2025 NFL Draft: College Football Game Recaps – Week 12

Georgia quarterback Carson Beck has really struggled in SEC play this season, with some horrible games, throwing a plethora of interceptions. Beck’s turnovers led to the Bulldogs’ loss to Alabama. Beck threw three interceptions a couple of weeks ago against Florida, and a week ago, he had turnover issues that led to a loss versus Ole Miss. Beck was in dire need of a good game versus Tennessee. While he did not dominate the Volunteers, he played better with improved ball security.

The Tennessee defense did a good job of forcing punts in the first quarter, but early in the second quarter, Beck got the Bulldogs on the board by throwing a frozen rope to the back of the end zone for a 19-yard touchdown to tight end Oscar Delp. Shortly later, Beck and Delp connected for a four-yard touchdown as he was wide open in the back of the end zone with Tennessee busting the coverage. Beck finished completing 25-of-40 for 346 yards with two touchdowns and zero turnovers.

Beck should return to Georgia next season. He has a powerful arm and can shred a defense with a clean pocket. However, Beck can get rattled, leading to him making bad decisions. Beck has inconsistent accuracy and has thrown too many bad interceptions this season. He struggles against the pass rush, leading to him being reckless with the ball. If Beck enters the draft, he could be a mid-rounder with the potential to become a starter, given his powerful arm and size. However, Beck should return to school and improve in 2025 before entering the 2026 NFL Draft.

This game had four defensive linemen who will be early-round picks next year, but surprisingly, they were all pretty quiet. Tennessee edge rusher James Pearce Jr. and Volunteers defensive tackle Omarr Norman-Lott were not very active. In the second quarter, Pearce had a nice play looping around the middle of the line on an interior run defender and then made a tackle for a loss of one. In the third quarter, Pearce burned the Georgia left tackle with a speed rush, but Beck stepped up in the pocket to avoid Pearce. Midway through the third quarter, Norman-Lott came off the field with the trainers. Team sources like both Pearce and Norman-Lott and they should have plenty of teams hoping to land them in the 2025 NFL Draft.

The Georgia edge rush tandem of Mykel Williams and Jalon Walker was also quiet in the first half. In the fourth quarter, Williams got a push against the left guard, collapsing the pocket and almost smacking the ball free. In the second half, Walker made his presence felt. In the third quarter, he had a nice run tackle, and on the next play, Walker took down Volunteers quarterback Nico Iamaleava on a zone-read run for no gain. In the fourth quarter, Walker was blocked well on a play, but after the other three Georgia defenders almost got a sack, Walker chased down Iamaleava for a coverage sack. The next play, Walker used a rip move to get to the inside of the left tackle and got a strip-sack of Iamaleava. Overall, this tape will help Walker but won’t do much for Williams.

After serving as Jayden Daniels backup for the last two years, LSU quarterback Garrett Nussmeier has been a rising prospect this season. However, the last two weeks have been rough for him. After a blowout loss to Alabama, Nussmeier had ball security issues against Florida that led to a surprising upset for the Gators. Overall, this tape is going to hurt Nussmeier’s draft grade.

Midway through the second quarter, Nussmeier made a superb play, stepping up in the pocket, taking a hit as he threw, and lofting in a perfect pass to Adam Anderson in the middle of the end zone for a 28-yard touchdown. Nussmeier led a field goal drive with some precision passes.

In the third quarter, Nussmeir got lucky when he had a fumble at his own 10-yard line recovered by an LSU guard. On the same drive, Nussmeier missed a deep ball to an open receiver for what would have gone for about a 70-yard touchdown. Nussmeier just put too much air underneath it and overthrew his wide out. Later on the drive, Nussmeier made an excellent play, dodging two defenders in the pocket before rolling out and throwing a strike on the run to the sideline for a third down conversion. That conversion set up a field goal to take the lead. But on the next drive, Nussmeier held the ball too long and was strip-sacked. Right tackle Emery Jones scooped up the ball, but he fumbled when getting tackled, and the Gators recovered that loose ball.

Late in the fourth quarter, Nussmeier looked rattled, and the Gators teed off on him. He was holding the ball too long and had some passes with placement that was difficult for his receivers to catch. Nussmeier completed 27-of-47 passes for 260 yards with a touchdown and multiple fumbles. Nussmeier has a good arm and passing ability, but he might be better off returning to school for another season as a starter before entering the NFL Draft.

