2025 NFL Draft: College Football Game Recaps – Week 3

Georgia quarterback Carson Beck is one of the favorites to be a high first-round pick next April and is in the running to be the top quarterback prospect. While Back showed his skill set, he had an underwhelming performance against Kentucky.

Early in the second quarter, Beck was very fortunate that a pass was not intercepted as the ball deflected off the hands of a Kentucky defender and into his receiver for a first-down completion. A few plays later, the luck continued. A Georgia receiver had a pass in his hands, but when he fell on the turf, the ball popped up and into the waiting arms of a cornerback who returned it from midfield for a touchdown. The replay ruling changed it to incomplete, but it easily could have been upheld. Beck and the Georgia offense struggled to extend drives, and the Wildcats held them to only three points in the first half.

In the third quarter, Beck had a receiver running open for a potentially long touchdown, but Beck overthrew him incomplete. Beck bounced back to throw some good passes with excellent ball placement to get completions downfield into tight windows. Beck completed 15-of-24 passes for 160 yards. Beck was fortunate as he got away with a few interception-worthy throws.

There is no doubt that Beck has a strong arm and can fire passes with excellent placement. While Beck has a good skill set, he lacks some creativity to his game. Beck definitely has the talent to be an NFL starter, but Beck is not a quarterback prospect like Caleb Williams or Jayden Daniels, who can create a big play on their own and make something happen off-schedule. Beck will need a good supporting cast to run a system effectively. Thus, if Beck pans out in the NFL, he might be more similar to a player like Derek Carr or Jared Goff rather than Pat Mahomes, Josh Allen, or Lamar Jackson.

Kentucky defensive tackle Deone Walker was a potential first-rounder entering the season, and Walker was a ghost a week ago when South Carolina dominated the Wildcats. Walker bounced back against Georgia and was an active defender in helping to limit the Bulldogs offense.

In the first quarter, Walker made a clutch play getting upfield and then leaping to block a third-down pass. The receiver was open behind Walker, and a completion probably would have resulted in a first down. On the next drive, Walker got off a block and stuffed a running back for no gain. In the third quarter, Walker fought off a block on a critical third down and forced an inaccurate third-down incompletion to help force a field goal. In the fourth quarter, Walker had a key run stuff inside the five-yard line to set up a third-and-2 and added another tackle near the line of scrimmage late in the fourth quarter.

Walker had a nice performance against Georgia, getting off blocks and making tackles outside of his gap. Walker is quick and shockingly athletic for a big interior defensive tackle. However, he gets in trouble when he stands up too high. That lets guards get underneath his pads and push him back. He looked like a pro starter but did not have the look of a high first-round pick against Georgia.

Entering this season, there was hype of Texas A&M defensive lineman Nic Scourton being a potential top-10 pick next April. Scourton was superb last year for Purdue, recording 10 sacks and showing a serious skill set in terms of size, power, and shocking agility for his body type. Scourton was underwhelming in the season opener against Notre Dame before leaving early with a leg injury. Scourton returned to the field against Florida but did not look like the same player that he was at Purdue.

The Gator’s offense was pathetic in the first half as they struggled to get first downs, and the Aggie’s offense dominated at moving the chains, so Scourton did not have a lot of opportunities. However, he was quiet and a non-factor in those snaps. In third-and-long situations, Scourton tried a variety of pass-rushing moves like a spin or power, but none were working to have Scourton break free. On top of Scourton not impressing, the Gators do not have a good offensive line, but they were able to shut down Scourton. Scourton has not looked like a first-rounder in his two games with the Aggies, but it still is very early in the season, and he has time to turn things around.

Florida cornerback Jason Marshall has also gotten media hype at times, but his play was disappointing last year, and that trend has continued into this season, including this game against Texas A&M. In the second quarter, Marshall had an easy interception fly right to him, but he dropped the easy pick. In the next play, the Aggies kicked a field goal. Marshall looks like a backup-caliber player for the NFL, and that would make him a mid-round or day-three pick.

Alabama quarterback Jalen Milroe has been a dual-threat quarterback who has continued to show growth as a playmaker this season. Going to Camp Randall, Milroe dominated the Badgers as they had no answer to stop his running ability and deep ball passing.

At the end of the first quarter, Milroe showed his speed to explode downfield and then used his 220-pound frame to run through a cornerback en route to a 27-yard gain. To end the drive, Milroe lofted a perfectly placed deep ball along the sideline in the end zone for a 31-yard touchdown strike. On the next Alabama possession, Milroe used his speed to take away the angles of defenders as he raced them to the pylon for a short rushing touchdown.

Shortly later, Milroe blew the game open on back-to-back plays. He showed his arm strength with two deep balls lofted down the field to cover 76 yards. The second one was a perfect throw with excellent timing from Milroe to release the ball before the wideout made his break. It led him open to the sideline of the end zone for a 26-yard scoring strike.

On the first play of the second half, Milroe made a nice play scrambling to his right and keeping his eyes downfield before flicking the ball about 10 yards to his wide receiver, who took off for a gain of 22. Milroe added a short rushing touchdown before the end of the third quarter. In garbage time, Milroe threw a strike down the seam for a 37-yard touchdown pass. It was a good play by Milroe to work off his first read and hold the eyes of the safety to help open up his receiver. Milroe completed 12-of-17 passes for 196 yards with three touchdowns through the air. On the ground he ran for 75 yards and two scores.

For the NFL, Milroe still needs development as a pocket passer. Milroe is a good kid working hard to improve his knowledge of the game. He still has more to learn for knowing coverages, blitz schemes, and building his pre-snap skills for putting his team in the right play. Milroe has all the tools to be a good starter. He throws an accurate deep ball with excellent loft and placement. Milroe is a dangerous runner with speed and power. Milroe could end up grading out as a first-round pick in the 2025 or 2026 NFL Draft.

Wisconsin has a quarterback prospect for the NFL as well with Tyler Van Dyke. At Miami, Van Dyke had a great start to his career before injuries and streaky play led to his departure from the Hurricanes. Van Dyke is big, with a good arm and pocket passing ability. However, on the first drive of this game, Van Dyke was injured and had to leave the game. It was a noncontact injury that looked like it was his right knee, and Van Dyke had to be carted into the locker room. If Van Dyke is out for the season, he should return to college football next year rather than entering the NFL.

Alabama has produced a steady amount of good defensive back prospects for the NFL, and once again, they have a good one for 2025. Safety Keon Sabb was all over the field against Wisconsin. His instincts are superb, as he gets in on a lot of tackles. Sabb had tackles for a loss, firing off the line to get to ball carriers in the backfield, and broke up some passes against the Badgers. Sabb looks like a future early-round pick.