Three Rising Prospects to Watch in Week 7. Plus, What to Expect from Oklahoma Backup QB Michael Hawkins Jr. Against Texas.

Welcome back to The McShay Report! In the spirit of our new prospect-focused “Rough Draft” Thursday podcast, today I’m going to dive into the tape on three players that fans have been buzzing about and share my scouting reports for each ahead of an excellent Week 7 slate in college football. I’m also going to break down what to expect from Oklahoma QB Michael Hawkins Jr. as he (likely) stands in for starter John Mateer in a pivotal Red River Rivalry game against Texas.  

One quick programming note for premium subscribers before we dive in: With two consequential QB matchups happening this weekend (Fernando Mendoza vs. Dante Moore, and LaNorris Sellers vs. Garrett Nussmeier), I figured next week would be a great time to re-rack my preseason QB tiers with a midseason ranking of the top 10 signal callers in the 2026 NFL draft class. I’ll be debuting that QB ranking next Thursday (10/16), and following it with my first in-season Big Board (10/23) and our monthly premium mailbag (10/30) to close out October.

Arvell Reese Is Flying Up Draft Boards: Why the Ohio State LB could be a top-10 pick.

Cashius Howell’s Stock Is Rising: The Texas A&M edge is undersized but shows tons of upside as a pass rusher.

How Good Is Ahmad Hardy?: He’s not draft-eligible, but the Missouri RB has generated a ton of hype and faces his biggest test this weekend against Alabama.

Oklahoma’s Going to Miss John Mateer Against Texas: There are some positives on Michael Hawkins Jr.’s tape, but I’m far from bought in on the Sooners’ backup.