Jonathan Taylor entered the 2018 season as one of the most-hyped players in the country after gaining 1,977 rushing yards (6.6 yards per carry) and 13 touchdowns as a freshman in 2017. As a sophomore in 2018, the Wisconsin running back had even better statistics, with 2,194 rushing yards (7.1 ypc) and 16 TDs.

That’s how to avoid a sophomore slump. That’s how to make fans think you might be the best player in the nation entering the 2019 season.

But for every player who improves on a sensational freshman season, there are plenty who do not quite measure up as sophomores, whether it’s a matter of reduced playing time or an injury or simply not quite fueling the hype machine enough for the critics.

Take Mike Weber and J.K. Dobbins.

Weber had a terrific debut in 2016 as Ohio State’s star running back, rushing for 1,096 yards and nine TDs. But in 2017, partly because of injuries but partly because a new star arrived, Weber ceded his role as the top Buckeyes rushing weapon. J.K. Dobbins arrived as a true freshman and put up 1,403 yards and seven TDs on the ground.

Last season it was Dobbins’ turn to have a downturn as a sophomore. In 2018 Dobbins played in all 14 games again but his yards rushing (1,053) and especially yards per carry (4.6 vs. 7.2 in 2017) dipped. He even had a quiet day against Michigan (12 carries, 46 yards) in a game when the Buckeyes offense shredded the Wolverines for 62 points and 567 yards.

In 2018, six of the top 10 in Heisman Trophy voting were either true or redshirt sophomores. Long gone are the days when little was expected of sophomores, who were usually still waiting behind upperclassmen for their spot on the depth chart.

So who are the Big Ten’s five most notable 2018 freshman sensations who will seek to repeat their performances or perhaps even improve in 2019? We take a look.

Rondale Moore, Purdue

The 5-foot-9, 180-pounder arrived at Purdue last year out of New Albany, Indiana, with a ton of speed but only a modicum of hype. In its national rankings, 247Sports rated him as the No. 41 recruit in the Class of 2018 — not overall, but just among wide receivers.

By the end of his freshman season he was a consensus first-team All-American and perhaps the most electrifying player in the nation.

RELATED: Rondale Moore tops the list, two other B1G players included in ESPN’s ‘most exciting’ players list

Moore’s stats — 1,258 receiving yards, 2,215 all-purpose yards, 12 touchdowns — are impressive but don’t even do justice to the impact he has had on the Boilermakers program.

It’s reasonable to expect that Purdue will lean on Moore heavily in 2019. And that’s the point. He will not sneak up on anybody this season as a sophomore (not that he ever should have after he piled up 313 total yards and two scores in Week 1 against Northwestern) and the Boilermakers do not return a ton of talent around him.

Adrian Martinez, Nebraska

One might argue that Martinez had the second-best season of any true freshman quarterback in the FBS in 2018. (It’s hard to argue with Clemson’s national champion, Trevor Lawrence, at No. 1.)

RELATED: Scott Frost wouldn’t trade sophomore QB Adrian Martinez for ‘anybody in the country’

Martinez had 2,617 yards passing, 17 TDs, 8 interceptions and 629 rushing yards for the Cornhuskers despite missing one full game plus part of another with an injury. USC’s JT Daniels (2,672 yards, 14 TDs, 10 INT) had very similar numbers except he is not remotely a running threat.

The other things Martinez and Daniels have in common? They both hail from California, they both play for programs with a rich, championship pedigree — and they both were at the helm for losing seasons in 2018.

But Martinez was fun to watch, and as the 2018 season progressed after an atrocious 0-6 start both he and the Cornhuskers started to mature. Now as a sophomore, Martinez returns with what should be a better bunch of weapons and a full season to get used to coach Scott Frost’s system. Perhaps no other sophomore in the B1G has more on his shoulders.

Anthony McFarland, Maryland

McFarland set the Terrapins’ freshman record with 1,034 rushing yards in 2018 and was seventh in the nation (second in the B1G) at 7.9 yards per carry. He lit up Indiana for 210 rushing yards on Nov. 10, catching some attention around the B1G late in an up-and-down season.

The following week, he caught the nation’s attention.

McFarland exposed every shortcoming the Ohio State defense had in 2018. The fast freshman blew up for 298 yards, just 8 shy of the Maryland single-game record, and two spectacular touchdown runs against the Buckeyes.

Of McFarland’s 1,034 rushing yards in 2018, 508 came in that two-week November stretch. The Terrapins, with only two other returning starters on offense, will need more of that production all the time if Mike Locksley’s first full season as the head coach is going to be successful.

Stevie Scott, Indiana

Scott piled up 1,137 rushing yards and 10 touchdowns last season for the Hoosiers — and he was pretty much a one-man show because Indiana finished ninth in the conference and 80th in the nation in rushing offense at 157.3 yards per game.

The good news for Scott is that, unlike McFarland’s situation at Maryland, Indiana returns a fair amount of its offensive talent and a deep group of receivers. More good news for Hoosiers fans is that Scott hit the weights hard in the offseason and is in better shape than when he showed up on campus last year.

The bad news is that Scott will have quite a bit of competition. Fellow sophomore Ronnie Walker Jr. was more touted coming out of high school, ranked the No. 32 running back in the nation by 247Sports. This year’s hot incoming freshman prospect in Bloomington is Sampson James, a former Ohio State commit. And offensive coordinator Kalen DeBoer also spoke highly of speedy Cole Gest, according to the Fort Wayne Journal Gazette.

Will Scott face the same situation with the Hoosiers this year as Mike Weber did with OSU in 2017?

KJ Hamler, Penn State

After redshirting in 2017, Hamler burst onto the scene last year with 42 catches for 754 yards, both team highs, and five touchdowns. He added 619 more yards as a kick and punt returner for the Nittany Lions.

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This season the Nittany Lions depth chart at wide receiver is loaded with freshman and sophomores so, in an unusual role for a sophomore, Hamler will probably be asked to provide some leadership at the position.

As the quarterback battle at Penn State lingers well into fall camp, it will be critical for whoever replaces Trace McSorley as the starter to have reliable receivers. Until and unless somebody else in Happy Valley proves otherwise, Hamler will be at the top of that list.