10 NFL Draft prospects to watch in Ohio State vs Texas

By Jack Brentnall

There are a few exciting matchups in Week 1, but the one I am most interested in from an NFL Draft perspective is Ohio State-Texas.

Not only does it play host to a litany of NFL Draft prospects, but it will also mark a repeat of last season’s College Football Playoff Semifinal, with the Longhorns looking for revenge.

Both teams are stocked with NFL talent, so this list is by no means comprehensive. Instead, I’ve tried to pick out the 10 names I am most interested to watch. For the sickos among you, I’ve included a long list of honourable mentions below.

Arch Manning - QB, Texas (6-4, 225, rs-Sophomore)

It feels silly to say for a player with fewer than 100 career pass attempts, but Arch Manning really needs no introduction. Being the nephew of a pair of Super Bowl winning uncles will do that to you.

After patiently waiting his turn for two seasons, Manning will finally get his opportunity to be the Longhorns’ full-time starter in 2025. If you go back and watch the reps he got in 2024, it is very easy to see why people are so excited.

Manning plays football exactly as you would expect for someone with his lineage. His mechanics are polished and repeatable, and he shows outstanding calmness in the pocket. Despite his inexperience he already shows good awareness of when to take risks downfield. Where he looks different from his uncles is in his impressive athletic profile.

The big question will be whether he looks like this as a full-time starter against top competition. His two career starts to this point came against ULM and Mississippi State – hardly powerhouses of college football. A big performance against the Buckeyes will no doubt send the Manning hype train into overdrive.

Trevor Goosby - OT, Texas (6-7, 312, rs-Sophomore)

In many ways, Goosby’s story is similar to that of Arch Manning’s, minus the storied football bloodlines of course. 

He redshirted the 2023 season, before serving as a backup behind Kelvin Banks and Cam Williams last season. Like Manning, he saw playing time as a result of injury, featuring at both left and right tackle. With both 2024 starters now in the NFL, Goosby looks set to serve as Manning’s blindside protector.

While still largely unproven, there is a lot to like about Goosby as a prospect. He has great size and length, with good foot quickness and redirect ability. His anchor is impressive too, and he has strong hands to latch and sustain.

As you would expect for a player with such limited experience, there are still some frustrating mental lapses on Goosby’s tape, whether that is failing to identify stunts or being called for penalties. He could be a huge riser in 2025 though, so seeing how he fares in a tough opener will be interesting.

Carnell Tate - WR, Ohio State

Ohio State has earned a reputation as a wide receiver pipeline in recent years. Every year there is at least one or two prospects of note, and this year it looks likely to be Tate.

A former four-star recruit, he played a bit-part role as a freshman before emerging as a key contributor in 2024 after the departure of Marvin Harrison Jr. Tate finished the year with 733 yards and four touchdowns on 52 catches.

As a prospect, Tate ticks the boxes in terms of explosiveness and a diverse release package. He also showcases reliable hands and is comfortable making adjustments around his frame.

Where he differs from some other recent Buckeye stars is that he still has room to develop as a route technician. While there are flashes of potential on tape, he lacks consistency and is prone to drifting and rounding out breaks. That is the sort of thing you would expect to be cleaned up with another season of starting experience, and it will be interesting to see how he looks vs Texas.

Jack Endries - TE, Texas (6-4, 236, rs-Junior)

Endries will be making his first start as a Longhorn this weekend after transferring from Cal. A former walk-on, he established himself as a key part of the Bears’ passing attack and formed a formidable partnership with Fernando Mendoza.

Texas fans will be hoping that he can do something similar with Arch Manning. This will after all be a new-look passing attack, with Matthew Golden, Isaiah Bond, and Gunnar Helm all departed.

Endries wins primarily as a pass catcher. He showcases soft and active hands, with a great feel for finding soft spots in zone coverage. He also has impressive speed once he gets into the open field.

Endries is undersized and would benefit from some added size and play strength. Scouts will also be looking for him to show development as a route runner, after a fairly simplistic role in Cal’s RPO-heavy offense. With Steve Sarkisian as his coach he is in a great place to develop though, and could start off with a bang in Week 1.

Max Klare - TE, Ohio State (6-5, 243, rs-Junior)

Endries isn’t the only tight end in a new spot in this game. Klare arrives in Columbus with lofty expectations after three years at Purdue.

The former-three star recruit is my top ranked tight end in the 2026 NFL Draft and I think he has the potential to put himself in the first round conversation with a strong year at Ohio State.

Klare is an exceptional athlete who offers an enticing blend of fluidity and explosiveness. He also shows real nuance as a route runner, knowing how to attack and manipulate defenders through the stem to create separation. What truly separates him from many of the other tight ends in this class is that, in addition to being a very talented pass catcher, he is also a tenacious and dependable inline blocker.

Texas’ defense is stocked full of talent, and this won’t be an easy test for Klare. It will interesting to see how Ohio State utilise him and what sort of impact he has in his debut as a Buckeye.

Anthony Hill Jr. - LB, Texas (6-3, 237, Junior)

Hill comes into this season as one of the most recognisable names on this Texas defense. With a number of big, experienced names departing, he will also serve as one of the leaders of this unit.

A Freshman All-American in 2023, Hill earned First Team All-SEC honours and First Team All-American honours in 2024. He finished last season with 100 tackles and 44 defensive stops, leading the Longhorns in both metrics.

