College Football

TreVeyon Henderson, Xavier Worthy and the top impact freshmen through Week 4

Published Sep. 30, 2021 12:47 p.m. ET

By Sean Merriman
FOX Sports Senior Editor

Projections. Predictions. Rankings.

Take any one of those words, insert it into the headline of a preseason college football story, and you’ve got yourself an audience. It’s what makes recruiting so fascinating – the idea of predicting who the future of college football will be, or projecting what their stats could look like, or ranking them in order of how their respective careers will play out on the gridiron.

It also gives fanbases hope heading into a new season. Adding a highly-ranked recruit could be the missing link between a really good team and a great team. Adding a highly-ranked class could take a team from the bottom of the conference standings to the top.

But just as any well-versed college football fan will tell you, highly-touted recruits don’t always live up to their billing, especially not right away. In many cases, true freshmen will have to wait their turn to get on the field, which is the case with Oklahoma QB Caleb Williams, who was the No. 2-ranked QB in the 2021 class, per 247Sports.com, but is playing behind preseason All-American Spencer Rattler. The same can be said for the top-ranked wide receiver recruit in the nation, Emeka Egbuka, who is trying to crack the rotation of the most talented receiver group in college football at Ohio State.

Then there are those freshmen who had an opportunity presented to them and took advantage of it, like Georgia's Brock Bowers, who was expected to join a tight end group that was considered by many to be the most talented in the nation. But after Darnell Washington suffered a foot injury in preseason camp and Arik Gilbert chose to step away from the program, Bowers stepped in and has been one of the top-performing freshmen throughout college football this season.

Here is a look at the top impact freshmen through Week 4 of the 2021 college football season.

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Brock Bowers, TE, Georgia

Bowers is a perfect example of a player taking advantage of an opportunity given to him. Without Gilbert and Washington, Bowers has stepped in and made an immediate impact, leading the No. 2-ranked Bulldogs in receiving through four weeks. The 6-foot-4, 230-pound tight end from Napa, California, has caught 18 passes for 272 yards and four touchdowns for the 4-0 Bulldogs. He has led Georgia in receiving yards in three of four games this season and has put himself in a position to earn freshman All-American honors and possibly be in the running for the John Mackey Award, given to the nation’s top tight end.

Duce Chestnut, CB, Syracuse

Chestnut kicked off his college career with a bang, recording eight tackles and an interception in the Orange’s season-opening win over Ohio, and he hasn’t looked back. Chestnut has totaled at least five tackles in three of Syracuse’s four games this season and currently ranks third on the team with 19. He has stepped in and helped lead a defensive unit that is holding opponents to under 18 points per contest through four weeks. Chestnut and the Orange have an off week and then will kick off ACC play against Florida State on Oct. 2.

TreVeyon Henderson, RB, Ohio State

Has any true freshmen been as impressive through four weeks as Ohio State running back TreVeyon Henderson? Simple answer … no. This former five-star recruit, whom FOX Sports College Football Writer RJ Young said looks like the next Reggie Bush, has been nothing short of spectacular this season. After receiving only two carries in the Buckeyes’ season-opening win over Minnesota, Henderson has hit his stride, notching his first collegiate score in Week 2 vs. Oregon, and then bursting onto the scene with a 277-yard, three-touchdown outing against Tulsa in Week 3, which was an Ohio State freshman record. Heading into the Buckeyes’ Week 5 matchup against Rutgers, Henderson leads the country in yards per carry (9.5) among all players with at least 40 carries.

Treveyon Henderson racks up 277 rushing yards, three TDs as No. 9 Ohio State beats Tulsa, 41-20

Treveyon Henderson had a monster game against the Tulsa Golden Hurricanes, racking up 277 yards and three touchdowns on the ground in the Ohio State Buckeyes' 41-20 win.

Seth Henigan, QB, Memphis

Seth Henigan is a perfect example of a player who has greatly exceeded expectations coming into college. Ranked as the 70th-best quarterback prospect in the 2021 class, Henigan arrived at Memphis and earned the starting job over former High School All-American Grant Gunnell, who is out with a lower leg injury. In four games, Henigan has thrown for 1,170 yards and nine touchdowns with just one interception. He threw for 417 yards and five scores in a memorable 55-50 victory over Arkansas State in Week 2 and followed that up with an outstanding performance in a 31-29 upset win over Mississippi State in Week 3. He is on his way to earning Freshman All-American honors this season.

Jarquez Hunter, RB, Auburn

While the Auburn Tigers have struggled to find an answer at quarterback through four weeks of the season, that is certainly not the case at the running back position, where Bryan Harsin’s team features one of the top one-two punches in the nation with Tank Bigsby and true freshman standout Jarquez Hunter. A little-known three-star prospect out of Neshoba Central High School (Philadelphia, Mississippi), Hunter is averaging 10.6 yards per carry through four games this season. He kicked off his college career with back-to-back 100-yard games and has rushed for 60-plus yards in every game this season. He has also provided several highlight-reel runs, including an incredible hurdle over Penn State in Week 3 and a program-record 94-yard touchdown score in Week 2 against Alabama State. With Hunter and Bigsby, we could be looking at Cadillac Williams-Ronnie Brown 2.0 at Auburn.

Will Shipley, RB, Clemson

It is no secret that this Clemson team really misses Travis Etienne, who was a four-year starter at running back and left as the ACC’s all-time leading rusher and scorer, holding virtually every Clemson rushing record. While Will Shipley hasn’t quite filled the void left the Etienne, he has been extremely productive through the first four games of his collegiate career, and anyone who knows college football can see this kid is going to be a special player. Ranked as a five-star prospect and the No., 2 running back in the 2021 class, Shipley has lived up to the hype, leading the Tigers in rushing with 211 yards and five touchdowns through four weeks. He was outstanding in a Week 3 win over Georgia Tech, rushing for 88 yards and two scores in the Tigers’ 14-8 victory. Shipley suffered a leg injury in Clemson's Week 4 loss to NC State and could return in the next three to four weeks. Once he is back on the field, look for Dabo Swinney and the Clemson coaching staff to find more ways to utilize his skillset as the season progresses.

Maason, Smith, DL, LSU

While LSU is far from the national championship-caliber team we saw just two years ago, Ed Orgeron looks to have the making of a good, young football team, and it starts on the defensive line with standout freshman Maason Smith. The former five-star recruit has already made an immediate impact and is looking like a disruptive force on the Tigers’ defensive line. In just three games, Smith has already recorded 10 tackles and three sacks. With a season-ending leg injury to senior defensive end Andre Anthony, Smith is expected to move from defensive tackle to defensive end, where his pass-rushing ability will be on full display.

Xavier Worthy, WR, Texas

Speed is the name of the game when it comes to Xavier Worthy, and he has put his speed on full display through four weeks of the college football season. Worthy, who was the No. 13-ranked wide receiver prospect coming out of high school, has made an immediate impact for the Longhorns, hauling in 14 passes for a team-high 246 yards and four touchdowns. After a breakout performance against Rice in Week 3 (six catches, 71 yards and a touchdown), Worthy torched Texas Tech for 100 yards and three touchdowns in the Longhorns’ commanding 70-35 victory over the Red Raiders in Week 4. Worthy has the look of a future All-American.

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