Top 10 College Football Pass-Rushing Duos for 2015 Season
Look, nightmares are common for everybody. Someone who's much smarter than all of us is probably examining their meaning right about now too—you know, how they reflect things in our lives and stuff.
The following pass-rushing duos are the things nightmares are made of for offensive coordinators around college football. As an offseason present for them, we've decided to rank the 10 best.
2014 stats used were broken down into sacks and quarterback hurries. While last year's numbers were considered, they weren't the only criteria. Are players coming back from injury? Will there be JUCO transfers joining the fold this year?
With that, let's get to the list. Unless you're too scared.
10. Ole Miss: Marquis Haynes, Robert Nkemdiche
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2014 Stats: 9.5 sacks, 7 QB hurries
Ole Miss' pass-rushing stats last year weren't the most eye-popping, but the Rebels have some outstanding young talent up front. Even though he plays defensive tackle, Robert Nkemdiche is athletic enough to move around. You'd like to see his pass-rushing stats increase—he had just two sacks and zero quarterback hurries last year—but a lot of that can be associated with learning a new position.
C.J. Johnson's move to middle linebacker means Marquis Haynes is still the best returning edge-rusher. As a freshman, he led the team with 7.5 sacks and seven QB hurries.
There's still a lot of youth along Ole Miss' defensive front, but this is an athletic group capable of causing a lot of havoc and doing more than just stopping the run.
9. Auburn: Carl Lawson, Montravius Adams
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2014 Stats: 3 sacks, 12 QB hurries (Lawson did not play)
From 2014 to '15, there may not be a pass rush in college football that improves as much as Auburn's. The Tigers ranked 12th in the SEC last season with a mere 1.62 sacks per game. The team's individual leader in that department, linebacker Kris Frost, had just 3.5 sacks.
But Auburn was also without stud defensive end Carl Lawson, who, according to head coach Gus Malzahm, is "back to 100 percent" after missing last season with an ACL injury.
Lawson, along with Montravius Adams, should get Auburn more active in the backfield in 2015.
"I feel certain that Carl will be one of them and Montravius has shown some things that we can win in the single battles up front," new defensive coordinator Muschamp told reporters last month (via , AL.com).
8. Oklahoma: Eric Striker, Charles Tapper
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2014 Stats: 12 sacks, 8 QB hurries
The 2014 numbers may make you scratch your head, but the pass-rushing combo of Eric Striker and Charles Tapper is one of the better, more experienced duos in the Big 12.
Rushing the passer is Striker's specialty, straight up. Striker led the Sooners with nine sacks last season. Tapper had three at his spot along the defensive line. The two also combined for eight quarterback hurries.
Those numbers are good, but they have the chance to be so, so much better next season. Striker is one of the quickest rushers at the linebacker spot in the Big 12. He's been doing it for years too. Tapper achieved All-Big 12 first-team honors in 2013 but had a "junior slump" so to speak. Coming back for his senior season was a wise choice in terms of helping his draft stock.
.jpg?w=256 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
7. Alabama: Jonathan Allen, Jarran Reed
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2014 Stats: 6 sacks, 7 QB hurries
Alabama's defensive line is without a doubt the strength of this team in 2015. The Tide are rolling six players deep, at least, along the trenches. The numbers from last season for defensive ends Jonathan Allen and Jarran Reed don't reflect how dominant this group is; to be sure, the D-line was definitely more stout against the run.
Still, given the talent and experience of this group, the pass rush should be better next season.
"The defensive front is probably the strength of our team right now," head coach Nick Saban told reporters after the spring game (via Charlie Potter, 247Sports). "I think those guys showed that a little bit today – made it difficult to run and created a lot of negative plays with batted balls and pressures on the quarterback, that type of thing."
6. Texas A&M: Myles Garrett, Daeshon Hall
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2014 Stats: 16 sacks, 15 QB hurries
Texas A&M's defensive line is on track to be one of the SEC's best in 2015. It's a deep and supremely talented group that now has a proven defensive coordinator in John Chavis. Sophomore Myles Garrett is the star after breaking Jadeveon Clowney's freshman SEC sack record last year (Garrett had 11.5 sacks). However, he's not alone. Daeshon Hall played a limited role last season by coming in on passing situations but was still fairly effective.
As Jeff Tarpley of 247Sports writes, Hall's role should increase this season:
"However, Hall was healthy in the weeks leading up to spring practice and weighed in at 258 pounds. He came off the ball better and was able to use his length in a way that he never was able to last season because of the improved strength in his hands and upper body and keep defenders at arm’ length. He’s also got pretty good bend for someone his size. From day one of the spring, Hall subbed in for Obioha on passing downs, was almost as good as Garrett coming off the edge, and so freed up Obioha to move inside.
