Hi everyone! Here's my weekly column on players that have shined this past week. There are a couple of recent draft twitter favorites included on here, and yes they should absolutely be favorites. Please feel free to drop by in the comments and suggest some players that you love that are getting under-appreciated. As always, the full article is below, but the link to the SubStack is here and I'd love for anyone to like or subscribe as it is free and just fun for me to write about. All the best!
https://theday2guys.substack.com/p/the-day-2-guys-week-8-stock-up-college?r=2mc4kp&utm_campaign=post-expanded-share&utm_medium=web
Tobi Osunsanmi, EDGE, Indiana Univ. - Senior - “Toby is in HR, which technically means he works for corporate, so he’s really not a part of our family. Also, he’s divorced, so he’s really not a part of his family.” - Michael Scott from The Office
Since we have a player named Tobi in this Stock Up article, I thought it appropriate to include one of Michael’s best quotes about his arch-nemesis, Toby, from the beloved (by me) show The Office.
Tobi Osunsanmi is one of the few defenders that I have highlighted this season, as I tend to have more information in-season on offensive skill players. Osunsanmi has produced 4 sacks the last two weeks against the toughest competition he will face all year. Osunsanmi had 2 sacks against Ohio State Univ. and 2 more this week against the Univ. of Michigan. Osunsanmi’s second sack this past weekend was extremely impressive as he blew by the Michigan RT with speed and then bent around the corner to sack Tommy Carr.
Osunsanmi, like many players, has had an interesting developmental path to land where he is today. He was a consensus 4-star recruit out of Kansas despite only having 5 offers. He committed to in-state Kansas State to be an off-ball linebacker after playing all over the field on defense in high school. Osunsanmi was playing at 210 pounds in high school and ran extremely fast 100 meter numbers (10.85 in the 100 meter in HS).
Once Osunsanmi enrolled at Kansas State, the staff asked him to bulk up and transition to EDGE during his Redshirt-Freshman season. Slowly, Osunsanmi played more and more until he started for Kansas State in 2025. Despite getting hurt and being out half of the season, Osunsanmi played very well and was their most impactful defender. Osunsanmi then parlayed that to transfer and use his last year of eligibility at a new home that could coach him into an NFL-ready player. Fast forward to this season, and Osunsanmi has shown he can be that speed rusher for your team. He has 9 sacks this season, and they aren’t coming against bad teams/players. He has 7 straight games with a sack dating all the way back to Indiana’s second game of the season (1 sack vs. Howard University).
Players of Osunsanmi’s stature (6’ 2” / 250 pounds) generally get dismissed as not being three-down players because of limited strength and length, but from what I’ve seen, he is able to play the run well enough to stay on the field. In fact, in many cases that I have watched, he is making plays in the backfield on run plays and holding his ground against big tackles. He will always have a bit of a harder time than bigger, longer ends, but at least he is playable for all three downs. The pass rush upside is immense because of how new he is to the position. There is more upside to tap into, and that’s saying something coming from someone who is second in sacks in all of the FBS (1 behind leader Colin Simmons).
I am curious where national draft analysts will put him after this year, as the sample size isn’t all that large and he’s a late breakout. Keep in mind that had he been playing EDGE for longer, we probably would have seen him break out a year or two earlier. This happens all the time, and being a late breakout doesn’t always mean they are older than other prospects and therefore, better. In this case, Osunsanmi just needed to find a position and feel comfortable in the role in order to thrive, and boy is he thriving!
James Jones, RB, New Mexico State Univ. - Redshirt Senior - Jones is a well-traveled man. He’s spent 5 years at 4 different places trying to climb the dreaded ladder of relevancy. Jones has officially arrived on my map, and should be talked about as an NFL draft prospect in the offseason, even if it’s towards the back end of the draft. Jones, who played two years at Garden City Community College in Kansas, then transferred to the Univ. of Louisiana Monroe where he oddly enough shared a backfield with highly-esteemed running back Ahmad Hardy in 2024. Both Hardy and Jones transferred out of the program, and Jones decided to go to Delaware State Univ. where he shined as a play-making running back for the Hornets.
In 2025 with DSU, Jones recorded 98 carries / 958 yards / 9 touchdowns (9.8 yards per carry). Now, after another transfer - this time to New Mexico State, Jones has put himself firmly on draft radars as he has been one of the best running backs in football.
In 2026, Jones has 119 carries / 777 yards / 4 touchdowns (6.5 ypc). He also has 8 receptions / 50 yards / 1 touchdown. His rushing total is good for 14th most in the FBS this year, and only two players with more yards have fewer carries than Jones does which means that Jones’s efficiency is fantastic even with the volume he is receiving.
Jones is a taller back at 6’ 1” / 205 pounds and he does run a bit more upright than the typical running back as a result, but he’s got burst through the hole and good vision to make plays for any NFL team. Jones has the added bonus of creating missed tackles because of his size. Defenders bounce off of him, and he has a really nice stiff arm that he applies regularly. Jones doesn’t have much receiving work in his three seasons at the FBS level, so that is something he will have to prove he can do when he’s on the college showcase at the end of the season.
