Even before the 2023 college football season kicked off, there was a fairly clear pecking order among quarterback prospects.
Southern California's Caleb Williams was the presumptive QB1 and likely first overall pick in the 2024 NFL draft and North Carolina's Drake Maye was considered the most likely challenger to Williams.
There was one big riser from the QB class in LSU's Jayden Daniels, who went from potential Day 2 selection to Heisman Trophy winner to No. 2 overall pick.
As we look toward the 2024 college football season and the 2025 NFL draft, the depth of the talent pool looks deep ( thanks, NIL ) and unlike this season there should be plenty of defensive players in the first round.
The quarterback pecking order is not so clear. Colorado's Shedeur Sanders, Georgia's Carson Beck and Texas' Quinn Ewers enter the season with the most buzz.
That makes trying to project a way-too-early mock draft even more challenging because as this past week showed when a record six quarterbacks were selected in the first 12 picks, it's all about the quarterbacks on draft day.
But here goes, with draft order taken from BET MGM's projected NFL win totals.
Teams bail on first-round quarterbacks quicker than ever, but let's give Bryce Young the benefit of the doubt with the Panthers and pencil in the Titans to make a move up for Beck, who emerges as QB1 in his second season as a starter at Georgia.
The previous time teammates went 1-2 in the draft was in 2000 — Penn State did it (Courtney Brown and LaVar Arrington). Williams is the breakout star of another dominant Georgia defense.
Freshman starter to first-round draft pick in three seasons.
The competition for CB1 should be excellent with Morrison, Michigan’s Will Johnson and Colorado's Travis Hunter all vying to be top-10 picks.
Long, explosive pass rusher.
Coach Deion Sanders’ son needs some better protection this season but he becomes Daniel Jones' replacement in New York.
This should be a top-notch class of defensive tackles and the former five-star recruit could be the best of the bunch.
In his third season as a starter, Ewers has a chance to reach the ceiling of his recruiting hype.
Johnson was the defensive MVP of the national title game for the Wolverines.
Spectacular athlete and two-way player for the Buffaloes, but corner is probably his pro home.
One of several Buckeyes who passed on the 2024 draft to chase a national title.
Another freshman starter to first-round draft pick tackle.
Saints finally draft a replacement for Drew Brees.
Can there be a first-round of the NFL draft without a Crimson Tide offensive tackle?
Not quite Brock Bowers, but Loveland is a fluid athlete at 6-foot-5 and one of Jim Harbaugh's Michigan guys.
Perkins flashed superstar qualities as a freshman, stagnated last season but with consistency has top-10 potential.
Burden is a yards-after-catch machine and maybe a steal this low.
He's not quite Micah Parsons, but Carter will draw some comparisons to the former Nittany Lion and current Cowboys linebacker.
At 339 pounds, Grant has a high ceiling and rare quickness.
Allar has a lot of work to do to get here, but he has all the traits and the Jets are once again looking for their quarterback of the future.
Graham is the steadier of Michigan's two monsters in the middle.
Did we mention this draft could be loaded with defensive tackles?
One of two Buckeyes cornerbacks who could go in Round 1.
Yes, the Ohio State defense is absolutely loaded.
The Pac-12’s second-leading receiver (90 catches for 1,402 yards) as a sophomore last season.
Purdue transfer has a chance to be a force in the SEC.
Cowboys grab a Cowboy to fill a need at running back.
Next up for the Seminoles after recent first-round pass rushers Jermaine Johnson and Jarden Verse.
Another 6-foot-1 Ohio State cornerback.
Massive run stuffer.
Trent Williams can’t play forever. Probably.
Texas A&M transfer busts out with the Ducks.
Follow Ralph D. Russo at https://twitter.com/ralphDrussoAP and listen at http://www.appodcasts.com
AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/college-football and https://twitter.com/ap_top25
FILE - Texas quarterback Quinn Ewers (3) warms up before the Sugar Bowl CFP NCAA semifinal college football game against Washington, Monday, Jan. 1, 2024, in New Orleans. The quarterback pecking order for the 2025 NFL draft still seems fluid going into this college football season, with Ewers, Georgia's Carson Beck, and Colorado's Shedeur Sanders getting the most preseason buzz. (AP Photo/Jacob Kupferman, File)
FILE - Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders, center, carries the ball during the first half of an NCAA college football game against Washington State, Friday, Nov. 17, 2023, in Pullman, Wash. The quarterback pecking order for the 2025 NFL draft still seems fluid going into this college football season, with Sanders, Georgia's Carson Beck, and Texas' Quinn Ewers getting the most preseason buzz. (AP Photo/Young Kwak, File)
FILE - Georgia quarterback Carson Beck (15) during the first half of Orange Bowl NCAA college football game against Florida State, Saturday, Dec. 30, 2023, in Miami Gardens, Fla. The quarterback pecking order for the 2025 NFL draft still seems fluid going into this college football season, with Beck, Colorado's Shedeur Sanders and Texas' Quinn Ewers getting the most preseason buzz. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky, File)
RAFAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — Israeli forces pushed deeper into Gaza's southern city of Rafah on Sunday and battled Hamas in parts of the devastated north that the military said it had cleared months ago but where militants have regrouped.
