The Best of

the Best
2010-2011 Season
Then look no further.
The 2010-2011 Best of the Best guide is here.
This guide lists and ranks, qualifies and quantifies,
analyzes and examines the best players from the best
teams in all six BCS conferences. We rank breakdown
players within their own team, then within their own
conference, and finally, against each other.
Weve left no stone unturned and we hope you enjoy
reading the first edition of what we hopes to be an
annual publication.
Mostly, we just hope this list stirs some lively debate.
Enjoy.
Looking for a comprehensive
ranking of all the big teams
and all the big players?
By Team
Rankings and Lists
By Conference
Scott Tolzien
QB, Wisconsin
Leonard Hankerson
WR, Miami
Tyler Sash S, Iowa
EBES
By Big Six
2
Letter from the Editor:
1o the (hopefu|) |oya| readers:
l'd llke Lo say 'Lhank you.'
1hank you for Laklng Lhe Llme Lo conslder Lhls llLLle
publlcaLlon.
AdmlLLedly, we're a small sLaff. And ulLlmaLely, Lhese are
[usL a small sLaff's oplnlons.
8uL llke many of you who chose Lo open Lhls Loday, we are
ma[or fans of college fooLball, so much you could say
we're geeks abouL lL.
So whaL exacLly are you readlng? And why should you
read furLher?
Well, aL L8 LdlLorlal, we've Laken Lhe Llme Lo waLch more
Lhan 220 college fooLball games Lhls season. More Lhan
200 of Lhose have been waLched more Lhan once. AlmosL
all of Lhose have been waLched as been waLched more
Lhan Lwlce. So on and so forLh.
AL an average of abouL 133 plays per game, LhaL's.well,
way Loo many plays Lo counL.
8uL we dld lL. SomeLlmes Ledlously, someLlmes
monoLonously, we charLed each play ln each game for
varlous parameLers. And - perhaps unforLunaLely - Lhere
was no sophlsLlcaLed compuLer program or sofLware Lo
help ln Lhls Lask. uown and dlsLance, yards galned, yards
losL, compleLlons, aLLempLs, Lackles, sacks, knockdowns -
lL was all Laken lnLo conslderaLlon and wrlLLen by hand or
Lyped lnLo a regular ol' Lxcel spreadsheeL.
uslng boLh numerlcal daLa and Lhe old 'eyeball LesL,' Lhese
ranklngs were creaLed.
1hese aren'L ranklngs of who we belleve wlll make Lhe
besL nlLers, or even who we Lhlnk should have been llrsL
1eam All-CaLeway Conference or Lhe llke. 1hese are
slmply Lhe besL" players and Lhey're llsLed as such.
Who's Lhe besL college fooLball player aL Lhls very momenL
aL hls poslLlon? ln hls conference? Pow does he sLack up
agalnsL players ln oLher conferences?
?ou'll flgure lL ouL here.
A polnL or Lwo abouL quallflcaLlon of Lhese ranklngs:
1he lndlvldual ranklngs may be Lhe mosL dlfflculL Lask. lor
each llsL, we only used one player per Leam and each Leam
had Lo have one player on Lhe llsL.
So, for example, a Leam llke vlrglnla 1ech may geL Lhe
shorL end of Lhe sLlck as Lhey Lake a commlLLee approach.
Conversely, a player llke !ames WhlLe aL Wlsconsln was
lefL off Lhe llsL because whlle he may be Lhe Lhlrd besL
runnlng back ln Lhe 8lg 1en, he's noL even Lhe besL on hls
Leam.
llnally, Lhls lsn'L a llsL LhaL conslders [usL numbers. We llke
Lo Lhlnk lL's an all-encompasslng llsL. We rank by sLaLlsLlcs,
sure, buL also by LalenL (or, ln some cases, percelved
LalenL) and relaLlvlLy - meanlng, would Ceorgla 1ech's
AnLhony Allen puL up as many yards lf he were playlng ln
1eam x's sysLem?
We sLayed away from charLlng offenslve llnemen and
LlghL ends, Loo. Why? 8ecause, frankly, Lhey're very hard
Lo evaluaLe. We began Lo do lL and declded we dldn'L
wanL Lo bore you Lo deaLh wlLh Lalk of bends aL Lhe
knees, noL aL Lhe walsL" and greaL fooLwork buL sLruggles
wlLh speed rushers."
All LhaL belng sald, lf you've made lL Lhls far, you're our
klnd of reader. ?ou dlg Lhrough Lhe fluff, pomp and
clrcumsLance and geL Lo Lhe rooL of lL.
1here's a loL of lnformaLlon here. Some of lL we wlsh we
could have broken down more ln-depLh.
8uL hey, Lhere's always nexL year.
We hope you debaLe Lhls.
We hope you send up sharp-Longued e-malls or LweeLs
Lelllng us how crazy we are.
We hope lL makes you wanL Lo read lL agaln nexL year.
We hope you wanL Lo advlse on whaL you llked and whaL
you dldn'L.
MosLly, we [usL hope you llke lL.
1hank you agaln for readlng.
Ln[oy.
Slncerely,
Eric W. Bolin
3
Big Ten - Quarterbacks
1. Denard kob|nson - Mlchlgan
2. 1erre||e ryor - Chlo SLaLe
3. Scott 1o|z|en - Wlsconsln
4. Dan ersa - norLhwesLern
3. k|cky Stanz| - lowa
6. k|rk Cous|ns - Mlchlgan SLaLe
7. 8en Chappe|| - lndlana
8. Adam Weber - MlnnesoLa
9. Nathan Schee|haase - llllnols
10. M|ke McG|o|n - enn SLaLe
11. kob nenry - urdue
Big Ten Conference
Largely dominated by powerful ground games and
physical defenses in recent years, the Big Ten
Conference produced three of the nations most
dynamic dual-threat quarterbacks in the country in
2010.
Robinson was a Heisman contender early. Pryor was
even better this year. And Persa led a team with no
real running game to speak of. Even Scheelhaase can
move the ball on the ground.
Times are changing in the Midwest.
kob|nson: lL's really a shame he has mlddllng wlde recelvers and no runnlng back. 1eams loaded ln Lhe box Lo sLop hlm
and he sLlll ran wlld ln Lhe flrsL half. Pe slowed laLe, buL, man, geL Lhe guy some LalenL.
ryor: Pe beaLs no.'s 3 and 4 on Lhe llsL from a LalenL perspecLlve alone. Seems people wanL Lo knock hlm down
because of whaL he uCLSn'1 do lnsLead of noLlng whaL he does. 1hose 23 1u Lhrows are noLhlng aL whlch Lo sneeze.
1o|z|en: AnoLher 8lg 1en C8 he dld a loL wlLh a llLLle. Pe's noL expecLed Lo wln games - hls 88s do LhaL - buL he's as
efflclenL wlLh anyone wlLh llLLle help aL W8.
ersa: We wanL Lo puL hlm hlgher. Pe was llrsL 1eam All 8lg 1en. Pe can run, he can Lhrow and he led Lhe 'CaLs Lo
some lmprobable wlns. 8uL ln LlghL ones, norLhwesLern dldn'L come Lhrough, Lhus hls drop Lo no. 4.
Stanz|: So Lhe Pawkeyes couldn'L repeaL lasL year's success. noL SLanzl's faulL, really. Cnly Lhrew four lnLercepLlons Lo
go wlLh hls 23 Louchdowns. lowa [usL dldn'L have Lhe maglc of 2009.
Cous|ns: lL doesn'L seem falr LhaL we prop 1olzlen up for belng a game-manager and drop Couslns for Lhe same Lhlng.
SparLy beaL uW head-Lo-head and Couslns doesn'L have 1olzlen's runnlng game. 8uL he also Lhrew more lnLercepLlons
and has beLLer recelvers.
Chappe||: ?es, hls Leam sLunk. ?es, he puL up blg numbers. ?es, Lhose numbers are a producL of Lhe sysLem. SLlll, he's a
good quarLerback wlLh no offenslve llne and no runnlng game.
Weber: 1alenL lsn'L lacklng, buL declslon-maklng ls. !usL a 2-Lo-1 1u Lo ln1 raLlo and hls Leam's lack of performance goL
lLs coach flred mldway Lhrough Lhe season. Pard Lo rank hlgher, regardless of LalenL.
Schee|haase: no one knew who Lhe llllnl C8 would be aL Lhe beglnnlng of Lhe season. 1he freshman Look Lhe [ob and
ran wlLh lL. SlxLeen 1us are lmpresslve conslderlng he has Lhe worsL recelvlng corps ln Lhe conference.
McG|o|n: Pad he played Lhe whole season as sLarLer, he may be hlgher. Pe Look over mldway Lhrough and Lhrew 13
1u and [usL 4 ln1. 1oo llLLle, Loo laLe for Lhe [unlor. We're also Lhlnklng Lhose 1us were a producL of a good recelvlng
corps and noL so much a loL of LalenL aL C8.
nenry: WhaL a mess. 1hree dlfferenL quarLerbacks Look Lhe relns ln WesL LafayeLLe, lnd., and none of Lhem were good.
Penry flnlshed as Lhe sLarLer and was beLLer ln hls lasL Lwo games, buL even Lhough he's a freshman, we doubL he'll
Lake Lhe relns for good nexL year.
4
SEC - Quarterbacks
1. Cam Newton - Auburn
2. kyan Ma||ett - Arkansas
3. Greg McL|roy - Alabama
4. Aaron Murray - Ceorgla
3. Stephen Garc|a - SouLh Carollna
6. M|ke nart||ne - kenLucky
7. Chr|s ke|f - Mlsslsslppl SLaLe
8. Ierem|ah Maso|| - Cle Mlss
9. Ieff 8rant|ey - llorlda
10. Iordan Iefferson - LSu
11. 1y|er 8ray - 1ennessee
12. Larry Sm|th - vanderbllL
Southeastern Conference
Newtons presence along makes the SEC QB club a
one of the best in the country.
