College Football 2024: Ranking the Top Freshman Performances of October
It's hard to believe that the 2024 college football season is already entering November. This time of year features conference championship races, weekly playoff rankings and rivalry-week games.
As we turn the page to November, let's look back at the best freshman performances from October. Some players had great single-game performances, while others played consistently well throughout the entire month.
10. Ohio State WR Jeremiah Smith
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Jeremiah Smith was the No. 1 overall recruiting prospect from the class of 2024 for a reason. During Ohio State's three games in October, Smith racked up 16 receptions for 259 yards and three touchdowns.
Although the Buckeyes ultimately lost to the Oregon Ducks, Smith's best performance of the month came in that game. He finished with nine catches for 100 yards, including a third-quarter touchdown that gave the Buckeyes a lead.
On the season, Smith leads Ohio State in receiving yards (635) and touchdowns (eight), and he's averaging a team-high 17.8 yards per catch. The Buckeyes need him to maintain that productivity heading into November, as they face No. 3 Penn State on the road on Saturday and face No. 13 Indiana and Michigan at home to close out the regular season.
9. Louisville RB Isaac Brown
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Louisville's Isaac Brown was named the ACC's Rookie of the Week twice during October, for good reason. He began the month with 100-plus rushing yards in back-to-back games.
During the Cardinals' 34-27 loss to SMU on Oct. 5, Brown finished with 10 carries for 117 yards and five receptions for 44 yards. In Louisville's 24-20 victory over Virginia the following week, Brown finished with 146 rushing yards and two touchdowns. That performance earned him his first ACC Rookie of the Week honors.
He won the award again Monday for what he did during the Cardinals' 31-27 victory over Boston College last week. Brown led all ACC rushers with 85 yards and two touchdowns. He added three receptions for 17 yards, too.
The true freshman from Homestead, Florida, helped the Cardinals come back from a 20-7 halftime deficit against Boston College. He scored Louisville's touchdown early in the fourth quarter that pulled the Cardinals within three points.
8. Alabama WR Ryan Williams
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You can't talk about talented true freshmen without mentioning Alabama receiver Ryan Williams. The Tide star is third in the SEC with 702 receiving yards, and he's tied for the conference lead with seven receiving touchdowns.
During October, Williams continued to prove he is a deep-ball threat for opposing defenses. Against Vanderbilt, he averaged 27.3 yards per reception on his three catches. Against Missouri last week, he averaged 13.3 during the Tide's 34-0 victory.
During Alabama's 24-17 loss against Tennessee, Williams finished with eight catches (on 20 targets!) for 73 yards and a touchdown. Tide head coach Kalen DeBoer denied his game plan relied on Williams too much in the loss.
"I think that some of them, there is an intentional element to making sure he's part of the gameplan," DeBoer said after the game. "And then some of it was just the progressions and where it ended up. We just had a couple misses. We hit one or two of those, interception early in the game.
"We had a good little rhythm right there, and some of those hurt. But you have to have confidence in your players to continue to go back and go make the next play. We obviously have a lot of belief in every one of our players. He's a guy that can go make those plays anytime. So, we got to continue to make sure he's a strong part of the game plan."
Alabama needs more production from Williams to maintain its shot at making the playoff.
7. NC State QB CJ Bailey
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NC State true freshman signal-caller CJ Bailey had to step in for an injured Grayson McCall earlier in the season. Now that McCall is retiring from football, this is Bailey's offense to run full-time.
Bailey had one of the best games of his career on Oct. 19, leading his team from a come-from-behind victory over Cal.
The Wolfpack trailed 23-10 entering the fourth quarter. But Bailey put together two back-to-back scoring drives, including one capped off with a 41-yard touchdown pass to receiver Hollywood Smothers.
NC State's defense was able to hold Cal to a punt, a missed field goal and a turnover on downs on its last three possessions, giving the Wolfpack the 24-23 victory.
"He doesn't flinch," NC State head coach Dave Doeren said of Bailey after the game. "He stays positive and he's just got that it factor when it comes to how he manages things and overcomes. Even when he makes a bad play, it doesn't rattle him."
Despite Bailey's big victory, the Wolfpack are fighting to make a bowl game this season. They're in the midst of an uncharacteristically down year under Doeren, as they won nine games in 2021 and 2023 and eight games in 2022.
We'll see if Bailey can help lead NC State to bowl eligibility with four games remaining against Stanford, Duke, Georgia Tech and North Carolina.
6. Pitt QB Eli Holstein
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Pitt freshman quarterback Eli Holstein has been lighting up defenses all season. The Panthers, who finished 3-9 last year, are undefeated and tied atop the ACC as a result.
Holstein, who hails from Zachary, Louisiana, was named the ACC's Rookie of the Week for the fifth time this season following the Panthers' 34-24 victory over North Carolina on Oct. 5. The signal-caller put up a career-high 381 passing yards and three touchdowns with an interception. The pick he threw came early in the game and was returned for a touchdown to give UNC an early 7-3 lead.
"He's a competitor now," Narduzzi said of Holstein after the game. "I mean, nothing fazes him. Some quarterbacks would hesitate, but that guy didn't hesitate. He made plays after play after play, whether it's with his feet or with his arm."
