AAF Report: CFB Playoff Prospect Preview: FCS Combine List, Bowl Season Primer, Power Rankings, Draft Shows + More
All Access Football previews the top prospects for the College Football Playoff Cotton Bowl, plus more bowl season mayhem, a look at the NFL-FCS Combine list, new draft shows, power rankings and more.
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AAF REPORT: CFB PLAYOFF, MORE BOWL MAYHEM & FCS COMBINE
Welcome to the December 31, 2026 edition of the World Famous All Access Football Report — Happy New Year’s Eve!!!
In this edition of the AAF Newsletter, we kickoff the College Football Playoff Quarterfinal matchups with a prospect primer for the Goodyear Cotton Bowl between the Miami Hurricanes and Ohio State Buckeyes.
We also continue our bowl season coverage with everything you need to know for the New Year’s Eve bowl games with NFL Draft Watch Reports on every school. Get our insider intel for the Cheez-It Citrus Bowl between the Michigan Wolverines and Texas Longhorns, the ReliaQuest Bowl between the Vanderbilt Commodores and Iowa Hawkeyes, Tony The Tiger Sun Bowl between the Duke Blue Devils and Arizona State Sun Devils, plus SRS Distribution Las Vegas Bowl between the Utah Utes and Nebraska Cornhuskers.
The NFL, NCAA and American Football Coaches Association announced the participants for the first-ever FCS Combine in Nashville this Sunday, we have the complete list of players. In addition, an all new Sports Rage Podcast delves even further into all four College Football Playoff matchups, as we gauge the temperature on the latest draft stock for key prospects.
Don’t forget our weekly AAF Power Rankings, featuring top-rated teams, players, coaches and general managers for the NFL and NCAA, along with the most up-to-date draft order. AAF will provide more prospect reports for the College Football Playoff Quarterfinals on Thursday, while our ‘Bowl Season’ reports wrap up on Friday.
Tune-in this Saturday, for the AAF NFL Draft Watch Show, as we provide an early look at the College Football Playoff Semifinals. Be sure to subscribe to our YouTube Channel for new show alerts, as we will be adding new shows for draft season.
Enjoy our final post of the 2025 calendar. As of today, we are officially 113 days away from the 2026 NFL Draft in Pittsburgh. See you next year … let’s dive in!
CFB PLAYOFF PREVIEW: COTTON BOWL PROSPECT PRIMER
All Access Football NFL Draft Watch hosts Ric Serritella & Russ Lande check-in on top prospects in the College Football Playoff Cotton Bowl between the Miami Hurricanes and Ohio State Buckeyes. For more in-depth analysis on this matchup keep scrolling below.
ALL ACCESS FOOTBALL 2026 NFL DRAFT HEADQUARTERS — BOOKMARK
NFL-FCS COMBINE ANNOUNCES 30 INVITES FOR NASHVILLE
In a joint collaboration, the American Football Coaches Association, the NFL and the NCAA announced 30 FCS players who have accepted their invite to the inaugural FCS Combine in Nashville on January 4-5, 2026.
The new showcase is designed to get small school prospects in front of NFL scouts, as participants will compete in combine drills, positional work and get to interview with pro scouts. It will be hosted in association with the FCS National Championship Game, which will be played Monday night at FirstBank Stadium.
In fact, several players will take part in both the FCS Combine and FCS National Championship, including Montana State running back Julius Davis and defensive tackle Paul Brott, along with Illinois State wideout Daniel Sobkowicz.
