We’ve officially made it through one-third of the college football season (man, how time flies) and players are really starting to show us who they really are. This weekend was a very exciting weekend for college football, and several players gave me things to think about. Let’s get to it!
- Elic Ayomanor played his best game of the season on Friday night catching 7 balls for 87 yards and hauled in his first touchdown of the year. He is a 6’2” 210 lb. wide receiver who has an NFL-ready body. He made two catches in this game that you watched and said, “Now that’s an NFL guy”. The first was a one-handed grab along the end zone boundary for a touchdown. The second was a back shoulder sideline throw that he caught while falling to the ground on 4th and 9 with the game on the line in the last minute. He is positioned to be one of the first five receivers off the board in the NFL draft, and in my opinion, is a combination of Michael Pittman and Amari Cooper. He has fantastic ball skills and body control and is great with the ball in his hands on yards after the catch. His agility or speed won’t blow anyone away, but he has NFL tools. His body control can be seen on the catch highlighted here.
*Click image to view full tweet and video*
- Dylan Raiola may not have won the game against Illinois, but he showed some amazing composure in the pocket and the ability to make off-script and off-platform throws. Everyone needs to pump the brakes when it comes to comparing him to Patrick Mahomes, but the skill set and talent have the makings of a future NFL star.
- Emeka Egbuka has been lost in the shuffle with all of the hype around Marvin Harrison Jr. in 2023 and now Jeremiah Smith in 2024. He reminded everyone this weekend that he was the number 1 WR recruit in his own class a couple of years ago. On the first passing play for OSU, he took a WR screen to the house for 68 yards. He finished the game with 5 catches for 117 yards and 1 touchdown.
- Quinshon Judkins again showed that he was the more explosive player in the Ohio State running back room. In the second quarter he broke off an 86-yard run for a touchdown and there was no chance of any Marshall player catching him. Ashton Jeanty is going to be the darling for a ton of people during the upcoming offseason, but barring injury I cannot see a scenario where Judkins isn’t my RB1 in the 2025 class.
- Jaydon Blue returned for the Longhorns this weekend and carried the ball 25 times for 124 yards and 3 touchdowns. This stat line comes against a lowly Louisiana-Monroe team so it isn’t one I’m going to put much stock into. What caught my eye with Blue was that he did receive 7 targets in the game (though he finished with only one catch on the day). I am always looking for running backs that can catch passes for my dynasty teams, so this is very intriguing. He is going to test very well at the combine, and I feel pretty safe in projecting him to go on day two of the NFL draft.
- Another week, another Jaxson Dart performance of 375+ yards and 4 touchdowns. They enter SEC play after four cupcake matchups. Upcoming games against Kentucky, South Carolina, LSU, and Georgia will be a great measuring stick for Dart as he looks to become a first-round NFL draft pick
- A large portion of Dart’s passing yards have been going to Tre Harris. He is averaging 9.5 catches per game and has yardage totals of 179, 130, 94, and 225 yards. He has been much more impressive than I expected him to be for Ole Miss this season. At 6’2” 210 lbs. he has a frame that I like moving to the next level, and has a 70th percentile speed score. He vaguely reminds me of current Jaguars wide receiver, Gabe Davis coming out of college. Admittedly I haven’t had time to sit down and really watch him on a route-by-route basis, but I will absolutely be paying close attention with some of the upcoming tougher defenses he will be facing.
- The most consistent running back in the nation has hands-down been Kaleb Johnson at Iowa. Against Minnesota this weekend he gained 206 yards and 3 touchdowns on 21 carries. He doesn’t blow anyone away with speed or agility, but he has some of the best contact balance and finishing ability of any running back coming out in 2025. He is 6’ 0” and around 225 lbs. and his top athletic comp on the C2C Prospect Athletic Comparison tool is Quinshon Judkins.
- Jordan Lyle has been very efficient with his touches so far this season for Miami as a freshman. He rushed 6 times for 104 yards against USF, and scored a touchdown for the third consecutive week. This team is on the rise and Lyle is the most likely candidate to take over as a true bell cow after Damien Martinez graduates this year. I am very excited to watch him for the rest of the season.
- Michael Hawkins took over for Jackson Arnold for the second half of the game against Tennessee. Tennessee likely did not put a game plan together to face Hawkins, so we have to take that into consideration, but Hawkins looked markedly better than Arnold did playing behind the same offensive line and with a similar supporting cast of receivers. He finished 11/18 for 132 yards and one touchdown in the game. Perhaps more intriguing is his ability to use his legs, and you can see why he drew some comparisons to Kyler Murray coming out of high school.
- I know it was only Villanova, but Tai Felton has been as consistent as we have seen from a wide receiver for four weeks. He has accumulated 13 missed tackles through four games and has zero drops on 54 targets. So far this season, he has played 35% of the time in the slot and 65% on the outside, showing that he has good versatility. He is quickly becoming a sleeper for the 2025 receiver class.
- CJ Bailey didn’t look out of place in his first career start against Clemson. As I mentioned in my previous article, I was never expecting him to set the world on fire against this tough defense, but he completed 64% of his passes for 204 yards and one touchdown. He has a chance to become a very intriguing prospect assuming he can hold down the starting job for the Wolfpack.
What I am looking for heading into Week 5
- Bhayshul Tuten has been great to start the year, but hasn’t faced a team quite like Miami yet. Can he continue to produce against a solid Hurricanes front 7? Additionally, will Drones start to use his legs?
- Kentucky’s defense held Georgia to 13 points. Dart and Harris look to continue their torrid pace for Ole Miss. Something has to give.
- The second best game of the week pits Louisville against Notre Dame in South Bend. I will be closely watching Beaux Collins in this one to see if he can continue to trend upward.
- Georgia and Alabama face off this week — get your popcorn ready. This game has huge devy implications for me on both sides. Beck vs. Milroe, Jam Miller and Justice Haynes vs. Trevor Etienne and Nate Frazier, Ryan Williams and Germie Bernard vs. Dominic Lovett. This will be one of the few games of the year where every play features a different high-valued devy asset. Can you tell I’m excited?
- Drew Allar and Nicholas Singleton against an undefeated Illinois team in Happy Valley will be much less exciting but still worth the watch.
Thank you for reading the fourth edition of The Devy Notebook. If you have any thoughts or questions regarding any of the players mentioned, or if you would like my opinions on a player who is not mentioned in this article, you can reach out to me on Twitter @Evan_Kerr_. #DFFArmy #AlwaysBeBuilding
