Notre Dame vs. N.C. State; Saturday, Sept. 9, 12:00 PM ET ABC
The Prospects:
Notre Dame
LT Joe Alt, No. 76QB Sam Hartman, No. 10RB Auric Estimé, No. 7DE Javontae Jean-Baptiste, No. 1DT Howard Cross III, No. 56CB Cam Hart, No. 5
N.C. State
QB Brennan Armstrong, No. 5
The Matchups: The best prospect in this game is Alt, who could be a first-round pick next April in the 2024 NFL Draft. Hartman and Armstrong are potential third-day prospects who could rise with a strong senior years.
Texas A&M vs. Miami; Saturday, Sept. 9, 3:30 PM ET ESPN2
The Prospects:
Texas A&M
WR Ainias Smith Jr., No. 00LT Trey Zuhn III, No. 60RB Amari Daniels, No. 4DE Fadil Diggs, No. 10
Miami
S Kamren Kinchens, No. 5S James Williams, No. 20DE Akheem Mesidor, No. 3C Matt Lee, No. 55G Javion Cohen, No. 70QB Tyler Van Dyke, No. 9TE Elijah Arroyo, No. 80
The Matchups: Kinchens is the best prospect in this game, and he will see some young receiving talent from the Aggies. Smith is a shifty wideout who should challenge Kinchens and Williams. Van Dyke had a breakout 2021 and disappointed in 2022, so playing well against an SEC defense in Week 2 of 2023 would be help to get a rebound season started.
Iowa vs. Iowa State; Saturday, Sept. 9, 3:30 PM ET FOX
The Prospects:
Iowa
CB Cooper DeJean, No. 3LB Nick Jackson, No. 10QB Cade McNamara, No. 12TE Erick All, No. 83TE Luke Lachey, No. 85
Iowa State
T.J. Tampa, No. 2
The Matchups: Iowa State has fielded a number of potent passing attacks under head coach Matt Campbell, so this could be a good test for DeJean. The Cyclones have a nice defensive back prospect of their own in T.J. Tampa.
Texas vs. Alabama; Saturday, Sept. 9, 7:00 PM ET ESPN
The Prospects:
Texas
WR Xavier Worthy, No. 1QB Quinn Ewers, No. 3WR Adonai Mitchell, No. 5WR Jordan Whittington, No. 13TE Ja’Tavion Sanders, No. 0RB Keilan Robinson, No. 7DT T’Vondre Sweat, No. 93DT Jaylan Ford, No. 41
Alabama
WR Jermaine Burton, No. 3WR Ja’Corey Brooks, No. 7C Seth McLaughlin, No. 56RB Josh Williams, No. 27RT J.C. Latham, No. 65QB Jalen Milroe, No. 4RB Jase McClellan, No. 2LB Chris Braswell, No. 41LB Dallas Turner, No. 15CB Kool-Aid McKinstry, No. 1CB Terrion Arnold, No. 3S Malachi Moore, No. 13
The Matchups: There are some excellent draft matchups in this game with the Texas receivers taking on the Alabama cornerbacks. It will be great to see if McKinstry and Arnold can handle the speed of Worthy. If the Crimson Tide corners show the ability to run with Worthy, that could really help them illustrate that they could cover fast receivers at the next level.