Over the past three days 32 NFL teams did everything they could to improve their odds for a Super Bowl title. Surprise selections were made, some teams filled big needs while others looked to the future, and a good time was had by all. In fact, it was so enjoyable that maybe we should think about doing it again.
And we will, in about a year for now.
We do not know yet what form the next college football season will take. Are we going to see games in the fall, or will there be a winter/spring college football season? Are we going to see crowded stadiums, or empty venues. Regardless of how that plays out, there is always a new crop of new prospects to get to know over the summer. The offensive half of this list is already available, and here is the defensive half.
Interior Defensive Linemen
1. Marvin Wilson, Florida State
2. Jaylen Twyman, Pittsburgh
3. Tyler Shelvin, LSU
4. Christian Barmore, Alabama
5. Darius Stills, West Virginia
6. Jay Tufele, USC
7. Mustafa Johnson, Colorado
8. Tedarrell Slaton, Florida
9. Damion Daniels, Nebraska
10. LaBryan Ray, Alabama
It was somewhat of a surprise when Marvin Wilson decided to return to Florida State for his senior campaign. Wilson notched career-highs last season in sacks (five) tackles for a loss (eight and a half) and tackles (44), and was considered a first-round selection. In fact, the NFL Draft Advisory Committee gave him a first round grade, but he decided to return to campus. Wilson told the Tallahassee Democrat that he had unfinished business with the Seminoles. “I feel like we’ve got to rep the spear a lot better. I feel like we’ve got to come out and dominate the football field and we didn’t do that the last couple years and I just can’t leave Florida State knowing I’ve got an extra year left. I just want to come out and give my all one last year.”
Shelvin had a big year for the LSU Tigers during their run to the title. The defensive tackle had 13 starts at nose tackle and recorded 39 tackles, including three for a loss, while getting double-teamed on almost every snap. Pittsburgh’s Twyman was the first interior lineman to lead Pittsburgh in sacks since 2013. That player? Aaron Donald. Ray from Alabama battled injuries last year, but if healthy he can be an impact player on the inside.
Edge Defenders
1. Gregory Rousseau, Miami
2. Carlos Basham Jr., Wake Forest
3. Xavier Thomas, Clemson
4. Hamilcar Rashed Jr., Oregon State
5. Joe Tryon, Washington
6. Aidan Hutchinson, Michigan
7. Markaviest “Big Kat” Bryant, Auburn
8. Quincy Roche, Miami
9. Shaka Toney, Penn State
10. Kwity Paye, Michigan
Last year was a breakout season for Gregory Rousseau, as the redshirt freshman saw his first significant action and rewarded his coaches with 15.5 sacks, the second-most in school history. His 19.5 tackles for a loss were the most since Calais Campbell tallied 20.5 for the Hurricanes in 2006. He was the only freshman in FBS to rank in the top 40 in sacks and the only freshman in FBS to record double-digit sacks. Things might even get easier for him, with Quincy Roche now lining up across from him. Roche joins Miami as a transfer from Temple, where he registered 13 sacks a year ago, placing him third in the nation. Roche was also named the American Athletic Conference Defensive Player of the Year. Coming in second in sacks last season, sandwiched between the new Hurricanes teammates, was Rashed Jr. The Oregon State pass rusher was a First-Team All-American selection by Sports Illustrated, and his 22.5 tackles for a loss last season led the nation and set a school record.
Linebackers
1. Micah Parsons, Penn State
2. Dylan Moses, Alabama
3. Jack Sanborn, Wisconsin
4. Tuf Borland, Ohio State
5. Charles Snowden, Virginia
6. Chazz Surratt, North Carolina
7. Nate Landman, Colorado
8. Nick Bolton, Missouri
9. Jabril Cox, LSU
10. DaShaun White, Oklahoma
This might be the most intriguing group of prospects out of any positional group to study over the upcoming summer. Micah Parsons might be the next great Penn State linebacker, if he is not already. He garnered almost every single aware you can think of last season as a true sophomore, and among those honors he became the first sophomore in Big Ten history to win the Butkus-Fitzgerald Linebacker of the Year Award. He finished the season with ten or more tackles in three straight games, and six of the final seven games. Borland is a two-time captain at Ohio State and has played in 44 career games, notching 180 tackles, 15.5 tackles for a loss and five sacks. He has played in every game the past three seasons (42), and that includes playing in 2018 despite suffering an Achilles injury during spring practice.
