To the Delight of Many: Making the 24-team CFP Format Work

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Lebanon, TN – In this proposal, 48 teams, not 24, compete for two separate championships. Why not? Right now, 137 Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) programs compete for one national championship.  How many NFL teams compete for the Super Bowl? Only 32. And can or do all 137 college football teams compete at the same high level with equally, talented, motivated and well-coached players at the same high level?  Evidently, no!

Consider this: do the top 137 professional baseball teams in North America compromised of players from all over the world compete at the same level? Of course not. Do the New York Yankees and Los Angelas Dodgers compete for the same national championship against the Biloxi Shuckers of Double A or the Lansing Lugnuts of High A Minor League baseball? They don’t. However, if you total all the professional baseball teams from the top of the majors to the depths of their farm systems, you see how talent is dispersed from top teams down to the bottom. In this, don’t consider the experience factor. Just realize all are qualified to be paid to play the game professionally.

College Football Talent Disbursement

So why should fans accept the standards of Alabama and Ohio State to compete against perennial strugglers like UMASS and UL Monroe for a common national championship? Annually, teams like Georgia, Penn State and Iowa have the Minutemen to visit. UMASS goes for a big check. The hosts anticipate a highly attainable win.  The past few years, ULM visited Alabama (twice), Texas (twice) and Ole Miss. You know who won. Who do you think would win 99 (or more) out of one hundred meetings if this continues into the next century?  

The point? Why bother? That’s not what athletic competition is supposed to be about. No doubt about it now, it’s only about money. Buy a victory to make more money. One more win looks good on paper than does one more loss. Instead of paying relatively big bucks (from programs with millions) to invite a willing lamb to a slaughter, they should be required instead to compete with teams that have more comparable budgets with a better chance to pull an upset.

In November 2018, we attended Liberty at UMASS. Neither team could have qualified for a bid in a 24-team CFP Format, but they played as equals. UMASS triumphed, 62-59!
In November 2018, we attended Liberty at UMASS. Neither team could have qualified for a bid in a 24-team CFP Format, but they played as equals. UMASS triumphed, 62-59!

With the most money attaining top talent, the best play the best

Compete for better wins to recruit the best players to generate even more income. From this college fan who’s attended 740 college football games since 1979, I find the most entertaining games, in person or on the big screen, come between two equally “competitive” teams, not meaning only the “best of the best.”  Teams playing among others in the lower echelon of the existing 137 FBS programs offer entertaining games as well.

Rather than schedule an expected, non-competitive anticlimactic blow-out, why can’t we demand games between teams with comparable talent as the standard? If anyone’s best reason is to help fund the lesser teams’ budgets, donate money. Are these truly donations with best intentions? Instead, designate it from a contest that raises more revenue by playing a more competitive opponent. Read on!

Not only can this and should this be done, but the 24-team College Football Playoff (CFP) option improves to become a more competitive and profitable football festival. On top of that, for college football fans, this proposal will double football pleasure with two separate and potentially equal college football championships. Why not?

Begin with the Money, Like it or Not: for a Successful 24-Team CFP Format

Every Head Coach, Athletic Director, and University President insists their program needs more money to support its football program. If monetary demands for Name, Image and Likeness (NILs), already out of control, remain as they are, they become a growing focus. Also consider top coaching salaries, potential coaching buyouts, football facility infrastructure, growing rosters, health care costs and other financial needs to support a successful FBS program. So, how can 137 existing FBS college football programs rake in the necessary amount of money to fund their programs? Will they share equally?  They don’t now…

Let me start this controversy to make the 24-team CFP Format Work

Not only with pleasure, but going forward I’ll propose plans to make college football better than ever. I’ll break this down with changes that football fans and its leadership might not like at first glance. However, consider ALL the positive results in the end if implemented. 

I consider myself at traditionalist when it comes to college football. Entering my 47th season of attending a full slate of games, I’ve struggled with many of the recent changes. However, for my love of the competition displayed on the playing field, I’ve rolled with the punches. I want to see this game thrive and not fail. I hope my changes will improve the game. I’m even more intent to bring the sport more in line with what traditionalists like me would like to resurrect.

Our 740th game ended with Indiana in victory formation against Miami in their 27-21 championship win. We also attended the Capital One Orange Bowl and Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl. We propose more games in a 24-team CFP format to make college football more exciting!
Our 740th game ended with Indiana in victory formation against Miami in their 27-21 championship win. We also attended the Capital One Orange Bowl and Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl. We propose more games in a 24-team CFP format to make college football more exciting!

Two FBS Divisions – Two Championships

Of 137 FBS college football teams, only one wins a championship. In the NFL, one wins among 32 teams. In major League Baseball, one among 30 wins The World Series. Thus far among 137 functioning college football programs, in reality only four, twelve, now possibly 16 or possibly 24 get to compete for a national championship. All depends on pending changes to the current format of 12.  Using a budgetary cut-off, I propose to take 64 FBS programs with the highest football budgets (revenues) in the NCAA and separate them from the other 73 programs (subject to change). Call the high budgets group for comparative purposes, “FBS-I”. The remaining teams form “FBS-II.”

Of the wealthiest 64, create eight conferences of eight teams each. Arrange these conferences based on geographic and historic familiarity. During the regular season, currently Weeks 0-13, each team will play all seven conference members and five teams from among their other seven respective FBS conferences.  Schedules can be slated on a rotating basis annually. Doesn’t have to be, but just a suggestion.  No more picking weakest options perennially to gain an advantage in the final win column. On the other hand, rivalries can be contracted long-term. For instance, Army-Navy-Air Force games for the Commander-in-Chief Trophy; revitalizing Notre Dame vs. USC; Washington vs. Washington State; or any other traditional rivalries lost on the recent conference realignments.    All game results will count in the final standings of each conference.

Play Games with Somebody Your Own Size!

No more scheduling “Group of Six” foes nor Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) teams.  Only FBS-I teams line up on all FBS-I schedules. Only FBS-II teams play on all FBS-II schedules.  From Week 0-13 as set up now, every team plays 12 games and gets two bye weeks. On Week 14, instead of Week 15, Army and Navy play in their traditional regular season finale. All 135 remaining teams have a bye to prep for potential post-season contests. 

Week 15: The New and Exciting Tie-Breaker Week

Instead of Conference Championships, Week 15 determines the final top three teams from each conference of both FBS-I and FBS-II to determine their 24-team playoff entrants. Remember, 73 other programs (at least for now) compete in FBS-II.  Same schedule format. Same weekly 0-13 schedule, two byes and same goal – 24 teams in the FBS-II playoff. When the regular season ends, among all 16 conferences, there will be ties for first, second and third place. Tie-breaker Week pits all teams in games playing for the three top positions, only if and when necessary. If any or all of these standings have clearly been determined in the final regular season standings, these teams get byes on Week 15.

Among 16 different conferences, play-in games offer excitement all weekend. TV networks will gladly feature critical games for college football fandom. Think of the first Thursday of the NCAA Basketball Tournament. Multiple networks can broadcast games at different kick-off times so fans can catch the best finishes throughout the day.

2025: A Timing example

These games, if slated for the previous 2025 calendar would have been played on the weekend of December 11-12 when ArmyNavy weekend was played.  Now, that gets moved up a week to December 5. After Tie-breaker Week, the First Round opens on Week 16.  Like the current FCS play-off schedule featuring 24 teams, the top eight in this model, all eight conference winners in both the FBS-I and in FBS-II, each receive a bye.  The eight first round games will be played among the second and third place finishers of all eight conferences. Pairings can be based on records, head-to-head results from regular season competition, teams not yet played from other conferences, “official polls” if any still exist, computer rankings which can generally be ignored, either a human or robotic selection committee, or whatever combination or criteria the NCAA decides on.

Much controversy regarding bracketing gets nullified because the choices for the top three seeds have already been established. The conference selections end up with a clear-cut number one, two and three for each after Tie-breaker Week to determine the 24 playoff teams. The media can still stir controversy to figure or debate who gets paired with whom.  It wouldn’t be a college sport without pundits providing their “expertise” for lively televised discussions.

On January 6, 2026, Montana State defeated Illinois State,35-34, in Nashville for the FCS Championship. It demonstrated how a 24-team CFP playoff format can be done successfully.
On January 6, 2026, Montana State defeated Illinois State, 35-34, in Nashville for the FCS Championship. It demonstrated how a 24-team CFP playoff format can be achieved successfully.

Competitive Games Weekly right up into Two Grand Finales!

Week 17 (last season – December 25-26) welcomes the Second Round. Week 18 (three days including New Year’s Eve) brings Quarterfinal games between the eight surviving teams from the original 24. Traditional Holiday Bowl traditions continue with best teams each year vying for national championships.  Week 19 offers the two Semi-final games for FBS-I and FBS-II. On Week 20 (January 17 a year ago), the 24-team CFP format comes to a head with two national championship games. 

Play-off between those two? No. It’s already been established that the Big Money FBS-I programs retain a significant advantage over FBS-II.  Would the FCS champ play the winner of that? Of course not.   Or possibly D-2 play against D-3? No. Never have, never should. From the beginning, these are all distinct levels of college football talent that are differentiated primarily by monetary budgets.

Side Benefits from the 24-team CFP Format

The timing of the final games played in mid-January fall in line before the two-week window opening the transfer portal, like it or not.  Just so happens to be the way it is right now. That’s an article to address in a totally different and more difficult discussion.

How about opt-outs for post-season play?  The beauty of this offers a tremendous side-benefit. If 48 college football programs each get a shot to enter playoffs for a national championship, how many true teammates are going to say, “No, I’m opting out. I’m not interested in winning a national championship.”  Some teammate! He exposes his true colors for future opportunities.

Media Revenue for Play-off teams and beyond

To be fair to all competitors in my proposed 24-team CFP formats, all games will have to be played only on Friday nights or Saturdays. Winners need a week to prep for their next opponent. Television networks will still be looking to fill weekday prime-time programming voids. Fans will be still scrolling for games all those other evenings when there’s little more among hundreds of other media options to watch something of interest.

Other teams with decent records at least hovering at .500 or better will still be willing to consider playing a game in this age where “everybody gets a trophy.” After the season, each program needs to commit if it wants to participate in an available post-season game. In fact, even if they have no wins. They can announce their interest after their regular season ends outside the top three in their conference.

Next, a designated committee will analyze the records to schedule post-season games. Basically, seven-game winners play seven game winners, six-game winners play six- game winners; five vs. five, etc., etc. Flip a coin to determine home team if there is not a pre-determined site for a televised game. Let the Networks bid for the games they want to fill time slots for pre-contracted sponsors.  “0-12 State plays 0-12 Tech in the “‘Tidy Consolation Game’ sponsored by the Tidy Bowl Man!”

Another proposed, but hopefully non-controversial change

As brought to light in that last sentence, not every post season game should be considered a “bowl game.” Instead, call them “Consolation games.” I abhor hearing TV guys tell us that this team or that “plays nine bowl teams from last year on this year’s schedule.” In this proposal, a CFP bid represents an award to play for a national championship. These other teams get the privilege to practice as do their future opponents to improve and to play another game – in front of whatever loyal fans they still have and on television as a “consolation” prize.  It shouldn’t be considered an award for an outstanding season. Because it’s not among 64 or 73 other teams in the same division!

The final impacts to ponder for the 24-team CFP Format

In my proposal, 48 current FBS programs get to play for one of two national championships. Fans and TV networks can enjoy more competitive games throughout the regular season.  Many competitive post-season games will entertain will be played with purpose than ever before. Two national champions get crowned – FBS-I and FBS-II. Two totally different levels of competition get rewarded. The three best teams from 16 different yet competitive conferences enter the play-offs. Opt-outs should minimize.

December playoff games lead to relatively great bowl line-ups on New Year’s. The Semi-finals and Finals play to the end by mid-January. The transfer portal opens and closes for two weeks after the season. Maybe there will be less movement. Maybe the rules will change, or maybe players will want to stick with their current team for another shot to win it all.  Of course, it depends on whether other programs can entice them with more money.

Consolation, post-season games still get played on weekday nights in December and January for Networks and fans both looking to fill in TV viewing with more college football. More money for more teams?  That depends on distribution between FBS-I and FBS-II teams as two separate entities. In the future, maybe there would be more lucrative opportunities offered to the latter through competitive broadcast rights.

740 Games Attended and Still Counting!

Since this is currently the way college football is going – primarily for the money – again, like it or not. However, this proposal addresses a lot of this. As a fan who’s already attended 740 games in person and counting, I want to see this great pastime survive, and not just for this one particular reason.  

Read our Great History of Games among our First 42 Seasons!

Click on the title about this life-long adventure: Fifty Years of Tailgate Tales: The Good, the Fun, and the Ugly on Amazon.com. Among 740 college games attended to date now, we’ve seen all 136 Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) teams play in person at least once. This tells our story of how we got up to the first 652!

Read the reviews on the book page and get your copy today. If you’re trying to follow NILs and transfer portals, read what we predicted in 2023 and more. Hopefully, you’ll understand how much we love this sport and want we propose these changes for it to survive successfully. In addition, we offered solutions to issues occurring that we anticipated when we wrote this book. Please buy your copy today, enjoy it, and read about the many great memories captured. Maybe these will bring back some of the same memories you encountered when we did!

