Ryan Williams and 5 more freshmen demanding the college football spotlight already

If the nation didn't know the name Ryan Williams before Saturday, it sure does now. The Alabama wide receiver went supernova in the Tide's thrilling fall-from-ahead-then-come-from-behind win over Georgia, going for 177 yards on six catches — including a jaw-dropping 75-yard score that put Bama back in front for good late in the fourth.

That was just the latest chapter in what's been a ridiculous start to the season for Williams, who now has 462 yards and five touchdowns across his first four games. And the kicker? Those were his first four collegiate games ever; heck, the true freshman he won't turn 18 until next February. Williams can't even vote yet, and he's out here mossing and then dusting one of the best secondaries in the country. The fact that he'll be forced to hang around school for two more years before declaring for the NFL Draft feels like a cruel joke.

Of course, Williams is hardly the only true freshman lighting up college football over the first month of the season. From the SEC to the Big 10, it feels like more players are arriving physically and mentally ready than ever before. Here are five other rookies worth keeping an eye on.

5. Caden Durham, RB, LSU

Garrett Nussmeier and the Tigers passing game gets most of the attention, but at long last, it looks like Brian Kelly's team has finally found its running back. Durham entered the season buried on a crowded depth chart — he didn't see the field at all in the season-opening loss to USC and tallied just five carries for four yards in Week 2 against Nicholls. But he arguably saved LSU's season earlier this month, delivering 98 yards and two scores in the wild comeback win at South Carolina, and he's piled up 271 total yards (142 on the ground, 129 through the air) and three TDs in two games since.

The Tigers' leaky defense might keep them out of the College Football Playoff, but Durham looks like a building block for the future.

4. Colin Simmons, Edge, Texas

Texas' rebuilt defense has been every bit as impressive as its offense through five games, and Simmons is a big reason why. The in-state five-star notched the first sack of his collegiate career in the big win over Michigan, and he's only been getting better since. Simmons put together his best performance yet on Saturday against Mississippi State: seven tackles (including three for loss), two more sacks and a forced fumble to boot.

He now leads the Longhorns with four sacks on the season, and if Texas is going to get through the next two weeks unscathed (Red River against Oklahoma followed by a home date with Georgia) Simmons will be a big reason why.

3. Jordan Seaton, OT, Colorado

Colorado's offensive line was a sieve last season, a patchwork of transfers that nearly got Shedeur Sanders' head taken off. What a difference one recruiting win can make: Seaton was the No. 1-rated offensive tackle in the 2024 class, and while it took him a minute to get acclimated to the college game — his tape against North Dakota State and Nebraska wasn't pretty — he's started to really settle into protecting Sanders' blindside, with zero sacks and just two pressures allowed over Colorado's last three games.

It remains to be seen if the Buffs can have a bit more staying power this year than they did in 2023, but early signs are encouraging, and it all starts with the big left tackle.

2. Dylan Stewart, Edge, South Carolina

Quite simply, Stewart does not look like a guy who was in high school just a few months ago. He's got 2.5 sacks and two forced fumbles through South Carolina's first four games, and even the plays that don't show up in the box score are downright spooky to watch.

Stewart and the rest of the Gamecocks' front has been the biggest reason why Carolina has been feistier than predicted this season, and it'll be fascinating to watch them go up against Jaxson Dart and a high-octane Ole Miss attack this Saturday.

1. Jeremiah Smith, WR, Ohio State

The remarkable thing is that, for as transcendent a talent as he is, Williams might not be the best receiver in his own class. Because with all due respect to the Alabama star, the stuff Smith has been doing in Columbus has been on another planet. The hype for Smith — ranked as the No. 1 receiver and the No. 1 player overall by 247 — has been building since the moment he stepped on campus; early whispers suggested he might even be better than the last all-world Buckeyes wideout, Marvin Harrison Jr.

And watching him play, it's not hard to see why: Smith reeled in five catches for 83 yards and a score in one half against Michigan State on Saturday, and somehow that's underselling it.

Smith has 364 yards and five scores already on the season, and if Ohio State is going to finally get Ryan Day over the hump, he'll be one of — if not the — biggest reasons why.