It’s like we’ve opened some surreal pigskin vortex, a black hole to the 2010 days of Iron Bowl lunacy.

Ohio State and Michigan, everyone, look a whole lot like Alabama and Auburn.

Everywhere you look, the beautiful, fanatical symphony of Southern stupidity that played out on a daily basis between the Tide and Tigers, has eerily shifted to present day Midwest madness. 

Somewhere in the great gridiron in the sky, the Almighty has given Harvey Updyke a hall pass to watch this lunacy play out.

A dyed-in-the-houndstooth Alabama fan, Updyke famously said, “I got too much Bama in me” when asked why he poisoned the 80-year-old oak trees at Toomer’s Corner after Auburn’s national title.

Which is sort of like Connor Stalions telling the NCAA to go scratch when asked about his advanced scouting scheme after Michigan’s national championship season of 2023.

Updyke brazenly called Finebaum and admitted the dastardly deed. Stalions called Netflix and got paid to say nothing about cheating. 

Same deal, different eras.

Alabama won a national title in 2009, and Auburn got so desperate, it – ahem, allegedly – paid top-dollar to sign quarterback Cam Newton and ride his uber talents all the way to its first national title since 1957. 

Michigan won a national title in 2023, and Ohio State got so desperate that it pushed all-in on a $20 million dollar roster that included starting quarterback Will Howard — who just happened to be the most valuable player of the national championship game.

Rivalries that already were among the nastiest in all of sport, further inflamed with immediacy of social media — and with conference rivals joining the fray to kneecap the king. 

Mississippi State (allegedly) ratted out Auburn because it passed on paying Newton $180,000, so Auburn must have paid Newton what he wanted.     

The entire Big Ten ratted out Michigan and the Stalions scheme, going as far as sending video proof to the league office.

Auburn won a national title, and lost five games the following season. Michigan did the same. 

Alabama won its first national title under Saban, and began an unthinkable run of conference and national titles. Buckeyes coach Ryan Day, if he can beat back the unreasonable Ohio State fans (sound familiar, Alabama?), has more titles in his future. 

Round and round we go, and the next thing you know, the pizza guy starts taking strays. 

The latest twist to the Michigan-Ohio State rivalry is Barstools Sports founder Dave Portnoy, who was reportedly banned from Ohio Stadium for Saturday’s mega season opener of No. 1 Texas vs. No. 2 Ohio State. It’s the process, not the personality — depending on whom you believe/listen to.

Portnoy is now part of Fox Sports’ Big Noon Kickoff pre-game show, and because he’s a mega Michigan alum/booster – who (allegedly) chipped in a million to help land mega quarterback recruit Bryce Underwood (hello, Cam, circa 2010) – Ohio State wasn’t letting him in the joint to disparage all things scarlet and gray. 

But Ohio State says it didn’t ban Portnoy, and blames Fox, which allegedly informed Ohio State that Portnoy was not part of its “main desk” crew. Fox, according to Ohio State, told the university that only its “main desk” would be inside the stadium for the last hour of the show.

So, technically, it wasn’t Ohio State’s decision. Knowing Portnoy is now part of Big Noon Kickoff, Ohio State could have still allowed Portnoy credentialed access to the game.

You say thems the rules, I say the spite is strong at Ohio State.

You don’t really think Ohio State has forgotten about last season in The Shoe, do you? The celebration, the flag planting, the backup Michigan special teamers mocking the O-H-I-O cheer.

Kickers, people. Flippin’ kickers. 

You think Ohio State has forgotten how Michigan won the national title in 2023? The hoity-toity Wolverines, looking down at the rest of the Big Ten – especially the hayseeds from Columbus and the Ag school in East Lansing – while lying and cheating their way to their first national title since 1997.

How Michigan strong-armed the NCAA into zero penalties of impact from the Stalions scheme, and allowed coach Sherrone Moore to A.) choose what games he’ll be suspended, and B.) what season he’ll serve them.

Or that Michigan, all offseason, refused to acknowledge the Ohio State national championship. Because, you know, they didn’t beat us — and haven’t since 2019. 

Do you really blame Ohio State for blocking Portnoy? I mean, allegedly.

Not long after Ohio State officially said we didn’t do anything, Stalions hopped on the X machine and fired off a three-word post. To Portnoy. 

You need tickets? 

Same deal, different eras.      

Matt Hayes is the senior national college football writer for USA TODAY Sports Network. Follow him on X at @MattHayesCFB.

