A year ago Braden Atkinson threw 34 touchdown passes at Mercer, an FCS program in Macon, Georgia. Through four games at Oregon State he is averaging 356 passing yards. Lamont Lester Jr. had 9.5 sacks at Monmouth, also in the FCS, last season and three in his first game at Colorado. Both moved up a level in the last portal cycle.

This list starts a level down: five FCS players who broke out on the weekend of September 25 and 26, with where each one came from.

Week 4: A career-high 12 tackles, two for loss, and three pass breakups in a 22-18 win over No. 19 Rhode Island. CAA Defensive Player of the Week.

Road: Seventy-First High in Fayetteville, North Carolina; Campbell (FCS), 2025; North Carolina A&T, 2026.

Frederick played in four games at Campbell last season. At A&T he won the starting inside linebacker job, and through five games he is second on the team with 29 tackles. A&T was 0-4 going into Saturday. He is listed at 6-2.

Week 4: Five tackles, three sacks and two quarterback hurries in a 31-16 win at Fordham. CAA Co-Rookie of the Week.

Road: Martin Luther King High in Philadelphia; Stony Brook, 2025 to now. No transfer.

Bueno leads the CAA with 7.5 sacks through five games, and he has at least two tackles for loss in four of them. He played in four games as a freshman last season. At Martin Luther King he was a senior captain with 128 tackles and 40 tackles for loss in his final season, and he played in the U.S. Army Bowl. He is listed at 6-3 and 215.

Week 4: Three interceptions, a recovered muffed punt and four tackles in a 14-10 win at Brown on Friday, September 25. Stats Perform FCS National Defensive Player of the Week.

Road: North Atlanta High in Atlanta; Harvard, 2024 to now. No transfer.

Benson accounted for all four of Harvard's takeaways, and the last interception came with 1:32 left. Three interceptions tied Harvard's single-game record, last reached by Ryan Barnes in 2008, and he leads the FCS at two interceptions a game. He played in all 10 games as a freshman, with 17 tackles and one interception, and in all 11 last season, with 41 tackles and two interceptions. He is listed at 6-0 and 185.

Week 4: 223 rushing yards and two touchdowns on 16 carries in a 40-21 win at Florida A&M, the conference opener. FCS National Freshman of the Week and SWAC Offensive Player of the Week.

Road: Riverdale High in Jefferson, Louisiana; Alabama A&M, 2026. First college season.

Both touchdowns, from 15 and 22 yards, came in the fourth quarter after Florida A&M had cut the lead to 23-21. It was the most rushing yards by an Alabama A&M player since 2019 and the program's first win over Florida A&M since 1979. Before Saturday he had fewer than 100 rushing yards on the season. He is listed at 5-11 and 182.

Week 4: A career-high three sacks and nine tackles in a 13-9 win over Furman. Richmond held Furman scoreless in the second half.

Road: North Allegheny High in Pittsburgh; Richmond, 2024 to now. No transfer.

Sellers played in one game as a freshman in 2024, then had 19 tackles, 4.5 for loss, three sacks and two forced fumbles in 12 games last season. He is listed at 6-3 and 254, and he is No. 98 on Bruce Feldman's 2026 Freaks List, which cites a 600-pound squat and a bench press over 455. Richmond is 4-1 and 3-0 in the Patriot League.