Power Ranking College Football's Top 10 Defensive Players
With exactly half of college football's 128 FBS schools averaging 30 or more points per game and more than one-third yielding that much in scoring on a weekly basis, it's easy to forget the importance of defense. But some of the biggest games of this season have been decided by a great defensive play, often through individual effort.
Clemson's exciting 42-36 win over Louisville came down to a defensive stop, with cornerback Marcus Edmond knocking receiver James Quick out of bounds one yard short of a first down. And Texas A&M was able to outlast Tennessee in double overtime this past weekend after Justin Evans intercepted a pass one play after the Aggies had scored the go-ahead touchdown.
With six weeks of the 2016 season in the books, it's time to give some love to the best defensive players in college. This ranking is based not just on statistics but also on how much their play affects the overall outcome of the game.
10. Nate Holley, S, Kent State
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Nate Holley is a ball hawk—or, more accurately, a ball-carrier hawk.
The 5'11", 210-pound senior leads FBS with 86 tackles in six games after ranking seventh in 2015 with 139. For his career, he has recorded 400 takedowns, of which 249 have been solo.
Kent State isn't a particularly good team, at 2-4 overall and 1-1 in the Mid-American Conference. Without Holley, however, it would be much worse, as he is involved in almost 20 percent of the Golden Flashes' tackles. He's notched at least 11 tackles in 13 consecutive games, including 17 in the season-opening loss to Penn State.
9. Harold Landry, DE, Boston College
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Watching Boston College play offense is a painful experience, particularly in the ACC. The Eagles have lost 11 straight conference games and have failed to score more than 17 points in each of those contests.
Yet the margin of defeat would be much worse if not for a stout defense that, although not as strong as it was in 2015 when it ranked first in FBS, is still formidable. And Harold Landry has as much to do with that as anyone.
Landry, a 6'3", 250-pound junior, has 6.5 sacks and 8.5 tackles for loss as well as four forced fumbles this season. He's jarred a ball loose in each of the past three games and had one of two sacks of Clemson quarterback Deshaun Watson during an otherwise-abysmal 56-10 loss for the Eagles last Thursday.
8. Minkah Fitzpatrick, CB, Alabama
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A freshman All-American last season, Minkah Fitzpatrick continues to get better with every game he plays. And as the top performer from the Alabama secondary, he's making his presence felt on a weekly basis.
The 6'1", 203-pound sophomore has three interceptions this season along with five pass breakups, as well as a forced fumble, 1.5 sacks and two tackles for loss among 27 tackles. All three picks came in Saturday's 49-30 win at Arkansas, including a 100-yard pick-six that clinched the game in the second half.
Fitzpatrick has become a favorite of Crimson Tide coach Nick Saban, who used him as an example when he said that other players on the team need to "understand there has to be attention to detail" in order to make plays, according to ESPN's Alex Scarborough: "When I talk about discipline and eye control—looking at the right things, understanding what the other team is trying to do so you put yourself in the best position to take advantage of it—he probably does that as well as anybody that we have on defense."
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7. Ejuan Price, DE, Pittsburgh
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Pittsburgh's Pat Narduzzi rose up the coaching ranks through his work on defense, serving as Michigan State's defensive coordinator from 2007-14 before taking over his own program. The overall defensive effort from the Panthers hasn't been as good as he would have hoped, particularly this season in allowing 31.5 points and 6.1 yards per game, yet Ejuan Price has managed to stand out.
A sixth-year senior who had a pair of seasons wiped out by injury, the 6'0", 255-pound Price leads the nation in sacks (8.5) and tackles for loss (12.5). He was among the top 10 in both categories last season as well.
"Despite the fact that opposing offenses are more aware of him now after last season, he's been even more dominant than he was last year," SB Nation's Anson Whaley wrote.
Price, who also has three forced fumbles and nine quarterback hurries, has recorded a sack in every game this season.
6. DeMarcus Walker, DE, Florida State
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The Florida State defense has underperformed this season, torched for 30-plus points in four of six games after that side of the ball has traditionally been such a strength. Because of this, DeMarcus Walker's tremendous senior year is getting somewhat overlooked.
The 6'4", 280-pound Walker opted to return to school despite a strong 2015 in which he had 10.5 sacks, 15.5 tackles for loss and four forced fumbles. He's on his way to topping those numbers with 6.5 sacks, seven TFLs and three forced fumbles, along with the second blocked kick of his career on a play that might have turned the Seminoles' season around.
FSU had just allowed rival Miami (Florida) to score a touchdown late in Saturday's game, but on the potential tying extra point, Walker pushed his way through the line and got his hand up to deflect the kick. The play has already become known as the "Block at the Rock" since it happened at Miami's Hard Rock Stadium.
"I needed to make a play. I didn't want to go to overtime because I was too tired," Walker told the Associated Press (h/t Yahoo Sports).