Rafah is considered the last refuge in Gaza for more than a million civilians as well as Hamas' last stronghold. Some 300,000 people have fled the city following evacuation orders from Israel, which says it must invade to dismantle Hamas and return scores of hostages taken in the Oct. 7 attack against Israel that sparked the war.
Neighboring Egypt issued its strongest objection yet to the Rafah offensive, saying it intends to formally join South Africa's case at the International Court of Justice alleging Israel is committing genocide in Gaza, which Israel rejects. The foreign ministry statement cited “the worsening severity and scope of the Israeli attacks against Palestinian civilians.”
“A full-scale offensive on Rafah cannot take place,” United Nations human rights chief Volker Turk said in a statement, adding he cannot see how it can be reconciled with international humanitarian law.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken reiterated opposition to a major military assault on Rafah, and told CBS that Israel would “be left holding the bag on an enduring insurgency” without an exit from Gaza and postwar governance plan.
Gaza has been left without a functioning government, leading to a breakdown in public order and allowing Hamas' armed wing to reconstitute itself in even the hardest-hit areas. Israel has yet to offer a detailed plan for postwar governance in Gaza, saying only that it will maintain open-ended security control over the enclave of about 2.3 million Palestinians.
Internationally mediated talks over a cease-fire and hostage release appeared to be at a standstill.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in a Memorial Day speech vowed to continue fighting until victory in memory of those killed in the war.
Netanyahu has rejected postwar plans proposed by the United States for the Palestinian Authority, which administers parts of the Israeli-occupied West Bank, to govern Gaza with support from Arab and Muslim countries. Those plans depend on progress toward the creation of a Palestinian state, which Netanyahu's government opposes.
The Oct. 7 attack killed around 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and took another 250 hostage. Militants still hold about 100 captives and the remains of more than 30.
Israel’s air, land and sea offensive has killed more than 35,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which doesn’t distinguish between civilians and combatants in its figures. Israel says it has killed over 13,000 militants, without providing evidence.
Palestinians reported heavy Israeli bombardment overnight in the urban Jabaliya refugee camp and other areas in northern Gaza, which has been largely isolated by Israeli forces for months. U.N. officials say there is a “full-blown famine” there.
Residents said Israeli warplanes and artillery struck across the camp and the Zeitoun area east of Gaza City, where troops have battled militants for over a week. They have called on tens of thousands of people to relocate to nearby areas.
“It was a very difficult night,” said Abdel-Kareem Radwan, a 48-year-old from Jabaliya. He said they could hear intense and constant bombing since midday Saturday. “This is madness.”
First responders with the Palestinian Civil Defense said they were unable to respond to multiple calls for help from both areas, as well as from Rafah.
Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari, the top Israeli military spokesman, said forces were also operating in the northern towns of Beit Lahiya and Beit Hanoun, which were heavily bombed in the war's opening days.
“Hamas’ regime cannot be toppled without preparing an alternative to that regime,” columnist Ben Caspit wrote in Israel’s Maariv daily, channeling the growing frustration felt by many Israelis more than seven months into the war. “The only people who can govern Gaza after the war are Gazans, with a lot of support and help from the outside.”
The U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees, the main provider of aid in Gaza, said 300,000 people have fled Rafah since the operation began there. Most are heading to the heavily damaged nearby city of Khan Younis or Mawasi, a coastal tent camp where some 450,000 people are already living in squalid conditions.
Israel has now evacuated the eastern third of Rafah, which had been sheltering some 1.3 million Palestinians, most of whom had fled fighting elsewhere. The U.N. has warned that a planned full-scale invasion would further cripple humanitarian operations and cause a surge in civilian deaths.
The main aid entry points near Rafah are already affected. Israeli troops have captured the Gaza side of the Rafah crossing, forcing it to shut down. Egypt has refused to coordinate with Israel on the delivery of aid though the crossing because of “the unacceptable Israeli escalation,” the state-owned Al Qahera News channel reported.
A senior Egyptian official told The Associated Press that Cairo has lodged protests with Israel, the United States and European governments, saying the offensive has put its decades-old peace treaty with Israel — a cornerstone of regional stability — at high risk. The official was not authorized to brief media and spoke on condition of anonymity.
