2026 Scout's Eye - Week Zero Preview

Game of the Week

North Carolina State @ Virginia

Saturday, August 29, 2026 - Charlottesville, Va. 3:30 ET / 12:30 PT

North Carolina State Watch List:

QB CJ Bailey

OT Jimarion McCrimon 

OT Teague Andersen

EDGE Harvey Dyson

CB Brian Nelson

The best match-up of the opening weekend of college football, the Wolfpack travel to Charlottesville to face ACC rival Virginia in an important August game that will help determine who plays for the conference title in December. Bailey is a dark horse candidate to be drafted in the first-round next spring. Bailey (6'6" / 213 lbs) has put on healthy mass and muscle to get his weight up to a respectable number where his body can withstand the rigors of the position. Bailey is an outstanding athlete with very good mobility, a strong arm, and is a good team leader, but Bailey needs to improve his timing, touch, decision-making, and cut back on INTs (17 combined over the previous two seasons). The Wolfpack have a very good set of OTs - McCrimon (6'5" / 295 lbs) at OLT and Andersen (6'5" / 322 lbs) at ORT and they supply Bailey with quality pass protection. McCrimon has the length and agility desired at OLT while Andersen is a premium power player at ORT. Virginia has an experienced DL and how the NC State OL responds will impact the results of this game. A transfer from Tulane / Texas Tech, Dyson (6'2" / 248 lbs) is coming off the best season in 2025 where he recorded 8 sacks, 11.5 TFL, and 2 Forced Fumbles last year at Tulane. Dyson relies on quickness, technique, and effort to win at the POA and is the best pass rusher on the Wolfpack roster. He will be facing off against the Cavaliers' talented OT duo of McKale Boley and Monroe Mills. Those are match-ups to monitor on Saturday. NC State quietly produces NFL-quality DBs and the latest prospect is Nelson, a long, quick-footed CB who will be the Wolfpacks' number one CB this season. Virginia has a talented and fast WR corps, led by Notre Dame and UCLA transfer Rico Flores, and Nelson will be counted on to provide blanket coverage on the outside on Saturday afternoon.

Virginia Watch List:

QB Beau Pribula

OT McKale Boley (SNS No.7 ranked OT)

OT Monroe Mills

LB Kam Robinson

S Brandyn Hillman

The Cavaliers were on the cusp of making the playoffs last season, their loss to Duke in the ACC Championship game last December ended their chances, and hope that the transfer QB tandem of Pribula (Missouri / Penn State) and Eli Holstein (Pittsburgh / Alabama) can adequately replace the departed Chandler Morris. Pribula (6'2" / 200 lbs) is coming off his first-year as the starter at Missouri where he completed 67.4% of his passes for 1,941 yds, 11 TD, 9 INT while adding 297 yds and 6 TD on the ground. Pribula battled injuries and inconsistency last year but he is gutsy, tough, and heady leader who teammates respond well to. Pribula needs to improve his accuracy and decision-making this coming season. Whoever is the signal caller will have one of the best set of bookend OTs in the nation in Boley at OLT and Mills at ORT. Boley (6'5" / 329 lbs) is an experienced and productive multi-year starter with the length and lateral agility desired at OLT. Boley looks like a top 50 prospect for next spring's draft. The much traveled Mills (6'7" / 322 lbs), who has had stops at Louisville / Texas Tech / Oklahoma State, is a former 5-star recruit who has never lived up to his potential because of injuries but has the combination of length, power, and finishing ability to play for ten years in the NFL. Robinson, who tore his ACL last season against Duke, is listed as a game time decision for Saturday's game. If Robinson (6'2" / 229 lbs) had not been injured, he would have likely been drafted in the first 100 picks of last April's draft. Robinson's combination of length, speed, agility, and athleticism gives him freakish abilities that few LBs can match. If Robinson returns to full health, expect his value to skyrocket next spring. Hillman transferred to Virginia from Michigan for the chance to start after splitting reps the last two seasons in Ann Arbor. Hillman (6'0" / 190 lbs) has very good range and is a powerful and impactful tackler but he needs to refine his ball skills - Hillman has only recorded one INT in his career.

Other Games to Monitor: 

North Carolina v TCU

Saturday, August 29, 2026 - Dublin, Ireland. 12 noon ET / 9 am PT (5 pm local)

North Carolina Watch List:

QB Billy Edwards

WR Jordan Shipp

OC Christo Kelly

EDGE Melkart Abou-Jaoude

CB Kaleb Cost

Incoming transfer QB Edwards, who previously started at Wisconsin and Maryland, won the starting job over Miles O'Neill and will helm the team in Dublin on Saturday afternoon. Edwards (6'3" / 228 lbs) is not considered a true NFL prospect after missing almost all of last year at Wisconsin with a season-ending injury suffered against Maryland and may just be a placeholder until O'Neill takes over. But Edwards is an experienced, smart, and tough QB whose leadership skills will hopefully make up for any talent deficit he lacks. Edwards' best target is Shipp (6'2" / 190 lbs), who is coming off his best season in Chapel Hill after recording 60 receptions for 671 yds (11.2 avg) and 6 TD last fall. Shipp has always teased with his talent but has battled injuries and availability has always been an issue. Perhaps the highest-rated draft-eligible prospect on the Tar Heels, Kelly (transfer from Holy Cross) is an intelligent, well-balanced, and instinctive center with the size (6'4" / 310 lbs) and experience to compete for an NFL job next year. Abou-Jaoude (6'5" / 260 lbs), a transfer from Delaware, proved that he could compete at the ACC level last season after recording 10.5 sacks and 12 TFL. Abou-Jaoude wins through technique and effort. If he can repeat last season's performance, Abou-Jaoude will find himself on draft radars. Cost (5'11" / 195 lbs) is entering his third season as the Tar Heels starting slot CB and has recorded 3 INTs and 9 passes defensed over the last two seasons. Cost could vault himself into draft consideration with another solid season in Chapel Hill.

