Vols-Dawgs hilite weekend college action … It may sound a little bit like a broken record, but the one really key game on this weekend’s college football schedule is in the SEC where #7 LSU takes on #12 Georgia at 7:30 PM ET Saturday evening on ABC. The game is particularly critical for Georgia’s playoff chances as the Bulldogs already very much on the playoff bubble with two losses. It also may be particularly critical for the draft status of Georgia QB Carson Beck who entered the season considered to be the potentially THE #1 prospect overall, but has had a very up-and-down campaign which has included three games with 3 picks, the most of any QB in the country. Of course, Beck won’t be the only Bulldog that scouts focus on Saturday as Georgia is loaded with top draft talent. In fact, if DE Mykel Williams (#13, 6-5, 265) could ever get healthy he could conceivably work his way into the top pick overall discussion as he has all the tools to be the next great pass-rusher in the NFL. Williams, though, has been dealing with a foot injury this year and like Beck has not really lived up to the billing this fall. On the other hand, ER Jalon Walker (#11, 6-2, 245), an athletic, versatile LB/ER who leads the team with 4.5 sacks has been something of a revelation this fall. Those two could also be joined in next year’s opening round by safety Malachi Starks (#24, 6-0, 205), one of the most dynamic impact defenders in college football. The Bulldogs also feature one of the best offensive lines in the country including LT Earnest Greene (#71, 6-4, 320), OG Dylan Fairchild (#53, 6-4, 315), RT Xavier Truss (#73, 6-6, 320) and C Jared Wilson (#55, 6-3, 210); Fairchild and Wilson in particular, are considered to be among the top prospects at their respective positions. Meanwhile, other Bulldogs to watch include RB Travis Etienne (#1, 5-9, 205), DT Nazir Stackhouse (#78, 6-3, 320), WR Dominic Lovett (#6, 5-10, 190) and TEs Oscar Delp (#4, 6-4, 245) and Ben Yurosek (#84, 6-4, 245). At the same time, LB Smael Mondon (#2, 6-2, 235), another mid-round prospect, will not play because of a foot injury.
For its part, Tennessee has at least one elitish prospect in DE/ER James Pearce (#27, 6-5, 245), who was considered to be one of the top 2-3 non-QB prospects for 2025 entering the season after posting 10 sacks last year as a largely situational pass rusher, but is off to something of a slow start this fall with just a couple. The Vols also feature one of the better OGs in the country in rugged Javontez Spraggins (#76, 6-3, 330), who has at least some second-day potential, while WRs Bru McCoy (#5, 6-3, 230) and Squirrel White (#3, 5-9, 170), C Cooper Mays (#63, 6-3, 310), and RT John Campbell (#74, 6-5, 330) all have mid-round possibilities. The big question for the Vols on whether they’ll be able to hang with Dawgs on the road is the availability of star sophomore QB Nico Iamaleava (#8, 6-3, 220) one of the best young QBs in the country who won’t be draft eligible until 2026; he’ll be a game-time decision because of a concussion.
Bonus coverage: Overall, it will actually be a rather quiet week in college football with the exception of the Tennessee-Georgia game, although there will be a number of other spots worth checking out. We are particularly interested to see DE Landon Jackson (#40, 6-6, 275) go against All-America OT Kelvin Banks (#78, 6-4, 320) in what could be the weekend’s best one-on-one matchup in college football when #3 Texas plays at Arkansas at Noon ET on ABC. Also at Noon on Saturday, we’ll get another chance to check out the sterling Colorado duo of QB Shedeur Sanders and WR Travis Hunter, both of whom have top 5-10 potential, when the Buffs host Utah on FOX. Then at 3:30 PM ET we plan to check in on the Boston College-SMU contest on ESPN which features a couple of very intriguing DEs in Donovan Ezeiruaku (#6, 6-2, 250), one of the top sackers in the country this fall with 11, and the Mustangs’ Elijah Roberts (35, 6-4, 295) who has not had the dominating type of season he had hoped for but still offers a unique combination of size and agility.