All Access Football will be on location for this event, be sure to back for our exclusive on location coverage, as we will provide results and analysis. The complete list of participants have been announced as follows:
PLAYER | POSITION | SCHOOL
Derek Anderson, TE, Northern Iowa
Seth Anderson, OL, North Dakota
Aidan Bouman, QB, South Dakota
Koby Bretz, S, South Dakota State
Paul Brott, DT, Montana State
Liam Brown, OL, Montana
Alex Bullock, WR, South Dakota State
Rex Connors, S, UC Davis
Malachi Cooper, DE, San Diego
Tim Coutras, DB, Tennessee Tech
Desmond Daniels, OL, Alabama State
Julius Davis, RB, Montana State
Sam Hagen, OL, South Dakota State
Rodney Hammond, RB, Sacramento State
Aaron Harris, DB, North Carolina A&T
Erick Hunter, LB, Morgan State
Jalen Jones, CB, William & Mary
Isiah King, LB, Idaho
Zach Lewis, S, North Dakota
Michael Otty, DT, Bryant
AJ Pena, LB, Rhode Island
Kaleb Proctor, DT, Southeastern Louisiana
Derek Robertson, QB, Monmouth
Treyvhon Saunders, WR, Colgate
Korion Sharpe, OL, North Carolina A&T
Michael Shulikov, WR, Idaho State
Cameron Smith, OL, Alabama State
Daniel Sobkowicz, WR, Illinois State
Jalen Walthall, WR, UIW
Jarod Washington, CB, South Carolina State
Michael Wortham Jr., WR/KR, Montana
SPORTS RAGE: CFB PLAYOFF NFL DRAFT DEEP DIVE
Tune-in to a new edition of Sports Rage with host Gabriel Morency and guest Ric Serritella, as they take a deep dive look on 2026 NFL Draft prospects in the College Football Playoff Quarterfinals. The ‘Twisted Tuesday’ edition of Sports Rage features a weekly look at NFL Draft odds and EVERYTHING pigskin. LISTEN HERE
ALL ACCESS FOOTBALL 2026 NFL DRAFT UNDERCLASSMEN TRACKER
NFL DRAFT WATCH: GOODYEAR COTTON BOWL
The College Football Playoff Quarterfinal kicks off on New Years Eve, as the Ohio State Buckeyes (12-1) take on the Miami Hurricanes (11-2), in a matchup featuring numerous projected first round picks. In our latest Hot 100 Prospect List published on Monday, four of the top five overall players on the NFL Draft Bible Big Board hail from Ohio State. Potential top ten players from the Buckeyes include linebacker Arvell Reese, safety Caleb Downs, linebacker Sonny Styles and wideout Carnell Tate, while defensive tackle Kayden McDonald also figures to land on Day 1. On the Miami side, edge rusher Reuben Bain seeks to be in contention as the No.1 overall pick, while offensive tackle Francis Mauigoa is firmly entrenched in the first round mix. Hurricanes quarterback Carson Beck (35-5 as a starter) figures to be one of the more prominent draft-eligible signal-callers in the Class of 2026. We have provided full-blown prospect evaluations for both schools below.
Quote of Note: “I feel like [our violence] shows in a tremendous way because everyone can see how we swarm to the ball, how hard we play, and just be violent. Be violent in the way we communicate, run to the ball, and the way we hit people. Violence is the way of life for Coach Hetherman. He instills that in us, and it’s been a way of life for us.” — Miami ER Rueben Bain
Ohio State Buckeyes — NFL Draft Watch Report Click Here — Includes 20 draft-eligible prospects for 2026, plus 16 in-depth scouting reports and six ‘Future Watch’ players to keep an eye on for 2027 and beyond.
Miami Hurricanes — NFL Draft Watch Report Click Here — Includes 13 draft-eligible prospects and scouting reports for 2026, plus one ‘Future Watch’ player to monitor.
SCOUT NOTEBOOK: HOT 100 PROSPECTS, ALL-STAR UPDATES + LATEST BUZZ
DRAFT WATCH: CHEEZ-IT CITRUS BOWL
The Cheez-It Citrus Bowl is scheduled for 3:00pm eastern time on Thursday, December 31, 2025 in Orlando, Florida. With two blue-blood programs in action, observers will be disappointed to learn that each school could be without over a dozen players, or more, on each side. With Michigan entering the Kyle Willingham era, the game will be an opportunity for younger players to earn a role for next year, as interim head coach Biff Poggi stated the team will be without 12-15 players, although that number is expected to be much greater. Notable absences are expected to include top prospects such as running back Justice Haynes, along with defensive ends Jaishawn Barham and Derrick Moore. Texas will also be minus significant firepower, especially on defense side of the ball, where edge rushers Trey Moore and Ethan Burke, linebacker Anthony Hill Jr. and defensive backs, Michael Taaffe, Malik Muhammad and Jaylon Guilbeau have all opted out. However, this contest will feature two signal-callers who could become future first round picks in Arch Manning of Texas and Bryce Underwood of Michigan, while Longhorns defensive end Collin Simmons, who has 11 sacks this year, expects to be in contention as the top player in the 2027 NFL Draft.
Michigan Wolverines — NFL Draft Watch Report Click Here — Includes 18 draft-eligible prospects for 2026, plus 10 scouting reports, along with one ‘Future Watch’ profile.
Texas Longhorns — NFL Draft Watch Report Click Here — Includes 16 draft-eligible prospects for 2026, plus three scouting reports, along with five ‘Future Watch’ players.
NFL DRAFT WATCH: RELIAQUEST BOWL
