Ranking the Top 12 Sophomores Heading into the 2022 College Football Season
College football in 2022 is going to be full of superb sophomores.
Trying to determine just who is going to be the best is a tall task.
Of course, the skill-position players get most of the attention, and there are always going to be young guys not yet on the radar who burst onto the scene. But the sport has already produced some up-and-coming players who are entering their sophomore seasons.
Some of them are going to be true second-year players. Others have redshirted. So this list of the top sophomores factored in each player's body of work on the field, breakout potential, elite ceiling and pro potential.
At least 30 more players had legitimate arguments for inclusion, but the top five who just missed this list were Clemson running back Will Shipley, Coastal Carolina edge Josaiah Stewart, USC wide receiver Mario Williams, Oklahoma State edge Collin Oliver and Notre Dame offensive tackle Joe Alt.
Somebody like Central Michigan running back Lew Nichols III, who led the FBS in rushing in 2021, is on the list, but he isn't as high as he would be if he were dominating Power Five competition. Then there is the chore of comparing Player A at one position to Player B at another.
In the end, of course, anybody's list would have subjectivity built in, but here is B/R's list of top sophomores entering the 2022 season.
12. Lew Nichols III, Central Michigan Running Back
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If this were a ranking of the most productive sophomores heading into the '22 season, Central Michigan's Lew Nichols III would be much higher.
But the question remains, for better or worse, if the redshirt sophomore can come even close to replicating what he did for the Chippewas a season ago.
Listen: There was nothing fluky about his incredible campaign. Head coach Jim McElwain inserted him into the starting lineup when Kobe Lewis got injured in preseason drills and was lost for the year, and the rest is history.
Nichols was an unstoppable force for the MAC team, gaining an FBS-leading 1,848 rushing yards along with 16 touchdowns.
He was a workhorse, carrying the ball 341 times for 42 more carries than anybody else in the nation. Still, he averaged more than 5.0 yards per carry, was difficult to bring down and displayed the type of burst you want from an every-down runner.
Is he elite? That's debatable. It's going to be interesting to see how Nichols translates to the pros. Also, with CMU getting Lewis back this year, Nichols should see his numbers trimmed a bit.
He made this list based more on his production than his ceiling, but ball don't lie. He could prove plenty of doubters wrong again in 2022.
11. Jaxson Dart, Ole Miss Quarterback
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It's tantalizing to think of Jaxson Dart's elite potential being coached by Lane Kiffin in Oxford.
While he has enjoyed some terrific talent at the position, including as the offensive coordinator at Alabama, the Rebels head coach has perhaps his most physically gifted player in Dart, a rising sophomore who looked terrific a year ago for USC, even if he was raw.
Dart wound up completing 61.9 percent of his passes for 1,353 yards, nine touchdowns and five interceptions in six games. While he needs some work on his decision-making, he has a lot of moldable skills, and he is mired in a quarterback battle with Luke Altmyer this spring after Matt Corral declared for the NFL draft.
When Dart entered the transfer portal, he was a 5-star, and he may have more upside than anybody who transferred this season, including Caleb Williams and Quinn Ewers. That is high praise, but he has special arm talent.
There isn't a huge sample size to judge Dart's ability, and he is making this list over some players who have proved more already on the field.
But when it comes to his ceiling, Dart's is sky-high. He is somebody who, as we look back, could wind up being ranked silly low.
10. Sean Tucker, Syracuse Running Back
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While you may have heard of Nichols simply because he led the nation in rushing a year ago, the most under-the-radar player who made the top 12 is in the Power Five.
Syracuse running back Sean Tucker is a special talent on what was an awful team a year ago, and if the Orange can't find a way to produce more wins with a guy like him on the field, head coach Dino Babers needs to be on the hot seat.
As a redshirt freshman, Tucker ran for 1,496 yards, shattering the Syracuse record for single-season rushing yards by Joe Morris (1,372 yards) that had stood for 42 years. When you consider the school also produced legends like Jim Brown, Larry Csonka and Floyd Little, it's a remarkable feat.
ESPN's Trevor Matich (h/t SI.com's Mike McAllister) even mentioned Tucker as a Heisman Trophy candidate for this season. That's worthy praise for a guy who averaged the fourth-most rushing yards per game (124.7) in 2021.
He also finished sixth nationally in rushing yards, averaging more than 6.0 per carry, and scored 12 times. If the Orange can find any type of passing game to take some of the pressure off Tucker, he's going to have an even bigger campaign.
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9. Dallas Turner, Alabama Outside Linebacker
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At the beginning of last year, the loaded Alabama Crimson Tide were bringing Dallas Turner along slowly.
He wasn't expected to be much of a factor as a true freshman, working mostly on special teams early against Miami and Florida and getting extended snaps only against Mercer and Southern Mississippi.
