Story by
Draft prospects to watch for the NY Giants in Week 8
- Story by
- Draft prospects to watch for the NY Giants in Week 8
Tennessee defensive tackle Xavier Gilliam pressures Texas QB Arch Manning | ISI Photos via Getty Images
Good morning New York Giants fans! Happy Saturday and welcome to Week 8 of the 2026 college football season!
The college football landscape got put in a blender last week, with upsets galore in an already turbulent year for football. The talent landscape is more even than we've seen it in quite some time — maybe ever — and that's not only surfacing some incredibly intriguing prospects, it's also giving us thrilling games on a weekly basis.
Advertisement
As usual, we're going to look at college football through the lens of the Giants' perceived needs and how various prospects might fit. This week we're looking at the Safety, Defensive Tackle, and Running Back positions.
Auburn vs. (18) LSU
ABC – noon
One thing is for sure in this game: the Tigers are going to win.
LSU is trying to claw their way back into the College Football Playoff picture while Auburn wants to build on last week's upset win over Georgia. LSU certainly boasts more NFL caliber talent than Auburn, but we should expect this to be a tough, physical showdown.
But for our purposes, we're looking at LSU's roster, and their secondary in particular.
Advertisement
Player spotlight: Ty Benefield (S, LSU)
We mentioned Benefield way back in Week 1, and now it's time to circle back for a closer look. Ty Benefield has great size for a modern safety at 6-foot-3, 208 pounds, and is rounding into form as a playmaker for LSU's defense. He transferred to LSU from Boise State and brings versatility as a multi-dimensional playmaker. His size allows him to play the STAR or MONEY role as a hybrid at the second level of the defense, while also having the athleticism to be a traditional safety on the back end of the defense. So far Benefield has 30 total tackles. a sack, a tackle for loss, an interception, and two passes defensed.
Benefield is currently considered a Day 2 prospect, and has the potential to be a solid second round player by the time the Draft Process is under way.
South Carolina vs. (11) Tennessee
ESPN – 3:30 p.m.
Advertisement
This is a sneaky game. Tennessee is riding high after a huge upset win over Alabama last week, while the Gamecocks have been playing better after a terrible start to the season. Tennessee has the fiercest pass rush in college football, while South Carolina boasts some of the biggest freaks in college football in WR Nyck Harbor, QB LaNoriss Sellers, and EDGE Dylan Stewart.
Considering the state of the Giants' wide receiver depth chart, I want to keep an eye on Nyck Harbor, who has been flashing game-breaking ability in his second year as a full-time football player. He remains a project, but his Megatron-esque traits make him an incredibly intriguing project.
That said, our spotlight is on the Tennessee defensive line.
Player spotlight: Xavier Gilliam (iDL, Tennessee)
Gilliam is rocketing up draft boards and has quickly become one of the — if not the — most disruptive defensive tackles in college football right now. He transferred from Penn State to Tennessee and has absolutely exploded onto the scene as a full-time player in the SEC. He currently boasts 5.0 sacks and 10.5 tackles for a loss thanks to his natural leverage and explosive first step. Gilliam has a stocky, dense frame at 6-foot-2, 305 pounds, which makes it easy for him to play with consistently great pad level. Combined with a powerful lower body and heavy hands, he's a real headache for offensive linemen.
Advertisement
Gilliam might not be a ginormous space-eating two-gap tackle, but his ability to blow up blockers or penetrate and disrupt have made him one of college football's fastest risers this year. Don't be surprised if he's mentioned in the same sentence as Ole Miss iDL Will Echoles as the first defensive tackle drafted.
(12) Kentucky vs. Vanderbilt
SEC Network – 7:30 p.m.
Will Stein has transformed the Kentucky football program, taking them from an afterthought that occasionally gets some good players to a real threat in the SEC.
I don't expect much of a game against Vanderbilt, and I do expect most people to tune into (19) Texas vs. (7) Ole Miss instead of this game. That said, we've talked about both Texas and Ole Miss enough for now and I wanted to take the opportunity to highlight what Kentucky is doing this year.
Advertisement
Player spotlight: C.J. Baxter (RB, Kentucky)
I'll get this out of the way up front — Baxter comes with an injury red flag and his draft stock will be closely tied to his medical evaluations. However, he could certainly catch the Giants' eye if those check out. He suffered a rib injury against Rice as a Freshman at Texas, then missed the entire 2024 season when he tore his LCL and PCL ligaments in practice.
He's since transferred from Texas to Kentucky and apparently returned to form.
As we've covered over the last week, John Harbaugh doesn't seem to have any one running back on the Giants' roster that he loves . He seems to want a bellcow back who can execute the power run game Harbaugh wants to use as the foundation for the Giants' philosophy.
Advertisement
Baxter has a great blend of size and athleticism at 6-foot-1, 230 pounds (listed) and (prior to his injury) was being compared to Bijan Robinson for his explosiveness and power. Now, Baxter is back to full health and is averaging 5.6 yards per carry with 8 touchdowns on just 87 total carries. He understands how and when to be physical and run behind his pads, as well as when to pick out a hole to maximize his yardage. Baxter runs with solid vision and patience behind the line of scrimmage, as well as good tempo and a subtle wiggle to turn hits into glancing blows. He's a very smooth runner with good acceleration and solid top-end speed for a big back. And while he hasn't been asked to catch the ball much, he does a good job of locating the ball and reaching out to pluck it out of the air before turning upfield.
