Another week of college football is in the books which means another edition of risers, fallers, and ballers. The college football regular season is already halfway complete, but there lacks a top team among the game’s elite programs. It was another great week of action though, as there were multiple top-ten matchups highlighted by Georgia traveling to Austin and upsetting top-ranked Texas. Let’s dive into this week’s biggest NFL draft risers, fallers, and ballers. 

Risers:

Trevor Etienne, RB, Georgia

The younger brother of Jaguars running back Travis Etienne is making a name for himself in the college football world. The true junior spent the past two seasons in Gainesville before transferring to rival Georgia last winter. Trevor has a smaller build but makes up for it with his game-breaking acceleration and ability to get to the edge of the field quickly. Etienne has scored all seven of his touchdowns this season in his past four games for the Bulldogs. He is also averaging over three and a half yards after contact to go along with 13 carries of ten-plus yards this season. 

Jalon Walker, LB/EDGE, Georgia

Yes, both risers for this week belong to the Georgia Bulldogs, and for good reason. Offensively, Etienne leads their rushing attack, but on defense, the Bulldogs might have one of the most versatile athletes in the entire country. Walker mainly played off-ball linebacker during his first two seasons at Georgia, however, this past offseason Kirby Smart and the defensive coaching staff started to use him along the line of scrimmage more. As a result, Walker is playing a role similar to what Nolan Smith played for the Dogs in their championship run a couple of years ago. Smart’s decision is paying off, as the 6’2″ 245-pound do-it-all linebacker had his best game of the season this past Saturday against the nation’s top-ranked team. Walker had seven pressures and three sacks in the first half alone. Performances like this one will continue to build Walker’s already strong draft stock and potentially turn him into a top-ten pick come April. 

Fallers:

Quinn Ewers, QB, Texas

It was a rough outing for the former No. 1 recruit in the country against Georgia’s top-ranked defense. Ewers has struggled as of late, but it all fell apart in the first half against the Bulldogs. Ewers finished the game with six turnover-worthy plays, a career-high for the senior quarterback. From the time when he first transferred to Texas to now, Ewers has had high hopes from the media and the Texas fanbase to bring UT back to glory. Fortunately for Longhorn fans, Texas is still most likely going to make the playoffs, but unfortunately for Ewers, he is seeing his draft stock take a massive fall. 

Travis Hunter, WR/CB, Colorado

If Travis Hunter is a Heisman candidate then why is he considered a faller? Hear me out: Hunter has been an all-worldly type of player this season and is accomplishing feats that college football fans have not seen in decades. However, even though Hunter himself has said multiple times he can play both sides of the ball in the NFL, he won’t. Hunter played over 120 snaps in each of his first five games this season, but he has left his last two games early due to injury. If Hunter can’t sustain being on the field playing both positions in a shorter college season, how could he do it in an even longer NFL year? Hunter has the talent to be a first-round pick playing either receiver or cornerback in the league, but the trait that will stop him from doing that is his reliability and endurance in the second half of seasons. 

Ballers:

Navy DB Dashaun Peele vs. Charlotte (2 interceptions, 1 sack, 1 PBU)

The Shipmen of the Navy have had a historic undefeated season up to this point that has landed them in the AP Top 25 for the second consecutive week. In another dominant 51-17 win against Charlotte, senior cornerback Dashaun Peele had a game for the ages. Peele picked off Charlotte quarterback and former Florida transfer Max Brown twice, along with picking up a sack as well. Peele finished with a 92.3 PFF grade, the highest by any cornerback in the country last week. Peele also had a 93.7 coverage grade, which was the highest in the nation in Week 8. It was a lockdown performance for Peele, who only allowed one catch for eleven yards on four targets in the game. A performance such as this one helps put players on the map, and a few more could help him get invited to an All-Star game this January.

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