LSU left tackle Will Campbell and right tackle Emery Jones Jr. are early-round prospects, but this tape will not help either of them. In the first quarter, Will Campbell showed his quickness and athleticism to get to the second level for some key blocks that sprung his back for chunk runs. However, he hurt that promising drive with a false start. In the third quarter, Nussmeier stepped up in the pocket, and Campbell’s rusher raced back toward the line of scrimmage to chase Nussmeier down for a sack. Shortly later, a similar play happened where Campbell blocked his man, but when Nussmeier stepped up in the pocket, the defender was right there to push off Campbell and get a sack. Jones gave up some pressures with Gator defensive linemen using speed and quickness to get upfield against him. Jones gave up a sack late in the fourth quarter as an end shed his block and collapsed the pocket to get a hard hit on Nussmeier. Both players hurt their grades by allowing pressures and sacks and not keeping a clean pocket for Nussmeier.

LSU edge rusher Bradyn Swinson has had a very good season for the Tigers, and his strong play continued against the Gators. After being suspended for the first quarter for “not meeting team standards,” Swinson made an excellent play in run defense, pushing his blocker back and starting a gang tackle for no gain. Later, Swinson forced a third-down incompletion with a speed rush around the right tackle, and in the third quarter, he pushed through a block from the left tackle to get a tackle for a loss. Early in the fourth quarter, Swinson burned the left tackle with a speed rush, but D.J. Lagway stepped up to pull away from Swinson’s hand on his shoulder.

The 6-foot-4, 250-pound Swinson is a tough defender at the point of attack. He is strong to shed blocks and has the speed to run around the corner. At 6-foot-4, 250 pounds, Swinson is not big but has some size to him where he could play in a 4-3 or 3-4 defense. Swinson looks like a future NFL starter who could be a first- or second-round pick next April.

While the Utah Utes are not as tough on defense as they have been in recent years, they still have some talent to challenge Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders, and the Utes had the No. 1 rated defense in the Big 12. Sanders had a mixed outing against Utah. While he made some nice plays, he made uncharacteristic mistakes in decision-making and ball security.

At the beginning of the first quarter, Sanders had a poor read trying to hit a deep cross, and linebacker Lander Barton undercut the pass for an easy interception. Sanders bounced back midway through the first quarter when he lofted in a 40-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Will Sheppard. Sheppard made a fantastic adjustment to stop and cut in front of the cornerback to make a leaping grab. Midway through the second quarter, Sanders helped Utah get back in the game when he fumbled a shotgun snap. Sanders should have dove on the ball, but he tried to pick it up and Utah was able to dive on the ball.

Utah started to get back in the game, but Sanders put it away early in the fourth quarter when he threw a perfect strike over the cornerback and in front of the safety to hit his receiver on the run. He dodged a few tacklers on his way to a 47-yard touchdown. Sanders finished completing 30-of-41 passes for 340 yards with three touchdowns, an interception, and a fumble.

For the NFL, Sanders has the ability to be a starting quarterback. He has enough arm strength and throws the ball very accurately. Sanders has excellent ball placement downfield while also being able to throw precision strikes in the short to intermediate part of the field. Sanders has good instincts, football I.Q., and enough athleticism to use his feet at times to help his line and take yards the defense is giving away. There are things Sanders can improve for the NFL. The number one issue to improve is he has to get the ball out faster as he will hold the ball for too long. That puts too much pressure on his offensive line and leads to him taking unnecessary sacks and hits. Secondly, Sanders needs to anticipate receivers coming open more, as he will wait to see them break open before pulling the trigger on the throw. Sanders is worthy of being a first-round pick and

Colorado cornerback Travis Hunter is on his way to being one of the top prospects, regardless of position, for the 2025 NFL Draft. He had a solid but imperfect performance against Utah. At the very end of the first quarter, Hunter was Johnny on the spot as a tipped pass floated to Hunter for his third interception of the season. Just before halftime, Hunter made a highlight reel catch, leaping over two defenders for a 28-yard gain. Hunter took a reverse for a short touchdown run late in the fourth quarter. Hunter caught five passes for 55 yards, one rushing touchdown, one interception, and one touchdown allowed.

Midway through the third quarter, Hunter was in man coverage down the deep sideline. Hunter got caught peaking into the backfield, which let the receiver get a step on Hunter running into the end zone. It was a perfect pass, and it dropped in for a 40-yard touchdown. It was the first touchdown that Hunter has given up this season.

This tape won’t help Hunter’s draft grade after giving up that touchdown, but he still had splash plays to help his team win by setting up a touchdown on offense and intercepting a deflected pass on defense. It will be fascinating to see how Hunter is utilized in the NFL. The general consensus right now is that he would be a full-time cornerback and part-time receiver, but some scouts feel he should be a receiver full-time. Hunter looks poised to be a top-five pick next April.