Ranking the Top Freshmen in College Football from September
One month of the 2016 college football season is in the books, long enough to start weighing in on which players and teams are making the biggest impact. It's along a large enough sample size to assess the play of the game's newest crop of contributors, the freshman class.
Quite a bit of time is spent during the offseason raving about how good certain high-valued recruits might be right out of the gate, and the same goes for players that redshirted their first season. Now that we've had a month's worth of competition to evaluate them, we have a much clearer picture on just which freshmen are truly standing out.
We've ranked the 12 best first-year players based on their performance through the first four weeks of the season, taking into account statistical output as well as value to their team. Did we leave someone off the list? If so, let us know in the comments section.
12. Josiah Tauaefa, LB, UTSA
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UTSA listed six freshmen on its two-deep depth chart for Saturday's game at Old Dominion, three of them in starting positions on defense. That young group has started 1-3, but with players like Josiah Tauaefa getting off to such a fast start the future looks bright.
Tauaefa, a 6'1”, 230-pound redshirt freshman, has recorded 46 tackles in the Roadrunners' first four games. That ranks fourth in FBS in terms of tackles per game, with 15 of those takedowns coming this past weekend.
UTSA's starting "Mike" linebacker has two sacks, four tackles for loss and three quarterback hurries, all of which are tops on the team.
11. N'Keal Harry, WR, Arizona State
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Former Arizona State receiver Derek Hagan is second all time in receiving yards in the Pac-12 and third in receptions, which makes him a pretty decent judge of ability. He thinks N'Keal Harry is well on his way to being the best wideout the school has ever had.
"He's giving us the appetizers," Hagan said after Harry caught 15 passes for 182 yards with two touchdowns in his first three games, per Jeff Metcalfe of the Arizona Republic. "Now, we want the full course."
The 6'4”, 220-pound Harry only had one catch for seven yards in ASU's 51-41 win Saturday over California, but his start is still among the best in school history. Along with a 34-yard rushing TD in the season opener, he's one of just two Sun Devils true freshmen to score in each of their first three games.
10. Ricky Aguayo, K, Florida State
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Much like Duke's basketball program has seemed to have an unending supply of Plumlee brothers to play center, Florida State has cornered the market on football-kicking Aguayos. Following three tremendous seasons from Roberto Aguayo, who won the Lou Groza Award in 2013 and went on to be a second-round pick of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, now Ricky Aguayo is matching his older brother kick for kick.
Ricky Aguayo has made 11 of 12 field goals so far, including all six tries in the Seminoles' opening win against Ole Miss, and he's been good on all 19 of his extra-point attempts. That's extended FSU's streak to 267 consecutive PATs without a miss, an FBS record previously held by Syracuse (262) from 1978-89.
FSU has scored on 20 of its 21 red-zone possessions this season, with Aguayo bailing the offense out on six occasions with field goals. His only miss was a 49-yarder midway through the first quarter of the loss at Louisville.
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9. Jonah Williams, OL, Alabama
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He didn't come to Tuscaloosa with nearly as much hype as fellow offensive lineman Cam Robinson did in 2014, despite also being a 5-star prospect, but when it comes to immediate impact Jonah Williams is right up there. The 6'5”, 296-pound true freshman has started all four games at right tackle, opposite Robinson, and has more than matched the junior's play.
"Jonah Williams has quietly put together one of the most impressive performances of the young season," Bleacher Report's Barrett Sallee wrote. "He has locked down the right side of the line and played a big part in the success of true freshman quarterback Jalen Hurts."
Williams has been responsible for a few of the eight sacks the Crimson Tide have yielded so far, but even Robinson allowed a few defenders to get through as a freshman.
8. Troy Dye, LB, Oregon
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A new coordinator (former Michigan coach Brady Hoke) hasn't made for much of an improvement to Oregon's defense, with the Ducks 99th in total defense and 97th in scoring defense. It hasn't been all bad, though, as Troy Dye has emerged as a notable bright spot in the middle.
The 6'4”, 225-pound true freshman was rated as the No. 40 safety in the 2016 class but has started three games at the "Sam" linebacker spot. He leads Oregon with 27 tackles, including 11 in the season opener against UC Davis when he also had a sack and 4.5 tackles for loss.
According to Andrew Greif of the Oregonian, "Oregon's sports information department could not find another UO true freshman to start his first game going back to 1979."
Dye's 5.5 tackles for loss are the most of any freshman in FBS.
7. Rashan Gary, DE, Michigan
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Incredibly high expectations come with being the No. 1 overall prospect in a recruiting class, as Rashan Gary has come to know for the past year. So far, so good for the 6'5”, 287-pound true freshman.
Gary has been active in all four games for the Wolverines, recording 14 tackles—sixth-most on the team and second among defensive linemen—with 4.5 tackles for loss, half a sack and three quarterback hurries. And that's been mostly from the edge, starting his career as an end instead of on the interior.
Michigan has plenty of experience on its defensive line, which is keeping Gary from being a starter at this point. But as he gets more comfortable in Don Brown's system he'll continue to see his playing time increase and by season's end might be the best of the lot up front.
