- OHIO STATE: At least based on pre-season rankings, the Buckeyes appear to have by far the most talent for the upcoming draft. The Buckeyes currently have, for example, the top non-QB prospect for 2024 in WR Marvin Harrison; in fact, the Ohio State WR room, which also includes Emeka Egbuka, who has some top 10 potential of his own, and veteran Julian Fleming, may be the best in the country. Same story for the Buckeyes’ defensive line which features three possible first rounders in DEs J.T. Tuimoloau and Jack Sawyer and DT Michael Hall. Tuimoloau and Hall, in particular, both have top 10-15 potential, while Sawyer could get later opening round consideration, as will CB Denzel Burke who heads the secondary, along with S Lathan Ranson. Meanwhile, Tre’Veyon Henderson should be one of the first RBs off the board next April if he is healthy after missing most of the 2022 campaign with a broken foot; if not Ohio State has a pretty good #2 back in Miyan Williams who could get some mid-to-late round interest of his own. The Buckeyes do have to replace both starting OTs, but return one of the best OG tandems in the country in Donovan Jackson and Matt Jones. In fact, Ohio State has quality prospects at every position except QB where the Buckeyes have to replace J.T. Stroud, the 2nd overall pick this past April. And how quickly whoever gets the ball – most likely talented, but still largely unproven junior Kyle McCord – establishes himself will go a long way in determining the Buckeyes CFP fate this fall.
- GEORGIA: After winning back-to-back national championships the Bulldogs are now solidly in that rarified ‘we don’t rebuild, we reload’ category. And leading the way this year for the Bulldogs is TE Brock Bowers, one of the most dynamic players in the country with top 5-10 potential for the 2024 draft. Georgia also has a number of players likely to get at least some later first round interest including rising OT Amarius Mims, CB Kamari Lassiter, S Javon Bullard and MLB Dumas-Johnson. For good measure, UGA also has real quality veteran depth including C Sedrick Van Pran, DT Nazir Stackhouse, WRs Ladd McConkey and Dominic Lovett, OG Xavier Truss and RB Kendall Milton. However, like Ohio State, the Bulldogs will be breaking in a new QB this year in junior Carson Beck, although he may only be keeping the job warm for Dominic Raiola, the top 2024 recruit in the country who will be joining the program next fall. In fact, a pretty good case could be made that Georgia’s most intriguing prospects are sophomores Malaki Starks, a ball-hawking safety, and DE Mykel Williams, neither of whom are draft eligible this year.
- ALABAMA: After the Tide had the first and third players selected at the 2023 draft – QB Bryce Young who went #1 overall to Carolina and DE Will Anderson who was the third pick by Indianapolis – Alabama won’t necessarily have one of their deeper classes in 2024; however, they likely will still have at least a couple of prospects with top 10 potential in ER Dallas Turner and CB Kool-Aid McKinstry, both of whom are currently considered to be the top prospects at their respective positions. And that should pretty much guarantee that Alabama adds to its record streak of having at least one player selected in the opening round for 15 straight years. The Tide also has a couple more players with later first round or early second-day possibilities in rising OT JC Latham and DB Malachi Moore, while DE Justin Eboigbe, TE CJ Dippre, RB Jase McClellan, and LB Chris Braswell are later round candidates. Of course, with Young off to the NFL, Alabama will be yet another top-ranked team moving on at QB this fall as they are expected to start redshirt sophomore Jalen Milroe.
- MICHIGAN: At this point in the pre-season it does not appear that the Woverines have anyone who is a lock to be a first-round pick, although DT Kris Jenkins could certainly get there if he could show a little more rushing the passer; so could QB J.J. McCarthy with a productive campaign, although he still looks more like the kind of player that will be back in school in 2024. What Michigan does have, though, is arguably the deepest 2024 draft class of any program in the country that starts with one of the best RB tandems in the country in Blake Corum and Donovan Edwards. They also have one of the top OG combos around in veterans Zak Zinter and Trevor Keegan. And they are just the tip of the iceberg of an experienced roster that also includes WR Cornelius Johnson, OT LaDarius Henderson, DT Karsen Barnhart, and DE Josaiah Stewart, each of whom has at least some mid-to-late round potential.