Edited and written by Stephen J. Koreivo, member of Football Writers Association of America (FWAA) and Author of “Fifty Years of Tailgate Tales: The Good, the Fun and the Ugly.”

The Wake Forest dance Team performing at halftime in the Demon Deacons win over the UNC Tar Heels last season. We'll see the Deacs host Miami on September 18. Before the season begins, come back for our pre-season analyses and pre-season Cheerleader Edition!
The Wake Forest Dance Team performing at halftime in the Demon Deacons win over the UNC Tar Heels last season. We’ll see the Deacs host Miami on September 18. Before the season begins, come back for our pre-season analyses and pre-season Cheerleader Edition!

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Collegefootballfan.com: celebrating 47th season and 750th Game in 2026

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Lebanon, TN – Four months from now on August 29, we start to celebrate our 47th season of another full slate of college games including our 750th!  In so many ways, this season gives us much to celebrate and be thankful for.  Our 47th kicks off on a very special date personally. On August 29, that will be my 70th birthday. Still going strong to pursue this lifetime adventure. Thanks!

 In October, we will celebrate our 750th game over two football weekends! 2026 starts with New Mexico State at Florida State in Week 0 without the threat of any hurricanes (not the Miami U type, of course). Lots of questions about the Seminoles entering this season once again. HC Mike Norvell is already on the hot seat after the last two seasons with no bowl games and a 7-17 record. The Aggie’s mirror the same record, but not against Power Five competitors. 

Primary goals: Competitive games and new game destinations

Reviewing our 47th season of college football, right now only four teams scheduled rank in ESPN’s Way-Too-Early Top 25. Two play one another, but that doesn’t concern us. Between August 29 and January 27 at the CFP championship in Las Vegas, those rankings will be totally dismantled. They already are. In our scheduling strategy every year, we plan to attend a competitive game every weekend as best we can.  Luckily, that works out more often than not.

With ulterior goals to reach within our life-long adventure, we align finding competitive games at all FBS venues, especially where we have not yet attended. We also seek games in states we have yet to see a game at any level of college football (last year we attended a D-3 game in Vermont, the highest level of college football played there).

in 2025, we opened our season with two games in the state of Oregon. First to see the Ducks host Montana State in Autzen Stadium followed by Cal visiting Oregon State at Reser Stadium. Our first trip to Oregon ever.
In 2025, we opened our season with two games in the state of Oregon. First to see the Ducks host Montana State in Autzen Stadium followed by Cal visiting Oregon State at Reser Stadium. Our first trip to Oregon ever.

Moving targets

Now that North Dakota State joined the FBS, of 137 such stadiums now, we’ve attended games in 102. Plans for our 47th season include six new FBS stadiums and two new in the FCS. Of all fifty states (we insert Washington, D.C. in place of Alaska with 0 football), we’ve attended games in 43 so far. We add three more this year if all goes as planned – Nebraska (vs. Maryland), Idaho (games at Boise and at Idaho U.), and the state of Washington (Washington State vs. Colorado State).

Conference clashes highlight 2026

Always seeking competitive edges, starting with three weeks of non-conference games, we try to avoid intended mismatches where Power Four teams find lesser programs to pay for an anticipated, automatic win. I’d say we have chosen three pretty good ones those first three weeks to at least see some interesting games. After those, we’ve scheduled mostly conference conflicts hoping to see results in close-fought, meaningful battles.

Among these, we’ll see two Big Ten games (one: USC at Penn State), two SEC games (2nd one: Kentucky at Tennessee), two brand new Pac-12 games (Texas State at Boise and at CSU at WAZU), two weeknight MACtion games, five American Athletics among key contenders, and one ACC contest featuring Miami on the road. The two MACtion games conveniently come back-to-back evenings by visiting Akron (vs. Ohio U.) and Eastern Michigan in Ypsilanti (vs. Central Michigan).  Link here to view our entire 47th season slate or read further on for more details before you do.

Among conference classes last season, we watched Arkansas State defeat South Alabama, 15-14. Also too a trip to visit the USS Alabama Battleship Monument in Mobile. No sSun Belt games on tap for our 47h season unless we attend the championship game.
Among conference classes last season, we watched Arkansas State defeat South Alabama, 15-14. Also, took a trip to visit the USS Alabama Battleship Monument in Mobile. No Sun Belt games on tap for our 47th season unless we attend the championship game.

We love catching FCS games

Even at the FCS level, in Week 1 following Week 0 (trying not to confuse anyone) at Florida State, we see a new conference opener – Tennessee Tech at UT Chattanooga. Tech (11-2 last year) joined the Southern Conference this year and last year’s 41-17 win over UTC should supposedly give the Moccasins (5-7) more incentive. After a Friday night meeting with Miami at Wake Forest on September 18, we will head to East Tennessee State to see Buccaneers at home for the first time. They will host a United Athletic foe, the West Georgia Wolves, first time FCS team for us. They finished with an 8-3 record a year ago. Played in Johnson City, the game breaks up our drive on the way back home to add another notch to our history.

In November, if timing is right, we see Big Sky foes UC Davis at Idaho in the Kibbie Dome. Moscow, Idaho lies a short distance from Pullman, Washington were the Washington State Cougars meet the Colorado State Rams in a new Pac-12 bout. Waiting for kick-off times to be announced to make this work. Finger crossed.

Other regular season games of note in our 47th season

In Week 3, Vanderbilt will be adapting to life without QB Diego Pavia the last two years.  Visiting foe Delaware, a favorite FCS team of ours for many seasons, comes to Nashville in its second season as an FBS competitor.  We will see Navy play four times this season. First, the Midshipmen play on the road Friday, September 25 at Alabama-Birmingham for our first of five American Athletic games. The next day, we travel to New Orleans to see Tulane at home in Yulman Stadium for the first time.

The Green Wave will host the Eagles of Southern Mississippi. On October 24, we will see the Navy host North Texas State for their Homecoming. And we’ll return there to see them in a traditionally key A.A. match on November 21 against Memphis. Of course, once again, we will see Navy meet Army for our 21st time in the greatest college football rivalry of all at the Meadowlands in East Rutherford, NJ on December 12 to cap our 47th season in Week 15.

Our 750th game plan celebration covers two weeks

Officially, our 750th game comes on October 17th when Georgia hosts Auburn in Athens. Aside from Army-Navy in 1972, Georgia at Auburn introduced me to big-time, modern day, D-1 college football in 1978. My good friend, Charlie Murren, from the local YMCA where we worked out together in New Jersey, invited me and another friend, Al Di Vite, to join him for that game in late November.  Conveniently, my school, Juniata College, was on trimester break that week. Had a great time: rolled Toomer’s Crossing, toured the Auburn locker room, attended the War Eagle Supper Club where the Bellamy Brothers played that night, partied with Charlie’s Auburn friends.

Shockingly, Al and I were greeted kindly by a total “knock-out” the day after the game after breakfast. Never happened back in Jersey – great memories overall you can read about in my book, Fifty Years of Tailgate Tales: The Good, the Fun and the Ugly.  Still friends to this day, Charlie, now a very successful industrial contractor, is hosting us and a bunch of his Auburn classmates for a good time that weekend. 

Navy football – 46-45 entering our 47th Season

A week later, I return to Annapolis with about 18 friends who have traditionally joined together to attend games there for about the past 12 years.  We’re extending the 750th celebration to the 751st game. There, we’ll tailgate with a bunch of friends I attended the Academy with prior to transferring on to Juniata College.  At USNA, I found there was no hope for me to understand calculus. Good thing! In my lifetime, I had no reason to learn it to be successful in my business career or any place else.

Last season, we watched Navy defeat Air Force in Annapolis, 34-31. That and the 17-16 win over Army gave them the Commander-in-Chief's Trophy. We'll see two games at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium this year and the Army game in The Meadowlands.
Last season, we watched Navy defeat Air Force in Annapolis, 34-31. That and the 17-16 win over Army gave them the Commander-in-Chief’s Trophy. We’ll see two games at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium this year and the Army game in The Meadowlands.

Beyond regular season

In week 14 of this great 47th season, we will find a conference title game to attend at some convenient location.  The past two years, Jacksonville, Alabama worked out well with the ConferenceUSA championship game played on Friday nights.  The Sun Belt and the American Athletic also play theirs that weekend.  We’ll plan to go somewhere.  Army Navy, as mentioned previously, reigns the following weekend on December 12.  A playoff game at some NCAA level will be attended on December 19. Hopefully somewhere conveniently within driving distance (last year D-3: Trinity of Texas at Berry College in Georgia). 

Christmas always presents a bye week for us.  After that, looks like the Chick-Fil-A Peach Bowl CFP quarterfinal on New Years Day.  The Music City Bowl date has yet to be announced in Nashville, but the FCS championship comes back to First Bank Stadium on Vanderbilt’s campus on January 9. On January 14, on to Miami for the CFP Capital One CFP Orange Bowl semi-final at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami. CFP Championship game in Vegas?  Not sure yet, but we will explore the possibility. 

Link here to follow our fantastic 2026 season celebration schedule!!!  All 26 games with dates and venues announced. Follow us and look for season previews and other features ahead.  

Read our great history of games attended during our first 42 Years!

Click on the title about this life-long adventure: Fifty Years of Tailgate Tales: The Good, the Fun, and the Ugly on Amazon.com. Among 740 college games attended to date now, we’ve seen all 136 Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) teams play in person at least once. This tells our story of how we got up to the first 652!

Read the reviews on the book page and get your copy today. If you’re trying to follow NILs and transfer portals, read what we predicted in 2023 and more. You’ll see we know what we’re talking about. In addition, we offered solutions to issues occurring that we anticipated when we wrote this book. Get it, enjoy it, and read about the many great memories captured. Maybe these will bring back some of the same memories you encountered when we did!

Edited and written by Stephen J. Koreivo, member of Football Writers Association of America (FWAA) and Author of “Fifty Years of Tailgate Tales: The Good, the Fun and the Ugly.”

Before we start our 47th season, w not only provide you with pre-season previews, but we'll post our pre-season Cheerleader edition! Check us out regularly!
Before we start our 47th season, we not only provide you with pre-season previews, but we’ll post our pre-season Cheerleader edition! Check us out regularly!

NFL 2026 Draft Review: Top Players among the best of the FBS and more

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Lebanon, TN – Luckily for us, the schedules we plan in advance each season not only offer us opportunities to see games played by teams competing for the CFP championship, but they also allow us to see many of the top players competing to make it into NFL.  During the 2025 season, we attended 27 games. We witnessed 33 of 136 FBS football programs. In addition, we attended games played among the lower levels of the FCS, D2 and D3. Some feature pro potential prospects as well – especially at the FCS level. You never know where the pros find their best among the best of top college players.

In addition, don’t forget, we put together a similar slate every season.  As an example, for the last four seasons, we’ve attended 105 college football games. In some cases, due to Covid in 2020, some of these players have been playing for six years! Some played even more (but this has to stop). We’ll take it for what it’s worth now. Click here to find out the teams, the dates, the final outcomes and where we caught the action.

When we peruse the draft, we find we watched some players in action as far back as their freshman seasons. Maybe four years as a starter indicates a player will most likely be playing football on Sundays. We go through our game photo files, and sometimes we catch a top player just starting out.  Who could have known that four years later the NFL would draft them?

We just click away and post the best of our best

Taking photos is just part of the fun of this unique, 47-year college football adventure. Generally, in our goal, we try to capture good action photos from our seats wherever they may be for our weekly game review.  We don’t always get the best shots.  Camera issues, distances, poor lighting, fan interference, absence of injured players, bad aim or bad timing cause us to miss good shots or delete many unusable photos. We keep those we feel may be used for some purpose later.  Sometimes we have no idea until draft season we find we have something we can use. Luckily, we’ll capture a play that documents that we did see a potential pro play in college. Especially before anyone else becomes familiar with him. 

Sometimes, better lucky than good

So, what you will see generally is our random collection gleaned from many photos. Some we use in our weekly game reviews. Some we just keep on file.  We probably should delete more, but it’s too tempting.  We don’t know if we may have captured some obscure lineman or freshman player that may eventually become a household name some day!   One such photo we have below shows an FCS Defensive Linemen playing his freshman season in a playoff game.  Who knew then that he was destined to get drafted in the Fourth Round of 2026? Also, we definitely save too many photos of sideline action for our preseason Cheerleaders edition.  Can’t complain, however.

Vanderbilt Cheerleaders 2025!
Vanderbilt Cheerleaders 2025!

Top players recorded in action for 2026

To provide you with our interesting takes and the fun of who we’ve witnessed and where they are going, our report breaks down our analysis by position. Just click the Heading of each position title to link to our original draft preview of each player in that category.  A brief draft synopsis follows under each title heading below. Afterward, we provide a photo or photos of players we didn’t include in previews. 

In addition, we’ll also show you who may have fallen beyond all 257 players drafted.  Already, some have been caught by the net of free agency. They still have their chances.  In one case, a certain Top QB is still hanging out in limbo as we predicted.  Also, we not only captured Mr. Irrelevant at No. 257, but we also photographed No. 256. Both landed with the same team!  The competition remained fierce until the end to make it to the next level. We have “Photo Finishes” of the last of top players drafted vying for a roster spot among all 32 NFL teams for 2026.

