NFLMocks’ 5 for 5: Coaches on the Hot Seat, True Freshmen to Watch for 2025 NFL Draft, and More!

Headline #5: True Freshmen to Monitor for the 2025 NFL Draft

•No. 1: Dane Key, WR, Kentucky

Dane Key is a name you’ve likely heard a few times if you’ve watched the Kentucky Wildcats in 2022. Key is a true freshman, but you’d never know by looking at him. He possesses an NFL-sized frame already and looks the part when he’s out there catching footballs from Will Levis.

Key has caught a touchdown in each game so far this season and is averaging 17.4 yards per reception. Paired with a gunslinger behind center, Key shows no signs of slowing up. The 2025 NFL Draft is ages away, but Key should be a name on your radar already.

•No. 2: Abdul Carter, OLB, Penn State

The next two entries on the list hail from the same school. Abdul Carter was a four-star recruit coming out of high school and opted to attend Penn State. Carter is a jack-of-all-trades type of linebacker, and he showcased this Saturday in the Nittany Lion’s commanding victory against Auburn.

Carter was ejected from the teams opening game for targeting, but he has played each of the past two weeks against Ohio and Auburn, respectively. Carter was all over the place this past Saturday, recording six tackles, multiple quarterback pressures, a batted down pass, a forced fumble, and a sack! Phew!

Carter is going to continue making waves in the Big Ten as a true freshman. He sports the No. 11, a jersey number that is heralded in the Nittany Lions program. Guys like Micah Parsons and LaVar Arrington wore the number before him. Carter is next up!

•No. 3: Nick Singleton, RB, Penn State

Let’s stay with Penn State, but this time we will highlight a budding star on the offensive side of the football. Nick Singleton also earned a four-star rating like Abdul Carter, and he has looked dominant in his first year in the collegiate ranks.

Singleton’s statistics are fascinating when looking at them. He’s received exactly 10 carries in each of the first three games for the Nittany Lions. He only tallied 31 yards against Purdue but stepped up to 179 yards against Ohio, and then an impressive 124 yards on the road against an SEC opponent.

Singleton also found the end zone twice against the Bobcats and did the same against the Tigers. He is a thrilling ball carrier to watch, highlighted by his 54-yard and 70-yard touchdowns that are already on his resume.

Things couldn’t be better in Happy Valley, especially considering that Penn State has another four-star true freshman in the wings with quarterback Drew Allar. Penn State is very good right now, they have the potential to be great in the near future.

•No. 4: Dasan McCullough, EDGE, Indiana

Dasan McCullough is the highest-rated recruit in Indiana football history. He grew up in Bloomington, Indiana, and chose to stay home and play for the Hoosiers, rather than bolting to the more prestigious schools like Alabama, Clemson, and even Georgia.

McCullough ranked No. 43 overall in the ESPN300, and it’s only taken three games for the superstar pass rusher to make his imprint on the program. McCullough recorded 14 total tackles and three sacks in his first three games at IU. He’s helped propel the team to a 3-0 start, already surpassing their win total from 2021.

It’s not often that you hear Indiana Hoosiers taken in the NFL Draft, at least not in the first couple of days. Only five players since 2008 have been taken in the first three rounds of the draft for Indiana, but McCullough has a great chance to add his name to the list.

Who knows, he could eventually become the first opening-round pick for the school since Thomas Lewis in 1994.

•No. 5: Mykel Williams, DL, Georgia

On the other end of the spectrum, the Georgia Bulldogs consistently send top-end talent to the NFL. In the 2022 NFL Draft alone, they saw nine players taken in the first two days.

With the departure of Travon Walker and Jordan Davis clearing out snaps in the Georgia defense, Mykel Williams is making the most of the opportunity to get playing time on a true title contender as a freshman.

Williams, a former five-star recruit according to 247Sports, recorded his first career sack against Samford in the second week of the season. He didn’t bring Spencer Rattler down this past weekend, but don’t let that fool you, he terrorized the Gamecock’s offense Saturday.

Williams is remarkably polished as a pass rusher given his lack of experience against college athletes. He processes plays so quickly, even looking like he knows what they’re running before they do at times. His phenomenal footwork and athleticism are going to be his calling card at the position.

Of all the guys that were listed in this section, Williams has the clearest path to hearing his name called first overall in the 2025 NFL Draft.