College football’s 60 greatest true freshman seasons of all time

In 1972, the NCAA tied up a loose end. Having already ruled that college freshmen in other sports (and at other levels) would be eligible for varsity ball, it declared that the same rules would apply in major college football and basketball. In an effort to cut costs, it added an extra layer of lore to already lore-rich sports.

“It is not certain that all of the well known football and basketball powers will use players coaches may consider too inexperienced,” The New York Times reported in January 1972. “A recent poll of major college football coaches indicated they were 2 to 1 against using freshmen on varsity teams. … However, the N.C.A.A. members who passed this ruling were faculty athletic advisers, those members of college administrations concerned with saving money. Their feeling is that by eliminating freshman teams they will save money.”

Did this change cause a massive ripple? Not necessarily. College football wasn’t suddenly dominated by 18-year-olds. But without this change, the legend of college basketball Hall of Famer Quinn Buckner — who started for both the basketball and football teams as a true freshman at Indiana in 1972-73 — would have become less rich. Tony Dorsett wouldn’t have become the best running back in the country the moment he set foot on Pitt’s campus. Georgia wouldn’t have ridden Herschel Walker to the 1980 national title. Jeremiah Smith wouldn’t have been the best player in the first two rounds of the 2024 College Football Playoff. And we would not have been exposed to quite as much greatness from some of the most incredible stars the sport has seen in the past half-century.

In 2022, I commemorated the 50-year anniversary of the rule change by listing the 50 best seasons by a true freshman in major college football. With Smith, Harold Perkins Jr. and others having put together dynamite debut campaigns since, it’s time to expand the list to 60. Some of the players below went on to illustrious careers at both the college and pro levels; others maxed out early. Let’s celebrate them all.

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60. Marqise Lee, USC Trojans (2011)

A three-sport star in high school, Lee showed up on campus and immediately formed one of the nation’s best receiver tandems with Robert Woods. He had a solid September (four games, 13 catches, 179 yards, two TDs) and a good October (four games, 21 catches, 355 yards,…