First off, I like that your picking a football cleat. A lot of people design basketball or running shoes, so it’s good that you’re picking something different. Now on to my thoughts.
Originality. Right off the bat I can tell which shoes you’re referencing in your sketches. It just looks like you took bball shoes and added cleats on the bottom. I try to make it a personal policy never to reference other shoes in terms of aesthetics. What inspires the look? Think about every part and how it interacts with every other part.
Research. What are these issues and injuries you’re talking about that relate to the taping of the cleats? Did you interview players and coaches about the topic? Did you try on a pair of cleats and tape them to see how it felt? These are important issues to resolve because the information will help you find your design opportunities.
Depth of work. What are the features that solve the problem you mentioned? What materials are used? Footwear is all in the details, from the layering of the panels to the spacing of the eyelets.
In regards to a final model, I had this problem when I was doing my thesis as well. To be quite honest, unless you have access to equipment, or have a contact who wouldn’t mind making a prototype for you, it just doesn’t seem feasible to make a final appearance model that you can wear as well. The closest I came was taking a big hunk of foam and carving it into a final appearance model. Obviously you couldn’t wear it, but it looked accurate in terms of proportions and details. However, if you’re able to mock up a model that illustrates a feature, you could always buy a pair of cleats (or have someone donate a pair to you) and cut it up. I had a fit system on my design that I wanted to showcase so I took a pair of running shoes, and made duct tape panels to illustrate the feature.
In regards to 3d modeling, unless you are really good at it, I wouldn’t recommend it. Softgoods are made from patterns, not 3d printers or molds. Designers rarely make a 3d model, so to me it wouldn’t make sense to do it.
I’ll be honest, this needs a lot of work, but it’s your thesis, it’s supposed to take a lot of work. Use core to ask questions. Learn as much as you can about how footwear is made. Check out places like solecollector.com, which has articles where the designers dissect their designs and talk about all the details that make up the final concept.
These are just my thoughts, feel free to agree or disagree. Good Luck!