By Mark Pszonak
College football is all about developing younger players to become important playmakers. Every week numerous players make that jump. Some are expected while others come as a surprise, so here are five who took that leap this weekend:
WR Elic Ayomanor – Stanford
The skinny: The Canadian native who played his high school football in Massachusetts exploded onto the national scene on Friday night at Colorado. Ayomanor redshirted as a true freshman in 2022 and then totaled 12 receptions for 180 yards and one touchdown heading into Friday night. Against the Buffaloes he finished with 13 receptions for 294 yards and three touchdowns, as he was a huge part of Stanford’s miraculous 46-43 double overtime comeback victory. It hasn’t been a memorable season for the Cardinal in 2023, but maybe this will be a start to a more positive finish.
ATH Sione Vaki – Utah
The skinny: Everyone knows about Travis Hunter and his two-way abilities at Colorado, but now he has company in the PAC 12 in that category. Vaki had already been an important part of the Utes defense this season, with 32 tackles, 6.5 tackles for a loss and an interception this season, which included four tackles on Saturday against Cal. However, against the Golden Bears he was also used as a running back/wildcat quarterback and flourished with 158 yards and two touchdowns on only 15 carries. Not surprisingly, he will continue to play both ways as the Utes were looking for an offensive spark that Vaki more than provided for at least one week.
LB Tre Freeman – Duke
The skinny: While Duke is still enjoying a very successful season, everything got a little more difficult when star quarterback Riley Leonard recently went down with an injury. It is unknown how long he will be out, but until that point the rest of the team will need to raise their level of play. Freeman did exactly that for the Blue Devils during a dominant 24-3 victory over rival NC State. Finishing with 15 tackles, 1.5 tackles for a loss and one interception in the win, it followed a 13-tackle performance against Notre Dame the week before. More of this will be needed, especially since Leonard remains questionable, with games quickly approaching against Florida State, Louisville and North Carolina in the next four weeks.
QB Josh Hoover – TCU
The skinny: It is safe to say that the 2023 season has not gone as well for the Horned Frogs as it did in 2022. A year removed from playing for the National Championship, TCU looked poised to battle for bowl eligibility this fall after two straight losses until Hoover’s coming out party against BYU on Saturday. In his first start due to an injury to Chandler Morris, Hoover completed 37 of 58 passes for 439 yards and four touchdowns. Whatever Morris’ health status is this week, Hoover did more than enough to likely get another start at Kansas State this weekend as the Horned Frogs look to finish the season strong.
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DB Desmond Igbinosun – Rutgers
The skinny: The junior has had other meaningful games at Rutgers, including a 14-tackle performance at Minnesota last season, but his play on Saturday during a stunning fourth quarter comeback against Michigan State could prove to be much more important. With Rutgers now one win away from bowl eligibility, Igbinosun finished the game with eight tackles, four tackles for a loss and a fumble recovery during the victory. A win at Indiana on Saturday would get the Scarlet Knights to the important 6-win mark.