The spotlight on Texas and Arch Manning overshadows LSU and Clemson, teams that will play in a Week 1 clash featuring two premier quarterbacks.
Cade Klubnik and Garrett Nussmeier are among just a few proven quarterbacks playing for teams ranked in the preseason top 10.
Texas pegged as favorite in preseason US LBM Coaches Poll, but No. 1 ranking not necessarily a great omen for championship success.

Maybe we’re spotlighting the wrong Week 1 quarterback matchup.

When Fox blows out coverage for Arch Manning and No. 1 Texas against No. 2 Ohio State, that will become the prevailing storyline of college football’s first full Saturday – and it doesn’t matter how Manning performs.

If Peyton Manning’s nephew dazzles, the Heisman locomotive will rumble down the tracks with the speed of the Shanghai Maglev. If he struggles, the alarmists will practice their craft.

Manning’s showing will offer hints about Texas’ national championship potential. The Buckeyes will counter with Julian Sayin, a former five-star recruit of their own who’s making his first career start.

Hours later, two of the nation’s most established, most accomplished, most talented quarterbacks, two guys who require no introduction, will compete against one another.

I’m referring to the Garrett Nussmeier versus Cade Klubnik billing when No. 9 LSU plays at No. 6 Clemson in a clash of well-stocked teams that somehow continue to fly below the radar of top national championship frontrunners.

College football’s poll voters sleeping on Clemson, LSU

You’ll probably hear that the clash of top-ranked teams in Columbus, Ohio, could preview the national championship game. That’s a justifiable prediction, but neither would it be baseless to predict that the nightcap in Death Valley could be Part I of a two-part series that will be revived in the playoff.

Clemson touts one of the nation’s most established rosters, and Dabo Swinney even inserted a few transfers to polish the depth chart. At LSU, Brian Kelly donated $1 million bucks from his own wallet to spur an offseason fundraising drive, and the Tigers went on a transfer-buying spree to install a talented cast, on each side of the ball, in support of Nussmeier.

Where does that leave Manning’s Longhorns? Well, as front-runners, despite their starting quarterback’s relative inexperience.

Texas, after receiving 28 of 67 first-place votes in the preseason US LBM Coaches Poll, will aim to join 2017 Alabama with the distinction of being the only teams to go from preseason No. 1 in the coaches poll to national champions, since the launch of the College Football Playoff.

That precarious history for No. 1 teams, though, belies that poll voters generally aren’t far off the mark.

In the playoff era, no national champion was ranked worse than No. 6 in the preseason coaches poll, and eight of the 11 playoff triumphers were ranked within the top three of the preseason balloting.

And, still, as I sort through many of the top-ranked teams, I see one inexperienced quarterback after another.

Manning started two games last season against overmatched opponents. He looked the part of a man with his surname, but he’s thrown just 95 passes in his college career. Those 95 passes make Manning more experienced than four other starting quarterbacks from preseason top-10 teams.

If Manning or Sayin leads his team to a national title, he’d become the most inexperienced quarterback to start for a national champion since 2018 Clemson won the title behind true freshman Trevor Lawrence.

Arch Manning nabs spotlight, but Garrett Nussmeier, Cade Klubnik are proven

No. 3 Penn State, No. 6 Clemson and No. 9 LSU are the only top-10 teams that returned their starting quarterback, although No. 10 Miami features a proven hand in transfer Carson Beck from Georgia.

Elsewhere throughout the top 10 forms a collection of starters who were blue-chip recruits but who, combined, have thrown fewer than half as many passes in their college careers as Klubnik.

“He’s what you want,” Swinney said of Klubnik during a July meetup with reporters.

So is Nussmeier, who waited his turn behind Jayden Daniels during a time when other quarterbacks would have flown the bayou to become a starter sooner elsewhere.

This will be Nussmeier’s second season starting. Daniels and Joe Burrow won a Heisman Trophy in their second season starting for LSU.

“He loves LSU,” Kelly said of a fifth-year senior who began his Tigers career playing for Ed Orgeron. “He wants to lead our football team to a championship. If the Heisman follows with that, I think he’s good with that.”

Maybe then, the clientele at Louisiana’s Walmarts will recognize LSU’s quarterback who threw for more than 4,000 yards last season.

This summer, Nussmeier and Manning went on a Walmart run in Thibodaux, Louisiana, while roommates at the Manning Passing Academy.

