Week one is lacking in major prospect matchups this season. Clemson vs LSU and Louisville at Ole Miss probably offer the highest level of competition for the week, but there is one matchup that matters more for one prospect than any other this weekend.
Youngstown State #78, OT Desmeal Leigh (137th consensus), comes up against the DL combo of #94 Tavion Gadson (69th consensus), and #90 Mi'Quise Humphrey-Grace (207th consensus). Without another game against an FBS opponent this year, Leigh, who has major fans in the likes of Dane Brugler and Cory Kinnan, who both see Leigh as a potential first rounder, this is the single most important game to his draft stock. Whatever may or may not happen the rest of this year, this will be the first tape that analysts pull up to see how he can contend with NFL-level talent. While nowhere near as important for the Wildcat DL duo, this is an early-season test which can set the tone for the rest of the cycle.
Now let's look into these three prospects and what makes this such an interesting and important matchup.
Desmeal Leigh
Desmeal Leigh had a ton of offers to leave Youngstown State and go play at a Power 4 level, but he decided against it and made the commitment to play one more year for the Penguins before going pro. The 6'6" 320 pound OT is a phenomenal athlete for his size. His foot speed leaves a bit to be desired, but his ability to re-anchor is one of his key abilities. Thankfully it is, because he gives way in initial contact in pass protection a little too much, but he throws out a kick stand and makes it very difficult to go through him on the second phase of a rep.
In the run game, he sometimes gets over his skis and loses leverage, but coaches can hopefully correct this, as players with his strength level can still move defenders without perfect technique. Once his hands are on you, you are not getting away. When on the move, he makes great choices about which defenders to block, and looks great in space.
This weekend I am hoping to see some decent improvement in his footwork, foot speed against speed rushers, a quicker anchor, and more mauling in the run game. The game this weekend will be his most scrutinized all year, and he needs to show out to potentially move himself out of the day two three bubble into day one hype.
Tavion Gadson
The 6'5" 303 lb senior out of Savannah, GA, Gadson is a DT who looks to get after the QB. After suffering a major injury where he tore part of his hamstring, LCL, and PCL, Gadson was fully healthy for the 2025 season. PFF had Gadson rated as the 23rd overall DT in CFB last year. While not necessarily a pass-rushing specialist, he has the size to clog gaps in the run. Asked more to get into those gaps than get into the backfield, his ability to disrupt shows up significantly more in the pass rush than against the run. Though once Gadson gets his hands on a ball carrier, they go down, and go down quickly. Hopefully, we can see him become more of a presence against the run this year, and while he will not line up against Leigh for too many snaps this weekend, the 5 to 10 we will watch will be massively informative.
Mi'Quise Humphrey Grace
Having started his career at South Dakota, Humphrey-Grace transferred to Kentucky before the 2025 season. A tweener EDGE / DT prospect, he is a run stopper first and foremost. In Kentucky's 3-4 defense, he lines up as one of the outside three and looks to make life easier for his linebackers to come in from behind. Being on the outside of that defense, there are more potential matchups against Leigh than for Gadson. Nothing is too stand out on his profile yet, and he needs to show some potentially above-average NFL traits soon in order to be anything more than a late Day three pick.
Ok, that is it for the matchup this weekend. Once I get tape back from this game next week, I will analyze all three players' performance, and especially highlight the few snaps we will get between Gadson and Leigh. Happy week 1!
