College Football Week 13: 2025 NFL Draft prospects to watch
By Jack Brentnall
It’s Week 13, meaning there are somehow just two weeks left of the 2024 college football season.
Draft season continues to gear up, with a handful of notable prospects accepting their invitations to the forthcoming all-star games.
There are a number of interesting matchups this weekend, including a pair of Indiana players facing Ohio State and an offensive tackle who has his toughest test of the season so far.
Here are five prospects I’ll be watching closely in Week 13.
Mikail Kamara - EDGE, Indiana (6-1, 265, rs-Junior)
Week 13 will see two top five teams face off as Ohio State prepares to host the unlikely unbeaten Indiana Hoosiers. This game will mark Indiana’s first matchup against a ranked opponent, so it will be a great opportunity to see some of their top prospects against top competition.
Nobody on that Indiana team is creating more draft buzz than edge rusher Mikail Kamara. After beginning his career at James Madison, Kamara followed his head coach Curt Cignetti to Indiana and the move has paid dividends.
Kamara has looked right at home from day one and leads the entire FBS with 53 pressures in 10 games. 17 of those pressures have come in his last two games.
NFL scouts will want to see him do it against top competition though, and he will get his chance to make an impact on the big stage this weekend. Ohio State will admittedly be starting their guard Donovan Jackson at tackle, but he’s still a solid player in his own right and it should be a good test for Kamara.
Kurtis Rourke - QB, Indiana (6-5, 223, rs-Senior)
On the other side of the ball in that game is Hoosiers quarterback Kurtis Rourke, who is in the midst of an exceptional season. Rourke transferred to Indiana in the offseason after spending three seasons as the starter for Ohio and he has hit the ground running.
Through nine games Rourke has completed 71.5% of his passes for 2,410 yards, 21 touchdowns and just four interceptions. He has averaged a whopping 10.1 yards per attempt, the third highest mark in the country.
Whilst his lacklustre arm strength and underwhelming creative capacity might limit his ceiling at the next level, Rourke does have a lot of promising traits that make you confident he can earn a backup role in the NFL.
He is comfortable working under pressure and is a talented processor who rarely puts the ball in harm’s way. His accuracy and comfort working the middle of the field will also translate very well.
This weekend’s test against Ohio State will be comfortably the toughest of his season so far, and how he performs in this one will have a huge impact on his draft stock.
Savion Williams - WR, TCU (6-5, 225, Senior)
If you are looking for a player with the potential to be a big draft riser over the next few months, Savion Williams might be your guy.
The senior receiver is in the midst of a career year at TCU, having logged 54 catches for 583 yards and six touchdowns in 10 games. He has also been utilised extensively in the running game this season, with 34 carries for 232 yards and two touchdowns.
What makes Williams so intriguing as a prospect is his physical makeup. He was named to Bruce Feldman’s Freaks List in the offseason and it is easy to see why. At 6’5” and 225 lbs he is one of the biggest wide receiver prospects in recent years, but he is also capable of a 40” vertical jump and has been clocked over 22 mph on the GPS.
This weekend TCU faces off against Arizona, meaning that Williams will likely be up against the Wildcats’ talented cornerback Tacario Davis. This has the makings of a good battle and will be essential viewing for NFL scouts.
Aireontae Ersery - OT, Minnesota (6-6, 330, rs-Senior)
This is a strange offensive line class, not least because it feels like most of the top offensive tackles will be guards at the next level. One of the rare exceptions to that is Minnesota’s Aireontae Ersery, who has what it takes to be a tackle in the NFL.
The fifth-year senior has been having a strong 2024 season, allowing just one sack through 10 games. He has also continued to build on his reputation as a strong run blocker with some really impressive performances in the Golden Gophers’ zone-heavy scheme.
At 6’6” and 330 lbs you might expect Ersery to be a mauling man mountain, but in fact he is actually a solid athlete who can survive in space as a pass blocker and who excels working combos and climbing to the second level as a run blocker.
This weekend will mark his toughest test of the season so far. Minnesota goes up against Penn State, whose edge rusher Abdul Carter has been earning hype as a potential top five pick.
Can Ersery show up on the big stage and limit Carter? A big performance from him this weekend would really help to boost his draft stock.
Power Echols - LB, North Carolina (5-11, 231, Senior)
This certainly isn’t a vintage year for linebackers, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t prospects at the position worth knowing. There are a number of projected late round picks who have the potential to climb up boards and Echols is one of them.
The senior is now in his third season as a starter for the Tar Heels and has over 2,300 career snaps under his belt. He has been having a good year so far, with 66 tackles and 24 defensive stops. He has also managed to have an impact in coverage, with an interception and three pass breakups to his name.
Echols’ ability in coverage makes him an intriguing prospect, as does his experience and football instincts. There will be concerns about his size at just 5’11” and 231 lbs, but we have seen players with that frame have success in recent years, most notably Kansas City’s Nick Bolton.
This weekend the Tar Heels go up against Boston College in what looks likely to be a closely contested ACC battle. If Echols can build on his impressive showing against Wake Forest in Week 12 he’s going to help his draft stock.
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.