College football is back and so is the Weekly Watch! If you’re new to this article, the goal is to provide you with the names of the top upcoming dynasty prospects in nationally televised college football games. It’s never too early to take a look forward. Who will be the sleepers of upcoming rookie drafts? Check back here every week as you get ready to watch each game.
#3 Texas @ #10 Michigan
Saturday, 9/7 | 12:00 PM ET | FOX
#3 Texas
Quinn Ewers | #3 | QB | 2025 | 6’2” | 210 lbs.
The first player of note is Texas quarterback, Quinn Ewers. He entered college with as much hype as any prospect in recent memory but hasn’t quite lived up to the excitement. After transferring from Ohio State, Ewers took over the reins at Texas and hasn’t looked back. Entering his third year as the starter, he’s passed for 5,656 yards, 37 TDs, and only 12 INTs, while increasing his completion percentage in the process.
Last week against Colorado State, Ewers took his performance up another notch, completing 74.1% of his passes in a dismantling of the Rams. I am eager to see how he will perform this week on the road in a much tougher matchup against the reigning national champion, Michigan Wolverines. Right now, Ewers is firmly in the QB3 spot in the 2025 class but has an opportunity to put his name in the same tier as Colorado’s Shedeur Sanders and Georgia’s Carson Beck.
Matthew Golden | #2 | WR | 2025 | 6’0” | 195 lbs.
Matthew Golden is one of a few wide receiver transfers that the Longhorns brought in this year after losing their top four offensive weapons to the NFL Draft last year. Golden came from the University of Houston where he put up 988 receiving yards and 13 TDs on 76 receptions over his first 2 years. Last week, Golden only caught three passes but was able to score twice. He is a very explosive, big-play threat who could vault up draft boards if he develops into the top weapon for Ewers.
#10 Michigan
Donovan Edwards | #7 | RB | 2025 | 6’1” | 212 lbs.
The main player to watch for Michigan is senior running back Donovan Edwards. He entered this season with the opportunity to show that he can be a workhorse back for the Wolverines. However, last week against Fresno State, Edwards struggled on the ground. He carried the ball 11 times but only managed 27 yards. His best trait has always been his ability as a receiver. If he wants to be drafted before the final day of the draft, he’s going to need to look much better than he did last week.
Colston Loveland | #18 | TE | 2025 (6’5”, 245 lbs.)
Next up we have tight end Colston Loveland. While most of the Wolverine offense struggled in the opener last week, Loveland started the season with a bang. He caught 8 passes for 87 yards and a score. We know that the TE position is one of the hardest to predict from college to the next level. Loveland has all of the physical traits to succeed in the NFL and is putting up strong production as well. He will be a TE to know in your rookie drafts next year.
Arkansas @ #16 Oklahoma State
Saturday, 9/7 | 12:00 PM ET | ABC
Arkansas
Ja’Quinden Jackson | #22 | RB | 2025 | 6’2” | 233 lbs.
When the Razorbacks have the ball, the player to watch is their senior running back, Ja’Quinden Jackson. He tore it up in the opener last week, rushing for 101 yards and 2 TDs on only 8 carries. It was against Arkansas-Pine Bluff, so it wasn’t exactly the stiffest of competition. Jackson will need to continue to put up these kinds of performances if he’s going to get onto the fantasy-relevant radar. He’s worth watching when Arkansas has the ball as he will likely be the focal point of the offense once again.
#16 Oklahoma State
Ollie Gordon II | #0 | RB | 2025 | 6’2” | 225 lbs.
The best player on the field in this game plays for the Oklahoma State Cowboys. To be fair, Ollie Gordon II is going to be the best player in most of the games he plays this year. He has the potential to be the top RB in the 2025 class. His ability to attack defenses in a myriad of ways is exactly the kind of thing that NFL teams are looking to add to their rosters.
He has a fantastic opportunity this week to showcase all of his skills against a solid SEC team. If he’s going to ascend to the RB1 in the 2025 class, it will start this week. If you want a more in-depth analysis of Gordon, you can check out the Big 12 Conference preview.
