By Mark Pszonak
With the college football regular season nearing its conclusion, plenty of elite true freshmen have made a great first impression. Here are several who excelled during Week 12:
RB Jahiem White – West Virginia
White has had plenty of highlights this season, but Saturday was his best performance during a 42-21 victory over Cincinnati. He rushed for 204 yards and one touchdown on 21 carries while also grabbing one reception for a 75-yard touchdown.
RB CJ Baxter – Texas
With Jonathan Brooks out for the season with a torn ACL, Baxter suddenly became the main back for the Longhorns. He responded in his first game at this position with 117 yards on 20 carries during a 26-16 victory at Iowa State.
RB Justin Marshall – Colorado State
Marshall followed up his explosive first game by rushing for a team-high 98 yards on 19 carries during a 30-230 victory over Nevada. He is averaging 5.9 yards per carry in these two games.
RB Isaiah Augustave – Arkansas
Amid a disappointing season, the Razorbacks found something to be excited about on Saturday night. Augustave rushed for a team-high 101 yards on 14 carries during a 44-20 victory over Florida International. He came into the game with only six carries on the season.
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LB Everett Roussaw – UAB
Roussaw stuffed the stat box during a 34-24 victory over Temple. He finished with five tackles, .5 tackles for loss, one fumble recovery and three pass breakups.
LB Anthony Hill Jr. – Texas
With how Hill has performed this season, he can hardly be considered a true freshman at this point. He continued to play like a veteran on Saturday at Iowa State with a team-high six tackles and .5 tackles for a loss.
LB Kamren Robinson – Virginia
Robinson continues to be a highlight for what has been an overall disappointing season for Virginia. On Saturday night, during a victory over Duke, he finished with a team-high 11 tackles, one tackle for a loss and one pass breakup.
QB Anthony Colandrea – Virginia
Colandrea enjoyed his best game of the season during a 30-27 victory over Duke. He completed 21 of 30 passes for 278 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions. He also rushed for 66 yards on nine carries.
QB Jaylen Raynor – Arkansas State
After a couple of lackluster performances, Raynor responded by completed 14 of 17 passes for 196 yards during a 77-31 victory over Texas State.
QB Grayson Loftis – Duke
In his second collegiate start, Loftis completed 26 of 45 passes for 270 yards, two touchdowns and one interception during a loss at Virginia. While the Blue Devils have lost both of his starts, he has shown plenty of potential.
QB Kirk Francis – Tulsa
In his first start of the season, Francis only completed 50% of his attempts but threw for 251 yards, three touchdowns and one interception during a 35-28 loss to North Texas.
DB Caleb Downs – Alabama
Downs has been dominant all season and continued that again against Chattanooga with seven tackles and one pass breakup. However, on Saturday he added a new wrinkle by also returning a punt return 85 yards for a touchdown.
DB Khalil Barnes – Clemson
Barnes had another productive game during a 31-20 victory against North Carolina with four tackles, one tackle for a loss, one sack and one pass breakup. He has become a defensive playmaker for the Tigers.
DB Dillon Thieneman – Purdue
As has become the norm, Thieneman led the Boilermakers in tackles, this time with 10 during a 23-15 loss at Northwestern. On top of his tackles, he also had an interception, his fourth of the season.
DB Ty Benefield – Boise State
Benefield, who has quietly had a productive season for the Broncos, enjoyed his best game at Boise with seven tackles, 2.5 tackles for a loss, two sacks and one pass breakup during a 45-10 victory at Utah State.
DB Ashton Stamps – LSU
A week after fellow true freshman defensive back Javien Toviano shined, Stamps took his turn during a victory over Georgia State with a team-high eight tackles and one pass breakup. The future is bright for the Tigers’ secondary.
DB D’Angelo Ponds – James Madison
While James Madison suffered their first loss of the season, Ponds still excelled with a team-high seven tackles and one tackle for a loss.
WR Rico Flores Jr. – Notre Dame
Flores Jr. enjoyed his best collegiate game on Saturday against Wake Forest with eight receptions for 102 yards. Overall, he has been a steady contributor this season with 26 receptions for 387 yards and one touchdown.
WR Jaden Greathouse – Notre Dame
Returning from a hamstring injury that resulted in several missed games, Greathouse returned on Saturday night against Wake Forest and enjoyed his best game since the season opener with three receptions for 71 yards and one touchdown.
WR Zachariah Branch – USC
Branch hasn’t had the same impact recently as he did earlier in the season, but on Saturday night during a loss against UCLA he once again showcased his athleticism. He finished with five receptions for 51 yards and returned two kickoffs for 52 yards, including a long of 38 yards.
WR Jayce Brown – Kansas State
After a quiet game last week, Brown responded by finishing with four receptions for 96 yards during a 31-27 comeback victory over Kansas. He is averaging 18.6 yards on 17 receptions this season.