Top players from all Positions seen in action

At the start of the draft, regarding the first 11 players selected, we saw all of them play in games the last few seasons. Of all 32 players selected in Round One, we witnessed 24 in action going back to 2022. Then, No. 31 DE (EDGE) Keldric Faulk played for Auburn as a freshman against Maryland in the Music City Bowl.

Based on the order players were chosen, we attended games played by the top Quarterback; the top six among the first eight RBs selected (mostly beyond Round 5); the five top EDGE players; the best CB overall; the two best OTs drafted; two best Guards; the top TE and best Safety selected this year. Only our prediction of Oregon OG Emmanuel Pregnon being selected in Round One fell further in this draft. Pregnon waited until the third round at No. 88 with the Jacksonville Jaguars. Still, not bad at all.

Our biggest surprise amongst First Round picks. Georgia Tech G Keylan Rutledge went to the Texas at No. 26. Here, we saw him play for Middle Tennessee (no. 77) against Louisiana Tech before he transferred.
Our biggest surprise amongst First Round picks: Georgia Tech G Keylan Rutledge went to the Texans at No. 26. Here, we saw him in action for Middle Tennessee (77) against Louisiana Tech in 2023 before he transferred to Tech.

Our Top Gun QBs: many fell to free agency

No doubt we had No. 1 QB and overall, first pick Fernando Mendoza of Indiana. No brainer, like everyone else, going to the Raiders. Never saw QB Ty Simpson because we haven’t seen Alabama since Bryce Young. However, in 2023, we watched his father Jason coach UT Martin to 38-31 win over Missouri State. QB Carson Beck, who we watched play for both Georgia and Miami, went as the next QB, but not taken until No. 65 starting Round 3. Slim pickings for our QB sightings after him. The Steelers surprised us at No. 76 picking Penn State’s Drew Allar. Thought he’d go later as he has potential but needs better coaching. How does he compare to second year QB Will Howard? Will Aaron Rodgers return to help with his development? Can he?

Injuries and Free Agency impact QBs

We read reports that teams would be more forgiving in regard to LSU’s Garett Nussmeier’s injuries last season. Instead, he fell down to Round Seven at No. 249 to Kansas City. A lot here depends on Patrick Mahomes recovery evidently. At least Nussmeier got drafted. So did North Dakota State’s Cole Payton at No. 178 (Eagles, surprised based on Carson Wentz) and Arkansas’s Taylen Green at 182 (Browns). However, Nate Altmyer of Illinois, Tennessee’s Joey Aguilar, BYU’s Jake Retzlaff, and Jalen Daniels all penned into free agent signings.

On the other hand, Vanderbilt QB Diego Pavia has not signed on with anyone as of this report. Seems like the No. 2 Heisman vote-getter is learning the hard way about humility after bashing writers for his second-place finish to Mendoza. His short stature poses one obstacle, but this matter may also make it difficult to attain a shot at the Canadian Football League.

In 2024, Boston College QB Thomas Castellanos looks down filed against Florida State. In 2025, he transferred to FSU. Undrafted, supposedly he's considered as a free agent by the Dolphins and Titans, but as a wide receiver, not QB.
In 2024, Boston College QB Thomas Castellanos looks down field against Florida State. In 2025, he transferred to FSU. Undrafted now, supposedly he’s under consideration as a free agent by the Dolphins and Titans, but at wide receiver, not at QB.

Top players among RBs: Few in the early rounds, big surprise in last round

Fans can understand why Notre Dame’s Jerimiyah Love went at No. 3 in the draft. If any team needed talent at that position next season, get it quickly. We not only saw him play, but we also saw the second RB play and go at No. 32. And what does it say when No. 2 played in the same backfield as No. 1? After Love went to Arizona, ND’s Jadarian Price went to Seattle.

NIL or NFL money?

We made a mistake here in one prediction. In this era of NIL money, this flew under our radar. We figured Cam Cook of Jacksonville State would be right up there with 1,695 yards and 16 TDs in 2025. Instead, he followed his former Head Coach Rich Rodriguez who left JSU in 2024 for West Virginia. Does Cook really need now to prove himself against Big XII competition? He may have missed his mark by not going into this year’s draft where the competition among good RBs waned. Who knows? Maybe WVU made him a better offer than the NFL could. On the other hand, more and better RBs could enter the draft in 2027.

After the two Fighting Irish backs fell into line in Round One, another RB did not get called until Indiana’s Kaelon Black at No. 90. Of course, we watched him perform three times. The Chiefs picked up Nebraska’s Emmett Johnson at 161, and then our featured backs before the draft got on a roll. PSU’s Nick Singleton at 165 to Tennessee; his teammate Kaytron Allen to Washington at 187; Demond Claiborne of Wake Forest to Minnesota at 198. Adam Randall of Clemson fell between our two Nittany Lions.

We thought this RB would get drafted as a potential WR

However, much to our surprise and happiness, a favorite of ours fell into place at No. 230 with the Steelers. We’d seen him play seven times. Not so surprised that he got selected late but surprised they drafted him as a running back. Navy’s Eli Heidenreich primarily played a role more as a slotback for the Midshipmen. His fellow teammate and Mt. Lebanon (PA) HS classmate, FB Alex Tecza, carried more of the USNA running duties. Eli tallied 109 catches for 1,994 yards and 16 receiving touchdowns, Navy receiving records. On the ground, he carried 169 times for 1,157 yards and seven rushing touchdowns.  If he plays for the Steelers, he’s obligated to extend his military service to ten years in the US Marine Corps. We hope he enjoys as much success as did former Navy WR Phil McConkey did with the NY Giants! Go Navy!

Navy SB Eli Heidenreich grabbed this pass and a game-winner against Army in a classic 17-16 win in this greatest of college football rivalries. His hometown team, the Pittsburgh Steelers, peg him as a RB.
Click on the underline:: Navy SB Eli Heidenreich grabbed this pass and the game-winner against Army in a classic 17-16 win in this greatest of college football rivalries. His hometown team, the Pittsburgh Steelers, peg him as a Running Back.

On the money with our top players at Wide Receiver and Tight End

Many of our top collegiate sightings headed east bound to the next level of Sunday shenanigans. Oregon TE Kenyon Sadiq landed with the NY Jets at No. 8 and Indiana WR Omar Cooper landed at JFK Airport right behind him at No. 30. Vandy TE Eli Stower went to Philly at No. 53 overall. New Giant HC John Harbaugh traded up to get Notre Dame WR Malachi Fields. He flew into Newark Liberty to join the NY Giants at No. 74. Fighting Irish TE Eli Raridon whisked by his teammate on the way to Logan Airport in Boston to join the Patriots in Round 3 at No. 95. Another Mendoza target, WR Elijah Surratt headed to Baltimore to play for Harbaugh’s former team and hook up with Lamar Jackson’s passes as pick No. 115.

Pass catchers on different routes

North Dakota State WR Bryce Lance, the second FCS player chosen in 2026, broke the east bound flight mode and headed south to play indoors with the New Orlean Saints. Mendoza’s TE Riley Nowakowski found his way east but not as far as the others landing in Pittsburgh. the Iron City, at No. 197. WR CJ Fields of Miami, the last in our pre-draft WR/TE photo collection to get selected, flew way off course from his predecessors. He headed west to LA after getting nabbed by the Rams at No. 197 in Round 6. Our long shot, Tennessee TE Miles Kitselman, failed to get drafted. He’s taking the free agent route. He’s driving his way north up I-75 from Knoxville to Detroit.

Utah TE Dallen Bentley was last seen by us picking up blocks down field in November 2024 in a win against Central Florida in Orlando. Selected next to last at No. 256, he's headed to Denver. He has three options to drive there in about eight hours since he probably wants to bring his car since he plans to stay.
Utah TE Dallen Bentley was last seen by us breaking up traffic down field in November 2024 in a win against Central Florida in Orlando. Selected next to last at No. 256, he’s headed to Denver. He can consider three routes to drive there in about eight hours. Needs to bring his car since he plans to stay.

Best Top Players of all our Top Players – Offensive Linemen

Our pictures from our draft preview tell the whole story. In Round One, we featured five pictures of nine Offensive Linemen selected in day one. And we added No. 26, Keylan Rutledge of Georgia Tech selected by the Texans as mentioned previously. He played in a game we attended at Middle Tennessee State. OT Max Iheanachor of Arizona State also competed against Texas in the 2024 Peach Bowl we attended. However, the pictures are out of reach to recognize him from our upper deck perspective. Selected No. 21, he joins the Steelers.

We highlighted No. 9 Fano of Utah (Browns), No. 10 Mauigoa of Miami (Giants), No. 14 Ioane of Penn State (Ravens), No. 17 Miller of Clemson (Lions), No. 26 Rutledge, and No. 28 Lomu of Utah (Patriots). Outstanding! All these picks have much game experience entering the NFL. In Round 2 came C Jake Slater of Florida (Chargers). In Round 3 followed fellow Gator No. 86 Austin Barber (Browns). As previously mentioned, Emmanuel Pregnon of Oregon fell in at No. 88 (Jaguars). PSU OT Drew Shelton followed in Round 4 at No. 112 (Cowboys). Also in Round 4, scouts overlooked Auburn Junior C’s Conor Lew’s season-ending injuries and selected him at No. 128 (Bengals).

Strong O Line players continue late in 2026 draft

In Round 6, the Bengals picked another one of our featured top offensive Linemen at No. 189, C Brian Parker II, from the Blue Devils’ record -setting offense. At No. 192, Fighting Illini OT JC Davis made the cut (Giants). At 194, the last selection of our featured linemen came into the fold. National Champion Indiana C Pat Coogan goes to help bolster the Titans’ O Line with his leadership skills. Two remaining players we highlighted found paths to continue through free agency. The Chargers expect Oregon Duck OT Isaiah World to fully recover from his torn ACL to make their roster. Notre Dame G Aamil Wagner also heads to Tennessee to prove his worth to bolster the Titans up front.

We missed a Fourth Rounder along the way. Boston College OT Jude Bowry (71) blocks against Florida State in the Eagles 2024 opening win in Tallahassee. He joins the Bill at No. 102.
Same photo, different focus. We missed a Fourth Rounder along the way. Boston College OT Jude Bowry (71) blocks against Florida State in the Eagles 2024 opening win in Tallahassee. He joins the Bills at No. 102.

Top players supposed to bring heat and stuffing to NFL defenses

Between the O Line talent displayed previously and who we witnessed along the defensive fronts these past few years, battles in the Sunday trenches should be amazing! We saw five First Rounders taken from the EDGE alone. Three highlighted in our preview: Bain of Miami at No. 15 (Buccaneers), Hurricane teammate Mesidor at No. 22 (Chargers), and Faulk of Auburn at No. 31 (Titans). In Round 2, Derrick Moore of Michigan was taken at No. 44 by the Lions for a relatively short commute from Ann Arbor to Detroit. Then Texas Tech Red Raiders stepped up. DT Lee Hunter got in at No. 49 (Panthers) followed by teammate EDGE Romello Height selected at No. 70 (49ers).

In Round Four, DT Darrel Jackson of Florida State got notified the defensive fray moving along at No. 103 (Jets). Later, analysts pointed out that Jackson became the only Seminole to be selected this season. Next, however, came our biggest surprise of all. Amongst players seen but not expected high on our radar came a relative unknown. At No. 104, the Cardinals surprisingly selected DT Kaleb Parker of Southeastern Louisiana, the first selection from among any FCS program in the 2026 draft. Bingo! We got him in our files.

We’ve loved college football playoffs for years

In 2022, we attended an FCS playoff game at Bobby Bowden Field at Samford University. The Bulldogs hosted the SELU Lions in the first round down in Homewood, AL. The home team won a thrilling game in OT, 48-42. Click here to read all about it! Why we love attending college football games so much. We watched Parker play then as a freshman – a DT playing in jersey No. 2. Oh sure! We could see that his kid was hell- bound for the NFL! Just kidding. However, I made a note to keep an eye out in the future for Lion Soph S Jake Henderson.  Nothing noted online, but you never know.

NFL bound freshman DT Caleb Proctor of the Southeast Louisiana Lions (2) in playoff game against Samford in 2022. You never know where the NFL finds their best talent.
Who knew? In 2022, we caught NFL bound freshman DT Kaleb Proctor of the Southeast Louisiana Lions (2) in a playoff game against Samford. Never know where the NFL finds their best talent. Best wishes with the Cardinals in Arizona.

After SE Louisiana: Penn State, Duke, Indiana, etc.

After Kaleb, EDGE Wesley Williams of Duke came up at No. 119 (Panthers). Right behind at No. 120, Dani Dennis-Sutton of PSU followed (Packers). Other DEs and DTs like Trey Moore of Texas, DT Nick Barrett of South Carolina and Joshua Josephs of Tennessee had played before us and filled pro rosters. We just couldn’t capture them in pictures. Others we did feature on our pictorial preview move on to the pros, but not as draftees. Florida EDGE Tyreak Sapp (Browns) and Indiana ED Mikail Kamara (49ers) carry impressive credentials. They got picked up as free agents. For a complete list of players finding their way to make it to the pros through free agency, click here.

