GameDay Kickoff: Sounds, storylines and players to watch ahead of

After an amazing Week 2, we look ahead to a Week 3 slate with a battle involving the Wildcats on Friday night, as new Huge 12 member No. 20 Arizona deals with No. 14 Kansas State. In other places, a Tulane pass receiver will make his go back to his original college stomping grounds.Can Tulane’s

Mario Williams continue his pattern of at least 100 receiving yards per game in his first see back to Oklahoma? Can Kansas State’s defense stop Arizona WR Tetairoa McMillan? Both Arizona and Kansas State enter into Friday’s match 2-0, so one Wildcats team is bound to lose their very first game.And for an

additional dose of excitement, Colorado and Colorado State take on, and Deion Sanders had something to say as the Buffaloes are 1-1 going into Saturday’s matchup.Our college football reporters give insight on huge storylines and players to keep your eyes on in Week 3. Dive to an area: Journey to UNLV|Going back to old stomping grounds|New conference competitors Freshman QB shines|5 freshman to know Quotes of the week Jacob De Jesus’journey to UNLV In high school, Jacob De Jesus left recruiting camps feeling prevented and unsure.Not of himself. He shined at those camps and controlled some, but coaches never spoke to him afterward. De Jesus understood why.

“I utilized to question myself, I used to question God and resemble, ‘Why did you give me this dream to play football? Like, why do I enjoy football a lot? I’m so little,'”De Jesus told ESPN.”No one wants me to be on their team.”Fortunately for De Jesus, he was wrong about the last part. As he neared a future without football, probably working as a UPS

motorist and taking care of his 2-year-old child, UNLV reached out. Three years later on, he’s an All-American returner and productive pass receiver for the Rebels, who aim for a 3-0 start and their 2nd win versus a Huge 12 opponent Friday at Kansas.De Jesus is often the tiniest player on the field, at 5-foot-7, 175 pounds. He’s likewise one of the best, leading the FBS in overall return backyards last season

(1,079), ending up second on the team in typical lawns per runback, behind All-American Ricky White.”I understood I sufficed to dip into this level,”De Jesus stated.”I simply didn’t know if any person was going to give me a possibility.”UNLV wide receivers coach, Del Alexander, appeared not likely to be that individual. Alexander’s history is with big wide receivers. Just once had he taken one as small as De Jesus,

in Wisconsin’s Kenzel Doe, a 5-8 eager beaver who completed second in group profession kick-return average.But then Nelson Fishback, an employee who at first discovered De Jesus while working at Morehead State, signaled Alexander about De Jesus.”I truthfully thought that he was going to be precisely who he was on movie,”Alexander said.”I just knew that his speed was not an accident.”De Jesus had actually collected 2,550 lawns for Modesto Junior College, near his home in Manteca, California. However as the 2022 season ended, he seemed out of options. He had been working at UPS as a bundle handler and was close to ending up being a motorist. The money would’ve been good. De Jesus had just turned 21.” I was actually close to being made with it, “he said.UNLV’s brand-new training staff, led by Barry Odom, required a returner. As the coaches surveyed options, Alexander became more persuaded about De Jesus, who received a deal from UNLV on New Year’s Day 2023. Days later, De Jesus was on campus, working out with the group. “He did everything full speed, “Alexander stated.”He won every race, he won every dexterity [drill], he was extremely competitive. It was just obvious. It just made everybody else appearance bad. “De Jesus’life altered

. After UNLV’s spring game that April, he proposed to his girlfriend,

Kirsten Lopez, on the field at Allegiant Stadium.He had 208 all-purpose yards, 158 on kickoff returns, in his Rebels launching. He made All-Mountain West honors at both return areas, the first Rebel to be recognized for 2 positions because quarterback Randall Cunningham, who likewise punted, in 1984. De Jesus was a finalist for the Jet Award, offered to the country’s leading return professional.

