2025 NFL Draft: College Football Game Recaps – Week 8

Georgia quarterback Carson Beck had some inaccurate passes and turnovers to help the Bulldogs lose to Alabama a few weeks ago. In a tough road game against the No. 1 team in the nation, Beck continued that caliber of play. The Bulldogs won more despite Beck than because of him.

Early in the first quarter, Beck made a bad pass, retreating back and sailing a throw into double coverage in the middle of the field. The Texas safety snatched the pass for an interception that set up the Longhorns in Georgia territory. After narrowly having another interception, Beck threw his second pick. Beck stared down his receiver and then threw too high. The pass was tipped off the hands of his wide out and then controlled by the Texas cornerback for the turnover. Beck was missing some receivers and inefficient, he even had less than 100 yards passing until late in the third quarter.

This season, Beck has been disappointing against some tough opponents. He struggled not only against Alabama and Texas but also in other games, including against Kentucky. Beck has a powerful arm and can be a dangerous pocket passer, but this season, he has had numerous games with poor ball placement, accuracy, and ball security. If Beck doesn’t play much better in the second half of the season, he should consider returning to Georgia next season.

Beck wasn’t the only quarterback prospect that struggled in this game. Texas quarterback Quinn Ewers had a rough night, contributing to the Longhorn’s first loss of the season. Midway through the first half, Ewers’s pocket collapsed around him, and he was strip-sacked well into Texas territory. Shortly later, Ewers was baited into throwing into double coverage, which led to an interception. After those struggles, Ewers was benched in the second quarter for Arch Manning. After Manning struggled, Ewers came back into the game after halftime. Ewers promptly led a drive down the field, including a perfect strike on a slant, a short touchdown pass to Isaiah Bond, and then a two-point conversion on a bullet to the back of the end zone. In the fourth quarter, Ewers fumbled the ball away and was lucky he didn’t have an interception after he stared down a receiver.

Ewers finished completing 25-of-43 passes for 211 yards with two touchdowns and an interception. Ewers has a quality arm with a quick release. This tape is not going to help his draft grade, as Ewers had breakdowns in ball security and field vision.

Georgia won this game largely because the Bulldog’s defensive line won the point of attack. Texas left tackle Kelvin Banks had a rough night going against edge rushers Jalon Walker and Mykel Williams. In the first half, Walker was superb. Early in the second quarter, Walker got upfield with a bull rush against Banks and eventually got close enough to trip up Ewers for a sack. Shorty later, Walker worked his way off a few blocks and then took down Ewers when he stepped up in the pocket. Just before halftime, Walker was spying quarterback Arch Manning and chased him down for a sack. The very next play, Manning was strip-sacked, and Walker recovered the fumble. In the second half, Walker was rotated more as he was dealing with an injury. This was another tape that shows that Walker is an early-round talent for the 2025 NFL Draft.

Midway through the game, Williams had a tackle for a loss when he went unblocked, and early in the fourth quarter he had a huge play went he used a speed rush with strong hands to get a blindside strip-sack of Ewers. He had other pressures and hits on the quarterback. This tape showed that Williams has a top-20 skill set with size, speed, power, and athleticism. He is a dangerous base end with the ability to get after the quarterback.

Alabama quarterback Jalen Milroe has a good skill set for the NFL, but he still is lacking some polish as a pocket passer. That was given more evidence against Tennessee. The Volunteers defense did a good job of keeping Milroe from breaking free as a runner, and they also kept Alabama from getting receivers open deep downfield. With Milroe stifled, the Volunteers were able to win a defensive battle.

In the first quarter, Milroe threw an interception in the end zone on a fade pass that was not well located. He also did not get much help from his receiver, and the interception turned into a pick with a return that went to midfield. Milroe came back to throw a perfectly placed fade pass for a short touchdown, letting freshman phenom Ryan Williams adjust to get just enough open space for a leaping grab. Late in the fourth quarter, Milroe was intercepted again with a pass behind his receiver on a crossing route, and that let a Volunteers defender snatch the ball for a game-clinching pick. Milroe finished completing 25-of-45 passes for 239 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions.

