16 College Football Freshmen We Can't Wait to See in 2016 Fall Camp
The 2016 season gets into full swing five weeks from today, at which time hundreds of freshmen will make their collegiate debut. How much they play and in what role will likely depend on how they perform during preseason training camp.
Though many of the top freshmen got an early start on their careers by enrolling in January, thus getting to participate in spring practice, it's fall camp when progress is really measured. This goes for both the highly rated prospects and the less heralded ones, all of whom will try to stand out among the veterans to warrant getting a shot to start or at least play this season.
Five weeks from now, we'll know which of these freshmen have accomplished this goal, but until then, here are the 16 we're most looking forward to watching in training camp.
Arkansas DE McTelvin Agim
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McTelvin Agim wasn't content to wait until spring practice to make his mark with Arkansas. Instead, he graduated from high school early enough so that he could join the Razorbacks last December. This enabled him to work out with the Hogs during their preparation for the Liberty Bowl before participating in the Under Armour All-America Game.
That means fall camp will actually be his third set of practices with Arkansas, giving him a tremendous head start on his career.
"It was a great decision for me to come in this early, because I know more of the playbook, more of the basics, know how to work out, know what's expected of me and things like that," Agim told Tom Murphy of Whole Hog Sports.
The 6'3”, 285-pound Agim is in the mix at the rush end spot, where he spent most of spring, competing with projected starter Tevin Beanum. Murphy wrote that Agim also "earned a first-team role" in one of Arkansas' nickel packages.
"We had expectations of him coming in, and he certainly met those in the spring," defensive coordinator Robb Smith said, per Murphy.
Ohio State DE Nick Bosa
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Ohio State fans are eager to see if dominant defensive line play runs in the Bosa family, having seen what Joey Bosa was able to do the last three years. Now it's little brother Nick Bosa's turn, and he comes in with higher prep grades than his sibling.
Nick Bosa was ranked as the No. 1 strong-side defensive end in the 2016 recruiting class and No. 8 overall, while Joey was fourth and 37th, respectively, in the 2013 class.
Set to wear the No. 97 jersey, the same one Joey wore for OSU and father John wore for Boston College and in the NFL, Nick Bosa comes in with lofty expectations. The Buckeyes have brought in plenty of other heralded freshmen under coach Urban Meyer and still ended up redshirting them, but that doesn't seem likely this time around.
According to Lori Schmidt of 97.1 FM in Columbus, Ohio, Meyer has already decided this: "I've seen enough. The redshirt is already off. He's playing."
Sophomore Sam Hubbard and junior Tyquan Lewis are pegged as OSU's starting defensive ends, but expect Bosa to be rotated in as much as possible.
Texas QB Shane Buechele
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Texas coach Charlie Strong has a lot riding on the 2016 season, his third with the Longhorns, after going 6-7 and 5-7 to this point. Knowing the make-or-break nature of this fall hasn't deterred him from seemingly leaning toward the true freshman in the quarterback competition.
"The way Texas coach Charlie Strong praised freshman QB Shane Buechele, it's hard to imagine him not starting against Notre Dame," Orange Bloods' Anwar Richardson tweeted after Strong's appearance last week at Big 12 media days.
Strong called Buechele a "special young man" whose work ethic "rubs off on the whole team." That's major praise that is partially influenced by Buechele's performance during the spring game, when he threw for 299 yards and two touchdowns on 22-of-41 passing.
Senior Tyrone Swoopes and sophomore Jerrod Heard will do their best to beat out Buechele for the starting job, but the way things are headed, it looks like he'll be the guy.
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Auburn WR Nate Craig-Myers
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Auburn has only had two 1,000-yard receivers in its history. The last was Ronnie Daniels in 1999, with Sammie Coates' 902 yards in 2013 being the most during Gus Malzahn's tenure. Nate Craig-Myers expects to set a new standard for wideouts on The Plains.
