12 best true freshmen in college football this season, ranked from Bear Bachmeier to Sidney Stewart

12 best true freshmen in college football this season, ranked from Bear Bachmeier to Sidney Stewart originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

High school football recruiting has always been a huge part of a college football team’s success. In 2025, that’s especially true. That means that for several true freshman players, there is an immediate expectation for them to see the field and play well.

So far this season, we’ve seen a number of true freshmen not only see the field but lead their team to big seasons.

Let’s rank the best true freshmen so far in 2025. We’ll rank players based on pure statistics, playing in starting roles and with an emphasis on those playing on teams in the College Football Playoff hunt. Without further ado, here are the 12 best true freshmen in the country, ranked from 1-12.

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T-12. Zahir Mathis and Sidney Stewart, DL, Maryland

Zahir Mathis

Player details: 6-foot-6, 222 pounds from Philadelphia, Pa., 19 years old
Prospect rating: 4-star EDGE rusher (13th in position, 123rd overall, No. 3 out of Pennsylvania)

Sidney Stewart

Player details: 6-foot-2, 255 pounds from Joppa, Md., born March 15, 2002
Prospect rating: 3-star EDGE rusher (118th in position, 1,507th overall, No. 45 out of Maryland)

Maryland might be struggling this season, but the play of both of these true freshmen on the defensive side of the ball has been massively impressive. The duo have combined for 44 tackles and lead the team in sacks with 10.5 on the season. Stewart alone has six on the year, including a forced fumble. The Terps are tied for 13th nationally, averaging 2.88 sacks per game.

Stewart has professional athletes in his blood — according to his Maryland bio, his uncle Larry played for the Seattle Supersonics and Washington Bullets, and his dad hooped overseas. His cousin is also former Terps basketball and New Orleans Pelicans star Derik Queen.

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11. Nate Sheppard, RB, Duke

Player details: 5-foot-10, 195 pounds from Mandeville, La., 19 years old
Prospect rating: 4-star running back (33rd in position, 439th overall, No. 17 out of Louisiana)

Duke is just one win away from making a bowl game for a fourth consecutive season. A big reason for that is how well true freshman Nate Sheppard has been playing. He is Duke’s leading rusher this season with 557 yards and five touchdowns on the year. He’s inside the top-10 inside the ACC in rushing, and his 6.6 yards per carry is tied for 32nd nationally.

He had his best game against Syracuse, finishing with 168 yards with two touchdowns during Duke’s 38-3 win. He can show off some nice top-end speed, too:

He comes from an athletic family too — his mother played volleyball at Louisiana Tech and his father, Willie Sheppard, played for four seasons at Tech. His brother is also former Colorado receiver Will Sheppard, now with the Green Bay Packers.

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10. Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele, QB, California

Player details: 6-foot-3, 225 pounds from Ewa Beach, Hawaii, 19 years old
Prospect rating: 4-star quarterback (7th in position, 65th overall, No. 1 prospect out of Hawaii)

Cal had to replace its quarterback from last season, as Fernando Mendoza transferred to Indiana last offseason. But he’s had no problems doing so, as true freshman signal-caller Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele has been playing quite well.

He ranks fourth overall in passing yards in the ACC, with 2,195 yards, including 11 touchdowns and nine interceptions. He’s had over 200 yards passing in every game so far, with one of his best games coming in Cal’s win over Minnesota in Week 3. Sagapolutele finished with a 279 yards passing with three touchdowns and zero interceptions. He’s also the first true freshman to start during a Cal season-opener since Jared Goff in 2013.

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9. Vernell Brown III, WR, Florida

Player details: 5-foot-11, 178 pounds from Gainesville, Fla., 18 years old
Prospect rating: 4-star wide receiver (5th in position, 35th overall, No. 3 prospect out of Florida)

Florida is having a down season in 2025, sitting at 3-5 and already firing head coach Billy Napier. But how well true freshman Vernell Brown III has been playing is a bright spot. He leads Florida’s receivers with 32 receptions for 451 yards, averaging 14.1 yards per catch.

Although he has yet to catch a touchdown yet, he’s quarterback DJ Lagway’s favorite target. His best game came during the Gators’ 23-21 win over Mississippi State, during which he finished with five receptions for 83 yards. Brown has some strong Florida ties, as both his grandfather and father played football for the Gators. He’s from Gainesville, and his uncle was on Florida’s 2008 national title-winning team.

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8. Malik Washington, QB, Maryland

Player details: 6-foot-5, 231 pounds from Glen Burnie, Md., 19 years old
Prospect rating: 4-star quarterback (10th in position, 99th overall, No. 3 prospect out of Maryland)

Maryland signal-caller Malik Washington may be a true freshman, but he looks confident under center. He’s eighth in the Big Ten in passing yards, with 1,958 yards with 12 touchdowns and five interceptions this season. He’s added 99 yards with three rushing touchdowns on the ground.

He’s thrown for over 200 yards passing in each of his first eight starts on the season, with his best game coming against Wisconsin on Sept. 20. During Maryland’s 27-10 win over the Badgers, Washington finished with 265 yards passing and two touchdowns. Washington has struggled with turning the ball over in recent weeks, however, throwing four interceptions in his last five games.

