a 6’3″ receiver with potential. Sheppard told The Vanderbilt Hustler’s Bowman Talbot that he doesn’t “really quit on things. [He] wanted to feel things out and see what happened.”
Two years later, the former three-star recruit became a second-team All-SEC selection at the end of last season. He is on the Senior Bowl watch list, the Shrine Bowl 1000, a pre-season third-team All-SEC selection. Sheppard’s nine touchdowns last season were second in the SEC only to former Tennessee Volunteer Jaylin Hyatt.
USC S Calen Bullock
Steering clear of the clear answer in Caleb Williams, we will talk about the other side of the football for USC. Calen Bullock made Dane Brugler’s top 50 prospects going into the season. And for good reason.
Bullock was tied for 11th in the country with five interceptions last season. The rangy, lanky safety is the middle-field safety every defense dreams about. He can smoothly transition from a backpedal to triggering downfield to fill a run-fit in time to stop a run for minimal gain. He has sideline-to-sideline speed where he is a threat to get his hands on the football regardless of where he is on the field.
A PFF first-team All-American and a first-team All-Pac 12 selection, Bullock is looking to make an impact for the USC defense all over the field.
Florida International ILB Elijah Anderson-Taylor
After two full seasons at Northern Colorado, Elijah Anderson-Taylor is trying his hand at the FBS ranks. He ended his 2022 campaign with 111 tackles in 11 games, which led the Big Sky conference. Fifty-eight tackles were solo, a mark good enough for 20th in all of FCS.
In an interview with Damond Talbot, owner of NFL Draft Diamonds, Elijah Anderson-Taylor says he would compare himself to “Fred Warner or even Bobby Wagner. I see similarities there.”
While those are lofty expectations to put upon yourself, Anderson-Taylor has the skills to be a playmaker in the middle of a defense. The second-team All-Big Sky recipient has a chance to showcase his skills starting this week against Louisiana Tech.
