Football

15 Christ-following college football players to watch in 2024

By Cole Claybourn Aug 29, 2024
From left: Alabama's Jalen Milroe, North Carolina's Kaimon Rucker, Texas's Quinn Ewers, Michigan's Donovan Edwards, Ohio State's Emeka Egbuka (AP Photos)

The 2024 college football season is underway, marking the first year for the new 12-team playoff format. There are 134 teams in the Football Bowl Subdivision that will be fighting for those spots, but only 12 will get in.

Many of the hundreds of players on those teams are not only incredible athletes, they are also followers of Christ. There’s no way to list all of them, but here are 15 (in no particular order) to watch this season.

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Quinn Ewers, Texas quarterback
The No. 4 Texas Longhorns are entering their first season as members of the SEC, and they have an experienced quarterback in junior Quinn Ewers to lead them through the transition. Ewers was a preseason second-team All-SEC selection and is projected to be a finalist for the Heisman Trophy award. He’s also a potential top-10 pick in the 2025 NFL Draft. Ewers threw for 3,479 yards and 22 touchdowns as a sophomore, helping lead Texas to a 12-2 record and a win over Oklahoma State in the Big 12 Championship Game before losing to Washington in the Sugar Bowl. Texas will look to compete for an SEC title and reach the expanded playoff. “God is so good,” Ewers said after last season’s win over Alabama. “I can’t say that enough, how much God has put me through. He’s made me so strong.”

 

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Emeka Egbuka, Ohio State wide receiver
A key piece to No. 2 Ohio State’s success this season will be wide receiver Emeka Egbuka, who returns as the team’s top pass-catching target. He was named an AP preseason first-team All-American and is a potential first-round pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, but more importantly he’s also a Christ-follower. He was among many Buckeyes players who recently held a faith event on campus where players shared their testimonies and many people were baptized in front of hundreds of people. “The world didn’t give me this joy, the world can’t take it away. I had this new feeling in my heart that the Holy Spirit implanted into me,” Egbuka said at the event. “And so since then, it was really a radical change for me. I started walking more obediently with God. I started seeking Him day after day.”

 

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Kaimon Rucker, North Carolina defensive end
On the watch list for the Bednarik Award, the Bronko Nagurski Trophy, the Lombardi Award, the LOTT Impact Trophy and the Wuerffel Trophy, Kaimon Rucker enters his final collegiate season as one of the leaders on the Tar Heel defense after racking up 56 total tackles and 8.5 sacks last season. He was baptized in April, and declares in his Instagram bio that he is “fulfilling the purpose Jesus has for me.” Rucker has used social media to post short videos in which he teaches about a portion of the Bible. “Even though He knows that you’re thankful for today, even though He knows you’re thankful for the little things that happen in your life — the good, the bad, the ugly — He still wants you to give thanks, no matter what it is,” he said in one video.

Jalen Milroe, Alabama quarterback
Alabama will have a new head coach for the first time since 2007 after Nick Saban’s retirement, but the Crimson Tide will return its starting quarterback, and Jalen Milroe hopes to lead the tradition-rich program back to a national championship. A preseason third-team All-SEC selection, Milroe threw for 2,834 yards and 23 touchdowns in 2023, helping lead Alabama to a win in the SEC Championship Game over No. 1 Georgia, before a Rose Bowl loss to eventual national champion Michigan. “I’ll say this, I get my strength from my Lord and Savior,” Milroe told the media last season. “I honestly say that, and I surrender my throne to Him, and I know that I can lean on Him no matter the circumstance. I honestly say I put my trust in Him no matter what.”

 

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Donovan Edwards, Michigan running back
As Michigan hopes to repeat as Big Ten and national champions this season, running back Donovan Edwards figures to be a big piece. The senior has been a key cog in the Michigan offense since he was a freshman, but he’s played behind Blake Corum the past two seasons. Edwards will be the lead back in 2024. He capped off his junior season with two touchdowns in the national championship game. “It’s not difficult for me to praise God and to give Him glory,” he said in December 2023, “because He’s always been there for me when everything was high, so I’d be doing a disgrace to God if I wasn’t praising Him when everything was low.”

 

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Garrett Nussmeier, Louisiana State quarterback
A former four-star prospect, Garrett Nussmeier could’ve transferred to be a starter elsewhere but instead stayed in Baton Rouge to back up 2023 Heisman Trophy winner Jayden Daniels. “When I was making my decision out of high school of where to go to school, I felt like there was a lot of prayer involved, and God brought me to LSU for a reason,” Nussmeier said. “I did not feel like it was my time to just pack up and leave. I felt like it was my duty to just keep my head down and trust in His timing and just work. I know God’s timing is always right.” At age 22, he’ll get his chance to start for the Tigers this season after having only ever started last season’s ReliaQuest Bowl victory against Wisconsin. He’s appeared in 18 total games with 11 touchdowns and seven interceptions.

 

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Tim Keenan, Alabama defensive tackle
Tim Keenan III redshirted his first year in Tuscaloosa and saw nothing but mop-up duty in his second, after which a problem became clear: his weight. He weighed 343 pounds at the time and he knew that to have a chance to play meant he had to get into better shape. He vowed to “do it with God.” He began reading God’s Word, praying more consistently, listening to Gospel music before workouts, and he started a team Bible study — in addition to starting all 14 of ‘Bama’s games in 2023. “I just try to work as hard as possible to honor God,” Keenan said last year, “and to show Him how thankful I am with my play.”

