2024 NFL Draft: College Football Game Recaps – Week 2

There were some very good NFL draft matchups with the Texas receivers taking on the Alabama defensive backs. Overall, the Longhorns receivers won the matchup, and this tape is going to end up hurting the draft grades of Crimson Tide cornerbacks Kool-Aid McKinstry and Terrion Arnold. The speed of Longhorns Xavier Worthy and Adonai Mitchell gave McKinstry and Arnold a lot of problems.

Early in the second quarter, Arnold was struggling to run with the speed receiver Mitchell, and Arnold had to hold him from getting open for a long touchdown. The holding was correctly flagged. In the third quarter, Arnold made a nice play in run defense, darting past Mitchell to get into the backfield for a tackle for a loss. Also in the same quarter, Arnold broke well on a dig route to break up a pass, but then at the start of the fourth quarter, Arnold drew his second holding call after he had to grab onto Mitchell. Arnold being reduced to holding to prevent long pass plays means this tape is going to hurt his draft grade.

In the first quarter on a third-and-goal, Worthy got separation from McKinstry, but Worthy dropped the ball in the front of the end zone. At the start of the second quarter, Worthy ran a deep post out of the slot and burned a freshman safety to get open for a 44-yard touchdown. Mitchell got the better of McKinstry in the third quarter, making a back-shoulder reception for a 42-yard gain, and then in the fourth quarter, beat McKinstry again on a quick slant for a short touchdown. Team sources have not been as high on McKinstry as some of the media hype suggests, and this game illustrated why, as McKinstry showed some speed and stiffness issues that are going to be problematic for covering NFL receivers.

Mitchell (3-78) and Worthy (5-75-1) made key plays to help Texas. While neiter had a perfect performance, overall, this contest was a good showing for Mitchell and Worthy that illustrated they can generate separation and stretch defenses vertically.

Texas’ Ja’Tavion Sanders is an early-round tight end prospect for the 2024 NFL Draft, and he illustrated his receiving ability against Alabama. It started out roughly, with Sanders losing a reception after a hard hit from Malachi Moore, but Sanders bounced back to make some big plays. Sanders got open down the field for a gain of almost 40 yards. Then in the fourth quarter, he got open in zone and made an excellent run after the catch for a 50-yard gain. He had a nice gain on a tight end screen shortly later, but that was canceled out by a penalty. In the fourth quarter, Mitchell burned a backup cornerback for a 39-yard touchdown. He totaled 114 yards on five receptions to lead the Longhorns in receiving.

Sanders will need to improve as a blocker for the next level, but the 6-foot-4, 245-pounder is a smooth receiver who runs well after the catch. He finds the soft spot in zone and is able to box out defensive backs for receptions. This tape will definitely help Sanders’ draft grade thanks to him showing his receiving potential to provide an impact at tight end in the NFL.

Obviously with the receivers and Sanders producing well against Alabama, the Longhorns had to have a good performance out of quarterback Quinn Ewers. All night, Ewers threw accurate strikes downfield, lofting his passes into windows in coverage and leading his receivers for yards after the catch. Ewers tossed a beautiful deep ball to Worthy for a 44-yard touchdown, and Ewers’ 39-yard scoring strike to Mitchell was perfect. Against Alabama, Ewers completed 24-of-38 passes for 349 yards, three touchdowns and zero interceptions. This tape definitely will help Ewers’ draft grade,s as he was accurate, smart, efficient, and took care of the football. This was a superb performance that should help Ewers with NFL evaluators.

Miami quarterback Tyler Van Dyke burst onto the scene in 2021 with a fabulous season, but his 2022 was lost to injury and inconsistency. The 2024 NFL Draft looks like it should have a competitive quarterback class, so Van Dyke is going to need a huge season to rise up the rankings. In this contest against a quality Texas A&M squad, Van Dyke played superb football, carrying his team and compensating for some of Miami’s problems on special teams.

In the first quarter, Van Dyke threw a perfect strike down the slot that led his receiver into the open field. That reception turned into a 48-yard gain for Xavier Restrepo. Van Dyke saw some well-thrown passes dropped by his receivers during the first half, but early in the second quarter, he laid out a perfect deep ball for receiver Isaiah Horton that let him coast 15 yards into the end zone for a 52-yard touchdown. Late in the first half, Van Dyke threw two superb passes to Colbie Young and Restrepo, showing superb touch and ball placement. Van Dyke finished that drive by rolling out before throwing a frozen rope for an 11-yard touchdown. It was a superb 2-minute drive that left the Hurrcanes up 21-17 at halftime. Van Dyke had 235 yards and three touchdowns at intermission, and his stats would have been even greater if it weren’t for dropped passes and a muffed punt.

In the third quarter, Van Dyke lofted in a pass in what should have been a touchdown, but the ball was dropped. The pass was a little long, but should have been caught. After settling for a field goal on that possession, Van Dyke came back to make an easy touchdown toss on a check-down to the flat. Late in the fourth quarter, Van Dyke put the game away by lofting in a pass about 30 yards downfield to Jacolby George, who broke a tackle and raced 64 yards for a touchdown.

Van Dyke completed 21-of-30 passes versus Texas A&M for 374 yards, five touchdowns and zero interceptions. He really should have been over 400 yards with six scores and just a few incompletions. Van Dyke was even better than his stats suggest given a number of dropped passes led to fewer yards and a forgone touchdown.

This game was a superb tape from Van Dyke. He surgically ripped the ball through the Texas A&M secondary. Van Dyke showed excellent accuracy, lofting in well-placed passes to all levels of the field. His deep ball would drop in beautifully with loft and precision that led his receivers for yards after the catch.

