The second game of the college football semi-finals
The semi-final round of the expanded College Football Playoffs concludes tonight with Texas playing Ohio State in the Cotton Bowl.
These are probably the two most talented teams in college football and I’m going to lead off with my usual advice for scouting these super talented teams on game day. That is, of course, just enjoy the game. Obviously we want to be sure to take note of players who leap off the field, but enjoy the game. There will be plenty of time to go back to replays or find cutups of individual players. Teams like these have so many future NFL players on their rosters that by the time you’re done listing all the players on both sides to watch, you’re pretty close to “everyone” anyway.
But, as usual, we’ll highlight a couple players that could be particularly interesting from a “Giants” perspective.
Goodyear Cotton Bowl: (5) Texas vs. (8) Ohio State
ESPN – 7:30 p.m.
(5) Texas
We, of course, have to start with quarterback Quinn Ewers.
Ewers was widely considered to be the top quarterback, and player, in his recruiting class and initially enrolled at Ohio State. He quickly transferred to Texas after losing the starting job to C.J. Stroud. He has been a frustrating prospect since transferring to Texas and hasn’t consistently lived up to the potential that made him the top recruit in a class that also had Caleb Williams.
Some teams will likely view Ewers as a tad undersized at 6-foot-2, 210 pounds, but he does have solid athleticism behind the line of scrimmage and enough arm strength. He also flashes good accuracy and placement as a passer, and understands when to throw with touch. That said, Texas’ offense rarely asks him to push himself and he has been a frustrating prospect this year.
It should be noted that Ewers has yet to formally declare for the draft. However, he’s widely expected to either declare or enter the transfer portal after Texas’ run ends, as all signs point to Arch Manning becoming Texas’ starter for 2025.
- Kelvin Banks (OT)
Note: As of this writing, Banks is listed as “questionable” with an ankle injury. He originally suffered the injury early in December and appeared to re-injure it against Arizona State. He left last week’s game, but ultimately came back in to finish it. Head Coach Steve Sarkisian believes his team will be healthy for the game.
We might as well talk about Texas’ top prospect in offensive tackle Kelvin Banks. It’s actually somewhat handy as we can watch Banks and Ewers at the same time when Texas’ offense is on the field. Banks is in contention to be the first offensive tackle drafted this year, along with LSU’s Will Campbell. Which one gets the mantle of “OT-1” will likely come down to individual team preferences.
Banks is listed at 6-foot-4, 320 pounds, which are proportions usually associated with guards rather than tackles. However, Banks absolutely has “Tackle” feet which allow him to mirror speed off the edge, expand the pocket, and redirect to deal with inside counters. Banks’ height gives him natural leverage which allows him to counter bull rushes, as well as create movement in the run game. He also has has smooth hand usage and understands how to use his punch to control pass rushers or win leverage as a run blocker.
All in all, Banks might not have “elite” upside as an offensive tackle, but he’s a well-rounded blocker who’s worthy of a pick in the top half of the first round and should be able to start for a long time.
(8) Ohio State
- J.T. Tuimolau (EDGE)
If we’re highlighting Texas’ quarterback and left tackle, it makes sense to also concentrate on the guys who’ll be getting after them. Jack Sawyer is usually considered to be Ohio State’s best edge defender, but J.T. Tuimolau isn’t far behind him. I decided to highlight Tuimolau because, in a fun coincidence, he was considered by some to be the No.2 prospect behind Ewers and they enrolled at Ohio State together.
Tuimolau is a big, powerful edge defender who’s listed at 6-foot-5 and 270 pounds, and 4-3 teams will likely covet him as a defensive end. He’s primarily a power player, with a good first step and the ability to fire off the ball then convert speed to power and overwhelm blockers. He’s a tenacious player who seems to relish the physical side of the game, and is a good run defender as well as a disruptive pass rusher.
He still has some work to do to reach his full ceiling as a defender, and would benefit from diversifying his pass rush arsenal a bit and rushing with more of a clear plan. Even so, Tuimolau will at least be an important role player at the NFL level and should be able to push for a starting job early in his career.