Navy ties 70-year old record

In the Seventh and final round before the Steelers selected Navy RB Eli Heidenreich at No. 230, at No. 226 the goal was set by the Cincinnati Bengals. They selected Navy DT Landon Robinson, American Athletic Defensive Player of the Year and a three-time selection of Bruce Feldman’s Freak List. Possibly a stretch here with his height and short arms detrimental in the pros, he can possibly make up for that with fierce competitiveness (he is from the Naval Academy, of course) and his athleticism. With Heidenreich selected four spots later, USNA sported two draft picks for the first time in 70 years.

New Law could help Academy football long term

This could be beaten in the future with a new policy enacted through Congress presented by strong Academy football supporter, President Donald J. Trump. Each military academy (Army, Navy and Air Force, maybe Coast Guard, too?) can now have up to five players selected in the NFL Draft. That came somewhat to the chagrin of Academy alumni who stand by the academies’ primary mission to graduate military leaders. Now, the policy requires though that any graduate heading into the NFL must commit to ten years of active military duty to compensate for the five required by all graduates. With NIL money attracting players from one program annually to another, Navy friends say that more quality high school football players (3–4-star level) consider the academies. There’s a plethora of talent coming out of high schools not being recruited among traditional powerhouse programs. Full speed ahead, Navy!

Navy NT Landon Robinson (96) and Mid teammates try to block a field goal attempt in their 17-16 win where the Brigad of Mishopman san their alma mater second. Winner of this game always do.
Navy NT Landon Robinson (96) and Mid teammates try to block a field goal attempt in their 17-16 win where the Brigade of Midshipman sang their alma mater second. Winners of this game always do.
Duke EDGE Wesley Walker (97) makes and impact here against Troy in the Blue Devil victory at the Birmingham Bowl in 2023.
Duke EDGE Wesley Williams (97) makes an impact here against Troy in the Blue Devil victory at the Birmingham Bowl in 2023. The Jaguars selected him as the 19th player in Round Four.

Last stop at the top – LBs, DBs and PKs

LSU CB Mansoor Delane jumped right in at No. 5 overall (Chiefs) and Oregon S Dillon Thieneman got grabbed at No. 22 (Bears) in the First Round. In Round 2 at No. 44, Texas Tech LB Jacob Rodriguez who won every collegiate defensive award on the planet finally got beamed up (Dolphins). It continued with Indiana CB D’Angelo Ponds entering at No. 50 (Jets). Illini LB Gabe Jacas unexpectedly got categorized as another EDGE at No. 55 (Patriots). Texas LB Anthony Hill, Jr finished Round 2 among our preview pictorials at No. 61 (Titans). Round 3 swooped up LSU S A.J. Halucy at No. 78 (Colts). Our next best didn’t get called on again until the middle of Round 4.

Miami CB Keionte Scott filled in at No. 116 (Buccaneers). Texas CB Malik Muhammad went at No. 124 (Bears). LB Bryce Boettcher, the renowned leader of the Oregon Duck defense finished out our Fourth going at No. 135 to help that defense (Colts). In Round 5, Texas S Michael Taafe went at No. 158 (Dolphins). Not until Round 6 at No. 215, did we see another featured selection taken until LSU LB Harold Perkins got the call (Falcons).

Another surprise pick in our hindsight

In Round 7, after the thrills of seeing Midshipmen Robinson and Heidenreich drafted, another pleasant surprise occurred. At No. 240, Middle Tennessee Blue Raider LB Parker Hughes got called up (Jaguars). Having had MTSU tickets for two seasons prior to 2025, we only attended one game in Murfreesboro to see Missouri State visit last season to become our 135th FBS team. I gladly realize now that we got to see a future NFL draft choice in action there as well!

Draft pick 250, MTSU LB Parker Hughes (9), fights off Missouri State blockers in a hard-fought 22-20 win by the MSU Bears.
Draft pick No. 250, MTSU LB Parker Hughes (9), fights through Missouri State blockers in a hard-fought 22-20 CUSA win by the MSU Bears. He joins the Jaguars of Jacksonville looking to shore up their defense.

Broncos save their best for our last

After No. 240, Indiana LB Aiden Fisher went at No. 243 (Texans). With three picks remaining for the Broncos, they capped our draft on a high note. With No .246, they selected DB Miles Scott seen by us twice for Illinois. Ten picks later, the Broncos had the final two draft choices. With the first, they picked our aforementioned Utah TE in action, Dallen Bentley, against UCF. Of course, with the final pick of the draft, the Broncos chose the legendary and traditional “Mr. Irrelevant.” Bingo again! We saw him play – LB Red Murdock of the Buffalo Bulls.

What an unforgettably fun draft this was for us. Attending those CFP games for us really paid off. Come back and visit us after Friday, May 1. We’ll publish our 2026 schedule. We think it’s going to be even better than what we experienced last season!

And for more information and details about the careers of all these college players we watched now getting their shots at the pros, click here to Link on to NFL Buzz.

LB Red Murdock of Buffalo, far left, charges past Miami (Ohio) ball carrier in Oxford, Ohio in November 2023. One analyst reports that Murdock is highly aggressive in nature, but he sometimes shows tendencies to overrun plays. We snapped a perfect example of that right here!
“Mr. Irrelevant,” the last player selected in the draft, LB Red Murdock of Buffalo charges in at left past Miami (Ohio) ball carrier at Oxford, Ohio in November 2023. One analyst reported that Murdock is highly aggressive in nature, but he sometimes shows tendencies to overrun plays. We snapped a perfect example of that right here!

Read our great history of seeing great college players who excelled in the Pros!

Click on the title about this life-long adventure: Fifty Years of Tailgate Tales: The Good, the Fun, and the Ugly on Amazon.com. Among 740 college games attended to date now, we’ve seen all 136 Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) teams play in person at least once. This tells our story! Among them, you’ll pry into collegiate lore regarding the likes of Willie Gault, Dan Marino, Randy Moss, Eli Manning, Ezekial Elliot, Joe Burrow, Lamar Jackson and many more.

Read the reviews on the book page and get your copy today. If you’re trying to follow NILs and transfer portals, read what we predicted in 2023 and more. You’ll see we know what we’re talking about. In addition, we offered solutions to issues occurring that we anticipated when we wrote this book. Get it, enjoy it, and read about the many great memories captured. Maybe these will bring back some of the same memories you encountered when we did!

Edited and written by Stephen J. Koreivo, member of Football Writers Association of America (FWAA) and Author of “Fifty Years of Tailgate Tales: The Good, the Fun and the Ugly.”

LBs, DBs, and PKs in action before the Draft

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Lebanon, TN- We finish up our 2026 draft analysis among players we witnessed in action the last few years as LBs, DBs, and even PKs. Our Linebacker corps comes as one position lacking in quantity more than any other we can think of this season. Players performing in the Secondary stand out a bit more. Regretfully in both cases, camera distance, lighting and/or just bad timing limited some of the opportunities we had to capture some of the best. Substituting from a point-and-shoot (kid at Indiana game laughed at me) to a cell phone at a distance results in lower quality pics from a distance. Need a better back-up in the future.

Twice in recent years, we actually had camera malfunctions when we attended Ohio State at play. Once was due to a dropsy on my part. With that, lost out on photo shots of LBs Arvell Reese and Sonny Styles who will both go in the first round most likely. Same goes for top Safety in this year’s draft, Caleb Downs. Neither CBs Jermod McCoy nor Colton Hood of Tennessee could be seen anywhere in our file photos from this year’s Music City Bowl. We saw Toledo play in 2024. Against Ohio, another top draft selection at Safety, Emmanuel McNeil-Warren, missed that game with an injury that knocked him out for the season. However, we did capture top CB Mansoor Delane of LSU featured in our overall top players’ previews.

The art of tackling on the decline

Reading many critiques of individual players scouting reports, many assessments allude to LBs and other defensive position lack of consistent tacking abilities. Surprised that there is surprise here. Noting that in recent years, college players enter college programs bigger, stronger and faster. However, the detriment here becomes focus on avoiding injuries to prevent lost playing time. Schools don’t seem to allow enough contact in practice to improve tackling.

Players today rarely hit other teammates in practices today. Sometimes devices substitute for live play that don’t truly emulate the true form of a ball carrier. The only true experience these players have derived after three or more years of college football is the true experience of an actual game. Are high school practices much different today? Players don’t get as many practice reps as they used to on the practice field. Understandably, the pros do the same thing to avoid injuries. It’s a difficult dilemma today for football at all levels. Damned if you do practice tackling and damned if you don’t. Not sure if there is any surefire answer to improve tackling practice methodology.

And just for kicks, we’ll throw in some PKs

Normally, when we take a photo of a place kicker in action, we hope we’re going to capture a block or an action shot as good as this one below regarding a blocked punt attempt by U of O against MSU below.

In WEEK ONE, Oregon deflected a punt and blocked a punt for a 31-0 first half lead. MSU PK nailed this field goal, but look at the effort by this Oregon special teamer to block it!
In WEEK ONE, Oregon deflected a punt and blocked a punt for a 31-0 first half lead. MSU PK nailed this field goal but look at the effort by this Oregon special teamer to block it! We looked for the possibility again when taking this picture.

With the pictures of PKs after LBs and DBs, you can see optimism turns out mostly futile. However, in these cases, we took a few of kickers that we think pose some interest to NFL teams. They may not get drafted, but often PKs eventually get the call from some desperate team at some point. Florida PK Trey Smack may be the best sought after. Regretfully, we missed a photo op with him. Surprisingly, unexpected, continued success turns into long-term, noteworthy careers in the NFL. Take note!

To kick things off, we start with LBs

Texas LB Anthony Hill (0) fights off block to stop Cam Skattebo in 2024 Peach Bowl. Probably going in the second round, Hill led UT in tackles that season with 107. In 10 games in 2025, he totaled 69 tackles seven TFLs, four sacks, three forced fumbles and tow Picks. His season ended with an injury after ten starts. He made 2nd team All-American.
Texas LB Anthony Hill (0) fights off block to stop Cam Skattebo in 2024 Peach Bowl. Probably going in the second round, Hill led UT in tackles that season with 107. He totaled 69 tackles, 7 TFLs, 4 sacks, 3 forced fumbles and 2 Picks. This season ended with an injury after ten starts. He made 2nd team All-American.
Oregon QB Dante Moore runs to evade Bednarik Trophy Winner Joshua Rodriguez (10) in first half action of Orange Bowl. Started at Virginia at QB. Transfered to Tech as walk-on. In 2025, unanimous All-American LB, Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year, Bednarik, Butkus, Nagurski, and Lombardi awards.
Oregon QB Dante Moore runs to evade Bednarik Trophy Winner Joshua Rodriguez (10) in first half action of Orange Bowl. Started at Virginia at QB. Transferred to Tech as walk-on. In 2025, unanimous All-American LB, Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year, Bednarik, Butkus, Nagurski, and Lombardi awards.
Illini LB Gabe Jacas (7) plugs up middle here against Indiana. He led the Big Ten with 11 sacks in 2025 and recorded 13.5 sacks and three forced fumbles.
Illini LB Gabe Jacas (7) plugs up middle here against Indiana. He led the Big Ten with 11 sacks in 2025 and recorded 13.5 sacks and three forced fumbles. Power rusher but questions persist on tackling capabilities.
Oregon LB Bryce Boettcher closes in for a stop against Texas Tech RB in the Capital One Orange Bowl on New Year's Day. He trasitioned successfully from DB to LB after two years at Oregon. His coverage skilss are great. But reposts question his capability to step up inside against superior Pro O Linemen. His size and short arms may fit best for passing situations only. Second Team Big Ten LB past two seasons.
Oregon LB Bryce Boettcher (28) closes in for a stop against Texas Tech RB in the Capital One Orange Bowl on New Year’s Day. He transitioned successfully from DB to LB at Oregon. His coverage skills are great. But reports question capability to step up against superior Pro O Linemen vs. the run. His size and short arms fit best in passing situations only. Second Team B1G past two seasons.
LSU LB Harold Perkins Jr. (7) fights to cut off Vanderbilt RB in loss to the Commodores in 2025. As a Frosh, recorded 72 tackles followed by 75 next season. A knee injury sidelined him in 2024. His 2025 numbers fell to 56 tackles, 8 tackles for loss, 4.5 sacks, and 3 interceptions during 12 games. Undersize at 6'1", 223 lbs. Looks like free agency at best.
LSU LB Harold Perkins Jr. (7) fights to cut off Vanderbilt RB in loss to the Commodores in 2025. As a Frosh, recorded 72 tackles followed by 75 next season. A knee injury sidelined him in 2024. His 2025 numbers fell to 56 tackles during 12 games. Undersize at 6’1″, 223 lbs. Looks like free agency at best.

