2024 College football primer: Games and players to watch in Week 2

Who should Giants fans be watching in Week 2?

Good morning New York Giants fans! Happy Saturday and welcome to Week 2 of the 2024 college football season.

The season is off and running and got started with a historic helping of lopsided victories. Hopefully we’ll see more competitive games this week, and that could happen right off the bat with a noon matchup between two of the best teams in the country. The early season matchup against the reigning National Champion Michigan Wolverines and the Texas Longhorns (newly of the SEC) is going to be very heavily attended by the NFL.

And hopefully the game itself will be as good as talent on the rosters suggest it should be.

(10) Michigan vs. (3) Texas

Fox – noon

Last week the schedule makers gave us Georgia vs. Clemson in the noon slot, and this week they’re blessing us with a potential playoff matchup. These are two of the most talented teams in all of college football, and could wind up being an exceptional game.

Ordinarily, I would say that the Texas quarterback situation would be the big draw. After all, Quinn Ewers was highly recruited and his upside has a lot of fans. Ewers is also fighting to hold off Arch Manning, the hype surrounding whom goes without saying despite the fact that he’s still a backup.

However, this game isn’t just littered with future NFL players, but littered with potential first rounders.

Michigan cornerback Will Johnson and defensive tackle Mason Graham could both be Top 10 — if not Top 5 — picks. Texas offensive tackle Kelvin Banks will be in competition to be the first offensive tackle drafted, while receiver Isaiah Bond could be one of the first wideouts drafted if he runs as well as people expect.

And as a side note, this is the one game this week where I would be surprised if Joe Schoen didn’t attend.

Players to watch

Texas

• Quinn Ewers (QB)
• Kelvin Banks (OT)
• D.J. Campbell (iOL)
• Isaiah Bond (WR)
• Matthew Golden (WR)
• Trey Moore (edge)
• Jahdae Barron (CB)
• Andrew Mukuba (S)

Michigan

• Colston Loveland (TE)
• Donovan Edwards (RB)
• Mason Graham (iDL)
• Kenneth Grant (iDL)
• Josiah Stewart (edge)
• Jaishawn Barham (LB)
• Will Johnson (CB)
• Rod Moore (S)

Kentucky vs. South Carolina

ABC – 3:30 p.m.

The Kentucky Wildcats might not get much national attention, but the Giants certainly keep tabs on them. After all, receiver Wan’Dale Robinson was a surprise second round pick out of Kentucky in 2022 and Dru Phillips was drafted in the third round this year.

And Kentucky has talent on its roster again this year. Deone Walker is right there with Mason Graham at the top of the iDL depth chart.

But perhaps the most intriguing player isn’t draft eligible and didn’t even touch the ball in Week 1.

That would be South Carolina true sophomore receiver Nyck Harbor, who sits atop Bruce Feldman’s “Freaks List” for the second consecutive year. The phrase “world class” doesn’t quite capture Harbor’s athletic upside. The 6-foot-5, 240-pound receiver is a second team All-American track star who ran a 10.1 in the 100-meter and 20.20 in the 200-meter for South Carolina this summer. It’s estimated that his long speed translates into a 4.3-second 40-yard dash despite his edge defender size.

Harbor is still raw as a receiver, but it’s almost surprising that South Carolina hasn’t been able to manufacture him touches.

Players to watch

Kentucky

• Barion Brown (WR)
• Dane Key (WR)
• Deone Walker (iDL)
• Jamon Dumas-Johnson (LB)
• Maxwel Hairston (CB)

South Carolina

• Raheim Sanders (RB)
• T.J. Sanders (DL)
• Deandre Jules (DL)
• Tonka Hemingway (DL)
• Debo Williams (LB)

(24) NC State vs. (14) Tennessee

ABC – 7:30 p.m.

We don’t get many matchups between ranked teams this early in the season, so this game could be an early treat. That being said, there’s really no doubt that the best player on the field will be Tennessee edge defender James Pearce Jr.

Pearce is the current favorite to be the first edge defender drafted and a potential Top 10 (or Top 5) pick. The 6-foot-5, 245-pound junior had 52 total pressures a year ago and boasts the kind of length, speed, acceleration, and fluidity you want to see from an NFL pass rusher. His presence could make this must-watch tape for NC State offensive tackle Anthony Belton.

Belton is a massive lineman at 6-foot-5, 340 pounds and has a reputation as a very stout pass protector. He plays with all the power his frame would suggest yet moves better than expected for a player who could weigh in around 350 pounds. How he performs against Pearce could set the tone for his draft process and whether teams will view him as a guard or tackle prospect.

It might also be worth keeping an eye on NC State quarterback Grayson McCall. You might remember McCall from a long and highly productive career at Coastal Carolina, but now the three-time Sun Belt player of the year is looking to prove that he belongs in the ACC.

Players to watch

Tennessee

• Chris Brazzel (WR)
• Bru McCoy (WR)
• Javontez Spraggins (iOL)
• James Pearce Jr. (edge)
• Elijah Simmons (iDL)

NC State

• Grayson McCall (QB)
• Anthony Belton (OT)
• Dacari Collins (WR)
• Davin Vann (DL/edge)
• Aydan White (CB)