Miami quarterback Darian Mensah, UCLA safety Malik Hartford and Virginia Tech tight end Luke Reynolds raised their 2027 draft stock in Week 8 of the college season, while South Carolina receiver Nyck Harbor and Oregon safety Koi Perich went the other way, according to Daire Carragher’s weekly stock report, published Monday.
Carragher wrote that the weekend was not billed as one of the season’s best but still shook up the rankings: BYU lost to UCF, and five teams ranked between seventh and 15th in the poll lost on the road. Unranked Oregon, now with three losses, has nine players inside the top 150 of his outfit’s 2027 big board, and he wrote that most of them are seeing their stock tumble.
Week 8 stock report
| Stock | Player | Pos. | School | Why |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Up | Darian Mensah | QB | Miami | 387 yards and four touchdowns vs. Pitt; 92.5 season grade, the best of any quarterback at any level |
| Down | Nyck Harbor | WR | South Carolina | No catches on 31 routes vs. Tennessee; 1 of 9 on contested targets this season |
| Up | Luke Reynolds | TE | Virginia Tech | 86.3 grade, best among qualifying tight ends; 50 catches for 499 yards |
| Down | Koi Perich | S | Oregon | Poor angle on a 75-yard touchdown run in the loss at Illinois |
| Up | Malik Hartford | S | UCLA | 91.8 grade vs. Michigan State, best of any FBS defender; forced fumble and late interception |
| Down | Desmeal Leigh | OT | Youngstown State | Offensive grade down to 64.8; run-blocking grade below 60 in five of six games |
| Up | David Olano | K | Texas A&M | 36 for 36 on field goals and extra points, four from 50-plus |
Mensah joins the QB1 race
Mensah threw for 387 yards and four touchdowns as top-ranked Miami beat Pittsburgh, the highest offensive grade of any Power Four draft prospect that weekend. His 92.5 overall grade this season is the best of any quarterback at any level of college football. Carragher counted four games this season in which Mensah has averaged at least 10.0 yards per attempt and five without a turnover-worthy play.
He conceded that Mensah plays behind a fantastic offensive line, and this was his fourth game of the season with an average time to throw under 2.4 seconds. But, Carragher wrote, Mensah has shown scouts he is “an elite processor who can read the entire field” and looks supremely comfortable in an offense he joined only this past offseason. He called Mensah the clear favorite among quarterbacks for the Heisman Trophy, a player now getting increasing consideration as a top-five pick, and framed the QB1 race, for now, as Mensah against Oklahoma State’s Drew Mestemaker, who was also excellent on Saturday.
Receiver Malachi Toney broke his own Miami single-game receptions record in the same game. Mensah’s ranking still varies widely: Mel Kiper has him fourth on his board, Jordan Reid had him 17th in his latest top 50, and Jacob Infante’s mock from Saturday sent him 25th. Reid posted a clip on Monday of a Mensah throw against Tampa 2 that a safety broke up.
Hartford and Reynolds, two transfers paying off
Hartford was the No. 1 recruit in Ohio four years ago and went to Ohio State, where he played fewer than 300 snaps in three seasons in a stacked secondary. Since transferring to UCLA he has been part of one of the top 10 defenses in the country. Against Michigan State he forced a fumble on a tackle for loss and sealed the win with a late interception on a deep pass, earning a 91.8 grade, the highest of any FBS defender that weekend.
Carragher noted the undefeated Bruins, now seventh in the country, have just two players on his top-150 board, one of them their injured quarterback, and Hartford is making a case to join them. He has not been flawless: Purdue gained 128 yards against him in coverage in a game where he also missed five tackles, and his run-defense grade against Wisconsin was 34.6.
Reynolds was a five-star tight end recruit for James Franklin at Penn State and followed Franklin to Virginia Tech this offseason. Among more than 200 tight ends with at least 250 snaps, his 86.3 overall grade is the best, and he performed well as a receiver and as a run blocker in Saturday’s road win at Clemson. He has 50 catches for 499 yards. Carragher pointed out that eight tight ends went on Day 2 of the last draft and predicted that “savvy offensive coordinators will be lining up for Reynolds on Day 2.”
Harbor and Perich slide
It is Harbor’s second appearance in the stock-down column this season, and Carragher wrote that “it may be time to put a pin in the idea of a team selecting him within the top 100 picks.” South Carolina beat a ranked opponent for the second week in a row, but its 6-foot-5, 239-pound receiver ran 31 routes against Tennessee without a catch. He is averaging fewer than 40 receiving yards a game, has caught one of his nine contested targets and has dropped 22% of the catchable passes thrown his way. Carragher still called him a truly generational athlete who could be a major talking point at the combine.
Perich is the third-ranked safety on the board, but Carragher wrote it is probably time to start lowering the grades of some Oregon prospects. One poor angle in run support let Aidan Laughery break free for a 75-yard touchdown, and that play sparked a 21-point Illinois run. His coverage numbers are fine, three catches for 12 yards allowed over Oregon’s last three games, but he arrived from Minnesota on a lucrative NIL deal expected to lead the defense, and the Ducks barely rank among the top 40 defenses heading into Halloween.
An FCS tackle and a perfect kicker
Youngstown State tackle Desmeal Leigh, 6-foot-7 and 325 pounds, was the only player from outside the FBS on the board entering the season. His offensive grade has fallen to 64.8 after sitting above 70.0 in each of the previous two years, and in his one game against top competition, at Kentucky, he allowed three pressures. FCS prospects who go early tend to dominate their level in their final season, Carragher wrote, and Leigh is “a tough sell when he’s merely blending in.”
The last entry is a kicker. Texas A&M is 1-4 in SEC play, but David Olano is 36 for 36 on field goals and extra points, with four makes from beyond 50 yards, including a 57-yarder against Arkansas. At least one kicker has been drafted in each of the past 11 drafts. Carragher noted that 2026 draftee Trey Smack is coming off a nightmare Sunday for the Green Bay Packers, who lost 20-17 in Detroit after Smack missed one kick and had another blocked.
For last week’s movers, including Indiana safety Amare Ferrell and LSU edge rusher Jordan Ross, see the Week 7 stock report.
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