Plus he has an almost perfect name for a linebacker.
The two most interesting players might be Chazz Surratt from UNC and Jabril Cox at LSU. We can start with Surratt, who was named the Associated Press Offensive Player of the Year his senior year in high school in the state of North Carolina, and the Gatorade state player of the year, as a quarterback. As a redshirt freshman in 2017 he made seven starts for the Tar Heels, throwing for 1,342 yards and eight touchdowns. But he appeared in just one game at quarterback in 2018, and after that season he switched to linebacker. Last year, his first as a ‘backer? He was named a First-Team All-ACC selection and was a runner-up for ACC Defensive Player of the Year. His 115 tackles led the team and were second in the conference.
Then there is Cox, who joins the Tigers as a graduate transfer from North Dakota State. While with the Bison, Cox was a two-time FCS All-American and a three-time National Champion. With both Patrick Queen and Jacob Phillips departing to the NFL, he has a chance to step right in and prove himself in the testing grounds of the SEC.
Cornerbacks
1. Patrick Surtain II, Alabama
2. Shaun Wade, Ohio State
3. Eric Stokes, Georgia
4. Paulson Adebo, Stanford
5. Caleb Farley, Virginia Tech
6. Derion Kendrick, Clemson
7. Asante Samuel Jr., Florida State
8. Jaycee Horn, South Carolina
9. Deommodore Lenior, Oregon
10. Tariq Castro-Fields, Penn State
This is a group that is sure to make most of us feel old. We start with Patrick Surtain II from Alabama, son of Patrick Surtain Sr, a three-time Pro Bowl selection from 2002 to 2004 while with the Miami Dolphins. Surtain Jr. notched eight pass breakups, two interceptions and a fumble recovery last season. Also on this list are Asante Samuel Jr., son of the former NFL defensive back, and Jaycee Horn, son of former NFL wide receiver Joe Horn.
Shaun Wade has the chance to be the next great NFL defensive back from Ohio State, and he will move outside after spending the 2018 season in the slot. He has experience playing in both zone and press alignments, and you can see the quickness and long speed to be an excellent outside defender. Similar to Chazz Surratt, Derion Kendrick is another intiriguing position switch. He came to Clemson as a wide receiver and was actually the fourth-ranked receiver in his recruiting class according to 247Sports.com. He caught 15 passes for 210 yards and was a solid kick returner for Clemson as a freshman in 2018. But when the Tigers suffered injuries at cornerback, he switched to the defensive side of the football in 2019 and earned Second-Team All-ACC honors at the position.
Safeties
1. Hamsah Nasirildeen, Florida State
2. Andre Cisco, Syracuse
3. Caden Sterns, Texas
4. Jevon Holland, Oregon
5. Richie Grant, UCF
6. Richard LeCounte, Georgia
7. Kolby Harvell-Peel, Oklahoma State
8. Trevon Moehrig, TCU
9. Paris Ford, Pittsburgh
10. Ar’Darius Washington, TCU
Hamsah Nasirildeen is a rising senior who enjoyed a huge junior campaign. Last year he recorded 101 tackles, becoming the first Florida State defender to record 100 tackles in a season and the first since 1990 with multiple 17-tackle games in a season. For his efforts he was named a Second-Team All-ACC Selection. Andre Cisco enters the 2020 season as the FBS active leader in interceptions (12) and has led the ACC in interceptions each of the past two seasons. He was also a Second-Team All-ACC selection.
TCU’s safety tandem of Trevon Moehrig and Ar’Darius Washington is going to be fascinating to watch. Moehrig was graded by Pro Football Focus as the best safety in FBS last season, and they went as far as calling his season the third-most valuable in the PFF College Era. He allowed just two of his 17 contested targets to be caught. Washington was PFF’s second-highest graded safety a season ago, and he allowed just five catches out of 265 coverage snaps and forced a combined seven interceptions and pass breakups.
