Predicting the 10 Hardest Hitters for 2016 College Football Season
In recent seasons, college football has trended toward high-powered offenses. The Air Raid, spread and hurry-up, no-huddle systems all rely on potent passing attacks and light up scoreboards with regularity. If anything, that only increases the value of a talented defense that can limit those offenses and keep a team in a game while avoiding a shootout.
Every good defense is packed with talented players who are cohesive, athletic and strong. And you’d better have some hard hitters too: guys who are willing to lay the wood on a down-to-down basis and shake an opponent’s confidence with legal hits.
Here’s a look at projecting the 10 biggest hitters for the 2016 college football season. We chose players based on reputation, previous experience and the likelihood that they’ll make a big impact this fall.
10. Georgia S Quincy Mauger
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As Kirby Smart begins his first season as Georgia head coach, he has some questions. Who will be his starting quarterback? Will Nick Chubb’s surgically repaired knee be ready for the Georgia Dome opener against North Carolina on Sept. 3? Will a young defensive line jell in time for SEC play?
One thing Smart isn’t worried about, however, is his secondary.
The Georgia secondary should be a major strong point for a defensive unit that returns five starters. Four of those are in the secondary. Safety Dominick Sanders is a returning first-team All-SEC selection, and fellow senior Quincy Mauger is one of the SEC’s most reliable defensive backs.
A year ago, the 6'0", 200-pound Mauger played in all 13 games, starting 11. He made 58 tackles with 3.5 tackles for loss and five breakups. Mauger is not afraid to put his head down and go after an opposing tailback or receiver. He’ll make a major impact for Smart and the Bulldogs in 2016.
9. Boise State LB Tanner Vallejo
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Boise State has established itself as one of the best Group of Five programs and with good reason. Year after year, the Broncos just win...a lot. Washington hired Chris Petersen away after putting up 92 wins in eight seasons, but replacement Bryan Harsin has been equally solid, authoring a 21-6 record in two years at the helm.
Boise State is known for its offense, but the defense is also good. A year ago, Boise limited foes to 318.3 yards per game, ranking No. 12 nationally. The defense returns just four starters, but senior linebacker Tanner Vallejo will be a rock of the unit.
The 6’1”, 227-pounder should be one of the Mountain West’s best linebackers. As a junior, he had 57 tackles, eight tackles for loss and a pair of forced fumbles. He also has a reputation as a hard hitter. Expect him to make plays all over the field for the Broncos this fall.
8. Alabama LB Reuben Foster
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As always, Alabama will do its share of reloading on both sides of the ball this fall. The defending national champions will return only 11 starters, five on defense, and must replace three of four starting linebackers from 2015.
There’s little reason to worry, of course. The Crimson Tide have the nation’s most talented roster, and it’s more a matter of bringing replacements up to speed than truly filling holes.
Nick Saban and Co. have an excellent building block in senior linebacker Reuben Foster.
As a junior, Foster emerged as a starting inside linebacker and had a solid season. He had 73 tackles, eight tackles for loss, two sacks, three quarterback hurries and nine pass breakups, playing a huge role on the SEC’s top scoring defense (15.1 points per game).
This fall, he’ll be the only returning starter in Alabama’s linebacker corps. The 6’1”, 240-pounder will dole out plenty of huge hits all across the SEC.
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7. Louisville S Josh Harvey-Clemons
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If Louisville and coach Bobby Petrino hope to make a move in the ACC Atlantic against Clemson and Florida State, the Cardinals will lean on emerging star quarterback Lamar Jackson. But they’ll also depend on a talented defense that features eight returning starters, including linebackers Devonte Fields, Keith Kelsey and Josh Harvey-Clemons.
Harvey-Clemons’ career took a turn when he transferred from Georgia after two seasons, following defensive coordinator Todd Grantham to Louisville. It looks like a smart move. Last fall, he had 88 tackles (third-best on Louisville’s roster) with three interceptions, tallying at least six tackles in a game eight times.
The senior safety stands 6’5”, 230 pounds and should be one of the ACC’s top defensive backs. His size and speed make him the kind of guy that opposing offensive players won’t want to see in their sights in 2016.
6. Ohio State LB Raekwon McMillan
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Raekwon McMillan will remember 2015 as the year the light turned on for him at Ohio State. The highly regarded prep player served something of an apprenticeship as a backup to Curtis Grant in 2014, but when it was his turn to start last fall, McMillan proved he was more than ready.
