It’s been a couple of weeks since the last edition of this column, which means there’s a lot to catch up on in the college football landscape. As elite teams battle to stay in the playoff race, future NFL stars have emerged in major moments. Not only have elite, former five-star recruits proved their worth, but sleepers in the group of five are making names for themselves as postseason All-Star games begin to send out invites. Let’s take a look at the latest risers, fallers, and ballers in college football following Week 11.

Risers

Charles Grant, OT, William and Mary

Grant has already seen his name as a riser in this column once, but the former no-star recruit has surged into contention to be named the best offensive tackle in college football. Grant has been on an all-time run as of late, only allowing one pressure in his last 203 pass-blocking snaps. He still has yet to allow a sack this season, being one of the few top offensive tackle prospects to do so. In five of his last six games, Grant has had a pass-blocking grade of 86.5 or better. These spectacular performances helped him be awarded with a Senior Bowl invite earlier this week, becoming the first player this cycle to receive such an invite. 

Jahdae Barron, DB, Texas

Flipping over to the other side of the ball, Texas has a star at the cornerback position. At 5’11” and 200 pounds, Barron is on the smaller side for a corner but has been the most consistent performer on the Longhorns’ defense this season. Barron has only allowed 58.3% of his targets to be caught and has only had one game this season where he allowed more than 30 yards in coverage. In a weaker cornerback class with many top prospects suffering season-ending injuries, Barron could sneak his way into the backend of the first round come draft night if he keeps up these performances. The top-ranked cornerback this season via Pro Football Focus, Barron has a 90.7 coverage grade, by far the best of his career. 

Fallers

Connor Tollison, C, Missouri

The redshirt junior was having a career year before suffering a season-ending knee injury against Oklahoma this past weekend. A great run blocker, Tollison was playing himself into being a day-three pick in this upcoming draft. However, his injury puts his decision to declare status up in the air. The longtime center for the Tigers, Tollison has started 34 games in his career at Missouri. Not only is Tollison out for the rest of the Tigers season, but his status for participating in an All-Star event in late January is also in flux. Depending on the extent of the injury, Tollison might have to sit out on-field workouts during the All-Star circuit and just go for pre-draft interviews. 

Carson Beck, QB, Georgia

Heading into this season, Beck was a contender for the top quarterback prospect in this class. His consistent accuracy throughout the 2023 college football season was some of the best from any quarterback. However, it has been a nightmare in recent weeks for the former four-star recruit out of Florida. In his last three games, Beck has eight turnover-worthy plays and zero big-time throws. His turnover-worthy play rate of 4.6% is the highest he has ever had in a single season. It all came crumbling down in Georgia’s 28-10 loss to Ole Miss, where Beck’s weaknesses were heavily exposed. He struggled to find a rhythm throughout, leading to an unimpressive performance of only 186 passing yards, including an interception, with zero touchdowns. Depending on how the rest of the season goes and if the Bulldogs make it into the College Football Playoff, Beck will have a decision to make with one year of eligibility remaining. 

Ballers

Boise State RB Ashton Jeanty vs Nevada (34 rushes, 221 total yards, 3 rushing TDs)

Ashton Jeanty could be featured in this column every week. The Heisman front-runner had another commanding performance in a crucial conference showdown against the Wolfpack of Nevada. Jeanty averaged over six yards per carry for a seventh time this season; which is more than any other running back in the country by far. Jeanty is up to 1,734 rushing yards and 23 rushing touchdowns on the year with three more regular season games to go. Jeanty demonstrated why his name should be called early at the draft in a couple of months and is helping carry the Broncos into the College Football Playoff.

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