Most Impressive College Football Freshmen in Week 1
Who says you have to sit on the sidelines and wait your turn as a freshman? With football being a 365-day sport, freshmen are more prepared than ever before to see the field right away. Not only that, freshmen are thriving not only in their first seasons, but their first starts in some cases.
Which freshmen stole the spotlight in Week 1 of the 2015 college football season? We highlight 10 first-year players and redshirts who came up big right out of the gate. Selections were based on stats, highlight plays and on-field impact, win or lose.
Also, since Week 1 is not technically over, we'll update this post as performances warrant.
Have anyone else worth mentioning? Sound off in the comment section below.
Florida Defensive End CeCe Jefferson
1 of 10
Florida's 2015 season certainly got off to a good start with a 61-13 win over New Mexico State. The offense's ability to score, even against a lesser opponent, is an encouraging sign. But let's focus for a minute on freshman defensive end CeCe Jefferson.
We knew heading into the year that Jefferson would be called upon to take the field in passing situations so he could use his natural athleticism to get in the backfield. Did he ever.
Jefferson finished the game with just one tackle and a pass breakup, but check out his pass-rushing skills in this video. This kid is going to be a star for the Gators.
He incredible strength and speed, and he knows how to use his hands. Instead of trying to use his athleticism to run around to tackle, he goes straight for the lineman and essentially shoves him into the quarterback. Though he didn't get credited with a quarterback hurry there, but that's basically what he caused.
Texas A&M Defensive Tackle Daylon Mack
2 of 10
As a whole, Texas A&M's defense was one of Week 1's top stories. Arizona State was supposed to have a potent offense, yet it was limited to around 300 yards of offense in a 38-17 loss. Do-it-all weapon D.J. Foster was held to 61 yards rushing and receiving.
The defensive line, which recorded seven of A&M's nine sacks, is a big reason for the Aggies' success. Edge-rushers Myles Garrett and Daeshon Hall will get a lot of the credit, but do not overlook freshman Daylon Mack. In his first collegiate game, Mack had six tackles, one of which went for a loss. He was an absolute force up front, clogging holes and causing disruptions along the ASU O-line.
Garrett is getting Heisman consideration from Stewart Mandel of Fox Sports, but Mack is transforming into another key member of the A&M defensive line.
UCLA Quarterback Josh Rosen
3 of 10
The hype machine for UCLA quarterback Josh Rosen is running at maximum capacity. That's what happens when you go 28-of-35 for 351 yards and three touchdowns in a 34-16 win over Virginia.
The offseason vibe coming from the coaching staff was that Rosen was just as impressive mentally as he was physically, that his understanding of the offense and adjustment to the speed of the college game was unmatched. That was on display Saturday.
Beyond the stat line, Rosen did not look like a freshman. He looked cool and collected, and he showed good pocket presence and did not force many throws. Some of his downfield passes were nothing short of gorgeous. Bruce Feldman of Fox Sports explained:
"And he was even more impressive than whos That stat line Indicated. On the Bruins' first play of the game, Mazzone orchestrated to throw deep. Rosen delivered it to the right receiver in stride, but His wideout dropped the ball. The 6-foot-4, 210-pounder just shook it off and ended up 7 for 8 in the first quarter.
Oftentimes, UCLA Were not wide open receivers and Rosen threaded the ball into tight windows. On a dismal day for the Pac-12, Rosen was, by far, the brightest light.
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Will Rosen always perform well? It's unlikely. There are natural growing pains for any freshman. But Week 1 was an outstanding start.
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Texas Linebacker Malik Jefferson
4 of 10
There wan't much to like about Texas' 38-3 loss to Notre Dame—if you're a Longhorn fan, that is. There are already entire columns being crafted about this program's misery.
Stuck in a juxtaposition between having young talent and underachieving veterans, head coach Charlie Strong still has a long way to go before he can turn things around. The Irish are good—possibly playoff good—which shows just how big the gap is between them and Texas.
A bright spot, however, was freshman linebacker Malik Jefferson, who absolutely lived up to the hype. Jefferson was all over the place with nine tackles, 2.5 of which went for loss, and delivered some punishing hits.
Jefferson is already a star. There's no "will be" about him. Unfortunately for Texas, he can only do so much.
