2026 NFL Draft: College Game Recaps – Week 8

Alabama quarterback Ty Simpson has become a hot prospect as he has been playing at a very high level for the Crimson Tide. In tight games, Simpson made some great passes to lead his team to wins over Georgia and Missouri. Against Tennessee, the score wasn’t as close, but Simpson was once again very impressive.

Early in the first quarter, Simpson made a fantastic play on a third-and-long. While dropping back in his own end zone, Simpson dodged a sack, maneuvered in the pocket, reset his feet, and found an open tight end for a conversion. A few plays later, Simpson lofted in a beauty of a pass to Ryan Williams on the sideline for a 31-yard gain. It was a perfect pass with the throw beating tight coverage. To cap the brilliant drive, Simpson threw a short touchdown pass to Isaiah Horton. Simpson threw the ball with excellent anticipation and location, letting it rip before Horton made his cut, so the ball hit him immediately after he broke free from coverage.

After that drive, the Volunteers’ defense did a nice job of getting off the field and shutting down the Crimson Tide ground offense. The Tennessee offense also did a good job of controlling the ball and keeping the Alabama offense on the sideline. Late in the third quarter, Simpson found Rico Scott on an out route for an 11-yard touchdown pass. In the fourth quarter, Simpson made an uncharacteristic decision, throwing back across his body and almost throwing an interception. The next play, Simpson used his legs to convert a fourth-and-2. That helped produce a rushing touchdown that iced the win for Alabama. Simpson finished completing 19-of-29 passes for 253 yards with two touchdowns.

For the NFL, Simpson looks like a starter and a potential high first-round pick. Simpson has shown some serious arm talent, making some beautiful throws downfield with superb ball placement to beat tight coverage. Simpson (6-2, 208) is accurate, smart, has a strong arm, and throws with timing and anticipation. Simpson has shown superb ball security this season as well, with only one interception. If Simpson stays consistent, he could be a high first-round pick in the 2026 or 2027 NFL Draft.

There was a great draft matchup in this game with USC wide receiver Makai Lemon taking on a trio of future cornerbacks. Fighting Irish sophomore corner Leonard Moore looks like a potential top-16 pick for the 2027 NFL Draft, while Christian Gray could be a day-two pick, and DeVonta Smith could be a day-three pick. This game showed that Lemon could have some issues separating from man coverage as Moore shut him down. In the early going, Lemon got open against lost coverage and ran for a 27-yard gain, but after that, Moore was isolated on him and held Lemon in check. Then in the fourth quarter, Lemon got man coverage on Christian Gray, and he ran a post route, torching Gray and getting wide open for a 42-yard gain. However, the next play, USC did an end-around with Lemon, and he pulled up looking to throw downfield. The Irish weren’t fooled, and as Lemon got tackled, he was careless with ball security and fumbled the ball away to Notre Dame. It was a huge turnover that bailed out the Irish defense and took away a prime scoring opportunity. Lemon finished with four receptions for 76 yards, and most of his production came when he wasn’t covered by Moore.

Lemon has gotten a lot of media love this season and high projections. However, Lemon has made a lot of highlight reel contested catches over defensive backs. Lemon has not been torching defenders and creating huge separation. That was proven versus Notre Dame. At 5-foot-11, 195 pounds, Lemon is not a big receiver who can rely on outfighting NFL cornerbacks for contested catches. Lemon is an interesting prospect, and he will need to show more ability to produce against good competition to have a shot at being a first-round pick.

Gray had an interesting game with feast-or-famine coverage. In the early going, he had a nice pass breakup, but then had a pass interference where he pulled down the wide receiver downfield. Late in the third quarter, Gray had a bad series. He started off with a breakup that was a nice play by Gray, but incompetent officiating called a pass interference that gave USC a first down. Notre Dame left Gray in man coverage on Ja’Kobi Lane, and he torched Gray on a go route for a 59-yard touchdown. Shortly later, Gray had tight coverage on a receiver running a crossing route, and Gray undercut the receiver to get a huge interception just before the start of the fourth quarter. After that, Lemon torched Gray on a 42-yard reception.

Gray has been very streaky this season and could be too inconsistent to receive starter grades from NFL evaluators. Gray has good size and is physical, but he lacks speed and has some stiffness. He looks like a backup cornerback and special teams contributor for the NFL.