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7. Brandon Finney Jr., DB, Oregon

Player details: 6-foot-2, 203 pounds from Owings Mills, Md., 18 years old
Prospect rating: 4-star cornerback (6th in position, 40th overall, No. 1 prospect out of Maryland)

Brandon Finney Jr. may be a true freshman, but he’s one of the stars of Oregon’s defense this season. He’s had 15 total tackles so far this season and is tied for second on the team with four passes defended.

One of his highlights came earlier this season against Indiana. Early in the fourth quarter, Finney picked off Fernando Mendoza and returned it to the house:

Perhaps most impressive is that Finney has the lowest catch rate allowed amongst all college football quarterbacks, per Sports Illustrated. If Oregon wants to make a deep playoff run, Finney will need to keep leading the Ducks’ lockdown secondary, which ranks 1st in the nation in fewest pass yards per game allowed (124.6).

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6. Graceson Littleton, DB, Texas

Player details: 6-foot-0, 180 pounds from Tampa, Fla., 18 years old
Prospect rating: 4-star cornerback (10th in position, 65th overall, No. 11 prospect out of Florida)

Graceson Littleton has made a name for himself as a true freshman for the Longhorns this season. Through Texas’ nine games this year, Littleton has accounted for 31 total tackles — good for seventh on the team — including 24 solo stops and two interceptions. He also has two passes defended on the season, including a forced fumble against Florida earlier this year.

He did a nice job against Ohio State’s Jeremiah Smith earlier in the season:

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5. Bo Jackson, RB, Ohio State

Player details: 6-foot-0, 217 pounds from Cleveland, Ohio, 19 years old
Prospect rating: 4-star running back (10th in position, 161st overall, No. 6 prospect out of Ohio)

The Ohio State Buckeyes had to replace star running backs Quinshon Judkins and TreyVeon Henderson from last season. But thanks to the productivity of true freshman Bo Jackson (no relation to that Bo Jackson, although his dad’s name is Lamar), the Buckeyes are still a threat on the ground.

He leads Ohio State in rushing with 538 yards on 81 carries with two touchdowns, averaging 6.6 yards per carry. His yards per rush checks in at seventh in the Big Ten. He’s had three games with over 100 yards rushing vs. Grambling State, Ohio and Penn State. As the Buckeyes attempt to go on a big playoff run this season, Jackson’s workload will likely increase.

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4. Dakorien Moore, WR, Oregon

Ben Lonergan/The Register-Guard / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Player details: 5-foot-11, 195 pounds from Duncanville, Tx., 18 years old
Prospect rating: 5-star receiver (1st in position, 4th overall, No. 2 prospect out of Texas

Dakorien Moore was predicted to land at Texas, being one of the state’s best recruits in his class. But Dan Lanning managed to get him to come to Oregon, where he’s been an immediate contributor on offense.

He is Oregon’s leading receiver, with 28 receptions for 443 yards with three touchdowns. His 15.82 yards per catch ranks seventh in the Big Ten, with his best game coming against Penn State. During Oregon’s 30-24 overtime win, he finished with seven catches for 89 yards on the night.

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3. Malachi Toney, WR, Miami

Player details: 5-foot-11, 188 pounds from Fort Lauderdale, Fla., 18 years old
Prospect rating: 4-star receiver (49th in position, 359th overall, No. 51 prospect out of Florida)

Miami’s playoff hopes may be slim, sitting at two losses already in early November. But Canes fans have to be excited about how well freshman receiver Malachi Toney has been playing all season.

He is Miami’s leading receiver with 52 catches for 632 yards with three touchdowns, averaging 12.2 yards per catch. He’s also been effective in the return game, getting eight punt returns for 163 yards, including a long of 47 yards.

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2. Bryce Underwood, QB, Michigan

Aaron J. Thornton/Getty Images

Player details: 6-foot-4, 228 pounds from Detroit, Mich., 18 years old
Prospect rating: 5-star quarterback (No. 1 overall in position, nationally and out of state of Michigan)

Bryce Underwood was one of the big flips last year, as the longtime LSU commit flipped to Michigan. Wolverine fans are glad he did so, as he’s good enough to have earned the starting job well before Week 1.

So far this season, he’s thrown for 1,671 yards with seven touchdowns and three interceptions. His best game of the season so far is during Michigan’s 24-10 win over Wisconsin, where he finished with 270 yards passing and a touchdown, completing 67.9 percent of his passes. Michigan may be out of the playoff, sitting with two losses to Oklahoma and USC, but the future is very bright in Ann Arbor with Underwood.

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1. Bear Bachmeier, QB, BYU

Player details: 6-foot-2, 220 pounds from Murrieta, Calif., 19 years old
Prospect rating: 4-star QB (28th in position, 425th overall, No. 34 prospect out of California)

Bear Bachmeier started his career at Stanford but transferred to BYU a couple months after Stanford fired head coach Troy Taylor. Bachmeier has helped lead the Cougars to a perfect 7-0 start on the season and a No. 7 ranking in the initial CFP rankings.

On the season, Bachmeier has thrown for 1,693 yards with 11 touchdowns and just three interceptions. He’s rushed for another 408 yards with nine scores on the ground. He’s coming off one of his best games of his season against Iowa State on Oct. 25.

During BYU’s 41-27 win over the Cyclones, Bachmeier finished with 307 yards passing with two touchdowns, adding another 49 yards and a touchdown on the ground. We’ll see how he can do going on the road to face No. 8 Texas Tech on Saturday.

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