6. Dexter Lawrence, DT, Clemson
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Remember when there was great concern over how Clemson's defense would handle the loss of several noteworthy players to the NFL? The worry is gone, thanks to a young and energetic group of front-seven defenders that includes a massive run-stopper in the middle in Dexter Lawrence.
The 6'5”, 340-pound true freshman has been even better than advertised so far, logging 21 tackles along with a sack and 3.5 tackles for loss. He wasn't credited with a TFL in the Tigers' last game, a 26-7 win over Georgia Tech, but he was integral in limiting Tech's triple-option run attack to 2.5 yards per carry.
According to Pro Football Focus, Lawrence's 83.8 overall grade "puts him among the best defensive tackles in the college game."
5. Tai'yon Devers, DE, Minnesota
8 of 12Tai'yon Devers has yet to start a game and he isn't listed on Minnesota's depth chart, yet no player on the Golden Gophers defense has stood out more to this point.
It's hard to not get noticed when all three tackles you've made in your career have resulted in sacks, as well as forced fumbles and fumble recoveries. And the most recent of those, on Saturday against Colorado State, has made the 6'4”, 210-pound true freshman a viral sensation.
Devers annihilated Colorado State quarterback Collin Hill, sending his helmet flying further than the ball after the hit. ESPN compared the hit to Jadeveon Clowney's against Michigan in the 2013 Outback Bowl.
Being able to stay on the field could lead to Devers earning more playing time. He was ejected for targeting in the fourth quarter of the opener against Oregon State, causing him to miss the first half of Minnesota's next game, and a sprained ankle suffered late against Colorado State could impact his availability for the Big Ten opener at Penn State.
4. Shane Buechele, QB, Texas
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Texas appears to have finally found the quarterback it needs to compete both in the Big 12 and at a national level, and the fact he's a true freshman bodes well for the future of the Longhorns and coach Charlie Strong.
Shane Buechele had a monster debut in Texas' overtime win against Notre Dame, with 280 yards and two touchdowns on 16-of-26 passing. He was 22-of-27 for 280 yards and four scores the following week against UTEP and then threw for 196 yards with a TD on 19-of-33 passing in the wild Week 3 loss at California.
The true freshman has taken the bulk of the snaps so far, with senior Tyrone Swoopes getting the call more often in short-yardage and goal-line situations where he can use his size and strength to barrel over defenders on the ground. Buechele had a rushing TD against Notre Dame but has mostly stayed in the pocket and focused on throwing the ball quickly to fit with the Longhorns' new uptempo attack.
3. Deondre Francois, QB, Florida State
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If we were ranking solely on collegiate debuts, Deondre Francois would have been a lock for the No. 1 spot after he threw for 419 yards and accounted for 478 in Florida State's comeback win over Ole Miss on Labor Day. But this is an evaluation of freshmen play over the first month, and since that impressive opener his performance has slacked off a bit.
The redshirt freshman struggled mightily in the Seminoles' blowout loss at Louisville in Week 3, completing only seven of 18 passes after going 58-for-84 in the first two weeks. He was also sacked five times in that game, unable to elude defenders as he did in rushing for 59 yards against Ole Miss or 75 this past week against South Florida.
Despite that rough outing, FSU coach Jimbo Fisher remains impressed with Francois because of his poise and maturity.
"As long as your decision-making is good, that's a very, very good sign," Fisher said after the Louisville game, per 247Sports' Brendan Sonnone. "He was still seeing what the right thing to do is, we have to finish and execute."
2. Trayveon Williams, RB, Texas A&M
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A healthy run game has been as important to Texas A&M's success under Kevin Sumlin as anything else. Since taking the job in 2012 the Aggies are 26-0 when they rush for at least 200 yards, including in all four games this season.
The ground production has been a three-man effort, with Trayveon Williams, Keith Ford and quarterback Trevor Knight each tallying more than 200 yards and a combined 11 touchdowns. Ford and Knight had showed their potential previously when each was at Oklahoma, but Williams entered his first season of college as a relatively unknown quantity.
He's no longer a mystery. Instead, the 5'9”, 200-pound true freshman has been a revelation and a major key to A&M's third straight 4-0 start.
Williams has run for 389 yards and three TDs on just 40 carries, his 9.73 yards-per-carry average fourth-best in FBS among qualified rushers.
1. Jalen Hurts, QB, Alabama
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Many thought they'd never see the day that Nick Saban would give in to the trend toward mobile quarterbacks in college and go with a dual-threat passer. The same goes for giving a true freshman a chance to play at the position.
Then Jalen Hurts came along, and now Saban is just like every other coach who has learned to appreciate the value of mobility at QB no matter how young the player is.
Hurts' surprise insertion into Alabama's opening game against USC—on the third offensive series—instantly transformed the Crimson Tide's offense. His ability to scramble or gain yards on designed runs has quickly become a staple of their attack, to where he's the team's second-leading rusher through four games.
His 146 rushing yards at Ole Miss sparked 'Bama's comeback from down 24-3, even though it's the only game this year he didn't account for a touchdown. Overall he's thrown five TD passes (with only one interception) and run for three scores along with 251 yards.
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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