Six Pack- Week 11

Each week during the 2024 college football season Draft Nation will take a look at six players who helped their draft stock with solid performances. As the season progresses, Draft Nation will start to zoom in on first round talent. 

Here is the six pack from this past week:

Alabama- Quarterback, Jalen Milroe

Alabama traveled to Baton Rouge to play a must win game against the LSU Tigers and quarterback Jalen Milroe made sure they were going home a winner. Milroe has struggled this season for the 7-2 Crimson Tide but against LSU, he was able to use his legs to dominate the Tigers defense. Milroe went 12-for-18 for 109 yards throwing but scorched LSU for 185 yards and four touchdowns on the ground. Alabama won this important SEC matchup by a score of 42-13, keeping their playoff dreams alive.

On the season, Milroe has completed 67.4% of his passes for 2,046 yards. In nine games he has thrown for 13 touchdown passes and six interceptions. Even though he's has had some ups and downs this year, his athleticism, arm strength and playmaking abilities will make him one of the top quarterbacks in the 2025 class. 

Milroe's pro comparison is Jalen Hurts of the Philadelphia Eagles. Both excel at creating outside of the box when pressure comes. However, this season Milroe's progression as a pro prospect has been slowed as he still continues not to let his progressions play out. 

Texas- Quarterback, Quinn Ewers

The Texas Longhorns, the No. 3 team in the nation, destroyed the Florida Gators on Saturday 49-17. The 8-1 Longhorns were once again led by their outstanding redshirt junior quarterback Quinn Ewers. Ewers went 19-27 for 333 yards and five touchdowns in the victory.

Ewers has had a solid season, throwing for 1,722 yards and 19 touchdown passes in seven games. Although Ewers is a future NFL quarterback, he is in a unique position of having to play while looking over his shoulder at backup Arch Manning. Manning is one of the top quarterback prospects to come out in recent memory and he instantly produced when Ewers went down with an injury. 

Ewers has excellent arm strength and the mobility to get outside the pocket and make throws while on the move. He leads an offense well and plays the game with an edge. Ewers puts passes in spots that give his wide receivers the best chance to make a play. 

However, his style of play has made him injury prone and he does not have the smoothest mechanics when compared to some of the other top prospects. He can be lazy with his footwork and not drive through passes and in the NFL, that will be a red flag with the speed of the defenders. 

Ewers has the opportunity to come back to school and improve his draft stock even more in 2026. The problem is though, with Manning in the wings ready to play, he may have to enter the portal for a second time.

 Draft Nation feels that he is a secure mid-late first round pick in 2025.

Georgia Tech- Quarterback, Haynes King

The upset of the weekend belonged to the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets defeating the undefeated Miami Hurricanes 28-23. Georgia Tech was led by redshirt junior quarterback Haynes King. King, a transfer from Texas A&M, missed the prior two weeks with a shoulder injury, and only threw the ball six times in the victory. He was 6-for-6 for only 32 yards and one touchdown through the air and ran for 93 yards and one touchdown, playing a near flawless game.

Haynes King is coming off an incredible 2023 season for Georgia Tech. He threw for 2,842 yards and 27 touchdowns, while rushing for 737 yards and 10 scores. In eight games this season, he has completed 72.1% of his passes for 1,600 yards and nine touchdowns. He has also ran for 446 yards and seven touchdowns. King is a dual-threat quarterback who is capable of making all the NFL throws. He has a lightning quick release and is a natural leader in the huddle. 

On the downside, King threw 16 interceptions last season and is turnover prone when he runs the ball. He struggles with short passes and has to learn how to change the tempo on some of his throws. He has never run an NFL style offense and will have trouble reading NFL defenses.

King is a late round talent or a UDFA signing if he comes out this season. If he comes back to school for one more season, he will be 25-years-old.

Penn State- Edge Rush, Abdul Carter

This past weekend Penn State took care of the Washington Huskies 35-6 behind a stingy defense that only allowed 193 total yards. Since transitioning from linebacker to defensive end, junior Abdul Carter has been a dominating force. On Saturday, Carter seemed to be in the backfield on every snap and finished with two sacks and five tackles. On the season, Carter now has collected 40 tackles, eight sacks, and leads the Big 10 in tackles for a loss with 16. 

The 6-foot-3 edge rusher has skyrocketed up recent mock drafts and is routinely thought of as a possible top 10 pick. His athleticism off the edge is off-the-charts and his ability to drop back in coverage will allow defensive coordinators to move him all around the field.

If Carter continues on this tear, he should be the first edge rusher to come off the board and become a possible top-5 pick.

Alabama- Linebacker, Jihaad Campbell

In Alabama’s 42-13 win over LSU this past weekend, junior linebacker Jihaad Campbell made plays all over the field for the Crimson Tide. LSU quarterback Garrett Nussmeier never looked comfortable in the pocket, and a big reason for this was the play of Campbell. The 6-foot-3 linebacker finished the game with six tackles and 1.5 sacks. So far this season, Campbell has collected 78 tackles, 10 tackles for a loss, four sacks and an interception.

Campbell is an excellent tackler who could go as high as round two in the 2025 draft. He has played and excelled at inside or outside linebacker, while also getting some reps on the edge. His versatility will help his draft stock. 

Yet Campbell needs to get stronger and do a better job of shedding blocks. Some teams will consider him a “tweener” and this could negatively affect his draft stock.

Notre Dame- Defensive Tackle, Rylie Mills

The Florida State Seminoles disastrous 2024 football season continued this past Saturday, as they got destroyed by the Notre Dame Fighting Irish 52-3. Notre Dame’s defense was led by 5th-year senior defensive tackle Rylie Mills. Mills was virtually unblockable during the game and ended with three of Notre Dame’s eight sacks. On the season, the 6-foot-5 defensive tackle has set a career high in sacks with six and has also collected 27 tackles.

Mills has a combination of size and strength and plays a very cerebral game. He has added some different pass rushing moves in 2024 and has put himself in position to be a solid mid-round draft pick.

Bonus—Ashton Jeanty

Since we don’t want to keep having Boise State running back Ashton Jeanty as a member of our six-pack every week, we are going to show you his stats. This past Saturday, Jeanty ran for 209 yards on 34 attempts and three touchdowns.

In nine games, Jeanty has already ran for 1,734 yards and 23 touchdowns, he is just behind the pace to break Barry Sanders’ record of 2,628 yards.