College Football Week 14: 2025 NFL Draft prospects to watch
By Jack Brentnall
This weekend marks the end of the college football regular season and, for some prospects, the final time they will suit up at the collegiate level.
Here are five 2025 NFL Draft prospects I will be watching closely this weekend.
Tetairoa McMillan - WR, Arizona
For some prospects, this weekend will be their last opportunity to make their impact felt on a college football field. Perhaps the best of those players is Tetairoa McMillan, who will suit up for a rivalry game against Arizona State.
Despite the Wildcats having an underwhelming year, McMillan has been excellent. Through 11 games he has 1,248 yards and seven touchdowns on 78 catches. He ranks third amongst all receivers with 26 forced missed tackles and his 51 first downs rank fourth.
It is easy to see how McMillan’s game translates to the NFL level. At 6’5” and 212 lbs he has excellent size, which he pairs with some good all around athleticism and some of the most impressive ball skills you are likely to see.
Arizona State should be a tough test this weekend. Can McMillan put on a show in what looks set to be the final game of his college career? It is certainly well worth tuning in to find out.
Mason Graham - IDL, Michigan
One of the other most exciting matchups of the weekend will be watching Michigan’s defensive tackle Mason Graham face off against the Ohio State offensive line.
Graham has been having another outstanding year for the Wolverines, consistently wreaking havoc against the run and pass. Through his 11 games he has racked up 33 pressures and 25 defensive stops.
With impressive athletic ability and hands that shock on contact, Graham is a very easy player to project to the NFL level. He has the instant first step quickness to be a handful for opposing linemen and has shown the ability to win in multiple ways and work from a range of alignments.
At this point, Graham is a lock for the top half of the first round and likely won’t make it out of the top ten. Even so, a strong performance against a good Ohio State offensive line in a bitter rivalry game would prove to be another feather in his cap.
Kyle McCord - QB, Syracuse
When McCord was kicked to the kerb by Ohio State in the offseason it would have been wild to think that less than a year later he was a player worth talking about in the context of the NFL Draft. He deserves plenty of credit though, having turned things around with Syracuse.
Under McCord’s stewardship, the Orange are 8-3 and look set to finish with their best record since 2018. McCord himself has shown flashes of the talent that earned him a five-star rating coming out of high school, passing for 3,924 yards with 25 touchdowns and 12 interceptions.
McCord’s combination of aggressiveness downfield and comfort working the middle both project really nicely to the pro level.
As with his time at Ohio State, consistency has been the issue. McCord is still prone to a few too many dangerous throws and his accuracy is a little more spotty than you would like, especially for a pocket passer.
This weekend’s game against Miami should be a great test for him. There’s real potential for a shootout between McCord and Cam Ward, which makes this game a must-watch affair.
TJ Sanders - IDL, South Carolina
One of the most exciting matchups of the weekend will see South Carolina take on Clemson in a clash that has potential playoff implications. I’ll be keeping a particularly close eye on the performance of Gamecocks defensive tackle TJ Sanders.
Sanders emerged as a starter last season, but 2024 has seen him take his game to the next level and earn hype as a potential top 50 pick in next year’s draft.
He has firmly established himself as one of the best pass rushing defensive tackles in the country, with 28 pressures, including four sacks, on just 200 pass rushing snaps. He is a twitched-up and agile rusher who has shown the ability to consistently get after opposing quarterbacks.
There is room for development too though. At 290 lbs Sanders is a little undersized and would definitely benefit from adding some mass to help bolster his power and anchor strength. He is also still developing some of the finer technical points of the game, which will allow him to find greater consistency.
The Gamecocks need to win this game to have any chance of remaining in the postseason hunt. It is going to be worth watching to see if Sanders can keep up his good run of form against top competition.
Billy Bowman Jr. - S, Oklahoma
Whilst a Week 13 game between Oklahoma and LSU might not have the stakes that we expected coming into the season, it is still a great chance to get a good look at a handful of 2025 NFL Draft prospects.
One of those names I’ll be watching closely is Sooners safety Billy Bowman. A senior who is a three-year starter, Bowman has earned a reputation as an alignment versatile defensive back with some impressive ball skills.
Bowman plays primarily as a deep safety, but he has also featured frequently from the slot and occasion down in the box. At 5’10” and 200 lbs he isn’t the biggest safety in the class, but his smooth movement skills paired with his processing quickness and effort as a run defender are encouraging.
LSU should be a good test for him. The Tigers’ offense has had its moments this season, but quarterback Garrett Nussmeier has also been prone to more than his fair share of risky throws, with 11 interceptions this season. Can Bowman make his impact felt in a big game?
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.