"Watching the spring game and talking to coaches, the players, they tell me all the receivers’ jobs are wide-open," Craig-Myers told SEC Country's Brandon Marcello. "I feel like if I go out there and do my best, I’ll have a shot to start in the first game."
Craig-Myers arrived on campus in May but to this point has only been a part of informal workouts. The real drive to get a starting job begins in August, when he'll compete against seniors Marcus Davis and Tony Stevens, junior Jason Smith, sophomore Ryan Davis, and fellow freshman Kyle Davis. The returners in that group combined for only 57 catches, 562 yards and four touchdowns.
Marcus Davis fully embraces the confidence Craig-Myers is showing, welcoming the challenge it comes with.
"I love young guys that come in thinking like that,” he told Marcello. "That’s the attitude we need to have as a team."
Texas WR Devin Duvernay
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One of several 2016 Baylor signees who asked to be released from their national letters of intent this spring and summer after Art Briles was fired, Devin Duvernay didn't need that blessing because it turned out his NLI was never submitted to the Big 12. Texas was one of many teams to jump back into his recruitment, landing the 4-star wideout on June 22.
He instantly became one of the Longhorns' top prospects from the 2016 class and, along with quarterback Shane Buechele, one of those with the best chance to play right away.
John Burt is the only returning player who had more than 11 catches last season, creating a great opportunity for Duvernay to contribute immediately. He could also factor into the offense as more than just a pass-catcher, according to Burnt Orange Nation's Wescott Eberts.
"In high school, Duvernay received a significant numbers of carries on jet sweeps, gaining 1,077 yards in high school and scoring 11 touchdowns in that role, proving that he was also dangerous when given the ball directly," Eberts wrote.
Georgia QB Jacob Eason
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Like a new character introduced during a post-credits scene at the end of a superhero movie, Jacob Eason's second-half performance in Georgia's spring game created major buzz. And just as those scenes are meant to tease that great things are yet to come, so too did Eason give Bulldogs fans great hope about the future at quarterback.
Now comes the hard part: making sure to live up to the hype he created with that cameo, in which Eason was 19-of-29 for 244 yards and a touchdown in less than one half of action. First-year coach Kirby Smart won't just hand the starting job to Eason—not when he has a pair of veteran options (senior Greyson Lambert and junior Brice Ramsey) to choose from. It will be on Eason to show what he did in April wasn't a fluke.
"Only three times since 1990 has Georgia started a true freshman in 50 percent or more of its games during a football season—Eric Zeier (1991), Quincy Carter (1998) and Matthew Stafford (2006)," Jason Butt of Macon.com wrote. "Carter was the only quarterback of the three who earned the job going into his season opener, although he was two years removed from high school and playing minor league baseball before heading to college."
Clemson RB Tavien Feaster
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Clemson is well-stocked at the skill positions for 2016, returning the likes of superstar quarterback Deshaun Watson, prolific running back Wayne Gallman and a receiving corps featuring six players who caught at least 20 passes in their last full season of play. It will be hard for any of the Tigers' newcomers to crack this group, though Tavien Feaster has by far the best shot.
Rated as the No. 1 all-purpose back in his class, Feaster is listed on the online roster as a running back but could get used out of the backfield as a pass-catcher as well. At Spartanburg (South Carolina) High School, he ran for 1,121 yards and 10 touchdowns, and caught 64 passes for 976 yards and 12 TDs during his senior year.
A torn labrum required surgery earlier this year, but coach Dabo Swinney recently said Feaster has been cleared for training camp, thus improving his chances to play right away.
Swinney has tended to redshirt his freshman running backs, with Gallman and others sitting out that first season. Given his skill set, Feaster could break that trend.
Michigan DT Rashan Gary
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Rashan Gary is the No. 1 prospect from the 2016 recruiting class, a distinction that always comes with great anticipation about how he'll perform as a true freshman. The fact he is the first top-rated player to ever come to Michigan only enhances the suspense.
