While the 2026 NFL Draft remains months away, Week 13 of the college football campaign provided league executives and fans alike plenty to think about.
As the calendar pushes into late November and the college football season enters its final stretch, the board is reshaping itself once again.
Early-season hype and spring scouting grades laid the groundwork back in August, but 13 weeks of real tape have brought a new wave of prospects to the forefront. These four players have surged into the conversation -- and NFL evaluators are taking notice.
Notre Dame RB Jeremiyah Love leads 2026 NFL Draft prospects on the rise
RB Jeremiyah Love, Notre Dame
The premier running back in the 2026 class, Love was once again sensational, but it wasn't the amount of damage he did against Syracuse, it was how he did it.
In what was a 63-point blowout of the Orange, Love carried the ball just eight times on the afternoon, yet reached the endzone three times, amassing 171 yards on the ground at a gaudy 21.4 yards a touch.
He and teammate Jadarian Price will be a heck of a duo to stop come time for the College Football Playoff.
EDGE Akheem Mesidor, Miami
While his running mate on the opposite side of the line in Rueben Bain gets all the attention as a likely top 10 pick, Mesidor has done a fine job for his own NFL draft stock this fall, totaling 43 pressures and eight sacks so far this fall.
This week, he was outstanding once again on the road against Virginia Tech, recording a sack, and eight total pressures on the afternoon to lead all Hurricanes defenders.
Keep an eye out for his name come Day 2 of the draft in April.
OL Vega Ioane, Penn State
While you usually see a lot of the skill players or flashy defenders on these types of lists, the hogs up front deserve some love sometimes, too.
One of the premier interior maulers in the class, Ioane has been simply outstanding for the Nittany Lions this fall. He's failed to allow a single sack or QB hit all season long, and has been accredited with just two pressures to his name in 275 pass pro snaps.
Everyone loves the splash of adding a talented signal-caller or shutdown corner that can run 4.3, but Ioane is the type of player that will help in establishing a foundation for an NFL offense the moment he steps into the building.
RB Joe Jackson, Kansas State
What an unbelievable day it was for Jackson, running roughshod over a usually stout Utah Utes front seven.
293 yards on the ground on 24 touches (12.2 a carry), with three touchdowns and another 19 yards through the air headlined a historic day for the redshirt sophomore running back.
It's extremely likely he'll return to school for 2026 as he's only had one real year of production (2025), but he's a name to know in the future as a player that looks the part at 6-foot, 215 pounds out of the loaded talent pool that is the state of Florida (Haines City).