Each week, The Game Haus will highlight five players to watch from college football games featuring Associated Press Top 25 teams. From established stars to players on the verge of breaking out, we’ll offer some names to remember every week of the college football season.
Here’s a look at five players to watch in Week 3 (All times Eastern):
Keandre Jones, LB, No. 21 Maryland
Matchup: at Temple, Noon, Saturday
Breakdown: A lot has been made of the Terrapins’s potent offense early on, but lets show the defense some love. Maryland shut out Howard and held Syracuse to 20 points. The Ohio State-transfer Jones is a big reason why with 3 1/2 sacks and 12 total tackles through those first two games and definitely one of the players to watch in Week 3.
Tyler Vaughns, WR, No. 24 USC
Matchup: at BYU, 3:30 p.m., Saturday
Breakdown: An easy choice for one of the players to watch in Week 3, Vaughns has a new quarterback throwing him the ball in freshman Kedon Slovis. It does not seem to matter as Vaughns has recorded 16 receptions for 256 yards with a touchdown thus far. That gives the junior 131 catches for his career at Southern Cal.
Nate Stanley, QB, No. 19 Iowa
Matchup: at Iowa State, 4 p.m., Saturday
Breakdown: Stanley is off to as strong start with 488 passing yards with six touchdowns and no interceptions. The challenge could be pretty tough against an above-average Iowa State defense, but one that was exploited at times during a 29-26 triple-overtime win over FCS Northern Iowa. He threw five TD passes at Iowa State two years ago.
Joe Reed, WR/KR, No. 25 Virginia
Matchup: vs. Florida State, 7:30 p.m., Saturday
Breakdown: Reed might be the most exciting player in college football that not many have heard about. The senior returned his fourth career kick back for a touchdown last week against William & Mary – 100 yards. That was good enough to earn him ACC Specialist of the Week honors. Reed has also caught a team-high 11 passes through the first two games and gets a crack at a Florida State defense that’s allowed 80 points in two games.
Tanner Muse, DB, No. 1 Clemson
Matchup: at Syracuse, 7:30 p.m., Saturday
Breakdown: Two games, two interceptions. Muse is off to a solid start and remains an unheralded talent on what could be the nation’s best defense. With a pick against the Orange, Muse will become the first Clemson player since DeAndre McDaniel in 2009 to record an interception in each of the first three contests.
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