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Top 10 College Football Freshmen – September 2022 Rankings

Ranking the best College Football Freshmen this 2022- 2023 NCAA Football season

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By fan rankings | September 20, 2022

The landscape of College Football changes from season to season as top tier upperclassmen leave for the NFL and graduate.

This opens up the door for the next wave of top tier college recruits to step up, fill in, and make their mark on the game while building their own resume to potentially get drafted during the NFL draft.

Each year a long list of talented high school seniors makes the transition to play college football with many of those stars making key contributions as a freshman or true freshmen.

As we wait to see which freshman dominate during the 2022 College Football Schedule, the list of the Top College Football Freshman 2022 rankings September includes many that have the potential.

 

Over the years the list of talented freshmen who put together great first seasons included Herschel Walker for the Georgia Bulldogs, Jameis Winston for the Florida State Seminoles, and Adrian Peterson for the Oklahoma Sooners.

As we roll into mid-September a few of those freshmen stepping up in their first year include the Penn State Nittany Lions running back Nicholas Singleton and the North Carolina Tar Heels quarterback Drake Maye. Here is a look at the Top 10 College Football Freshman 2022 rankings September. 

Honorable Mention

Kevin Coleman Jr.

School: Jackson State Tigers

Position: Wide Receiver
Previous: #7

Landing just outside of the Top 10 College Football Freshman 2022 rankings September is the Jackson State Tigers wide receiver Kevin Coleman Jr.

The four-star recruit from St. Louis, Missouri elected to pass up offers from schools such as Florida State and Miami to join the Jackson State Tigers.

Through his first three games, Coleman has picked up eight catches for 85 yards while also adding six punt returns for 52 yards.

Lander Barton

School: Utah Utes

Position: Linebacker
Previous: Unranked

The freshman linebacker for the Utah Utes is looking to live up to his hype as he makes his transition to college football.

Barton, who was the number two college football recruit in Utah, elected to stay home to join the Utes as a four-star recruit.

The Salt Lake City native has seen some playing time this year while racking up 10 total tackles to go along with one sack across the team’s first three contests. 

Top 10 College Football Freshman

10. Jaishawn Barham

School: Maryland Terps

Position: Linebacker
Previous: Honorable Mention #2

In number 10 on the Top 10 College Football Freshman 2022 rankings September is the Maryland Terps stud linebacker Jaishawn Barham.

Barham elected to stay close to his home in District Heights, Maryland to join the Terps as a four-star recruit.

The Terps linebacker is coming off his best game of his young career helping the team defeat SMU 34-27 on September 17th, 2022.

In that contest Barham racked up 13 tackles to go along with one sack while pushing his season total to 17 total tackles. 

9. Tetairoa McMillan

School: Arizona Wildcats

Position: Wide Receiver
Previous: Unranked

One position that we have seen over the years produce many talented freshmen is the wide receiver position.

That is no different during the 2022 NCAA Football Schedule through the first few weeks as many talented wide receivers have produced including Tetairoa McMillian.

McMillian is currently a member of the Arizona Wildcats team that has started off the season winning two of their first three contests. In those contests, McMillian has picked up eight catches for 141 yards with one touchdown. 

8. George Pettaway

School: North Carolina Tar Heels

Position: Running Back
Previous: 9th

The North Carolina Tar Heels continue to rebuild while hoping to shape the future of their football program.

A school known for their basketball program has gotten off to a red-hot start picking up three straight wins while scoring at least 35 points in each contest.

During that stretch one freshman who has made his mark is the talented four-star running back recruit from Virginia George Pettaway.

Pettaway who has seen light work has made the most of his touches running for 88 yards on just 15 carries to go along with two touchdown runs while also adding two catches.

7. Jaren Kanak

School: Oklahoma Sooners

Position: Linebacker
Previous: Unranked

As the Oklahoma Sooners continue to look to move on after losing multiple players through the NFL Draft and transfer portal as well as their head coach, the Oklahoma Sooners continue to win.

One of those wins comes in the likes of freshman linebacker Jaren Kanak who was the number one recruit from Kansas.

