Midseason Freshman All-America Team 2022

Midseason Freshman All-America Team: The best and the brightest young players to start the 2022 college football season

Who are the best and brightest new stars at the 2022 midseason? It’s the CFN Midseason Freshman All-America Team.


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They sure do grow up fast, don’t they?

Freshmen, both true and redshirts, are already making massive impacts across the country. The best ones are rising up depth charts and getting more snaps.

The best of the best have earned a spot on our Midseason Freshman All-America Team.

College Football Midseason Freshman All-America Offense

Offensive Freshman of the First Half
QB Drake Maye, North Carolina

QB Drake Maye, North Carolina

Has thrown 24 TD passes, tied with Ohio State’s C.J. Stroud for the most in the country.

RB Quinshon Judkins, Ole Miss

Shifty, explosive rookie leads all freshmen with 720 yards and 10 scores on the ground.

RB Jaydn Ott, Cal

Big-play Ott averages 6.5 yards per carry, highlighted by a 274-yard, three-touchdown explosion against Arizona.

WR Jared Brown, Coastal Carolina

Leads all freshmen with 565 receiving yards, while averaging more than 20 yards a catch.

WR Kody Epps, BYU

Cougs’ emerging star has a freshman-best six TD catches to go along with back-to-back 100-yard receiving games.

TE Tanner Koziol, Ball State

Koziol leads all freshmen tight ends with five touchdown receptions.

OL Kelvin Banks, Texas

Five-star gem is developing into a superstar and one of the premier young pass protectors in the game.

OL Austin Barber, Florida

Barber cracked the lineup in Week 2 and hasn’t left since, excelling as a road-grading run blocker.

OL Will Campbell, LSU

Elite recruit has lived up to the hype in Year 1, protecting the pocket like he’s been in the SEC for years.

OL Roger Rosengarten, Washington

After beating out a returning starter this summer, Rosengarten has settled in nicely as Michael Penix’s blindside protector.

OL Trey Zuhn, Texas A&M

Aggies’ most consistent blocker was peaking before suffering an injury in the Oct. 1 Mississippi State game.

NEXT: Midseason Freshman All-America Defense

Ranking The 23 Quarterbacks To Beat Nick Saban At Alabama

23 quarterbacks were able to beat Nick Saban. Rich Cirminiello ranks how good they were/are.

Just how good were the quarterbacks who beat Nick Saban during his time at Alabama? Rich Cirminiello ranks the 23 who were able to do it.


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Ranking the QBs Who’ve Beaten Nick Saban at Alabama

This Friday at Jerry’s World, Cincinnati’s Desmond Ridder hopes to join an elite fraternity – quarterbacks who have defeated Nick Saban at Alabama over the past 15 seasons.

There are just 23 in the group, 24 if you count Jarrett Lee’s contributions to LSU victories in 2010 and 2011.

Some went on to long NFL careers, some faded into obscurity and, despite what you’ve heard, not all were dynamic dual-threats.

From worst to first, here’s a ranking of the 23 Saban slayers, based on their college AND pro careers.

23. Xavier Lee, Florida State (2007)

Lee never panned out after being one of the most decorated recruits of 2004. Replacing a benched Drew Weatherford and beating Alabama was the highlight of a Seminole career marked by unmet expectations and just a handful of forgettable starts.

22. Wesley Carroll, Mississippi State (2007)

Forced into action as a true freshman, Carroll faced the usual ups-and-downs of a rookie. He broke his thumb in the Alabama upset, a win led by the D. Carroll didn’t fit into Dan Mullen’s plans in Starkville and wound up finishing his career with Florida International.

21. Zach Calzada, Texas A&M (2021)

Perhaps the most unlikely quarterback to defeat Saban at Alabama over the last 15 seasons. A backup when 2021 began, he was pressed into duty after Haynes King was injured. And Calzada was playing poorly leading up to the Oct. 9 visit from Alabama. Yet, he rallied the Aggies in gutsy fashion to hand the Tide its only loss of the year. Calzada is now in the transfer portal, taking a 7-4 record to a new school.

20. Kinsmon Lancaster, ULM (2007)

It’s hard to imagine today, but there was a time when a Sun Belt team could just up and beat Saban in Tuscaloosa. That was a very long time ago. Lancaster started three seasons with the Warhawks, accounting for a career-high 22 TDs as a senior in 2008.

