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The landscape of college football has changed pretty drastically over the last decade. In 2007, it was major news when Tim Tebow won the Heisman as a sophomore. He became the youngest player to win the award, which had previously been dominated by players already of legal drinking age by the time they hoisted the statuette.
Tebow’s win was followed by two more sophomore winners, Oklahoma quarterback Sam Bradford and Alabama running back Mark Ingram, a true turning of the tide. Just five years after Tebow’s win, the first for a sophomore, Texas A&M’s Johnny Manziel won the award in his first year of college football in 2012. Florida State’s Jameis Winston repeated the feat just a year later, the first two freshmen winners in the nearly 80 years the award has been handed out.
The days of freshmen coming in and sitting on the bench until their upperclassmen teammates graduate are now long gone. With improvements in training and major advances in technology, allowing for advanced film study at a younger age, players are stepping onto campus readier than ever to contribute right away. If an 18-year-old steps onto campus ready to play, he’s going to play.
In 2014, a host of freshmen around the country made huge impacts for their teams. None of them won the Heisman, but several set themselves up to be candidates in 2015.
- QB J.T. Barrett, Ohio State — 2,834 passing yards, 34 TD, 10 INT, 938 rushing yards, 64.6 completion percentage 11 TD; No. 10 nationally in total offense, fifth in Heisman voting, Big Ten Freshman of the Year
- DE Derek Barnett, Tennessee — 72 total tackles, 20.5 tackles for loss, 10.0 sacks, eight quarterback hurries; No. 7 nationally in TFL
- RB Nick Chubb, Georgia — 1,574 rushing yards, 14 TD, 18 catches, 213 receiving yards, 2 TD; eight straight games with 100 or more rushing yards after taking over as starter, SEC Freshman of the Year
- RB Leonard Fournette, LSU — 1,034 rushing yards, 10 TD, 7 catches, 127 receiving yards, 26 yards per kickoff return, 1 return TD
- RB Jarvion Franklin, Western Michigan — 1,551 rushing yards, 24 TD, 14 catches, 163 yards, 1 TD, 24.6 touches per game
- QB Brad Kaaya, Miami (Fla.) — 3,198 passing yards, 26 TD, 12 INT, 58.5 completion percentage, 1 rushing TD
- LB Darron Lee, Ohio State — 81 total tackles, 16.5 tackles for loss, 7.5 sacks, 2 INT, 2 fumble returns, 2 fumble return TDs, 1 forced fumble
- RB Semaje Perine, Oklahoma — 1,713 rushing yards, 21 TD, 15 catches, 108 receiving yards; No. 8 nationally in rushing yards, set NCAA single-game record with 427 yards vs. Kansas
- P JK Scott, Alabama — 55 punts, 48.0 yards per punt, 23 50-plus yard punts, 31 punts downed inside 20-yard line, 19 fair catches, long punt of 73 yards, 5 touchbacks; No. 1 nationally in punting average Ray Guy Award finalist
- QB Anu Solomon, Arizona — 3,793 passing yards, 28 TD, 9 INT, 291 rushing yards, 2 TD
A former freelance journalist from Philadelphia, Brett has made the trek down to SEC country to cover the greatest conference in college football.