He also added a team-high 76 yards on the ground with a touchdown. Following the victory, Holstein became the first Panthers quarterback to lead Pitt to a 5-0 start since Dan Marino did so in 1979.
During Pitt's 41-13 blowout win over Syracuse last week, Holstein left the game with an undisclosed injury. But he is expected to start during Saturday's pivotal ACC game vs. SMU.
5. Mississippi State QB Michael Van Buren Jr.
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It's been a rough season for Mississippi State. The Bulldogs are 1-7 on the year, with their lone win coming in Week 1 over Eastern Kentucky. But the one bright spot has been how quarterback Michael Van Buren Jr. has played, especially in October.
Van Buren stepped into the starting role for an injured Blake Shapen in late September and has found his stride in the last month. Although Mississippi State lost 41-31 to Georgia on Oct. 5, Van Buren was named the SEC's Co-Freshman of the Week for his performance. The signal-caller from Bowie, Maryland threw for 306 yards with three touchdowns and an interception.
His numbers have been solid in the Bulldogs' last two games against Texas A&M and Arkansas as well. Against the Aggies on Oct. 19, he threw for 242 yards with three touchdowns and an interception. Although Mississippi State got blown out by Arkansas, 58-25, Van Buren had a career-high 309 passing yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions. He had a rushing touchdown, too.
Mississippi State's next-best chance for a win looks like it'll come this Saturday. The Bulldogs play 2-6 UMass, and ESPN's Matchup Predictor gives Mississippi State a 92.2 percent chance to win. Van Buren could have yet another career day.
4. Minnesota S Koi Perich
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True freshman safety Koi Perich is one reason why Minnesota has a top-10 passing defense. Perich was a 4-star recruit and the nation's No. 5 overall safety from the class of 2024.
He's been a consistent starter in October and had some impressive numbers in the Gophers' last three games. His best performance came during Minnesota's 24-17 upset victory over USC. Perich finished with six total tackles, including five solo stops and a forced fumble. He also had the game-ending interception of Miller Moss late in the fourth quarter.
Since that game, he has only gotten more productive week in and week out. He had two interceptions during Minnesota's 21-17 win over UCLA on Oct. 12. In Minnesota's 48-23 victory over Maryland last week, he had three total tackles along with an interception.
Perich also took a snap on offense against Maryland. We potentially could see more of the talented freshman on that side of the ball, too.
"I don't want to put too much on his plate, but whatever we've put on his plate, he's been fine," Gophers head coach P.J. Fleck said earlier this week, as his team prepares to play at Illinois on Saturday. "He's a competitor and an athlete and if we can add another athlete on offense—and I am not saying he's gonna play 30, 40 snaps, but if we can find a way to get 8-10 snaps with him doing different things, then we're definitely gonna highlight that."
It sounds like Perich won't play as many offensive snaps as Colorado two-way star Travis Hunter, but it would be cool to see what he can do on the other side of the ball.
2. Florida RB Jadan Baugh and QB DJ Lagway
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The Gators' dominant 48-20 victory over Kentucky in Week 7 was thanks in part to true freshman quarterback DJ Lagway and fellow true freshman running back Jadan Baugh.
Baugh finished with 106 yards on 22 carries with five touchdowns, which tied a school record set by Tim Tebow and Trey Burton. Lagway, who was making only his second career start thanks to Graham Mertz's season-ending injury the week prior, finished with 305 total yards of offense along with an interception.
Lagway and Baugh were the first true freshman quarterback and running back to start in school history, according to the Associated Press.
"We had a vision for what they could accomplish here," Florida head coach Billy Napier said after the game, via The Independent Florida Alligator. "[As a] person, student and player, and a ton of people contributed to that. Both come from great families. Both have humility. Their work ethic is second to none."
Like Lagway, Baugh also stepped up in the wake of a big injury, filling in for an injured Montrell Johnson. The win gave Florida its fourth win of the season, and its first win over Kentucky since 2020.
1. Texas A&M QB Marcel Reed
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With Texas A&M down 10 to LSU in the third quarter last week, head coach Mike Elko made a big decision. He took out starting quarterback Conner Weigman for true freshman Marcel Reed.
Elko's gamble paid off. Reed's first play from scrimmage from LSU's 8-yard line resulted in a touchdown that pulled A&M within three points.
Reed's magic didn't stop there. The true freshman signal-caller from Nashville, Tennessee, scored another two rushing touchdowns on consecutive drives. He then led another two scoring drives to put the Tigers away, securing a 38-23 win over LSU that vaulted the Aggies to the top of the SEC standings.
"We couldn't get the passing game unglued at all," Elko said of the decision to pull Weigman, via On3Sports. "We couldn't call it right, I couldn't get them to run it right, we couldn't get open. It was just a litany of problems. Conner didn't throw it well at times. It was a litany of issues. And we just felt like we needed a spark. And we pulled the trigger and went with Marcel, and what a spark he gave us."
Reed finished the night with two completions for 70 passing yards and nine carries for 62 yards. As for who will start for Texas A&M on Saturday at South Carolina, Elko says he has yet to make a decision.
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