5. Derek Barnett, DE, Tennessee
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Halfway to a third consecutive season with at least 10 sacks, Derek Barnett isn't just a pass-rusher. Though that's what he's best known for, his junior year is showing the full complement of his skill set, and he has been integral to Tennessee's strong start.
The 6'3", 265-pound Barnett has come into his own as both a run-stopper and someone who can make plays even if he's not in the backfield. His two pass breakups this season are already twice what he'd had in his first two years, and against Texas A&M on Saturday, he dropped back into coverage and successfully guarded Josh Reynolds on a passing route.
"We've got Barnett Island now," Tennessee's LaTroy Lewis told 247Sports.
Barnett also makes his mark against the run, not always making the stop but doing enough to allow a teammate to get to the ball-carrier. He has 25 percent of the team's 38 tackles for loss this season.
4. Jabrill Peppers, LB, Michigan
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It's been 19 years since a player whose main position was on defense won the Heisman Trophy—that being Michigan cornerback Charles Woodson in 1997. But Woodson's win came as much because of his snaps on offense and special teams as his work on defense.
Jabrill Peppers is in the same boat, with the redshirt sophomore rising up Heisman rankings because of the contributions he's making to the unbeaten Wolverines as a ball-carrier and return man. Yet without the foundation on defense, this campaign wouldn't be able to get off the ground.
The 6'1", 205-pound Peppers sits fourth on Odds Shark's Heisman list at 9-1, trailing only a trio of quarterbacks (Lamar Jackson, Deshaun Watson and J.T. Barrett). Odds Shark's Justin Hartling called him a "jack-of-all-trades" because of his ability to play linebacker, safety or corner.
"Aside from just being the heart and soul of one of the best defenses in the world, Peppers is on pace to record 76 tackles, 20 tackles for a loss, five sacks and two forced fumbles," Hartling wrote.
3. Reuben Foster, LB, Alabama
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Though its main area of expertise is the NFL, Pro Football Focus also closely watches the college game to evaluate and observe the next wave of future pros. Thus, that site's designation of Reuben Foster being the "best, most complete linebacker in the nation" holds some weight.
The 6'1", 236-pound senior doesn't have the numbers to show it, outside of a team-high 37 tackles, but his play in the middle of the Alabama defense is the straw that stirs the drink. According to PFF, the inside linebacker has made 15 defensive stops on 106 snaps against the run and is a perfect 7-of-7 on solo tackles when against a receiver.
"The fact that he simply doesn’t make a lot of mistakes but forces several big plays before and beyond the line of scrimmage in every game, be it in coverage, against the run or as a pass-rusher, highlights why he will likely have a long career playing on Sundays too," PFF's Gordon McGuinness wrote.
Foster suffered a concussion during Saturday's win at Arkansas after hitting his head on the ground (per Bleacher Report's Christopher Walsh). His status for this week's game at Tennessee is uncertain.
2. Joe Mathis, LB, Washington
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Washington's 6-0 start (and rise to No. 5 in the Associated Press poll, its highest ranking since 2000) has hinged on a tremendously balanced and efficient offense and a defense where there are no soft spots. The Huskies are sixth nationally in scoring defense, ninth in yards allowed per play and tied for second with 24 sacks.
Each of those stats is directly related to the impact Joe Mathis has had in his breakout senior season.
The 6'2", 255-pounder began his career as a defensive lineman but has been shifted back to the second tier of the Washington defense, though he's up on the line and in the backfield just as much. Mathis has five sacks and 7.5 tackles for loss, already career highs in both categories. Even when he doesn't make the tackle, his play stands out.
A perfect example was during Washington's blowout win over Stanford on Sept. 30, when Mathis bulldozed an offensive tackle on a rush. He had two of the Huskies' eight sacks in that game.
1. Myles Garrett, DE, Texas A&M
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Prior to the 2016 season, we ranked the top 100 players in college football, and Myles Garrett was the highest-listed defender at No. 4. Nothing he's done through the first six weeks has changed his status as the best defensive player in the country. If anything, he's increased his hold on this distinction.
The 6'5", 270-pound junior set the SEC freshman sack record in 2014 with 11.5 and upped that total to 12.5 last season, along with 19.5 tackles for loss. This year, he's at four and six, respectively, though his influence on the game goes far beyond traditional statistics.
"With 35 total pressures on 169 pass-rushing attempts, he averages a pressure on 4.8 pass-rushing attempts," Pro Football Focus noted.
Garrett had a sack and forced a fumble in Texas A&M's double-overtime win over Tennessee on Saturday, despite being only 70 percent healthy going into the game, according to Ben Baby of the Dallas Morning News.
Garrett's 70 percent is far better than most players' 100 percent.
All recruiting information courtesy of Scout.com, unless otherwise noted. All statistics provided by CFBStats, unless otherwise noted.
Follow Brian J. Pedersen on Twitter at @realBJP.
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