We spend so much time talking about transfers nowadays, but there are still a significant number of freshmen who play prominent roles in college football.

Our Freshman All-America teams recognize the true freshmen and redshirt freshmen who made the biggest impact for their teams in 2025. We prioritized production, consistency and contributions to team success in the process of selecting players.

First-team offense

Pos.

  

Name

  

Class

  

Team

  

QB

Julian Sayin

R-Fr.

RB

Caleb Hawkins

Fr.

RB

Bo Jackson

Fr.

WR

Braylon Staley

R-Fr.

WR

Malachi Toney

Fr.

TE

Kaelan Chudzinski

Fr.

OT

Jacob Ponton

R-Fr.

OT

Nathan Roy

R-Fr.

OG

John Mills

Fr.

OG

Ezomo Oratokhai

R-Fr.

C

Anthony Boswell

R-Fr.

QB Julian Sayin, Ohio State: The redshirt freshman earned an invite to the Heisman Trophy ceremony after leading the country in passing efficiency (182.05) and completion percentage (78.4) through the conference championship games. Sayin is tied for second in touchdown passes (31) and ranks 11th in passing yards (3,329).

RB Caleb Hawkins, North Texas: The 6-2, 198-pound true freshman from Oklahoma leads the nation in touchdowns (26) and leads all first-year players in explosive plays (31), touches (229) and yards from scrimmage (1,581) for the Mean Green, who went 11-2 and reached the American Conference Championship Game. Hawkins is averaging 103 rushing yards per game, with 73.4 percent of his yardage coming after contact, per TruMedia.

RB Bo Jackson, Ohio State: The 19-year-old Cleveland native and former four-star recruit ranks second among freshman running backs with 1,235 yards from scrimmage on 187 touches. Jackson ran for 1,035 yards and finished 28th among all FBS rushers in yards per game.

WR Braylon Staley, Tennessee: The 2024 four-star recruit from South Carolina ranks second among freshman receivers with 64 catches for 806 yards and six touchdowns. Staley caught a season-high 10 passes for 92 yards and a touchdown in a loss to Alabama and had two 100-yard receiving games.

WR Malachi Toney, Miami: The 18-year-old South Florida native leads all freshmen with 84 catches and 970 yards and is tied for the freshman lead with seven touchdown grabs. Toney did more than catch passes, though, on his way to earning the ACC Freshman of the Year award. He also threw two touchdown passes and ran for another.

TE Kaelan Chudzinski, Boston College: The son of former Cleveland Browns coach and longtime NFL assistant Rob Chudzinski leads all freshman tight ends in catches (24) and receiving yards (313) on 40 targets. The three-star recruit who ranked 101st at his position in the 247Sports Composite also finished with four touchdown catches.

OT Jacob Ponton, Texas Tech: The 6-8, 305-pound redshirt freshman has started all 13 games at right tackle for the Big 12 champions, who rank third nationally in scoring (42.5 ppg). Ponton allowed only four sacks on 483 pass-blocking snaps in the regular season, per Pro Football Focus.

OT Nathan Roy, Minnesota: The No. 1 recruit from Wisconsin in the 2024 recruiting cycle started all 12 regular-season games at left tackle and has allowed only three sacks and 11 pressures on 407 pass-blocking snaps.

OG John Mills, Washington: The 6-6, 325-pound true freshman from San Francisco has started 10 games for the Huskies, including seven at left guard and three at right tackle. He didn’t allow a sack and allowed eight pressures on 298 pass-blocking snaps.

OG Ezomo Oratokhai, Northwestern: The second-year freshman from Texas has started all 12 games at left guard and has allowed only one sack and 10 pressures. The Wildcats rank sixth in the Big Ten in yards per carry (4.7).

C Anthony Boswell, Toledo: The 6-2, 293-pound redshirt freshman from Indianapolis began his career at Purdue before transferring to Toledo, where he started all 12 games for the Rockets this season. He hasn’t allowed a sack and has allowed only six pressures on 403 pass-blocking snaps.

First-team defense

Pos.NameClassTeam

DL

Mandrell Desir

Fr.

DL

Elijah Griffin

Fr.

Edge

Sidney Stewart

Fr.

Edge

Sahir West

R-Fr.

LB

Luke Ferrelli

R-Fr.

LB

Mac Sanders

Fr.

CB

Dijon Lee Jr.

Fr.

CB

Ty Redmond

Fr.

CB

Ellis Robinson

R-Fr.

S

Bryce Fitzgerald

Fr.

S

Tae Johnson

R-Fr.

DL Mandrell Desir, Florida State: The 6-4, 262-pound true freshman from Miami was a valuable speed rusher inside for the Seminoles and led the team with 7.5 tackles for loss and 6.5 sacks. Desir started the final two games.

