Freshman Phenoms

As the 10-week mark has come to college football season, teams are really showing whom they are. And it seems that the focus is always on the players we know and are used to – the upperclassmen. But this season there are a lot of true freshman out there that are coming up big for their teams and proving they can make the high school-to-college jump.

For top 10 teams, Alabama’s Trent Richardson sits in second place on the team in rushing with 377 yards on 74 carries, including a 52-yard touchdown run against Arkansas in week 4. Matthew Tucker is a big part of #6 TCU’s running game, as well. Tucker has racked up 65 carries, 324 yards and 3 touchdowns so far in his first season. Iowa loves to run the ball, and Brandon Wegher has been a big part of their offense. The Hawkeye freshman has 112 carries for 439 yards and has crossed the goal line 6 times.

Outside top 10 teams, this list cannot be complete without USC quarterback Matt Barkley. He has led the #12 Trojans with 1,727 yards and 9 touchdowns and a QB rating of 141.09. He threw for 283 and 380 yards in back-to-back weeks against a 24th-ranked California and a 25th-ranked Notre Dame team, respectively.

Two other true-freshmen running backs need mention, too. Temple’s Bernard Pierce is 3rd in the NCAA in rushing yards with 1,033 and Southern Miss’s Tracey Lampley is 3rd in punt return yards with 280 on 21 attempts.

And I can’t go without mentioning my own alma mater, Kent State, whose freshmen are keeping the Flashes within reach of a MAC East championship. Receiver Tyshon Goode has 40 catches for 553 yards with 5 touchdowns this season, with 11 of the receptions, 198 yards and 2 of the touchdowns coming in last week’s win. This performance earned him Honorable Mention Performance of the Week for his position by College Football Performance Awards.

Of course, Goode needs a quarterback to get him the ball, and fellow freshman Spencer Keith has proved himself worthy of the starting role at that position. Keith has thrown for 1,538 yards with 11 touchdowns and has become a leader on a team with a dismal outlook.

Even though I love to watch the great upperclassman like Tim Tebow and Golden Tate finish out their careers still excelling, it’s nice to see some new faces, too. How great it is to see young players make the transition into Division I college football so well. It’s going to be exciting to watch these newcomers try to break all the records I’ve seen set and to see how much they can accomplish in their years to come.