2023 College Football: Hottest Freshmen of September
The 2023 college football season is already a quarter of the way through. Through five weeks, we've seen some freshmen step up and make big plays.
For this list, we'll include the standout redshirt and true freshman who looked the best throughout September.
Let's run through 2023's hottest freshmen from last month, including those who statistically have stood out and made big plays when their teams needed them.
Western Michigan RB Jalen Buckley, Minnesota RB Darius Taylor
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The only two freshmen who check inside the top 10 in rushing yards nationally are Western Michigan's Jalen Buckley and Minnesota's Darius Taylor. Early in the season, both backs are off to strong starts.
Buckley, a redshirt freshman, has been a bright spot during a 2-3 start for Western Michigan. The tailback has accounted for 557 yards on 94 carries, with five touchdowns on the season.
His best game came during a Week 4 defeat to Toledo. Although the Broncos lost 49-31, he finished with 196 yards and two scores, averaging 6.76 yards per carry.
He had another great outing against St. Francis in Week 1. During the Broncos' 35-17 win, he finished with 194 yards and a touchdown. Buckley will need to be just as consistent as the Broncos begin the heart of their conference schedule in October.
Minnesota's Darius Taylor has 532 rushing yards with four touchdowns already, including an average of 133 yards per game. Although he was limited to just three yards on one carry in Week 1 vs. Nebraska, he broke out during the Gophers' next three games.
Against Eastern Michigan, he had 193 yards and a touchdown; the week after, he had 138 yards and a touchdown versus UNC. His best game so far came in Week 4 against Northwestern, as the true freshman finished with a career-high 198 yards and two scores. Although Minnesota was without Taylor during a Week 5 35-24 win over Louisiana due to a leg injury, the freshman still leads the Big Ten in rushing.
Iowa State QB Rocco Becht, UCLA QB Dante Moore
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We see more and more freshmen quarterbacks playing early, thanks to the high level that signal-caller recruits play across the country. For the next couple of slides we'll highlight some young quarterbacks that have played well early on.
First is Iowa State's Rocco Becht, who is seventh in the Big 12 with 1,085 yards passing and nine touchdowns and five interceptions. Sure, the redshirt freshman has had a few turnovers, but his best game of the season came during Iowa State's 34-27 win over Oklahoma State on Sept. 23. He threw for a career-high 348 yards and three touchdowns.
"I just thought Rocco played an incredible game," Iowa State head coach Matt Campbell told reporters after the game. "His efficiency, the way he threw the football and to get people out of the box, you gotta prove that you can throw the football."
True freshman signal-caller Dante Moore has played well for the Bruins early. Moore is eighth in the Pac-12 in passing yards, with 849 yards in the air with eight touchdowns and two interceptions.
Moore had his best game of the month during UCLA's Week 2 road win over San Diego State. The quarterback finished with 290 yards passing, three touchdowns and zero interceptions. He completed 63 percent of his passes, as well.
Colorado State QB Brayden Fowler-Nicolosi, USF QB Byrum Brown
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The two freshmen ranked highest in passing yards nationally are Colorado State's Brayden Fowler-Nicolosi and South Florida's Byrum Brown.
We'll start with Fowler-Nicolosi, who has accounted for 1,358 yards passing with 11 touchdowns and seven interceptions. He has added a rushing touchdown, as well. His best game came in Week 4, during the Rams' 41-20 win over Utah Tech when he had a whopping 462 passing yards with four touchdowns and two interceptions.
Fowler-Nicolosi came off the bench for injured starting QB Clay Millen in Week 1, and Rams head coach Jay Norvell has stuck with him under center since. During their thrilling overtime loss to Colorado in Week 3, the signal-caller had 367 yards passing with three touchdowns and three interceptions.
USF's Brown ranks fifth in the AAC in passing, having accounted for 1,223 yards and nine touchdowns with three interceptions. He has another 324 yards and five touchdowns on the ground.
Although he struggled in the air in a 17-7 loss to Alabama at home, finishing with just 87 yards passing, he has rebounded well since then. In the last two weeks against Rice and Navy, he has 773 yards passing, five touchdowns and no interceptions.
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Georgia Tech WR Eric Singleton Jr.