There were more classic passers this year than we
would have figured. At least, classic passers fared
better than their dual-threat counterparts for the
most part.
From top to bottom, it isnt terribly deep, but the
first four are all really good players. Oh, and more
than the group will be back next year.
Newton: Shocker, huh? uo we even need Lo glve an explanaLlon here? uldn'L Lhlnk so.
Ma||ett: Maybe Lhe second-besL quarLerback ln Lhe counLry, noL [usL Lhe SLC. 8ldlculous numbers agaln and he was
bolsLered by a good runnlng aLLack (aL leasL ln Lhe second half). A sure-flre flrsL rounder when he heads Lo Lhe nlL.
McL|roy: A beLLer season Lhan lasL, belleve lL or noL, aL leasL, lndlvldually. A healLhy !ullo !ones helped, buL McLlroy won
games because of hls arm aL Llmes Lhls year. 1he ulLlmaLe game-manager.
Murray: lL mlghL have been a bad year ln ALhens buL don'L blame Lhe redshlrL freshman. 1hlngs look brlghL for Lhe
8ulldogs ln Lhe fuLure. Pls 24-Lo-6 1u-ln1 raLlo ls Lled wlLh newLon for SLC's besL.
Garc|a: 1alenL flnally shlned Lhrough aL Llmes Lhls year. Pe can run, he can Lhrow, buL he sLlll geLs knocked a peg or Lwo
for some quesLlonable declslon-maklng.
nart||ne: Maybe we're ranklng hlm hlgher because he's such a surprlse. We dldn'L Lhlnk he had a shoL ln Lhe world of
belng C8 agaln Lhls year. Pe won Lhe [ob, Lhough, and puL up masslve numbers. CranLed, he has LalenL around hlm, buL
you're lylng lf you saw Lhls comlng from hlm.
ke|f: Look, we [usL don'L Lhlnk LhaL hlghly of hlm. Pe can'L Lhrow and hls runs seem Lo happen on accldenL. Pe [usL
doesn'L look llke a Lerrlbly skllled quarLerback Lo me, regardless of Lhe Leam's record.
Maso||: lf Lhls llsL were LalenL alone, he'd probably be Lhlrd or fourLh. 1oo bad. Pe Lhrew way Loo many lnLercepLlons
and clearly wasn'L Lhe player nuLL hoped he would be.
8rant|ey: Pe'll be remembered as Lhe guy who couldn'L replace 1ebow. Agaln, Loo bad. Pe had some of Lhe worsL
Lhrows we've ever seen, buL he also had some of Lhe besL LhaL hls recelvers sLralghL up dropped. Clve hlm Llme, he'll geL
beLLer. 1ebow he lsn'L, Lhough.
Iefferson: Pe was our plck Lo Lake Lhe blggesL leap forward ln all of college fooLball. um, LhaL was abouL as wlse as our 3-
7 record plck for Cklahoma SLaLe. Pe was [usL plaln awful Lhls year. no excuse elLher because he has LalenL around hlm.
8ray: Less-Lhan-sLellar season from Lhe Lwo vols C8s. nelLher looks llke a fuLure sLar, or heck, even a fuLure sLarLer, Lo
me.
Sm|th: 1he dual-C8 sysLem conLlnues ln posL-CuLler era. lL sLlll lsn'L worklng. never LhoughL we'd say Lhls, buL Lhey mlss
Mackenzl Adams.
5
Big XII - Quarterbacks
1. kobert Gr|ff|n III - 8aylor
2. 8randon Weeden - Cklahoma SLaLe
3. Landry Iones - Cklahoma
4. 1ay|or Mart|nez - nebraska
3. kyan 1anneh||| - 1exas A&M
6. 8|a|ne Gabbert - Mlssourl
7. 1ay|or otts - 1exas 1ech
8. Cody nawk|ns - Colorado
9. Austen Arnaud - lowa SLaLe
10. Carson Coffman - kansas SLaLe
11. Garrett G||bert - 1exas
12. Iordan Webb - kansas
Big XII
A case can be made for any of the top four to take
the No. 1 spot. The Big 12 had great QB play at the
top and poor QB play at the bottom. Everyone in
the middle played about to talent level and
expectations.
Unless a surprise from the group decides to turn
pro early, the Big XII has a lock on the best
returning class for 2011.
Let the big numbers continue.
Gr|ff|n III: MosL of our colleagues would dlsagree. 8uL LalenL + numbers + more wlns Lhan expecLed = Lop spoL ln Lhls
llsL.
Weeden: We LhoughL he was a capable player enLerlng Lhe season, buL we never would have guessed he'd puL up Lhe
numbers he has, regardless of Lhe Leam's new offense. 8eally shlned and has a leglL case for Lop spoL here.
Iones: Amazlng aL home, average on Lhe road. lus, you sLlll wonder whaL he's Lhlnklng back Lhere someLlmes. 8lg
plays come wlLh blg mlsLakes here. numbers say he's besL, we say oLherwlse.
Mart|nez: lf he could Lhrow worLh a llck, l'd have hlm hlgher. 8unnlng skllls are noLhlng shorL of amazlng. Pe also had
some quesLlon marks around hlm Lhls year (rumors of hlm qulLLlng, LeammaLes dlsllklng hlm, eLc.), leglL or noL, so l
wonder whaL's golng on ln Llncoln.
1anneh|||: We were all wrong on !arrod !ohnson, leL's face lL. 1annehlll came ln and has played remarkably. Sure, he
doesn'L have a whole season under hls belL, buL lmaglne whaL Lhe Aggles would have done wlLh hlm all year.
Gabbert: numbers were down, Lhus hlm belng only slxLh. 1he 1lgers had no buslness dolng as well as Lhey dld Lhls
year, especlally afLer loslng uerrlck WashlngLon aL 88. CabberL knows how Lo wln and ls a greaL pro prospecL. lL's
Lough Lo puL hlm Lhls low. uld wear as season wenL on, Lhough.
otts: Won Lhe [ob, seemlngly aL Lhe lasL mlnuLe and subsequenLly played llke a guy who won Lhe [ob aL Lhe lasL
mlnuLe. LoLs of Louchdowns, buL needed Lo do more (aL leasL, needed Lo do more Lo go hlgher on Lhls llsL).
nawk|ns: Cnce Lhe posLer-boy for hls dad's sLruggles aL Cu, Pawklns came ln for 1yler Pansen abouL mldway Lhrough
Lhe season and looked sharp. Pe wasn'L amazlng by any means, buL he oLher Lhan Lhe choke [ob agalnsL ku (whlch
wasn'L hls faulL), Lhe 8uffs looked beLLer wlLh hlm aL C8.
Arnaud: We Lhlnk hlgher of Arnaud Lhan anyone ouLslde Ames, apparenLly. Pe has hls lssues (Loo many plcks), buL we
really llke hls LalenL. lf he only had LalenL elsewhere around hlm.
Coffman: We don'L care lf kSu was beLLer Lhls year, Carson Coffman ls noL a good quarLerback Lnd of sLory.
G||bert: CllberL may be Lhe blggesL dlsappolnLmenL ln college fooLball. Pe was scared ln Lhe pockeL, made Lerrlble
Lhrows, dldn'L show he could run very well. We expecL hlm Lo geL beLLer, buL we clearly overraLed hlm.
Webb: Pe wasn'L good Lhls year for Lhe !ayhawks, buL Lhere's reason for hope. ku needs a loL of change Lo geL beLLer,
Lhough.
6
g
ACC - Quarterbacks
1. 1yrod 1ay|or - vlrglnla 1ech
2. kusse|| W||son - norLh Carollna SLaLe
3. Danny C'8r|en - Maryland
4. Chr|st|an onder - llorlda SLaLe
3. Iosh Nesb|tt - Ceorgla 1ech
6. 1.I. ates - norLh Carollna
7. Iacory narr|s - Mlaml
8. ky|e arker - Clemson
9. Marc Ver|ca - vlrglnla
10. Sean kenfree - uuke
11. 1anner r|ce - Wake loresL
12. Chase kett|g - 8osLon College
Atlantic Coast Conference
To be honest, we were never as high on Tyrod
Taylor as others. We had him ranked in the middle
of the pack last year and only fourth to enter this
year.
Theres a lot of talent in the first seven spots, but all
but the top three played below their talent level
and the ACC continued to be a conference others
dont think too highly of.
Its a new season next year, though, as most wont
1ay|or: 1hlngs dldn'L sLarL well ln 8lacksburg. uarren Lvans dldn'L have Lhe season people hoped, nor dld an ln[ured
8yan Wllllams. 1haL lefL 1aylor Lo do more Lhan he should and he responded wlLh hls besL-ever season.
W||son: Cnce had Lhe longesL sLreak of passes wlLhouL an lnLercepLlon. Well, LhaL was Lwo years ago and he Lhrew 14
Lhls year. noL good. 8uL he's Lhe besL small" quarLerback ln Lhe counLry, sLlll.
C'8r|en: Pe dldn'L begln Lhe season as sLarLer ln Lhe 1erps' supposed run-heavy offense. Cnce he came ln, Lhough,
Maryland dld a 180. lrom all-run Lo mosLly-pass, lL was a solld season ln College ark, mosLly Lhanks Lo C'8rlen.
onder: uarkhorse Pelsman Lalk was oversLaLed, buL lL's noL llke onder had a bad year. We'll Lake 20 1u and 8 ln1
from our quarLerback mosL years. LosL some bad games, buL won all Lhe ones Lhey should have.
