The True Freshman Report: Ole Miss’ Quinshon Judkins, Kentucky’s Barion Brown shine again
Judkins, who had his third 100-yard game in a 22-19 win over Kentucky, leads all true freshmen in rushing and is second overall in the SEC.
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The True Freshman Report: Ole Miss’ Quinshon Judkins, Kentucky’s Barion Brown proving they’re hard to tackle
By Manny Navarro
Oct 6, 2022
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Here’s a look at the impact some of the top true freshmen have made through Week 5 of the college football season:
Quarterbacks
Four of the six true freshmen to earn starts at quarterback this season played in Week 5: UConn’s Zion Turner, Temple’s E.J. Warner, Colorado’s Owen McCown and New Mexico State’s Gavin Frakes.Only Turner got a win. The south Florida native helped UConn end a 17-game losing streak to FBS opponents with a come-from-behind 19-14 victory at home over Fresno State.
Turner, who has been UConn’s starting quarterback since Ta’Quan Roberson was lost to a season-ending injury in Week 0, was only 8 of 15 passing for 130 yards and a touchdown with 23 yards rushing on 11 attempts. But he made several key plays on the winning 11-play, 94-yard scoring drive in the fourth quarter.
Turner connected with receiver Kevens Clercius for a 40-yard gain and then scrambled for 11 yards on third-and-10 to bring the Huskies, who were 23-point underdogs, into the red zone. Devontae Houston scored the go-ahead touchdown with 6:06 remaining on a 17-yard run.
The Huskies (2-4) have been ravaged by injuries and endured blowout losses to No. 22 Syracuse, No. 4 Michigan and No. 14 NC State. But Saturday’s victory provided an opportunity to feel good.
Considering the competition UConn has faced, Turner’s numbers aren’t bad. He has completed 54.9 percent of his passes for 559 yards, five touchdowns and three interceptions. He’s been sacked seven times and under pressure on 39 of 139 dropbacks.
“He certainly could have broken if he was not as mentally tough as he is,” UConn coach Jim Mora said Tuesday. “He seems more certain now in what he’s supposed to do. You see him pull it quicker and run or get the ball out of his hand quicker on passes. We’ve got a long way to go. But I just know he’s a mentally tough, very competitive kid and it’s going to be hard to get him down. He bounces back, and that’s what we saw when we recruited him.”
Warner, the son of Pro Football Hall of Fame quarterback Kurt Warner, had a rough start in a 24-3 loss to Memphis. He completed only 18 of his 37 attempts for 245 yards and had three interceptions. But Dad is still proud.
Running backs
Ole Miss’ Quinshon Judkins produced his third 100-yard rushing game off the bench in a thrilling 22-19 victory over Kentucky, and he’s now leading all true freshmen in rushing.Judkins, the second-leading rusher in the SEC overall, had 15 carries for 106 yards, including a 48-yard touchdown run. He has forced 35 missed tackles on rushes.
“His personality is very calm, very quiet,” Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin said Monday of Judkins, a three-star recruit from Pike Road, Ala. “The most unique (18-year-old) we had (at USC) was Troy Polamalu. He was unbelievable off the field, and then the switch would go and he would just want to knock everybody out on the field. Q kind of reminds me of that off the field. It’s really neat. He was raised really well.”
Syracuse’s LeQuint Allen led all true freshman rushers in Week 5 with 112 yards on only four carries in a 59-0 blowout of Wagner, an FCS program. Allen, a three-star from Millville, N.J., has run for 137 yards on 15 carries this season as a backup to 2021 ACC-leading rusher Sean Tucker.
Oklahoma has lost back-to-back games, but Jovantae Barnes was a bright spot in last Saturday’s 55-24 loss to TCU. The four-star from Las Vegas ran for a season-high 100 yards on 18 carries and scored two touchdowns. He also caught two passes for 14 yards.
With Eric Gray and Marcus Major banged up, Barnes could have an opportunity to shine in this week’s Red River Showdown.
“He played tough, played fast and took care of the football. So he’ll continue to get opportunities,” Oklahoma offensive coordinator Jeff Lebby said Monday.
West Virginia’s CJ Donaldson, fifth among true freshman leading rushers this season, left Saturday’s loss at Texas with a concussion after taking a knee to the head and has been ruled out this week against Baylor.
True freshman leading rushers
| PLAYER | SCHOOL | G | ATT. | YDS | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Quinshon Judkins |  Ole Miss | 5 | 85 | 535 | 6 |
| Jaydn Ott |  California | 5 | 72 | 532 | 5 |
| Nicholas Singleton |  Penn State | 5 | 63 | 463 | 5 |
| Richard Reese |  Baylor | 5 | 72 | 400 | 7 |
| CJ Donaldson |  West Virginia | 5 | 56 | 389 | 6 |
| Kaytron Allen | Penn State | 5 | 57 | 303 | 3 |
| Omarion Hampton |  North Carolina | 5 | 56 | 293 | 5 |
| Trevor Eteinne |  Florida | 5 | 35 | 223 | 2 |
| Jovantae Barnes |  Oklahoma | 4 | 55 | 223 | 2 |
| Robert Briggs |  Utah State | 5 | 39 | 213 | 1 |
| Samuel Brown |  Rutgers | 5 | 42 | 210 | 2 |
| Kaleb Johnson |  Iowa | 5 | 41 | 206 | 3 |
| Ashton Jeanty |  Boise State | 5 | 39 | 201 | 1 |
Penn State’s two-headed true freshman backfield of Nick Singleton (21 carries, 87 yards, 1 TD) and Kaytron Allen (21 carries, 86 yards) did just enough to help the 10th-ranked Nittany Lions slip past Northwestern 17-7.
