Week 4 of the 2022 college football season is on deck and features plenty of top 2023 NFL draft prospects in action, eager to make a statement. Could this be the week the top of the receiver class produces? And what will Ohio State quarterback C.J. Stroud do against a tough Wisconsin defense?
Outside of Wisconsin-Ohio State, Wake Forest gets Clemson’s excellent defensive front in a meeting of ranked teams, and Florida makes a trip to Tennessee. Texas and Texas Tech will do battle in Lubbock, Notre Dame tries to get back on track at UNC, and Arkansas gets a test against Texas A&M. As part of the late slate, Stanford meets Washington in a Pac-12 showdown.
Ahead of the loaded schedule, NFL draft analysts Todd McShay, Jordan Reid and Matt Miller pick out prospects to watch this weekend, along with the one thing they are keeping an eye on. Then Steve Muench points to a small-school prospect who could get more draft attention with a big performance. Our experts wrap it all up by making one big prediction for Week 4 and then emptying their notebooks with everything they saw and heard this week heading into this weekend’s games. Let’s get started with the top prospects to watch this week.
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Prospects to know | What to watch
Small-schooler | Big predictions
Emptying the notebook
Plant your flag: Who is your guy to watch this weekend?
Miller: C.J. Stroud, QB, Ohio State (vs. Wisconsin). He has dominated the stat sheet so far — 941 passing yards, 11 TDs and zero interceptions — but the 6-foot-3, 218-pound passer hasn’t really been tested, playing against Notre Dame, Arkansas State and Toledo. Wisconsin’s defense, led by coordinator Jim Leonhard, will give him his best challenge to date; premier edge rusher Nick Herbig and defensive tackle Keeanu Benton can wreck a game plan.
Scouts will be watching Stroud closely. How will he manage pressure? Will he use his legs to manipulate and move in the pocket? Stroud has been close to perfect this season and is my current QB1, and Saturday night serves as a great opportunity to further establish his case to be the draft class’ top quarterback.
McShay: Nick Herbig, OLB, Wisconsin (at Ohio State). I’m looking at the flip side of that Wisconsin-OSU matchup. Herbig is an undersized (6-foot-2, 228 pounds) but sudden and relentless edge rusher, and he knows how to set up offensive tackles with his lightning-quick hands and devastating redirect quickness on outside-in moves.
He is currently tied for sixth in the FBS with…
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