Jackson Harris, WR, Louisiana State Univ. - Redshirt Junior - I had a sneaky suspicion that Harris was going to be the best offensive player for LSU this year. I saw his transfer film one evening on YouTube from his time at Hawaii and came away very impressed by how easily he moved at his size. It’s a total crapshoot trying to figure out how well players are going to play when they transfer up. I thought the same thing about Isiah Canion at Georgia this year and he’s barely gotten on the field.
Harris has been otherworldly the past few weeks for LSU after putting up very nice numbers for the Rainbow Warriors. After only recording 5 catches through the first 3 games of the season, Harris has 31 more over the last 5 games.
His totals for the year are: 36 receptions / 634 yards / 7 TDs. He has 17.6 yards per reception and a 41-yard passing touchdown as well. These are very good numbers for a player who made his way over to the SEC from the Mountain West.
Harris started out as a soccer player in high school who arrived on the football scene halfway through high school. He broke a finger his junior season before having the best receiver season in the state of California in 2022. That led to several D-1 offers including Stanford Univ. where he committed and played sparingly for two years. Harris then transferred to Hawaii in 2025 and blossomed with Micah Alejado at QB. Harris then parlayed an almost 1,000 yard season into a dream fit as the primary target in Lane Kiffin’s excellent offensive system.
Standing 6’ 2” tall and 205 pounds, Harris is an ideal X-receiver at the next level. He’s got the speed on the outside to win vertically, and has excellent ball skills. Harris’s best trait to me is his long speed. He is never caught from behind and has made a habit of turning plays into long touchdowns. This season Harris has produced touchdowns of 41 yards (Miss. State), 57 yards (Texas A&M), and 70 yards (Auburn). Last year at Hawaii, Harris led all of college football with 5 catches of 60+ yards. 5! - Absolutely insane for any level of football. Harris has the goods and should be an early NFL draft pick should he come out after this year.
Dylan Riley, RB, Boise State Univ. - Junior - Riley might be the buzziest name on the NFL Draft radar right now. After a solid sophomore season, Riley has emerged as one of the darlings of the NFL Draft twitter-verse the last couple of weeks. So much so, that I have seen analysts ranking him as high as the RB2 in the 2027 draft class behind Jadan Baugh. I dove into some tape to see if those lofty rankings are legit or not. I had seen highlights here and there and was impressed, but I went ahead and watched for myself after another standout performance this weekend against Washington State Univ.
Riley has a turbo button that not many running backs have - in high school he ran a 10.74 second 100-meter dash which is absolutely blazing. That track speed is on display every week. Riley has four rushes for 70+ yards this season, and his speed is a major reason for his incredible junior season. While he is smaller-sized, at 5’ 10” / 203 pounds, the lighter frame helps him burst through holes and accelerate. Players who are going to succeed at the next level need to have calling cards to their games, and for Riley - speed is that card. Riley leads all of the FBS in rushing with 963 yards on 140 carries. He has 6.9 yards per carry to go along with 12 receptions / 125 yards / 1 touchdown.
Riley is not a one-trick pony, however. After gaining 10 pounds this offseason, Riley has showcased much more power in his game and is one of the leading missed tackles forced runners in the country. This past week he forced 9 missed tackles, and earlier this year against Memphis, he forced 13 missed tackles. Riley is absolutely legit, and will be picked in the top-60 of this NFL Draft if he declares.
Riley will need to continue to work on his blocking acumen, but as I’ve stated many times, that’s something that takes reps and time. Most running backs eventually figure out how to protect.
Looking back at Week 7 players that were highlighted:
Last week I focused on most of the Houston Cougars offensive players before their big game against Utah. While the Cougars lost and only scored 13 points in a very tough environment to play in, the players on offense still had nice nights.
Conner Weigman (Houston QB) - 19-35 passing (54.3 completion %) for 282 yards and 1 fumble lost - Despite scoring only 13 points and having his worst completion percentage of the year, Weigman held his own in a really difficult situation. Utah had only surrendered more than 282 yards in the air once (against Kansas - most of which happened in the 4th quarter in somewhat garbage time). I’m still bullish on Weigman despite the loss.
Amare Thomas (Houston WR) - 5 receptions / 133 yards / 0 touchdowns - Thomas made a mockery of the Utah cornerbacks and was the player of the game for Houston. Thomas has continued to deliver all season for the Cougars and will be a fun player next season in the NFL.
Patrick Overmyer (Houston TE) - 1 reception / 0 yards - Unfortunately, Overmyer looked to get a likely concussion on the first drive of the game. He was sorely missed as one of Weigman’s favorite targets this year. Hopefully he is ok, and won’t be affected by the head injury.
Makhi Hughes (Houston RB) and Re’Shaun Sanford II (Houston RB) - 22 carries / 59 yards / 1 touchdown and 3 receptions / 29 yards (combined) - Hughes took the bulk of the carries in the game (19) and was completely bottled up while Sanford had 23 of the receiving yards. Utah’s defense suffocated the Houston running game as they also only allowed Weigman to have 20 yards rushing as well. Great job by Utah’s run defense.