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ESPN Staff Writer- National recruiting analyst and analyst for ESPNU
- More than a decade of college and pro coaching experience.
- Graduated from Indiana and Nebraska-Omaha
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ESPN Analyst- Senior National Recruiting Analyst for ESPN.com
- Coached in four professional football leagues
- Graduated from Eastern Kentucky and Marshall
Every year in college football, more true freshmen contribute on the field in a big way. This season, which saw many players opting out because of concerns regarding COVID-19, was no exception.
There are numerous first-year players who moved from talented prospects less than a year ago to starters or impact players at the FBS level. It's no surprise to see several former ESPN 300 prospects making our 2020 true freshman All-America team, but there were also some under-recruited and under-evaluated players who deserved a spot.
Assembling this list is never an easy task, but with lack of uniformity this season in games played, some prospects had a greater body of work than others, making this process even more challenging. That said, we still did our best to feature deserving players from all FBS conferences.
Offense
The former ESPN 300 QB and son of longtime NFL QB Brad Johnson took over late in the season and has the look of a multiyear starter in Baton Rouge. The No. 129-ranked prospect overall saw action in six games, passing for 1,069 yards and eight touchdowns against one interception. His freshman campaign ended on an extremely high mark with 435 passing yards and three touchdowns in a 53-48 win over Ole Miss.