Power Ranking Top Freshmen from November
Remember when all those little freshmen college football players were running around out on the field, not fully knowing what they were doing? They grow up so fast, y'all.
With November nearly in the rearview mirror, the first-year players we saw in September have grown into some great college football players. It's been fun to watch these players develop, knowing their best days are still ahead of them.
With that in mind, it's time to power rank the top freshmen in college football from the month of November. More weight was given to specific stats/performances over the last four weeks, but overall season numbers were considered as well.
Since the Football Bowl Subdivision is nearly 130 teams strong, we realize we've probably missed some under-the-radar guys. Feel free to share your standout frosh in the comments section below.
10. Central Florida Wide Receiver Tre'Quan Smith
1 of 10Nothing—and I mean nothing—has gone right for Central Florida. How else can you describe an 0-12 season? The Knights are only one of two FBS teams to go winless, with Kansas being the other; by the way, can we please get UCF and Kansas in a bowl so someone can win a game?
Anyway, none of this is really the fault of UCF freshman wide receiver Tre'Quan Smith. He's second among freshmen wideouts in November with 94.3 yards per game. He also has a pair of receiving touchdowns in the last month, which is half of his season total. On the year, he's caught a team-best 52 passes for 724 yards. No other receiver on the team comes close to matching those totals.
Oh, and he has one of the catches of the year in college football against East Carolina, which you can view above. That counts, too.
9. Washington Running Back Myles Gaskin
2 of 10
Myles Gaskin has flown under the radar in the freshman power rankings. Well, the disrespect is no more as Gaskin checks in for the first time this season.
It's probably a crime it's taken this long as Gaskin has been one of the more consistent first-year running backs. Including Friday's Apple Cup win over Washington State, Gaskin has recorded seven 100-yard games. Three of them have come in November. In fact, only Notre Dame's Josh Adams (more on him later) and UMass' Marquis Young have rushed for more yards in November as freshmen.
Gaskin is averaging five yards per carry now, but as Chantel Jennings of ESPN.com noted last week, Gaskin's numbers were right there with some of the top frosh running backs in college football:
"Gaskin's 5.8 yards per carry is better than what Oregon running back Royce Freeman and LSU running back Leonard Fournette averaged as freshmen last season. And his 169 carries so far this season is far more than what Stanford running back Christian McCaffrey was asked to do last season or what Alabama running back Derrick Henry was asked to do during his freshman season in 2013.
"
With a fairly new team around him, better days are ahead for both Gaskin and the Huskies.
8. Missouri Defensive End Walter Brady
3 of 10
Missouri might not get a winning season in 2015, but its defense was a huge reason the Tigers were in many games to begin with. The success starts at the defensive line. Mizzou ranks eighth nationally in rushing yards per attempt (3.29). And despite losing edge rushers Markus Golden and Shane Ray, the Tigers have 27 sacks.
Seven of those sacks have come from Walter Brady. That's tied for first on the team with Charles Harris. The redshirt freshman has only recorded one sack in November, but he's maintained pace with 2.5 tackles for loss and six tackles overall.
Fellow freshman Terry Beckner Jr., a first-year player, came into the season with the hype, but Brady has been excellent as a starter.
.jpg?w=256 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
7. Texas A&M Wide Receiver Christian Kirk
4 of 10
November has been relatively quiet for Texas A&M wide receiver Christian Kirk. Then again, November has been relatively quiet for the Aggies as a whole. That's what happens when you lose two of your last four games (and four of your last seven).
As a result, Kirk has fallen from the biggest impact freshman to the middle of the pack. He hasn't had a punt return for a touchdown since the Alabama game in October. In fact, he's only had an opportunity to return three punts since that game. That probably has a lot to do with teams understanding how dangerous he is.
Kirk still leads the team with 70 receptions for 925 yards and six touchdowns. That's third in the SEC. However, he only has two receiving touchdowns in November, and those were against Western Carolina. The Aggies' offense in general has regressed with the quarterback conundrum of Kyle Allen and Kyler Murray. Kirk has been able to maintain nearly six catches a game, but his overall impact as an explosive player has been diminished.
Kirk is still an impact freshman, make no mistake. But, like A&M, Kirk's numbers have dwindled down the stretch.
6. USC Cornerback Iman Marshall
5 of 10
USC's defense has some real star power at the second level with linebacker Su'a Cravens and cornerback Adoree' Jackson. Freshman corner Iman Marshall is on his way to succeeding those players and becoming the next great Trojan defender.
Marshall's best game of the year came Saturday in a 40-21 win over UCLA in which he picked off Bruins quarterback Josh Rosen twice. Heading into the game, Rosen had not thrown an interception in 218 pass attempts, according to Dan Greenspan of the Associated Press, which was the longest streak in the Football Bowl Subdivision.