U.S. President Joe Biden has said he won't provide offensive weapons to Israel for Rafah, and his administration says there is “reasonable” evidence that Israel had breached international law protecting civilians.
Israel rejects those allegations, saying it tries to avoid harming civilians. It blames Hamas for the high toll because the militants fight in dense, residential areas.
In the Israeli-occupied West Bank, where deadly violence has increased since the war began, the Palestinian Health Ministry said a man was shot dead by Israeli forces in Balata refugee camp in Nablus. The army said its forces responded with live fire after being shot at by militants in the camp.
Krauss reported from Jerusalem and Magdy from Cairo. Associated Press writer Jack Jeffery in Jerusalem contributed.
Follow AP’s coverage of the war at https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war
Family of Israeli solider Sergeant Yosef Dassa mourn in grief during his funeral in Kiryat Ata, Israel, Sunday, May 12, 2024. Dassa ,19, was killed during Israel's ground operation in the Gaza Strip, where the Israeli army has been battling Palestinian militants in the war ignited by Hamas' Oct. 7 attack into Israel. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)
Israeli soldiers carry the casket of Sergeant Yosef Dassa during his funeral in Kiryat Ata, Israel, Sunday, May 12, 2024. Dassa ,19, was killed during Israel's ground operation in the Gaza Strip, where the Israeli army has been battling Palestinian militants in the war ignited by Hamas' Oct. 7 attack into Israel. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)
Family of Israeli solider Sergeant Yosef Dassa mourn in grief over his casket during his funeral in Kiryat Ata, Israel, Sunday, May 12, 2024. Dassa ,19, was killed during Israel's ground operation in the Gaza Strip, where the Israeli army has been battling Palestinian militants in the war ignited by Hamas' Oct. 7 attack into Israel. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)
Israeli tanks move near the Israeli-Gaza border, as seen from southern Israel, Sunday, May 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Tsafrir Abayov)
Family of Israeli solider Sergeant Yosef Dassa mourn in grief during his funeral in Kiryat Ata, Israel, Sunday, May 12, 2024. Dassa ,19, was killed during Israel's ground operation in the Gaza Strip, where the Israeli army has been battling Palestinian militants in the war ignited by Hamas' Oct. 7 attack into Israel. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)
An Israeli tank moves near the Israeli-Gaza border, as seen from southern Israel, Sunday, May 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Tsafrir Abayov)
A Palestinian woman chants slogans against Israel during a protest called by Palestinian Islamic Jihad movement, in solidarity with the Palestinian people in Gaza, at the Palestinian refugee camp of Chatila in Beirut, Lebanon, Saturday, May 11, 2024. The Arabic on his headband reads: "No God but Allah and Muhammed is his messenger, top, Al-Quds Brigades, center, and The Islamic Jihad group in Palestine." (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)
Protesters holding Palestinian flags shout slogans during a protest rally at Syntagma Square, central Athens, Greece, Saturday, May 11, 2024. Activist groups and Palestinians living in Greece rallied in front of the Parliament and marched to protest Israel's military operations in the Gaza Strip. (AP Photo/Michael Varaklas)
People protest against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government and call for the release of hostages held in the Gaza Strip by the Hamas militant group in Tel Aviv, Israel, Saturday, May 11, 2024. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)
Palestinian medics treat a wounded man in the Israeli bombardment of the Gaza Strip at Al Aqsa hospital in Deir al Balah, Gaza Strip, on Saturday, May 11, 2024. (AP Photo/Saher Alghorra)
Police use water cannon to disperse demonstrators during a protest against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government, and calling for the release of hostages held in the Gaza Strip by the Hamas militant group, in Tel Aviv, Israel, Saturday, May 11, 2024. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)
Palestinians mourn relatives killed in the Israeli bombardments of the Gaza Strip in front of the morgue of the Al Aqsa Hospital in Deir al Balah, Gaza Strip, on Saturday, May 11, 2024. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)
Palestinians mourn their child relative killed in the Israeli bombardment of the Gaza Strip, at Al Aqsa Hospital in Deir al Balah, Gaza Strip, early Sunday, May 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Saher Alghorra)
Palestinians mourn their relative killed in the Israeli bombardment of the Gaza Strip, at Al Aqsa Hospital in Deir al Balah, Gaza Strip, early Sunday, May 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Saher Alghorra)
A Palestinian woman mourns her child, Mahmoud Essa, 12, who was killed in the Israeli bombardment of the Gaza Strip, at Al Aqsa Hospital in Deir al Balah, Gaza Strip, early Sunday, May 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Saher Alghorra)