Nesb|tt: Clearly mlssed uemarlyus 1homas aL W8 and !onaLhan uwyer aL 88, buL sLlll had a greaL season runnlng Lhe
ball. ?ou won'L flnd anyone ln l8S LhaL Lhrows a worse looklng ball buL nesblLL can sLlll make you gasp when he geLs ln
open space.
ates: Pe never does anyLhlng specLacular and he'll occaslonally make you wanL Lo say, WhaL Lhe hell are you
dolng!?" 8uL he Look a Leam wlLh a loL of problems Lo a decenL record.
narr|s: ?ou have Lo feel for Parrls and Lhe whole Mlaml program. Coach 8andy Shannon Lurned Lhem lnLo a sLand-up
program and would have kepL hls [ob had Parrls been healLhy Lhls year. A concusslon knocked hlm ouL mldway
Lhrough and Lhe 'Canes sLruggled. Pard Lo see Lhe kld go ouL llke LhaL.
arker: ?es, we sald lL Lwo years ago and we're saylng lL agaln: uabo Swlnney should have chose Wllly korn as hls
sLarLer. lnsLead, korn wenL Lo Marshall, arker Look Lhe relns and 1lgers sLunk Lhls year. SLlck Lo baseball, arker.
Ver|ca: 1he Cavallers aren'L a good fooLball Leam. 1hey haven'L been ln a long Llme. verlca ls slmply a sLopgap opLlon
for Lhe Leam aL C8. Pe Lhrew for a loL of yards, buL Lhere's noLhlng speclal abouL anyLhlng golng on ln CharloLLesvllle.
kenfree: 1ough Lo replace Lhe school's besL-ever player (ask !ohn 8ranLley) and 8enfree wasn'L qulLe ready. Pe was
hlghly LouLed comlng ouL of PS, buL 17 ln1s were Loo many for anyone on any Leam. Pe needs Lo geL beLLer.
r|ce: 1he freshman had momenLs LhaL looked good and Lhey're clearly bulldlng for Lhe fuLure ln WlnsLon-Salem, buL
Lhls year, rlce was noL Lhe man.
kett|g: Somehow, 8osLon College, whlch used Lhree quarLerbacks Lhls season wenL Lo a bowl game. 8eLLlg ended Lhe
season as sLarLer, buL he had 6 1us and 7 ln1s. ln facL, no 8C C8 had beLLer 1u Lo ln1 numbers.

7
PAC 10 - Quarterbacks
1. Andrew Luck - SLanford
2. Darron 1homas - Cregon
3. Matt 8ark|ey - uSC
4. N|ck Io|es - Arlzona
3. Iake Locker - WashlngLon
6. Ieff 1ue| - WashlngLon SLaLe
7. Nate k||ey - Callfornla
8. kyan katz - Cregon SLaLe
9. Steven 1hreet - Arlzona SLaLe
10. Nate 8rehaut - uCLA
PAC 10 Conference
The conference is loaded with NFL talent. Thomas
finished second, but hes probably seventh on NFL
draft boards.
But college isnt the pros and these arent the best
college football players the PAC 10 has ever had.
Luck shines however.
Status for next year is unclear as the best ones
Luck: lf lL weren'L for Cam newLon, folks would be Lalklng Luck for Pelsman. Pe looks beLLer each week, desplLe noL
havlng Lhe mosL brllllanL of casLs and puL up rldlculous 4-Lo-1 1u Lo ln1 raLlo
1homas: Pe doesn'L Lhrow Lhe sharpesL ball ln Lhe world, buL lL's noL Lhe ugllesL elLher. Welrdly, he's largely overlooked
desplLe playlng on Lhe no. 1 Leam ln Lhe counLry. LfflclenL wlLh boLh hls legs and arms, no C8 had more rushlng yards
Lhan 1homas ln Lhe ac 10.
8ark|ey: Look, lL wasn'L hls faulL Lhe 1ro[ans dldn'L exacLly knock lL ouL of Lhe park Lhls year. Pe was largely lmproved
followlng an unspecLacular year. Pe Lhrew Loo many plcks, buL LhaL offense was hummlng mosL of Lhe year, even wlLh
down LalenL. Pe'll only geL beLLer.
Io|es: AnoLher dual-LhreaL ln a conference packed wlLh Lhem, loles dldn'L exacLly Lake a huge sLep forward ln hls second
year as full-Llme sLarLer. 8uL he dld enough and wlLh Lhe conference's besL W8 ln hls arsenal, enough was enough.
Locker: Sure, he's overraLed. 8uL doesn'L make hlm a bad player. Locker's noL Lhe besL college quarLerback you'll ever
see. Pe's [usL an aLhleLe. 8uL a really good one. lL's easy Lo Lhrow hlm under Lhe bus as overraLed - people Lhlnk he
doesn'L have skllls. 8uL he's sLlll a solld quarLerback.
1ue|: WhaL? A WashlngLon SLaLe player Lhls hlgh? lL speaks more Lo Lhe lack of depLh ln Lhe ac 10 quarLerback poslLlon
Lhan anyLhlng else. 1uel made Lhe Cougs nC1 Lhe worsL Leam ln l8S. Pe's noLhlng Lo bulld on, buL he handled a Lerrlble
glg admlrably.
k||ey: 1he Colden 8ears are slmply a mess. 1hey seem Lo have Lhe same Lypes of seasons over and over. 8lley ls Lhe
deflnlLlon of Lhe Leam's performance. Pe looks greaL one week, Lerrlble Lhe nexL. Pe was knocked ouL near Lhe end of
Lhe season and replaced by (yuck) 8rock Manslon. Medlocre, aL besL.
katz: Loslng blg play W8 !ames 8odgers aL Lhe beglnnlng of Lhe season dldn'L help, buL kaLz sLlll should have looked
beLLer. 1he 8eavers dldn'L Lhrow Lhe ball a loL, buL Lhere's a reason for LhaL. kaLz needs Lo lmprove.
1hreet: Puge arm, decenL sklll around hlm, buL lL was clear why he lefL Mlchlgan - he slmply lsn'L up Lo snuff. SlxLeen
ln1s are way Loo many. 8uL wlLh hls physlcal Lools, he could geL beLLer.
8rehaut: !usL bad. uCLA has almosL noLhlng golng for lL on offense. 8rehauL came ln abouL halfway Lhrough Lhe year and
dld noLhlng Lo lmpress. ln facL, even Lhough he had beLLer numbers Lhan kevln rlnce - Lhe man he replaced - Lhe
8rulns regressed ln Lhe second half of Lhe year. 8ad Llmes ln WesLwood.

8
Big East - Quarterbacks
1. Geno Sm|th - WesL vlrglnla
2. 2ach Co||aros - ClnclnnaLl
3. 1|no Sunser| - lLLsburgh
4. kyan Nass|b - Syracuse
3. 8.I. Dan|e|s - SouLh llorlda
6. 2ach Irazer - uCCnn
7. Adam Iroman - Loulsvllle
8. Chas Dodd - 8uLgers
Big East Conference
It was certainly not the Year of the QB in the Big
East.
Each player has the ability to be a capable, if not
solid, player, but they all had more mistakes than
they should have and the conferences reputation
took yet another blow because of it.
That being said, theres nowhere to go but up.
Sm|th: 1he besL of a subpar group, SmlLh was solld ln Lhe Leam's wlns, buL awful ln Lwo of Lhelr losses (3 ln1s
ln 19-14 loss vs. Syracuse and 14-of-29 ln a 20-14 loss agalnsL LSu). noL flashy, buL performances agalnsL
Maryland (268 yards, 4 1u) and lLL (212 yards and 3 1u on 9-of-12 passlng) vaulL hlm Lo Lhe Lop.
Co||aros: Pe has Lhe besL numbers of anyone ln Lhe group. Led Lhe conference ln 1u passes and yards, buL
whaL l remember mosL lsn'L Lhe 463 yards and Lhree Louchdowns agalnsL uSl. lL's Lhe lnLercepLlon he Lhrew
agalnsL Lhe 8ulls when Lhe 8earcaLs were drlvlng Lo Lake Lhe lead ln Lhe Lhlrd quarLer. Clncy losL Lhe game
and ouL Lhe door wenL any hopes of a 8lg LasL LlLle.
Sunser|: AfLer a slow sLarL for Lhe anLhers, Sunserl led a Lhree-game wlnnlng sLreak ln Lhe mlddle of Lhe
season LhaL had lLL conLrolllng lL's own 8CS desLlny. 8uL ln Lhe flnal Lhree games, Sunserl managed [usL
Lhree 1us Lo along wlLh Lhree ln1s and Lhe anLhers losL Lo uCCnn and WesL vlrglnla, bequeaLhlng conLrol
of Lhe 8lg LasL Lo Lhe Puskles ln Lhe process.
Nass|b: 1he Crange can Lhank Lhelr C8 for Lhelr bowl ellglblllLy. Along wlLh LeammaLe uelone CarLer, nasslb
led Lhe Syracuse resurgence wlLh 16 1u and [usL elghL ln1s. Pe faded ln Lhe Leam's flnal Lwo games, Lhough,
Lhrowlng for [usL 318 yards and Lwo ln1s ln Lwo losses Lo close Lhe season.
Dan|e|s: Llke hls Leam, he can beaL up on Lhe nobodles, buL can'L come Lhrough ln Lhe cluLch. uanlels Lhrew
slx 1us and [usL Lwo ln1s ln games agalnsL Leams wlLh a loslng record, buL.geL Lhls.[usL one 1u and 12 ln1s
agalnsL Leams wlLh a wlnnlng record. Somehow, he's sLlll flfLh on Lhls llsL. (uo l have Lo flnlsh Lhe 8lg LasL?
ugh.)