Alexander heard from good friends on opposing training staffs, such as Michigan and San José State, all with the exact same message:”Man, that 21 is unique.” The coach who was wary of little receivers now wishes to get De Jesus to the NFL.There are instant goals, too, specifically a scoring return. UNLV hasn’t had a punt return goal in 23 years, the longest drought of any FBS group, and no kickoff return goals considering that 2011.”We’ve been close, so close,” De Jesus said.”I understand how my team feels about it. They know that I can and I’m capable.”– Adam Rittenberg Going back to old stomping grounds Tulane’s Mario Williams was supposed

to be the next terrific Oklahoma Sooners large receiver.That was the strategy, a minimum of, when Williams came to the school as ESPN’s No. 1 high school pass catcher in early 2021. It was all so clear to Williams at the time, too.He ‘d settle in at Oklahoma,

carve a function in Lincoln Riley’s high-scoring offense and quickly become a key piece within a program competing for Huge 12 titles and national championships.

A few years after that, perhaps, Williams would be in a position to leap to the NFL. “I was going to have a profession at Oklahoma and

that was going to be that, “he informed ESPN today.” But God took me on another course and I’m thankful for every single minute. “Williams captured 35 passes for 380 yards and four goals

in his lone season at Oklahoma in 2021, then followed Riley to USC. Now on his 3rd school in four seasons this fall, Williams has ended up being a playmaker in the Green Wave passing game during the preliminary weeks of his launching season with Tulane.Editor’s Picks 2 Associated On Saturday, he goes back to Oklahoma Memorial

Arena as one of 2024’s early transfer portal gems under first-year head coach Jon Sumrall when the Green Wave visit the No. 15 Sooners in Norman.Williams caught four passes for 124 lawns in Tulane’s

season opener against SE Louisiana on Aug. 29, then followed with 6 catches for 128 lawns in a narrow loss to Kansas State in Week 2 to mark the first back-to-back 100-yard receiving games of his college career.Through two weeks, he leads all FBS transfer wide receivers with 252 total getting lawns. Williams ‘126 backyards per game rank 10th in the country and his 25.2 backyards per catch sit 18th nationally with Williams playing the best football of his college profession in a Green Wave offense poised to make an upset quote in Week 3.”I’m simply having fun, “Williams said.” Getting back to my groove

and getting in my groove. Going out there and enjoying the game with my colleagues.”Williams is having a good time again on a course that has exposed him to a few of the college football’s rough edges: the pressure of being the country’s No. 17 general possibility, the unpredictability of a sudden training change after Riley left for USC in 2021 and two trips through the transfer portal leading to stops at USC and now Tulane.”I’ve simply been able to experience a lot about how college football works and business side of the game,”Williams said. “I’ve gotten to experience playing top-level football and whatever that comes with it.”After 2 seasons at USC, Williams struck the transfer portal trying to find a clean slate last December. Alabama and UCF became early contenders. So did

Tulane through a connection with Green Wave offensive expert Collin D’Angelo, who had hired Williams in high school. A visit with Sumrall’s personnel helped seal Williams’ decision.”They’re player-first driven– they enjoy their players,”Williams stated.”They’re going to make sure the players are excellent which’s what I actually like about them.

“Williams doesn’t have any expectations for what it will feel like to be back at Oklahoma on Saturday(3:30 p.m. ET, ESPN). He prepares to rekindle connections with previous teammates Danny Stutsman, Billy Bowman Jr. and Woodi Washington, 3 of the Sooners ‘4 remaining Riley-era holdovers. Previous that, Williams is approaching the Week 3 match with the even-keeled mentality he has actually generated his early games at Tulane, a viewpoint refined through the experience of his modern college football journey.”Just keep going and have a good time,”Williams said.”The story didn’t get written how I expected.