As the season progressed and some injuries occurred, however, Turner found his way onto the field more. Boy, did he ever take advantage of the opportunities.
The 6'4", 240-pound outside linebacker was a revelation playing opposite Will Anderson Jr., finishing the season with 30 tackles, including 10 tackles for loss to go with 8.5 sacks. He also had five quarterback hurries and a fumble recovery.
Now he's had a full offseason to learn the system and have a chance to soak up knowledge from a future first-round draft pick in Anderson. This year, Turner could develop into one of the most fearsome pass-rushers in the country.
Given the competition he plays against, he narrowly edged out Coastal Carolina's Josaiah Stewart, who had better numbers.
8. Xavier Worthy, Texas Wide Receiver
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After Michigan lost the commitment of Xavier Worthy after what the wide receiver called "circumstances beyond my control," Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian was able to get him to come to Austin.
All Worthy did as a true freshman was prove he was one of the best deep threats in the country, even as a skinny, 6'1", 163-pound pass-catcher who was raw. He wound up catching 62 passes for 981 yards and 12 touchdowns.
Worthy was a playmaking machine, even through Texas' quarterback woes, and whoever wins the position battle between Quinn Ewers and Hudson Card this spring is going to have a real weapon in the sophomore. The addition of elite transfer Isaiah Neyor is only going to help matters. Ditto if Jordan Whittington can stay healthy.
But out of those guys, Worthy is the one with the highest upside. With terrific quarterback play, he could be special, and he should eclipse 1,000 yards this season. If he can add some weight in the next couple of years, NFL scouts are going to be drooling over his potential.
7. Braelon Allen, Wisconsin Running Back
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Wisconsin hasn't needed to get top-tier recruits to produce into all-world running backs. Just ask Jonathan Taylor, who was a 3-star prospect coming out of high school in New Jersey.
When they do get a guy a lot of teams want, though, look out.
Braelon Allen was a hot commodity out of Fond Du Lac, Wisconsin, as a 6'2", 215-pound 4-star recruit. Why wouldn't he stay close to home and go to a place that produced guys like Taylor, Melvin Gordon and Ron Dayne, among others?
As a true freshman, Allen ultimately took most of the carries from Chez Mellusi, a Clemson transfer who battled injuries.
He finished the season with 186 carries for 1,268 yards and 12 touchdowns, averaging nearly 7.0 yards per carry (tied for third among players with at least 100 rushing attempts). Now at 238 pounds after a year in a college weight program, Allen is a between-the-tackles force who can kick it into a second gear when he reaches the second level.
He looks like the next great running back under head coach Paul Chryst, and he will undoubtedly be fed the rock. Now if the Badgers can muster a consistent passing game to go with his production, they will be hard to handle on offense.
6. Brock Bowers, Georgia Tight End
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It's not often that you have a tight end ranked in the top several players of his class, but Brock Bowers is that special.
The wild thing is he was basically an afterthought entering the season for the Georgia Bulldogs, who had Darnell Washington and LSU transfer Arik Gilbert at the position. But Washington isn't the best pass-catching receiver, and Gilbert didn't play because of personal reasons, leading to a golden opportunity for the true freshman.
Bowers was arguably the top receiving tight end in the country a season ago, pulling in 56 catches for 882 yards and 13 touchdowns.
He finished third nationally in receiving yards for a tight end behind Colorado State's Trey McBride and Coastal Carolina's Isaiah Likely. Most importantly, though, while the Dawgs dealt with injuries to George Pickens and desperately needed a receiving force, Bowers shone.
Everybody is now wondering what he's going to do for an encore. With the rapport he's built with Stetson Bennett, you can expect huge things again in '22.
He's going to be the best tight end in football if he isn't already.
5. Tyler Van Dyke, Miami Quarterback
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Everybody wanted to talk about some of the nation's most buzzy freshmen a season ago, and there was every reason to mention some of those guys (who will appear in the top five on the list).
But Tyler Van Dyke was a forgotten man.
While head coach Mario Cristobal has a long way to go to turn the Hurricanes back into The U—something guys like Al Golden, Mark Richt and Manny Diaz were unable to do before him—he's off to a better start than most. Why? Because he's got an elite quarterback.
The 6'4", 224-pound third-year sophomore is poised for a huge season with plenty of talent around him and the addition of Clemson transfer Frank Ladson Jr.
With D'Eriq King unable to get healthy last season, Van Dyke took over and never looked back. The quarterback from Glastonbury, Connecticut, completed 62.3 percent of his passes for 2,931 yards, 25 touchdowns and just six interceptions.
He did all this in only 10 games, finishing fourth nationally among freshman quarterbacks in passing yards and tied for second in touchdown passes.
If Miami can keep him around at least a couple more seasons, new offensive coordinator Josh Gattis will turn him into a star. He's criminally underrated.
