College football freshmen will no doubt be a factor in the upcoming 2026 season, and they are as important as ever to teams’ championship hopes.
Oregon coach Dan Lanning has a stock response whenever he’s asked about the potential for one of the Ducks’ freshmen newcomers to contribute.
“If you’re good enough, you’re old enough.”
With the money that college football players can earn now, more choose to stay extra years and max out their college eligibility, but the next wave of top prospects arrives each year nonetheless eager to assert themselves.
And to Lanning’s oft-reiterated line, age and even experience are ultimately trumped by talent.
Last season, college football’s leader in rushing touchdowns (North Texas’ Caleb Hawkins), Miami’s offensive superweapon on its run to the national title game (Malachi Toney) and a handful of other starters on College Football Playoff teams were all true freshmen.
10 True Freshmen To Know In College Football For 2026
Which first-year newcomers will make an immediate impact in their freshmen debuts in 2026? Here are 10 to keep a close eye on this season.
(All recruiting rankings taken from the Rivals Industry Ranking.)
Vanderbilt QB Jared Curtis
Vanderbilt’s success on the field the last two years — especially its program-record 10 wins last season — proved that times have changed for the SEC’s longtime afterthought.
But that statement was also made in another way when the Commodores and coach Clark Lea reeled in five-star recruit Jared Curtis, the No. 2-ranked quarterback and No. 3 overall national prospect in the 2026.
Vanderbilt beat out Georgia, which had Curtis committed two separate times, to keep the coveted QB from Nashville home for college. Per ESPN, he’s the highest-ranked recruit and first five-star to ever sign with the program (since such ratings/rankings have existed).
Given his stature as a recruit, that he’s a hometown star and the momentum the program has coming off last season, the intrigue for Curtis’ Vandy debut couldn’t be greater.
But the Commodores aren’t anointing him the replacement to Diego Pavia just yet. Officially, Curtis is competing with Pavia’s backup Blaze Berlowitz, who followed offensive coordinator Tim Beck and Pavia from New Mexico State to Vanderbilt in 2024. He’s waited for his shot and will try to hold off the freshman phenom as long as he can.
Tennessee QB Faizon Brandon
One of the most intriguing quarterback competitions in the country this month is unfolding in Knoxville, Tennessee, where five-star freshman Faizon Brandon (No. 3 QB prospect in 2026) is competing with redshirt-freshman George MacIntyre (four-star, No. 15 QB prospect in 2025).
MacIntyre has been in the program for a year and chose to return believing he could win the starting job, but Brandon was a major recruiting win for the Volunteers and has every intention on winning this QB battle that started in the spring.
The buzz is loud that Brandon is asserting himself in that competition so far. Whoever takes the first snap, though, it’s hard to see Brandon not getting his shot at some point this season.
Ohio State WR Chris Henry Jr.
Chris Henry Jr. has already done a lot to make his own name in football, starring at national powerhouse Mater Dei High School in California while earning his spot as the No. 1-ranked wide receiver prospect in the Class of 2026.
But his lineage will always be a part of his story as well, as the son of the former West Virginia star (1,878 yards and 22 TDs in two seasons) and Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver of the same name who died tragically in 2009.
The younger Henry heads into his freshman season at Ohio State as the next great WR talent to join the Buckeyes. He’ll overlap with Jeremiah Smith, the consensus top WR in college football, this season.
Fair or not, the comparisons between the two — Henry is two inches taller at 6-foot-5 — have put lofty expectations on the newcomer, considering that Smith was an instant star for the Buckeyes with 76 catches for 1,315 yards and 15 TDs as a freshman.
Ohio State always has depth at the position, though, and senior Brandon Inniss has also bided his time for a larger role in the offense.
Henry already turned heads while going through spring practice with the Buckeyes, though, and the hype train isn’t slowing down.
Miami OT Jackson Cantwell
No head coach in college football has a better reputation for recruiting and developing offensive linemen than Miami’s Mario Cristobal, so Jackson Cantwell landing in Coral Gables is perfect fit for the No. 1 ranked recruit (at any position) in the Class of 2026.
Listed at a mammoth 6-foot-8 and 330 pounds as a true freshman, the newcomer from Nixa, Missouri, is expected to immediately settle in at as the Hurricanes’ starting left tackle, replacing Francis Mauigoa, the 10th overall pick in the NFL draft.
Miami has national championship aspirations again after coming up just short last season, and Cantwell will play a pivotal role in that pursuit while protecting new Canes’ QB Darian Mensah‘s blindside.
Alabama RB Ezavier “EJ” Crowell
Alabama’s rushing game — or lack thereof — became one of the storylines nationally late last season as a program that for so many years overpowered opponents on the ground stunningly was done in by its inability to run the ball when it mattered most.
The Crimson Tide was held to -3 rushing yards in the SEC championship game, 28 in its CFP first-round win over Oklahoma and then 23 in a humbling, one-sided 38-3 loss to Indiana.