DL Elijah Griffin, Georgia: The 6-4, 310-pound five-star recruit from Savannah (Ga.) Christian Prep has not started a game, but he played significant snaps (25 per game) for the nation’s fourth-ranked rushing defense. The run-stuffer has tallied 18 tackles, 2.5 for loss, one sack and 13 pressures, according to Pro Football Focus, including five in the win over Texas.

Edge Sidney Stewart, Maryland: No freshman edge rusher has produced more quarterback pressure (40) so far this season. A three-star recruit from Concordia Prep in Towson, Md., Stewart started 11 games and led the team in tackles for loss (10.5) and sacks (seven).

Edge Sahir West, James Madison: The 2024 unranked recruit from Baltimore has started all 13 games for the College Football Playoff-bound Dukes and leads the team in tackles for loss (14) and sacks (seven). West also leads all freshmen in havoc plays (22), according to TruMedia, and ranks second among all freshmen with 35 pressures. He had three sacks in the Sun Belt Championship Game victory, including one that forced a fumble that led to a defensive touchdown.

LB Luke Ferrelli, Cal: The ACC’s Defensive Rookie of the Year leads freshmen nationally in tackles (87). The 6-3, 230-pound redshirt freshman from San Diego also had five tackles for loss, one sack and one interception.

LB Mac Sanders, Jacksonville State: The 6-2, 225-pound true freshman and former three-star prospect from Georgia leads the team with 10.5 tackles for loss and leads all true freshmen nationally with 77 tackles.

CB Dijon Lee Jr., Alabama: The 6-4, 202-pound true freshman and former five-star recruit from California was named one of five finalists for the Shaun Alexander Freshman of the Year award. He’s started five games and has allowed only 13 catches for 213 yards and one touchdown in the 27 times he’s been targeted in coverage, according to PFF.

CB Ty Redmond, Tennessee: The three-star recruit from Georgia has started 11 games and tallied 39 tackles, 10 pass breakups and three interceptions. He was credited with 12 havoc plays, fourth-most by all freshman defensive backs.

CB Ellis Robinson, Georgia: The Connecticut native lived up to his hype as a former five-star recruit in his second season in Athens, starting 11 games and leading the SEC champions with four interceptions. Robinson has 17 tackles and seven pass breakups and enters the postseason having allowed only one catch for 28 yards over his last three games, according to PFF.

S Bryce Fitzgerald, Miami: Fitzgerald replaced standout nickelback Keionte Scott (injured) late in the season and played at a high level. The former four-star recruit from Miami had three interceptions before becoming a starter and finished the regular season with four to go with 15 tackles and two pass breakups.

S Tae Johnson, Notre Dame: The former four-star recruit from Fort Wayne, Ind., was thriving before suffering a season-ending injury with two games remaining in the regular season. Johnson, an eight-game starter, had four interceptions — including a pick six against Pittsburgh — to go with 48 tackles, three pass breakups and a blocked punt return for a score.

First-team specialists

Pos.NameClassTeam

K

Patrick Durkin

R-Fr.

P

Oscar Bird

Fr.

AP

Chris Barnes

R-Fr.

K Patrick Durkin, Tulane: The redshirt freshman was 24 of 27 on field goal attempts, including 4 of 6 from 50 yards or more. Durkin was 40 of 41 on extra points, and his 66 touchbacks on 78 kickoffs were the most by a freshman.

P Oscar Bird, Ole Miss: The 6-4, 205-pound true freshman who grew up playing Australian rules football in Sydney led all freshman punters with a net average of 43.75 yards. Bird’s season-long punt of 64 yards ranked eighth among all freshmen. Opponents averaged only 4.8 yards per return.

AP Chris Barnes, Wake Forest: The 5-7 redshirt freshman and former three-star recruit who followed coach Jake Dickert from Washington State was one of six freshmen to return a kickoff for a touchdown this season. Barnes also finished eighth among all freshman receivers with 39 catches for 547 yards and three touchdowns.

Second team

Pos.PlayerClassTeam

QB

CJ Carr

R-Fr.

RB

King Miller

R-Fr.

RB

Nate Sheppard

Fr.

WR

Micahi Danzy

R-Fr.

WR

Dezmen Roebuck

Fr.

TE

DJ Vonnahme

R-Fr.

OT

Jesse Perry

R-Fr.

OT

Everett Small

R-Fr.

G

Dontrell Glover

Fr.

G

Guerby Lambert

Fr.

C

Brock Riker

R-Fr.

DL

Leroy Jackson

R-Fr.

DL

Tristan Johnson

R-Fr.

Edge

Wendell Gregory

R-Fr.

Edge

Zahir Mathis

Fr.

LB

Mason Posa

Fr.

LB

Edwin Spillman

R-Fr.

CB

Courtland Guillory

Fr.

CB

DJ Pickett

Fr.

CB

Demetres Samuel

Fr.

S

Jessiah McGrew

Fr.

S

Max Mustell

Fr.

K

Lorcan Quinn

Fr.

P

John Hoyet

R-Fr.

AP

Andrew Marsh

Fr.