Woody Dantzler's Heisman hopes looked like they took a heavy hit earlier this month, when WR Kevin Youngblood (the guy Tommy Bowden figured would replace first-rounder Rod Gardner) was lost for the season with a broken right leg. But don't feel sorry for the Tigers, because they have an awesome talent ready to blow up: true freshman Roscoe Crosby. A slick two-sport talent with superstar written all over him. Crosby (who signed a $1.75 million bonus with the Kansas City Royals this summer) has been dynamite in two-a-days and will become the first true freshman wideout to ever start the opener for Clemson. And he's the Tigers' first TF to start an opener since LB Anthony Simmons did it in '95.

Crosby, a rock solid 197-pounder, will play the Y-receiver in the Tigers' wide-open passing game, meaning he'll work out of the slot. "I like it," he said Tuesday. "I got a lot of chances on screen passes to run the ball." Expect Roscoe and fellow freshman stud Airese Currie, a burner, to light things up around Clemson for a long time. "It's like having a B-52, heavy duty, multi-purpose weapon in Roscoe and a sleek F-16 in Airese," says Bowden.

·Working against Chris Simms and the great Texas wideouts should help UT against the likes of Oklahoma, but the Horn DBs are no scrubs themselves. In fact, all four DBs -- corners Rod Babers and Quentin Jammer and safeties Nate Vasher and Ahmad Brooks-- all have lock-down type skills. New Texas DB coach Duane Akina has been so impressed by the quartet he's dubbed them the "four corners secondary".

·As Miami readies for its trip to Penn State, the 'Canes have a freshman DB who is worth watching: Safety Sean Taylor, a fast 6'3", 220-pound hitter. He was overshadowed in high school by teammate Buck Ortega, a QB who also signed with Miami and also by the city's wealth of DBs (Antrel Rolle, Jovonny Ward, etc.), but Taylor has been turning heads since he reported. He has already jumped up to the second team and will be a factor on special teams.

Bruce Feldman covers college football for ESPN The Magazine. E-mail him at bruce.feldman@espnmag.com.