Customers recognized Manning and wanted their picture with him.

Nussmeier observed the scene from the background, apparently going undetected.

Manning and his No. 1 Longhorns command the spotlight, but I can’t imagine either Swinney or Kelly would trade his starting quarterback.

Blake Toppmeyer is the USA TODAY Network’s national college football columnist. Email him at BToppmeyer@gannett.com and follow him on X @btoppmeyer.

On Tuesday, former Green Bay Packers fullback John Kuhn ignited a firestorm of speculation within the Green Bay fan base about a potential Micah Parsons trade.

At 10:55 p.m. ET, Kuhn – who currently works as an analyst for the Packers TV Network – took to X (formerly Twitter) to post a simple, three-word message.

‘Micah Freaking Parsons,’ the post read.

Kuhn did not provide any additional context with his post. Nonetheless, it quickly circulated on social media, garnering 1.5 million views in just over 10 hours from Packers fans hoping Kuhn’s message was a hint about a potential Parsons trade.

Parsons requested a trade away from the Cowboys on Aug. 1 amid a contract dispute. He hasn’t practiced during the summer, amid a hold-in and a minor back injury, and found himself in hot water after briefly lying on a training table during an offensive drive in Dallas’ Week 3 preseason game against the Atlanta Falcons.

Jerry Jones and the Cowboys brass have remained adamant they will not trade Parsons even if they can’t sign him to a lucrative extension.

That still hasn’t stopped NFL fans from speculating about a deal; and even NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport noted the Packers could be a sensible landing spot for Parsons if he and the Cowboys can’t bridge the gap in their impasse.

But Rapoport also made it clear the Packers wouldn’t be the only potential contender to hold an interest in acquiring Parsons if the Cowboys do make him available.

‘Think of all the really good teams, playoff teams, who have money and a spot,’ Rapoport said. ‘There’s a lot of them. Those are the teams that would be interested. All of them.’

The New York Mets have chewed into the Philadelphia Phillies’ advantage in the National League East and solidified their standing in the wild-card chase. And now, they’re sparing no resource in the organization as they chase down another playoff berth.

Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said the club is calling up elite pitching prospect Jonah Tong from Class AAA to start their Aug. 29 game against the Miami Marlins – giving a club that will spend more than $400 million on payroll two starting pitchers who made their major league debuts this month.

Tong, 22, joins Nolan McLean in the Mets rotation after the 24-year-old right-hander dazzled in his first two major league starts, giving New York a crucial dose of innings after its veteran pitchers have struggled with injury and getting to the finish line this season.

The Mets won the first two games of their series against the first-place Phillies, trimming their deficit in the East to five games, and they have a 3 ½-game advantage over the Cincinnati Reds for the final wild-card spot entering Wednesday.

Yet they will need all hands on deck to get to October.

Jonah Tong stats

Tong had a relatively meteoric rise in the Mets system after he was drafted out of a Canadian prep school in the seventh round in 2022. Yet nothing can top his ride this year: 162 strikeouts in 102 innings with a 1.76 ERA in 20 starts at Class AA Binghamton.

And while the Mets resisted the urge to rush him, they played their hand earlier this month when they promoted McLean to the majors – and pushed Tong from AA to Class AAA Syracuse.

On the same day McLean won his Citi Field debut, Tong had a similarly stout outing in his first appearance for Syracuse. And he did not give up a run in his 11-inning, two-start stint there, striking out 17 and walking three.

‘There’s no question this is fast,’ Mets president of baseball operations David Stearns told reporters. ‘He’s pushed us on this because of his performance.’

Come on up, kid.

Mets rotation: What’s the deal?

Their Aug. 26 game somewhat epitomized the group’s inconsistencies this season. Left-hander Sean Manaea could not get out of the fifth inning and left with a 2-0 deficit. Yet true to form, the Mets offense roared back with five runs of their own and eventually earned a 6-5 walk-off victory.

Manaea and fellow free agent signee Frankie Montas both began the year with extended injured list stints; Montas is now the long man in the bullpen. Meanwhile, converted reliever Clay Holmes dazzled in his first 16 starts, the Mets winning 11 of them as he averaged nearly six innings an outing with a 2.97 ERA.

Yet Holmes has had a tougher go of it since July, with a 4.74 ERA while averaging less than five innings a start, although he pitched 6 1/3 innings of one-run ball his last time out. Suddenly, a club that will pay more than $400 million in payroll and luxury tax penalties was left short-handed.