West Virginia Wide Receiver Jovon Durante
5 of 10
How's this for a first impression: On his first career reception, West Virginia wide receiver Jovon Durante hauled in a 41-yard touchdown pass against Georgia Southern. And it wasn't like Durante was wide-open or caught a pass in stride, either; he had to go up and adjust to a Skyler Howard pass and get his foot in bounds to give the Mountaineers a 7-0 lead.
Durante would finish the game with three receptions for 121 yards plus that score.
Not only was it a big night for the former 4-star recruit but the Mountaineers showed they have replacements for Kevin White and Mario Alford. Durante and sophomore Shelton Gibson surpassed the century mark through the air on Saturday in what could be the first of many big days for the pass-catching duo.
Drop-off? What drop-off?
Pitt Running Back Qadree Ollison
6 of 10
It's not easy replacing a star running back like James Conner, but Qadree Ollison did an excellent job in Pitt's 45-37 win over Youngstown State.
With Conner nursing a minor right knee injury, the redshirt freshman picked up the slack with 207 yards and a touchdown.
According to ESPN.com, that rushing total "was the highest ever by a Panther in his debut." Considering some of the running backs who have gone through Pitt over the years, that's a huge stat. With Youngstown State holding court with the Panthers on the scoreboard, Ollison needed every one of those yards.
"Coach is always preaching Narduzzi next man up, and we always preach that in the running back room," said Ollison (via ESPN.com). "We're all about equal to each other. We believe anybody can go in there and get the job done if James goes down."
Conner should be back soon, meaning Ollison's days of 200-plus yards are likely over for now. But he may have earned some additional playing time from head coach Pat Narduzzi.
Texas A&M Wide Receiver Christian Kirk
7 of 10
We've already touched on Texas A&M defensive tackle Daylon Mack and the Aggies' outstanding defensive effort against Arizona State. But A&M's win was impressive enough that it warranted two mentions. The other freshman deserving such accolades is wide receiver Christian Kirk.
Not only did Kirk lead all receivers in the game with six catches for 106 yards and a touchdown, but he also took a punt return 79 yards to the house.
A&M has one of, if not, the top SEC receiving units. For Kirk to break into the starting rotation as a freshman speaks volumes to his ability. And now we've seen why coaches were so high on him. Kirk has unbelievable open-field speed and is dangerous when A&M gets the ball to him in space.
BYU Quarterback Tanner Mangum
8 of 10All BYU quarterback Tanner Mangum did in Week 1 was throw a Hail Mary touchdown to beat Nebraska 33-28. So, yeah, he's earned his spot on your list.
The bittersweet part of Mangum's moment is that starting quarterback Taysom Hill was sidelined with a foot injury. We now know that injury is season-ending, as ESPN's Mitch Sherman noted. It's an awful break for Hill, who was just returning from a season-ending leg injury last year.
That means Mangum is the guy going forward. The freshman isn't the rushing threat Hill was, but he has a decent arm and went 7-of-11 passing against the Huskers. It's too bad Mangum is being thrust into this position because of an injury, but his career with the Cougars is already off to a wild start.
USC Defensive Back Iman Marshall
9 of 10
The strength of USC's defense is definitely in its secondary and freshman defensive back Iman Marshall is already adding to that strength. There was little drama in the Trojans' 55-6 win over Arkansas State, other than the offense's ability to protect quarterback Cody Kessler, which opened up the spotlight for players like Marshall.
The true freshman led all USC defenders with a pair of pass break-ups. He also finished tied for second on the team with six tackles. A breakout performance on defense and special teams was huge for Marshall. Depth has-been an issue for the Trojans in the post-NCAA Sanctions era, but concerns about that depth appears to have finally been alleviated.
For a freshman like Marshall to come in and play well right away is a security blanket.
Northwestern Quarterback Clayton Thorson
10 of 10
Week 1 didn't have a ton of upsets, but Northwestern knocking off Stanford 16-6 at home was definitely one of them. The Wildcats Were more physical up front, which is not something most would have expected.
But the pleasant surprise of the game was freshman quarterback Clayton Thorson. Though he completed just 50 percent of his passes for 4.4 yards per attempt, Thorson showed some nice wheels by running for a 42-yard touchdown on a 3rd-and-7.
Thorson has some work to do as a passer, but the Wildcats have a nice rushing weapon at quarterback to go along with Justin Jackson.
Ben Kercheval is a lead writer for college football. All quotes cited unless obtained firsthand. All stats courtesy of cfbstats.com. All recruiting information courtesy of 247Sports.
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