Hello and welcome back! College football is back! If you’re new to this article, the goal is to bring you the top upcoming dynasty prospects to watch 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 for my ‘Weekly Watch’ series before you head into the weekend. Use this article each week as a place to refer back to as you get ready to watch each game.
How this article works:
I’ll give you the network, time, and teams playing in nationally televised games. Below that, I’ll list the respective schools’ prospects that are, in my opinion, worth mentioning, their position, the year they are eligible to enter the NFL Draft, and their listed heights and weights.
Feel free to reach out on Twitter (@THEtristancook) if you have players you think deserve to be mentioned in next week’s article.
#12 Oklahoma @ #3 Texas
Saturday, 10/7 | 12:00 PM ET, ABC
#12 Oklahoma
Andrel Anthony #5, WR 2024 (6’1”, 194)
This rivalry game is always exciting for college football. Most years, this game provides a stage for top-tier college prospects on both sides of the ball. However, this year, most of the focus will be on the Texas side. But that’s not to say I won’t be watching whilst Oklahoma has the ball. The player that I’ll be watching closest for the Sooners is junior transfer wide receiver Andrel Anthony. He is coming off his worst game of the season, in which he only caught one pass. I expect to see Anthony utilized more heavily this week.
#3 Texas
Quinn Ewers #3, QB 2024 (6’2”, 195)
On the Texas side of the ball, the main player to know is still their quarterback, Quinn Ewers. I have had Ewers ranked as my QB3 in the 2024 NFL Draft class, should he choose to declare. While he hasn’t lit up the stat sheet like some of the other potential top QB prospects have this year, I still have him trailing only USC’s Caleb Williams and North Carolina’s Drake Maye. I’d like to see a little more consistency out of him on a week-to-week basis. This game is another great opportunity for Ewers to showcase his talents.
Xavier Worthy #1, WR 2024 (6’1”, 172)
The other player I’ll be watching closely in this game is Xavier Worthy. Like the aforementioned Ewers, Worthy has been a bit inconsistent this year. He’s coming off a 7-catch 93-yard performance against Kansas last week and will likely be heavily utilized again against Oklahoma. I think the biggest concerns with Worthy are his size and his hands. He has shown the ability to make big catches, but he also drops more passes than you’d like to see. With teammate Ja’Tavion Sanders potentially out for this game, I expect to see Worthy and fellow wideout Adonai Mitchell be the focal point of the offense.
Maryland @ #4 Ohio State
Saturday, 10/7 | 12:00 PM ET, FOX
#4 Ohio State
Marvin Harrison Jr. #18, WR 2024 (6’4”, 205)
The players to know for Ohio State haven’t changed. It’s not out of the question that the top-3 rookie picks in non-Superflex leagues this upcoming year could all be from OSU, with Marvin Harrison Jr. leading that group. He was lackluster in the low-scoring victory over Notre Dame last week, catching 3 passes for 32 yards. However, I’m not really focused on his production at this point. As long as MHJ stays healthy, he will be a top pick in 2024.
TreVeyon Henderson #32, RB 2024 (5’10”, 214)
Ohio State’s next player to watch is TreVeyon Henderson. Henderson had his best game of the season last week, rushing for 104 yards on only 14 carries, including one he put into the end zone. It’s nice to see him looking a little more like his old self. But, at this point, all I am hoping for out of Henderson this season is his health. If he can get through the year without any injuries, he should test well and be one of the top RBs taken in rookie drafts next year.
Emeka Egbuka #2, WR 2024 (6’1”, 206)
Emeka Egbuka is the final player I will note. He, along with many other receivers, are vying for the WR2 ranking in this class behind Marvin Harrison Jr. Egbuka is a very smooth player who would be the top option at nearly every other school in the country. After a slow start to the season, Egbuka has rattled off three strong performances in a row. I expect to see more of the same this week against the Terps.
#23 LSU @ #21 Missouri
Saturday, 10/30 | 12:00 PM ET, ESPN
#23 LSU
Malik Nabers #8, WR 2024 (6’0”, 200)
This game features two of the best receivers in the country. On LSU’s side, the player to focus on is Malik Nabers. He’s coming off three monster games in a row. Nabers combined for 29 catches, 471 yards receiving, and 4 scores in the last three weeks. He is in line to be the next promising WR prospect to come out of Baton Rouge. I expect to see him in the discussion for WR2 if he declares this year.
#21 Missouri
Luther Burden III #3, WR 2025 (5’11”, 208)
On the other side, I’ll be watching sophomore sensation Luther Burden III. After a strong freshman season in 2022, Burden has exploded this year. Through five games in 2023, he has nearly surpassed all his receiving stats from his freshman campaign. Burden looks like a strong candidate for the top receiver spot in the 2025 NFL Draft. If you aren’t familiar with him, now is a great time to get up to speed.