With the trade market offering little in the way of starting pitching, the Mets opted to load up on bullpen arms. Now, they’re getting a big arms boost from within – with two starters asked to stick in the majors in the heat of a pennant race.

Alyssa Thomas recorded her seventh triple-double of the WNBA season and 18th of her career in a win against the Sparks.
Thomas is the only WNBA player with more than one triple-double in a calendar month, achieving six in August alone.
She leads the league in career triple-doubles, with Sabrina Ionescu in second place with four.

Many have Las Vegas Aces forward A’ja Wilson and Minnesota Lynx former Napheesa Collier locked in a battle for the 2025 WNBA MVP.

Phoenix Mercury do-it-all star Alyssa Thomas, who collected her seventh triple-double of the season Tuesday, Aug. 27, would like a word. The six-time All-Star forward had 12 points, 16 rebounds and 15 assists in the Mercury’s 92-84 win over the Los Angeles Sparks. It was her 18th career triple-double.

Thomas had one point at halftime to go with 10 assists and seven rebounds. It was her sixth triple-double in August. She is the only player in WNBA history with more than one triple-double in a calendar month. Thomas is one of eight players in league history with multiple triple-doubles. New York Liberty guard Sabrina Ionescu is second on the all-time list with four.

‘This has been my game my entire career,’ Thomas said. ‘A lot of credit to my teammates, knocking down their open shots. I’m able to be comfortable and play my game, make the reads that I see, and it was no different tonight.’

Thomas, who has helped Phoenix to a 23-14 record and fourth place in the WNBA standings, has become the face of the franchise with Diana Taurasi’s retirement and Brittney Griner leaving for the Atlanta Dream is free agency.

Mercury coach Nate Tibbets had high praise for Thomas, who has been battling illness, after the game.

‘She just amazes me every night,’ Tibbetts said. ‘I hope the national media can recognize her greatness. What she’s doing, there’s no other W player has done in the history of the league. 

‘Tonight, she was absolutely sick as hell.’

Former USF football coach Jim Leavitt allegedly grabbed a woman’s arm and stole her purse and wallet.
Leavitt was the first head football coach at USF and is scheduled to be inducted into the school’s hall of fame.
Leavitt was previously fired from USF in 2010 for allegedly hitting a player.

Former University of South Florida football coach Jim Leavitt is facing theft and battery charges after police in Florida say an argument with an ex-girlfriend turned physical.

Leavitt, 68, was arrested Monday, Aug. 25 after an altercation at an apartment complex, according to a St. Petersburg Police report.

Leavitt is accused of grabbing the woman’s arm as she tried to walk away from him. He’s also accused of taking the woman’s Louis Vuitton purse and wallet, valued at $5000, and not returning them. Leavitt was charged with felony grand theft, along with misdemeanor counts of simple battery and domestic battery.

Leavitt was the first head coach when the USF Bulls football program was established in 1997, and he led the team to a No. 2 national ranking in 2007.

The winningest coach in school history at 95-57, Leavitt is scheduled to be inducted into the USF athletics hall of fame in October. The school released a statement saying it was aware of the situation, but didn’t say if the charges would affect the induction.

Leavitt was fired in 2010 after an investigation determined he hit a player during halftime of a game in 2009. He later served as linebackers coach for the San Francisco 49ers and a defensive coach for several college teams.

The Minnesota Vikings traded for wide receiver Adam Thielen, bringing him back to the team after a two-year stint with the Carolina Panthers.
Thielen’s return provides a reliable target for quarterback J.J. McCarthy while the Vikings await the return of their other receivers.

The Minnesota Vikings are getting the band back together.

As injuries and absences take their toll on the receiving room in Minneapolis, the Vikings have turned to a familiar face – Adam Thielen – to help get them through it. The Vikings reacquired their former receiver from the Carolina Panthers on Wednesday in exchange for a 2026 fifth-round pick and a fourth-round pick in 2027.

Minnesota is coming off a 14-3 season that ended prematurely with a wild card round loss to the Los Angeles Rams. Armed with a new quarterback, J.J. McCarthy, the Vikings are loading up to give their young signal caller everything he needs to succeed.

With some reinforcements on the way, the hope in the Twin Cities is that they’ll remain a top team and experience some better playoff fortunes this time around.

