College football season is upon us. For some Cowboys fans, that's 14 weeks to get a look at the best amateur talent in the country ahead of the 2023 NFL draft.

It's easy to get caught up in the pageantry and spectacle of college football Saturdays. Somewhere amidst the pregame rituals, the fight songs, and the inevitably contentious jostle for playoff position, the next Dallas Cowboys difference maker will be on the field somewhere. These are just a few of the players that could be one of Dallas' next major draft prospects.

Olusegun Oluwatimi – C, Michigan

There's no telling what the Cowboys' offensive line situation will be at the end of this season. Will Tyron Smith be healthy? Will he even be a Cowboy? Is Terence Steele the player the Cowboys hope he is? Is Tyler Smith a guard or a tackle? There's no question that the Cowboys need an upgrade up front, but it's hard to say what exactly they might be looking for. Tyler Biadasz has had an uneven career so far for the Cowboys. He's been serviceable, but six seasons of gold jacket football by Travis Frederick is a tough act to follow. The Cowboys will almost certainly try to improve the offensive line in the 2023 draft, and it's likely they try to do it at center. Ann Arbor, the new home of 2021 Rimington Trophy Finalist Olusegun Oluwatimi, would be a good place to start.

Oluwatimi made 32 straight starts at center for Virginia from 2019 to 2021 before transferring to Michigan this past spring. The Maryland native was good enough in his final year with the Cavaliers to be named a finalist for the Rimington Trophy, an honor given to the top performing center in college football each year. Oluwatimi was named a finalist alongside the first center taken in the 2022 draft, Baltimore Ravens first-round pick Tyler Linderbaum. Oluwatimi's pass blocking was good at Virginia last year. The new Wolverines center allowed two sacks in over 500 pass-blocking snaps last season. It is in the run game that Oluwatimi's real talents show up.

The Maryland native is strong, mobile, and a ferocious finisher at the second level. Oluwatimi's ability to get on a block and stay on it, even against a smaller and quicker player, could make him one of the Cowboys' top targets in 2023. Depending on his senior season, the Cowboys should be able to target Oluwatimi in the middle-to-late first round. If he slides, Dallas could trade out of the first round or up in the second round to get him.

Bijan Robinson – RB, Texas

The Dallas Cowboys are about to have some decisions to make at running back. Ezekiel Elliott is in the last guaranteed year of his inflated contract, and Tony Pollard will need a new deal as well. The Cowboys have said they plan on keeping Tony Pollard around, but rumors are already starting to swirl that Elliott may be on his way out. Even if Pollard does stick around, that won't leave much breathing room at the position in the event of an injury. The Cowboys have only used a first-round pick on a running back three times in the last three decades. They could be poised to do it for the second time since 2016 if they're so inclined to add Longhorns powerhouse runner Bijan Robinson.

Robinson's sophomore season at UT was explosive. The Longhorns running back racked up 1,422 scrimmage yards and 15 touchdowns in just ten games last year. Robinson catapulted himself into the Heisman Trophy conversation for a moment on Oct. 2 when he ran for over 200 yards and two scores on the road against TCU. There's no doubting the talent, but Dallas would likely need to take Robinson in the first round if they wanted him. With so much work to do on the rest of the roster, there are no guarantees that the Cowboys would be willing to do that. The good news for those itching to see Robinson suit up for America's team is that running backs can tend to go later than just about any other position in the draft. The New York Jets made Breece Hall the highest drafted running back in this year's draft in the second round.

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Marvin Mims – WR, Oklahoma

Oluwatimi and Robinson are both generally projected first-rounders, depending on which mock draft you look at. Mims is a player that Dallas might be able to target later in the draft as one of the less hyped pass catchers in this year's draft. Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Jordan Addison, and Kayshon Boutte are currently dominating the wide receiver scene in the college game. Meanwhile, Mims has been quietly putting together a solid resume at OU.

Mims may be a touch undersized at 5'11”, 177 pounds, but he's got uncommon speed. OU Daily assistant sports editor Austin Curtright wrote in an editorial from Aug. 2021 that Mims clocked a 4.39 40-yard-dash as a freshman at OU during a spring workout. That speed has served Mims well as a deep threat in two seasons with the Sooners. The Frisco, Texas native's 22 yards per reception in 2021 marked third best in all of college football. Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott has never been the type of passer to fling a deep ball and let his receiver chase it down. However, reports out of Dallas Cowboys training camp suggest that Prescott's arm strength is on the rise. If the deep ball becomes a bigger part of Prescott's game this season, the Cowboys could look to double down on that development by adding Mims to the wide receivers room.