Kanak stepped up bigtime in the teams big 49-14 win over the Nebraska Cornhuskers, forcing a fumble, recovering a fumble, and posting double digit tackles. After the fumble recovery the Sooners would capitalize with another touchdown.

6. Jayden McGowan

School: Vanderbilt Commodores

Position: Wide Receiver
Previous: Unranked

Players within the smaller schools of the SEC Conference often get overlooked and overshadowed by the powerhouse programs such as Alabama, Auburn, LSU and Georgia. 

However, one freshman to watch is the Vanderbilt Commodores Jayden McGowan, the former three-star recruit from South Carolina.

Through the team’s first four contests of the year, McGowan has had at least three catches while putting together his best game of the season in the team’s 42-31 win over Elon.

In those contests, McGowan reeled in four catches for 118 yards with a touchdown. In addition, McGowan has added four rushes on the year for 33 total yards.

5. Dasan McCullough

School: Indiana Hoosiers

Position: Linebacker
Previous: Unranked

Rounding out the top 5 players on the Top 10 College Football Freshman 2022 rankings September list is the Indiana Hoosiers linebacker Dasan McCullough.

The freshman linebacker from Bloomington, Indiana has not been a disappointment for the team to start the college football season.

McCullough has racked up 14 tackles to start the season while adding three total sacks including a pair in the team’s 35-22 win against Idaho.

The four-star recruit made the transition to linebacker after playing multiple positions as a senior including safety, cornerback, edge as well as wide receiver.

4. Ja’Lynn Polk

School: Washington Huskies

Position: Wide Receiver
Previous: Unranked

Coming off the team’s impressive 39-28 win against the 11th ranked Michigan State Spartans, freshman Ja’Lynn Polk has put his name on the board as one of the top freshman football players through mid-September.

The three-star wide receiver from Texas has not disappointed as the Huskies have pushed their record to 3-0 to start the season. In that win, Polk pulled in six catches for 153 yards to go along with three touchdown receptions.

The performance pushed his season totals to 12 catches for 245 yards to go along with four touchdown catches.

3. Malaki Starks

School: Georgia Bulldogs

Position: Defensive Back
Previous: Unranked

One of the many top recruits the Georgia Bulldogs landed heading into the 2022-2023 NCAA Football schedule, Malaki Starks was one of the top five-star recruits in the country.

Starks ranked as the number four overall prospect from Georgia and the 19th best recruit in all of the country.

Starks has stepped up big time for the Bulldogs who are looking to repeat as National Champions.

In three contests in 2022, Starks has posted 11 total tackles, two interceptions, and one pass defended.

2. Drake Maye

School: North Carolina Tar Heels

Position: Quarterback
Previous: Unranked

The quarterback position is one of those positions that is hyped up more than any other in college football while producing many top incoming freshmen.

One freshman quarterback who went unnoticed and is making a key impact during the college football season is the North Carolina Tar Heels Drake Maye.

Maye who is from Charlotte, North Carolina was a four-star recruit who elected to decommit from Alabama Crimson Tide to join the Tar Heels.

Maye, who is a red-shirt freshman, has led the Tar Heels to a 3-0 record while throwing for 930 yards to go along with 11 passing touchdowns and just one interception.

The Tar Heels quarterback made it difficult to determine which freshman warranted to the top overall spot on the Top 10 College Football Freshman 2022 rankings September list.

1. Nicholas Singleton

School: Penn State Nittany Lions

Position: Running Back
Previous: #4

True Freshman Nicholas Singleton of the Penn State Nittany Lions slides up to number one on the Top 10 College Football Freshman 2022 rankings September list.

Singleton, who was a highly touted high school running back, was the number one overall rated running back in the 2022 recruiting class and the number one overall recruit from Pennsylvania. The Reading, Pennsylvania five-star running back elected to stay in PA to join the Nittany Lions.

Singleton has been strong this season through the teams first three games including in back-to-back games topping the 120 plus yard mark. After his slow start, Singleton has four touchdowns and 303 rushing yards in his last two games.

How would you rank these College Football Freshmen in the 2022-2023 BCS season? Rank below to be added in the NCAA Power Rankings

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