Deon Cain, WR, Clemson Analysis: With the sixth-best receiving grade among the true freshmen (plus-6.6), Cain provided a big play threat to Clemson's offense, catching 34 passes for 582 yards (17.1 yards/reception) and five touchdowns. Cain did miss the Orange Bowl and national championship game after being suspended for violation of team rules.
Kahlil McKenzie, DT, Tennessee Analysis: Another run-stopping interior defensive lineman in this class, McKenzie was a solid contributor on his 280 snaps, grading at plus-5.4 against the run. He did little as a pass-rusher, picking up only one sack and four hurries on 141 attempts.
Minkah Fitzpatrick, CB, Alabama Analysis: No true freshman corner had a higher coverage grade than Fitzpatrick's plus-5.6 as he stepped right into Alabama's "star" role in the slot. He gave up 35 receptions on the season, but they averaged only 8.6 yards and he tacked on two interceptions to go with six passes defensed.
RB Soso Jamabo, UCLA Analysis: Playing behind RB Paul Perkins limited Jamabo's opportunities but he did manage to carry the ball 66 times for 403 yards (6.1 yards/carry). He forced 16 missed tackles as a runner and added two more in the passing game, good for an elusive rating of 89.8 that ranked seventh among true freshman running backs.
Roquan Smith, LB, Georgia Analysis: Played only 78 snaps on the season, showing well against the run at plus-3.0 to go with seven stops.
Tyron Johnson, WR, LSU Analysis: Johnson became a bigger part of the wide receiver rotation as the year progressed, playing 213 snaps, including a career-high 65 against Ole Miss, which included five of his nine catches for 83 yards and a touchdown. He finished the season with 150 yards and two scores.
LB Malik Jefferson, Texas Analysis: A starter from Day 1, Jefferson played 71 percent of Texas' defensive snaps (645 total), improving as the year progressed. He finished with a run grade of minus-1.1, but it was a plus-4.4 mark over the last four weeks as he cut down on the missed tackles (10 in first six games, two in last five games).
Christian Wilkins, DT, Clemson Analysis: Playing 41 percent of Clemson's defensive snaps, Wilkins was strong against the run at plus-6.8 and he started to make an impact as a pass rusher down the stretch, finishing with three sacks, four hits, and seven hurries on his 215 attempts. Perhaps the highlight of his season, however, came when he caught a wheel route on a fake punt against Oklahoma in the Capital One Orange Bowl.
Jashon Cornell, DE, Ohio State Analysis: Did not play.
RB Ronald Jones II, USC Analysis: With 987 yards on the ground, Jones led USC and ranked third among true freshmen while averaging 6.5 yards/carry. His plus-15.6 run grade also ranked third, behind Penn State's Saquon Barkley and Washington's Myles Gaskin, and his 83.9 elusive rating ranked fifth in the class.
Calvin Ridley became Alabama's go-to receiver in his freshman season. Ron Jenkins/Getty Images 35. WR Christian Kirk, Texas A&M Analysis: Kirk led all true freshmen with a plus-11.9 receiving grade, doing most of his damage from the slot where he picked up 896 of his 1,009 receiving yards. His 643 yards after the catch ranked 12th in the nation among all receivers and he added in a plus-5.0 punt return grade for good measure.
RB Damien Harris, Alabama Analysis: With few touches to go around behind Heisman Trophy winner, Derrick Henry, Harris carried the ball only 46 times for 157 yards (3.4 yards/carry). He graded at minus-3.3 on the season on his 99 mop-up snaps.
QB Jarrett Stidham, Baylor Analysis: When starting quarterback Seth Russell went down to injury, Stidham stepped right in and did a fine job as maintaining Baylor's high-level passing attack. He graded at plus-11.0 in his three starts, plus-16.0 overall, before going down to injury of his own against Oklahoma. Stidham led all true freshmen with an accuracy percentage of 57.1 percent on deep passes, going 15-for-28 for 596 yards, seven touchdowns and one drop.
Preston Williams, WR, Tennessee Analysis: Williams saw some time in Tennessee's wide receiver rotation, finishing with 223 total snaps. He finished with seven catches for 158 yards (22.6 yards/reception) with most of his damage coming against Western Carolina (three catches, 98 yards). Williams dropped three of his 10 catchable targets on the year.
Shy Tuttle, DT, Tennessee Analysis: Carrying on the theme of run-stopping defensive linemen, Tuttle graded at plus-7.1 against the run in his six games and he was on his way to an even bigger role in Tennessee's defensive line rotation before going down to injury in Week 6. As a pass-rusher, he notched only two hurries on 77 attempts.
Jamal Peters, S, Mississippi State Analysis: Peters saw sporadic playing time, as his 202 snaps were spread over nine games. He graded at minus-5.3 overall, including minus-4.4 in coverage where he surrendered 10 catches on 17 targets for 123 yards and a touchdown. Tackling was an issue as he missed five of his 20 attempts.
Rasheem Green, DT, USC Analysis: A number of true freshmen played significant roles on USC's defense and Green did his part on his 288 snaps. He graded at plus-1.7 as a run defender but he spent the majority of his time rushing the passer where he notched a sack, two hits, and 10 hurries on 172 attempts (minus-1.4 pass rush grade).
Deondre Francois, QB, Florida State Analysis: Did not play.
Terry Godwin, WR, Georgia Analysis: Godwin quickly emerged as Georgia's No. 2 wide receiver, finishing with 379 yards on 35 catches (10.8 yards/reception) and two touchdowns. Among true freshman receivers, his plus-5.0 receiving grade ranked seventh.
Da'Vante Philips, WR, Florida State Analysis: Played only 33 snaps spread over four games, with a career-high 15 against Chattanooga.
QB Brandon Wimbush, Notre Dame Analysis: Wimbush saw the field for only 30 snaps on the season, 25 of which came against UMass in. He completed 3 of 5 passes for 17 yards, but it was his 96 yards on seven carries (plus-2.9 run grade) that impressed in his limited action.
Jeffery Holland, LB, Auburn Analysis: Holland played 139 garbage-time snaps, finishing with nine stops to go with a sack and three hurries. He played a career-high 31 snaps against Jacksonville State.
CB Tarvarus McFadden, FSU Analysis: Saw the field for 65 snaps in mop-up duty, including a career-high 25 against Texas State. He gave up a six-yard reception on his only target which came against Chattanooga in week 12.
Da'Ron Payne, DT, Alabama Analysis: Payne played 238 snaps as part of the deepest front-7 rotation in the nation, grading at plus-5.3 against the run and plus-2.2 as a pass-rusher. He got in on nine stops, while picking up a sack, seven hurries, and batting a pass on his 120 attempts as a rusher.
RB Jacques Patrick, FSU Analysis: Patrick showed well in his limited opportunities, grading at plus-4.1 overall. He was the second-leading rusher on Florida State with 314 yards on 63 carries (5.0 yards/carry) and he filled in nicely for an injured Dalvin Cook with 24 carries for 162 yards and three scores against Syracuse.
QB Josh Rosen, UCLA Analysis: Rosen was impressive early on, showing he belonged with a plus-6.0 grade against Virginia. It wasn't all smooth sailing as he had the usual freshman ups and downs, but he still finished fourth overall among freshman signal-callers at plus-15.9, including a plus-20.7 grade against power-5 teams that led the group. Rosen did his best work against the blitz where he graded at plus-8.0.