Clemson vs. LSU
Will Heldt #13 - ED
Heldt spent two years at Purdue before transferring to Clemson for the 2025 season and he took the lead role right away. Even with the eventual 35th overall pick in the 2026 Draft, TJ Parker, it was Heldt who led the team in pressures, sacks, tackles for loss, and tackles. The 6’6/250 pounder plays with sound technique from start to finis and is very physical with plenty of hustle. Heldt appears a step ahead mentally snap to snap. The question with him is immediate burst, as he normally gets away winning with his hand strength and power.
Jahiem Lawson #15 - ED
Lawsone enters the year with less spotlight after starting just four games over four years with the program. The brother of former Clemson Tiger and former first round pick (to Buffalo) Shaq Lawson, Jahiem emerged last season as a movable chess piece and rotational edge defender. The team used him as a blitzing interior rusher over the back half of the year and he thrived. His dense frame (6’2 / 250) can play the power game and he has an arsenal of rush moves to win from all angles. With Parker off to the NFL, we will finally get to see what he can do in an every down role.
Also keep an eye on:
Bryant Wesco Jr. #12 - WR
TJ Moore #1 - WR
Jahiem Lawson #15 - ED
Sammy Brown #47 - LB
Ashton Hampton #23 - CB
Jordan Seaton #77 - OT
The former number one offensive line recruit spent two seasons with Deion Sanders at Colorado. He started more games as a true freshman than anyone in program history and had a ten-game stretch with zero sacks allowed. There were growing pains, however. His 15 penalties were the fourth most (out of 2,000 linemen) and he allowed a team-high 30 pressures. Fast forward to 2025 and he cut the penalties down to four and the pressures down to just seven. Of the 231 tackles with over 300+ pass protection snaps, that was sixth best. Seaton has the size and athletic ability to be a true OT1 in most draft classes, now it is a matter of proving he can play with man-strength in the run game and more consistent hand placement against power rushers.
Also keep an eye on:
Sam Leavitt #10 - QB
Trey’Dez Green #7 - TE
Braelin Moore #61 - OC
Princewill Umanmielen #1 - ED
TJ Dottery #6 - LB
Ty Benefield #2 - S
Northern Arizona vs. Arizona
Northern Arizona:
Ty Pennington - QB
This is the one matchup the Lumberjacks have against an FBS defense all year. After a comeback victory in week zero, Pennington (who has had a dozen scouts visit so far this summer) must prove he can speed up his process and adjust to how fast things move when the level of competition increases. Already sought after by the Canadian Football league, the fifth-year senior has 34 touchdowns versus just 7 interceptions since transferring from Pittsburg State in 2024.
Tre Smith #3 - ED
The entire Arizona defense will be the test for Pennington but one player to keep an eye on is the sizable (6’5/265) Smith who plays multiple positions along the defensive line. The sixth-year senior spent three seasons at San Jose State prior to transferring to Arizona where he put himself on the radar in 2024 with a team-high 38 pressures which is the most by a Wildcat defender since Reggie Gilbert in 2015 who had a solid NFL career. Smith is bouncing back from a shoulder injury that limited him to just five games in 2025 but the older-than-average prospect has the size and play strength to attract the numerous defenses that play multiple fronts.
Stanford vs. Miami
Niki Prongos #66 - OT
Prongos did not start playing football until his senior year of high school, thus he is much earlier on the progression curve than almost every prospect in the nation. After a three-year stint at UCLA, he transferred to Stanford for the 2025 season and ended with a very solid six-game stretch, putting him on the NFL radars as a potential day two pick. As expected for an athlete who was more into basketball growing up, the lack of core strength is the primary limiter but he has the kind of balance and coordination on a 6’7” / 315 pound frame that is not easy to find.
Damon Wilson II #10 - ED
At this time last year, Miami edge rushers Rueben Bain Jr. and Akheem Mesidor were on the NFL radar but nobody was ready for a combined 150+ pressures and two eventual top 22 picks. The next one in line is Wilson, a transfer from Missouri who finished second team All-SEC after leading the team with nine sacks. The immediate burst and bend were the key traits that had him finish top ten in the Power Four in pressures. Of those ten, only one had less pass rush attempts than Wilson.
Sleeper Prospect:
A prospect very few are talking about
Devon Jackson - LB / Oregon
A starting linebacker from a perennial powerhouse program may not seem like the typical sleeper prospect but consider this: Jackson will enter 2026 with just four career starts under his belt (none of which came after week five). The fifth-year linebacker has a track background very few players can match, all positions. The former state champ sprinter has been clocked at 24 miles per hour according to the Bruce Feldman Freak List, a number nobody has ever heard a front seven defender touching. He also has a 675-pound squat. On the field, Jackson does not play with heavy contact but he can play sideline to sideline and his length makes him a weapon in coverage. He simply needs to prove he has developed eye awareness, consistent instincts, and reliable tackling in space. He has the kind of frame (6’2 / 242) that screams NFL linebacker and athletic ability very few, if any, can touch. How he fares this season could put him in the mid-round discussion.