4 Takeaways From Texas’ Comeback Win Over Ohio State — With An NFL Draft Twist

Normally, college football fans have to wait until the first snow flurries of the year for the biggest regular-season games. That wasn’t the case this year, as we were treated to a thrilling early-season showdown between Ohio State and Texas on Saturday night. Both teams entered the matchup loaded with future NFL Draft picks, but let’s face it: Most of the attention was on quarterbacks Arch Manning and Julian Sayin, along with star pass-catchers Cam Coleman and Jeremiah Smith. Sayin and Smith were spectacular in the first half, while Manning looked like a future franchise quarterback in the second. The end result? A wild, fun-filled affair that ended with the Longhorns pulling off a 24-23 comeback win. Here are my takeaways from Texas’ thrilling win over Ohio State, with an NFL Draft twist. These four prospects are ranked in the order in which I would currently select them if I were building an NFL roster. 1. Jeremiah Smith Is The Top NFL Prospect In The Country – And It’s Not Close Ohio State wide receiver Jeremiah Smith wasn’t just the best player in this game. He’s the top NFL prospect in the country and one of the highest graded prospects I’ve evaluated in nearly 30 years as a professional scout. I’ve often compared Smith to future Hall of Famer Julio Jones, but in reality, that is short-changing the Buckeyes’ star wideout. Like Jones, Smith offers an exceptional combination of size, strength and speed. He is already a far better route-runner than Jones was at this point in his collegiate career.Smith has the ability to sink his hips and change direction like you would see from a smaller wide receiver. But at 6-foot-4, 222 pounds, he not only has strong and reliable hands, but he is also savvy at shielding the ball from defenders. He displayed that late in the first half, setting up a Texas defender before contorting his body in the air to make a highlight-reel catch. Smith easily blazes by the cornerback and is wide open, but he’s forced to turn around and adjust his body midair to make the grab. He uses his strong hands to come down with the football, giving the Buckeyes a first down and putting them in scoring position. Smith finished with a game-high eight catches for 164 yards and a touchdown. He was undoubtedly the best player on the field, despite the Buckeyes’ loss. NFL Player Comparison: Julio Jones NFL Draft Grade: Top-5 selection 2. Arch Manning Possesses The Traits To Be A Franchise QB While Smith was the top player on the field Saturday night and the best overall prospect in the 2026 draft, the top quarterback will almost surely be the first pick. Quarterbacks make more money because they matter more. Fair or not, that’s just the reality of football. I’m not ready to pronounce Manning as the best quarterback in college football, but I do believe he can become that, with a few relatively small improvements. He possesses all the physical traits to project as a franchise quarterback and there is plenty of evidence that he also has the requisite mental toughness, given the microscope he’s played under his entire life. That’s just the reality of growing up a Manning. Throws like this one are just expected. Manning has endured nearly impossible expectations, with his occasional growing pains frequently cited by critics and his moments of brilliance either ignored or too often credited to his head coach, Steve Sarkisian. Some have even already labeled him as “overrated” or a “bust.” Given that he now has 40 touchdowns and just 11 interceptions in his college career, including Saturday night’s historic comeback win over the No. 2-ranked Buckeyes, it seems like Manning is being held to a higher standard than any other quarterback. He’s a quarterback, not Amazon delivery. High-level quarterback play takes time. There just aren’t many quarterbacks in college — or even the NFL — who can make throws like the one above or lead their team to 21 fourth-quarter points against an Ohio State defense littered with NFL-caliber talent from top to bottom. That is why Manning is a first-round lock. NFL Player Comparison: Trevor Lawrence NFL Draft Grade: Top-5 selection 3. Cam Coleman Is Silky Smooth — But We Didn’t See It One of the reasons I am so bullish on Manning taking his game to another level this fall is the fact that Texas lured Coleman from Auburn to Austin. In most other drafts — including last year’s — Coleman would be the top-ranked wide receiver. He’s silky smooth, with excellent agility and acceleration, and possesses the body control to make difficult receptions look easy. Early in the first quarter, Manning dropped back and threw a deep ball to Coleman, who extended his body and appeared to come down with the ball. The ball popped out of Coleman’s hands when he hit the ground and into the hands of Ohio State safety Jaylen McClain. The replay appeared to show Coleman dragging his foot while maintaining possession, but the play was ruled a pick. Now, to be clear, Coleman’s knack for making circus catches does not automatically make him a future No. 1 receiver in the NFL. He needs to show greater nuance as a route-runner and cut down on dropped passes. He finished with only three catches for 35 yards while being targeted five times on Saturday night. I believe Coleman will improve in each of these areas at Texas. Quarterbacks and receivers typically need time to develop a rapport. And while we didn’t see many highlight-reel moments from Coleman on Saturday, he did haul in two touchdown catches in the Longhorns’ Week 1 win, including a 44-yard bomb down the right sideline. It isn’t often that a receiver competing against SEC competition has 15 touchdown receptions in just 24 career games and is still only scratching the surface of his potential. That is the case with Coleman. NFL Player Comparison: A.J. Green NFL Draft Grade: Top 10 4. Julian Sayin Has Elite Diagnostic Skills And Touch Projecting Sayin to the NFL is a tougher task than projecting Manning for a variety of reasons. Most importantly, he simply isn’t as physically gifted. He isn’t as tall, strong-armed or athletic. Sayin has also been blessed with remarkably talented wide receivers. It is easier to complete passes, of course, when the receivers are seemingly always open and catch everything thrown in their general direction — which we saw in the first half with Smith on Saturday night. What Sayin lacks in arm strength, however, he makes up for with his processing ability and touch. Last year, as a redshirt freshman, he led the country with a 77% completion rate after throwing 301 passes, the most of any Big Ten quarterback. Sayin isn’t a checkdown magnet, and he rarely puts the ball in harm’s way. He is very effective on layered throws between the second and third levels of the defense and consistently shows the ability to stand tall in the pocket and deliver a pass where only his receiver can make a play on it, just as he did on this touchdown pass to Smith. Sayin isn’t the type to wow with his physical attributes, but I am impressed with his steadiness and poise. Those traits can translate even better at the NFL level than a flashy arm or scrambling ability. But he needs to play well in big games to continue to develop that reputation. After finishing the first half 12-of-16 for 192 yards and a touchdown, Sayin completed just five passes after halftime as the Buckeyes were held to three second-half points. NFL Comparison: Kirk Cousins NFL Draft Grade: Third Round