4. TreVeyon Henderson, Ohio State Running Back
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The most explosive true freshman in all of college football a season ago got a few headlines, but there weren't nearly enough because he performed in the shadow of one of the most prolific passing offenses in college football.
That shouldn't diminish everything TreVeyon Henderson accomplished in his first year at Ohio State.
Quite simply, the nation's top runner out of high school proved it. Even with C.J. Stroud under center (finished fourth in Heisman Trophy voting), Henderson was a player defenses had to game-plan for every single time out as head coach Ryan Day ultimately had to start him over upperclassmen.
He finished with 1,248 yards on just 183 carries for an average of 6.8 yards per carry. He also took a handoff to the house 15 times. But that only scraped the surface of his value. Henderson also had 27 catches for 312 yards and four more scores.
With Stroud returning in 2022, some of the pressure is going to be off Henderson again, allowing him the space to work and do special things.
This do-it-all back has first-round talent written all over him.
3. Noah Sewell, Oregon Linebacker
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It was tough to put a jumbo linebacker like Noah Sewell over some sure-thing offensive skill-position players who are certain to get more publicity.
But Sewell is a special talent at linebacker who, in this writer's opinion, is the favorite to win the Butkus Award this year as the nation's top player at his position.
A season ago, the 6'3", 251-pound inside linebacker flashed an uncanny ability to be around the ball. He also runs remarkably well for a player of his size, proving he isn't just a run-stuffer.
In his second freshman season, Sewell finished as a first-team All-Pac 12 selection by coaches, registering a career-high 114 tackles, which led the Ducks and was second in the conference. He also had 8.5 tackles for loss and four sacks.
With Justin Flowe and Mase Funa expected to be healthy and flank him at the position this year, Sewell should be able to roam around even more and dominate. He is already the quarterback of the defense, and playing for new head coach and defensive guru Dan Lanning is going to help his star soar.
Watch Sewell prove to everybody he's college football's top true linebacker in 2022.
2. Caleb Williams, USC Quarterback
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The biggest story of the transfer portal carousel was elite freshman quarterback Caleb Williams leaving Oklahoma after Lincoln Riley took the head coaching job at USC.
Most experts predicted Williams ultimately would follow his coach to Los Angeles, even with talented freshman Jaxson Dart there at the time. Despite him flirting with other teams, that's what inevitably happened.
Now it's going to be up to the second-ranked quarterback in the class of 2021 to prove elsewhere that he was worth all the praise.
With Spencer Rattler entrenched with the Oklahoma Sooners in 2021, Williams seized the starting job when Rattler's inconsistency was too much to overcome. He completed nearly 65 percent of his passes for 1,912 yards, 21 touchdowns and four interceptions in 11 games. He also finished with 442 rushing yards and six scores, averaging nearly 6.0 yards per carry.
He's entering year 2 of Riley's system, even if it is at a new program. He's got plenty of talent surrounding him, including former OU teammate Mario Williams (who narrowly missed this list) and a duo of good-looking transfer running backs in Travis Dye and Austin Jones.
Williams is already a star. He just has to avoid a sophomore slump when USC needs him to excel for the program to turn the corner.
1. C.J. Stroud, Ohio State Quarterback
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You already knew who was No. 1, right?
If you didn't, it's only because you forgot Ohio State quarterback C.J. Stroud was unbelievably classified as a freshman a season ago following the COVID-19-pandemic-affected 2020 campaign. Watching him on the field, he didn't look like a freshman.
The Buckeyes' star signal-caller had to battle with Quinn Ewers and Jack Miller to win the job, but once he did, there was no question who the leader of one of the nation's most explosive offenses was. He finished fourth in Heisman voting behind Alabama's Bryce Young, Michigan's Aidan Hutchinson and Pittsburgh's Kenny Pickett.
The 6'3", 218-pound Stroud is probably a better NFL prospect than the undersized Young (6'0", 194 lbs) and has no major flaws in his game.
With star wideouts Garrett Wilson and Chris Olave sitting out the Rose Bowl in January to prepare for the NFL draft, Stroud completed 37 of 46 passes for 573 yards, six touchdowns and one interception against a good Utah defense that had no answers.
For the season, Stroud completed nearly 72 percent of his passes for 4,435 yards, 44 touchdowns and just six interceptions. He was fifth nationally in passing yards and third in scores through the air.
Just how good is he? Stroud threw to NFL-eligible receivers at Ohio State's pro day, and he was the one who generated buzz. According to NFL Draft Scout's Matt Miller, one evaluator said when asked who stood out: "The QB! He's amazing."
He may be next year's No. 1 overall pick.
All stats courtesy of CFBStats and Sports Reference. Player rankings courtesy of 247Sports.
Follow Brad Shepard on Twitter, @Brad_Shepard.
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