Rivalry weekend in college football saw several wild games, which included upsets and several contests that came down to the wire, which will impact the national rankings, especially in the SEC. It was also a Saturday in which NFL scouts saw off-the-radar players and those who had been hiding in the shadows stepped to the forefront and improved their next-level stocks.

Here, from the final regular-season games in college football, are the risers and sliders.

Risers after Week 14

Akheem Mesidor/DE/Miami

While teammate Rueben Bain Jr. is all the rage in the mock-draft world and has received most of the headlines, Mesidor quietly had a good season and is watching his draft stock take off. The sixth-year senior finished the regular season with 12 TFLs, seven sacks and four forced fumbles, all totals that surpassed Bain’s numbers.

Ahkeem is a well-built, explosive defensive end who shows terrific quickness, agility, and a closing burst. Mesidor has been well-thought-of in the scouting community the past three years and projects as an early Day 3 draft pick who could sneak into the top 100 if he impresses during predraft workouts.

Jordan van den Berg /DL/Georgia Tech

A high school linebacker who moved to America from South Africa as a 10-year-old, Van den Berg has gone from preseason free-agent prospect to Day 3 draft pick. The well-traveled, sixth-year senior landed at Georgia Tech after stops at Iowa Western and Penn State, then showed great progress in his game, turning in a career season in 2025.

Jordan doubled almost all his numbers from last year, posting 43 tackles, 11 TFLs and three sacks this season. Van den Berg is an explosive three-technique/one-gap defensive tackle who plays with great quickness and agility as well as intensity.

Cam Edwards/RB/UConn

Edwards was an afterthought on the scouting radar entering the season and was graded by scouts as a Day 3 draft pick, much lower than teammate Mel Brown. Yet after showing a lot of ability in 2024, he transitioned into a productive starting ball carrier this season. He possesses a nice build, power and tenacity. He consistently picks up big yardage on each carry and finished the season with 1,132 yards rushing and 14 TDs. If he enters the draft, Edwards will be a solid middle-round choice.

Roman Hemby/RB/Indiana

Hemby was graded as a potential late-round pick two years ago when he played for Maryland, then he watched his draft stock drop after displaying little progress in his game. He’s come roaring back this season and is once again getting late-round consideration. Hemby is a powerful interior runner with tremendous vision, short-area quickness and ball-carrying intellect. He does a great job following blocks everywhere on the field and finding the open lanes.

Hemby has totaled 866 yards on the ground this season with six TDs and has been a great complement for quarterback Fernando Mendoza. He caught 111 passes during his final three seasons with the Terrapins, and scouts are aware of his receiver skills out of the backfield. Hemby does not have great size or speed, but he’s a terrific football player who projects as a fifth back on a depth chart who will double as a special-teams player.

Terrance Carter Jr./TE/Texas Tech

Transfers helped the Red Raiders on both sides of the ball this season, and Carter, who came from the Rajin Cajuns of Louisiana, was a lethal weapon on offense. The junior finished the season with 43 receptions, 530 receiving yards and five TDs. Included in those numbers were 10 catches for 98 yards during this past weekend’s 49-0 victory over West Virginia. Carter is an athletic move tight end prospect who catches the ball like a receiver and outruns linebackers to make plays downfield.

Small School Prospect

Josh Pitsenberger/RB/Yale: Handed a free-agent grade over the summer, Pitsenberger has been brilliant this season and has scouts rethinking their original opinion of his next-level potential. His 1,447 rushing yards are almost twice the amount from last season, while his 18 touchdowns are just shy of three times the production from a year ago. Pitsenberger’s 209 yards rushing and three TDs on Saturday were paramount in helping Yale overcome a 28-point deficit to defeat Youngstown State during the first round of the FCS playoffs. He’s a bigger back with sneaky speed and lots of power that could make an NFL roster as a short-yardage ball carrier.

Sliders after Week 14

Max Llewellyn/DE/Iowa

A physical specimen with the size and speed necessary to be an early draft pick, Llewellyn has underachieved on the college field and shown little progress in his game. The big defensive end, who measures 6-foot-5, 265 pounds and is expected to run the 40 in 4.7 seconds, totaled nine TFLs and six sacks this season, marginally better than his production from a year ago. Llewellyn looks the part, yet he has never met the expectations of NFL scouts the past three seasons.