Today, I wanted to highlight five players who lived up to my preseason expectations in week one, as well as two players who didn’t show me what I wanted to see this weekend. Keep in mind, that the highlighted players here will only be draft-eligible prospects.
Inspiring Performances:
Cameron Ward, QB, Miami:
26/35, 385 yards, 3 TDs, 1 Int. vs. Florida Gators
Last year, I jumped on the Cam Ward hype train. His keen ability to make plays out of structure screamed “pro QB” at me. Ward went through the draft process last season before inevitably returning to college and transferring to Miami. After one week, it appears Ward made the correct choice. The Miami Hurricanes traveled to an extremely hostile environment in Gainesville and put a beatdown on the Florida Gators. Ward was efficient and crisp with his throws. He made multiple plays outside of a structure. In short, Ward made it a very long day for the Florida Gators defense. I rank Ward as a day two kind of prospect, however, with the massive jump we saw fifth-year senior Jayden Daniels take a season ago at LSU, it wouldn’t be unprecedented to see Ward play his way into first-round conversations as the year goes on. Bravo, Cam Ward.
Garrett Nussmeier, QB, LSU
30/39, 308 yards, 2 TDs, 1 INT vs. USC Trojans
Coming into the 2024 season, Garrett Nussmeier was a name I circled in hopes of seeing a big year from the junior QB down in Baton Rouge. While his team came up short in week one, Nussmeier’s performance was worthy of a win. Nussmeier was poised, for a guy making one of his handful of starts, he looked comfortable. Nussmeier was accurate to all three levels of the football field. The third-year gunslinger looks prepared to make a jump up pro boards as the spring draft draws closer. Coming into the season I have Nussmeier as a fringe first-round selection with the potential to become a top-half of the first round type of prospect. Nussmeier continues to impress me.
Xavier Restrepo, WR, Miami
7 recs, 112 yards, 1 TD vs. Florida Gators
Since the last draft cycle, I’ve held senior wide-out Xavier Restrepo in high regard. Restrepo opted to return to school to team up with the above highly touted transfer Cameron Ward. In week one, that connection looked lethal. Restrepo has a slim frame, but his foot speed and crafty routes jump out as pro traits to me. Restrepo is a pure slot player, that projects to be a reliable set of hands for any team that gives him a shot in the late day two, early day three section of the NFL Draft. If Restrepo can continue to put on these types of performances, I could see him playing his way into a late second, early third-round selection. Watch out for #7 in the orange and green.
Miller Moss, QB, USC
27/36 378 yards, 1 TD vs. LSU Tigers
Miller Moss! I was super excited to see this guy play following his dominant performance in the Holiday Bowl against the Louisville Cardinals. He went out there against LSU with the same grit and moxie that I saw last December. Moss has an edge about him that will fire up any casual viewer. While Moss’ physical abilities may not square up with those of one Caleb Williams, I think Moss may contain more winning traits than Williams showed last year. No, of course, I’m not saying Miller Moss surpasses Caleb Williams as a prospect, however from a thousand-yard scope it looks like Moss may galvanize his teammates for effectively than the most recent first overall pick. I view Moss as a mid-round, projectable backup type of prospect. However, with continued performances like the one we just saw, Moss could make himself a day two type of prospect who gets early opportunities to start early in the NFL. Miller Moss is a fun watch.
Ashton Jeanty, RB, Boise State
20 carries, 267 yards, 6 TDs vs. Georgia Southern
That’s right, 6 touchdowns. Everyone has seen Ashton Jeanty’s electric performance against Georgia Southern. It’s validating to see my preseason RB1, dominate early on in the season. Georgia Southern had no answers for the 5’9 215 lb. truck running at them all night. Jeanty projects as a late first round prospect for me, excited to see more reps from Jeanty in the receiving game as the season goes on. This could be another Bijan Robinson-type situation where a young offensive-minded head coach takes a shot on the tailback in the top 10. Incredible performance from Jeanty, excited to see how he builds off of this.
Let down performances:
Donovan Smith, QB, Houston
15/30, 135 yards, 0 TDs, 2 Ints vs. UNLV
Donovan Smith is a guy I hold in high regard, he did not live up to my expectations in week one. Smith looked lost at times, taking multiple sacks, throwing multiple interceptions. It wasn’t pretty for Smith who was replaced and outplayed by a backup. I didn’t see Smith as a draftable prospect last year, but he was a guy with all the physical traits to make a large jump into the first round type of conversation. It will be interesting to see how Smith bounces back next week for the Cougars. Week one left me disappointed with Smith’s outlook for the 2024 season.
Connor Weigman, QB, Texas A&M
12/30 100 yards, 0 TDs, 2 Ints vs. Notre Dame
I’ve been caught up in the Connor Weigman hype as the offseason has rolled on. The throws Weigman put on tape pre-injury last season were extremely impressive. However, we didn’t see any of the impressive physical tools in Weigman’s week one matchup against a stout Notre Dame defense. I don’t think all hope is lost with Weigman, this was his first start post-injury and with a more favorable next couple of matchups, I think Weigman can bounce back in a big way. I see Weigman as a fringe first round prospect with the potential to become the number one pick in this year’s NFL Draft. If you ask me, I think Weigman will get back on the horse and lead Texas A&M to a successful season in year one under Mike Elko. Trust the process with Connor Weigman.