Best of DBs

Oregon Safety Dillon Thieneman (31) stands out as one of the first round defensive backs we saw in action entering this year's draft. After one season at Purdue and two at Oregon, he accumulated 300 tackles and eight INT. In 2025, he won All-Big Ten and All-American Honors.
Oregon Safety Dillon Thieneman (31) stands out as one of the first-round defensive backs we saw in action entering this year’s draft. After one season at Purdue and two at Oregon, he accumulated 300 tackles and eight INTs. In 2025, he won All-Big Ten and All-American Honors.
LSU S AJ Halucy stops Vandy WR for a short gain. Scouting reports say he has impeccable timing and recognition to anticipate plays. All-SEC First Team in 2025. 89 tackles and three INTS. Three years prior at Houston. First Team All-Big 12 in 2024.
LSU S AJ Halucy stops Vandy WR for a short gain. Scouting reports say he has impeccable timing and recognition to anticipate plays. All-SEC First Team in 2025. 89 tackles and three INTS. Three years prior at Houston. First Team All-Big 12 in 2024.
Texas Safety Michael Taafe (16) stops Arizona State WR in 2024 Chick-Fil-A Peach Bowl CFP game. earned 2nd Team AP All-American Hors with 78 tackles, two sacks, two INTs and 10 break-ups. In 2025, 70 tackles and 2 INTs in 10 games before breaking thumb. Top grades among safeties against stiff competition. Great communicator for any secondary.
Texas Safety Michael Taafe (16) stops Arizona State WR in 2024 Chick-Fil-A Peach Bowl CFP game. Earned 2nd Team AP All-American Honors with 78 tackles, two sacks, two INTs and 10 break-ups. In 2025, 70 tackles and 2 INTs in 10 games before breaking thumb. Top grades among safeties against stiff competition. Great communicator for any secondary.
Indiana CB D'Angelo Pons (5) will best be remembered by us and many IU fans for his Pick Six return to open the scoring against Oregon in the 56-22 Peach Bowl CFP semifinal victory. Named Defensive VVP there and in Rose Bowl. 5'8" tall, but many positive essentials overcome height. Played 40 games at James Madison and IU. Six INTs, four defensive TDs and two blocked punts for TD returns.
Indiana CB D’Angelo Ponds (5) best be remembered by us and all IU fans for his Pick Six return to open the scoring against Oregon in the 56-22 Peach Bowl CFP semifinal victory. Named Defensive MVP there and in Rose Bowl. 5’8″ tall, but many positive essentials overcome height. Played 40 games at James Madison and IU. Six INTs, four defensive TDs and two blocked punts for TD returns.
Miami CB Keionte Scott (0) shown in coverage against Indiana in CFP Finale. Transferred after injury at Auburn. In 2025 ,64 tackles, five sacks, 13 TFLs and tow pick sixes. Scouts designate him as nickel CB. Blitzes and covers well. Needs to improve tackling skills as we mentioned before.
Miami CB Keionte Scott (0) shown in coverage against Indiana in CFP Finale. Transferred after injury at Auburn. In 2025 ,64 tackles, five sacks, 13 TFLs and two pick sixes. Scouts designate him as nickel CB. Blitzes and covers well. Needs to improve tackling skills as mentioned before.

PKs: just for kicks

In 2024 at our first game at Wyoming, we captured BYU PK Will Ferrin practicing right in front of us. He converted 23 0f 30 FGS, four of six from 50+ yards. He can boot kick-offs through the end zone, but BYU utilized short and directional kicks as part of their strategy which should translate well in the NFL with its current rules.
In 2024 at our first game at Wyoming, we captured BYU PK Will Ferrin practicing right in front of us. He converted 23 0f 30 FGS, four of six from 50+ yards. He can boot kick-offs through the end zone, but BYU utilized short and directional kicks as part of their strategy which should translate well in the NFL with its current rules.
Oregon's Atticus Sappington delivers for three against Texas Tech in this past Orange Bowl. Booted 19 of 24 FGs and made 51 of 51 PATs. Ten of 13 from 40+ yards. Two for two from over 50 yards. 47 of 71 kick-offs went for touchbacks.
Oregon’s Atticus Sappington delivers for three against Texas Tech in this past Orange Bowl. Booted 19 of 24 FGs and made 51 of 51 PATs. Ten of 13 from 40+ yards. Two for two from over 50 yards. 47 of 71 kick-offs went for touchbacks.

Read our great history of seeing great college players who excelled in the Pros!

Click on the title about this life-long adventure: Fifty Years of Tailgate Tales: The Good, the Fun, and the Ugly on Amazon.com. Among 740 college games attended to date now, we’ve seen all 136 Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) teams play in person at least once. This tells our story! Among them, you’ll pry into collegiate lore regarding the likes of Willie Gault, Dan Marino, Randy Moss, Eli Manning, Ezekial Elliot, Joe Burrow, Lamar Jackson and many more.

Read the reviews on the book page and get your copy today. If you’re trying to follow NILs and transfer portals, read what we predicted in 2023 and more. You’ll see we know what we’re talking about. In addition, we offered solutions to issues occurring that we anticipated when we wrote this book. Get it, enjoy it, and read about the many great memories captured. Maybe these will bring back some of the same memories you encountered when we did!

Edited and written by Stephen J. Koreivo, member of Football Writers Association of America (FWAA) and Author of “Fifty Years of Tailgate Tales: The Good, the Fun and the Ugly.”

Stoppers on the Defensive Line and on the “EDGE” in 2026 Draft

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Lebanon, TN – We displayed Miami EDGE Rueben Bain and Auburn EDGE Keldric Faulk as two likely Defensive players to go in the Fires Round on the 2026 Draft.  There seems to be more talent available and desired this year holding down the outside and applying pressure from defensive end this year.  We missed our mark with another top Linemen along the defensive front in Florida Gator Caleb Banks. A foot injury sidelined him in the Florida finale against Florida State.

CFP games offered some of the best defenders for the 2026 draft

Having attended three CFP games this season, The Orange Bowl, Peach Bowl and Championship Game at the Hard Rock in Miami brought top defenders.  Texas Tech, Oregon, Miami and Indiana featured some of the best on the field in 2025. You’ll see some of them here doing battle up front at games we saw.  In our next and final pre-draft presentation, we also captured great talent at Linebacker and in the secondary.

There seems to be lot of interest from the pros in this year’s defenses to apply more pressure than ever against all the pass-oriented offenses.  Look for DEs or EDGE Rushers to be in demand throughout the 2026 Draft.

Players among the cutting EDGE and filling the gaps in the middle

Miale EDGE Akheem Mesidor (3) allied two sacks against Indiana in teh CFP championship. the All-American and All-ACC first teamer recorded 17 TFL, 12.5 sacks and forced four fumbles in 2025.
Miami EDGE Akheem Mesidor (3) making the stop here tallied two sacks against Indiana in the CFP championship. The All-American and All-ACC first teamer recorded 17 TFL’s, 12.5 sacks and forced four fumbles in 2025.
Texas Tech Defensive Tackle Lee Hunter (2) pursues Oregon QB DAnte Moore in The Chick-Fil-A Orange Bowl. Tech's D performed well despite the 23-0 loss in New Year's Day. Hunter started at UCF for two years prior to playing for Tech where he earned All-American status.
Texas Tech Defensive Tackle Lee Hunter (2) pursues Oregon QB Dante Moore in The Chick-Fil-A Orange Bowl. Tech’s D performed well despite the 23-0 loss in New Year’s Day. Hunter started at UCF for two years prior to playing for Tech where he earned All-American status.
As a sophomore in 2023, Michigan DE Derrick Moore (8) takes on PSU OT Caeden Wallace, now with the New England Patriots. In 2025, Moore became team cvaptaing for the Wolverines. He had 10.5 TFLs, 10 sacks, became team Defensive MVP and All Big-ten. Established great rep as a "bull rusher." As seen here, scouts say he needs to improve his game against the run.
As a sophomore in 2023, Michigan DE Derrick Moore (8) takes on PSU OT Caeden Wallace, now with the New England Patriots. In 2025, Moore became team captain for the Wolverines. He had 10.5 TFLs, 10 sacks, became team Defensive MVP and All Big-Ten. Established great rep as a “bull rusher.” As seen here, scouts say he needs to improve his game against the run.
Florida Gator DE Tyreak Sapp (94) rates highly in Player Football Focus (PFF) analytics. REp as an impact player in crucial situations against good cpmepteion. He's ranked very strong agaisnthe reun and ranked as teh eigth best EDGE among players in this year's draft. Great experience and improvement at U of F pegs him as NFL-ready.
Florida Gator DE Tyreak Sapp (94) rates highly in Player Football Focus (PFF) analytics. Has rep as an impact player in crucial situations against good competition. He’s ranked very strong against run and ranked as the eighth best EDGE among players in this year’s draft. Great experience and improvement at U of F pegs him as NFL-ready.

Mid to late round picks on the Defensive Line

Texas Tech DE Romello Height (9) pursues Oregon QB DAnte Moore in Orange Bolw action. Following seasons at Auburn, USC and Georgia Tech, he played opposite All-American David Bailey (no picture) in his sixth and only season at TT. In 50 games at four schools, he totaled 69 pressures. Scouts say his greatest value comes on third down situations.
Texas Tech DE Romello Height (9) pursues Oregon QB Dante Moore in Orange Bowl action. Following seasons at Auburn, USC and Georgia Tech, he played opposite All-American David Bailey (no picture) in his sixth and only season at TT. In 50 games at four schools, he totaled 69 pressures. Pro scouts say his greatest value will come in third down situations.
Penn State EDGE Dani Dennis-Sutton (33) performed consistently his last two season. Made 42 tackles, 8.5 sacks and 12-13 tackles for loss in each. Led the Big Ten in 2025 in forced fumbles. His physical talents interest scouts who deem him as a work-in-progress specimen who can improve with better strength conditioning and technique coaching at the next level.
Penn State EDGE Dani Dennis-Sutton (33) performed consistently his last two season. Made 42 tackles, 8.5 sacks and 12-13 tackles for loss in each. Led the Big Ten in 2025 in forced fumbles. His physical talents interest scouts who deem him as a work-in-progress specimen who can improve with better strength conditioning and technique coaching at the next level.
Florida State DT Darrell Jackson (74) lines up against Boston College in 2024. Prior to his two seasons at FSU, he played at Maryland and Miami. Strength comes against the run. In 2025, this team captain earned defensive MVP with the Seminoles. He finished with 45 tackles, three TFLs and one sack. Late round pick among the overall defensive line depth in this year's draft.
Florida State DT Darrell Jackson (6) lines up against Boston College in 2024. Prior to his two seasons at FSU, he played at Maryland and Miami. Strength comes against the run. In 2025, this team captain earned defensive MVP with the Seminoles. He finished with 45 tackles, three TFLs and one sack. Late round pick among the overall defensive line depth in this year’s draft.

Long shot despite great EDGE credentials

Undersized at 6'1" 250 lbs. for the NFL, Indiana DE Mikail Kamara competes with dominant leverage. Following HC Curt Cignetti from James Madison to IU, he posted 10 sacks and 15 TFLs to earn First Team Big Ten DE in 2025. On top of that, he earned Defensive MVP in CFP championship versus Miami. Seen as a reliable player for future pass rush situations at the next level.
Undersized at 6’1″ 250 lbs. for the NFL, Indiana DE Mikail Kamara (6) competes with dominant leverage. Following HC Curt Cignetti from James Madison to IU, he posted 10 sacks and 15 TFLs to earn First Team Big Ten DE in 2025. On top of that, he earned Defensive MVP in CFP championship versus Miami. Seen as a reliable player for future pass rush situations at the next level.

Read our great history of seeing great college players who excelled in the Pros!

Click on the title about this life-long adventure: Fifty Years of Tailgate Tales: The Good, the Fun, and the Ugly on Amazon.com. Among 740 college games attended to date now, we’ve seen all 136 Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) teams play in person at least once. This tells our story! Among them, you’ll pry into collegiate lore regarding the likes of Willie Gault, Dan Marino, Randy Moss, Eli Manning, Ezekial Elliot, Joe Burrow, Lamar Jackson and many more.

Read the reviews on the book page and get your copy today. If you’re trying to follow NILs and transfer portals, read what we predicted in 2023 and more. You’ll see we know what we’re talking about. In addition, we offered solutions to issues occurring that we anticipated when we wrote this book. Get it, enjoy it, and read about the many great memories captured. Maybe these will bring back some of the same memories you encountered when we did!

Edited and written by Stephen J. Koreivo, member of Football Writers Association of America (FWAA) and Author of “Fifty Years of Tailgate Tales: The Good, the Fun and the Ugly.”

Oregon Safety Dillon Thieneman (31) stands out as one of the first round defensive backs we saw in action entering this year's draft. Come back for that review coming up shortly.
Oregon Safety Dillon Thieneman (31) stands out as one of the first round defensive backs we saw in action entering this year’s draft. Come back for that review coming up shortly.

Welcome to a strong class of O linemen in 2026

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Lebanon, TN – Already, we have introduced a strong contingent of O Linemen to the upcoming draft starting on April 24. We’ve highlighted mostly First Round Offensive line talent in our summation of top picks this year.  Francis Mauigoa of Miami, Spencer Fano of Utah, Vega Ioane of Penn State and Emmanuel Pregnon of Oregon literally “lead the talent charge” entering this year’s draft.

Seems like a lot of depth available to bolster offensive fronts in 2026

Many fans lose sight that football games are won primarily by blocking and tackling. Someone should figure out a way to grade O Linemen for Fantasy Football Leagues.  Seems like the most important players on any team get left out of any team success in such leagues. Winning games starts up front with the O linemen.  Quarterbacks need protection and time to execute the passing game. Running backs need holes open to get that necessary yard or that initial burst for the big gainer.  Wide receivers need time to run routs and get open. In recent years, NFL teams have recognized the value of top players up front for all three reasons. 

