Ranking the 10 Best Defensive Players in College Football
It's interesting to note that Chuck Bednarik, the man who gave his name to the award for the best defensive player in college football, didn't have as much respect for the modern game. Bednarik wished players would still play offense and defense, like he did.
The young men in contention to win the 2015 Bednarik Award don't play offense, except for maybe some trick plays here and there.
The 10 best defensive players in college football are indeed highly skilled in many areas of their game. Most of these guys have made such an impact on the field in only two years that some are putting them in the first round of the 2016 NFL draft, granted they declare for it. Eight of the players on the list are rising juniors.
Keep reading to see who makes the grade.
Finally, Bednarik might have been a 60-minute man, but these guys are going to do something Bednarik could have only dreamed of: become multimillionaires playing the game they love. Also, in honor of Bednarik, make this a two-way conversation by adding your comments below.
10. Jaylon Smith, Notre Dame
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Jaylon Smith was a bright spot on an otherwise weak Notre Dame defense in 2014. This season, the unit will improve, and that can only benefit Smith.
Smith was a Bednarik semifinalist and Butkus semifinalist on a unit that finished 83rd nationally in scoring defense. That's impressive for anyone, but especially for a sophomore.
Smith will enjoy an even better 2015, and not simply because he's a junior. Ten starters from the 2014 defense are back, and defensive coordinator Brian VanGorder is now in year two. Notre Dame indeed had a young defense and a new system last season, but this season, they can't make those kinds of excuses.
9. Su'a Cravens, USC
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It's interesting to think how the permanent move to linebacker will affect Su'a Cravens in 2015. Cravens believes he'll make even more plays. Beware, opposing offenses.
Among players returning in 2015, Cravens led USC in 2014 in categories such as solo tackles, tackles for loss, sacks, and interceptions. That was as both a safety and a linebacker. As a full-time linebacker, expect the rising junior to be unstoppable at and behind the line of scrimmage.
Cravens will help absorb some significant losses from last year's defense, especially Leonard Williams and Hayes Pullard. After all, Williams might be the first overall pick in the 2015 NFL draft. Sure, Williams and Pullard in the front seven allowed Cravens to shine in the back, but don't forget Cravens was a five-star recruit coming out of high school in 2013.
At 220 pounds, Cravens will be very light for a linebacker. For what Cravens will lack in size, though, he'll make up for with speed, agility and covering prowess.
8. Jalen Ramsey, Florida State
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Jalen Ramsey now leads the group of Florida State players who will soon be NFL players. Considering how big that group is, it's quite an accomplishment.
The Seminoles aren't expected to be as highly-ranked in 2015 as they were in 2014 and 2013, but that doesn't mean the departed supporting cast made Ramsey look like an elite defensive back. Ramsey started as a true freshman in 2013.
Few players across the country, regardless of position or supporting cast, can rival Ramsey's numbers from 2014: 79 tackles (45 solo), 9.5 tackles for loss, 3.0 sacks, two interceptions, 12 passes defended, and two forced fumbles.
.jpg?w=256 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
7. Kendall Fuller, Virginia Tech
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Since saying he was a great cornerback at Virginia Tech won't impress those in the Fuller family, Kendall Fuller will have to come up with another way to stand out.
Being on the only team to defeat Ohio State in its national championship season might do. Winning the Thorpe Award, if not the Bednarik Award, would work better. None of his three other brothers to play for the Hokies have done that, but Fuller has that chance in 2015 (and maybe again in 2016).
If Fuller isn't the best cornerback in college football, then he's darn close. No team in the nation allowed a lower completion percentage than Virginia Tech in 2014, and thanks to his contributions toward that, Fuller was a Thorpe semfinalist. Individually, Fuller broke up 15 passes.
Fuller isn't strictly a cover corner; his 4.5 tackles for loss and 2.0 sacks in 2014 show he's a multi-dimensional talent that offenses must always account for.
6. Shilique Calhoun, Michigan State
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Nationally elite defenses like Michigan State's have great leadership, great schemes and great players. On the 2015 version of the Spartans' defense, Shilique Calhoun is the greatest player.
