The 2017 season was fruitful for true freshmen making their mark on the college football world and bursting onto the scene. With quarterbacks Jake Fromm and Tua Tagovailoa squaring off in the national championship game, and running back Jonathan Taylor rushing for over 1,900 yards, the list goes on for first year players who exceeded expectations.
There is nothing to suggest that 2018 won't feature the same excitement from true freshmen, especially with the new redshirt rule coming into play. College coaches will now be able to insert a player up to four games without burning his redshirt, which means we could see more true freshmen get a four-game tryout to showcase their abilities.
Every year it seems that more and more first-year players are making their mark, so who will be atop the stat lists for the 2018 season?
QB Justin Fields, Georgia Bulldogs
Fields was the No. 1-ranked player in the country in 2018 and had nearly every program after him for good reason. He initially committed to Penn State before flipping to Georgia and is now being hyped as someone who could push the Dawgs to the next level. He will still have to beat out Jake Fromm, who took over for injured Jacob Eason and led Georgia all the way to the national championship game. The fact that Fields is still being talked about as someone who could make an impact this first season says a lot about his abilities on the field.
It might not happen right away ,as the staff has the luxury of easing him into the role, but it wouldn't be surprising to see Fields very much in the mix and making plays the same way he did in high school.