2022 College Football: Hottest Freshmen of September

Freshmen in college football nowadays are greeted with high expectations. Many of them are highly touted recruits expected to immediately do big things.

It doesn't happen for every freshman, but there are plenty who make a major on-field impact during their first full season.

Let's run through 2022's hottest freshmen from September, including those who statistically have stood out and made big plays when their teams needed them. Players who received recognition like a conference weekly award got a boost, too.

These slides are placed in alphabetical order.

Trevor Etienne, the younger brother of former Clemson Tigers and current Jacksonville Jaguars running back Travis Etienne, has seen lots of playing time as a true freshman. Through four games, he's rushed for 202 yards and two touchdowns.

In the season opener against Utah, he averaged 12.8 yards per carry and finished with 64 yards. One of his best games came against Kentucky, during which he scored an 11-yard touchdown and caught the ensuing two-point conversion to take a 14-7 lead.

“I think Trevor’s a good young player,” Florida head coach Billy Napier told reporters following the Gators' 31-28 win over USF in Week 3. “I think Trevor’s got great vision, great instincts. I think he’s elusive, he can make people miss, he’s low to the ground. He catches the ball well. He’s out there playing as a rookie, but he’s got the intelligence and maturity to do that. He’s in the rotation."

Etienne is sharing reps with Montrell Johnson Jr. and Nay'Quan Wright. As the season progresses, it'll be interesting to see if Etienne gets more touches.

Roman Hemby appeared in four games last season before taking a redshirt for the 2021 season. In 2022, Hemby has been a big part of the Terrapins run game, accounting for 342 yards and three touchdowns through four weeks. He has added another 108 yards receiving on 10 receptions.

In Week 1, Hemby was named the Big Ten Freshman of the Week for his performance against Buffalo. He finished with 114 yards and two touchdowns and averaged 16.3 yards per carry. One of his touchdowns was a 70-yarder in the third quarter.

During Maryland's 34-27 win over SMU, Hemby finished with 151 yards and a touchdown, including one run that went 50 yards. He averaged 15.5 yards receiving against the Mustangs secondary, as well. His one-yard touchdown helped tie the game up at 27, and the Terps added another score with 7:30 left to get the victory.

Florida International is struggling in Mike MacIntyre's first year with the Panthers. Through three games, FIU is 1-2, including consecutive losses to Texas State and Western Kentucky.

But redshirt freshman safety Demetrius Hill has been a bright spot on defense. He leads the team with 28 total tackles, 19 of them solo ones. In FIU's Week 1 win over FCS Bryant, he forced a fumble in the third quarter.

In FIU's last two games, Hill has combined for 21 total tackles.

Despite losing star running back Snoop Conner to the NFL draft, Ole Miss' rushing attack hasn't missed a beat thanks to Quinshon Judkins. Judkins has been impressive all season so far, accounting for 429 yards and five touchdowns.

Judkins leads the team in rushing, and alongside TCU transfer Zac Evans, the Rebels rushing offense is fourth in the nation.

“Yeah and I don’t usually say [I’m surprised] about any of these guys because we have high expectations,” Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin said earlier this month, via On3. “I knew he was special. We knew he was physical, but his vision is really unique.”

Following Ole Miss' Week 4 win over Tulsa, Judkins was named the SEC Freshman of the Week after finishing with 140 rushing yards and two touchdowns.

We'll see what Judkins can do in Week 5 vs. Kentucky.

The Kentucky Wildcats went undefeated in September and are the No. 7-ranked team in the land. A big reason for that is the production UK's offense has gotten consistently from receiver Dane Key.

The true freshman has racked up 241 yards receiving with three touchdowns—the most of any Wildcats receiver—including an average of 16.1 yards per reception. He was named the SEC Freshman of the Week for his Week 2 performance against Florida, as he finished with 83 yards receiving, including a 55-yard touchdown.

If Key's season is anything like what he did in September, he will have a huge year.

Drake Maye has had the difficult task of replacing longtime Tar Heels quarterback Sam Howell, who was selected by Washington in the 2022 NFL draft. Luckily for UNC fans, the offense has been in great hands with Maye under center.