Irazer: Pe began Lhe season as sLarLer, Lhen was replaced, Lhen became sLarLer agaln. Pe wasn'L dolng Lhe
[ob well enough as Lhe Puskles sLarLed Lhe season 2-2. 8uL when he came back on for Lhe suspended Cody
Lndres, Lhe Puskles flnlshed 4-0 and are now ln prlme poslLlon for Lhelr flrsL 8CS berLh.
Iroman: 1here's noL a loL of LalenL ln Loulsvllle, buL lroman dldn'L have a half-bad year. Pe mlssed Lhe
Leam's flnal four games, so hls 1,633 yards, 11 1us and four ln1s aren'L Loo shabby, especlally conslderlng
Lhe lack of LalenL around hlm.
Dodd: Pe's lasL on Lhls llsL because hls Leam wenL 2-6 wlLh hlm aL Lhe helm. noL good. Pe had decenL games
ln wlns over uCCnn and Army (Lhe Lwo wlns) buL clearly wore down as Lhe season wenL.

9
Big Ten Running Backs
1. Iohn C|ay - Wlsconsln
2. M|ke| LeShoure - llllnols
3. Dan nerron - Chlo SLaLe
4. Ldw|n 8aker - Mlchlgan SLaLe
3. Adam kob|nson - lowa
6. Lvan koyster - enn SLaLe
7. V|ncent Sm|th - Mlchlgan
8. M|ke 1rumpy - norLhwesLern
9. Dan D|erk|ng - urdue
10. DeLeon Lskr|dge - MlnnesoLa
11. 1rea 8urgess - lndlana
Big Ten Conference
The days of ground-and-pound football may be
going the way of the dodo and even though the Big
Ten had more spread teams this year, they still run
with the best of them.
Clay is a superstar and its unfortunate his
teammates in the backfield couldnt make the list.
Theres great talent at the top, but the depth isnt
there like usual.
C|ay: ?ou could make Lhe case LhaL Clay wasn'L even Lhe besL 88 on hls own Leam Lhls year. ?ou'd also be wrong. ln Lhe
CcL. 16 wln agalnsL Chlo SLaLe, Clay racked up 104 yards and Lwo Louchdowns - enough for Lhe wlnnlng margln.
1eammaLe !ames WhlLe led Lhe Leam ln rushlng, buL dld a loL of damage ln games agalnsL lndlana, Mlchlgan and
norLhwesLern Lo close ouL Lhe season.
LeShoure: Led Lhe conference ln rushlng by more Lhan 200 yards and was abouL Lhe only source of conslsLenL offense
Lhe llllnl had all year. Sure, Lhe Leam only wenL 4-4 ln conference play, buL LhaL was wlLh many Leams packlng Lhe box
wlLh elghL guys. Pls 1,380 yards were Lhe mosL slnce 8ashard Mendenhall ln 2007. reLLy decenL company, eh?
nerron: l wasn'L sure Perron was Lhe besL runnlng back on Lhe Leam aL Lhe sLarL of Lhe year. Pe dldn'L collecL hls flrsL
100-yard game unLll CcL. 30 agalnsL MlnnesoLa, buL he scored ln every game buL a season-openlng wln agalnsL
Marshall. SomeLhlng Lo sald for conslsLency.
8aker: When hls Leam needed hlm - ln Lhe flnal regular season game agalnsL enn SLaLe - 8aker was Lhere wlLh 118
yards and a Louchdown ln a 28-22 wln Lo keep MSu ln Lhe 8lg 1en LlLle hunL. Pe can be elecLrlfylng, buL hls besL games
were agalnsL Mlchlgan, llorlda ALlanLlc and MlnnesoLa - noL exacLly Lhe besL us ln Lhe world.
kob|nson: 1he Pawkeyes recelved conslsLenL producLlon from Lhelr feaLure back Lhls year. Pe was never specLacular
and he llkely never wlll be. 8uL hls 94 yards rushlng per game was good for fourLh ln Lhe conference. Solld, lf
unspecLacular.
koyster: Pe dldn'L have a bad year. 8uL Lhe nlLLany Llons needed more from Lhelr besL player Lhls season. Pe flnlshed
[usL shorL of 1,000 yards rushlng buL ecllpsed 100 yards [usL Lhree Llmes (Mlchlgan, 1emple and norLhwesLern). lus, he
was poor ln games agalnsL Alabama and Chlo SLaLe.
Sm|th: 1he freshman had Llmes of brllllance (urdue, llllnols, lndlana), buL noLhlng [umps off Lhe charLs. Pe dldn'L break
100 ln any game and LoLally dlsappeared ln Lhe season flnale agalnsL Chlo SLaLe
1rumpy: Pe dldn'L become engralned ln Lhe backfleld unLll Lhe Leam's fourLh game. And he was never a feaLure-back ln
Lhe classlc sense. 8uL he caLches Lhe ball well ouL of Lhe backfleld and provlded Lhe CaLs wlLh more Lhan Lhe LhreaL of
ersa on Lhe ground.
D|erk|ng: Pe had a good mlddle of Lhe season for a Leam wlLh almosL zero offenslve flrepower, buL he faded down Lhe
sLreLch (39, 24 and elghL yards ln hls flnal Lhree games).
Lskr|dge: Pad more yards (698) Lhan 1rumpy, SmlLh and ulerklng, and added seven scores, buL also had an abysmal 3.2
yards per carry. 1he Cophers would have been beLLer served glvlng lL more Lo headcase uuane 8enneLL (329, 4.3 ypc).
8urgess: Pad Lhe unenvlable Lask of replaclng uarlus Wlllls when Wlllls wenL down ln Week lour. Pe had a 102-yard
ouLbursL agalnsL Arkansas SLaLe, buL averaged [usL 26 yards per game ln conference play.

10
SEC Running Backs
1. Mark Ingram - Alabama
2. Marcus Latt|more - SouLh Carollna
3. kn||e Dav|s - Arkansas
4. Stevan k|d|ey - LSu
3. 8randon 8o|den - Cle Mlss
6. Derr|ck Locke - kenLucky
7. V|ck 8a||ard - Mlsslsslppl SLaLe
8. 1aurean oo|e - 1ennessee
9. M|chae| Dyer - Auburn
10. Washaun La|ey - Ceorgla
11. Ieff Demps - llorlda
12. Warren Norman - vanderbllL
Southeastern Conference
Our listing of Ingram at the top may ruffle some
feathers. Were OK with that. We took into
consideration his injury and we still think hes the
best.
But theres no better freshman RB (maybe player,
period) than Lattimore. Hed be a deserving No. 1,
too.
Theres a drop from No. 2 to No. 3, but almost no
drop from No. 3 to No. 9. Its a pick em with a
bunch of great backs.
Ingram: keep ln mlnd, Lhese aren'L All-Conference" llsLs. lf Lhey were, lngram wouldn'L be no. 1. 1hese are Lhe besL"
players. lngram ls aL Lhe Lop. Pe was banged up for Lwo games and sLlll nearly cracked 1,000, even wlLh havlng Lo share
carrles wlLh 1renL 8lchardson. Crazy good.
Latt|more: So, we mlssed Lhe boaL when we called !arvls Clles Lhe besL 88 on Lhls Leam. l was wrong. 8lg Llme. l was
laLe Lo Lhe LaLLlmore game Lhls season, Loo, Lhlnklng hls broken Lackles were Lhe resulL of poor defense ln Lhe early
weeks. ?eah.um.sorry abouL LhaL, Marcus.
Dav|s: Pe came on mldway Lhrough Lhe season and has been Lhe conference's besL slnce. Agaln Lhls lsn'L an All
Conference" llsL. Cnly Lhlng keeplng hlm from belng hlgher ls hls early season sLruggles (admlLLedly, he dldn'L geL much
a chance ln season's flrsL four games).
k|d|ey: We lmaglne Lhls one wlll rlle SLC folks. l Lhlnk 8ldley ls really, really good. 1hlnk abouL lL. 1eams dldn'L respecL
Lhe LSu passlng game (why would Lhey?). 1hey knew 8ldley was golng Lo geL Lhe ball and he sLlll Lopped 1,000 yards.
WaLch ouL for Lhe 1lgers nexL year.
8o|den: 1here's noL a more compleLe back ln Lhe conference. Pe's noL a punlshlng runner, nor a Lerrlble eluslve one.
Pe [usL runs efflclenLly. Cle Mlss couldn'L pass. 1eams knew lL and Lhey sLlll couldn'L sLop 8olden.
Locke: 1he Pugo, Ckla. naLlve wasn'L hlghly soughL-afLer ouL of college, buL when he's been healLhy he's been a
Lremendous back. Small and qulck, Locke makes plenLy of Lacklers mlss and ls Lhe league's besL pass-caLchlng 88.
8a||ard: Cnly newLon and LaLLlmore had more Louchdowns Lhan Lhe blg hoss ln SLarkvllle. Pe ran all over PousLon,
llorlda, kenLucky, and Arkansas. SpuLLers agalnsL Cle Mlss and an average Alabama u keep hlm down.
oo|e: 8esL numbers of anyone ranked Lhls low. oole's 994 yards rushlng were flfLh ln Lhe SLC, buL he dldn'L wow me
wlLh anyLhlng he dld. 1he 3.2 yards per carry are good and so are Lhe 11 1us, especlally wlLh a poor quarLerback. 8uL
really, who would you rank hlm over?
Dyer: uyer had a Lremendous freshman year sharlng Lhe backfleld wlLh Lwo oLhers. nearly cracked 1,000 yards, buL goL
almosL no Louches ln Lhe red zone. Pe's [usL a freshman, Lhough. Maybe he'll bulk up.
La|ey: 1he 8ulldogs' sLruggles were due ln large parL Lo no runnlng game, especlally when mlsslng A! Creen. Laley geLs
mosL of Lhe blame. noL hls faulL Leam losL aL Colorado (he only had one carry), buL save for blg performances agalnsL
Ca. 1ech and kenLucky (3 1us) whaL dld he really do?
