2025 NFL Draft: Drew Allar, Prospects Who Should Forgo Eligibility with Big CFP Semi
The College Football Playoff semifinals will feature four of the level's most talented teams. Between the Notre Dame Fighting Irish, Ohio State Buckeyes, Penn State Nittany Lions and Texas Longhorns, future NFL talent abounds.
Not all of the prospects will choose to make the leap. Some should off the back of a strong performance.
The upcoming games feature projected first-round prospects, such as Penn State edge Abdul Carter and tight end Tyler Warren, Ohio State wide receiver Emeka Egbuka, Texas cornerback Jahdae Barron and offensive tackle Kelvin Banks Jr. and Notre Dame safety Xavier Watts.
Notre Dame cornerback Benjamin Morrison and Ohio State offensive tackle Josh Simmons aren't included, because they're currently dealing with injuries.
Outside of the projected first-rounders, a slew of intriguing underclassmen will have a decision to make. Jan. 15 is the deadline for those potential draftees to declare or go back for another season, with the caveat that anyone participating in the championship game has until Jan. 24 to decide.
Standout performances in the biggest games can create significant positive momentum for NFL prospects. The following nine individuals are underclassmen not currently viewed as Day 1 talents who should declare if they play at their best when the moment matters the most.
QB Quinn Ewers, Texas
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Texas quarterback Quinn Ewers has a lot to consider depending on how the Longhorns perform through the rest of the postseason, which could send him in multiple different directions.
Another poor College Football Playoff performance, like the one in last year's contest against the Washington Huskies, will demand a return to school. But will he return to Texas?
Ewers entered this season as a potential first-round pick. Yet his inconsistencies and poor pocket presence can be maddening. A stellar performance or two in which he's working in rhythm and playing efficient football—while getting a little creative by extending some plays—may be enough to push him back into that conversation, especially in a soft quarterback class. Obviously, the expectation in Texas' locker room is for that to occur.
If it doesn't, Ewers still has a year of eligibility remaining that he may have to serve elsewhere since Arch Manning needs to be on the field.
Plenty is riding on what Ewers does in the near future, with a potential NFL declaration, return to Texas or transfer on the line.
QB Drew Allar, Penn State
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Drew Allar tried to halt the conversation before it even began when he announced that he would be returning to Penn State prior to the start of the College Football Playoff.
"I know there's still more work to do, which is why I look forward to making more memories with my teammates this year and beyond," Allar said. "But right now, we are solely focused on the opportunity we have as a team in front of us."
Once that opportunity turns into history, Allar and, more importantly, the NFL may feel differently.
Right now, Allar would be QB3 behind Colorado's Shedeur Sanders and Miami's Cam Ward as a potential first-round pick. He brings prototypical size to the position, with the arm talent to attack all three levels. Playing exceptionally well from here on could vault him all the way into the top-10 range.
The NFL will be waiting.
"There are several NFL GMs who believe Allar could enter the 2025 NFL draft with a strong playoff run," The Athletic's Dane Brugler reported. "Teams are still heavily scouting him for the 2025 class."
RB Kaytron Allen, Penn State
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Penn State's backfield is loaded. Nicholas Singleton often gets the most attention, as a prospect expected to declare after this season. However, his running mate, Kaytron Allen, needs to seriously consider the possibility as well.
Allen actually leads the Nittany Lions in rushing yardage prior to Thursday's meeting with the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. The junior prospect currently sits at 1,026 yards, with 328 yards over the last three contest. Comparatively, Singleton has 332 yards from scrimmage during the same stretch.
The two backs are quite different, though.
Singleton is a three-down option whose value derives from how he can affect the passing game. He can line up wide and run routes like a receiver.
The 5'11", 229-pound Allen is a slashing and powerful runner with traditional workhorse traits.
"Kaytron, the month of December, has run like a wild man," Penn State offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki told reporters.
"We're blocking really well up front for those guys. (But Kaytron's) vision, how he's seeing it, and how he's running people over. He has some legitimate big-boy carries on film right now, and it's fun to watch."
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RB Quinshon Judkins, Ohio State
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Quinshon Judkins joined the Ohio State Buckeyes after two highly successful seasons with the Ole Miss Rebels, where he earned two first-team All-SEC nods. His season hasn't gone quite as planned in Columbus, losing some value regarding his draft status.
A shared backfield with TreVeyon Henderson limited the the effectiveness of both talented ball-carriers. Judkins hasn't carried the ball more than 17 times so far. Comparatively, the junior prospect eclipsed that number 18 times during his time at Ole Miss.
"Our coaches do such a great job at [splitting carries] ... whoever is on the field, we're both gonna do our job." Judkins told reporters.
Still, Judkins has a chance to eclipse 1,000 yards and help his team win a national championship before the campaign is complete.
The 21-year-old prospect probably won't regain his status as RB1 entering the season—Boise State's Ashton Jeanty saw to that—but he remains an explosive ball-carrier with excellent vision. In a loaded running back class, Judkins can once again stake his claim as one of the group's best.
