Adrian Peterson Award
Fantastic Fantasy Freshman
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Ahmad Hardy, UL-Monroe (2024)
Fantasy Points: 229 (19.0 FPPG)
2. Isaac Brown, Louisville
3. Jeremiah Smith, Ohio State
I have dubbed 2024 as the official ‘Year of the Freshman’ in college football, and the tightness of this year’s Adrian Peterson Award for Freshman of the Year further demonstrates this thesis. Last year, Kevin Concepcion ran away with the award with 25 points to the next closest contender’s eight. This year, two true freshman running backs collided at the top, with UL-Monroe’s Ahmad Hardy receiving an almost unanimous vote at 28. His next closest rival was Louisville’s Isaac Brown with 18, and then Ohio State’s version of Julio Jones, the one-and-only Jeremiah Smith at eight.
Hardy is a player that probably surprised some by his numbers at season’s end, as he outscored the likes of Smith, Ryan Williams, and Brown (among others). He was not one of the glitzy five-star prospects coming into this year, nor was he a hot name among CFF drafters over the offseason. The largely unknown commodity out of Mississippi emerged basically in Week 1, where he led his team in carries with 19, of which he rewarded the Warhawks’ staff with over 100 yards and a score. CFF diehards knew that coach Bryant Vincent’s No. 1 RB could be valuable—we just weren’t sure who that player would be in 2024. Hardy answered the bell without question, finishing the year with over 1,300 yards and double-digit scores. He collected my vote for Freshmen of the Year.
Louisville’s Brown was not far behind Hardy in terms of production. This is another system under coach Jeff Brohm who had a history of CFF success at the position, but like UL-Monroe, CFF drafters were not sure who would emerge as the top tailback for the Cardinals. Also, like Hardy, Brown opened the year with a strong performance, but his touches didn’t start consistently growing until around Week 4. Even then there were some ups and downs. One can’t help but wonder if Brown received a steady diet starting earlier in the campaign if he would have surpassed Hardy’s production and won the prestigious Adrian Peterson Award.
Ohio State’s Smith needs no introduction. His pedigree coming into the season was unmatched, and he was generally the first freshmen player taken in any sort of CFF dynasty format. At the redraft level, he was an immediate impact contributor for any squad as he finished the year averaging 18.2 FPPG. He was better at the beginning of the year; unfortunately, his second half of the season let him down a bit. The future looks bright for the freshman class and CFF coaches moving forward.
by Volume Pigs
Kevin Concepcion, North Carolina State (2023)
Fantasy Points: 247 (19.1)
2. Byrum Brown, South Florida
3. Makhi Hughes, Tulane & Jaylen Raynor, Arkansas State
As surprising as it may be in hindsight, North Carolina State’s Kevin Concepcion was not a highly-touted recruit coming out of high school. A three-star prospect from the Charlotte, North Carolina area, Concepcion did not hold offers from the “who’s who” of college football, but he did have offers from local schools, such as North Carolina, Charlotte, North Carolina State, and even Florida State.
He started his freshman season with a solid opening, being targeted five times and catching four passes for 36 yards against UConn (7.6 FPs in PPR formats). It was a notable performance, especially considering it was his first year on campus. Yet, it wasn’t enough to establish him as CFF relevant in most leagues. The fact that he secured a starting role to open the year was not a surprise, however, as offensive coordinator Robert Anae had communicated earlier in the offseason that Concepcion was making plays in camp. Concepcion’s national ascendance really began in Week Four versus Virginia, where he caught six of his ten targets for 116 yards and two scores. On the season, he finished with a total of 1,064 yards and 10 scores. Not bad for a true freshman, eh? His performance made him a shoo-in for this award, almost gaining a unanimous No. 1 vote with 25 points.
Quarterback Byrum Brown is a redshirt freshman, but it’s still impressive what he did in his first year as the starter for the Bulls. He showed immense promise at the end of the 2022 season in Gerry Bohanon’s absence, and he apparently took that momentum into the 2023 season. His highs were extremely high, but he did suffer from some volatility on a week-by-week basis, and for this reason, he was my second vote for the award. It seems I wasn’t alone, as Brown comes in at No. 2 across all voters with 8 points. Brown will be a popular pick in drafts next season with former Tennessee offensive coordinator Alex Golash as his head coach for Year Two. His rushing upside alone makes him an elite CFF asset. If he is able to improve his passing consistency, Brown could be a CFF All-American.
At No. 3, we have a tie between Tulane’s bell-cow back, Makhi Hughes, and Arkansas State’s version of Kyler Murray, redshirt freshman Jaylen Raynor. Full disclosure, neither of these guys was my third choice (I voted for redshirt freshman Jalen Buckley), but I think both are equally deserving. Hughes was better for a longer period of time, whereas the highs Raynor hit were some of the best of the 2023 season. Going over 1,000 yards in your first season as a starter is a great accomplishment for Hughes, and he’ll be a very popular pick in CFF drafts next summer. Raynor’s numbers on the campaign aren’t quite as impressive, but he showed enough promise this season to excite CFF managers for what’s to come in the near future.
by Volume Pigs
Quinshon Judkins, Mississippi (2022)
Fantasy Points: 287 (22.1 FPPG)
2. Jayden Ott, California
3. Nicholas Singleton, Penn State
Quinshon Judkins was the unanimous decision for this year’s Adrian Peterson Award after an incredible breakout performance for Mississippi. CFF previewers shadowed Judkins in the offseason as the Rebels’ brought in star running backs Zach Evans and Ulysses Bentley, IV via the transfer portal. However, Judkins ended up leading the team in carries (251, 115 more than Evans), yards (1,476, 577 more than Evans), and rushing touchdowns (16, 8 more than Evans). Judkins also averaged 5.9 yards per carry. His 1,476 yards ranked seventh in the nation and his 16 rushing scores ranks sixteenth. Judkins also flashed excellence as a receiver out of the backfield, finishing with over 100 yards receiving and one touchdown.