- WASHINGTON: Anyone looking for a national championship dark horse this fall probably needs to take a long look at Washington. The Huskies also look like they could have a major impact at the 2024 draft as they have as many first-round prospects as any program in the country. It starts with QB Michael Penix, who had a breakout year last throwing for over 4,600 yards and 31 scores after a so-so 4-year tenure at Indiana. But put up those kind of numbers again this fall and Penix will be very much in the Heisman picture. He’ll also be very much in the picture to be the next QB selected after USC’s Caleb Williams and North Carolina’s Drake Maye. And it certainly won’t hurt Penix’ chances that he’ll be throwing to one of the better receiver corps in the nation featuring Rome Odunze, who could also be in the mix to be one of the first 2-3 receivers off the board next April, and Jalen McMillan. For good measure, the Huskies also have one of the better rush-end pairs in college football in rising DE Bralen Trice and Zion Tupuola-Fetui, while OT Troy Fautuna could get some early second-day consideration.
- CLEMSON: After a 6-year run in which the Tigers qualified for the CFP playoffs, Clemson missed out the last couple of years. And it showed up at the past two drafts where Clemson had a total of only two players selected in the opening round and both came very late. If the Tigers are going to get back into the playoff mix this fall, the defence is going to have to do much of the heavy lifting. The good news for the Tigers, though, is that that defence is anchored by LBs Jeremiah Trotter and Barrett Carter, who may very well be the two best at the position for the upcoming draft. The Tigers also have a veteran defensive front including DTs Tyler Davis and Ruke Orhororo and DE Xavier Thomas. Both DTs are solid late second-day prospects, while Thomas, once the top recruit in the country who has battled injuries throughout his Clemson career, is something of a wild card. On the other hand, RB Will Shipley is the Tigers only real prospect on the other side of the ball; however, he’s a good one who is also a major threat catching the ball out of the backfield.
- SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA: The Trojans, of course, have the current consensus #1 prospect overall for the 2024 draft in star QB Caleb Williams, who won the Heisman Trophy last year and is being compared to Patrick Mahomes by pro scouts. USC also has the top-rated safety in Calen Bullock, an aggressive ball-hawker who had 5 picks last fall; he should get some later opening round consideration this coming April, while WRs Dorian Singer and Mario Williams, OG Jarrett Kingston, RB MarShawn Lloyd and LB Mason Cobb could get a middle or later round call.
- FLORIDA STATE: Are the Seminoles back? That will be one of the big questions in college football this fall as they return just about everybody from a team that went 10-3 last fall which included a 6-game win streak to finish the year. Those returnees include DE Jared Verse, who somewhat surprisingly opted to return to school despite the fact that he had started to generate some top ten buzz for the 2023 draft. The ‘Noles also have a couple of players with late first/early second round potential in 6-5 WR Johnny Wilson and CB Fentrell Cypress, while QB Travis Jordan, RB Trey Benson, TE Jaheim Bell, DT Fabian Lovett and S Akeem Dent are all solid veterans with mid-to-late grades.
- PENN STATE: The Lions are another team with at least a couple of players with top ten potential including OT Olu Fashanu who made the surprising decision to return to school for the upcoming season despite the fact he had a better than even chance to be the first offensive lineman selected this past April. And this year he has a better than even chance to end up as a top 5 pick. Meanwhile, the appropriately named DE Chop Robinson is starting to get a little top ten buzz of his own. At the same time, CB Kalen King is currently considered to be one of the top 2-3 corners for this year’s draft, while WR Dante Cephus, TE Theo Johnson and LB Abdul Carter are mid-to-later round candidates. Whether Penn State can challenge Ohio State and Michigan in the Big Ten, though, will depend as much on a couple of sophomores not eligible for the upcoming draft in QB Drew Allar, the former big-time recruit who takes over the offence this fall, and RB Nicholas Singleton, who emerged as one of the top backs in the country last season when he ran for over 1,000 yards and scored 12 times as a true freshman.
- MIAMI: Times have been tough for the Miami program in recent years and that has clearly shown up at the draft. Indeed, the team that dominated the early rounds of the draft in the early part of the century had a total of just 4 players selected the past two years, only one of which came of the board prior to the 5th round; the ‘Canes also had just 4 players taken in the first round in the past 8 drafts, none higher than 18th overall. However, times may be changing at Miami. DT Leonard Taylor, one of the top 2-3 prospects at the position this year, for example, has a chance to be the highest Cane selected since 2015, while QB Tyler Van Dyke was thought to be a top 10 possibility at the time last year and while that’s clearly that’s not the case this year, Van Dyke certainly has to the tools to be much better than he was last fall. At the same time, the ‘Canes have several other solid second-day candidates in OT Zion Nelson, OG Javion Cohen, DE Ahkeem Mesidor, and safety Kamren Kinchens.