19. Stephen Garcia, South Carolina (2010)

Garcia’s tumultuous Gamecock career hit its apex in the 2010 upset of top-ranked Alabama. When he flashed he could be brilliant, but too often he was inconsistent and a distraction. Garcia’s resume included 47 TD passes and 41 picks, and he was eventually booted from the team in 2011.

2021-2022 Bowl Schedule, Predictions, Previews

18. Brandon Cox, Auburn (2007)

One of just two Tiger quarterbacks to ever go 3-0 versus Alabama, Cox is an Iron Bowl legend. More game manager than game changer during his time on the Plains, he went 29-9 as a three-year starter, throwing for 42 TDs, 6,959 yards and 32 interceptions.

17. Bo Wallace, Ole Miss (2014)

In one of the most memorable Rebel wins this century, Wallace led the 2014 upset of Alabama with two TD passes in the final 5:29 of regulation. It was the highlight of a winding college career marked by improvement and excitement under Hugh Freeze, but also 41 interceptions over the course of three seasons.

16. Cardale Jones, Ohio State {2014)

Jones left behind one of the strangest legacies in Big Ten history. He never lost a game as the Ohio State starter, replacing an injured J.T. Barrett and beating Wisconsin, Alabama and Oregon to help win the 2014 national championship. But he failed to build on his auspicious debut in 2015 and completed just six passes in one NFL season.

NEXT: Top 15 Quarterbacks To Beat Nick Saban

Which College Football Head Coaches Were The Best Players?

College Football News Preview 2020: Which current college football head coaches were the best players? 

College Football News Preview 2020: Which current college football head coaches were the best players? 


Contact/Follow @ColFootballNews & @RichCirminiello

20. WR PJ Fleck, Northern Illinois (Minnesota)

Caught a school-record 77 passes for 1,028 yards and six touchdowns as a senior.

19. QB Jeff Brohm, Louisville (Purdue)

Blossomed as a senior, throwing 20 TD passes and leading the Cards to a 9-3 record.

18. FB Frank Solich, Nebraska (Ohio)

Inducted into the Nebraska Football Hall of Fame in 1992. Ran for 1,010 yards and seven scores, averaging 5.2 yards per carry.

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17. QB Rick Stockstill, Florida State (Middle Tennessee)

Named honorable mention All-American with the Seminoles in 1981.

16. NG Luke Fickell, Ohio State (Cincinnati)

Started a school-record 50 straight games along the defensive line in Columbus.

15. S Kirby Smart, Georgia (Georgia)

Earned four letters, rising to the All-SEC First Team as a senior in 1999.

14. LB Kevin Sumlin, Purdue (Arizona)

Four-year starter made 375 tackles and was twice named honorable mention All-Big Ten.

13. QB Jonathan Smith, Oregon State (Oregon State)

Four-year starter who led the Beavers to their best season in school history.

12. QB Jimbo Fisher, Samford (Texas A&M)

Named 1987 Division III Player of the Year, setting a single-season D-III mark with 34 TD passes.

11. QB Tom Arth, John Carroll (Akron)

Set 18 school records and earned unanimous All-American honors as a junior and senior.

10. LB Kyle Whittingham, BYU (Utah)

Made 240 tackles and forced six fumbles in his final two seasons with the Cougars.

9. S Lovie Smith, Tulsa (Illinois)

Started every game for three seasons at Tulsa, making 367 career tackles.

8. QB Tim Lester, Western Michigan (Western Michigan)

Finished his college career with 87 touchdown passes and 11,299 passing yards.

7. QB Josh Heupel, Oklahoma (UCF)

All-American and Heisman Trophy runner-up led the Sooners to a national championship.

6. QB Willie Taggart, WKU (Florida Atlantic)

Two-time finalist for the Walter Payton Award, the I-AA equivalent of the Heisman Trophy.

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5. QB Scott Frost, Nebraska (Nebraska)

Led the Huskers to a perfect season and a share of the national championship in 1997.

4. DB Herm Edwards, Cal/San Diego State (Arizona State)

Intercepted 33 passes during a nine-year career with the Philadelphia Eagles.

3. QB Mike Gundy, Oklahoma State (Oklahoma State)

Broke the Oklahoma State and Big 8 passing records with 7,997 yards.

2. QB Jim Harbaugh, Michigan (Michigan)

Left Ann Arbor as Michigan’s career passing yards leader before playing 15 years in the NFL.

1. LB Pat Fitzgerald, Northwestern (Northwestern)

In the College Football Hall of Fame, he was a two-time consensus All-American and the recipient of the Bednarik Award in 1995 and 1996.

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