Demps: llorlda's runnlng backs are non-exlsLenL. uemps ls a hybrld, llke many of Lhose before hlm. 1he CaLors slmply
cannoL run Lhe ball LradlLlonally. noL uemps' faulL he's ouL of poslLlon, buL 331 yards and 3 1us won'L do. Should have
goLLen Lhe ball more ([usL 8 carrles per game).
Norman: Pe's noL Lhls bad. noL worsL ln conference" bad, anyway. Pe's noL greaL elLher. vanderbllL [usL dldn'L have
an offense, perlod. lmpresslve 6 yards per carry, buL he dldn'L even break 100 carrles. Pas poLenLlal Lo move up Lhls
llsL.
11
Big XII Running Backs
1. kenda|| nunter - Cklahoma SLaLe
2. Dan|e| 1homas - kansas SLaLe
3. DeMarco Murray - Cklahoma
4. kodney Stewart - Colorado
3. Cyrus Gray - 1exas A&M
6. Iay I|n|ey - 8aylor
7. koy ne|u - nebraska
8. A|exander kob|nson - lowa SLaLe
9. 8aron 8atch - 1exas 1ech
10. De'V|on Moore - Mlssourl
11. Iames S|ms - kansas
12. Cody Iohnson - 1exas
Big XII
Take any of the top three RBs on this list if you can
get them.
Hunter may be our favorite player in the country.
Thomas is an animal for the college game. And
Murrays all-around game is largely
underappreciated.
The middle of the pack (Stewart through Batch) are
a stable of very good to pretty good RBs, but the
bottom of the list is atrocious.
Were curious to see who steps up in 2011.
nunter: lor our money, Lhere's no beLLer 88 ln college fooLball. Pe's a Lremendous runner, a good recelver and a
decenL blocker (for hls slze). Pe can do [usL abouL everyLhlng and l'll really mlss waLchlng hlm play.
Murray: kendall PunLer llLe. Pe's blgger Lhan PunLer and doesn'L have Lhe same sLyle aL all, buL he does everyLhlng
PunLer does, [usL noL qulLe as well. Cne of Lhe mosL underraLed players recenL Cu memory.
1homas: We wanLed Lo puL hlm second on Lhls llsL. Pe's Lremendously LalenLed and Lhere's no beLLer pure runner ln
Lhe 8lg 12. Pe [usL doesn'L have Lhe all-around game of Murray. Looks llke Lhe klnd of player LhaL wlll have a decenL
nlL fuLure, Lhough. 8esL Lhey've had here ln years (pre-Sproles even).
Stewart: 1he plnL-slzed sLalllon dld noLhlng ln our eyes Lo deLracL from hls sLaLus as up-and-comer. llnlshed Lhlrd ln 8lg
12 ln rushlng and added 10 Louchdowns for a Leam LhaL really wasn'L good aL all. Should near Lop nexL year.
Gray: As much as 8yan 1annehlll geLs credlL (and rlghLfully so) for resurrecLlng Lhe Aggles' season, Cray lsn'L far behlnd.
Pe Look Lhe feaLure-back role from ChrlsLlne Mlchael agalnsL kansas on CcL. 23 and hasn'L rushed for fewer Lhan 100
yards ln any game slnce. Ch, and Aggles are unbeaLen slnce loss agalnsL Mlzzou on CcL. 16, Loo.
I|n|ey: Ck, we've been self-deprecaLlng LhroughouL, so now Llme Lo glve ourselves props. We sald lasL year llnley was
a player, buL he ended up hurL. 1hls year, he's run for 1,133 yards and had a huge 230-yard game agalnsL kansas SLaLe
mldseason Lo puL 8aylor aLop Lhe 8lg 12 SouLh. Pasn'L slowed slnce wlLh games of 116, 91, 169 and 82.
ne|u: llnlshed flfLh ln Lhe conference ln rushlng, so you'd Lhlnk he'd be hlgher. Alas, unL doesn'L Lhrow Lhe ball, so
someone has Lo flnlsh hlgh. Pe, MarLlnez and fellow 88 8ex 8urkhead make a dynamlc Lhree-headed aLLack, buL Pelu
had only a so-so klnd of year ln our eyes.
kob|nson: Pe flnlshed wlLh 946 yards rushlng and nlne Louchdowns. Pls numbers dropped from lasL year, sure, buL he
dldn'L geL any worse. CLhers [usL goL beLLer. SLlll a good 88 LhaL we'd wanL on our Leam.
8atch: Pe dld, however, appear Lo geL worse. 8aLch had 803 yards for Lhe 8ed 8alders, buL wasn'L Lhe force 1ommy
1ubervllle needed ln hls flrsL year ln Lubbock. 8aLch sLlll caLches Lhe ball well and ls a servlceable back, buL ellLe he
lsn'L.
Moore: 1ook over for Lhe dlsmlssed uerrlck WashlngLon early ln Lhe year and ran for elghL Louchdowns on fewer Lhan
100 carrles. 1here's some promlse, buL flnlshed wlLh [usL 483, spllLLlng Llme wlLh frosh Penry !osey and sophomore
kendlal Lawrence. noLhlng Lo see here.
S|ms: We dldn'L llke 1oben Cpurum enLerlng Lhls season, even Lhough he was comlng off 334 yards and 9 1us ln
llmlLed duLy. Slms Look hls [ob qulckly and Cpurum moved Lo L8. l llke Lhe freshman much more and hls 742 yards and
nlne Louchdowns aren'L half bad, buL he's a long way Lo go.
Iohnson: Cody !ohnson, lozzy WhlLLaker and 1re newLon are nC1 Larl Campbell, 8lcky Wllllams and Cedrlc 8enson.
!ohnson geLs Lhe nod as Lhe 'besL' because of hls 6 1us and 392 yards, buL Lhls ls clearly Lhe worsL of Lhe 8lg 12.

12
ACC Running Backs
1. Monte| narr|s - 8osLon College
2. Anthony A||en - Ceorgla 1ech
3. Dam|en 8erry - Mlaml
4. Andre L|||ngton - Clemson
3. Da'ke| Scott - Maryland
6. Iohnny Wh|te - norLh Carollna
7. ke|th ayne - vlrglnla
8. Darren Lvans - vlrglnla 1ech
9. Chr|s 1hompson - llorlda SLaLe
10. Iosh narr|s - Wake loresL
11. Mustafa Greene - norLh Carollna SLaLe
12. Desmond Scott - uuke
Atlantic Coast Conference
As much as the ACC QBs suffered from
inconsistency, the RBs were plenty consistent. Most
were consistently mediocre.
Its unfortunate the Hokies great duo of Evans and
Ryan Williams was shaken up most of the year. Too
bad, too, Scott never could get healthy for the
Terps.
Harris is the class of the group. Allen and Berry
arent far behind. But the uninjured others are
narr|s: Llke Mlke Cloud and Wllllam Creen before hlm, Parrls ls a good player on some preLLy medlocre Lagles Leams. Pe
dldn'L maLch hls nearly 1,300 yards rushlng and 14 1u from 2009, buL 1,243 and 8 1u lsn'L a bad year by any means. lus,
Lhe Leam was much less rellanL on hlm Lhls year. noL hls faulL and he runs away wlLh Lhe honors of belng Lhe ACC's besL
Lhls year.
A||en: lf you play 88 ln ALlanLa you're golng Lo rack up Lhe yardage. noL qulLe as skllled as !onaLhan uwyer before hlm,
Allen ls sLlll a good back ln Lhe ?ellow !ackeLs sysLem. Pls 3.7 ypc were Lhe besL of any of Lhe conference's feaLure-backs.
8erry: 8an for [usL 863 yards, buL spllL carrles wlLh Lamar Mlller. lL's noL as Lhough 8erry lsn'L a poLenLlal one-man-gang.
Mlller's a player, Loo. lL was [usL a rough year for all Lhlngs Purrlcanes. 8erry noLwlLhsLandlng.
L|||ngton: l'm already sLreLchlng here. 1he ACC [usL dldn'L have greaL backs Lhls year. LlllngLon puL up a respecLable 76
yards per game and 10 1us, Lhough, for a preLLy bad Clemson Leam.
Scott: When healLhy, ScoLL ls Lhe besL 88 ln Lhe conference. roblem was, he wasn'L healLhy. Pe sLlll had some reps, buL
uavln MeggeLL had Lhe bulk. Comblne Lhelr numbers and you geL 1,100-plus yards, buL only seven 1us. need more
scores Lo rank up hlgher. SLlll, LalenL alone puLs hlm hlgh ln a weak conference.
Wh|te: PlL and mlss all year, WhlLe mlssed Lhe flnal Lhree for Lhe Peels. Shlned ln games agalnsL Ca. 1ech and Clemson,
he sLruggled agalnsL vlrglnla, LSu and 8uLgers. SLarLed Lo plck lL up halfway Lhrough Lhe year, and had he flnlshed
healLhy, he was on pace Lo break 1,000 and probably would have been no. 4 on Lhe llsL.
ayne: 1he Cavs managed [usL one conference wln Lhls season. 1hey can Lhank ayne for lL. Pe ran for 81 yards and Lwo
1us wln an CcL. 30 agalnsL Mlaml. Pe followed wlLh 121 and 68 more ln Lhe nexL Lwo before golng down wlLh ln[ury.
Lvans: 1he 88 slLuaLlon ln 8lacksburg was by commlLLee all year. 8yan Wllllams ls clearly Lhe besL of Lhe bunch (second
only Lo PunLer for my money), buL mlssed four games mldseason. Lvans glves you 13 carrles and 73 yards every nlghL
and ls a force around Lhe goal llne. SLlll, Lhe Pokles are spllL Loo much for a hlgher ranklng.