TreVeyon Henderson, Ohio State running back
Another player who figures to lead the Buckeyes into national title contention is running back TreVeyon Henderson. The senior led the team in rushing as a freshman with 1,248 yards and 15 touchdowns, but injuries cut his 2022 season short. He returned in 2023 to again lead the Buckeyes in rushing, racking up 926 yards and 11 touchdowns in 10 games. And he was also a big part of the recent on-campus faith event at Ohio State. “Jesus — He’s my everything, man,” Henderson said recently on the Sports Spectrum Podcast. “After my foot injury in my sophomore year, I made that decision to give my life to the Lord. … Ever since I gave my life to Him, man, He’s changed my life.”

Cade Klubnik, Clemson quarterback
Since late in his freshman season, Clemson has been Cade Clubnik’s team. He took over in the 2022 ACC Championship Game, led the Tigers to a 39-10 win, then got his first start against Tennessee in the Orange Bowl, throwing for 320 yards in a 31-14 loss. As a sophomore, Klubnik threw for 2,844 yards and 19 touchdowns while rushing for 182 yards and four touchdowns. After four playoff appearances in five years, Clemson has missed the college football playoff the past four years, and Klubnik will be looked to for leading the Tigers back. “Nothing in my life will ever compare to how important and how, just, incredible God is in my life,” Klubnik said on the Sports Spectrum Podcast in 2023. “I’ve been thankful to have just great experiences in the game of football throughout my life so far, but not one of those have come close to the amazing things that God has done in my life.”

Nathan Carter, Michigan State running back
Nathan Carter proved to be one of the top running backs in the Big Ten in 2023, rushing for 798 yards and four touchdowns. After spending his first two seasons at the University of Connecticut, the redshirt junior will look to help the Spartans rebound after a 4-8 season last year. “[Faith is] the hope that we all need, and yet, everyone is searching for it,” Carter said last year. “We’re all searching for purpose. We’re all searching for something to fulfill us, something to sustain us. So it’s a gift that I believe God has given me to be able to use my words and be able to use my platform to be able to glorify Him and to spread His name.”

Will Rogers, Washington quarterback
After four years at Mississippi State, Will Rogers takes over as the starting quarterback for Washington under new head coach Jedd Fisch. Rogers has already made 40 collegiate starts, with his best season coming as a sophomore in 2021, when he threw for 4,739 yards and 36 touchdowns. His junior campaign saw him throw for 3,974 yards and 35 touchdowns, and an injury limited him to just eight games last year. About his faith in God, Rogers said on the Sports Spectrum Podcast in 2023, “He’s changed my life in a tremendous way, not just with football and the things I do on the football field, but just in life in general. I think I have a pretty good grasp and pretty good understanding that, you know, what I’m doing on the field is ultimately for my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.”

 

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Danny Okoye, Oklahoma edge rusher
Experience may be what separates some elite teams from others in college football, but the Sooners hope to have an impact freshman this season in Danny Okoye. A consensus four-star prospect, he was ranked as the No. 1 recruit in the state of Oklahoma by ESPN, On3 and Rivals, and selected to play in the 2023 U.S. Army Bowl. He then enrolled at Oklahoma in January and turned heads during spring practices, when head coach Brent Venables said, “His talent is freakish.” Later in the spring, Okoye shared on social media that he was baptized.

Taylen Green, Arkansas quarterback
Following three seasons at Boise State, Taylen Green takes over as the Razorbacks starting quarterback this season. As a sophomore, he threw for 2,042 yards and 14 touchdowns, and as a junior threw for 1,752 yards and 11 touchdowns. He also does damage with his legs, compiling 588 rushing yards and 10 touchdowns in 2022, then 436 rushing yards and nine touchdowns in 2023. “He’s everything to me,” Green said on the Sports Spectrum Podcast about his faith in God. “I start my day with Him and I’m just blessed to have a family that taught me to always keep Him first.”

Marques Watson-Trent, Georgia Southern linebacker
An All-Sun Belt Conference first-teamer and honorable mention on Phil Steele’s All-American teams last year, Marques Watson-Trent led Georgia Southern in tackles with 122, and also contributed 3.5 sacks and two interceptions. He was named to the conference’s preseason first-team defense ahead of the 2024 season, as he’ll anchor a defense that looks to help the Eagles improve on a 6-7 record from last season. “Any time I get a chance to talk about Jesus, I get excited,” Watson-Trent said on the Sports Spectrum Podcast in May. “I think that’s everything for me. For me, He’s really truth. He’s truth in a world full of lies. He’s my way of understanding, He’s my truth, He’s the light that I follow any time I have questions about life, because life is hard and it’s full of questions. He’s always the answer.”

Dylan Raiola, Nebraska quarterback
As the No. 1 quarterback recruit for 2024, Dylan Raiola initially committed to Ohio State in May 2022, but then committed to Georgia in May 2023. However, his first snaps as a college football player will be for Nebraska, where he flipped to in December. His dad, Dominic, played for Nebraska from 1997 to 2000, and Dylan’s uncle, Donovan, is the Huskers’ offensive line coach. The true freshman won the starting QB job last week. “Without God, I wouldn’t be able to do anything I do now,” Raiola said in March 2022, a few months after getting baptized. “He’s gifted me with talents and abilities. I think if I don’t use them in the correct way, that’s not honoring God. That’s my first and foremost ‘why.'”

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RELATED STORIES:
— Ohio State football players host on-campus faith event: ‘Let’s give Him the glory’
— Ohio State RB TreVeyon Henderson says purpose is to play for ‘glory of the Lord’
— Garrett Nussmeier knows ‘God’s timing is always right’ as he takes over as LSU QB
— UNC football players Jahvaree Ritzie, Kaimon Rucker get baptized, ‘from old to new’
— ESPN football analyst Kirk Herbstreit tells church audience, ‘That answer is Jesus’

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