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Say this for the Aggies defense line: There's enough talent and versatility to make a huge jump from last year.
5. Michigan State: Shilique Calhoun, Ed Davis
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2014 Stats: 15 sacks, 13 QB hurries
If it hadn't been for Joey Bosa at Ohio State—more on him later—Michigan State defensive end Shilique Calhoun could have been named the Big Ten's best defensive player. Of course, Calhoun is still easily one of the Big Ten's best on either side of the ball. He led Michigan State with eight sacks and returns as one of the most experienced edge-rushers in college football.
With fellow end Marcus Rush gone, linebacker Ed Davis completes the pair. Last season, Davis finished with seven sacks and five quarterback hurries—and his best days might be ahead of him.
"I think it's my year to step up and really show the world," Davis said, per Joe Rexrode, the Detroit Free Press. "I tried to show last year (but) I didn't work hard enough."
That's a scary thought. If Davis hasn't tapped his full potential yet, the Spartans' pass rush could be even better in 2015.
4. Ohio State: Joey Bosa, Darron Lee
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2014 Stats: 21 sacks, 7 QB hurries
You could almost have Ohio State on this list alone based solely on Joey Bosa, who is on his way to being a top-five pick in the NFL draft next year. By this point, everyone knows how Bosa is capable of changing a game. Quite literally, he did so in a win over Penn State. The defending Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year led the conference in sacks in 2014, with 13.5.
But redshirt sophomore linebacker Darron Lee is an interesting complement to Bosa at one of the outside linebacker spots. Like many of his Buckeye teammates, he played excellent football in the final three games of the season. For all the chatter about quarterback Cardale Jones, running back Ezekiel Elliott and even Bosa, Lee was an unsung hero during Ohio State's national championship run with 22 postseason tackles. He also had two sacks in the Sugar Bowl win against Alabama.
Lee is a former athlete who's played a lot of positions, but he's settled in nicely at linebacker.
3. Baylor: Shawn Oakman, Andrew Billings
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2014 Stats: 13 sacks, 17 QB hurries
Defensive end Shawn Oakman returns as easily the most talented edge-rusher in the Big 12. As far as freakish athleticism and upside go, Oakman has it all. He alone gives Baylor consideration on this list. But Oakman may not even be the best overall player on his own D-line.
For all of the attention that Oakman gets, nose tackle Andrew Billings is every bit as valuable to Baylor—if not more so. Billings is a 300-pound monster who's able to get pressure from the interior of the defensive line. As far as stats go, Billings led the team with nine quarterback hurries last year.
Both could be first-round talents in next year's draft, according to Dane Bugler of CBSSports.com.
2. Tennessee: Derek Barnett, Curt Maggitt
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2014 Stats: 21 sacks, 13 QB hurries
Mentioning Tennessee's sophomore defensive end Derek Barnett can sometimes mean mentioning Texas A&M sophomore defensive end Myles Garrett in the same breath. Both had outstanding true freshman seasons and are blossoming into stars who could be gone to the NFL in two years.
For the purpose of this piece, however, Barnett should be mentioned alongside Vols linebacker Curt Maggitt. Together, Barnett and Maggitt make up arguably the most formidable pass-rushing duo in the SEC. Though both were held out of spring with injuries, they should be even better in 2015.
Barnett has the ceiling to be the SEC's best edge-rusher. Maggitt's return for his senior season is easily one of the biggest victories of the early Butch Jones era.
1. Virginia Tech: Dadi Nicolas, Ken Ekanem
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2014 Stats: 19 sacks, 40 QB hurries
Dear ACC quarterbacks: Congratulations on surviving another terrific year! Your hard work and talent shined in many areas. We are extremely proud of how far you've come as a player.
Unfortunately, we regret to inform you at this time that you will have to face Virginia Tech defensive ends Ken Ekanem and Dadi Nicolas for another year. We understand this is less than ideal since you'd like to stay upright for a whole game. Just once, you know?
If it makes you feel any better, Nicolas is already getting first-round buzz for next year's NFL draft by Chris Burke of Sports Illustrated.
I mean, we know it won't, but we're trying.
Honorable Mentions
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We'd be remiss if we stopped at just 10 duos. There are a lot of great pass-rushers out there. Here are a few that just missed the cut but deserve recognition all the same.
Louisville: Sheldon Rankins, Devonte Fields (8 sacks, 2 QB hurries)
Oklahoma State: Emmanuel Ogbah, Jimmy Bean (14.5 sacks, 8 QB hurries)
Oregon: DeForest Buckner, Christian French (10.5 sacks, 4 QB hurries)
Ben Kercheval is a lead writer for college football. All stats courtesy of cfbstats.com.
.jpg?w=480 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
