Bowl Games Offer Chances to Prospect
Part of the fun of collecting (all of the fun of collecting?) is being ahead of the curve — finding an underappreciated player and buying up every last parallel, then waiting patiently for that player to blow up with a giant performance on a big stage…and promptly cashing in all your chips. Or keeping all your new cards but going to bed with the smug knowledge that you figured it out “before the rest of these fools.”
One market that seems woefully underappreciated is the college football space. For baseball card collectors, a 1st Bowman is a highly sought-after pre-rookie card that increases in value as a player jumps levels and eventually hits the majors. The college line hasn’t found that level of appreciation yet — but it will. And that makes the two players in this column really, doubly underappreciated. That’s a dangerous combo for someone who just got a $50 check in his stocking and is looking to invest!
To get ahead of this college football curve, we went to college football analyst Gene Clemons of FantasyLife.com and SI.com — and asked him for some players whose value could take off during the 2024 Bowl season.
Jimmy Horn Jr., WR, Colorado (vs. BYU in the Alamo Bowl)
2024 Bowman University Chrome #101 Jimmy Horn Jr. Auto
Jimmy Horn Jr. is a fourth-year senior who transferred to Colorado in 2023 (from USF). He caught 58 passes for 567 yards and six touchdowns last year and followed that up with 33 receptions for 434 yards and a touchdown this season while missing some time due to an injury.
And those depressed numbers (“injuries really crippled the second half of the season for Horn,” Clemons says) are exactly why you should jump on his card. “Jimmy Horn Jr. is the fastest and most explosive player on a Colorado roster full of elite athletes,” Clemons explains. “Expect him to run a ridiculously fast 40-yard dash time at the Combine. His star will skyrocket this offseason.”
Heisman Trophy winner Travis Hunter was just one of several talented receivers on the Colorado roster who kept Horn from maximizing his statistical output, but fans should see his talent on full display starting in the Alamo Bowl, and then at the East West Shrine Bowl, the Combine, and the team’s pro day.
Tyler Warren, TE, Penn State (vs SMU in the CFP first round)
2014 Topps Football Punt, Pass, and Kick Champions NNO Tyler Warren
Tony Reid of SI’s collectibles section has a fantastic story on how Tyler Warren currently has just one card — and it’s from the 2014 Topps set when a 10-year-old Warren was included in a Punt, Pass, and Kick subset.
Fast forward a decade, and Warren is in the midst of a breakout campaign — the 6-foot-6, 249 tight end finished 7th in Heisman voting after a 2024 season that included 1,062 yards off 88 catches (with six touchdowns).
“He has the perfect frame for the tight end of today,” Clemons says, “and his athleticism makes him an intriguing prospect. Everyone will be introduced to Warren on this national stage — not just NFL prospect heads, but all the people around the water cooler as well.”
Maybe we’ll see a Bowman Now produced after a big Bowl game from Warren, but that Punt, Pass, and Kick card can be had for $30-40 right now, and you have to ask yourself if there will be a market for what is a somewhat unprecedented situation — a 10-year-old future star in a subset from 2014. It’s not an especially popular card, so listings will be scarce, and there was a clear jump in value with its sales on eBay; before Warren’s 17-catch, 224-yard, two-TD game on October 12, the card was selling for about $3. After, it jumped to (and has held steady at) around $30. Could the next spike be on the horizon?
