Week 11 SCOUTING NOTEBOOK: Milroe runs wild, Carson Schwesinger and more

By Jack Brentnall

Week 11 was a little short on heavy-hitting matchups, but it more than made up for it with some excellent games and noteworthy performances from NFL Draft prospects.

This week we had a quarterback put on a rushing clinic, a rising linebacker getting a pair of picks, and more.

Here are some of the things that caught my eye in Week 11.

Two pick performance from Carson Schwesinger

If you are looking for a prospect who has boosted their draft stock significantly this season, just take a look at UCLA linebacker Carson Schwesinger. The former walk-on has emerged as a starter for the Bruins this season and had another excellent outing against Iowa in Week 11.

Schwesigner’s game was excellent across the board. He made all of his six tackle attempts and was responsible for three defensive stops. His biggest impact came as a coverage defender though. Schwesinger was targeted twice by the Hawkeyes, intercepting both passes as the Bruins ran out 20-17 winners.

This performance built on what is becoming a seriously impressive 2024 campaign. Through nine games, Schwesinger has amassed 35 defensive stops, which ranks third in the Big Ten. He has also made an impact as a blitzer, with 13 pressures and three sacks, and he is allowing a passer rating of just 84.3.

As a redshirt junior and one-year starter, there is potential for Schwesinger to return to school in 2025. Nevertheless, he is a prospect who has put himself firmly on draft radars with performances like this one and he could potentially capitalise on what looks to be a weak linebacker class. Schwesigner is undoubtedly a name to watch over the next few weeks.

Jalen Milroe runs wild vs LSU

After a few up-and-down performances in recent weeks, I was interested to see how Alabama quarterback Jalen Milroe looked against LSU. The talk about him as the potential QB1 in the 2025 NFL Draft may have died down, but he continues to be a very intriguing prospect.

He showed why that is with a dominant performance against LSU, leading Alabama to a comfortable 42-13 victory.

As a passer, Milroe was solid, not spectacular. Alabama were content to rely on their running game as Milroe completed 12 of just 18 pass attempts for 109 yards. If it weren’t for a Ryan Williams drop on a big throw downfield, those numbers would have looked much better.

Where Milroe really made his impact felt this weekend was as a runner. In what at times felt like a repeat of his 2023 performance against LSU, he put up 185 yards and four touchdowns on just 13 carries. In doing so, Milroe set the Alabama record for rushing touchdowns by a quarterback in a single season, taking his 2024 tally to 16.

It remains to be seen as to whether or not Milroe declares at the end of this season or whether he returns to Alabama for 2025. Right now the latter feels like the smartest option, but he will have certainly boosted his draft stock with his performance on Saturday.

Brilliant Tyler Booker

Jalen Milroe made all of the headlines in that game, but I can’t not mention his Alabama teammate Tyler Booker. When watching over the film from that game, Booker’s performance at left guard really stood out and this felt like his best game of the season so far.

At 6’5” and 352 lbs, Booker is a man mountain along the offensive line and he has NFL-ready play strength and physicality. A big reason for Alabama’s success on the ground this weekend was Booker’s ability to consistently uproot defenders and create lanes for his teammates.

Booker was instrumental in creating the hole for Milroe on his 41-yard touchdown scamper in the first quarter. He also had a big role in two other touchdown runs, with a pancake block on Milroe’s third quarter touchdown run and a beautiful rep as a puller to help spring Milroe’s 72-yard score to start the fourth quarter.

Booker also looked solid when tested in pass protection and didn’t allow a single pressure all game. He may not be an elite athlete, but his power capacity and ability to be a tone-setting people mover in the trenches makes him a really easy player to project to the NFL.

Princely Umanmielen shows out vs Georgia

In many ways, the Georgia-Ole Miss game was one of disappointments. Neither quarterback impressed, with Carson Beck struggling once again. The receivers struggled to make an impact, with no player going over 70 yards. The running game was even worse, with no running backs topping 30 yards.

There were a few sparks of magic on defense though, with Ole Miss edge rusher Princely Umanmielen standing out in particular.

Umanmielen finished the game with six pressures. Two of these resulted in sacks and he was also responsible for forcing a fumble. This would be a good outing in any game, but the fact it came against Georgia and a pair of talented tackles in Earnest Greene and Xavier Truss makes it even more impressive.

This continues what has been a really good run for Umanmielen over recent weeks. Through the last three games of SEC play he has accounted for 18 pressures, including six games. Through 11 weeks, Umanmielen sits third in the SEC in pressures and leads the conferences in combined sacks and hits.

NFL scouts will want to see him show a little more consistency as a run defender, but if he can continue to demonstrate this sort of pass rushing potential he’s going to earn plenty of fans at the next level.

Another quiet week for Emeka Egbuka

After a red-hot start to the season, things seem to have really turned for Ohio State receiver Emeka Egbuka. Through the first six games of the season, Egbuka had 526 yards and six touchdowns and looked on course for a career year.

The last three weeks have been a little less exciting. Whilst he has still managed to score two touchdown, his overall role in the passing game has declined massively. Since Week 9’s game against Nebraska, Egbuka has had seven receptions for 61 yards. He hasn’t topped 1.3 yards per route run in any of those three games and in Week 11 against Purdue he had a single catch for 10 yards.

After leading the team with 51 targets through the first six games of the season, he now appears to have fallen to third in the pecking order, behind freshman star Jeremiah Smith and sophomore Carnell Tate.

To be clear, I’m not suggesting anyone should hit the panic button. Egbuka is still one of the cleanest NFL projections in this class, with the route running savvy and athleticism to translate well to the next level. It is definitely a situation worth keeping a close eye on though as we approach the business end of the season.

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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