Oh buddy, we got some action now!
Now, as Week 1 finishes up (pending any action from SMU’s Christian Rhodes or FSU’s Amari Thomas), we saw some real movement across the board for college football. While context will matter with many of these games being against lower competition for openers, it is important for these freshmen who got reps to start making some noise.
Just a reminder: we are looking for freshmen to reach 20 carries, 100 rush yards, 5 catches, 30 receiving yards, and 2 TDs as a runner/receiver. The more they hit, the higher the odds of NFL relevance down the road, and they’re likely to be big college risers for the college fantasy side! Let’s get going for some of the different categories.
Leading Man
Jamal Rule is currently my only freshman RB with three of the five metrics already met. I expect that in a week we’ll see the rushes cleared and the catches not far behind, with three more needed. The hype for him all offseason was legit, and Week 1 set that up as he got involved in the first quarter and kept going from there as he got into rhythm.
Hitting Some Marks
Week 1 saw Legend Bey, Shavane Anderson Jr, and JJ Hill all accomplish one or two metrics, which is a great sign. I expect Bey and Anderson have established that they will hold a role in their offenses, so I expect them to climb. JJ Hill was in late as RB4 for his team, so I don’t think we are quite ready to crown him a college-relevant name.
Bey is absolutely rostered everywhere, so congrats on the ascending asset, but Anderson may be a nice free bet to consider. He was in for Syracuse as RB2 behind Tylik Hill in the first quarter with immediate success. He created more explosive runs, had better gains after contact, and forced a higher rate of first downs per carry and a higher missed tackle rate.
Big Names Getting Reps
Crowell coming off injury may have just helped reopen the door on who the RB1 of the class could be. He looked like the best option for Alabama even though he was a game-time decision for the Tide. If he stays healed up, we may see him take over quickly. Hiter, along with almost all of Michigan, was not great; I am not too concerned right now, as I think this was more a bad team performance than a reflection of his own potential.
Latimer is a great option behind Cook and remains a strong CFF play for teams. Redeaux still needs some work as he sits fighting Wormley and another freshman for reps. Waymond and Miller have clear RB1 and 2 roles, while the rest fight for scraps.
For some other top-ranked names, we saw mixed levels of involvement this week. Not much to take away for Hatton or Edwards, as the team rotated multiple guys. Neither back looks better than RB3 at best, so time will tell for them.
Cooper had worked hard to jump to RB3 entering the game but now is in a boot “for the foreseeable future” (according to Sark) after suffering an ankle injury in the second quarter. Missing a bunch of time may become a concern as the team will also look to the portal and high school levels for next year. This season is a great audition film for Cooper, so I hope he is healthy soon to inspire confidence as the next man up.
Bell has risen up for some; Felix Sharpe asked me to come for the Saturday tailgate for my quick thoughts on him; I would recommend not falling for it. His production all came in the fourth quarter as the fifth back in the game after the other team had quit and was very inefficient, with four carries going for no gain in sum and the other three making up the current meter.
Keep an Eye on These Men
I will not go into massive depth on these eight young men; I think all have flashed some potential, but most are under the radar or will need to overcome their circumstances to be worth much.
The Rest
Heads up on Ryan Estrada; he seemed promising but unfortunately was announced out for the year. That will lock him in as a zero for Year 1, which is unfortunate. The only other freshman RB we need to watch with injury is Kory Amachree. Before I drop the graphics of the rest who did anything, I want to highlight some names like that who haven’t shown up yet. Not time to panic, but I was surprised that some did nothing.
Brian Bonner, Jonaz Walton, Javion Osborne, Damarius Yates, Oregon RBs, Lehky Thompkins, Jett Walker, Aiden Gibson, & Dezephen Walker.
