Thursday Tailgate: Best true freshman debuts of 2015

So many top recruits come to college expecting to make an immediate impact. It doesn't always work out that way, but sometimes it doesn't take long to see the potential for stardom. Here are the true freshman who flashed the most potential in their collegiate debuts this season:

Josh Rosen, QB, UCLA: Rosen didn't disappoint in his debut for the Bruins, completing 28-of-35 passes for 351 yards with three TDs and no picks against Virginia.

Christian Kirk, WR, Texas A&M: Classmate Kyler Murray's first game action might have been the most anticipated for the Aggies, but it was Kirk who left the most lasting impression with his pair of electrifying touchdown scampers, one on a punt return and another on a reception.

Mitch Hyatt, OT, Clemson: Hyatt became only the third true freshman to start at any position for the Tigers since the Dabo Swinney era began in 2008, and the first newcomer to start at offensive tackle for Clemson since 1944. He and his linemates did their job keeping Deshaun Watson clean as the Tigers easily handled Wofford.

Iman Marshall, CB, USC: The highly-touted local prospect out of Long Beach Poly broke up two passes as part of the Trojans' surprisingly easy dominance of Sun Belt Conference contender Arkansas State.

Malik Jefferson, LB, Texas: The Longhorns turned in an overall forgettable performance at Notre Dame, but Jefferson was a bright spot, recording nine tackles, including 2.5 behind the line of scrimmage. One of those was the hit of the game against Fighting Irish running back Josh Adams.

AROUND COLLEGE FOOTBALL

How an unassuming intramural softball player fought his way to becoming Oklahoma's starting quarterback.

Northwestern followed its plan exactly to stop Stanford on third down.

NFL personnel managers are concerned about the knowledge base of quarterbacks leaving college. They seem to forget that college coaches are paid to win, not to provide a free farm system.

On the sudden holes in No. 3 TCU's defense.

These bowl projections were set before half of TCU's defense vanished.

Here's Dennis Dodd of CBSSports.com on the situation in Austin.

Ever heard of Ronald Jones II? Matt Leinart compared him to Reggie Bush.

L.A. prosecutors have set a hearing date in Diddy/UCLA football case.

Could the Michigan-Notre Dame rivalry be rekindled on the field sooner rather than later?

Playcalling has generated more controversy and criticism than normal this week. ESPN's Ted Miller takes a look.

Finally, a deconstruction of the claim that Cardale Jones started for Ohio State on Monday in order to preserve a key recruiting pipeline.

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