Miami safeties Kamren Kinchens and James Williams are future NFL starters who played well against the Agggies. In the first half, Williams got in on a number of tackles, including a touchdown-saving tackle inside the five yard line. Kinchens also notched a tackle near the end zone that prevented a score and kept himself around the ball. In the third quarter, Kinchens was in deep zone coverage when Texas A&M wide receiver Ainias Smith fell down. The pass then floated to Kinchens for an interception. He made a good return with the pick, setting up his offense deep in Texas A&M territory.

Later in the third quarter, Kinchens tracked a deep ball well and almost had another interception, but the pass fell incomplete thanks to three players having their hands on the ball. However to end the drive, Kinchens was coming downhill in run support and was rewarded for being around the ball with a clutch fumble recovery for the Hurricanes. Shortly later, Williams dished out a hard hit on the sideline that illustrated good range in coverage. Kinchens covered well throughout the second half, picking up receivers deep and covering a lot of ground on the deep end. Williams had a hard hit to force a completion that was a very good play, flying to the catch point to force an incompletion while punishing the opposition. A couple of plays later, Kinchens made a hard tackle downfield coming over in zone coverage and was seriously injured on the play. It looked like a head injury, and Kinchens was carted off the field with a neck brace.

Overall, this outing turned into good tape for both Kinchens and Williams. Kinchens was around the ball, showing his excellent instincts, range to cover a lot of ground, ball skills, and discipline. With his skill set and intelligence, Kinchens looks like a quick starter, and he could be a very good NFL free safety. Williams could be a nice fit as a strong safety and a dime linebacker. This tape will help Kinchens to be a potential first-round pick, assuming his injury is not serious or long-term, and help Williams to go on Day 2 of the 2024 NFL Draft.

Notre Dame left tackle Joe Alt is a potential top-10 pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, and Alt was going against a quality college defensive line with N.C. State and making his 24th straight start for the Fighting Irish. In the early going, Alt was winning his blocks and playing well. The game then went into a long weather delay. Afterawrd, Alt made a nice kick-out block to help spring his running back for an 80-yard touchdown. Shortly later in the second quarter, Alt was flagged for a holding penalty. Aside from that mistake, Alt cruised against N.C. State while Notre Dame pulled away for the road win.

Alt is a contributor in the ground game who uses his size to tie up defenders. Alt is not a physical force who will overpower and overwhelm defenders, knocking them backwards or rolling them around the field. He is more of a blocker who ties up defenders, stalls them, turns them, and manipulates them out of the play. Thanks to Alt’s mass and length, defenders can struggle to get free of him to get in on a tackle.

Alt has a natural advantage in pass blocking because he is particularly huge, which makes it hard for defenders to get around him. Alt’s mass and length forces them to take extra steps to get past him, which gives his quarterback a split second that can be valuable. Alt has good awareness, is smart, and has developed technique. With his length and mass, he ties up defenders and keeps them from shedding blocks easily.

Alt has adequate feet and quickness, but he is not an all-world athlete who possesses excellent speed on the edge. With his size, Alt is not a smooth mover who can slide his feet and glide easily to cut off speed rushers, like say Ronnie Stanley. Alt gets into trouble when he stands up too high and lets defenders get into his chest. Sometimes, he will bend at the waist and not at the knee.

This performance won’t hurt or help Alt significantly. Overall, it will serve to confirm his starting ability for the NFL. Assuming Alt stays consistent and healthy over the remainder of the season, he looks worthy of being a top-20 pick next April in the 2024 NFL Draft.

Kansas State guard Connor Beebe looks like he could be a future starter in the NFL. Beebe has a strong and thick build that makes him a tough blocker at the point of attack. He plays with good leverage staying low and getting his hands below the pads of defenders. Beyond having quality strength, Beebe has some quickness to the second level and is able to hit blocks on linebackers in space.

In pass protection, Beebe is steady and effective. He sets up well and is able to sink his weight to stone wall bull rushes. Beebe has sufficiently quick feet and just enough length to keep defenders from darting past him.

The Wildcats primarily played Beebe at guard versus Troy, but he also took some snaps at tackle. For the NFL, Beebe looks like a starting caliber guard. He could grade out as a second-day prospect for the 2024 NFL Draft.

Troy edge defender Richard Jibunor has been a consistent defender for the Trojans over the past two seasons. In both 2021 and 2022, he recorded 40 tackles with 7.5 sacks per year. Jibunor could have entered the 2023 NFL Draft, but he decided to return to Troy. Kansas State has a solid offensive line and was a step up in competition from Troy’s conference play. Thus, this was a good game for Jibunor to draw eyes.

In the first half against the Wildcats, Jibunor was a non-factor. He had one nice play, getting off a block and meeting a running back at the line of scrimmage, but Jibunor got run over by the back with an ugly tackling attempt. In the third quarter, Jibunor finally made his presence felt by getting a tackle in the ground game. He then used a club move on the right tackle to get free for a pressure. While it was a nice rush, Jibunor showed some stiffness, as he could not redirect when Kansas State quarterback Will Howard started to slide away from him. At least the pressure helped create a third-down incompletion. After that, Jibunor was quiet while Kansas State rolled Troy.

Jibunor looks like a late-round candidate for the next level. While has some straight-line quickness, Jibunor has limitations with some stiffness and a lack of size. He is listed at 6-foot-3, 229 pounds, which is very undersized for a pro edge rusher. Jibunor will have to move to outside linebacker and rush off the edge in the sub package. A lot of college defensive ends struggle with instincts, vision, and read-and-react when they are forced to move backward off the line of scrimmage and play traditional outside linebacker. Jibunor looks more like a third-day prospect for the 2024 NFL Draft and backup designated pass rusher candidate.