Overall, Alabama was held under 100 rushing yards in eight games last season. Alabama! The same program that produced the last two running backs to win the Heisman Trophy — Derrick Henry and Mark Ingram II — ranked 125th nationally in rushing at 104.1 yards per game.
What does that have to do with Ezavier Crowell? Nothing and everything.
Leading rusher (a relative term) Jam Miller is in the NFL now, while the Tide’s next three rushing leaders from 2025 return in Daniel Hill (284 yards, 3.8 YPC), Kevin Riley (224, 3.8) and AK Dear (140, 7.4).
Dear is generating some fresh buzz early in fall camp, but there is nothing standing in the way of Crowell carving out a significant immediate role in the Bama backfield as a fresh talent at one of the spots the Tide need it most.
The five-star, No. 2-ranked RB prospect is a local product out of Jackson, Alabama, and even though he reclassified up a year from the 2027 to 2026 recruiting class, he looks built to compete in the SEC immediately at 5-foot-11, 224 pounds.
Michigan RB Savion Hiter
Fellow five-star Savion Hiter was the only running back ranked ahead of Crowell in the Class of 2026, per Rivals, and he too should hit the ground running as a freshman.
The only difference is that Michigan has an established RB1 in Jordan Marshall, who rushed for 932 yards and 10 TDs on 6.2 YPC while taking over after Justice Haynes‘ midseason injury.
Marshall is back in 2026, but there is absolutely room for two running backs to feast in what should again be a ground-oriented Michigan offense, with longtime Utah head coach Kyle Whittingham taking over.
And Hiter is absolutely ready to make his mark right away. The 6-foot, 210-pound freshman from Louisa, Virginia, who averaged 13.2 YPC as a high school senior (1,440 yards, 24 TDs on 110 carries).
LSU DT Deuce Geralds
The national spotlight is going to be on Lane Kiffin‘s LSU program all year after the coach’s high-profile, high-drama move from Ole Miss. And in taking over a slumping Tigers program, Kiffin orchestrated a substantial makeover to the roster between the transfer portal and his first recruiting class in Baton Rouge.
While the Tigers are set to be a veteran-led team, one true freshman has been impossible to ignore since his arrival in the spring.
And it’s now expected that defensive tackle Deuce Geralds will have a starting role when the season starts.
The 6-foot-1, 279-pound freshman out of Suwanee, Georgia, has LSU fans buzzing about his potential — both in the long-term and as an immediate impact force in the middle of the Tigers’ defensive line.
Fellow four-star true freshman DT Richard Anderson and five-star freshman DE Lamar Brown aren’t far behind and could also be a factor in 2026 while forming a dominant trio in future years.
USC DE Luke Wafle
Talk about looking the part …
It’s no surprise Luke Wafle is garnering significant attention as a freshman. He was the top-ranked EDGE prospect and No. 5 overall national recruit in the Class of 2026.
And he stands at a towering 6-foot-6, 265 pounds already.
Wafle was the headliner of USC’s No. 1-ranked recruiting class and is going to get on the field in a significant way as a freshman.
The Trojans return their sack leaders from last season in Kameryn Crawford (5.5 sacks) and Braylan Shelby (4.5), but Wafle will be in whatever rotation USC settles on at the edges.
Tennessee WR Tristen “TK” Keys
Whoever starts at quarterback for Tennessee is going to have a wealth of talent to target in the passing game, including established veterans Braylon Staley (68 catches for 837 yards and 6 TDs last year) and Mike Matthews (53-813-4).
There is plenty of passes to go around in Josh Heupel‘s offense, though. Staley and Matthews managed those numbers last year even with Chris Brazzell II (62-1,017-9) leading the team on his way to the NFL this year.
So there’s certainly room for a third wideout to feast for the Vols in 2026, and it’s going to be true freshman TK Keys.
The five-star out of Hattiesburg, Mississippi, the 6-foot-2, 200-pound Keys looks bound for stardom in Knoxville before long — and primed to make his presence felt immediately.
USC TE Mark Bowman
The Trojans had the top recruiting class in the country so they can absolutely take up two spots on this list.
The 6-foot-4, 245-pound Mark Bowman, who was so advanced as a prospect he skipped his senior year of high school, has all the potential to be the next great tight end in college football.
Joining USC from just down the road at powerhouse Mater Dei High School, Bowman is set to be the Trojans’ starting tight end from Day 1. The only factor that could limit his statistical volume this fall is that USC is also absolutely loaded at wide receiver, including two of the top eight WRs from the Class of 2026 in Boobie Feaster and Kayden Dixon-Wyatt.
It’s been a while now, but the last time coach Lincoln Riley had a truly elite tight end he helped Mark Andrews to an All-American season and the John Mackey Award at Oklahoma in 2017 with 62 catches for 958 yards and 8 TDs.
Honorable Mention: Clemson WR Naeem Burroughs; Stanford WR Zion Robinson; Maryland EDGE Zion Elee; Oklahoma RB Jonathan Hatton Jr.; Alabama WR Cederian Morgan.
