College football Week 1 sneak peek: Big names returning from
Week 1 is finally here. There is plenty to know entering into Thursday’s 21 matches and the games that will be played this weekend. Some noteworthy names will make their returns after suffering major injuries last season and many freshmen will have their first possibility to reveal out on the field. Plus, what were coaches saying this offseason?Utah quarterback Webcam
Rising is coming off of a knee injury that sidelined him last season, but do not forget he led Utah to back-to-back Pac-12 champions. Can he do the very same for the Utes in their very first year in the Big 12 Conference? And can Alabama freshman cornerback Zabien Brown earn a starting role this season?Our press reporters break down records that might be broken this season,
5 freshmen to understand and other big subjects going into Week 1. Big names who are back from injury Utah’s Webcam Increasing: Web cam Rising’s lack last season because of a significant knee injury– sustained
in the Rose Bowl the season previously– took the Utes off track before they had an opportunity to truly get going. Rising’s return ought to immediately return the Utes to the country’s elite, provided how successful they were in his last two seasons as the starting quarterback. Keep in mind, both of those seasons ended with journeys to Pasadena.In 2021, he was the first-team All-Pac-12 quarterback when he guided the Utes to the conference title. The Utes repeated as champs in 2022, and though Increasing was relegated to respectable mention all-conference honors, his statistics– 3,034 yards passing, 26 touchdown passes, 8 interceptions– were simply as great. With a gifted getting corps, Increasing should go out with another efficient season as Utah tries to go far for itself in the Big 12.– Kyle Bonagura< img alt= ""src=" https://a.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=/i/teamlogos/ncaa/500/245.png&h=60&w=60 “width=”30″/ >
Texas A&M’s Conner Weigman:
The Weigman age in College Station has been one of pledge however likewise frustration. He set a Texas A&M true freshman record in his very first start in 2022 with 338 backyards passing, throwing four touchdowns versus Ole Miss before throwing two goals in an upset of No. 6 LSU at the end of a 5-7 season. He started last season by tossing 5 touchdown passes in the opener versus New Mexico.Editor’s Picks
2 Related He played three complete games
last year and looked the part of the No. 27 total prospect in the 2022 class, tossing for 909 yards, eight TDs and 2 interceptions, however a foot injury against Auburn ended his season as the Aggies hopped to a 7-6 finish. New coach Mike Elko drew Collin Klein from his university at Kansas State to revitalize the offense, and his very first agenda was to repair an offensive line that has had a hard time to keep Weigman and his other QBs upright. Weigman stated today he’s finally back to one hundred percent and is all set to get to work.”It’s been a long period of time coming, “he said.”I can’t wait to be out there Aug. 31st.”– Dave Wilson Notre Dame’s Riley Leonard: Though it wasn’t technically his final game in a Duke uniform
, the Riley Leonard age in Durham unofficially ended with a last heave and a ruthless deal with in a 21-14 loss to Notre Dame last September. He returned from an ankle injury to hobble through two more games, but the magic was gone.Coincidentally, that injury led him from the losing sideline to the winning one,
with Leonard moving to Notre Dame in December. He remained spring practice but insists his ankle is completely healed and more powerful than previously, which implies the Irish have a potential superstar at QB. In 2022, the last season he was completely healthy, Leonard was one of the very best dual-threat quarterbacks in the nation, tossing 20 touchdowns and running for 13 more.– David Hale 5 freshmen to enjoy Freshman wide receiver Jeremiah Smith, above, looks to be a primary target for Will Howard this season. Jason Mowry/Icon Sportswire Jeremiah Smith, wide receiver, Ohio State: The dynamic pass catcher will start alongside returners Emeka Egbuka and Carnell Tate versus Akron in Week 1. For all the elite wide receiver skill at Ohio State lately, Chris Carter still holds the program’s freshman receiving records for catches (41), yards( 648)and touchdowns(eight)embeded in 1984. Could Smith– anticipated to be trusted greatly by the Buckeyes– make a run at those marks in 2024? Jordan Seaton, left take on, Colorado: Seaton’s Year 1 transition is an interesting layer within one of college football’s most fascinating stories. The five-star take on is a certain upgrade on a Colorado offensive line that struggled to protect Shedeur Sanders in 2023. But like most freshman offensive linemen, Seaton probably will experience ups and downs. Can he mature quickly and reduce errors across