The penultimate week of college football was marked by some major expected blowouts, such as Alabama-Arkansas or Iowa-Wisconsin, but there were some major upsets that could matter in terms of the College Football Playoffs. UNC has quickly turned into a respectable football program, and they proved that by putting up 62 points against favored Miami. Meanwhile, LSU somehow found it within themselves to disrupt Florida’s offense and win their game, although Kyle Pitts sitting out might have had something to do with that. Below are the prospects who stood out during another week of college football.
Tyler Nevens RB (San Jose State)
The Spartans are undefeated and will be playing in the Mountain West Championship after beating Nevada. Their lead tailback was a big reason they put down the Wolfpack, as his 184-yards and touchdown paired nicely with the three turnovers forced by the defense. Unlike many of the running backs in this year’s class, Nevens is a pure straight-line back who can capitalize on solid blocking by quickly taking the football to the house. As was the case on his 69-yard highlight burst late in the third quarter.
Bryce Thompson S (Tennessee)
The Volunteers had a promising performance against Vanderbilt this week, which really showed the team’s talent but that, ultimately, quarterback flaws prevented them from reaching their potential. That’s especially true for the defense, which sports a playmaker in the junior safety. The highlight on the day was an amazing, one-handed, pick-six, which saw Thompson lined up in the slot against a wide receiver. What he lacks in size, he definitely makes up for in ball skills and decent athleticism.
Miles Fox DT (Wake Forest)
With several players out, including star pass rusher Carlos Basham, Wake Forest received a beat down by Louisville’s offense on Saturday. Don’t tell that to Basham’s running mate Fox though—the grad transfer used his quickness inside to have a career day, with four tackles-for-loss and a sack. With 4.5 sacks on the year, it would be nice if Fox was invited to the Senior Bowl—in what looks like a weak class for defensive tackles.
Dillon Stoner WR (Oklahoma State)
With star receiver Tylan Wallace missing the game due to injury, the senior filled in quite nicely. By “quite nicely” I mean that he had eight catches for an amazing 247 yards and three touchdowns. He didn’t display super athletic traits in his big game against Baylor, besides a sure pair of hands and an ability to make himself available to his quarterback. Like Wallace though, he appears to thrive at blocking for his running back on the perimeter. It’s those qualities that could see him drafted in the late rounds.
Vederian Lowe OT (Illinois)
Shoutout to Tony Pauline for keeping us informed on some of the lesser known prospects, including Lowe. Lowe originally was a guard for the Fighting Illini, but has moved to left tackle this season. On Saturday, he helped keep his quarterback completely upright the entire game, while ensuring some productive crushing runs for all of Illinois’ rushers. Even though it turned out to be a massive blowout loss, Lowe can point to this game as proof he could start along the offensive line in the NFL.