Week 2 of the 2022 college football season doesn’t bring the most exciting slate to the table, but there are a few ranked matchups highlighted by a primetime SEC matchup between No. 12 Florida and No. 20 Kentucky. The nation’s number-one ranked team, Alabama, heads down to the Lone Star State for a date with the Texas Longhorns. While the game may not be particularly close, Texas is a general question mark in 2022 that does have a handful of intriguing prospects on both sides of the football. Despite the mediocre game slate, we still have plenty of intriguing prospect matchups to hone in on this week.
Quarterback Duel — Will Levis (Kentucky) vs. Anthony Richardson (Florida)
The matchup everyone needs to have their eyes on Saturday night is Will Levis leading Kentucky into the Swamp to take on Anthony Richardson. These two quarterbacks are two of the best quarterbacks in college football who can just do things differently than anyone else. Both are fueled with great size, rocket-powered arms, and athletic gifts that many prospects aren’t so blessed to receive.
Levis has had an up-and-down career to this point with plenty of highlights and dud games littered across his profile.
Richardson has barely played in his career, but he did show out against Utah in their Week 1 matchup. The tools he displayed excited the draft community in small glimpses last year. But Richardson has the reins and could be in for a monster year to soar up draft boards.
No—the Buffalo Bills will not be in search of either of these guys. But if you’re a draft fan, you need to watch this matchup on Saturday night.
Heavyweights on the Perimeter — WR Jordan Addison (USC) vs. CB Kyu Blu Kelly (Stanford)
This is a low-key matchup that you might not hear in the tabloids like the high-profile nature of Levis and Richardson above. But this battle at 7:30 PM Eastern isn’t something you want to miss. Addison is a high-profile transfer from Pittsburgh who lit the college football world on fire. Despite being a Biletnikoff Award winner in 2021 with the Panthers, Addison is now a Trojan and already has two touchdowns to his name through one week of the season.
Blu Kelly played on a bad Stanford team last year and flew under the radar. He has shades of Cincinnati Bengals second-round 2022 selection Cam Taylor-Britt to his game. Addison is a slight player while Blu Kelly offers a long, physical frame who likes to get in his opponent’s face. It will be an intriguing contrast of player types in Week 2, but it’s one draft fans need their eyes on.
Bully Ball Battle — RB Bijan Robinson (Texas) vs. EDGE Will Anderson and LB Henry To’oTo’o (Alabama)
The Texas Longhorns are playing college football much like the Los Angeles Rams currently do—with a studs-and-duds roster sprinkled with a few supremely talented players. Bijan Robinson leads that pack as perhaps the best running back in college football. He is often linked as the top running back in the 2023 NFL Draft and he earns every bit of that praise with his combination of athleticism and contact balance at the position. He’s a special player at the position who could cause Alabama some tackling issues.
Speaking of special—this is the first mention of Alabama edge rusher Will Anderson. The supremely talented Anderson has drawn comparisons to current Bills edge rusher and future Hall of Famer Von Miller from the likes of The Athletic draft analyst Dane Brugler. He’s likely to give an inexperienced, young Longhorns offensive line a lot of issues with his ability to convert speed to power.
Henry To’oTo’o has played a ton of SEC football in his college career. Now in his second season at Alabama after transferring over from Tennessee, To’oTo’o has a big task at hand against Robinson. Keep an eye on his ability to attack Robinson in the hole on Saturday. If he’s able to do so, it’s stock up for the senior middle linebacker.
Game of the Week
No. 20 Kentucky @ No. 12 Florida
Saturday, 7:00 PM Eastern
ESPN
It’s our highlighted prospect matchup this week between the pair of quarterbacks, and it’s also the matchup to keep your eyes on in Week 2. Early season SEC matchups aren’t common and this is a generally weak slate of games.
Aside from Levis, Virginia Tech transfer Tayvion Robinson is a name to watch at receiver for Kentucky in this game. He put up over 100 yards in Week 1 and came in as a touted transfer from the Hokies. He looks like Levis’s top target early on. Running back Chris Rodriguez is a talented player in the middle of an odd suspension situation with Kentucky at the moment. He was arrested for a DUI in the offseason. His availability looks to be in limbo for Saturday and beyond. Edge rusher J.J. Weaver is a defensive prospect to know for the Wildcats. You may remember him as the player who has six fingers on his right hand. Yes—literally.
For Florida, Louisiana transfer offensive guard O’Cyrus Torrence is a notable prospect for the Gators as is big, athletic receiver Justin Shorter. Safety Trey Dean is a stat-sheet stuffer, while edge rusher Brenton Cox and interior defensive lineman Gervon Dexter present matchup issues with their athleticism on the defensive line.
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