I played offensive line for eight seasons in the NFL, and before that I spent my Saturdays in Autzen Stadium in Eugene, Oregon, blocking for guys who ended up on lists like this one. So when I watch college football now, I watch for the stuff that signaled to me in the huddle whether a guy was for real.
I’m picking the 10 players who impressed me most during the previous weekend. Not just the gaudiest stat lines, but the performances that hold up when you turn the tape on. Some weeks, that’ll be an edge rusher wreaking havoc. Other weeks, it’ll be a lineman you’ve never heard of who didn’t lose a rep all afternoon. I have a soft spot for those guys.
Week 2 belonged to the quarterbacks. Let’s get into it.
Trinidad is on a generational run since the start of the College Football Playoff last season. He was fantastic in all three CFP games and now he’s started 2026 with two excellent outings against ranked opponents. Against LSU on Saturday night, he threw for 363 yards and two touchdowns. His play-making ability looks easy and he’s effortless when throwing the ball.
West Virginia smoked rival Virginia as double-digit underdogs thanks to Hawkins Jr. He threw for 190 but also added 123 rushing yards. The signal caller contributed to all five Mountaineer touchdowns with two passing and three rushing for five total in the game. He was the engine for the offense.
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The Miami quarterback started his first road game for the Hurricanes by completing 24 straight passes, three shy of breaking the FBS record. He was super efficient in finding the open receiver and when his favorite target left the game, he was able to move the ball on offense without him.
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Indiana lost two receivers to the NFL after their title run and Becker might be better than both of them. All he does is catch touchdown passes for Indiana. He added another one against Western Kentucky to bring his total to six for the season. He caught five passes for a whopping 127 yards. That’s 25 yards a reception. Becker is a game-changer at receiver for the Hoosiers.
Keelon Russell put Alabama on his back in Saturday’s 50-36 win over Florida State. He completed 23 of 30 passes for 320 yards and three touchdowns while adding 56 rushing yards and another score.
Russell became just the third quarterback in Alabama history to record at least 300 passing yards and 50 rushing yards in a game. He is also the first Crimson Tide signal caller to throw for at least 300 yards, three passing touchdowns, a rushing TD, and zero interceptions.
Sheppard is the best running back that no one is talking about. In just three games for the Blue Devils he’s got 528 yards on 82 carries, good for 6.4 yards per attempt. In Duke’s dominating win against Stanford he carried 23 times for 154 yards and two scores.
Sammy Omoisgho was a machine for the Bruins on Saturday against Purdue. He had 12 tackles, 11 of which were solo. He also added two sacks and two forced fumbles which UCLA turned into a touchdown as Purdue was driving to take the lead. Omosigho is just the second Bruin since 2013 to register two sacks and wo forced fumbles in a single game.
Reynolds is a name you’re going to start hearing come draft time. He had 12 catches for 107 yards and a touchdown against Maryland this weekend. He was unstoppable with some high difficulty catches.
If this was a space to celebrate coaches, I’d have Kentucky’s Will Stein No. 1 for the week. However, his quarterback will get the love for the teams’ awesome performance on Saturday. They upset Texas A&M on the road, and beat the Aggies for the first time since 1952. Minchey was 14 of 18 for 252 yards and two touchdowns. A clean game is what’s needed for a road upset and he had it.
I highlighted his favorite receiving target last week and now Atkinson gets the love. The Mercer transfer quarterback had 333 yards and five touchdown passes against Montana. The Beavers are 1-2 but the vibes are high in Corvallis during a rebuild season.
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