We were blessed with a ton of Week 1 depth charts yesterday. I scrolled through them all and tried to capture any notable information. We are still waiting on a few, Georgia, Oklahoma, Michigan, and Michigan State come to mind, but here’s what we know so far.
Before we get to the depth charts, I wanted to point out that not a single true freshman QB has been named the starter yet. You already know about Caleb Williams, Drake Maye, Kyle McCord, and Tyler Buchner. Yesterday, Michigan announced they are going with Cade McNamara, and SMU picked Tanner Mordecai.
Alabama
Jase McClellan rightfully earned the #2 RB role behind Brian Robinson. Cameron Latu was named the starting TE over Jahleel Billingsley. Despite all of the hype around the freshmen WRs, there weren’t any surprises in the WR two-deep. John Metchie and Jameson Williams are starting on the outside. Either Slade Bolden or Jojo Earle will start in the slot. Agiye Hall is not a starter despite Nick Saban talking him up this spring.
Arkansas
Raheim “Rocket” Sanders converted from WR to RB after arriving at Arkansas and won the right to backup Trelon Smith at the position.
Auburn
Despite all of his confidence, LSU transfer QB TJ Finley was not able to beat out Bo Nix. The surprise though, is no Elijah Canion anywhere on the two-deep.
Clemson
The Tigers listed co-starters at RB and neither was Will Shipley. Lyn-J Dixon and Kobe Pace will get starters reps with Shipley backing them up. Justyn Ross has solidified a starting role again, and that’s great to see. Clemson has plenty of depth at WR behind Ross. Ngata and Ladson, Jr. will get the first reps, but if Ngata’s health or Ladson’s drops become an issue, EJ Williams will be ready to help out.
Colorado State
David Bailey and three others are listed as co-starters at RB. That helps no one.
Florida
Dan Mullen always errs on the side of seniority. That showed up in the depth chart. Even though Demarkcus Bowman has looked good in practice, and I’m pretty sure we’ve been told he’ll return kicks, he didn’t show up at RB or KR on the Week 1 depth chart. Kemore Gamble edged out Keon Zipperer at TE.
Iowa State
A surprise to me, there was an OR between the names Charlie Kolar and Chase Allen at TE.
Kansas
C2C darling and true freshman Devin Neal was not listed on the two-deep at RB.
Memphis
We still don’t know who will replace Brady White at QB for the Tigers. It’s either going to be Grant Gunnell or Seth Henigan. No matter who starts, it’s likely they both get plenty of reps against Nicholls. We do know that Brandon Thomas will take over as RB1. @DevyWarehouse has been trying to tell us this for months now.
Mississippi State
It’s worth noting that Jaden Walley is not the lone starter at Y. He was listed as co-starter with Austin Williams.
North Carolina
Khafre Brown’s injury-riddled offseason ended up with him backing up senior Antoine Green at one of three WR spots.
Ohio State
Master Teague has held off Miyan Williams and Tre Henderson for now. At least on paper. Let’s see how the carries are split Thursday night against Minnesota.
Oklahoma State
True freshman WR Blaine Green earned one of the starting spots for the Cowboys. There is no clarity at the RB spot with four listed co-starters.
Oregon
True freshman QB Ty Thompson was listed as QB2 behind Anthony Brown. CJ Verdell and Travis Dye were listed at co-starters at RB. True freshman Troy Franklin was listed as starter at WR. There are more college-ready WRs than Franklin, but his ceiling is as high as anyone else.
Oregon State
The Beavers have not decided on an RB1 yet. A guy @FranchiseKF has been beating the drum for, Deshaun Fenwick was listed as co-starter along with BJ Baylor and Trey Lowe.
Rice
Transfer Luke McCaffrey has not won the starting QB job yet.
Tennessee
Joe Milton is the stater this week. Harrison Bailey OR Hendon Hooker will back him up. All three probably play against Bowling Green. Either Tiyon Evans or Jabari Small will start at RB. A personal anecdote…A while back, I talked to a high school coach who coached against Ty Chandler, Eric Gray, Jabari Small in high school, and he never imagined a scenario where Jabari Small got meaningful RB reps at Tennessee. Well, things changed quickly on The Hill.
Texas
Xavier Worthy got out of Michigan before it was too late and has already shown enough at Texas to earn a starting spot at WR. Jordan Whittington is back as a starter as well. Not playing this week due to a lingering knee injury is Troy Omeire.
UAB
In somewhat of a surprise, DeWayne McBride and Jermaine Brown, Jr. were listed as co-starters for Wednesday’s game against Jacksonville State.
UNLV
UNLV listed three QBs, and none of them were named Tate Martell. To be fair, he’s dealing with an injury, but even if he were healthy…
Utah
There’s a muddled mess at what could be an important RB spot. The Week 1 starter will be one of Micah Bernard, TJ Pledger, Chris Curry, or Tavion Thomas.
Utah State
Logan Bonner might have followed head coach Blake Anderson from Arkansas State to Utah State, but he hasn’t won the starting job yet. He’s still battling Andrew Peasley for the job.
Washington State
We still don’t know if Jarrett Guarantano or Jayden de Laura will get the start, but whoever it is will be throwing to a group of wide receivers including true freshman starter De’Zhaun Stribling.
Wisconsin
Jalen Berger has been a little banged up and will start the season behind Clemson transfer Chez Mellusi on the depth chart.