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Georgia Tech has been pretty inconsistent throughout early in the season. Although the team looked improved during wins over South Carolina State and Wake Forest, it gave up 38 unanswered points and lost 38-27 against Bowling Green at home in Week 5.
But a bright spot for the Yellow Jackets offensively has been receiver Eric Singleton Jr. Through five games, he is sixth in the ACC in receiving yards, with 18 receptions for 335 yards. He also has five touchdowns, which is tied for first in the conference.
During GT's 30-16 road win over Wake Forest, he had this 31-yard beauty of a touchdown reception from quarterback Haynes King:
Against Bowling Green, Singleton had a 53-yard touchdown reception in the first quarter that gave the Yellow Jackets an early 7-0 lead.
One thing that stands out with him is his speed, which shouldn't be too surprising: He also ran track in high school in Douglasville, Georgia.
"He's not a track guy that plays football, I'll tell you that," head coach Brent Key told Andy Demetra of the official GT website. "He's a football player that happens to run track and be very fast.".
Although Tech's season isn't off to a hot start in coach Key's first season in Atlanta, Singleton's development is certainly a bright spot.
Ole Miss LB Suntarine Perkins
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Ole Miss' defense hasn't looked great early on in the season. Through five weeks, the Rebels rank 107th in total defense nationally, and the unit gave up a season-high 49 points to LSU last week.
But what has been great for the Rebels is how well true freshman linebacker Suntarine Perkins has been playing in September. Through five games, he is fifth on the team in total tackles (20), including nine solo stops. He's added three sacks, 3.5 tackles for loss and a pass breakup.
Perkins was a big get for Kiffin's 2023 recruiting class. In fact, the head coach had to battle Alabama to land him—he was heavily recruited by the Crimson Tide but chose to stay in his home state of Mississippi.
"(Suntarine) Perkins was probably the only player on our roster they [Alabama] wanted," Kiffin told reporters before the Week 4 game against the Tide. "So, if you look at it that way, they basically had 85 draft picks, and we took what they didn't want."
Perkins played well against Alabama, despite his team losing 24-10. The linebacker finished with two sacks on quarterback Jalen Milroe, with five total tackles and two solo stops. He is on track to have a huge year in Oxford.
Clemson DE T.J. Parker
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Clemson might already be out of the College Football Playoff with two losses on its resume in September, but true freshman defensive end T.J. Parker has at least been a bright spot.
Through five games, he is fourth on the team in total tackles, with 16 total tackles, including 7.5 for loss and three sacks.
His best game of the season came during Clemson's 31-14 win over Syracuse on Saturday. He finished with two sacks and five total tackles. He is still coming off the bench for starting defensive end Justin Mascoll, but he could make a push for the starting role as the season progresses.
"We certainly recognize T.J. and what he's done in two games," head coach Dabo Swinney told reporters earlier in the season. "He got a lot of opportunity the other day because he's a young player who hasn't played a lot.
"So, we definitely wanted to get him in there, and really proud of what we've seen out of him. He's a kid we were super excited about coming in, and he's a guy that could be a starter for us, for sure."
The toughest remaining games for Clemson look to be at No. 16 Miami on Oct. 21, at NC State on Oct. 28, at home vs. No. 11 Notre Dame on Nov. 4 and against No. 15 UNC on Nov. 18.
If the Tigers want to finish with eight or nine wins this year, they'll need Parker to maintain his form.
USC WR Zachariah Branch
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True Trojans freshman Zachariah Branch has been electric early in the season. So far, the former 5-star recruit has 13 receptions for 178 yards and two touchdowns, adding another 31 rushing yards on three carries.
But his most impressive playmaking abilities have been on special teams. He's returned seven punts for 158 yards, including a 75-yard return for a touchdown against Stanford:
On kick returns, Branch has six for 171 yards, including a 96-yard return for a touchdown against San Jose State in Week Zero.
His playmaking ability early on isn't just electric, he is making USC history. The Las Vegas native became the first Trojans' freshman since Nelson Agholor in 2013 to score on a receiving touchdown, punt return and kick return touchdown in a single season, per 247 Sports.
Unfortunately, Branch did not play in the Week 5 game against Colorado due to an undisclosed injury. But what he's done in four weeks makes him worthy of being on our list.
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