However that’s the very best part about it. Simply keep going and keep proving people wrong. “– Eli Lederman Get to know your brand-new conference rival< img height ="320" width= "570"

src=”https://www.espn.com/college-football/story/_/page/gamedaykickoff091224/ “/ > Arizona WR Tetairoa McMillan has actually amounted to four TDs

and 315 getting yards so far this season. Christopher Hook/Icon Sportswire Arizona’s trip to Manhattan, Kansas, on Friday is a Big 12 trial run of sorts. The game was scheduled before Arizona’s relocation from the Pac-12, so for scheduling purposes, it was much easier to keep it as a nonconference game to avoid the schools from both needing to look for a new opponent

with not much lead time. That vibrant lessens the stakes a bit since it successfully gives the loser a mulligan in conference play, however with the teams ranked in the leading 20, the outcome will still set the tone for both schools as conference play beginsthe following week.After Michigan’s loss last week, Arizona’s nine-game winning streak is the longest active one in the country, however after a substandard showing last week against FCS Northern Arizona, ESPN BET installed Kansas State as a 7.5-point favorite in this fight of Wildcats. There might not be a more intriguing quarterback match in college football today with Arizona’s Noah Fifita and Kansas State’s Avery Johnson both emerging last season after starting the year on the bench.After tossing for 422 yards and 4 scores– with 304 of those yards and all four goals to Tetairoa McMillan– in the opener against New Mexico, Fifita was more pedestrian versus NAU recently, throwing for simply 173 backyards. For any group Arizona plays this season, the defensive focus will be on McMillan, the likely first-round pick who got here in Tucson as one of the most well known employees in school history.K-State’s start has actually been comparable. After a ho-hum win versus UT Martin to begin the season, it was lucky to escape last week’s trip to Tulane after trailing by a goal in the 4th quarter. Johnson was solid in both games, but Friday’s game will be more revealing about what to expect in conference play.– Kyle Bonagura DJ Lagway shines in the spotlight Trent Miller had a little gathering at his home to see Florida play Samford last weekend, his eyes trained on true freshman quarterback DJ Lagway and his every move.Miller coached Lagway at Willis (Texas)High, viewing Lagway make the difficult plays possible. In the third quarter versus Samford, Lagway dropped back to pass, then rushed back towards the line of scrimmage as he felt the pressure around him. He did a little jump hop, shot-putting the ball toward the corner of completion zone, for a 41-yard touchdown pass to Aidan Mizell.Back in Texas, Miller might not help however flash back to the minute he understood Lagway would be among the leading quarterback recruits in the country. It was throughout the very first day of spring practice, a couple of months after Miller got the task at Willis. Lagway was a

sophomore.”We were doing 7-on-7 against our defense,”Miller told ESPN in a current phone interview.”He presents, hits that little jump throw, hits the receiver in the back corner of completion zone, and I was like, ‘Oh wow. 16-year-old kids don’t make that throw. ‘”Lagway became the No. 1 quarterback in the class of 2024, with Miller by his side through it all. When he chose Florida, Lagway understood the spotlight would not only be on him but on his coaches to deliver, too. When he got his chance to start last week in place of injured Graham Mertz, he maximized it, setting a school record for passing backyards by a freshman with 456 lawns, while adding 3 touchdowns in a 45-7 win.The concern moving forward is how Florida plans to use Lagway, as he starts Saturday versus Texas A&M in the SEC opener, particularly as coach Billy Napier faces increasing pressure to win this season. Napier has been mum on how he prepares to handle the rotation with a healthy Mertz in the mix, stating just he would play both quarterbacks moving on. “For DJ to head out there and do what he did, it puts a lot of pressure on the coaching staff this week to be very tactical on how they roll out the two quarterbacks, but I do not believe there’s any denying that he’ll go out there at some point and play meaningful representatives,” Miller stated.”What that is, and what that looks like, I do not understand. But what I do understand is Coach Napier has actually never lied to him about what the procedure appears like.”Miller said Napier was truthful from the starting about sharing time with Mertz. Miller likewise said the coaches did a great job during the recruitment procedure of acknowledging the elephant in the space– that they had to get the Gators reversed in brief order.” They did a terrific task of getting DJ to commit early to assist the process of building that brand name with recruits and everybody else around him,” Miller said.Lagway devoted to Florida in December 2022 and held firm a year later, after USC made a last push to turn him. Miller stated, Lagway remains in a great head space and devoted to getting the job done with the Gators– no matter what that appears like moving forward.”Whatever DJ’s function is, huge or small, he’s going to do it to the very best of his ability,”Miller said.” You’ll never ever hear him state anything unfavorable about his playing time, the training personnel, whatever it is. He made a decision to go there. He’s devoted to being there and he’s going to do whatever he can whenever his number