Jadyn Ott left his mark on the Golden Bears’ season despite a 4-8 finish. Ott had only two games over 100 yards but was consistent all year. His most notable performance was against Arizona when he rushed for 274 yards on 19 carries and had three scores. Ott finished the season with 897 yards on the ground with eight rushing touchdowns. The California' runner was also very steady as a receiver coming out of the backfield as he totaled 321 yards and three touchdowns.
Nicholas Singleton will likely rank higher on draft boards than Ott ahead of next season, and the only reason Ott finished ahead of Singleton was because he was ‘the guy’ out of the backfield. Sharing the spotlight with Kaytron Allen, Singleton led Penn State in yards (941, 111 more than Allen), yards per carry (6.3, 1.0 more than Allen), and rushing touchdowns (10, 1 more than Allen). Putting it in perspective, Allen led the Lions in carries with seven more than Singleton on the year. The top three vote-getters are all ball carriers, and the CFF community looks forward to watching the freshmen advance their collegiate tenures.
by Ryan Cobbett
TreVeyon Henderson, Ohio State (2021)
Fantasy Points: 297 (22.8 FPPG)
2. Xavier Worthy, Texas
3. Braelon Allen, Wisconsin
Ohio State running back TreVeyon Henderson was the unanimous choice for Freshman of the Year. It’s easy to understand why. Henderson was a five-star prospect who entered the season with high expectations, and was typically the first freshman drafted last summer. He quickly found a role in the Ohio State backfield and made his debut with a 70-yard touchdown catch-and-run in the season opener against Minnesota.
Henderson took over as the primary ball carrier for the Buckeyes in September, exploded with 277 rushing yards and three touchdowns in Week 3 against Tulsa, and cruised to 1,172 yards and 15 touchdowns on the ground with an average of 7.02 yards per carry. He also caught 23 passes for 285 yards and four scores. The Virginia native led all true freshmen skill-position players with 282.2 points in PPR-scoring leagues (only Memphis quarterback Seth Henigan had more among first-year players).
Texas receiver Xavier Worthy led all true freshmen receivers with 204 points in standard leagues, and his 235.5 in ppr-scoring ranked second to Henderson among skill-position players. Worthy was the bright spot in a Texas receiving corps that struggled with injury and consistency, and he finished with 62 receptions for 981 yards and 12 touchdowns. Only four FBS receivers found the end zone more during the regular season.
Braelon Allen didn’t make the immediate impact of Henderson or Worthy, but few players finished the season on a higher note. After earning 12 carries in Wisconsin’s first four games, on which he gained a combined 49 yards and scored once, Allen ran for 131 yards against Illinois on October 9. The first of seven consecutive 100-yard performances. Allen became a workhorse late in the season and finished with 1,109 yards and 12 touchdowns on 157 attempts. He also chipped in with six receptions for 37 yards.
by Nicholas Ian Allen
Deuce Vaughn, Kansas (2020)
Fantasy Points: 187 (18.7 FPPG)
2. Jordan Addison, Pittsburgh
3. Michael Pratt, Tulane
In 2020, Kansas State true freshman Deuce Vaughn was the top freshman fantasy performer in the country. Vaughn ran for 642 yards, which tied with Auburn’s Tank Bigsby for the most among true freshmen entering the weekend of Dec. 12, and seven touchdowns, which led all true freshman running backs and tied with Tulane quarterback Michael Pratt for the most among all true freshmen.
The 5-5 and 168-pound Texas native also caught 25 passes for 434 yards (both of which rank among the top five of all true freshmen regardless of position) and two scores as well. Vaughn rates as one of the Top 15 among running backs nationally in terms of overall points (187.6 in a full PPR league), and in the Top 50 FPPG—top 25 among players who participated in conferences that kicked off in September.
Only quarterbacks Jeff Sims (Georgia Tech, 212.44) and Pratt (199.92) posted more points as a true freshman in 2020, while Pitt receiver Jordan Addison (156.4) and Georgia Tech running back Jahmyr Gibbs (142.3) were the closest skill position players in terms of overall point production.
While Vaughn appeared to hit the freshman wall from Oct. 31 to Nov. 21, and though you may have missed out on his 33-point end-of-regular-season performance against Texas Dec. 5, the Wildcats’ runner may have helped win a championship for you with 27.1 points against Baylor (Dec. 28). He rambled for 102 yards and a touchdown and caught three passes for 19 yards and another score.
by Nicholas Ian Allen
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