an extremely prepared for fall in Boulder? KJ Bolden, safety, Georgia: The 6-foot, 185-pound protective back has impressed as a playmaker since getting here in Athens as a midyear enrollee. Coach Kirby Smart is keeping his depth chart a secret ahead of Georgia’s Week 1 opener versus Clemson, but Bolden is particular to see early playing time in the secondary, and he might be pushing for a beginning function by the back half of the season as the Bulldogs’ latest standout freshman contributor. Jayden Jackson, protective take on, Oklahoma: Brent Venables has compared Jackson to previous Sooners nose guard Dusty Dvoracek and this month applauded the first-year protector’s”different level of maturity.”It becomes part of why Jackson is slated to start along with experienced TCU transfer Damonic Williams in Week 1 against Temple. Time will tell on Jackson’s readiness to fight SEC offensive lines, however his 6-2, 300-pound frame will make him an immediate effect run protector. Zabien Brown, cornerback, Alabama: The Crimson Tide return without
six cornerbacks from last fall, needing to replace starters at both corner areas. The obvious prospects for those functions are Alabama-experienced transfers Domani Jackson(USC)and DaShawn Jones (Wake Forest). But Brown– among the Crimson Tide’s three top-100 defensive back signees in 2024– has wowed the coaching personnel in Tuscaloosa and need to include early and typically, whether he winds up earning starting duties someplace along the method this fall.– Eli Lederman Significant offseason prices estimate Colorado coach Deion Sanders states he does not have bad days. Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports”Honestly, every player is technically a transfer. We simply signed an entire class of guys transferring from high school. “– Clemson’s Dabo Swinney on the school’s lack of additions via the transfer website.”We’re paying players.”– Baylor coach Dave Aranda, on how the Bears improved recruiting.”I do not have bad days, man. I may have a bad moment, perhaps even a bad hour, however never a bad day. I do not. Cause I set my own thermostat.”– Colorado coach Deion Sanders to rapper
Lil Wayne.”In Hebrews it states, ‘Faith is the assurance of things expected.’ I’ve got all the faith in the world in the people in our building.”– Florida coach Billy Napier ahead of a critical
3rd season with the Gators.Records that might be broken this season Oregon’s Dillon Gabriel has 4 3,000-yard passing seasons on his résumé already, however if he might reach 4,000 in 2024– or, more particularly, 4,353– he would pass Case Keenum as the all-time death lawns leader in FBS
history. Is that a long shot? It’s worth noting that Bo Nix, Oregon’s QB last season, tossed for 4,508 backyards, and if the Ducks live up to expectations, there’s a scenario in which Gabriel has 15 games to strike that mark.– Hale The NCAA record for most wins in a season is a three-way tie at 16 in between William Rhodes of Yale in 1894, Amos Alonzo Stagg of Chicago in 1899 and Yale’s Walter Camp in 1899. Teams could play 17 games this season between a regular season, a conference title game, and potentially four playoff games(18 games if they play Hawai’i and get an exemption). There’s a fair bet someone might connect or go beyond that mark in the future.– Wilson This isn’t technically tracked by the NCAA for record-keeping purposes, however there appears to be an opportunity that the career games played record could fall this year. Unofficially, the record stands at 69 games, a tie between Minnesota’s Nyles Pinckney (2016-21 )and the Clemson trio of James Skalski(2016-21), Will Spiers(2016-21 )and Will Swinney (2017-21 ). UTSA’s Oscar Cardenas enters this season with 57 games played(thanks to four games in his redshirt season, plus 12 games in the Covid 2020 season), suggesting that 70 games is feasible. He’ll have to remain healthy, obviously, and UTSA will need to reach a bowl game, but the purported record is in play. It’s possible other players are in the mix, too, but participation stats are not as readily offered en masse like many statistics.– Bonagura Let’s talk place-kickers. Since 1956, just 3 have actually eclipsed 90 career made field goals: NC State’s Christopher Dunn( 97 in 2018-22), Arizona State’s Zane Gonzalez (96 in 2013-16 )and Auburn’s Daniel Carlson( 92 in 2014-17). This fall, however, Boise State’s Jonah Dalmas is in position to reach that group, and then to pass them all. The
Broncos’fifth-year kicker enters 2024 with 80 profession field goals, just 17 shy of Dunn’s profession NCAA record. A two-time Lou Groza Award semifinalist, Dalmas has actually logged at least 23 made field goals in each of his thre e seasons as Boise State’s full-time kicker. There’s a likelihood he’ll clear 100 career basket this fall and to close the season as the NCAA’ sall-time field goal king.– Lederman