Big and talented Left tackles rightfully command hefty salaries. Prime player designations come based on their value to protect that passer to avoid injury.  The game and success of any team playing Sundays starts right up front. These guys perform the workload in the trenches to move the offense toward the goal line. 

Watch for talented O linemen sought in late rounds

Teams can’t get enough of them.  So, watch who they pick up at the bottom of the draft.  That talent up front is a key priority all across the front and on the depth chart.  Can’t win without good subs.  Always need talent to step up quickly when a key cog in the offense goes down. Even if it’s only for a few critical plays. Selecting O linemen late in the draft indicates the confidence teams already have in their playmaking talent. The blockers they draft to play up front will make these playmakers even more impactful and hopefully keep them healthy all season long. Tough job, of course.

Other early round O linemen

Alongside Spencer Fano of Utah, OT Caleb Lomu (71) mixes it up UCF in 2024. He is also expected to be taken in the first round.
Alongside Spencer Fano of Utah, OT Caleb Lomu (71) mixes it up UCF in 2024. He is also expected to be taken in the first round. This Sophomore did not allow any sacks in his second full season. All Big XII First Team.
Clemson RT Blake Miller (78) seen here vs Louisville in 2022 started 54 games. a team captain in 2025, he earned All-ACC First Team honors among O Linemen three times. Demonstrated versatility at Right and Left Tackle.
Clemson RT Blake Miller (78), seen here vs Louisville in 2022, started all 54 games in his career. A team captain in 2025, he also earned All-ACC First Team honors among O Linemen three times. Demonstrated versatility at Right and Left Tackle.
Penn State LT Drew Shelton (66) showed improved footwork in pass blocking over four seasons in 45 games with 2,450 snaps. Allowed only on sack on 350 passing snaps. Needs to improve strength for run blocking per scouting reports.
Penn State LT Drew Shelton (66) showed improved footwork in pass blocking over four seasons in 45 games with 2,450 snaps. Allowed only one sack on 350 passing snaps. Needs to improve strength for run blocking per scouting reports.

Middle round O Linemen seen in action

Florida Gator O Linemen C Jake Slaughter (66) and G Austin Barber (58) celebrate springing for a TD in 2025 win over archrival Florida State. Both received All-SEC recognition in 2025. Slaughter best recognized for pass blocking and Barber for run blocking.
Florida Gator O Linemen C Jake Slaughter (66) and G Austin Barber (58) celebrate springing WR Eugene Wilson for a TD in 2025 win over archrival Florida State. Both received All-SEC recognition in 2025. Slaughter best recognized for pass blocking and Barber for run blocking.
Duke RT Brian Parker II earned all American Honors and AllACC accolades in 2025 leading Duke's record setting offense. NFL analysts see him moving to Center or Guard on Sundays.
Duke RT Brian Parker II (53), here against Middle Tennessee, earned all American Honors and All-ACC accolades in 2025 leading Duke’s record-setting offense. NFL analysts see him moving to Center or Guard on Sundays.
Illini LT JC Davis (74) and fellow Illinois O Lenemen were suppsoe to be ther strenght of their team this year. They did not show well in this early season 63-10 loss at Indiana. In 25 games at Illinois, however, Davis won First Team All-Big Ten Honors after 49 starts including during his first two seasons at New Mexico.
Illini LT JC Davis (74) and fellow Illinois O Linemen were supposed to be the strength of their team this year. They did not show well in this early season 63-10 loss at Indiana. In 25 games at Illinois, however, Davis won 2025 First Team All-Big Ten Honors after 49 starts which includes his first two seasons at New Mexico.
Oregon LT Isaiah World and fellow Duck O Linemen go studnet body right protecting QB Dante Moore in CFP semifinal win over Texas Tech at the Orange Bowl. Staning at 6'8" , 312 lbs, he joind OU after four season at Nevada and fit in perfectly replacing Josh Conerly who wne thigh in teh 2025 draft. He'll be recovering from and ACL tear suffered in his next game versus Indiana. Still lot of optimism for him at the next level.
Oregon LT Isaiah World (76) and fellow O Linemen run student body right protecting QB Dante Moore in CFP semifinal win. Standing at 6’8″, 312 lbs., he joined OU after four seasons at Nevada. He replaced Josh Conerly who went high in the 2025 draft. He’s recovering from an ACL tear in loss to Indiana. Much optimism for him at the next level.

Late Rounders and possible Free Agents

Indiana C Pat Coogan (78) snaps in the envious position of all O Linemen - the victory formation in the CFP championship. Two years at C and OG for Notre Dame prior to 2025 at IU gave him plenty of reps against the best competition in two seasons going deep in CFP.
Indiana C Pat Coogan (78) snaps in the envious position of all O Linemen – the victory formation in the CFP championship. Two years at C and OG for Notre Dame prior to 2025 at IU gave him plenty of reps against top competition in two seasons going deep in CFP.
Coogan's former teammate, G AamilWagner of Notre Dame (59) gives push up front in Irish win over Navy in 2025. Scouting reports wee good hand sppeda and pass blocking capabilities, but foot speed will need to be improved for effectiveness at the next level.
Coogan’s former teammate, G Aamil Wagner of Notre Dame (59), seals up front in Irish win over Navy in 2025. Scouting reports point out good hand coordination and pass blocking capabilities. Foot speed will need to improve for effectiveness at the next level.
Auburn C Conner Lew (75) puts Tigers into end zone against Vandy in 2024. He impressed in 2023 to make the All-American Freshman team. He excelled the following year and excelled in 29 starts until Week 8 of 2025, tearing ACL to end his season. Jumps into NFL draft after his junior year as he rehabs. Late pick or free agency based on his potential seems to be his destiny. Pass protection and reach blocking at age 20 stirred much interest prior to his injury. Deemed a long-term developmental project.
Auburn C Conner Lew (75) puts Tigers into end zone against Vandy in 2024. He impressed in 2023 to make the All-American Freshman team. He excelled in 29 starts until Week 8 of 2025. Torn ACL ended his junior season. Jumps into NFL draft as he rehabs. Pass protection and reach blocking at age 20 stirred much interest prior. Deemed a long-term developmental project.

Read our great history of seeing great college players who excelled in the Pros!

Click on the title about this life-long adventure: Fifty Years of Tailgate Tales: The Good, the Fun, and the Ugly on Amazon.com. Among 740 college games attended to date now, we’ve seen all 136 Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) teams play in person at least once. This tells our story! Among them, you’ll pry into collegiate lore regarding the likes of Willie Gault, Dan Marino, Randy Moss, Eli Manning, Ezekial Elliot, Joe Burrow, Lamar Jackson and many more.

Read the reviews on the book page and get your copy today. If you’re trying to follow NILs and transfer portals, read what we predicted in 2023 and more. You’ll see we know what we’re talking about. In addition, we offered solutions to issues occurring that we anticipated when we wrote this book. Get it, enjoy it, and read about the many great memories captured. Maybe these will bring back some of the same memories you encountered when we did!

Edited and written by Stephen J. Koreivo, member of Football Writers Association of America (FWAA) and Author of “Fifty Years of Tailgate Tales: The Good, the Fun and the Ugly.”

U of Miami EDGE Rueben Bain Jr. (4) will look for opportunities like this in the pros against Mendoza.
Next post, we move on to the best defenders seen in action for the upcoming draft. Here, U of Miami EDGE Rueben Bain Jr. (4) will look for opportunities like this in the pros against Mendoza.

Wide Receivers and Tight Ends in action before 2026 Draft

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Lebanon, TN – Wide receivers Carnell Tate of Ohio State and Jordyn Tyson of Arizona State both performed in front of us during the 2024 season. However, neither made our photo portfolio. Too bad. Both enter this draft among the best most likely to get selected in the First Round. On the other hand, we captured Tight Ends Kenyon Sadiq of Oregon and Eli Stowers of Vanderbilt among the four and two contests we saw their teams play in respectively play. Sadiq is featured in our first 2026 Draft post you can see here.

Indiana – our best Wide Receiver source in 2025

With Heisman QB Fernando Mendoza captured in three games, he spread his passes among several key wide-out and a Tight End entering this year’s draft. In our case, right team, right season. Our schedule featured few pass catchers that will get drafted. Hopefully some will surprise us, but we can’t say that we saw any particular wide receiver that really caught our attention this year who wasn’t a Hoosier. Below you’ll see the ones we captured on our camera.

Top Wide Receivers and Tight End captured in our photo files

Indiana Wide Receiver Omar Cooper (3) follows Charlie Becker's block against Miami in CFP Championship. In only eight games in 2025, he caught 37 passes for 581 yards and seven TDS. Picks up yards after contact. Watch Becker for future draft considerations.
Indiana Wide Receiver Omar Cooper (3) follows Charlie Becker’s block against Miami in CFP Championship. In only eight games in 2025, he caught 37 passes for 581 yards and seven TDS. Picks up yards after contact. Watch Becker for future draft considerations.
Vanderbilt Tight End Eli Stowers (9) earned All-American Honors and the John Mackey Award as best TE this season. Not big for blocking prowess, he will become a top target for a wide-open pro offense. He snagged 62 passes his senior year for 769 yards and four TDs.
Vanderbilt Tight End Eli Stowers (9) earned All-American Honors and the John Mackey Award as best TE this season. Not big for blocking prowess, he will become a top target for a wide-open pro offense. He snagged 62 passes his senior year for 769 yards and four TDs.
Notre Dame WR Malachi Fields (far right) looks to pick up down field block for Jerimiyah Love against Navy in 2025. Before 2025, he transferred from UVA to ND for more exposure. Despite joining a more run-oreneted offense, he gained 630 yards through the arie with and impressive 17.5 yards per reception. Could be an effective wide-out at the next level.
Notre Dame WR Malachi Fields (far right) looks to pick up down field block for Jerimiyah Love against Navy in 2025. Before 2025, he transferred from UVA to ND for more exposure. Despite joining a more run-oriented offense, he gained 630 yards through the air with an impressive 17.5 yards per reception. Could be an effective wide-out at the next level.
Against Illinois in September this season, WR Elijah Sarratt (13) on Indiana sominated the Illini secondary with out-patterns all day. With nine grabs, he gained 92 yards and scored twice in a 63-10 blow-out. Typical of him. In four seasons at three programs, he totaled 239 catches for 3,649 yards and 44 TDs. Look for continued success on Sundays.
Against Illinois in September this season, WR Elijah Sarratt (13) of Indiana dominated the Illini secondary on out-patterns all day. With nine grabs, he gained 92 yards and scored twice in a 63-10 blow-out. Typical of him. In four seasons at three programs, he totaled 239 catches for 3,649 yards and 44 TDs. Look for continued success on Sundays.

Best of the FCS

Most impressive stat regarding Wide Receiver Bryce Lance? He remained at North Dakota State for five years despite NIL offers from bigger schools. NDSU won the FCS championship in 2024. In the last tow season, Lance made 151 receptions for 2,535 yards and 32 TDs. He will make a certain NFL team very happy that they picked him.
Most impressive stat regarding Wide Receiver Bryce Lance (5) seen here vs. Tennessee State? He remained at North Dakota State for five years despite NIL offers from bigger schools. NDSU won the FCS championship in 2024. In the last two season, Lance made 151 receptions for 2,535 yards and 32 TDs. He will make a certain NFL team very happy that they picked him.

Lower round selections for developmental possibilities

Miami WR CJ Daniels (7) played his final season of college here following seasons at Liberty and LSU. In 2025, he caught 55 passes for 557 yards and seven TDs. A good route runner and down field blocker, a concern is the dropsies rate he had in 2023 at Liberty despite 61 snags. Has potential to become what scouts consider a viable WR2 or WR3 on Sundays.
Miami WR CJ Daniels (7) played his final season of college here following seasons at Liberty and LSU. In 2025, he caught 55 passes for 557 yards and seven TDs. A good route runner and down field blocker, a concern is the dropsies rate he had in 2023 at Liberty despite 61 snags. Has potential to become what scouts consider a viable WR2 or WR3 on Sundays.
Notre Dame TE Eli Raridon escorts Jeremiyah Love down field for a long gain agaisnt Navy last November. Raridaon spent his first wo season rehabbing a knee in South Bend. In 2025, his blocking and catching capabilties placed him third among all Irish receivers with 32 receptions for 482 yards. Look for him to go in the lower rounds.
Notre Dame TE Eli Raridon escorts Jeremiyah Love down field for a long gain against Navy last November. Raridon spent his first two seasons rehabbing a knee in South Bend. In 2025, his blocking and catching capabilities placed him third among all Irish receivers with 32 receptions for 482 yards. Look for him to go in the lower rounds.
Indiana TE Riley Nowakowski (37) plunges through tough Miami defense for first half score, his only rushing TD of the year. In 2025 after transferring from Wisconsin, he played all 15 games in Indiana's national title season. He caught 32 passes for 387 yards and two TDs. SSmall in stature for TE in the NFL, he possesses great tools for a special teams and situational player at the next level. Smarts and toughness come from the Second Tram All-Big Ten Player.
Indiana TE Riley Nowakowski (37) plunges through tough Miami defense for first half score in the CFP finale, his only rushing TD of the year. In 2025 after transferring from Wisconsin, he played all 15 games for IU. He caught 32 passes for 387 yards and two TDs. Small in stature for NFL TE standards, he possesses great tools for special teams and as a situational player. Smarts and toughness come from this Second Team All-Big Ten Player in 2025.
Tennessee Tight End Miles Kitselman (87) displays his blocking prowess during DeSean Bishop's TD run against Illinois in this year's Music City Bowl. His blocking capablity interest teh pros whereas his 6'5" 255 lb. frame offers potential to improve his receiving totals of 26 catches for 253 yards and two TDs.
Tennessee Tight End Miles Kitselman (87) displays his blocking prowess during DeSean Bishop’s TD run against Illinois in this year’s Music City Bowl. His blocking capablity interests the pros whereas his 6’5″ 255 lb. frame offers potential to improve his receiving totals of 26 catches for 253 yards and two TDs his senior year.

