The last few years I have put out daily blogs that listed all the True Freshmen at each position and given you an idea of how many actually played in their first year on campus. I will go thru each position this August and show you how many have played the last two years, so you know what to expect out of this year’s true frosh class.
Here is a look at the top 50 RB’s that were signed in 2020. Now 2020 was an odd year as with no spring practice, the true frosh RB’s could not benefit from being in early for the spring. With some conferences cancelling their seasons and then starting them up again that put them even further behind. Now in 2020 technically every RB redshirted as 2020 did not count against their eligibility so coaches were more likely to play them.
Here is a look at the Top 50 True Frosh RB from 2020 and how many played.
My original thought was that Running Back is a much easier position than Quarterback to learn and contribute immediately and that more RB’s would play immediately. Tank Bigsby (PS#7) from Auburn led the RB’s with 834 rush yards (6.0). Bijan Robinson who is a Heisman frontrunner this year was #2 with 713 rush yards and an impressive 8.2 ypc. Unlike the QB’s 36 of the 50 RB’s saw the field or 72% of the top 50 true frosh RB’s. A decent number of those frosh RB’s have hit the portal and could start for other teams like Jahmyr Gibbs, Zach Evans, Jalen Berger, etc.
Now let’s look at the 2021 True Freshmen. I know that technically all of 2020’s true frosh were still true frosh, but I will just look at the ones that were in their first year on campus. We will just look at the 2021 signing class of RB’s and how much they played.
With everyone back from Covid and unlike in 2020 if a player played more than 4 games the player would lose a year of eligibility you would think that less true frosh RB’s would play. One advantage the 2021 true frosh had was being able to be on campus for spring if they enrolled early.
Here is a look at the Top 50 True Frosh from 2021 and how many played.
In 2020 the top 50 true frosh RB’s combined for 9079 yds rush, 80 td and 5.9 ypc.
In 2021 the top 50 true frosh RB’s combined for 9651 yds rush, 96 td’s and 5.2 ypc.
The 2021 RB’s also had 1681 receiving yards.
Ohio State’s TreVeyon Henderson led the way with 1248 yards (6.8) and another 312 receiving yards. Houston’s Alton McCaskill was #2 with 961 rush (5.1) and 16 td’s. Clemson’s Will Shipley had 738 (5.0) rush. 34 of the top 50 true frosh RB’s got at least one carry last year which is 68%.
This year I have already projected Nicholas Singleton as the leading rusher for Penn St this year. George Pettaway has a shot of doing that at North Carolina. You can expect more true frosh RB’s to make an impact this year than the QB list I supplied yesterday. Here is a list of this years top 50 True Frosh RB’s.
Where to find a 2022 Phil Steele College football Preview
Remember if you are out and about this weekend the magazine is still at all Barnes and Nobles but if your local Barnes and Noble is sold out, it should start hitting other stores like Books-A-Million, CVS, Food Lion, Kroger, HEB, Harris Teeter, Ingles, HyVee, Meijer’s, Publix. Food Lion, Safeway, Walgreens and Walmart this weekend as well.
You can also order the magazine right HERE and we update the digital magazine all the way thru September, and you can purchase that HERE.
