Week 8 Scouting Notebook: Quarterback disappointment, Cobee Bryant’s record-setting day and more

By Jack Brentnall

Week 8 boasted some heavy-hitting matchups and it resulted in plenty of excitement.

We got to see some of the top prospects in the class go up against top competition and results were, to put it nicely, a little mixed. There were also a few lesser-known players who made a name for themselves with big outings.

Here are some of the things that caught my eye in Week 8.

Quarterback prospects continue to disappoint

It might be time that we collectively admit to ourselves that the 2025 quarterback class is just not very good. I know that pessimism isn’t always popular, and it certainly isn’t how I want to be when talking about draft prospects. But at some point, realism is important. Ignore this and you find yourself picking guys like Kenny Pickett in the first round.

Coming into Week 8 it felt like there was a lot on the line for a bunch of the big name quarterbacks and I’m not sure any of them did anything to make me more confident projecting them to the NFL.

The Georgia-Texas game was the perfect example of that problem. Carson Beck completed just 56.1% of his passes, despite a dink-and-dunk approach that saw him complete just three passes of 10+ air yards. There was nothing there that suggested this is a player who warrants a first round selection.

Quinn Ewers was even worse, with an interception, a fumble, and an average of just 4.9 yards per attempt. PFF attributed six turnover-worthy plays to Ewers, who was briefly benched for Arch Manning in the first half. That early season optimism that surrounded Ewers seems to have almost completely dissipated.

I’d been feeling more hopeful for Jalen Milroe after a strong start to the season, but he didn’t look much better against Tennessee, with his accuracy issues and poor play under pressure costing the Crimson Tide. Shedeur Sanders at least managed to get the win, but turned the ball over twice against Arizona.

“Okay, but what about Cam Ward?” I hear you ask. The Miami quarterback certainly had the best week of the top 2025 quarterback prospects. His 342 yards and four touchdowns with no picks make for a nice stat line.

The concern is still the translatability of his game though. Yet again he was relying heavily on out of structure creation plays. Whilst that stuff is incredibly entertaining to watch, it isn’t possible to live like that on a consistent basis in the NFL. We’ve all seen various prospects flame out because that kind of playstyle was their fastball, rather than their changeup. I’m still waiting for Ward to prove he’s not in that same group.

This tight end class continues to shape up nicely

Now the negativity is out of the way, we can focus on the good stuff about the 2025 class, namely how exciting the tight end class is shaping up to be. It might not carry the star factor that positions like quarterback and wide receiver do, but they still make up an important part of an NFL offense. With that said, let’s channel Jon Gruden and run through a list of some of the performances from Week 8 that have us “feeling nicey”.

I’ve got to start with Bowling Green’s Harold Fannin, who had another outstanding game, racking up 171 yards on 10 receptions against Kent State. He now has 873 yards this season, which is 360 more than any other tight end. His combination of route running finesse, YAC ability, and play strength as a blocker is really promising when projecting to the NFL.

Vanderbilt’s Eli Stowers also had a good outing, with eight catches for 130 yards and a touchdown against Ball State. This came just a fortnight after he lit up Alabama for 113 yards. Stowers began his career at Texas A&M as a four-star quarterback recruit, before switching to tight end at New Mexico State in 2023. He followed quarterback Diego Pavia over to Vanderbilt in the offseason and is now having a breakout season for the Commodores. Stowers leads all SEC tight ends in receiving yards, forced missed tackles, and yards per route run.

Last but not least was Cal’s Jack Endries. Endries had his second 100+ yard game in as many weeks and seems to be emerging as a key pass catcher for the Golden Bears. Whilst he isn’t the biggest or fastest player at the position, the former walk-on offers great hands and competitive toughness. His 298 yards since Week 6 is second amongst tight ends, behind only Harold Fannin Jr.

A hat-trick of picks for Cobee Bryant

Take a bow Cobee Bryant. The Kansas cornerback had an outstanding weekend, with a historic performance against Houston. Bryant finished with three interceptions, tying the school record and becoming the first Jayhawk to achieve that feat since 1958.

His first interception showed off his natural ball hawking instincts, peeling off his man and getting downhill to undercut Donovan Smith’s throw. The second came off a miscommunication between Smith and his receiver. His third was another excellent play, reading a trick play to perfection and making a spectacular catch point grab.

Bryant’s ball skills have been a consistent theme throughout his college career. He now has 13 career interceptions, whilst also producing 16 pass breakups. He has shown real improvement as a run defender this season too, doing a much better job with his pursuit angles and cutting down on missed tackles.

NFL teams are still likely to have some questions about his size – Bryant is listed at just 175 lbs – but he’s got the football instincts to be playing on Sundays.

Xavier Chaplin impresses against Boston College

Virginia Tech dominated Boston College in Week 8, and they had their running game to thank. Much of the post-game praise has naturally fallen on running back Bhayshul Tuten, who ran for a Virginia Tech record 264 yards on 18 carries. The player who caught my eye though was Hokies left tackle Xavier Chaplin.

200 of Tuten’s rushing yards came before contact, and Chaplin was a big reason behind the Hokies’ success running the football. He looked in complete control of his assignment, routinely uprooting opposing defenders and creating canyons for his back to scamper through. That was no easy task against what has been a good Boston College run defense.

Chaplin also looked really solid in pass protection, which is all the more impressive considering the competition. Boston College edge rusher Donovan Ezeiruaka entered the weekend with the most pressures of any Power Four edge rusher. Whilst Ezeiruaka managed another four pressures, none came against Chaplin, who conceded zero pressures on his 17 pass blocking snaps.

This game built on what has already been a strong season for Chaplin. As a redshirt sophomore there is a high likelihood that he decides to return to Virginia Tech for the 2025 season rather than declaring for the NFL Draft, but whatever decision he ultimately makes, he made himself some money with this performance.

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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