1hompson: Llke Lhe Pokles, Lhe noles used a commlLLee approach. !ones was Lhe man ln Lhe flrsL few, 1homas Lhe
mlddle few and 1hompson was a regular LhroughouL, buL clearly Lhe mosL average of Lhe Lhree. Agaln, Lhe commlLLee
approach necesslLaLes Lhelr ranklng.
narr|s: 1he freshman Look Lhe relns from senlor !osh Adams early ln Lhe season and responded wlLh huge games agalnsL
va. 1ech (241 yards) and vanderbllL (138). LveryLhlng else, Lhough, was noLhlng speclal. Pe only broke 30 yards Lwlce
more. SLlll, [usL a frosh, he'll make Lhe ueacs beLLer ln years Lo come.
Green: Pow Lhe Wolfpack nearly made Lhe ACC LlLle game wlLh Creene carrylng Lhe load, l don'L know. Pe had [usL four
1us and a subpar 4.3 ypc and never broke 100 yards ln a game. Llke Parrls, Lhough, he ls [usL a freshman.
Scott: 1hree Louchdowns and 330 yards was all Lhe 8lue uevlls recelved from Lhelr feaLure" back. 1eammaLe 8randon
ConneLLe added 321 and 8 1us, buL Lhls ls clearly a Leam LhaL relles on Lhe pass. ScoLL's [usL a sophomore.

13
PAC 10 Running Backs
1. LaM|chae| Iames - Cregon
2. Iacqu|zz kodgers - Cregon SLaLe
3. Shane Vereen - Callfornla
4. Stepfan 1ay|or - SLanford
3. Chr|s o|k - WashlngLon
6. Ionathan Irank||n - uCLA
7. Marc 1y|er - uSC
8. keo||a Anto||n - Arlzona
9. Deantre Lew|s - Arlzona SLaLe
10. Iames Montgomery - WashlngLon SLaLe
PAC 10 Conference
Any other year LaMichael James would have been a
near shoo-in for Heisman.
This is a conference with great depth and youth to
go around. The players at the top will be gone, but
we like Franklin and Lewis to improve tremendously.
The PAC 10 doesnt get enough credit for its
running game, we think.
Iames: 1he 1exarkana naLlve recelved a Lrlp Lo n?C for hls efforLs Lhls year. More Lhan 1,300 yards and 19 1us wlll grab
you LhaL rlghL. Pe was Lhe fuel behlnd Lhe uucks' aLLack all season long and easlly Lakes home Lhe Lop spoL.
kodgers: lf !ames ls a clear-cuL no. 1, 8odgers ls even more clearly second. When hls wlde recelver broLher, !ames -
Lhe Leam's second besL player - wenL down early, defenses concenLraLed on Lhe younger 8odgers. Pe sLlll ran for 1,100
yards, broke 100 yards ln a game flve Llmes (Leam wenL 4-1 when he dld) and scored 14 1us. Shame for Lhe 8eavers
!ames was hurL.
Vereen: Anyone else feel llke he's been here forever? Second ln Lhe conference ln rushlng. fourLh ln rushlng 1us and
Lhlrd ln rushlng yards per game, vereen ls a workhorse. Cnly !ames and 8odgers had more carrles and vereen dld hls
1,167 yards worLh of damage (llke 8odgers) wlll quesLlons aL C8.
1ay|or: Cne of flve 88s Lo break 1,000 yards ln Lhe ac 10, 1aylor had no problem fllllng 1oby CerharL's role ln Lhe
SLanford backfleld. SLrong, fasL and [usL a sophomore, even lf Lhe Cardlnal lose Luck, Lhey'll be ln flne shape nexL year.
o|k: Pey, Lhe Puskles may have been a dlsappolnLmenL, buL don'L blame olk. Pe ran for more Lhan 73 yards ln every
game buL Lhree and broke 100 yards four Llmes. Pe's Lhe besL 88 Lhey've had here slnce (yep, l'm golng here) napoleon
kaufman.
Irank||n: no Leam ln Lhe counLry relled more on player Lhan Lhe 8rulns dld wlLh Lhls sophomore. 1he 8rulns sLarLed a
respecLable 3-2 behlnd performances of 60,73 (losses), 138, 118, 216 (wlns) yards. Pe only broke 100 once more (nov.
6 wln over CSu) and lL was Lhe only oLher wln Lhe 8rulns had all year.
1y|er: Averaged [usL 14 carrles a game on hls way Lo a solld 868 yards rushlng. Pe added nlne 1us, Loo. 1eammaLe
Allen 8radford, who ran for an awesome 7.1 ypc, vulLured some of 1yler's would-be Louches. Pe's a senlor nexL year
and wlLh hls lmprovemenL and 8arkley's, uSC's offense mlghL be boomlng. Agaln.
Anto||n: nlc Crlgsby never seemed Lo geL lL golng Lhls year because of ln[ury. A shame. Pe ran for 100+ ln Lhe season's
second game, buL dldn'L do lL agaln. AnLolln followed Lhe WlldcaLs mldseason loss Lo CSu wlLh performances of 92, 114
and 111, buL had fewer Lhan 130 comblned ln Lhe Leam's flnal Lhree games - all losses.
Lew|s: We belleve ln ueanLre Lewls. We Lhlnk he's golng Lo be a specLacular 88 ln Lhe ac 10. lL [usL wasn'L Lhls year.
Lewls (l8) and Marshall (SC) had Ck seasons, runnlng for a comblned 1,200+ and 12 1us, buL lL's noL enough Lo rank
hlgher. WaLch ouL nexL year, Lhough.
Montgomery: 1he dude ls LalenLed. no doubL. 8uL lL looks llke a Lerrlble declslon leavlng 8erkely for ullman. MonLy
had [usL 400 yards rushlng (whlch led Lhe Leam) and averged [usL 3.6 ypc. noL whaL he envlsloned for hls flnal year, l'm
sure.
14
Big East Running Backs
1. Iordan 1odman - uCCnn
2. 8||a| owe|| - Loulsvllle
3. De|one Carter - Syracuse
4. Noe| Dev|ne - WesL vlrglnla
3. Isa|ah ead - ClnclnnaLl
6. D|on Lew|s - lLLsburgh
7. Mo|se |ancher - SouLh llorlda
8. Iordan 1homas - 8uLgers
Big East Conference
The top six players could play for any team in the
country.
Todman is a superstar. Devine and Lewis arent far
behind, despite having poor years and Carter and
Powell turned in great finales to their careers.
A lot will lost next year, but this is the brightest
individual unit the conference has.
1odman: LeL's face lL, Lhe 8lg LasL ls Lerrlble. Awfully Lerrlble, ln facL. 8uL 1odman would be ln Lhe Lop Lhree
ln any of Lhe 8CS conferences. AL almosL 130 yards a game, he WAS Lhe Puskles offense. Pls 14 rushlng 1us
were four more Lhan anyone else ln Lhe conference and he's Lhe maln reason uCCnn - as undeservlng as
Lhey mlghL be - ls prlme poslLlon for a 8CS berLh.
owe||: Came ouL of nowhere Lhls year Lo run for 1,330 yards ln [usL 11 games. ln one of Lhose games, a nov.
20 loss Lo WesL vlrglnla, he was banged up and had zero yards on four carrles. An absoluLe beasL.
ulscounLlng Lhe game agalnsL Lhe MounLalneers, he was held Lo fewer Lhan 80 yards rushlng [usL once.
Carter: A cursory glance aL hls numbers suggesLs a solld year, buL a look lnslde resulLs ln someLhlng furLher.
CarLer averaged 100 yards a game ln Lhe Crange wlns and [usL 67 ln Lhelr flve losses. As he wenL, so dld Lhe
'Cuse.
Dev|ne: Pe's lucky Lo be fourLh. 1alenL alone geLs hlm above Clncy's lsalah ead (who ran for more on fewer
carrles). uevlne dldn'L have Lhe maglcal season of 2009, buL he served as a perfecLly leglL back ln Lhe
MounLalneers aLLack. !usL 4.3 yards a carry slx 1us lsn'L Lhe way he wanLed Lo go ouL, Lhough.
ead: ead may be worLhy of a hlgher ranklng on Lhls llsL. Pe ran for flve of hls slx 1us ln-conference and ran
for 932 yards on Lhe season, buL four of Lhose scores and 338 of Lhose yards came ln Lwo comblned games
(wlns over 8uLgers and Loulsvllle, Lhe 8earcaLs' only Lwo conference wlns of Lhe year). Pe was nexL Lo non-
exlsLenL ln Lhe Leam's conference losses.
Lew|s: lL's noL LhaL ulon Lewls became LhaL much worse Lhls year. l named hlm Lhe besL back ln Lhe
conference ln Lhe preseason, buL he had half as many carrles and nearly half as many yards as ln 2009. Pe
sLlll couldn'L manage Lo Lop hls 3.3 yards per carry of lasL season even wlLh Lhe llghLened workload and
compleLely dlsappeared aL Llmes. l look for a blg bounce nexL year for Lhe sophomore.
|ancher: Pe spllL Llme wlLh uemeLrls Murray mosL of Lhe year, buL dld more Lhan Murray, Lhus hls llsLlng. Pe
wasn'L anyLhlng speclal, really, and Lhere ls almosL no dlfference ln spllLs ln-conference and ouL and beLween
wlnnlng and sub-.300 Leams. Pe's conslsLenL, buL he's conslsLenLly medlocre.
1homas: 1homas Look over Lhe for Lhe ln[ured !oe MarLlnek laLe ln Lhe Leam's second game of Lhe year and
proceeded Lo run for [usL 334 yards. 1hlng Lo noLe here, Lhough: MarLlnek was Lhe Leam's besL 88, buL was
hampered by an ankle ln[ury all year. Also, 1he ScarleL knlghLs had four players wlLh more Lhan 38 carrles,
buL none wlLh more Lhan 83. 8eally hard Lo gauge.

