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The Arizona Wildcats have found themselves a gem in Scottie Young Jr.
The first-year safety is the No. 7 freshman in all of college football, according to Pro Football Focus.
Heading into Week 4 - here's a look at our highest graded freshman through three weeks of football. pic.twitter.com/1wqyIxL4qq
— PFF College Football (@PFF_College) September 21, 2017
Young, a former three-star recruit, has a grade of 83.5 this season. PFF grades by watching every play a player is involved in and then evaluating them on a -2 to +2 scale, with context and performance being taken into account.
Young has started in every game this year, recording 14 tackles, including 1.5 for loss.
Young had a 82.4 grade in Week 2 after a stellar performance against Houston — the 10th-best performance by a freshman that week.
Young hasn’t been the only true freshman to contribute, either, as Arizona has used the third-most freshman in the FBS this season (17).
True freshman linebacker Tony Fields II leads Arizona in tackles (17) and true freshman tight end Bryce Wolma leads the team in receptions (11).
Arizona will get a look at the No. 1 freshman in the country Friday as Utah Utes cornerback Jaylon Johnson checks in with a 86.9 grade.
Johnson was the sixth-ranked cornerback in the 2017 recruiting class, according to a couple outlets. He has one interception and three pass breakups this season.
Follow Ryan Kelapire on Twitter at @RKelapire