Syracuse @ #14 North Carolina
Saturday, 10/7 | 3:30 PM ET, ESPN
#14 North Carolina
Drake Maye #10, QB 2024 (6’4”, 230)
The main attraction in this game is UNC’s Drake Maye. He’s had an underwhelming start to what should likely be his final season at North Carolina. The Tar Heels are running the ball quite a lot more than last year, and Maye doesn’t have the weapons he did in 2022. However, I am not worried about Drake Maye as an NFL prospect. He’s still firmly locked into my QB2 spot, and I don’t think that will change.
#20 Kentucky @ #1 Georgia
Saturday, 10/7 | 7:00 PM ET, ESPN
#20 Kentucky
Ray Davis #1, RB 2024 (5’10”, 216)
For Kentucky, the top player to know for the upcoming 2024 NFL Draft is running back Ray Davis. He had an absolute monster of a game against the Florida Gators last week. Davis carried the ball 26 times for 280 yards and 3 scores. Whenever you can average 10.8 yards per rush, it’s a good thing, but when you can do it on 26 carries, that’s extremely impressive. If you aren’t familiar with Davis, he spent the first two years of his career at Temple before transferring to Vanderbilt. He spent 2021 and 2022 with the Commodores before arriving at Kentucky. If Kentucky is going to have a chance for the massive upset, Davis will likely need to duplicate his performance from last week.
#1 Georgia
Brock Bowers #19, TE 2024 (6’5”, 240)
The main player to know for Georgia is their superstar TE, Brock Bowers. Stop me if you’ve heard this one before, but Georgia has a really good TE prospect. There isn’t much that Bowers can’t do and do well on a football field. He’s my TE1 in the class and could be a top-15 NFL Draft pick. As expected, Bowers balled out again last week. In his last two games, Bowers has 17 catches for 278 yards and 3 scores.
#10 Notre Dame @ #25 Louisville
Saturday, 10/7 | 7:30 PM ET, ABC
#10 Notre Dame
Sam Hartman #10, QB 2024 (6’1”, 210)
The player to watch in this game for the Irish is former Wake Forest quarterback Sam Hartman. Despite winning last week against Duke, Hartman had a rough game. He only completed 50% of his passes in a sloppy win for the Irish. At this point, I think it’s more likely than not that he ends up as a mid-round NFL selection than a first-round pick, but he’s worth knowing.
#25 Louisville
Jamari Thrash #1, WR 2024 (6’1” 185)
Jamari Thrash is the top Louisville player to know. He really bloomed last year for the Georgia State Panthers, catching 61 passes for 1,122 yards and 7 scores. He transferred to Louisville prior to this year and has shown that he can produce at the Power 5 level. Thrash is a fifth-year player, so he’s a slightly older prospect, but I think he could sneak his way into the middle rounds of the upcoming NFL Draft.
Arizona @ #9 USC
Saturday, 10/7 | 10:30 PM ET, ESPN
Arizona
Jacob Cowing #2, WR 2024 (5’11”, 175)
The name to know for the 2024 NFL Draft on the Wildcats is Jacob Cowing. It surprised me that Cowing returned for a fifth season instead of declaring for the 2023 NFL Draft. However, he’s been a steady performer so far. There were questions about how well Cowing would play at the Power 5 level, but he showed he was more than capable last season. Cowing is not a player I expect to be highly drafted in the NFL, but he should be a mid-to-late round pick that could be a value.
#9 USC
Caleb Williams #13, QB 2024 (6’1”, 215)
The players to watch for USC haven’t changed. The main man is the reigning Heisman winner, Caleb Williams. We found out that he is human last week when he threw his first interception of the year against the Buffs. He also threw six more touchdowns, so it was far from an issue. My only concern for Caleb Williams is whether he will declare this year or return for one more year at USC.
Brendan Rice #2, WR 2024 (6’3”, 210)
One of Caleb’s favorite targets this year has been senior wideout Brendan Rice. Rice had a nice game last week against his former team, the Colorado Buffaloes, in which he caught 5 passes for 81 yards and 2 scores. If you weren’t aware, Brendan is the son of San Francisco 49ers legend Jerry Rice. Brendan has had a bit of an underwhelming career but really seems to be shining in 2023. I think the athletic testing portion of the pre-draft process will have a particularly large impact on how NFL teams view Rice. Right now, I think Day 2 of the NFL Draft is a bit of a longshot but not out of the question.
That’s it for this week’s games. As I previously mentioned, if there is anyone you’d like me to take a look at or want to share your thoughts on anything dynasty related, 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 plan to take full advantage of. You can use the code “tcook” for 15% off a membership of any kind!
