Good morning, New York Giants fans! Happy Saturday and welcome to Week 2 of the 2026 college football season.
The first full week of the 2026 season brought us plenty of fireworks (and more than a little controversy). It also started to confirm for us that this could be one of the most talented draft classes to come out of college in recent memory.
This year we’re tailoring our game and player spotlights to the Giants’ needs as they stand right now. And since there’s plenty of season ahead of us, as well as months of draft prep, we’re limiting our focus to one prospect for a game in each time slot.
That said, this is a place to discuss all of today’s College Football action.
**Spotlight: David Stone (iDL, Oklahoma)**
If I had to handicap needs for the Giants looking ahead to April, I have to put wide receiver and defensive tackle at the highest priority. So those two positions will figure heavily in our spotlights throughout the year. It helps that this is already shaping up to be an elite receiver class and an excellent defensive tackle class.
Stone is probably considered a Top 5 defensive tackle around the NFL, though where he lands will likely depend on the team doing the scouting. He has excellent traits at 6-foot-3, 315 pounds, with (what appear to be) long arms and solid athleticism. He’s explosive off the snap, and while he doesn’t (yet) have great production, he’s effective at blowing up both running and passing plays.
Michigan isn’t what they used to be a couple years ago, but they still have strong recruiting and have their share of future NFL players. Controversy surrounding Week 1 aside, this has the potential to be a fun game from a scouting perspective as well as a purely football one.
The Giants hope they don’t need to scout quarterbacks, but I have to admit that I’m excited to watch Oklahoma QB John Mateer. Mateer was simply a blast to watch prior to injuring his thumb last year, and makes me think of some kind of horrific Baker Mayfield / Philip Rivers hybrid.
**Spotlight: Ryan Coleman-Williams (WR, Alabama)**
Ryan Coleman-Williams might just wind up being the most polarizing player in this year’s draft class. Still, the Giants are going to have a need at wide receiver after this year, considering they only have four receivers on their roster, and only two under contract after this year.
Coleman-Williams is an exceptionally explosive receiver who might wind up running in the 4.2’s. He’s capable of providing instant offense and can take over a game at his best. Unfortunately, he also has maddeningly inconsistent hands and can disappear for stretches when he loses confidence in his mitts.
There are obviously plenty of guys on the Alabama squad to watch, but the Giants’ need at receiver, they’ll want to get a good feel for Coleman-Williams.
I also want to give a shoutout to Kentucky runner C.J. Baxter. He has great size at 6-foot-1, 227 pounds and the upside to be a solid pass catcher as well as a physical presence out of the backfield. I don’t feel comfortable spotlighting him just yet due to the injury issues at Texas. Still, he’s a former 5-star recruit and a name to watch this year.
**Spotlight: Hollywood Smothers (S, Texas)**
Smothers is our spotlight player, but this game is absolutely crawling with future NFL players.
All eyes will be on Texas QB Arch Manning as he looks to redeem last year’s season-opening loss to Ohio State, and from there folks will be paying attention to receivers Cam Coleman and Ryan Wingo. We focused on Ringo last week and he absolutely went off. The Giants hope that they don’t need to look at Arch, and that they’ll be too good to have a chance at Coleman.
That brings us to Smothers. The Giants have plenty of power and versatility in their backfield in Cam Skattebo, Tyrone Tracy, and Najee Harris. Smothers gives them the potential home run threat that they don’t currently have in their backfield. It’s notable that John Harbaugh and Greg Roman are known for loving power rushing attacks, but also like to have a speed counter-punch generate big plays.
Smothers is undersized at 5-foot-11, 195 pounds, but he’s averaged 6.1 yards per carry for his career and is estimated to have 4.3 or low 4.4 speed. Smothers is also surprisingly tough to get on the ground and 3.99 of his 6.1 yards per carry have come after contact and has forced 74 missed tackles.
These are two of the most talented teams in the country, so this is one of those games where my best advice is to watch, enjoy, and take note of anyone who jumps off the screen. I’ll probably be coming back to this game quite a bit during our draft prep.
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