South Florida @ #4 Alabama
Saturday, 9/7 | 7:00 PM ET | ESPN
#4 Alabama
Jalen Milroe | #4 | QB | 2025 | 6’2” | 225 lbs.
The players to know in this game all reside on the Alabama side of the ball. The first name to know is Heisman-hopeful, Jalen Milroe. Normally, I wouldn’t be too eager about watching Alabama dismantle South Florida (they are 31-point favorites), but last year they struggled mightily against the Bulls as Milroe was benched for the game.
I expect this to be a slightly tougher game than their opener where Jalen Milroe only threw 9 passes before coming out of the game because it was out of hand. If he’s going to make his way into the 1st round of the NFL Draft, Milroe needs to show that he can pass the ball at a higher level.
Ryan Williams | #2 | WR | 2027 | 6’0” | 175 lbs.
If you watched the game against Western Kentucky last week, you may already know Ryan Williams’ name. If you aren’t familiar with him, he is an outstanding freshman receiver. Williams actually reclassified so he could enroll at Alabama one year earlier than anticipated, making him only 17 years old. Williams has a long way to go before he’ll be a draft-eligible prospect, but he’s absolutely going to be one of the top receivers in the 2027 class.
#19 Kansas @ Illinois
Saturday, 9/7 | 7:00 PM ET | FS1
#19 Kansas
Jalon Daniels | #6 | QB | 2025 | 6’0” | 220 lbs.
First up we have Jalon Daniels, who is one of the more interesting prospects in this class. This is technically his 5th year of college, but he’s listed as a junior. As an NFL prospect, Daniels has a ways to go as a passer before he will really be on the dynasty radar. However, if he’s able to show development as a passer, he offers dynamic rushing ability that can lead to being an elite fantasy asset.
Devin Neal | #4 | RB | 2025 | 5’11” | 215 lbs.
Devin Neal is the other player to know for the Jayhawks. He, like many players, had a big performance in Week 1 against a far inferior opponent (Lindenwood), running the ball only 8 times but tallying 112 yards and 2 TDs. Neal has excellent vision and patience behind the line but is not overly powerful. He doesn’t have elite breakaway speed, either. He is in a tier or two below the top handful of RBs in the class right now.
Colorado @ Nebraska
Saturday, 9/7 | 7:30 PM ET | NBC/Peacock
Colorado
Shedeur Sanders | #2 | QB | 2025 | 6’2” | 215 lbs.
In the final game I will highlight this week, the top two players I’ll be watching are on the Buffs’ side of the ball. Shedeur Sanders had a monster game last week against North Dakota State. He completed 76.5% of his 34 pass attempts for 445 yards and 4 TDs. Sanders is currently my QB1 in the class and is neck-and-neck with Georgia’s Carson Beck in Mel Kiper’s latest QB rankings. This game on the road is going to be a prime opportunity for Sanders to solidify his QB1 candidacy.
Travis Hunter | #12 | WR/CB | 2025 | 6’1” | 185 lbs.
The final player I will highlight this week is also the no. 1 overall player on Mel Kiper’s most recent big board. Hunter is quite possibly the most unique NFL prospect that the NFL has ever seen. While we have seen many players who have played on both sides of the ball at the college level, what makes Travis Hunter so unique is that he truly plays a full compliment of plays as both a WR and CB. He averaged nearly 112 snaps played per game in 2023 which led the country by a wide margin. In fact, he more than doubled the number of snaps played by some of the top WRs in last year’s class.
The biggest question with him is if he’s going to play WR at the NFL level or not. My belief is that he will play both sides of the ball but will primarily play on the offensive side so I therefore have him ranked as a WR. In fact, I have him ranked as the WR1 in the class. With catches like this, it’s easy to see why he is ranked so highly.
That’s it for this Weekly Watch. If there is anyone you’d like me to take a look at, hit me up on Twitter (@THEtristancook). Also, check out tape on some of these guys in the Dynasty Nerds Film Room. It’s an amazing tool that I try to take full advantage of. You can use the code “tcook” for 15% off a membership of any kind!