Read our great history of seeing great college players who excelled in the Pros!

Click on the title about this life-long adventure: Fifty Years of Tailgate Tales: The Good, the Fun, and the Ugly on Amazon.com. Among 740 college games attended to date now, we’ve seen all 136 Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) teams play in person at least once. This tells our story! Among them, you’ll pry into collegiate lore regarding the likes of Willie Gault, Dan Marino, Randy Moss, Eli Manning, Ezekial Elliot, Joe Burrow, Lamar Jackson and many more.

Read the reviews on the book page and get your copy today. If you’re trying to follow NILs and transfer portals, read what we predicted in 2023 and more. You’ll see we know what we’re talking about. In addition, we offered solutions to issues occurring that we anticipated when we wrote this book. Get it, enjoy it, and read about the many great memories captured. Maybe these will bring back some of the same memories you encountered when we did!

Edited and written by Stephen J. Koreivo, member of Football Writers Association of America (FWAA) and Author of “Fifty Years of Tailgate Tales: The Good, the Fun and the Ugly.”

Maybe drafted ahead of Fano, Miami OL Francis Mauigoa (61) seals off Indiana on Fleming's TD run in CFP championship.
Miami OL Francis Mauigoa (61) seals off inside. Our next post – offensive linemen.

Best Running Backs witnessed for 2026 Draft

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Lebanon, TN – Already, we identified Jerimiyah Love of Notre Dame as the best running back we’ve seen perform on our recent schedules. Many top running backs with most yards gained in 2025 played as Freshmen and Sophomores. Their draft days will come. On the other hand, we see the impact of Name, Image and Likeness (NIL) temptation. Opportunities exist where Junior and Senior players find guaranteed offers for big bucks rather than risk a low draft position in the pros for less money. Transfer portals and grad school opportunities open up. That’s the way it is now, but this may change in the near future.

Most of the running backs projected for this year’s draft move on because they ran out of college eligibility. In some cases, they sought more. Most likely, they didn’t get the approval from some district court judge to continue a career in college football. Time to move on and play at the highest level of all.

Some of the best RBs seek other careers

In the final rankings of FBS football, the 17th leading runner played quarterback. Once again, the value of Navy QB Blake Horvath comes to light for the Mids with rushing for 1,200 yards and 16 TDs. Ranked just ahead of him at No. 16 came Cale Hellums, quarterback of his archrival rival Army. He rushed for 1,232 yards and 18 scores. Of course, neither will most likely make it to the NFL this year or in the future. It does indicate, however, what a difference a good rushing QB can make at the collegiate level for a program looking for some leverage to win.

Running backs predicted to go in the first two days

Cam Cook of Jacksonville State (4) looks for running room againnst Kennesaw State in CUSA championship game in December. Cook led teh nation in rushing with 1,695 yards and 16 scores. He also caught 30 passes out of the backfield for 286 yards, Should go in early rounds.
Cam Cook of Jacksonville State (4) looks for running room against Kennesaw State in CUSA championship game in December. Cook led the nation in rushing with 1,695 yards and 16 scores. He also caught 30 passes out of the backfield for 286 yards. Should go in early rounds.
Penn State RB Kaytron Allen (13) runs up into Notre Dame in Orange Bowl semi-final in 2024. Between he and Singleton, we thought he impressed us more.
Penn State RB Kaytron Allen (13) runs up into Notre Dame in Orange Bowl semi-final in 2024. Over their careers at PSU, between he and Singleton, he impressed us more. In his last two seasons, he gained 2,411 yards on the ground, 221 via air and scored 25 TDs.
RB Mark Washington, JR (4) transferred from Buffalo after his Junior season to Arkansas. In 2025, he rushed for 1,070 yards and eight TDs. He snared 28 passes for 266 yards and one TD. Look for him to get taken in the second round.
RB Mark Washington, JR (4) transferred from Buffalo after his Junior season to Arkansas. In 2025, he rushed for 1,070 yards and eight TDs. This Razorback snared 28 passes for 266 yards and one TD. Look for him to get taken in the second round.

Penn Stat RB Nick Singleton (10) runs into teeth of Michigan defense in 2023.
Penn State’s Nick Singleton (10) runs into teeth of No. 1 Michigan
defense in 2023. On 295 carries his Senior season, he totaled 1,548 yards. He snagged 65 passes for 594 yards and six TDs.

Running backs lurking in middle rounds

Wake Forest RB Demond Claiborne burst for a TD in 2025 win over UNC. In his fourth season with the Deacs, he totaled 2,599 yards and 26 TDs to earn Second Team All-ACC honors.
Wake Forest RB Demond Claiborne bursts for a TD in 2025 win over UNC. In his fourth season with the Deacons, he totaled 2,599 yards and 26 TDs to earn Second Team All-ACC honors.
North Dakota State RB Barika Kpeenu starts the 59-3 slaughter of Tennessee State with his first of three touchdowns on 24 yards at Nissan Stadium last September. Kpeenu ran for 1,005 yards and 20 TDs for the 12-1 Bison. An All-MVC First teamer, he played for two National Champion NDSU teams.
North Dakota State’s leading ball carrier Barika Kpeenu starts the 59-3 slaughter of Tennessee State with his first of three touchdowns on 24 yards at Nissan Stadium last September. Kpeenu ran for 1,005 yards and 20 TDs for the 12-1 Bison. An All-MVC First teamer, he played for two National Champion NDSU teams.

Long shots for the long run

RB Noah Whittington (6) takes on Montana State tackler directly on 2025 opening day victory.
Oregon RB Noah Whittington (6) takes on Montana State tackler directly in 2025 opening day victory. Only 897 yards and six TDs in 2025. Six years of college ball starting at games in 2021 at Western Kentucky. 25-years old, 5’8″ 203 lbs. We’ll see.
For our long shot late draft or free agent success, RB Lincoln Pare of Texas State takes the ball 57 yards here against Louisiana in a Bobcat loss in 2022. Under new HC GJ Kinne in 2025, Pare rushed 1,128 yards on 210 carries and caught 37 passes for 312 yards and two scores. Mr. Irrelevant?
For our long shot late draft or free agent success, Lincoln Pare of Texas State takes the ball 57 yards here against Louisiana in a Bobcat loss in 2022. Under new HC GJ Kinne in 2025, Pare rushed 1,128 yards on 210 carries and caught 37 passes for 312 yards and two scores. Mr. Irrelevant?

Read our great history of seeing great college players who excelled in the Pros!

Click on the title about this life-long adventure: Fifty Years of Tailgate Tales: The Good, the Fun, and the Ugly on Amazon.com. Among 740 college games attended to date now, we’ve seen all 136 Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) teams play in person at least once. This tells our story! Among them, you’ll pry into collegiate lore regarding the likes of Willie Gault, Dan Marino, Randy Moss, Eli Manning, Ezekial Elliot, Joe Burrow, Lamar Jackson and many more.

Read the reviews on the book page and get your copy today. If you’re trying to follow NILs and transfer portals, read what we predicted in 2023 and more. You’ll see we know what we’re talking about. In addition, we offered solutions to issues occurring that we anticipated when we wrote this book. Get it, enjoy it, and read about the many great memories captured. Maybe these will bring back some of the same memories you encountered when we did!

Edited and written by Stephen J. Koreivo, member of Football Writers Association of America (FWAA) and Author of “Fifty Years of Tailgate Tales: The Good, the Fun and the Ugly.”

Top Gun QBs for 2026 NFL Draft: Mendoza and then…?

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Lebanon, TN – We’ve already noted that the best of Top Gun QBs we witnessed entering the selection melee in April starts with Indiana QB Fernando Mendoza as the first overall pick. We saw him lead the Hoosiers three times. Big wins came over Illinois, Oregon and Miami on the way to the 2026 National Championship. In those three victories, the Hoosiers defeated three of the best quarterbacks who also performed in those games we attended. One, Dante Moore of Oregon, opted out of this year’s draft. We saw him go 3-1 in 2025. Some of the other best quarterbacks entering this year’s draft entertained us over the last three years. Mendoza performed as the best QB we watched at the college level since Joe Burrow at LSU in 2019 against Oklahoma in the CFP semi-final. Both displayed the highest of standards when we watched them in action.

Tougher challenges await new QBs at the next level

However, despite seeing exciting signal callers at the college level in recent years, we understand that doesn’t guarantee high marks for all of them at the professional level. Some of these prospects may go earlier in the draft than we expect, but this does not seem like an outstanding draft for quality quarterbacks. Some will go earlier than we probably anticipate. We see most going late in the selection process to fill as back-ups or as practice squad talent in need of further development in upcoming seasons. 

We expect some make it eventually as journey men.  In the past, some quarterbacks continued to linger in the depths of some forgotten roster but showed up when needed under extenuating circumstances, I.e. Liberty’s Malik Wilis and Wake Forests’ John Wohlford.  Others we’ve seen may not get drafted by the NFL. Some may get the freedom to shoot their shot as free agents. They may find the ranks of the Canadian Football League more amenable. Size and strength matter more in the NFL.

Illinois State’s Tommy Rittenhouse – ahead of the curve

Illinois State QB Tommy Rittenhouse led the Cardinals (12-5) in their 35-34 FCS championship loss to Montana State in Nashville in January. In 2025, this Top Gun QB completed 64.7% of passes for 3,568 yards and 40 TDS. At 5'11, 195 lbs., he's already signed on with the British Columbia Lions of the CFL.
Illinois State QB Tommy Rittenhouse (16) led the Cardinals (12-5) in their 35-34 FCS championship loss to Montana State in Nashville in January. In 2025, this Top Gun QB completed 64.7% of passes for 3,568 yards and 40 TDS. At 5’11, 195 lbs., he’s already signed on with the British Columbia Lions of the CFL.

One impressive QB we saw has already done so. He flourished in leadership and in game action we witnessed. Small in stature though an effective leader at the FCS level, his CFL signing makes sense. We look to see what he will do in the CFL, but it’s generally a world away from the NFL.  Unlike Boston College Heisman-winner Doug Flutie years ago, we just don’t see him making a leap eventually to the NFL. Based in his resume, we see one or two others following his lead after the NFL signs most of the Top Gun QBs making their entry into the NFL through the draft of free agency this year.

Top Gun QBs following Mendoza in the 2026 NFL Draft

Challenging Mendoza in the CFP championship, Carson Beck (11) finished off his six-year college career. We saw him here and at Georgia in 2023. In 2025, he ranked fourth in passing yardage with 3,813 yards and fired 30 TDs for the No. 2 Hurricanes of Miami.
Challenging Mendoza in the CFP championship, Carson Beck (11) finished off his six-year college career. We saw him here and at Georgia in 2023. In 2025, he ranked fourth in passing yardage with 3,813 yards and fired 30 TDs for the No. 2 Hurricanes of Miami.
LSU QB Garrett Nussmeier taken down in loss to Vanderbilt after being forced out of pocket. The LSU Tigers fell to Vandy, 27-21. For the season, Nussmeier's stats averaged low among QBs at 1,927 yards, 12 TDs and five INTs, but he's still considered among the top QB selections for 2025. Next season, more talented QBs should be available.
LSU QB Garrett Nussmeier taken down in loss to Vanderbilt, 27-21. For the season, Nussmeier’s stats averaged low among QBs at 1,927 yards, 12 TDs and five INTs. However, he’s still considered among the top QB selections for 2025. Next year, more talented QBs should be available.
Illini QB Nate Altmyer (9) sends pass downfield under pressure.
Illini QB Nate Altmyer lofts pass downfield under pressure against Tennessee in the Music City Bowl. In his senior season while destroyed by Indiana like every other QB, he passed for 3,007 yards, 22 TDs and only five picks. Some teams may consider him as an adequate back-up.