Notre Dame running back Jeremiyah Love looks like one of the top talents for the 2026 NFL Draft, and he quickly showed why against the Trojans. Early in the first quarter, Love showed tremendous vision on an interior run, finding an opening in the secondary after a safety bit on a misdirection. Love exploded down the field for a 63-yard gain. A few plays later, Love scored from 12 yards out with another run of excellent vision and cutting ability. In the second quarter, Love added another explosive run, going through a few tacklers before powering through a few Trojans for a 27-yard run. For the rest of the game, Love ripped off yards in chunks, including a drive where he led Notre Dame to the goal line and set up C.J. Carr for a short rushing touchdown. Love finished running for 228 yards on 24 carries with a touchdown. He had five catches for 37 yards.

For the NFL, Love looks like a three-down starter who is capable of being a work-horse back like Josh Jacobs or Nick Chubb. Love is a physical downhill runner with excellent vision, patience, and cutting ability. Love shows serious power to pick up yards after contact and is capable of creating on his own. In the passing game, Love is pro-ready and very impressive. He runs good routes from a variety of places, has soft hands, and is athletic to adjust to the ball. Love has also blocked well in pass protection. As long as he can stay healthy, Love looks like a first-round pick for the 2026 NFL Draft.

Love’s backup, Jadarian Price, would be a starter at the vast majority of schools in the nation, and he could be a second-day pick in his draft class. Price was impressive in this game, showing his speed in the first quarter with a 32-yard run up the middle of the Trojans’ defense. Price finished that drive with a 10-yard touchdown run. In the third quarter, Price showed his special ability on a kickoff return. Price broke two tackles inside the 20, then he weaved through the coverage, and exploded down the field for a 100-yard score. Price finished running for 87 yards on 13 carries with a touchdown. He caught one pass for nine yards and had that massive kick return when Notre Dame had just given the lead to USC.

Price is a tough runner with a serious burst. He has good vision, cutting ability, and is a shifty runner. He could also be a good kick returner as a pro, especially with the new kickoff play in the NFL. If Price were to enter the 2026 NFL Draft, he could be a late second-round or third-round pick.

Texas Tech edge rusher David Bailey looks like a future first or second-round pick, and he has been on a tear this season. He had three sacks against Kansas, has logged at least .5 sacks in each game, and entered this contest with Arizona State with 8.5 sacks already in 2025. Bailey got off to a hot start and kept his sack streak alive versus the Sun Devils.

In the first quarter, Bailey had back-to-back sacks to force an Arizona State sack. On second down, Bailey stood up slightly behind the line of scrimmage over the left guard. After the snap, Bailey used the space to develop some speed to power to bull rush through the guard and start a gang sack for the Red Raiders. The second one was impressive as he took a chip from a tight end, then burned the left tackle with a spin move, and sacked Leavitt. In the third quarter, Bailey had a critical roughing the passer that gifted the Sun Devils a huge first down to keep a touchdown drive going.

For the NFL, Bailey is a fast and athletic speed rusher, but he is undersized. Bailey (6-3, 250) shows explosion off the snap with the speed to turn the corner and eat up ground in a hurry. While Bailey is not big or powerful, he can generate some speed to power to knock back blockers. Bailey also shows flexibility to rush from a variety of spots. He can stand over a blocker or put his hand in the ground. Bailey fights and competes in the ground game nicely on some plays, but he has limitations for the NFL, given his size. Teams like the Detroit Lions, which are looking for a base end who is big, strong, and a tough run defender who can set the edge, will not be high on Bailey. Other teams, like the Dallas Cowboys, who like ultra-fast twitchy edge rushers, will like Bailey.

Arizona State wide receiver Jordyn Tyson is one of the top receiving prospects for the 2026 NFL Draft. While Texas Tech did a nice job of limiting Tyson, he still found a way to contribute to some plays to help his team get a hard win over the No. 7-ranked team in the nation.

Tyson had a pass behind him, and he reached back to tip the ball and stayed with it to make a nice catch downfield. In the second quarter, Tyson had a tough catch along the sideline and took a hard hit. Later in the third quarter, Tyson tried to make a leaping grab but had a defender all over him to force an incompletion. On a third-and-goal midway through the third quarter, Tyson got open on a crossing route running to the flat, and he caught a short touchdown. Late in the fourth quarter on a fourth-and-2 with his team down a field goal, Tyson got off to a running start along the sideline, and Leavitt hit him on the run. Tyson pulled away for a 33-yard gain, but he looked like he was injured and got up gimpy. Tyson did not have the same speed, but he was gutting it out for his team. A few plays later, Tyson drew a pass interference in the end zone, and that set the ball up at the two-yard line for his team to score the game-winning touchdown with only seconds remaining on the clock. Tyson totaled 10 catches for 105 yards and a touchdown.