WR Matthew Golden, Texas
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Matthew Golden had two solid seasons with the Houston Cougars before transferring to the Texas Longhorns program, where he's emerged as a legitimate WR1 for one of the nation's blue-blood programs. He can be a great example of striking while the iron is hot.
The junior prospect managed 988 yards through his first two seasons. He needs only 53 yards during Friday's contest against the Ohio State Buckeyes to eclipse that number this year.
Golden can line up all over the formation, and his burst and quickness allow him to create separation and serve as a vertical threat.
"And I think there's a level of consistency in Matthew's game that he's earned a lot of trust in myself and earned a lot of trust in Quinn [Ewers] that in a lot of the critical moments, it's easy to try to find him because you know he's going to be in the right spot and you know he's going to be competitively tough and make those plays," Texas head coach/offensive play-caller Steve Sarkisian told reporters. "And I think over time, I've learned, at least, that the moment doesn't ever get too big for him either. He remains very poised and composed in some of the bigger moments that we've had."
OT Aamil Wagner, Notre Dame
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Most of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish's top NFL talent is made of upperclassmen, with safety Xavier Watts, quarterback Riley Leonard, tight end Mitchell Evans, nose tackle Howard Cross III and linebacker Jack Kiser.
Right tackle Aamil Wagner is different as a draft-eligible underclassman with tremendous upside after excelling as a first-time starter. According to Pro Football Focus, Wagner allowed only one sack and two quarterback hits through the team's first 13 games.
Wagner has extremely long arms and shows good movement skills. The 6'6" blocker entered the program as a 265-pound recruit. He's now listed at 291.
"I think it's just a testimony to our nutrition staff and our weight room staff," Wagner told reporters. "They did a great job of preparing me for the season. Obviously adding weight has been an emphasis the last couple of years. Getting the opportunity to step on the field, it was important that I had the correct weight and the correct strength to be out there.
"They've gotten me to the point where I feel confident and strong out there. I feel like I can take on anyone. We've played some of the best defenses in the country, so to be able to hold out and for my body to hold out and feel powerful throughout was a big confidence booster."
With a good postseason showing and strong offseason preparing for the draft, Wagner can greatly help a suspect offensive tackle class.
OT Cameron Williams, Texas
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The Texas Longhorns are once again in the national conversation and competing for the chance at a national title because they acquired "bigger humans in their program."
Cameron Williams was one of those humans.
The Longhorns entered the SEC knowing their roster had to look like an SEC roster. For that to happen, the program's trench play had to be improved.
Kelvin Banks Jr. may be the star attraction as the starting left tackle, Outland Trophy winner and potential first-round draft pick, but Williams serving as Banks' bookend helped complete the transition.
Like most young offensive linemen, the 6'5", 335-pound Williams needs time to refine his technique and hone his craft. However, the 21-year-old prospect, who has been dealing with a knee injury, has at least one more opportunity, if not two, to face top-end prospects coming off the edge and prove he can handle playing on an island
With the offensive tackle class screaming for someone to step up, Williams presents significant upside with his build, length, and play style to develop into a starting-caliber option.
Edge Dani Dennis-Sutton, Penn State
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Penn State's Abdul Carter could be the first defensive player off the board in the 2025 draft, depending on which team selects the reigning Heisman Trophy winner, Travis Hunter, and how it plans to deploy him. But Carter wasn't the only Nittany Lions defensive lineman carrying a high preseason draft grade. Fellow defensive end Dani Dennis-Sutton looked like a potential first-round option.
A slow start followed by a lower-body injury derailed his season. Dennis-Sutton has picked up his play in recent weeks, particularly during Penn State's run through the College Football Playoff.
Against the SMU Mustangs and Boise State Broncos, the 6'5", 266-pound defensive end registered 2.5 sacks and four tackles for loss.
NFL teams don't forget about former 5-star recruits, not if they show any developmental potential. Dennis-Sutton definitely does. He's long, athletic and powerful. Unlike Carter, he is more of a traditional end.
A strong finish to the season can again place Dennis-Sutton on the radar as an early-round option who could turn into a dominant edge defender if brought along properly.
LB Sonny Styles, Ohio State
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Ohio State's Sonny Styles made the full-time transition from safety to linebacker this season and didn't miss a beat. If anything, he may have played at an even higher level.
With Ohio State's acquisition of All-American safety Caleb Downs as a transfer from the Alabama Crimson Tide and Lathan Ransom already on the roster, something had to give.
"I knew that I probably was going to be playing linebacker at some point," the 6'4", 239-pound Styles said last offseason. "So then, obviously when Downs came here, it's like, 'Alright, so where can I help the defense the most? If we're trying to get our best 11 on the field, where can I help the defense the most?' So that's what the conversation was."
Styles finished second on the team with 84 total tackles after accruing 53 during the previous season. He settled in at weak-side linebacker as a chase defender comfortable working in space, which is exactly where he can excel at the professional level.
The 20-year-old continuing to make plays in the College Football Playoff will further cement that he has a role and a future along the second line of an NFL defense.
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