TCU Watch List: 

QB Jaden Craig

OT Ben Taylor-Whitfield

EDGE Paul Oyewale

IDL Ansel Din-Mbuh

S Jamel Johnson

After Josh Hoover took his talents to Bloomington for the 2026 season, the Horned Frogs dipped into the portal and brought in a potential upgrade in Craig, an All-Ivy League QB at Harvard. Craig (6'3" / 225 lbs) is the rare Ivy League QB with the size, frame, and production to intrigue NFL scouts. Craig has thrown for 48 TD against only 10 INT over the last two seasons in Cambridge and appears to have better field vision and decision-making skills than Hoover. Craig's first test opens up play in week one in Dublin. OLT Taylor-Whitfield is an ascending talent with the size (6'6" / 320 lbs), length, wingspan, and lateral agility to project to playing OLT in the NFL. BTW will be tasked with neutralizing Abou-Jaoude Saturday afternoon. Oyewale (6'4" / 265 lbs) enters his senior year looking to finally put it all together. Over the previous two seasons, Oyewale has teased with his upside but has yet to have the production that meets that potential. Oyewale only has 5 sacks and 12.5 TFLs over the last two seasons in Fort Worth. Din-Mbuh (6'3" / 300 lbs), a transfer from Washington State, might be ready to star this season at TCU. Din-Mbuh has displayed promise the last two seasons in Pullman, recording 8 sacks with 13.5 TFL. Din-Mbuh gets to butt heads with NFL prospect Christo Kelly Saturday afternoon. Johnson enters this fall as Bud Clark's successor (Seahawks) as the difference making ball hawk in the TCU secondary. Johnson recorded 5 INTs, 3 Passes Defensed, and 60 tackles as a junior last season.

New Mexico State @ Florida State

Saturday, August 29, 2026 - Tallahassee, Fl. 7 pm ET / 4 pm PT

New Mexico State Watch List:

RB James Jones

EDGE Gabe Peterson

S Bernock Iya 

It is unlikely that any Aggies player get drafted but at least three players look like they deserve consideration as a training camp invites next summer. Jones (6'1" / 205 lbs) nearly rushed for 1,000 yds last season at Delaware State (FCS), going for 958 yds on only 98 carries (an absurd 9.8 avg!) as a big play threat on a lower rung program. Jones' speed must be accounted for and if he can put on a decent facsimile of last season in Las Cruces this fall, Jones will firmly be on NFL draft radars next winter. Peterson (6'2" / 255 lbs) is an underized power-based EDGE who is much more effective against the run than pass with only 4.5 sacks and 9.5 TFL in his three-year college career. Iya (6'2" / 180 lbs) flashed intriguing ball skills last season with 4 INTs and 3 Passes Defensed last season. Iya needs to get stronger and be more effective tackling in space as a senior this fall. 

Florida State Watch List:

QB Ashton Daniels

RB Quintrevion Wisner

WR Duce Robinson (SNS No. 7 ranked WR)

OT Xavier Chaplin

CB Ja'Bril Rawls

Although not an elite QB prospect, Daniels (6'2" / 225 lbs) is an experienced college signal caller who is returning to a starting job after spending most of last season as Jackson Arnold's backup at Auburn. In 2023-2024 at Stanford, Daniels passed for nearly 4,000 yds, 21 TDs, and 20 INTs while adding nearly 1,000 yds rushing and 6 TDs while in Palo Alto. Daniels needs to provide a steady hand in a crucial season for coach Mike Norvell in Tallahassee. Wisner (6'0" / 203 lbs), a transfer from Texas, rushed for more than 1,000 yds two seasons ago but battled injuries last season and finished with under 600 yds rushing. Wisner gives the Seminoles their most consistent weapon to rely on this coming fall. The best NFL prospect on the Seminoles this fall is Robinson (6'6" / 230 lbs), a premiere vertical threat with a huge catch radius and very reliable hands. Robinson needs to prove to the scouting community that he has the quickness and elusiveness to stay on the outside or he may be converted to TE in the NFL next fall. Chaplin (6'8" / 346 lbs) transferred to Tallahassee from Auburn and immediately steps in as Daniels' blindside protector. Chaplin is a physical mauler who is more effective as a run blocker than as a pass protector and is likely destined to play at either ORT or OG in the NFL. Chaplin needs to refine his approach - he is too prone to bad penalties. Rawls (6'1" / 178 lbs) is entering his second-year as a starter as an outside CB for the Seminoles and has a combination of length and quickness that intrigue NFL scouts. Rawls needs to add some muscle to allow him to be more physical in coverage and improve his tackling ability as a junior.