Calhoun ends offenses oftentimes before they advance much past the line of scrimmage. The rising senior had 12.5 tackles for loss and 8.0 sacks in 2014, but he also anchored the nation's top rush defense.
Calhoun's decision to return to Michigan State was brilliant. Even though he's an outstanding player in his own right, there are so many great pass-rushers in the 2015 NFL draft, and their departures allow Calhoun to really spread his wings(pan) in the college game. What's more, the Bednarik and Lombardi semifinalist from 2014 gave himself one last run at the hardware.
5. Shawn Oakman, Baylor
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If Baylor wants in the 2016 College Football Playoff, then it'll probably need to do three things: schedule tougher nonconference opponents, dominate the Big 12, and shore up the defense. Though Shawn Oakman has no control over the first thing, he'll play a major role in whether the Bears can do the other two in 2015.
Oakman was a superstar on an otherwise mediocre Baylor defense in 2014. The rising senior had 19.5 tackles for loss, 11.0 sacks, and three forced fumbles for the Bears., who only finished fourth in the Big 12 (and 48th nationally) in scoring defense. Oakman's efforts made him a Bednarik semifinalist.
As a 6-9, 280 pound senior defensive lineman on a national championship contender, Oakman will be hard to miss in 2015. Yes, you read that height correctly.
4. Robert Nkemdiche, Ole Miss
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Robert Nkemdiche isn't a statistical standout. It's the little things Nkemdiche does that makes him, and the defense on which he plays, great.
In 2014, at defensive tackle, Nkemdiche anchored the nation's top scoring defense. This season, look for him to anchor the All-American defense as well, not just Ole Miss'.
As the top prospect coming out of high school in 2013, many expected Nkemdiche would be among the elite players in college football by this time, his junior season. Nkemdiche hasn't disappointed.
Though Nkemdiche was a Lombardi semifinalist in 2014, expect him in Disney after this season, as a finalist for at least one major award.
3. Vernon Hargreaves III, Florida
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Vernon Hargreaves III is number three on this list and in his family, but he's number one among the Florida faithful and cornerbacks across the country.
Among defensive backs, Hargeaves is the only one returning to college that was a 2014 Bednarik semifinalist. He's one of those rare players that force opposing offenses to redo their gameplans.
Hargreaves epitomizes what makes an elite cornerback: he doesn't get many balls thrown his way, but when he does, he makes plays. The rising junior's 13 pass breakups and three interceptions in 2014 are healthy numbers for anyone, but they're even more remarkable for a shutdown corner.
A defensive back hasn't won the Bednarik since 2011, but Hargreaves has the best chance to break the drought in 2015.
2. Joey Bosa, Ohio State
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If not for the young man holding the top spot on this list, then Joey Bosa would have won virtually every award for which he was eligible in 2014. The Bednarik finalist and Lombardi finalist did win the biggest prize of them all, though: the national championship.
We don't know who will play quarterback for Ohio State in 2015, but we sure know which Buckeye will be hitting his counterpart every week. The Buckeyes defense is too good to allow opponents to focus all their attention on stopping Bosa, so the rising junior will continue to get his.
Bosa enters 2015 as the Colin Montgomerie of college football defenders, so until he takes away some major hardware from the incumbent, he can only be a runner-up.
1. Scooby Wright, Arizona
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Phillip Anthony Wright III, commonly known as Scooby Wright, has perhaps one major issue as a college football player: finding enough room in his residence for all the awards he collected in 2014 and the ones he could earn in 2015. Hey, nobody's perfect.
Wright's ninth-place finish in the 2014 Heisman voting was the highest for a defensive player. The rising junior also won the Bednarik, Lombardi, and Nagurski awards, among others.
Among players returning to college in 2015, Wright led the nation in 2014 in such categories as solo tackles, total tackles, tackles for loss, sacks, and forced fumbles. Not bad for a guy who was a true sophomore last season and a two-star recruit out of high school.
Mr. Bednarik can at least acknowledge Wright hits hard...Wright?
.jpg?w=480 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