Middle to late round prospects

We saw Top Gum QB Joey Aguilar Lead Appy State in teh Sun Belt Championship before he left for UCLA. In 2025, we saw him lead Tennessee to teh Music City with 3.565 passing yards, 24 TDs and 10 INTs. He may surprise us at the next level.
We saw Top Gun QB Joey Aguilar lead Appy State in the 2023 Sun Belt Championship before he left for UCLA. In 2025, we saw him lead Tennessee to the Music City with 3.565 passing yards, 24 TDs and 10 INTs. He may surprise us at the next level. Hopefully he’s not surprised that he’ll have to wear knee pads in the future.
We rooted for Vanderbilt QB Diego Pavia lead the in Commodore wins over past LSU and Kentucky at First Bank Stadium in 2025. However, his post-season rant losing the Heisman to Mendoza on top of his slight stature may make him a free agent. He was fun to watch, but now we find him hard to root for.
We rooted for Vanderbilt QB Diego Pavia in Commodore wins against LSU and Kentucky at First Bank Stadium in 2025. However, his post-season rant losing the Heisman to Mendoza on top of his slight stature may push him into free agency. He was fun to watch, but now we find him difficult to root for.
Top Gun QB Drew Allars (15) of Penn State (15) on the receiving end of a reverse option pass against Michigan in 2023. Definitely a developmental prospect at the next level. He recovers from a season-ending injury, but more importantly, he never looked off his primary receivers nor ran many play actions for the Lions. Big and strong-armed. Could surprise with better QB coaching.
Top Gun QB Drew Allars (15) of Penn State on the receiving end of a reverse option pass against Michigan in 2023. Definitely a developmental prospect at the next level. He not only recovers from a season-ending injury, but more importantly, he never looked off his primary receivers nor ran many play actions for the Lions. Big and strong-armed. Could surprise with better QB coaching.

Other Works-in-Process

In 2024, BYU QB Jake Retzlaff fires a pass against Wyoming. He led the Cougars to a record of 11-2. In 2025, he transferred to Tulane leading the Green Wave to an 11-3 record, the American Athletic championship and a CFP bid where they fell to Ole Miss for a second loss against them. He completed the season with 3,168 yard passing, 15 TD passes, 16 rushing TDs and seven INTs. Stands in at 6'1" and 205 lbs.
In 2024, BYU QB Jake Retzlaff fires a pass against Wyoming. He led the Cougars to a record of 11-2. In 2025, he transferred to Tulane leading the Green Wave to an 11-3 record, the American Athletic championship and a CFP bid where they fell to Ole Miss for a second loss against them. He completed the season with 3,168 yards passing, 15 TD passes, 16 rushing TDs and seven INTs. Stands in at 6’1″ and 205 lbs.
Kansas QB Jalen Daniels set four Liberty Bowl records against Arkansas in a 55-53, 3 OT loss to Arkansas in 2022. He set marks for passing yards (544), completions (37), TD passes (5), and scores (6). Thought he would build on that. Pro coaching may be able to help him improve on Sundays.
Kansas QB Jalen Daniels set four Liberty Bowl records against Arkansas here in a 55-53, 3 OT loss to Arkansas in 2022. He set marks for passing yards (544), completions (37), TD passes (5), and scores (6). Thought he would build on that. Pro coaching may be able to help him improve on Sundays.
Arkansas QB Taylen Green (10) hands off in the Razorbacks' 38-35 loss to Mississippi State. Despite a 2-10 record, Green is considered a strong pro prosect. He completed 60.7% of his passes for 2,714 yards, 19 TDs and 11 INTs. Offensively, the Hogs averageed 32.6 points per game. Six of ten losses came within six points. A weak defense hindered wins for Arkansas in 2025.
Arkansas QB Taylen Green (10) hands off in the Razorbacks’ 38-35 loss to Mississippi State. Despite a 2-10 record, Green is considered a strong pro prosect. He completed 60.7% of his passes for 2,714 yards, 19 TDs and 11 INTs. Offensively, the Hogs averageed 32.6 points per game. Six of ten losses came within six points. A weak defense hindered wins for Arkansas in 2025.

Honorable Mentions

North Dakota State QB Cole Payton barks signals against Tennessee State this season in their 59-13 triumph at Nissan Stadium. Despite the Bisons'14-1 record and Payton's 71.9% completion rate, 2719 yards and 16 TDs, his one season may give him a chance. However, other NDSU QBs drafted such as Carson Wentz and Trey Lance did not fare well. Bison offensive linemen have though.
North Dakota State QB Cole Payton barks signals against Tennessee State this season in their 59-3 triumph at Nissan Stadium. Despite the Bisons’ 12-1 record and Payton’s 71.9% completion rate, 2719 yards and 16 TDs, his one season as starter may give him a chance. However, other NDSU QBs drafted such as Carson Wentz and Trey Lance did not fare well. However, Bison offensive linemen have.
Perfect landing for the truest Top Gun QB of all as Navy QB Blake Horvath scores winning touchdown in this year's Army Navy game. Despite Horvath leading the Mids to 10 wins in 11 games started, he most likelt will not play profeesional football. He graduate to beodome an Naval Aviator. He lead the Mids with 1,580 yard through teh ari and 1,200 yards on teh ground. he passed and ran for 28 TDs overall in 2025. Anchors Aweigh to Blake.!
Perfect landing for the truest Top Gun QB of all as Navy QB Blake Horvath scores winning touchdown, 17-16, in this year’s Army-Navy game. Despite Horvath leading the Mids to 10 wins in 11 games started, he most likely will not play professional football. He graduates to become a Naval Aviator. The Navy senior led the Mids with 1,580 yards through the air and 1,200 yards on the ground. He passed and ran for 28 TDs overall in 2025. Anchors Aweigh to Blake!

Read our stories of many players we saw in college to become successful pros!

Click on the title about this life-long adventure: Fifty Years of Tailgate Tales: The Good, the Fun, and the Ugly on Amazon.com. Among 740 college games attended to date now, we’ve seen all 136 Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) teams play in person at least once. This tells our story! Among them, you’ll pry into collegiate lore regarding the likes of Willie Gault, Dan Marino, Randy Moss, Eli Manning, Ezekial Elliot, Joe Burrow, Lamar Jackson and many more.

Read the reviews on the book page and get your copy today. If you’re trying to follow NILs and transfer portals, read what we predicted in 2023 and more. You’ll see we know what we’re talking about. In addition, we offered solutions to issues occurring that we anticipated when we wrote this book. Get it, enjoy it, and read about the many great memories captured. Maybe these will bring back some of the same memories you encountered when we did!

Indiana celebration underway!
Indiana National Championship celebration!

Top Players seen in Action entering 2026 Draft

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Lebanon, TN – With the excitement of Basketball’s Final Four approaching this weekend, it’s about time to jump into the excitement of showing the top players we’ve seen entering the NFL draft before the opportunity escapes us. It all starts on April 23-25.  Because of more travel opportunities in recent years, not only based on more time due to retirement, but also because of wide-open transfer portals to allow players to move to new schools every year (we’ll take that as a “good” for our purpose along with a lot of “bad” we see regarding the current NIL/transfer portal status). We still love, however, the competitiveness displayed on the playing fields of games to retain our obsession. That keeps us coming back despite recent, disliked changes with college football leadership!

Too Mobile, Agile, and Flexible?

The past few seasons, we’ve seen players not only make moves to more and different schools, but in many cases also forgo four years of college to enter the pros. Luckily for our exposure to see more players perform than ever before, our timing is impeccable in many cases.  We select games before the course of each season, and in some cases, we see the best of the best players without that goal in mind.

For instance, in 2025, we knew Indiana improved, but did we expect to see eventual Heisman winner, Fernado Mendoza, a transfer from Cal, play in three significant, historical Hoosier victories?  No.  We envisioned their game at home against Illinois to be a worthy trip to see a game at Memorial Stadium for the first time.  And not only did they dominate the Illini, but they also ended up in the CFP where we had already intended to get tickets for the Peach Bowl semi-final game and the Championship game in Miami.  Talk about seeing the best of the best.

Serendipitous shooting gives us Top Players in action

Slating regular season games at Oregon, Notre Dame, Penn State, Arkansas and Vanderbilt boded well for us.  And perusing mock drafts, we find many underclassmen from previous seasons in action that our plan provided us with much of the top talent entering the draft this season.  It really makes our planning, traveling and photo-taking worth our entire, unique adventure.

Our only regrets come from running into camera issues whether technical or self-inflicted that preclude us from getting pictures of some players who deserve to be on these pages.  We just couldn’t get them – especially when it comes to Ohio State games.  We’ve missed many good shoots of key draftees because of a malfunctioning camera. On the other hand, we never know that that we may have captured a star of the future in a game we never expected to see such talent to display.  Or, it’s great to capture the right offensive lineman at the right place and right time putting in a key block for another sure-fire draftee.

Just getting started here

Today’s edition features ten of the best top players from all positions predicted to possibly go in the first round.  Subsequent updates will be added with some of the best talent available for key positions throughout the draft. We include notes regarding awards, stats and the particular games we watched them perform in.  Enjoy our experiences and peruse our game reviews of when we saw them play.  We’ll reference the reference month and year of each so you can link to the dates of games played on the right side of the page.

Right from the Top

Indiana QB Fernando Mendoza will be the first to go overall to Las Vegas on day one. We watchec him in three strong performances against Illinois, Oregon and finally Miami in the CFP Championship.
Indiana QB Fernando Mendoza will be the first among top players chosen by Las Vegas on Day One. We watched him in three strong performances against Illinois, Oregon and finally Miami in the CFP Championship played on January 19, 2026.
U of Miami EDGE Rueben Bain Jr. (4) will look for opportunities like this in the pros against Mendoza.
U of Miami EDGE Rueben Bain Jr. (4) will look for opportunities like this in the pros against Mendoza. He recorded eight tackles including a sack and 2.5 Tackles for losses against Indiana on January 19, 2026.
We saw Utah OT Spencer Fano of Utah against UCF in 2024. He will go among the top offensive lineman at 6'6" and 302 lbs.
We saw Utah OT Spencer Fano of Utah (55) against UCF in November 2024. The Big 12 Offensive Lineman of the year in 2025 will go among the top players on the offensive line at 6’6″ and 302 lbs.
Maybe drafted ahead of Fano, Miami OL Francis Mauigoa (61) seals off Indiana on Fleming's TD run in CFP championship.
Maybe drafted ahead of Fano, Miami OL Francis Mauigoa (61) seals off Indiana on Mark Fletcher’s TD run in CFP championship this past January. He won the ACC’s Jacobs Blocking Trophy as the best Offensive Lineman in the ACC in 2025.

Some of the Top Players by Position

LSU CB Mansoor Delane maintains leverage against Vanderbilt here in 2025 loss. Looks to be top selection among all DBs this this April.
LSU CB Mansoor Delane (4) maintains leverage against Vanderbilt here in October 2025 loss. Looks to be the top players selected among all DBs this this April. He transferred from Virgina Tech with 33 games where he totaled 146 tackles, 22 pass break-ups and six INTs.
Notre Dame All-American RB Jeremiyah Love looms as the top rusher in this year's draft. We saw him against Navy the last tow years and in the Irish victory over Penn State in the CFP semi-final of 2024.
Notre Dame All-American RB Jeremiyah Love looms as the top rusher in this year’s draft. We saw him against Navy the last two years and in the Irish victory over Penn State in the CFP semi-final in January 2025.
Penn State LT Olaivavega Ionae seals off SMU defense on TD drive in opening round of 2024 CFP at Beaver Stadium. The First Team All-American Junior enters the draft at 6'4" and 330 lbs.
Penn State LT Olaivavega “Vega” Ionae seals off SMU defense on TD drive in opening round in December 2024 CFP at Beaver Stadium. The First Team All-American Junior enters the draft at 6’4″ and 330 lbs.
Oregon TE Kenyon Sadiq (18) levels Montana State Bobcat for a TD in their 59-13 opening day romp in 2025. Sadiq snagged 51 passes for 560 yards and eight TDs on the way to CFP.
Oregon TE Kenyon Sadiq (18) levels Montana State Bobcat for a TD in their 59-13 opening day romp in 2025. Sadiq snagged 51 passes for 560 yards and eight TDs on the way to CFP making him the top players at the Tight End position.

Top Players up front on both sides offer potential value early

Auburn EDGE Keldric Faulk (15) played against Maryland his Frosh season in Music City Bowl. In 2025, the 6'6" 285 lb. Junior captained the Tigers and knocked down four passes to earn Third Team All-SEC Honors.
Auburn EDGE Keldric Faulk (15) played against Maryland his Frosh season in Music City Bowl. In 2025, the 6’6″ 285 lb. Junior captained the Tigers and knocked down four passes to earn Third Team All-SEC Honors.
Oregon Guard Emmanuel Pregnon (75) shown here in win against Penn State in 2025. He earned First Team Big Ten and All-American Honors in 2025.
Oregon Guard Emmanuel Pregnon (75) shown here in win against Penn State in 2025. He earned First Team Big Ten and All-American Honors in 2025.

Next up: Best quarterbacks

Mendoza starts the wheels in motion for his position, but here may be some outstanding value on the rounds ahead as well. Not all provide assurances to any team at the next level, but It will be interesting to see what who the pros show us they think may be worth a gamble.

Speaking of Certainty, you’ll enjoy reading about our fun and interesting adventure!

Click on the title about this life-long adventure: Fifty Years of Tailgate Tales: The Good, the Fun, and the Ugly on Amazon.com. Among 740 college games attended to date now, we’ve seen all 136 Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) teams play in person at least once. This tells our story! Read the reviews on the book page and get your copy today. If you’re trying to follow NILs and transfer portals, read what we predicted in 2023 and more. You’ll see we know what we’re talking about. In addition, we offered solutions to issues occurring that we anticipated when we wrote this book. Get it, enjoy it, and read about the many great memories captured. Maybe these will bring back some memories you encountered when we did!