When you’re a true freshman, coming to a D1 school and expecting to hit the ground running in a Power-5 conference football team is a big ask. For some players, though, that transition from high school to college is being made more seamless, and a level of production that we haven’t seen before is becoming the new normal for 18-year-old kids.
A lot of this is thanks to the early-enrollment process, which allows high school students the ability to graduate a semester early and come to college in the spring, rather than waiting until the summer after graduation. With this comes several weeks of spring practice, and an entire offseason to get acclimated to their new surroundings, making them more ready for the season when the fall rolls around.
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For the Oregon Ducks, a number of players have taken advantage of early enrollment, and after the first day of Fall Camp on Friday, head coach Mario Cristobal remarked at what a difference it is making. In particular, he singled out both Troy Franklin and Dont’e Thornton, two true-freshman wide receivers who came to Eugene in the spring and have been working their way up the depth chart ever since.
Cristobal on early enrollees: “You wish you had it back when I played. The benefits of it are incredible.”
Says it’s a massive opportunity for improvement. Says Troy Franklin and Dont’e Thornton “look like veterans. They look like they belong.”
— Zachary Neel (@zacharycneel) August 6, 2021
Both Franklin and Thornton were 4-star recruits coming to Oregon, so we know that they have the talent to be among the best players on the field. We even saw in the Ducks’ Spring Game that they’re certainly are able to make an impact on the field, with the two combining for seven catches, 182 yards, and one touchdown on the day.
If you can add in the fact that both players will now be in the groove of college life by the time Week 1 rolls around, then there should really be nothing standing in their way.
It’s not like the Ducks have an advantage over any other schools because their players can enroll early, but as a fan of the sport, the talent level is certainly going to rise with players getting bigger and better, faster than they have before.
For Oregon, it will be exciting to watch just how much of an impact the duo of freshmen receivers can have on the field this year. If you were to ask Cristobal about it, they certainly look like they belong.
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