The New Jersey native showed up on Michigan's campus in mid-June, a week before most other Wolverines freshmen were scheduled to arrive, but it will be in August when his effort will dictate how much playing time he gets this fall. Coach Jim Harbaugh said as much, in only a way he can, at Big Ten media days earlier this week.
"We have some very good freshmen (that) we believe have the ability and will have the license to play," Harbaugh said, per 247Sports' Zach Shaw. "Everything will be based on a meritocracy. That's one of my favorite things, my personal favorite things about our program, is that you'll be known by your effort and your talent. By your effort and your talent you will be known."
Gary has a number of experienced veterans in front of him, including senior Ryan Glasgow, junior Ryan Hurst and redshirt sophomore Bryan Mone, so any playing time he gets will be earned.
Georgia ATH Mecole Hardman Jr.
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Sometimes being listed as an "athlete" means the long-term future of a prospect is hazy—that there's no set position in which he best fits. For Mecole Hardman Jr., it's more a matter of not wanting to limit him to just one position so early on in his career.
"If he is one our best 11 players on either side of the ball, he needs to be on the field," Georgia coach Kirby Smart said, per Marc Weiszer of Online Athens. "To determine that, I don’t think it takes real long. Now will he have a lot to learn? A lot. A lot more than he knows. But that’s our job. That’s why they pay us as coaches to educate players and get them on the field."
Hardman will get his first looks on defense, in the secondary, but his athleticism could also provide a major boost to the Georgia offense. Sophomore Terry Godwin is the only healthy player coming back who had more than 15 receptions in 2015, and the 5'10” speedster could also help out in the backfield.
In a pinch, he could line up at quarterback, having played that position all four years in high school.
Clemson DT Dexter Lawrence
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Clemson's significant losses on the defensive line have been easier to face since Dexter Lawrence showed during spring ball he's going to be able to contribute immediately. With a strong enough fall practice, he might be doing more than just chipping in.
"I think Dexter Lawrence is going to have a massive career here," senior linebacker Ben Boulware said at ACC media days. "He's a mammoth who runs a 4.8."
The enormous 6'5”, 340-pound interior lineman enrolled early and got an early start on being able to help the Tigers in the trenches. Though it's on the edge where the biggest losses were incurred, Lawrence could make it possible for sophomore Christian Wilkins to play defensive end and shore up that position.
While many of Clemson's top defensive linemen under Dabo Swinney have had their best years as juniors and seniors, Lawrence might be setting a new standard as someone who shines from the outset.
Ole Miss OT Greg Little
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He's been anointed as the future of the Ole Miss offensive line since national signing day, when Ole Miss coach Hugh Freeze said he expected Greg Little to be starting at left tackle as a true freshman. While that isn't an unheard of feat in today's college game, it's much less common for a newcomer to be doing that as the immediate replacement for a first-round draft pick.
Left tackle was where Laremy Tunsil dominated for the past three seasons and where the Rebels are most vulnerable heading into 2016 because of his absence. Little was pegged as the future at that position, and Ole Miss fans anxiously await his debut in fall camp.
"Even though Little is a freshman, he’s ready-made to start immediately with his size, strength and technique," Saturday Down South's Corey Long said of the 6'5 ½”, 305-pound Little.
Though converted quarterback Jeremy Liggins is listed first at left tackle on the preseason depth chart, that doesn't reflect incoming freshmen. Expect Little to be atop the chart by the time the Rebels face Florida State on Sept. 4.
South Carolina QB Brandon McIlwain
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One of two true freshman quarterbacks Bleacher Report's Barrett Sallee predicts will be starting this fall in the SEC, Brandon McIlwain isn't as well-known on the national stage as Georgia's Jacob Eason. But he's no less important to South Carolina's hopes of bouncing back from last year's dismal 3-9 performance.
Quarterback play was among the many issues the Gamecocks had in 2015, putting McIlwain in a good position to compete for the starting job. In the spring, he established himself as a strong challenger, outplaying the rest of the team's healthy passers, and heads into fall camp battling senior Perry Orth.