For the NFL, Tyson looks like a future starting receiver. He could be a versatile receiver whoå lines up as an X, Y, or Z receiver. With nice route-running and acceleration, Tyson can generate separation and is very smooth out of his breaks. He has good hands and is a polished wideout. In the 2026 NFL Draft, Tyson could be a first-round pick.

Oklahoma quarterback John Mateer got the 2025 season off to an impressive start, leading the Sooners to some big wins and showcasing his special skill set with a strong arm and mobility. Mateer injured the thumb on his throwing hand and was expected to be out for a month. Mateer rushed back from thumb surgery and played only 17 days later last week against Texas. Mateer really struggled against the Longhorns, throwing three terrible interceptions and taking some bad sacks. Mateer needed a bad bounce-back performance against the Gamecocks.

On the opening drive of the game, Mateer looked good, throwing some accurate strikes with good reads in the short to intermediate part of the field, and that helped set up a rushing score for the Sooners. Mateer mirrored that drive to set up another rushing score.

In the third quarter, Mateer made some nice throws, including a perfect strike on a third down that was dropped by his receiver. Mateer led a field goal drive midway through the third, and was fortunate that a diving Jalen Kilgore came up short for an interception when he snuck underneath a throwing lane to the slot receiver. That drive settled for a field goal, and late in the third quarter, Mateer did a pump fake to draw coverage and then lofted in a 20-yard touchdown pass. On the next drive, Mateer used his legs to run for a critical first down, pushing through a defender to reach the ball for the conversion. Mateer finished completing 18-of-26 passes for 150 yards with a touchdown and zero interceptions.

For the NFL, Mateer looks like a starter who could be a playmaking passer. Mateer is an accurate passer with good ball placement overall. He has a few throws get away from him each game, but Mateer has impressive precision as a passer. Mateer needs to improve his field vision, especially with zone coverage, as that weakness has led to some interceptions this season. Mateer is very mobile in the pocket and can hurt defenses on the ground. As a passer, Mateer is similar to Baker Mayfield, but Mateer is a better athlete and more dangerous with his feet. If Mateer plays well to close out the season, he could be a first-round pick in the 2026 NFL Draft, but Mateer may opt to go back to Oklahoma next season.

South Carolina quarterback LaNorris Sellers entered the 2025 season as one of the top quarterback prospects for the 2026 NFL Draft. However, Sellers has been inconsistent this season and has not shown strides in his development after a strong finish to the 2024 season. Sellers needs to show improvement in consistency down the stretch to ensure he is a first-round pick if he enters the 2026 NFL Draft.

Sellers started out the game leading a nice drive, throwing a bullet on an 11-yard hitch to Nyck Harbor, and moving deep into Oklahoma territory before a fourth-down run was stopped to kill the drive inside the five. After that opening possession, the Gamecocks’ offensive line was getting whipped up front and allowing Sellers

Late in the second quarter, Sellers converted a fourth-and-2 by using his speed to run to the perimeter for the yardage. A couple of plays later, Sellers was incredible in the pocket, dodging and juking a few defenders to avoid a sack. To end the drive, Sellers had three Sooners about to hit him, but he kept his eyes on the end zone and threw a pretty pass flat-footed to the back of the end zone for a touchdown. In the fourth quarter, Sellers bounced off two tackles to avoid a sack and keep his team out of a negative play. The very next play, he broke another sack in the pocket and then took off on a 10-yard run. However, the Gamecocks’ drives were stalling and not producing points as Oklahoma dominated the line of scrimmage. Sellers was under constant pressure, and the Sooners were hurrying him quickly. Sellers was 17-of-25 for 124 yards with a touchdown.

For the NFL, Sellers has the physical talent to be a starter. He is a big quarterback with a powerful arm and the ability to punish defenses deep down the field. Sellers is a dangerous runner who can extend plays, and his escapability in the pocket is tremendous. However, Sellers is inconsistent with his accuracy and pocket passing. He has issues with field vision and holding the ball too long. In many ways, Sellers is similar to Anthony Richardson coming out of Florida. While he has a great skill set, Sellers is going to be a project who needs development for the NFL. Team sources think Sellers should go back to school next year to improve and develop his accuracy before going to the pros.