That all starts with Thielen, who now heads back to his hometown team after a two-year stint in Carolina. After all, who says you can’t go home?

Here’s a look at the Vikings WR depth chart with Thielen back in the fold.

Vikings WR depth chart

Justin Jefferson
Jordan Addison
Adam Thielen
Jalen Nailor
Tai Felton

At full strength, the Vikings WR depth chart looks like a problem for opposing defenses. Unfortunately for them, it will be a while before that happens.

Jefferson is back and ready to go after dealing with a hamstring injury earlier in the offseason, but the outlook for his fellow receivers remains rough.

Addison is serving a three-game suspension for violating the league’s Substances of Abuse Policy, which was announced on Aug. 5. The suspension stems from a 2024 arrest on suspicion of driving under the influence in Los Angeles.

Nailor has been sidelined by a hand injury. Head coach Kevin O’Connell noted that the third-year pro is week-to-week as he recovers. It’s unclear if he’ll be ready in time for Week 1, something that likely added to the motivation for a Thielen trade.

Even the depth below Nailor has been tested after Rondale Moore suffered a season-ending knee injury in the preseason.

Thielen provides a reliable target for a team that desperately needs one right now. Provided everyone gets healthy, he’ll become a luxury piece as the season rolls on.

Shedeur Sanders made the Cleveland Browns’ 53-man roster as a backup quarterback.
Sanders has a significant social media presence, generating substantial interest and scrutiny.
Despite a rough preseason finale, Sanders impressed with his post-game composure and media savvy.

He’s in. Obviously.

Shedeur Sanders survived the final cutdown on Tuesday and landed a spot on the 53-man Cleveland Browns roster, which is, well, probably old news to you.

If you didn’t get a notification on your smartphone, maybe you saw a Tweet or checked out a video. Somehow, in this day and age of instant digital action and reaction, you know.

Sanders, 23, can certainly throw a pretty mean football, tight and deadly accurate, which underscores his opportunity to further develop as a third-string quarterback. Yet the young man is pretty much Internet gold, too, which for better or worse, is part of his story, too.

After his free fall in the NFL Draft a few months ago generated a flood of conspiracy theories, Sanders now holds the distinction of being among the NFL’s most popular players while pegged to ride the bench, at least for now, with one of the league’s worst teams.

Dillon Gabriel named Browns backup quarterback over Shedeur Sanders

Sure, Sanders, who led the NCAA in completion percentage while starring last season at Colorado, hopes to ultimately establish himself as an impact NFL quarterback – to change a franchise, as he’s put it – from his humble entry as a fifth-round rookie. Yet he’s also the one who isn’t quite like any and every fifth-round pick as his every move, performance or word tends to generate thousands of clicks. He moves the needle, as they say.

“It’s not like anything I’ve ever seen,” Tony Grossi, a talk radio host on ESPN Cleveland, told USA TODAY Sports on Tuesday. “Social media just cranks it up to another level.”

Sanders’ high profile – and legion of haters − is also fueled by the exposure that he had while playing under his father. Since Coach Prime arrived in Boulder in 2023, Colorado became a de facto “Black America’s Team” on the college football landscape, boosted by the presence of its high-profile coach. And many of the fans (and presumably, detractors) who followed Shedeur’s college journey have come along to keep tabs on his NFL transition – which is one reason why his tumble in the draft coincided with the record TV ratings for the third day of the NFL Draft in April.

It should be noted, too, that Sanders’ preseason debut at Carolina, broadcast live on NFL Network, generated the highest ratings for a preseason game in 10 years.

In other words, love him or loathe him, it’s tough to ignore him.

That Sanders’ star power is wrapped in his enormous social media presence is another type of X-factor. Grossi can vouch for that. A light-hearted exchange between Sanders and Grossi following the preseason opener went viral. Grossi didn’t realize that Shedeur’s older brother, Deion, Jr., filmed the exchange for his “Well Off Media” site – I saw and heard it, standing less than 10 feet away – and that it made for a neat behind-the-scenes snippet.

Deion Sanders reveals Colorado football’s new starting quarterback

Sanders told Grossi that he hoped he’d have something positive to say about him after his big game. Grossi has been battered by Sanders followers as clips featuring talk-show comments about the rookie have circulated on social media. Smiling at Grossi, Sanders said, “You only say negative stuff about me. And I’m like, ‘I ain’t do nothing to you.”