During UNC's Week 1 63-61 shootout victory over App State, the redshirt freshman threw for 352 yards and four touchdowns. In the fourth quarter, he scored a two-point conversion to give UNC a 49-35 lead. He threw a 42-yard touchdown pass later in the quarter, too. He was named the ACC's QB and Rookie of the Week for his efforts.

Even in UNC's first loss of the season against Notre Dame in Week 4, Maye's numbers were outstanding. He finished with 301 yards passing and five touchdowns. Maye has also rushed for 182 yards and a touchdown. He has thrown just one interception. Through four games, he's thrown for 1,231 yards and 16 touchdowns.

Indiana returned seven starters on defense from last season. The fact that true freshman linebacker Dasan McCullough has already seen significant reps should tell you just how talented the Bloomington native is.

In his first three games for the Hoosiers, McCullough racked up 14 total tackles, eight solo ones and three sacks. In Indiana's Week 1 game against Illinois, McCullough finished with six total tackles.

Per Indiana, his tackle total was second among Power Five freshmen in Week 1. In his first career start against Idaho in Week 2, he finished with a pair of sacks and five total tackles.

Unfortunately, McCullough didn't see as much playing time in Week 4 against Cincinnati due to an illness. But once he's back to full strength, he should continue to have a big impact for the Hoosiers on defense.

Cal is off to a 3-1 start this season, which is the best start for the Golden Bears since 2019. A big reason for the early success is the production from true freshman running back Jaydn Ott.

Ott leads the team with six total touchdowns, including four rushing and two receiving. His best performance came last week against Arizona, where he finished with 274 yards and three touchdowns, including a 73-yard score in the first quarter and a 72-yard score in the fourth. His performance set a Pac-12 freshman record for rushing yards in a game, and he was named the conference's Offensive Player of the Week for his efforts.

On the season, he's rushed for 463 yards, which is good for 11th nationally. He's averaging 8.3 yards per carry.

The Georgia Bulldogs had to replace eight starters on defense from last season's national championship team. Luckily, Kirby Smart and the Bulldogs have gotten loads of quality reps from true freshman Malaki Starks at safety.

Through four games, Starks has 17 total tackles, including 11 solo ones. He's second on the team in tackles and has two interceptions and two pass breakups. His first interception of the season came in the Dawgs' Week 1 win over Oregon. Watch as he shows off his ball-tracking skills while he makes a diving pick off Ducks QB Bo Nix:

Remember how I mentioned Dasan McCullough's six total tackles in Week 1 were second in the Power Five among freshmen? Starks had eight total tackles against Oregon.

Starks' second interception came in Week 3 against South Carolina, one that he returned 42 yards. For Georgia to repeat as national champions in 2022, Starks will have to continue to play as he has been.

Vanderbilt is 3-2, which is its best start since 2018. A big reason for the Commodores' early success is how well AJ Swann has been playing. He's completed 58.3 percent of his passes and thrown for 567 yards and six touchdowns with zero interceptions.

His best game of the season came in Week 3 on the road against Northern Illinois. In Vandy's 38-28 win, Swann threw for 255 yards and four touchdowns. What's even more impressive is how he helped his team come from behind for the victory. With his team down 28-14 in the third quarter, he threw touchdown passes on three consecutive drives in less than six minutes. His 13-yard touchdown pass to Will Sheppard helped give Vandy a 35-28 lead.

Unsurprisingly, he was named the SEC's Freshman of the Week for his performance.

Swann was not named the starter until the Week 3 game against NIU. Mike Wright started the first three games for Vanderbilt, although Swann threw for 146 yards and two touchdowns in the Week 2 45-25 loss to Wake Forest.

"I'm happy for AJ," Vandy head coach Clark Lea said told reporters after the NIU win. "We've seen him in practice. He has been a consistent playmaker for us in practice and a guy that has shown command over the offense. I was just pleased that he was able to show up today and take that preparation to performance."

Typically, we picked guys who were consistent every week of the season in September for this list. But Swann is an exception, as he's played well since getting a shot.