A loaded college football slate of games in week one is headlined by Saturday’s big noon matchup of Ohio State and Texas.
Let’s take a look at the best NFL Draft-eligible prospects for the game between two teams that are ranked in the top five.
The best prospect for Ohio State this season is Caleb Downs. Downs was an All-American in 2024. He has a chance to be a top 15 draft selection, and that is no small feat for a safety.
Michael Taaffe is another safety prospect to watch in this game. He is a bit undersized for the position. Listed at under 180 pounds, he is an excellent coverage player who has played safety, but may ultimately be a slot cornerback in the NFL.
Sonny Styles is another Buckeye to watch out for. The converted safety to linebacker put up 100 tackles and 6 sacks in 2024. He is expected to be a top 50 draft selection in 2026. The Bengals drafted Demetrius Knight and Barrett Carter in 2025. Both players are expected to have big roles for the Bengals this season. If they want to add another player at the position, they will have their eyes on Styles and Texas linebacker Anthony Hill Jr.
Anthony Hill Jr. had 113 tackles and 8 sacks in 2024 for the Longhorns. He is a do-it-all linebacker prospect who is so good rushing the passer that some draft analysts think he could be a full-time edge player in the NFL.
The Bengals have been building depth and talent on the offensive line for the last couple of seasons. If they want to continue doing so, this game is loaded with prospects of interest.
At tackle, the Buckeyes have Austin Siereveld, Phillip Daniels, and Ethan Onianwa as draft-eligible prospects.
Meanwhile, Texas has a very talented prospect in left tackle Trevor Goosby. Other offensive line prospects on the interior include Buckeyes Luke Montgomery, Carson Hinzman, and Tegra Tshabola. On the opposite side, Texas has DJ Campbell, Cole Hutson, and Neto Umeozulu.
Some other prospects of note for the 2026 draft, even if they are not necessarily going to be Cincinnati Bengals targets, include players like Arch Manning, Tre Wisner, CJ Baxter, DeAndre Moore, Jack Endries, Cole Brevard, and Malik Muhammad for Texas.
Other draft-eligible prospects for Ohio State are Carnell Tate, Max Klare, CJ Donaldson, Kenyatta Jackson Jr., Beau Atkinson, Kayden McDonald, Jermaine Mathews, Davison Igbinosun, and Lorenzo Styles Jr.
With all of this talent, it is easy to see why this may be the most anticipated regular season college football game of the season.
Who do you think will pull off the victory? Sound off!!
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