- TEXAS: What kind of impact the Longhorns will have on the 2024 draft will depend to a large degree on the football fortunes of QB Quinn Ewers this fall. The former #1 recruit in the country originally signed with Ohio State, but ended up transferring to Texas prior to the 2022 season. No question he has elite tools including prototype size, a big arm and enough athleticism to at least keep opposing defences honest. However, he was inconsistent too often last fall and isn’t necessarily a lock to even keep the job with a couple of other A-list young QBs, including Arch Manning, also looking for playing time. Ewers, though, will have the advantage of throwing to two outstanding receivers in WR Xavier Worth and TE Ja’Tavion Sanders, both of whom are considered to be among the top 2-3 prospects at their respective positions, while sophomore G/T Kelvin Banks has all the look of a potential top 5 prospect for 2025. At the same time, the Longhorns draft class also some depth including WR Jordan Whittington, DT T’Vondre Sweat, LB Jaylan Ford, CB Jahdae Barron and S Jalen Catalon. Catalon, in particular, could be something of a sleeper; he’s a transfer from Arkansas who had a breakout year in 2020, but barely played the last two years because of injuries.
- LSU: The Tigers have been on a pretty nice draft run in recent years as LSU has had a player selected with a top 5 pick in five of the past 7 years. That included 2020 when QB Joe Burrow was the first player taken overall. It may be a bit of a strectch for the Tigers to extend that streak this year, but they do have a very good chance of at least getting back into the top ten as rising DT Maason Smith is one of the more intriguing prospects this year. He’s a freakish athlete with a great motor who looked all the part of top 5-10 pick during a breakout fresh year in 2021, but barely played last fall after tearing an ACL just minutes into the Tigers’ season opener. Smith lines up next to fellow DT Mehki Wingo, a solid second-day candidate in his own right, to give LSU arguably the top interior defensive front in the country. Meanwhile, WR Malik Nabers is something of a rising star at the position and dual-threat QB Jayden Daniels is an intriguing second-tier prospect at the position, while other Tigers to watch in the middle and late rounds include LB Omar Speights and safety Greg Brooks.
- OREGON: The Ducks are another west coast team banking on a ‘second-career’ transfer QB this fall. Like Michael Penix up at Washington, the Ducks’ Bo Nix had something of a breakout year last fall after transferring from Auburn where he had a decent, albeit unspectacular 3-year tenure. Nix, though, isn’t quite the pro prospect Penix is, but still might generate some late second-day interest as a developmental type. Same for underrated RB Bucky Irving, who isn’t all that big, but is an elusive runner and receiver who can make plays in space. At the same time, the Ducks have several other prospects with at least some upside including DE Brandon Dorius, LBs Jordan Burch and Jestin Jacobs and WR Tez Johnson.
- BYU: Interesting that BYU could have the Big XII’s top prospect for the upcoming draft in the Cougars’ first season in the conference in LT Kingsley Saumataia, who is currently considered to be the #3 prospect at the position this year behind Penn State’s Olu Fashanu and John Alt of Notre Dame; he’s a rangy 6-6, 315-pounder with great feet and figures to be a top 20 pick next April. Saumataia combines with massive (6-8, 325) RT Caleb Etienne and veteran C Paul Maille, a couple of solid mid-round prospects, to give the Cougars one of the better offensive fronts in the country. That’s good news for much-travelled QB Kedon Slovis, a later round prospect who landed at BYU for the upcoming season after stops at USC and Pittsburgh. In fact, BYU could very well be a strong contender for the conference title this fall with a veteran roster dotted with late round types including RB Aidan Robbins, TE Isaac Rex, DE Isaiah Bagnah, LBs Ben Bywater and AJ Vongphanchanh and safety Malik Moore.
- ARKANSAS: The Razorbacks don’t necessarily have a lot of prospects for the upcoming draft, but the ones they do have are pretty good including RB Raheim Sanders, arguably the top candidate at the position at this point, while QB KJ Jefferson has the tools to also get some latter opening round looks next April. The Hogs also have an underrated edge rusher in DE Trajan Jeffcoat, while C Beaux Limmer anchors the offensive line.