Hill is a very good athlete, who also offers NFL-ready size and play strength. He is a very effective blitzer too, as evidenced by his 10 career sacks. The question facing him in 2025 is whether he can develop the instincts to really translate, becoming more of an anticipatory defender than a see-and-chase one.

Hill struggled when these two teams faced off last season, allowing five completions on five targets for 128 yards and a touchdown. His battle this weekend with new Buckeyes tight end Max Klare looks set to be one of the most exciting to watch.

Sonny Styles - LB, Ohio State (6-5, 243, Senior)

Texas aren’t the only team with a high-profile linebacker prospect. The son of a Super Bowl winning linebacker, Sonny Styles began his career at safety and saw playing time there in 2023, before making the transition to linebacker in 2024.

The move certainly paid off, with Styles finishing the season with 43 defensive stops, being named a Second Team All-Big Ten member in the process.

Styles’ safety background shows in his movement skills. He is an exceptional athlete, with rare fluidity and explosiveness for a player carrying 240+ lbs. A member of Bruce Feldman’s Freaks List, he has reportedly logged a 40” vertical and an 11ft broad jump. His 2024 tape was incredibly impressive for a player so new to the position, and he already shows the ability to be a useful player against the run, the pass, and as a pass rusher.

Steve Sarkisian’s offense is designed to put opposing linebackers in a bind, with its heady mix of motion, shifts, and RPOs. This will be a great test for Styles, whose matchup with new Longhorns tight end Jack Endries is sure to be worth a watch.

CJ Baxter - RB, Texas (6-1, 227, rs-Sophomore)

There might not be a player I am more interested to see in this matchup than Baxter. That is primarily because it is over 18 months since he last graced a football field. 

Baxter burst onto the scene as a true freshman in 2023, finishing the season with 665 yards and five touchdowns on 139 carries. He looked primed for a huge 2024 season, but didn’t play a single down after tearing his LCL and PCL in the offseason.

When he has been on the field, he has shown why he was one of the most highly touted recruits in his class. He has a truly rare combination of size and foot quickness, with a slippery running style to navigate traffic and find daylight. He is also a very natural hands catcher with clear upside in the passing game.

Baxter has room to improve – issues like poor pad level and a lack of aggression as a runner are frustrating – but fundamentally he needs to show scouts that he is back at full fitness and ready to be Texas’ lead back this season. It will be interesting to see how he looks this weekend.

Caleb Downs - S, Ohio State (6-0, 205, Junior)

If you do a straw poll of college football fans and draftniks, Downs has a good chance of being voted the best player in college football and the best prospect in the 2026 class.

Whilst I am not quite onboard with the generational tag that some have bestowed upon him, he is undoubtedly one of the better players in this year’s draft. Downs was a Second Team All-American selection and SEC Freshman of the Year in 2023 during his time at Alabama, and was a Unanimous All-American as a Buckeye in 2024.

As a prospect he offers outstanding football intelligence, with a lightning fast trigger and advanced understanding of coverage and run fits. He is also a physical and tenacious run defender, with the explosive athleticism to get downhill and hunt down ball carriers.

The weak points to his game centre primarily around his athleticism. Whilst he is a good athlete, he doesn’t quite have the long speed to hold up vs quicker players in man coverage and can struggle to mirror more dynamic receivers in the slot. Texas’ talented receiving corps should be a great test for him.

Davison Igbinosun - CB, Ohio State (6-2, 193, Senior)

Ohio State has a long history of producing NFL cornerbacks, and Igbinosun will be hoping to be the next in line.

The former four-star recruit began his career at Ole Miss, where he started as a true freshman. He subsequently transferred to the Buckeyes, and has been a mainstay on their defense ever since. He finished the 2024 season with two interceptions and eight pass breakups, allowing a passer rating of just 69.3.

It is easy to see why Igbinosun has been earning NFL interest. He has a good frame and is at home in press coverage where he can take the fight to the offense. He is also a reliable defender in run support.

The big worry with him though is that he tends to take that physicality too far. He is incredibly grabby through the route and was called for 16 penalties. For context, that is five more than any other defender in the country. Scouts will want to see him play more under control and win with technique this season, and he will get an immediate opportunity to show what he can do against a talented Texas offense.

Honourable mentions

  • Jack Bouwmeester – P, Texas
  • Cole Brevard – IDL, Texas
  • Ethan Burke – EDGE, Texas
  • DJ Campbell – IOL, Texas
  • Caden Curry – EDGE, Ohio State
  • CJ Donaldson – RB, Ohio State
  • Jaylon Guilbeau – CB, Texas
  • CJ Hicks – EDGE, Ohio State
  • Cole Hutson – IOL, Texas
  • Kenyatta Jackson – EDGE, Ohio State
  • Will Kacmarek – TE, Ohio State
  • Jermaine Mathews Jr. – CB, Ohio State
  • Kayden McDonald – IDL, Ohio State
  • Trey Moore – EDGE, Texas
  • Malik Muhammad – CB, Texas
  • Ethan Onianwa – OT, Ohio State
  • Travis Shaw – IDL, Texas
  • Michael Taaffe – S, Texas
  • Quintrevion Wisner – RB, Texas

JACK BRENTNALL

HEAD OF NFL DRAFT CONTENT

Previously the founder of The Jet Sweep, Jack joined The Touchdown as head of Draft Content in 2024. A Scouting Academy alumnus, Jack has been Covering the NFL Draft since 2020. Follow him on Twitter @Jack_Brentnall.

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