College Football Playoff Draft Buzz
Did Arizona State do-it-all Cam Skattebo just punch his ticket as RB1 for the 2025 NFL Draft during the Peach Bowl?
Volume XXIV Edition LXXXXIII || College Football Playoff Draft Buzz
Welcome to the January 2, 2025 edition of the All Access Football Newsletter, Presented By Sports Management Worldwide Senior Bowl Meet & Greet.
NFL DRAFT WATCH: COLLEGE FOOTBALL PLAYOFF
The Texas Longhorns escaped the Cick-Fil-A Peach Bowl with a double-overtime victory over Arizona State, after the Sun Devils were left for dead at halftime trailing 17-3. A visibly frustrated Cam Skattebo (pictured) would explode in the second half for one of the all-time great one-man performances in College Football Playoff history.
Did Skattebo stake his claim as the top running back prospect in the 2025 NFL Draft? It might be hard to imagine with the year Ashton Jeanty just had but it’s not entirely far-fetched. Skattebo rumbled for 143 rushing yards on 30 carries, showcasing the type of impact he can have wearing down a defense. Remarkably, Skattebo might be the best pass-catching back in the draft, we saw that yesterday as he hauled in eight balls for 99 receiving yards. Did we forget to mention that he also threw a 42-yard touchdown pass!?!?
It was an incredible performance against a defense full of SEC monsters that is the Longhorns defense. Meanwhile, Jeanty faced his first real defense of the year against Penn State and was pedestrian by his standards, gaining 104 rush yards on 3.5 yards per carry. That’s half of what his 7.0 season average was while beating up on Mountain West opponents. A sign of things to come in the NFL? That’ll be up to pro decision-makers to decide. However, there is no doubt that Skattebo is the real deal.
Few foreshadowed the smackdown that Ohio State would hand Oregon, dealing them their first loss of the year and eliminating them from title contention. Suddenly, the Buckeyes appear to be the favorites to win it all. Much of that credit can be attributed to the spectacular play of quarterback Will Howard.
The fifth-year senior seems to get better every season, every game and he has developed into a bonafide NFL Draft prospect. Howard displayed excellent deep ball accuracy, hitting Jeremiah Smith for a 45-yard bomb and then Emeka Egbuka for a 42-yard touchdown for the first two scores of the game. It was lights out for the Ducks from there.
The question now becomes, just how high can Howard go? Notching a natty to the belt would certainly help pad the resume. He’ll also have the opportunity to stack up against some of the nation’s top signal-callers in Mobile at the Reese’s Senior Bowl. Howard has likely warranted enough attention to at least be considered on Day 2 of the draft.
Due to the tragic event that occurred in New Orleans on New Year’s Eve, the All-State Sugar Bowl was postponed until today. You can review the list of prospects for each school in yesterday’s post.
Want more College Football Playoff draft talk? Tune-in today at 1:00pm eastern for our livestream show, airing across All Access Football social media channels.
A BUSHEL OF TOP PROSPECTS ADDED TO ALL-STARS
Amidst all the bowl game mania, a handful of prominent prospects have been added to the various all-star games. Just a reminder, All Access Football will be on location across the nation providing boots on the ground coverage for every major all-star game, so be sure to follow us @NFLDraftBible.
The Reese’s Senior Bowl continues to add top-level pedigree with Georgia linebacker Smael Mondon Jr. (pictured) and Texas safety Andrew Mukumba, who collected eight tackles during the Longhorns victory. Mondon Jr. will be in action today against Notre Dame. Our Senior Bowl Roster Tracker is now up to 110 accepted invites.
Not to be outdone, the East-West Shrine Bowl made waves this week with additional high-profile players, loading up in the backfield. Headed to Dallas will be running backs Damien Martinez of Miami, who blends size and speed, along with 230-pound Clemson bruiser Phil Mafah. Plus, Texas Tech dynamo Tahj Brooks, who is coming off back-to-back 1,500-yard rushing seasons and will make the short commute from Lubbock. The adds didn’t stop there. We have all 90 confirmed players listed on our East-West Shrine Bowl Tracker.
It was a busy week for Caribe Royale Hula Bowl announcements, most notably UCF wideout Kobe Hudson, a potential Day 3 prospect who originally began at Auburn and finished with nearly 3,000 career receiving yards. Lengthy Florida defensive back Trikweze Bridges is a super-senior who spent six seasons in ‘The Swamp,’ starting for parts of the past four years. Our Hula Bowl Roster Tracker sits at 99 players.
The Trillion Tropical Bowl announcements have picked up some steam, adding SMU center Jakai Clark and San Diego State running back Marquez Cooper, who finished with 5,130 career rushing yards, spread across five seasons at Kent State, Ball State and the Aztecs. Thus far, we have been able to confirm 49 players on our Tropical Bowl Roster Tracker.
Senior Bowl Scout School: Join NFL Network analyst Brian Baldinger and All Access Football Founder Ric Serritella for three days of Scout School at the Senior Bowl.
THE WEEK THAT WAS
01/01/25 — All Access Football Report: Week 18
12/31/24 — Man On A Mission: Ashton Jeanty Takes Center Stage
12/30/24 — QB Class of 2025 Taking Shape