He rolled up a team-best 119 tackles as a middle linebacker, adding four tackles for loss and 1.5 sacks. This fall, Ohio State will need him to be even better. The Buckeyes return just three defensive starters. Count on McMillan to lead the way and strike fear into opposing players with huge hits.
5. Clemson LB Ben Boulware
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Last fall, Clemson’s offense and Deshaun Watson grabbed plenty of headlines, as the Tigers won their first 14 games and made the national title game before falling to Alabama. But Brent Venables’ defense deserved more than its share of credit. The Tigers yielded just 313 yards per game, No. 10 nationally, and 21.7 points per game, No. 3 nationally.
Linebacker Ben Boulware played a key role in his first season as a starter, rolling up 138 tackles, eight tackles for loss, 3.5 sacks and three forced fumbles.
He is not the biggest player at 6’0”, 240 pounds, but he makes up for that with his intensity. This fall, he’ll play an even bigger role for a defense that returns only three starters after losing six stalwarts to the NFL draft. Boulware loves to hit, and he’ll be doing plenty of it from the middle of Clemson’s defense in 2016.
4. Tulane LB Nico Marley
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New Tulane coach Willie Fritz takes over a program that is desperate for change. Fritz will bring in the flexbone option offense that he used with great success at Georgia Southern, producing the nation’s best rushing offense.
One thing that doesn’t need a change? The style of Nico Marley. The senior linebacker is the grandson of late reggae icon Bob Marley and the son of former Miami linebacker Rohan Marley, and he plays with his family’s rebellious spirit. Marley is not the biggest player on the field (5’10”, 208 lbs), but he has rolled up 232 tackles in his career.
Last fall, he was a first-team All-AAC linebacker, recording 82 tackles, 13 tackles for loss, one sack, one forced fumble and one interception. Marley makes plays from sideline to sideline and isn’t afraid to face down a bigger player head-on. Don’t expect him to back down in his final season of college football.
3. Texas A&M DE Myles Garrett
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If left tackles have nightmares, chances are Myles Garrett is a prime villain in their innermost fears. Texas A&M’s junior defensive end is that good and that fearsome. As he begins what will likely be his final season of college football (he is a likely top-five pick in next spring’s NFL draft), Garrett has built a frightening reputation for himself.
He stands 6’5”, 262 pounds and has the blend of power and speed that big hits are made of. He’s tough for opposing offensive lines to control too. He set the SEC record for sacks by a freshman with 11, breaking Jadeveon Clowney’s record. In 2015, he had 12.5 sacks, 19.5 tackles for loss and five forced fumbles.
This fall, Garrett is motivated for an even bigger year. That’s bad news for SEC quarterbacks.
2. Florida State S Derwin James
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Following a “down” 10-3 season in 2015, Florida State should return to national elite status this fall, battling Clemson for the ACC title. The Seminoles return 15 starters, including six from a defense that was downright stingy, allowing 17.5 points per game (No. 9 nationally).
All-America defensive back Jalen Ramsey is off to the NFL, but don’t expect much of a drop-off in the Seminoles secondary. Sophomore safety Derwin James is ready to emerge as the next great Florida State defender.
The 6’3”, 213-pound James was excellent as a true freshman. He recorded 91 tackles, 9.5 tackles for loss, 4.5 sacks, five pass breakups and two forced fumbles with two fumble recoveries. He finished second on FSU’s roster in tackles, tackles for loss, sacks, fumbles recovered and fumbles forced. His 91 tackles were the third-highest ever by an FSU freshman.
James has the size and speed to deliver big hit after big hit, and he is already building a resume of bone-crushing knocks. That should only increase after what is likely to be a breakout campaign in 2016.
1. LSU S Jamal Adams
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Jamal Adams’ reputation as a big hitter preceded him at LSU. According to Ron Higgins of NOLA.com, Jamal, the son of former NFL player George Adams, was such a hard hitter at seven years old that many opposing pee-wee teams stopped games early because he was sending too many players to the sidelines.
"Dad taught me to play aggressive," Adams told Higgins. "I was always flying around the ball. I got kicked out of a lot of leagues because I hit so hard."
He has more than lived up to his billing in Baton Rouge. Adams made his mark as a special teams player and earned freshman All-America honors after cracking the starting lineup midway through the 2014 season.
Last fall, he was even better. He had 67 tackles, 47 solo stops, five tackles for loss, six pass breakups and four interceptions, earning All-SEC honors. His hits serve as inspiration for his teammates, while opponents fear them. He’ll be a cornerstone of Dave Aranda’s first LSU defense and has all the looks of a future NFL star.
.jpg?w=480 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
