Fansided

College football 2018 preview: 15 freshmen poised to make instant impact

By Cody Williams

PACIFIC PALISADES, CA - MAY 26: Trevor Lawrence of Clemson University poses for portraits at Steve Clarkson's 14th Annual Quarterback Retreat on May 26, 2018 in Pacific Palisades, California. (Photo by Meg Oliphant/Getty Images)
PACIFIC PALISADES, CA - MAY 26: Trevor Lawrence of Clemson University poses for portraits at Steve Clarkson's 14th Annual Quarterback Retreat on May 26, 2018 in Pacific Palisades, California. (Photo by Meg Oliphant/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
10 of 16
Next
FORT LAUDERDALE, FL – FEBRUARY 07: American Heritage cornerback Patrick Surtain Jr. announces his intent to play for the Alabama Crimson Tide at American Heritage School in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. (Photo by Douglas Jones/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
FORT LAUDERDALE, FL – FEBRUARY 07: American Heritage cornerback Patrick Surtain Jr. announces his intent to play for the Alabama Crimson Tide at American Heritage School in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. (Photo by Douglas Jones/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /

7. Patrick Surtain Jr., CB, Alabama

Under the watch of Nick Saban (long may he reign), the Alabama Crimson Tide really don’t worry too much about roster turnover.

They are consistently turning out NFL players and watching them leave, but not really feeling the effects because they have a multitude of top-end recruits behind them ready to take up the onus of being the next “star” in Tuscaloosa.

Having said that, there are some years where the Crimson Tide feel losses worse than others, at least on some areas of the roster. This happens to be one of those years as it pertains to the Alabama secondary.

With the loss of Minkah Fitzpatrick, Tony Brown, Levi Wallace, Anthony Averett and more, the Bama defensive back group really is going to have plenty of unknown commodities that need to step up. And that sets the stage for freshman Patrick Surtain Jr. to come in and make a name for himself.

To be clear, Surtain isn’t like many of the other players on this list in terms of the situation. He’s not going to be given snaps and playing time because there are no other options — he’s going to have to earn them.

However, the son of former NFL star Patrick Surtain has the pedigree and talent to do just that. All signs point to him being an absolute stud athlete with star potential. If he can come in and start to show flashes of that already, he should be able to make a name for himself already.