2027 NFL Draft: College Game Recaps – Week 8

Prior to getting to the performance of the quarterback prospects, this game was a bloodbath for injuries for NFL prospects. Elite Texas edge rusher Colin Simmons was already out with a high ankle sprain, but early in the first quarter, Longhorns left tackle Trevor Goosby had to be carted into the locker room. While pass blocking, a leg gave out on Goosby, and it looked like he was in a lot of pain. Goosby returned to the sideline on crutches. His injury could have a huge impact on his draft stock and whether he enters the draft.

In the third quarter, Rebels tackle Will Echoles went into the locker room, but he returned to the field later. Ole Miss running back Kewan Lacy has been banged up this year and was injured again. In the third quarter, Lacy was being gang tackled and was driven down hard on his shoulder. It was the same shoulder that was injured against LSU, and Lacy’s frustrating season continued.

Texas quarterback Arch Manning had some rough games against Oklahoma and Florida to really hurt his draft stock. Manning has struggled with field vision, turnovers, decision-making, and inconsistent play. He really needed a big performance against Ole Miss to help right the ship. Overall, this game was a mixed outing and is more suggestive of him needing to return to school.

In the first quarter, Manning did a nice job of throwing into a blitz to hit a receiver on the run for a chunk gain. He had a few other completions to set up a field goal for Texas. Later in the first quarter, Manning was watching a receiver in the flat, and he had his pass undercut for an interception. Luckily for Manning, Chambliss threw an interception the very next play. Manning’s next throw was a perfect deep ball to Cam Coleman for what should have been a 59-yard touchdown, but Coleman dropped the easy catch. It was reminiscent of his drop against Ohio State earlier this season.

Manning responded with a short bootleg pass to Ryan Wingo, and he exploded down the field for a 43-yard gain. To cap the drive, Manning scored on a two-yard run. On the next drive, he had a good run to get a third-down conversion. Manning then laid out a perfect deep ball to Wingo for a 50-yard touchdown. It was a perfect read and throw from Manning after Wingo ran a great route, getting Antonio Kite turned around and separating from the Rebels cornerback. It was a great opening half for Manning

Early in the third quarter, Manning held the ball long, and the backup left tackle gave up a blindside strip-sack that was recovered in the end zone for a touchdown for Ole Miss. Early in the fourth quarter, Manning made a bad decision and threw a ball up for grabs that fell into a defensive back like a punt. After the Longhorns' running backs set up the offense at the goal line, Manning did a nice play-fake to run to the perimeter for a touchdown. Manning finished completing 18-of-30 passes for 212 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions. He had two rushing touchdowns as well.

Regarding the NFL and the 2027 NFL Draft, Manning should probably return to Texas next season or transfer to another school for his football development. If he enters the draft, he still could be a first-round pick, as plenty of teams are in need of a young starter and Manning has a good skill set and family pedigree. However, as a player, he needs to improve his field vision, accuracy, and decision-making. Given the family history, it would not be surprising if Manning does return to school and looks to improve before taking on the NFL.

Ole Miss quarterback Trinidad Chambliss has enjoyed a good season to elevate his draft stock. Some team sources feel Chambliss is a worthy first-rounder while others do not. The ones that don’t feel he is a run-around guy who has issues working out of the pocket in part because he is short. The 6-foot Chambliss needs to show passing ability when defenses are keeping him in the pocket, and this game against Texas was a mixed outing in this regard.

Late in the first quarter, Chambliss made a bad throw, throwing short to his slot receiver, but a Texas defender was watching Chambliss’ eyes, and he undercut the route for an interception. Throughout the first half, Texas was doing a nice job of keeping Chambliss confined in the pocket, and they batted three passes down from the short quarterback. At the end of the first half, Chambliss helped move the ball close to the end zone, but he forced a pass into a tight window to a well-covered receiver, and it was intercepted by Rasheem Biles. Chambliss nightmare first half saw him complete only 6-of-18 for 63 yards with two interceptions.

Midway through the third quarter, Chambliss was able to get a six-yard touchdown pass with a perfectly accurate throw along the sideline. Chambliss was able to get away from the line to get a clear view of the play. Shortly later, Chambliss laid out a perfect deep ball from the pocket, and his receiver dropped what should have been a 45-yard completion. Early in the fourth quarter, Chambliss threw some good passes from the pocket, including an out route to move the sticks. Chambliss had a clean pocket and lofted in a 27-yard touchdown pass to Horatio Fields to tie the game at 24. Chambliss came up short on a few drives, forcing punts that led to Texas taking the lead. Chambliss did lead a field goal drive, and then Ole Miss shockingly recovered an onside kick to give Chambliss one chance to tie the game. He moved the ball into Texas territory, but on a Hail Mary, Chambliss was intercepted to clinch the win for Texas. Chambliss finished completing 25-of-52 passes for 250 yards with two touchdowns and three interceptions.

This tape is not going to help Chambliss draft grade. While he had some good plays and made some nice throws from the pocket, he struggled mightily in the first half, and those struggles illustrated potential issues in the NFL. Defenses are going to play him in containment regularly, so he is going to have to continue to improve in his pocket passing ability. Chambliss is great throwing on the run with a strong and accurate arm. He also is superb at ad-libbing his team into big plays. However, Chambliss has some limitations that are going to have to be accounted for by his pro team.

This game had the potential for a good draft matchup, with Michigan cornerback Zeke Berry being challenged by Indiana star wide receivers Charlie Becker and Nick Marsh. Becker looks like a pick for the top half of the first round; Marsh could also go on opening night, and Berry is an early-rounder. All good receivers are dependent on their quarterback and offensive line playing well, and that was proven again as Indiana quarterback Josh Hoover and the offensive line struggled versus Michigan to limit what their star receivers could do. Another reason why the Indiana offense struggled was a tremendous performance from Berry that is going to help him a lot in the months to come.

In the second quarter, Berry looped around the line to make a tackle in run support near the line of scrimmage. Shortly later, Berry had a good tackle on Josh Hoover on a third-down scramble to stop him short of first-down yardage and force a field goal. Late in the second quarter, Berry had excellent coverage running with Marsh down the sideline, and Berry looked back at the quarterback at the perfect time to make a diving breakup that got his defense off the field. Late in the third quarter, Berry made a game-changing play with his team down 6-0. Berry was in off-man coverage and read the eyes of Josh Hoover to undercut Marsh for an interception with a 37-yard return to set up his offense at the Indiana 13.

This tape is going to help Berry a lot with pro evaluators in the months to come. Berry had sticky coverage on Marsh, showing the ability to run the route to prevent separation. He had excellent technique on when to look back for the ball and showed an excellent ability to play the ball. His ball skills with the batted pass and interception were impressive. Plus, Berry tackled and was active as a run defender and played well on special teams. Berry could end up getting late first-round consideration and looks like a second-round pick at the lowest.

Michigan limited Becker to 32 yards on three catches, and Marsh had two receptions for 25 yards. On the first play from scrimmage, Marsh caught a pass and had a nice run, weaving through defenders and was on his way to a long gain but had a foot step out of bounds. Late in the second quarter, Becker ran a good route on an out for a leaping grab of 17 to set up a field goal for the Hoosiers on the final play of the first half. That proved to be a big play in the game. Overall, this tape won’t hurt or help Becker and Marsh for the 2027 NFL Draft.