But really, he knows. Critical analysis comes with the territory. And there was plenty of it after Sanders’ horrendous showing in the second half against the Los Angeles Rams on Saturday, when he hurt himself with poor decision-making and contributed greatly to his five sacks by holding onto the football too long in many cases.

Despite that, Grossi was impressed by Sanders’ reaction afterward.

“He stood in the locker room for an extra-long time and answered every single question,” Grossi said. “A lot of players hide in the training room after they’ve had tough games.”

And when someone asked Sanders if he felt he deserved a spot on the roster, he began a thoughtful response, with a single word, “Obviously,” before proceeding to explain how every player in the locker room believed similarly.

The snippet was edited and reposted on social media. However, the substance of Sanders’ response was diminished while the one-word message was circulated out of context, which suggested an air of arrogance and entitlement.

Grossi, though, already calls Sanders, “the most media-savvy athlete I’ve ever come across.” That’s saying a lot, and not just because of the relatively short time window since the Browns drafted Sanders. Grossi has covered the team for more than 40 years.

As an example, Grossi recalled a media session after a practice when Sanders paused while responding to a question because of the loud noise from a lawnmower. Grossi remembers Sanders saying: “That’s not good for content. I’ll hold up.”

No, you can’t knock his awareness.

Now if Sanders can consistently translate that to the football field – like when protection breaks down and he must quickly rip through progressions to connect with a “hot” receiver.

At least he’s positioned to continue the development. Drafted 144th overall, it would have been only so shocking if Sanders didn’t survive the cut. Yet his chances seemed to improve when Browns GM Andrew Berry maintained during an interview on the broadcast of the preseason finale that he wouldn’t have any qualms about keeping four quarterbacks.

On Monday night, the odds increased as the Browns traded Kenny Pickett, a fourth-year pro, to the Las Vegas Raiders. Pickett was obtained in an offseason trade with the Philadelphia Eagles, and was expected to compete for the starting job. Yet he spent much of training camp and the preseason nursing a hamstring injury.

Cleveland Browns place Deshaun Watson on PUP list with Achilles injury

As expected, Browns coach Kevin Stefanski named 40-year-old Joe Flacco as the starter, backed up by Sanders and fellow rookie Dillon Gabriel, a third-round rookie. The rookie quarterbacks have quite the benefit in learning the NFL ropes with a superb mentor in Flacco.

Behind the scenes, the rookie quarterbacks conceivably can jockey for their position on the depth chart. Gabriel has been listed ahead of Sanders since they were drafted, and the Oregon product’s solid preseason – he led the Browns to scores on five of his seven preseason drives, and was seven-of-nine on third downs – has been largely overshadowed by the buzz attached to Sanders. The preseason debates will likely continue.

As the No. 3 quarterback, it’s likely that Sanders will work in practices as the “scout team” quarterback, working plays from the opposing offense to prep Cleveland’s defense. Unless he supplants Gabriel as the No. 2 quarterback, Sanders will probably spend game days as the inactive “emergency” third quarterback.

That means Sanders will essentially be two snaps away from the lineup when the Browns open the season against the Cincinnati Bengals on Sept. 7. But he’s here. He has the chance to continue his development, and who knows how fast that will progress and when and how the opportunities to play in real games are afforded. The key is that Sanders has stuck, positioned for growth.     

Imagine, though, if Sanders didn’t survive the cut. The conspiracy theories might have been off the hook. After all, Sanders entered the preseason against the backdrop that he was set up to fail due to limited practice work with frontline players. He didn’t play in the second preseason game due to an oblique injury. After he stumbled in the preseason finale, a narrative persisted that suggested the Browns failed Sanders with Stefanski’s play-calling and the bottom-of-the-roster personnel around him. It should also be noted that Sanders didn’t exactly light it up himself.

Still, he survived. Obviously.

Contact Jarrett Bell at jbell@usatoday.com or follow on social media: On X: @JarrettBell

On Bluesky: jarrettbell.bsky.social

Not every college football season is going to feature a true freshman quite like Ohio State wide receiver Jeremiah Smith.

As a rookie, Smith pulled down 1,315 yards and 15 touchdowns and was considered the best wide receiver in the Bowl Subdivision as the Buckeyes ran through the College Football Playoff to capture the national championship.

Other incoming freshmen to watch are Oregon wide receiver Dakorien Moore, Clemson running back Gideon Davidson and Georgia defensive lineman Elijah Griffin.