Marshall has also recorded five of his season-long seven pass breakups and 15 of his 33 tackles in November. The former blue-chip recruit has, understandably, gone through a learning curve this year, but he's played his best football in the last month of the season. That shows tremendous growth.
5. Notre Dame Running Back Josh Adams
6 of 10
Notre Dame has been decimated by injuries this year. Yet, somehow, the Irish have won 10 games and lost two—against teams that finished a combined 22-2—by a total of four points. Think about that for a minute: Notre Dame has been playing all year with a number of (mostly?) backups, yet was this close to being right in the middle of the playoff discussion at season's end.
One of the backups that shined in November was running back Josh Adams. To put his role into perspective, he's the backup to C.J. Prosise, who is a converted wide receiver forced into action this year because of the injury to Tarean Folston.
With the exception of a defensive struggle against Boston College, Adams has rushed for at least 100 yards in every game in November. He's tallied nearly 500 yards this month and scored three touchdowns.
The lack of playing time throughout much of the season prevents Adams from being ranked higher, but there's no denying he's been one of the best freshmen over the past few weeks.
4. TCU Linebacker Ty Summers
7 of 10
Other than Notre Dame, TCU was the most snakebitten team in college football. A number of injuries on both sides of the ball forced younger players into starting roles sooner than most coaches would want. Yet, redshirt freshman Ty Summers has thrived in his increased role.
In November, Summers led all freshmen in college football with 41 tackles. A whopping 23 of those tackles, a school record, came in Friday's 28-21 double overtime win over Baylor. For his game, Summers earned the Walter Camp Foundation National Defensive Player of the Week.
Head coach Gary Patterson has done a tremendous job by winning 10 games this year rolling with his backups and freshmen. But players like Summers show the Frogs haven't won in spite of that fact; they've won because of it.
3. UCLA Quarterback Josh Rosen
8 of 10
As far as freshman quarterbacks go, UCLA's Josh Rosen has been the most consistent. Sure, Rosen has had his share of ups and downs; that's going to be any first-year player thrust into the most criticized position in sports. But you have to look at 2015 for Rosen as nothing but a success.
November was the least kind to Rosen. His four touchdowns and 122.48 passer rating were the lowest of any month. However, games against Washington State, Utah and USC back-to-back-to-back was the toughest stretch he faced this season.
Overall, Rosen has still been excellent. His 279.2 yards per game passing ranks him among the top-25 passers. And unlike Middle Tennessee's Brent Stockstill, another freshman with better numbers, Rosen has played against a quality schedule.
There are times in which Rosen looks like a true freshman. And then there are times when he makes plays that make you say "wow." All in all, this was a solid debut for Rosen.
2. FLorida State Safety Derwin James
9 of 10
Florida State safety Derwin James has been one of the best freshmen in college football this year. From the moment he arrived on campus in the spring, he's been making an impact. That's carried over immediately to the field.
He's second on the Seminoles with 77 tackles, 7.5 of which have gone for a loss. He's also tied for third on the team in passes broken up (3) and has forced two fumbles. He's a hard-hitting safety who is already showing some ball skills, too. For two more years, at least, James is going to be the stuff of nightmares for offensive coordinators in the ACC.
1. Penn State Running Back Saquon Barkley
10 of 10
Penn State's offense is a car with a misfiring cylinder. Okay, maybe two. Or three. Regardless, it's a mess. The offensive line has long-standing protection issues and quarterback Christian Hackenberg, once a touted freshman with all the potential in the world, can't get rid of the ball fast enough (or at all) and has painfully regressed.
The lone bright spot is freshman running back Saquon Barkley. Though the Nittany Lions lost 55-16 to Michigan State on Saturday, Barkley eclipsed 1,000 yards on the season with a 103-yard performance. His 1,007 yards sets a school single-season freshman rushing record.
It was his fifth 100-yard game, two of which have come in November. Had he not missed two games due to injury, those numbers could be even better. Still, he's fourth in the Big Ten in rushing yards. The combination of his value to the team, production and potential is what gives him the top spot.
"Talent is something you can't coach, and he has a lot of it," Hackenberg said of Barkley (per Mark Wogenrich, the Morning Call). "But you don't just rush for 1,000 yards on straight talent. He's put in a lot of work, and there are a lot of people who go into that. It's awesome for him. He has earned everyone's respect in the locker room. That's special."
Ben Kercheval is a lead writer for college football. All quotes cited unless obtained firsthand. All stats courtesy of cfbstats.com.
.jpg?w=480 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