‘s contacted us to benefit that football team.”– Andrea Adelson Five freshman running backs to understand Georgia freshman RB Nate Frazier hurried for 83 backyards in his debut versus Clemson. Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports

Nate Frazier, Georgia: Frazier took advantage of his chances in his college launching against Clemson, rushing for 83 yards and a goal on 11 brings in the Bulldogs ’34-3 blowout win. The No. 3-ranked running back recruit and No. 62 overall recruit in the 2024 ESPN 300 has actually impressed Georgia coaches given that he showed up from California powerhouse Mater Dei and should continue to have a key role in their hurrying attack along with Florida transfer Trevor Etienne. Jerrick Gibson, Texas: Gibson, the No. 2-ranked running back and No. 59 total recruit in his class, is revealing he’s ready to step up and help a Texas run game that lost CJ Baxter and Christian Clark to season-ending injuries. The 5-10, 205-pound back from IMG Academy leads the team with 103 rushing yards and has scored in each of his very first two games, consisting of a 7-yard goal run against Michigan in the Longhorns ’31-12 rout at Ann Arbor.Isaac Brown, Louisville: Peny Boone reentering the transfer website in April unlocked for Brown and a number of young backs to help power Louisville’s run game. The four-star signee from Florida leads the group with 187 lawns from skirmish, consisting of a 77-yard touchdown in his launching versus Austin Peay, and is likewise returning kicks. Fellow true freshman Duke Watson has actually gotten 137 backyards and scored two TDs on only 10 brings and redshirt freshman Keyjuan Brown has set up 116 rushing lawns and 2 scores for a Cardinals offense that’s No. 2 in the ACC and 14th nationally in rushing. Wayshawn Parker, Washington State: The three-star back from Sacramento, Calif. has teamed with quarterback John Mateer to offer Washington State a surprisingly hazardous hurrying attack. Parker has actually produced 219 lawns from scrimmage over his very first 2 college games and has scored touchdowns of 54, 52 and 43 yards. The Cougars burned Texas Tech for 301 lawns on the ground in their 37-16 upset win Saturday,their second-most hurrying backyards in a game in more than a decade. Antwan Raymond, Rutgers: The Scarlet Knights currently have college football’s second-leading rush in Kyle Monangai and discovered a take in Raymond to match him. The 5-11, 202-pound back hails from Canada and reclassified from the 2025 class to join the program this summer. Raymond has actually turned 23 carries into 126 backyards and two touchdowns, has 7 rushes of 10 or more backyards and has forced 9 missed out on tackles,

according to TruMedia .– Max Olson Quotes of the week”The rivalry, the energy in the air. It’s not just one day. It’s bragging rights for the year and for the rest of time. … Other individuals are eagerly anticipating games versus Ohio State or Michigan down the roadway, however this is my Super Bowl. “– Oregon senior linebacker Bryce Boettcher on playing Oregon State one last time in his career.”When you lose, you’re going to be mocked, you’re going to be prosecuted and maltreated and I’m excellent. I’ve been on the cross for a long period of time, and I’m still hanging.”– Colorado coach Deion Sanders after the group’s 1-1 start.” This is not a declaration win. Washington State has played at the greatest level forever. We beat another team that dips into the highest level. That’s it. We’ve done that numerous times,”– WSU coach Jake Dickert on the win against Texas Tech.