These are the new faces set to make a huge impact in the Power Four and in the chase for the playoff:

QB Bryce Underwood, Michigan

The top-ranked quarterback in the recent recruiting cycle and for many recruiting services the top prospect overall, Underwood captured the starting job and is guaranteed to play a play a major role for the Wolverines. In the big picture, the local product represents the program’s future at the position and will end up a multiple-year starter.

WR Dakorien Moore

The five-star receiver won’t match Smith’s impact as a true freshman but will have a large role in the Ducks’ passing game, helping new starting quarterback Dante Moore ease into the lineup. He’s in position to see serious snaps from the start given that senior Evan Stewart is still recovering from a knee injury and sophomore Jurrion Dickey is currently suspended.

OT David Sanders Jr., Tennessee

Sanders has added about 40 pounds since arriving on campus and put himself in solid standing to earn the starting nod heading into Tennessee’s season opener against Syracuse. Obviously, to start on either line as a true freshman in the SEC is no easy task, even for someone with Sanders’ size and athleticism. Should he ends up as one of the Volunteers’ top reserve linemen, Sanders still will be one of the league’s must-watch newcomers.

CB DJ Pickett, LSU

He’s already drawn comparisons to some of the Tigers’ recent superstars on the outside. Built like the prototypical NFL cornerback at 6-foot-5 and nearly 200 pounds, Pickett should have the physicality to run with and battle SEC receivers as a rookie. At a minimum, Pickett is another weapon for a defense that badly needs to take a major leap forward to keep LSU in contention for the national championship.

RB Gideon Davidson, Clemson

After running for over 5,000 yards in his final two years in high school,, Davidson will see touches in the running game for the preseason favorite in the ACC. With last year’s leading rusher in the NFL and last year’s primary backup, Jay Haynes, missing time early in the year as he recovers from a knee injury, Davidson is competing for starting snaps with senior Adam Randall, junior Keith Adams Jr., sophomore Jarvis Green and redshirt freshman David Eziomume.

DE Marco Jones, Texas A&M

The converted linebacker steps into a position for immediate situational snaps with last year’s starting ends off to the NFL. With 258 pounds stacked on his 6-foot-5 frame, Jones has the size to compete on running downs but should be used primarily as a true freshman in an edge-rushing role.

DL Elijah Griffin, Georgia

To some recruiting services, Griffin was not only the top line prospect in his cycle but one of the top prospects at his position this decade. Given Georgia’s track record of development, it would surprise no one if Griffin turned into the program’s latest All-America pick on the interior of the defensive front. As a true freshman, he should battle for snaps in a crowded room and take on a larger and larger role as the season progresses.

CB Devin Sanchez, Ohio State

Ohio State has two pretty firmly established starters at cornerback in Davison Igbinosun and Jermaine Mathews along with a developing reserve in sophomore Aaron Scott. But Sanchez is set to contribute for the defending national champions as one of the top cornerbacks off the bench, likely seeing more and more time as he learns the nuts and bolts of the position. There’s no doubting his athleticism: Sanchez is Big Ten-ready and hasn’t looked the part of a freshman in fall camp, coaches and teammates have said.

TE Linkon Cure, Kansas State

It can be hard for true freshmen to carve out a big impact at tight end, with former Georgia star Brock Bowers one notable exception. The top-ranked recruit at the position, Cure might not be an every-down contributor for the Big 12 favorites, but he could definitely step into a significant role as a sort of security blanket for quarterback Avery Johnson. In the end, Cure could be a piece that separates the Wildcats from the rest of the pack in a very crowded conference.

QB Julian Lewis, Colorado

It’s not a sure thing that Lewis will replace Shedeur Sanders under center with the offseason addition of Liberty transfer Kaidon Salter. Given that Colorado opens with Georgia Tech, Salter was the safer pick out of the gate for coach Deion Sanders. But the time for Lewis is coming sooner or later, and maybe even as soon as some point in September or in the midst of league play. Even as a backup, Lewis will see key snaps in an effort to speed up his development.

QB Malik Washington, Maryland

While he’ll be suiting up for what looks on paper like one of the weaker teams in the Big Ten, Washington is the true freshman quarterback most likely to see the field right out of the gate in the Power Four. While a lower-body injury set him back to start fall camp, Washington has rallied in recent weeks to stand neck and neck with fellow contenders Justyn Martin and Khristian Martin as coach Mike Locksley gets closer to his final decision.