15
Big Ten Wide Receivers
1. Ieremy Lbert - norLhwesLern
2. Dane Sanzenbacher - Chlo SLaLe
3. 1andon Doss - lndlana
4. koy koundtree - Mlchlgan
3. Derre|| Iohnson-kou||anos - lowa
6. Derek Moye - enn SLaLe
7. Io'Von Mckn|ght - MlnnesoLa
8. 8.I. Cunn|ngham - Mlchlgan SLaLe
9. N|ck 1oon - Wlsconsln
10. A.I. Ienk|ns - llllnols
11. Cortez Sm|th - urdue
Big Ten Conference
Yes, the Big Ten threw more this year. But the skill at
WRs seems to be down.
Ebert isnt your typical No. 1, but neither would be
Sanzenbacher or Doss.
The list is dominated by more possession-type WRs
than big play ones because the big play guys on each
team struggled to make the more standard play.
The Big Ten, outside the state of Indiana, isnt used to
passing.
Lbert: We promlse Lhere's no blas here. LberL ls Lhe besL WlldcaLs W8 slnce u'Wayne 8aLes. Led Lhe conference ln
recelvlng yards and flnlshed Lled-Lhlrd ln 1us.
Sanzenbacher: Pe was supposed Lo play second flddle Lo uevler osey, buL hls blg-play ablllLy makes hlm a leglL no. 1.
llnlshed wlLh [usL 32 caLches, buL a greaL 17.1 yards per recepLlon average and Lled Lhe league lead wlLh 10 1us.
Doss: Pe comblnes wlLh uemarlo 8elcher for Lhe besL one-Lwo W8 punch ln Lhe conference. WlLh Chappell, you have Lo
wonder Lhe Pooslers were so bad. SlxLy-Lhree caLches and elghL 1us lsn'L a bad llLLle season.
koundtree: When Lhe Wolverlnes Lhrew Lhe ball, 8oundLree was Lhe prlmary LargeL. Pad 20 more caLches Lhan anyone
else on hls Leam and flnlshed wlLh 63 and slx 1us. Cood season for a guy who plays on a Leam LhaL people Lhlnk run"
all Lhe Llme.
Iohnson-kou||anos: Marvln McnuLL had more caLches and more yards, buL !-k was Lhe Leam's besL. Pe's Lhe Leam's
besL red zone LhreaL and has Lhe besL hands.
Moye: Moye may be one of Lhe mosL LalenLed recelvers ln Lhe MldwesL. 1he problem was he dldn'L have a worLhwhlle
quarLerback Lo geL hlm Lhe ball. 8uL he also dldn'L do enough Lo [usLlfy hls lofLy preseason All-8lg 1en sLaLus. Pe dld,
however, flnlsh wlLh seven 1us ln hls lasL seven games Lo help vaulL Su lnLo bowl conLenLlon.
Mckn|ght: Pe's no Lrlc uecker, buL hls 13.6 yards per caLch and 10 1us were magnlflcenL for a bad Leam. Pe's [usL a
[unlor, so he should geL even beLLer.
Cunn|ngham: Llke lowa, SparLy ls a Lough cholce beLween Lwo guys. l glve Lhe nod Lo Cunnlngham over Mark uell for
Lhe same reasons as !-k over McnuLL. Cunnlngham ls a LhreaL Lo score near Lhe goal llne, as hls nlne 1us can aLLesL.
1oon: lor Lhe pasL 10 years or so, Lhe 8adgers blggesL recelvlng LhreaL has been Lhe LlghL end. Wlsconsln recelvers need
Lo caLch Lhe ball, sure, buL Lhelr blggesL conLrlbuLlon comes ln blocklng. 1oon lsn'L Lhe mosL accompllshed blocker ln
Wlsconsln, buL he's Lhe besL combo of recelvlng and blocklng on Lhe Leam.
Ienk|ns: llfLy caLches lsn'L a bad year ln an offense llke Lhe llllnl's. !enklns geLs dropped, Lhough, because he seems Lo
dlsappear laLe ln games. Cf hls 30 grabs, only flve came ln Lhe fourLh quarLer or laLer. And he had zero Louchdowns ln
LhaL same Llme frame.
Sm|th: When Lhe 8ollers losL kelLh SmlLh, Lhelr besL player, lL was up Lo CorLez Lo flll Lhe vold. Pe dldn'L. 1wo of hls
Leam-hlgh four 1us were ln an early-season wln over 8all SLaLe. 1he oLher Lwo game ln close losses Lo Mlchlgan SLaLe
and lndlana Lo end Lhe season.
16
SEC Wide Receivers
1. A.I. Green - Ceorgla
2. A|shon Ieffery - SouLh Carollna
3. Iu||o Iones - Alabama
4. Greg Ch||ds - Arkansas
3. kanda|| Cobb - kenLucky
6. Chad 8umph|s - Mlsslsslppl SLaLe
7. Darv|n Adams - Auburn
8. 1erance 1o||ver - LSu
9. Denar|us Moore - 1ennessee
10. M|ke Logan - Cle Mlss
11. Deonte 1hompson - llorlda
12. Iohn Co|e - vanderbllL
Southeastern Conference
Chicken or egg? Was the SEC good at passing because
of great QBs or great WRs?
The conference hasnt seen the quality of depth at this
position in quite sometime. And its a conference
known for producing big-time players at WR.
Green is one of the most dynamic weve ever seen and
Jones turned in a (finally) great year.
Theres talent coming out the ears here, from top to
bottom.
Green: 1he mosL LalenLed wlde recelver ln Lhe SLC geLs Lhe Lop ranklng here. Sure, he dldn'L have Lhe number of caLches
or Louchdowns as hls breLhren, buL he also mlssed Lhe flrsL four games Lhls year. 8uL when you average more Lhan a 1u
a game and more Lhan 6 rpg a game, lL's worLhy of a hlgh ranklng. 8esldes, dldn'L you SLL some of Lhe grabs he had?
Ieffery: 8lg, sLrong, and fasL, he's everyLhlng !ullo !ones was supposed Lo be. !effery dld a bulk of hls damage ln uSC's
mlddllng parL of Lhe season (7 1u ln flve games vs. Auburn, Alabama, kenLucky, vanderbllL and 1ennessee), buL sLlll had
Lhe besL all-around season for a Camecocks recelver slnce Sldney 8lce's flnal year.
Iones: Speaklng of Mr. !ones. Pe flnally puL up numbers worLhy of hls poLenLlal Lhls year. 8esLed hls prevlous career
hlghs ln caLches, yards per caLch and 1us. lL's welrd, Lhen, Lhe Crlmson 1lde couldn'L repeaL lasL year's success.
Ch||ds: AlmosL any of Lhe 8azorbacks Lop Lhree - maybe even four - W8s can sLake a clalm as Lhe Leam's besL. 1hey'd all
be ranked rlghL around here, Loo. We glve Lhe nod Lo Chllds as he has Lhe besL blg play ablllLy and sLlll led Lhe Leam ln
mosL recelvlng caLegorles desplLe mlsslng Lhe flnal four games.
Cobb: 1led for Lhe conference lead ln recepLlons wlLh !effrey, flnlshed Lhlrd ln yards, and Lled second ln 1us. lrom a
numbers perspecLlve, he deserves a hlgher ranklng. Peck, lf Lhls were a uLlllLy" llsL, he'd be hlgher, Loo. 8uL uk Lhrew
Lhe ball a loL, so someone had Lo make Lhe grabs. AL leasL lL was a good someone.
8umph|s: AlmosL Lhe opposlLe of Cobb. 8umphls played ln a ground-heavy offense, buL sLlll managed a solld 44 grabs.
Sure, four of hls flve 1us were ln games agalnsL Alcorn SLaLe and Memphls, buL he was hands down Lhe besL on hls Leam.
Adams: ueflnlLely Lhe mosL LalenLed recelver Lhe 1lgers have, Adams ls also Lhe mosL frusLraLlng. Pe seems Lo noL qulLe
be 'naLural' aL Lhe poslLlon, relylng, lnsLead, on aLhleLlclsm. Pls drops and shaky rouLe runnlng drop hlm ln Lhe ranklngs.
1o||ver: Pe dldn'L lead LSu ln yards or 1us, and he plcked up hls only Lwo 1us agalnsL llorlda. 8uL lL's LhaL game LhaL
makes hlm Lhe besL of Lhe 1lgers. 8emember, LSu sLlll had naLlonal LlLle hopes LhaL week. 1ollver kepL Lhem allve.
Moore: Maybe Lhe besL blg-play wlde recelver ln Lhe conference, a possesslon recelver Moore ls noL. lL's all or noLhlng
for hlm, whlch knocks hlm down a blL. SLlll flnlshed wlLh a conference-hlgh 21.2 yards per caLch and Lled for Lhe
conference lead wlLh nlne scores.
Summers: Summers' year was llke Moore's - 1u or busL. llnlshed fourLh on Lhe Leam ln recepLlons (only four grabs from
Lhe Lop spoL), buL led Lhe 8ebels ln scores desplLe havlng a medlocre passer geLLlng hlm Lhe ball.
1hompson: 1he besL of Lhe worsL CaLors recelvlng corps ln recenL memory. 1hompson had [usL one Louchdown and dld
nexL Lo noLhlng ln losses Lo llorlda SLaLe, LSu and Mlsslsslppl SLaLe. noL LoLally hls faulL, buL any oLher year, would be
Lhe Lhlrd besL on hls own Leam.
Co|e: 8randon 8arden was Lhe Leam's besL recelver, buL he's a LlghL end. Cole geLs Lhls spoL for hls 23 caLches and 317
yards. 1hose numbers should be reason enough Lo reallze hls ranklng of lasL.