"If McIlwain is even at this point, he'll be leaving the pack by mid-August and will nail down the starting job," Sallee wrote.
California WR Demetris Robertson
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National signing day is in early February, when many of the top college football prospects make their school choices and everyone else makes it official by turning in his signed letter of intent. And then there's Demetris Robertson, who had a different timeline that took him into May.
The top-rated wide receiver in the 2016 recruiting class ended up going far from his Georgia home, picking California over Alabama (to which he was originally committed), Georgia, Notre Dame and Stanford. Much of the delay in making a decision was related to the SAT test, which he took several times in hopes of getting his score high enough to qualify for every school on his list, according to DawgNation's Jeff Sentell.
While he would have been in the mix to play right away no matter where he ended up, he might instantly be the Golden Bears' top option at wide receiver. Six players who had at least 40 catches a year ago have moved on, leaving nobody with more than 19 receptions in 2015 for Robertson to contend with.
"It won't be long before Cal fans start debating Robertson's place in Cal football lore, along with Keenan Allen, DeSean Jackson, and the like," SB Nation wrote.
Penn State RB Miles Sanders
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Penn State has the luxury of bringing back a 1,000-yard rusher in Saquon Barkley, who did so as a true freshman in an offense that couldn't figure out what it wanted to be. The Nittany Lions have a new identity for 2016, with coach James Franklin bringing in Joe Moorhead to install a more uptempo, wide-open attack that puts a premium on running the ball.
Which makes Miles Sanders just as important as anyone else to Penn State's success this fall and gives the program the chance to have two impact rushers.
The top-rated running back in the 2016 class gives PSU an insurance policy if Barkley gets hurt. Last year, he missed two games in October because of injury but also had five 100-yard games. With Sanders there to share the carries, however, Barkley won't get beaten up as badly.
"I think we could be one of the best backfields in the country," Barkley told Ben Jones of StateCollege.com. He added, "He's really good. With him coming and being highly ranked, we set him straight, but he came in with that mindset already that it doesn't mean anything, when you get on campus it doesn't mean anything."
Florida State CB Levonta Taylor
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Florida State lost a stud from its secondary in Jalen Ramsey but expects no drop-off in performance, mostly because of the arrival of its next great young defensive back.
Levonta Taylor, the top-rated corner from the 2016 class, isn't assured of a starting job because of the presence of other talented corners such as sophomore Tarvarus McFadden vying for the same spot. But don't expect Taylor to be kept off the field, either.
"Don't be surprised if Taylor is on the field a lot in Week 1, working at either the 'star' role or at corner," ESPN's David M. Hale wrote. "There's a ton of talent in that FSU secondary, and his progress will just be icing on the cake."
There's also the opportunity for Taylor to be a major contributor on special teams. It's been almost four years since FSU had a punt returned for a touchdown, and last year, the 'Noles averaged just 3.74 yards on 34 runbacks.
Tennessee S Nigel Warrior
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With 17 returning starters, including eight on defense, there aren't going to be many opportunities for Tennessee's newcomers to have major roles in 2016. The exception is at safety, where both starters from last year have graduated, giving the Volunteers' highest-rated incoming prospect a shot to play immediately.
A legacy player whose father, Dale Carter, was one of the school's best defensive backs ever, Nigel Warrior has the pedigree to go with the skill set to be able to contend for a starting job.
"I just want to give it all I can give every play and never come off the field and say I could have did this or that," Warrior told Patrick Brown of the Times Free Press. "I want to come off the field and say I did what I could do and I went my hardest."
While junior Todd Kelly likely has one safety spot locked up, there's no shortage of competition for the other slot. Micah Abernathy, Evan Berry and Rashaan Gaulden will face off against Warrior.
All recruiting information courtesy of 247Sports, unless otherwise noted. All statistics provided by CFBStats, unless otherwise noted.
Follow Brian J. Pedersen on Twitter at @realBJP.
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