In a great weekend of college football across the country, the Pittsburgh Steelers sent their scouts out on the road to get a first-hand look at some draft prospects in big-time matchups Saturday.
According to a report from ESPN’s Jordan Reid, the Steelers are one of 15 teams with a scout at the Texas-Oklahoma Red River Rivalry matchup on Saturday at the Cotton Bowl.
Additionally, the Steelers reportedly have at least two scouts at the Ohio State-Maryland Big Ten showdown on Saturday, according to Ohio State beat reporter Dan Hope for elevenwarriors.com.
The Steelers also reportedly have a scout at the Temple-UTSA game on Saturday as well, according to Ryan Whalen, a Temple beat writer for 247 Sports.
With those two being two of the biggest matchups on the day, it’s no surprise that GM Omar Khan and assistant GM Andy Weidl have their scouts out on the road to get a look at some of the top college football prospects ahead of the 2024 NFL Draft.
In Oklahoma-Texas, the Steelers will have their scout getting a look at a number of talented prospects on both sides of the field.
For Texas, that would include quarterback Quinn Ewers, wide receivers Xavier Worthy and Adonai Mitchell, tight end Ja’Tavion Sanders and offensive lineman Christian Jones. Defensively, Texas has NFL prospects in defensive linemen T’Vondre Sweat and Barryn Sorrell, linebacker Jaylan Ford and safety Jalen Catalon.
Ewers is having a great 2023 season. Entering the Red River Rivalry showdown with Oklahoma, Ewers has thrown for 1,358 yards, 10 touchdowns and just one interception. He’s added four rushing touchdowns on the season as well. Ewers is listed at 6’2, 195 pounds and is a former 5-star quarterback.
His top two targets at Texas are Worthy (6’1, 172) and Mitchell (6’4, 196), who transferred from Georgia. So far this season, Worthy has 345 receiving yards and three touchdowns on 26 catches, while Mitchell has 22 receptions for 321 yards and four touchdowns.
Jones is a sixth-year offensive lineman that is a former high school soccer player that made the switch to football due to his size. He is listed at 6’6, 321 pounds and had 35 career starts coming into the season.
Defensively, Catalon (5’10, 202) is a former All-SEC defensive back at Arkansas who transferred to Texas for the 2023 season. He’s stepped into a leadership in the secondary for the Longhorns as that versatile, physical safety.
Oklahoma boasts quarterback Dillon Gabriel, offensive lineman Tyler Guyton and linebacker Danny Stutsman as NFL Draft prospects.
Guyton is a transfer from TCU who is listed at 6’6, 305 pounds who allowed just two hurries at right tackle in 2022 for Oklahoma. Stutsman (6’4, 236) is a tackling machine, having racked up 163 total tackles, 12.0 tackles for loss, four sacks and two interceptions entering the 2023 season. So far this season, Stutsman has recorded 49 tackles, 9.0 tackles for loss and two sacks. Name to watch at inside linebacker moving forward.
At Ohio State-Maryland, it’s well-known that the Steelers love players from both of those schools, so it’s no surprise that the Steelers have two representatives there.
Ohio State has some of the top offensive prospects in the draft class, featuring wide receivers Marvin Harrison Jr., and Emeke Egbuka, offensive lineman Donovan Jackson and running back TreVeyon Henderson. Defensively, Ohio State is loaded as well with pass rushers Jack Sawyer and J.T. Tuimaloa, defensive lineman Michael Hall, linebackers Tommy Eichenberg and Steele Chambers, and cornerback Denzel Burke.
Egbuka (6’1, 206) has been linked to the Steelers in the past with a need at receiver. So far in 2023, Egbuka has 19 receptions for 263 yards and three touchdowns for the Buckeyes. In his career, Egbuka 102 receptions for 1,605 yards and 13 touchdowns and has 14 career carries for 105 yards and two scores.
Eichenberg and Chambers are names to certainly know moving forward as they are arguably one of the best linebacker tandems in the country. Eichenberg (6’2, 239) has 25 tackles and a sack on the season and has 211 tackles, 3.5 sacks and two interceptions in his career for the Buckeyes, earning first-team All Big Ten last season as well as being a second-team All-American and a Butkus Award finalist.
Chambers (6’1, 232) is a three-year starter for the Buckeyes at linebacker after switching from running back in 2021. At linebacker he has 132 career tackles, 11 tackles for loss, two sacks and three interceptions and should test off the charts for the position at the Combine and at his Pro Day.
Maryland has a few intriguing pieces in the likes of quarterback Taulia Tagovailoa, the younger brother of Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, wide receiver Kaden Prather on offense and safety Beau Brade defensively.
