College football's top 30 freshmen so far this season

We’re into the final stages of the 2025 college football season, but for some players, it’s only the beginning of their collegiate career. That’s right, we’re talking about the talented freshmen who have had an impact this season. Let’s look at 30 who have stood out.

Redshirt freshmen aren’t counted for the purposes of this article, only true freshman who haven’t had an offseason of college experience before 2025.

Quarterbacks

QB Bear Bachmeier | BYU
QB Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele | Cal
QB Bryce Underwood | Michigan
QB Malik Washington | Maryland

Four true freshmen quarterbacks have had excellent seasons so far. It starts with Bear Bachmeier from BYU, who had the Cougars ranked inside the top 10 of the first College Football Playoff rankings. Cal’s Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele recently led the Bears to an ACC upset over a ranked Louisville team to get Cal bowl eligible.

In the Big Ten, Bryce Underwood has dealt with tough criticism all year and still has Michigan in the hunt for the CFP at 7-2. Yet, Maryland signal-caller Malik Washington might be the best true freshman quarterback in the conference with 2,056 passing yards and 13 touchdowns.

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Running backs

Oregon has gone with a running back committee all season long in large part thanks to a pair of freshmen in the backfield. Both Jordon Davison and Dierre Hill Jr have rushed for over 400 yards this season, with Davison leading the team with 10 rushing touchdowns.

Elsewhere, North Texas running back Caleb Hawkins has been dynamic as the Mean Green chase an American championship. Hawkins has been electric, scoring four rushing touchdowns in his last outing against Navy. On the season, he has 744 rushing yards on 6.1 yards per carry, 11 rushing touchdowns, 24 receptions, 273 receiving yards and three receiving touchdowns.

Ohio State’s Bo Jackson can’t match Hawkins’ output as he shares carries in the Buckeye backfield, but Jackson does have three 100-yard rushing games on the year for the nation’s top team. Duke’s Nate Sheppard has two 100-yard games of his own, totaling 657 yards on the ground this season and seven touchdowns.

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Wide receivers

WR Vernell Brown III | Florida
WR Jeremiah Koger | South Florida
WR Dakorien Moore | Oregon
WR Malachi Toney | Miami (Fla.)

The Sunshine State is loaded with talented freshman wide receivers. Miami’s Malachi Toney has been staking his claim as the nation’s top freshman since an electric season-opening debut against Notre Dame. He’s since had a pair of 100-yard games. South Florida’s Jeremiah Kroger has played in only five games this season; he’s scored five touchdowns this season. Then there’s Florida’s Vernel Brown III. Brown has yet to find the end zone this season, but he leads the Gators in receptions and receiving yards.

Closing out the wide receiver group is Oregon’s Dakorien Moore. The highly rated recruit has lived up to the hype, average 15.8 yards per catch and scoring four total touchdowns this year.

Offensive linemen

While offensive linemen don’t record stats, these freshmen offensive linemen have had great contributions in their rookie year.

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Defensive linemen

DL Mandrell Desir | Florida State
DL Elijah Hill | Kennesaw State
DL Zahir Mathis | Maryland
DL Sidney Stewart | Maryland

Maryland has found its edge-rushing duo of the future in Sidney Stewart and Zahir Mathis. Stewart has 6.0 sacks on the year while Mathis has 4.5 for the Terrapins, who rank fifth in the Big Ten in sacks.

Florida State’s Mandrell Desir has four sacks on the year, notching one sack in each of his last three games.

Kennesaw State’s Elijah Hill might be the most impressive of the bunch. He leads the CUSA in sacks with 6.5.

Linebackers

LB Cooper Catalano | Wisconsin
LB Antoine Deslauriers | Syracuse
LB Elijah Melendez | Auburn
LB Mason Posa | Wisconsin

Wisconsin linebacker Mason Posa first caught my eye with a 13-tackle outing against Oregon. Posa then followed up his first double-digit tackle performance with another against Washington, stuffing the stat sheet with 11 tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss, 2.5 sacks and a forced fumble. Meanwhile, Posa’s teammate Cooper Catalano had his breakout game against Washington. Catalano finished with 19 tackles, two tackles for loss and a sack in an upset of the Huskies. Wisconsin has the best freshman linebacker duo in the country after last week.

Auburn linebacker Elijah Melendez also had his best performance of the season against a ranked opponent. He had six tackles, two tackles for loss and a sack against Georgia.

Sticking to the theme, Syracuse’s Antoine Deslauriers helped knock off a ranked Clemson team with his eight-tackle day. He has 54 total tackles on the year.

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Defensive backs

DB Bryce Fitzgerald | Miami (Fla.)
DB Graceson Littleton | Texas
DB Jessiah McGrew | FIU

Miami’s Bryce Fitzgerald is tied for the lead among all true freshmen with three interceptions on the season with FIU’s Jessiah McGrew. Turnovers are game-changing plays for DBs and both have already impressed this season.

Additionally, Texas’s Graceson Littleton has taken command of the slot corner role for the Longhorns, nabbing two interceptions on the year.

These are just some of the true freshmen that have already made an impact during their rookie campaigns. The future is bright thanks to the talented freshman class across the country.

College football’s top 30 freshmen so far this season

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