As a passer, what Milroe does best is throw the deep ball. He is very accurate going deep and has superb ball placement when throwing vertically. The Volunteers took those plays away, and also kept Milroe from breaking off any long runs. When Milroe can’t use his legs or use his powerful arm, Milroe showed that he still needs improvement to thrive as a passer in the short to intermediate part of the field. Milroe needs to improve his accuracy, timing, and anticipation as a rhythm passer in the short to intermediate part of the field. This tape will hurt his draft grade.

Tennessee edge rusher James Pearce Jr. has not had a big season statistically, but he has put more pressure on the quarterback than his sack total illustrates. Pearce did not have a big presence against Alabama, but he did have some timely plays. In the second quarter, Pearce flew by the right tackle to chase Milroe out of the pocket and force a third-down incompletion. Midway through the fourth quarter, Pearce timed the snap perfectly to explode past the right tackle and chase down Milroe for a sack. Overall, this tape won’t help or hurt Pearce significantly. He needs to have a more productive second half of the season.

Early in his Alabama career, safety/nickel corner, Malachi Moore looked like he might become a star playing the same position as Minkah Fitzpatrick and Brian Branch. But Moore was beaten out by other defenders and has gone under the radar the past couple of seasons. Moore came up with a big game against the Volunteers to help himself. In the first quarter, Moore ripped the ball out for a fumble that Alabama recovered, and in the second quarter, Moore undercut a pass for an interception. Moore is probably a day-three prospect, but this performance will help his grade.

This game featured one of the best draft matchups of the year, with Colorado cornerback Travis Hunter taking on Arizona wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan when Hunter plays cornerback and then going against Wildcats cornerback Tacario Davis when Hunter lines up at wide receiver. This game will be a good test for Davis as he sees a future NFL franchise quarterback in Shedeur Sanders. Hunter entered this game averaging 117 snaps per game, which is a huge amount, and he was dealing with a shoulder injury.

Surprisingly, it was a quiet game for both Hunter and McMillan. In the first quarter, Davis had tight coverage on Hunter with a throw into the end zone. The ball sailed incomplete, and Davis called for a nonsensical pass interference. Hunter finished with two receptions for 17 yards, although he was open for a touchdown along the sideline of the end zone and Sanders didn’t see him while throwing down the middle.

In the first quarter McMillan ad-libbed a comeback route to get open and move the chains. A few plays later, McMillan got open running an out route, but the pass was very inaccurate to sail incomplete. McMillan had only five catches for 38 yards, but that was not his fault, as Arizona quarterback Noah Fifita really struggled. He held the ball too long and didn’t see the field well. This tape won’t hurt or help McMillan, Davis, or Hunter.

Sanders cruised over Arizona. In the first quarter, Sanders took an ugly sack holding the ball for far too long, but the very next play he made up for it by lofting in a beautiful 46-yard pass to set up a short touchdown pass. Sanders led a scoring drive that ended with a scoring run and added another touchdown toss before the half. Late in the first half, Sanders was not on the same page with his receiver as Sanders thought the wide out would cut in front of the Arizona safety. The receiver went behind the defender, and that let the pass go right into the safety’s breadbasket for an interception. After getting the ball back, Sanders quickly went down the field before he scrambled ahead for a rushing touchdown from about 10 yards out. Sanders had another interception, but overall, he cruised over Arizona. He completed 23-of-33 passes for 250 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions.

There is no doubt that Sanders is a future starting quarterback in the NFL. Pre-snap and post-snap, Sanders’s football I.Q. is extremely impressive. He has fabulous instincts and seems like a step ahead mentally of everybody else on the field. He reads defenses extremely well and has tremendous vision. Sanders works through his progressions and recognizes coverage and defensive fronts. Sanders is an accurate passer with excellent ball placement and a strong arm capable of making all the throws. He has functional mobility as well. This tape won’t help or hurt Sanders.