Scouting is a year-round business for NFL teams, but most of the work during the season goes unnoticed. Every now and again there are reports of specific scouts in attendance for certain games, and today there is a notable one. VP of player personnel Dan Rooney Jr. is reportedly in the press box for today’s game between Clemson and Virginia Tech with a regional scout also joining him, per Chapel Fowler on X.
Players haven’t declared yet, so this isn’t a complete list of prospects, but Virginia Tech has one of the most promising defensive line prospects in the country with Aeneas Peebles. They also have DL Antwuan Powell-Ryland, CB Mansoor Delane and CB Dorian Strong worth keeping an eye on.
Clemson, who are currently ranked 19th in the country, have many potential 2025 prospects worth tracking. QB Cade Klubnik, OT Blake MIller, DT DeMonte Capehart, and RB Phil Mafah are just some of the notable names to keep an eye on once draft talk gets underway in a couple months.
Defensive line help figures to be high up on the list for the Steelers in the 2025 NFL Draft, so any of those defensive linemen I listed could be among the players that Rooney and the unnamed scout are interested in watching.
Peebles is more of a defensive tackle, and he has 26 total tackles, three sacks, five tackles for loss, and three passes defensed this season so far.
If Najee Harris isn’t able to be retained in free agency, Mafah could be an interesting running back prospect. He is enjoying the most productive season of his college career with 853 yards and eight touchdowns in eight games. It is his highest yards per carry average with 6.3 per carry.
Klubnik is also having a solid season for Clemson. He is on pace to shatter his numbers from last season with a 65.1 completion percentage and 2,064 passing yards on 179 completions with 21 touchdowns and three interceptions so far. If he finishes the season strong, he could rise into the conversation as one of the better quarterback prospects in the country. Some think the Steelers will be in the QB market after this season once again.
