Breakout stars fall into two categories. Some names are those ready to explode through the sky and jet speed into a superstar. We first learned about their potential in 2022. There are also the figures whose anonymity is soon to disappear. Who would have imagined that TCU’s backup Max Duggan would guide the Horned Frogs to a title game on the 1-yard line of the 2022 final one year ago?

At the Under Armour All-American Game one year ago, Perkins announced his soft commitment to Texas A&M. By switching his Letter of Intent to LSU on Signing Day, he shrewdly avoided the Aggies’ dirt. The dynamic LSU freshman outside linebacker was Brian Kelly’s lone 5-star recruit and was instrumental in reviving the Tigers’ defense in 2022. He should have an even more significant impact in 2023. The Tasmanian Devil is now known as the catchiest moniker since Honey Badger and maybe just as substantial to LSU as Will Anderson was to Alabama.

Getty images/Tribune News Service/ Centre Daily Times/ Contributor

When you see Indiana’s Mr. Football 2020, try not to sneer. You expect me to believe that Carson Steele, a bland running back who UCLA added via the transfer portal to carry the load in a Chip Kelly scheme, won’t be on every college football analyst’s lips by October? Steele reacted to Bruce Feldman’s description of him as one of college football’s athletic freaks before the season by rushing for almost 1600 yds and 14 TDs as a sophomore.

The 2022 National Gatorade Player of the Year at Penn State went unnoticed. He ought not to have. In a Rose Bowl triumph over Utah’s renowned squad, Nick Singleton rushed for 120 yards and two touchdowns, serving as a precursor to what he might have in store for 2023. Saquon Barkley, Miles Sanders, and Journey Brown are just a few of the backs James Franklin’s Nittany Lions have frequently used to fuel their attack. As Penn State competes with Michigan and Ohio State for postseason positions in the autumn, Singleton is the team’s next big thing.