17
Big XII Wide Receivers
1. Iust|n 8|ackmon - Cklahoma SLaLe
2. kyan 8roy|es - Cklahoma
3. Ieff Iu||er - 1exas A&M
4. kenda|| Wr|ght - 8aylor
3. Ly|e Leong - 1exas 1ech
6. 1.I. Moe - Mlssourl
7. Scotty Mckn|ght - Colorado
8. N||es au| - nebraska
9. Iames k|rkendo|| - 1exas
10. Aubry uar|es - kansas SLaLe
11. Daymond atterson - kansas
12. Iake W||||ams - lowa SLaLe
Big XII Conference
Only the SEC can match the Big XIIs top three at
WR. All three are truly fantastic players.
From Wright to Paul, theres a lot of good reliability
and a dash of play making.
But Texas, KSU, Kansas and ISU need to find more
depth and a true No. 1 to get back on the right
track.
This is a passing league with gigantic numbers. These
WRs are why.
8|ackmon: Labeled as a poLenLlal breakouL player lasL season, 8lackmon was Lhe reason l was so dead wrong abouL Lhe
okes Lhls year. 1he numbers speak for Lhemselves, buL Lhe besL Lhlng abouL !.8.? WaLch hlm on Lape. Pe's WluL open
almosL all Lhe Llme. LxcepLlonal rouLe runner.
8roy|es: Sure, hls numbers are lnflaLed because Cu Lhrows. And Lhrows. And Lhrows. 8uL he's sLlll one of Lhe Lop Lhree
or four W8s ln college fooLball. And few meanL more Lo Lhelr Leam Lhan 8royles dld Lhls year for Lhe Sooners.
Iu||er: 1ough year when Lhls guy ls named [usL Lhe Lhlrd-besL ln Lhe conference. Pe'd be flrsL or second ln every oLher.
uld as much wlLh !ohnson calllng Lhe slgnals as he dld wlLh 1annehlll laLer. A Lremendous LalenL.
Wr|ght: Crlffln dld a greaL [ob of spreadlng Lhe ball, as Lhe 8ears had flve players wlLh more Lhan 33 caLches. WrlghL
was Lhe besL of Lhe bunch as Lhe possesslon man. Lven sLlll, he flnlshed second on Lhe Leam wlLh 6 1us.
Leong: SevenLeen recelvlng 1us are Lo be expecLed ln Lhe 8ed 8alders offense. 1hose 17 belng 11 more Lhan Lhe nexL
besL on Lhe Leam? noL so much. lL was a rough LranslLlon year ln Lubbock and you shudder Lo Lhlnk whaL Lhey'd have
done wlLhouL hlm.
Moe: 8e very afrald of 1.!. Moe ln years Lo come. Pe's adepL aL Lhe shorL passlng game and can [usL as easlly beaL Lhe
secondary deep. Pe's ranked Lhls hlgh because lL was hls Lwo 1u grabs v. k-SLaLe on nov. 13 LhaL proved Lhe dlfference
and helped Mu snap a Lwo-game skld.
Mckn|ght: robably Lhe mosL underraLed player ln Lhe conference. lrom walk-on Lo All-8lg 12, McknlghL has been Lhe
8uffs besL offenslve player ln each of hls four years ln 8oulder. 1he eplLome of hard-nosed.
au|: 8randon klnnle and kyler 8eed had all buL Lhree of Lhe Puskers' 1u caLches, buL lL was aul who made Lhem go
Lhrough Lhe alr. Cnly had 39 caLches, buL was a key reason unL sllpped pasL Cklahoma SLaLe ln CcLober.
k|rkendo||: Llke 1hompson aL llorlda, he's Lhe besL of a medlocre bunch. uldn'L do anyLhlng ln Leam's upseL of
nebraska and plcked up mosL of hls numbers ln losses. 8uL, of course, 1exas had a loL of losses.
uar|es: lar and away Lhe besL recelver Lhe CaLs had. uld hls parL ln losses, keeplng kSu compeLlLlve, as he reglsLered
more Lhan 2/3 of hls caLches and yards ln Lhose games.
atterson: 1ook Lhe spoLllghL from LeammaLe !on Wllson wlLh a greaL Week 2 performance agalnsL Ceorgla 1ech (7 for
83 and a 1u). SLlll, he'd be a no. 2 on mosL of Lhese oLher Leams.
W||||ams: Cnly 33 grabs and 404 yards, buL nearly led anoLher lSu upseL of nebraska wlLh hls Lwo scores agalnsL Lhe
Puskers on nov. 6
18
ACC Wide Receivers
1. Leonard nankerson - Mlaml
2. 1orrey Sm|th - Maryland
3. Conner Vernon - uuke
4. kr|s 8urd - vlrglnla
3. Iarrett 8oyk|n - vlrglnla 1ech
6. Cwen Spencer - norLh Carollna SLaLe
7. Dw|ght Iones - norLh Carollna
8. 8ert keed - llorlda SLaLe
9. DeAndre nopk|ns - Clemson
10. Chr|s G|vens - Wake loresL
11. 8obby Sw|gert - 8osLon College
12. Stephen n||| - Ceorgla 1ech
Atlantic Coast Conference
Hankerson and Smith are two of the countrys best.
Vernon is a very good player, too.
But past that, theres nothing outstanding. But to be
honest, theres nothing bad either.
Even Hill, who plays on a team that never throws,
could prove to be a good player in the future.
With such heavy losses at QB, though, we wonder if
these receivers will develop or regress in 2011.
nankerson: !usL lmaglne whaL he'd have done wlLh a healLhy !acory Parrls. Pe sLlll managed 12 1us and flnlshed
second ln Lhe ACC wlLh 16.4 ypc. Was also one of only Lwo Lo ecllpse 1,000 yards recelvlng ln Lhe conference.
Sm|th: We remember Lelllng a frlend - a Maryland alum - afLer Week 1wo Lhe 1erps would good as long as Lhey dldn'L
pass Lhe ball. 1urns ouL, Lhe opposlLe was Lrue Lhanks Lo SmlLh. 8reakouL season for Lhe hlghly LouLed hlgh schooler.
llnlshed one caLch and 40 yards shorL of Pankerson and Lled hlm for league lead ln 1u caLches.
Vernon: vernon and LeammaLe uonovan varner would boLh llsL lf lL were Lhe besL W8s perlod. vernon upped hls LoLals
from lasL season desplLe havlng a Lremendous drop ln C8 play. Ch, and he's [usL a sophomore.
8urd: CeLs Lhe nod over Lhe nexL Lhree because he puL up slmllar numbers wlLhouL a greaL C8. Pe dld fade down Lhe
sLreLch durlng Lhe Cavs' four-game loslng sLreak, buL sLlll puL up more Lhan 100 yards ln four games on Lhe season.
8oyk|n: 1he Pokles were able Lo rebound from Lhe early season slump Lhanks Lo 8oykln. When 1aylor was pressed lnLo
Lhrowlng, !.8. was Lhere. Pls 48 grabs were Lhe mosL for a 1ech recelver ln slx years.
Spencer: Pls laLe-season play vaulLed hlm up Lhe noLlce" charLs. llnlshed wlLh 17 caLches, 299 yards and Lhree 1us ln
Leam's flnal Lhree games Lo force a Lle wlLh lSu for ALlanLlc ulvlslon crown.
Iones: nearly 60 caLches and [usL 103 yards shorL of 1,000 and he's sevenLh? Sorry, uwlghL. Pad a monsLer game ln an
upseL of lSu on nov. 6 (8 for 233 and 1u), buL followed LhaL wlLh a comblned slx caLches for 38 yards ln losses Lo va.
1ech and nC SLaLe.
keed: Cver Lhe lasL Lwo years, 8eed has 113 grabs..and Lwo Louchdowns. ApparenLly, he's allerglc Lo Lhe end zone. Pe
geLs open beLLer Lhan anyone else on Lhe Leam, buL ls Lhe opposlLe of a deep LhreaL. ure possesslon, Lhere are few
beLLer, buL a red zone LhreaL he ls noL.
nopk|ns: 1he freshman ls really hard Lo raLe. Pe dldn'L play much early and dldn'L really even come on sLrong unLll Lhe
1lgers' flnal four games (23 for 346, 3 1u). 1aken as a whole season, he falls shorL. 8uL my goodness, waLch ouL nexL
year.
G|vens: A perfecLly leglLlmaLe player, Clvens doesn'L possess Lhe sLrengLh or speed Lo be a game-changer for Lhe ueacs.
Pls besL game was 4-caLch, 139-yard efforL ln Lhe Leam's only conference wln agalnsL uuke. LveryLhlng else was subpar.
Sw|gert: SwlgerL mlghL become one of Lhe conference's besL recelvers. Pe lsn'L rlghL now, Lhough. Pad only one
sLandouL game and lL was ln an 18-polnL loss agalnsL noLre uame. Pe's on hls way up, Lhough.
n|||: u. 1homas he ls noL. 8uL Lhls ls a Ca. 1ech Leam LhaL never Lhrows Lhe ball. Pe has Lhe Lools Lo be a decenL enough
player, [usL don'L expecL hlm Lo puL up blg numbers (parLly because of Lhe sysLem, parLly because of hls game).

19
PAC 10 Wide Receivers
1. Iuron Cr|ner - Arlzona
2. Ieff Maeh| - Cregon
3. Ierma|ne kearse - WashlngLon
4. Doug 8a|dw|n - SLanford
3. kona|d Iohnson - uSC
6. Marquess W||son - WashlngLon SLaLe
7. Markus Wheaten - Cregon SLaLe
8. Marv|n Iones - Callfornla
9. kerry 1ay|or - Arlzona SLaLe
10. Donte kosar|o - uCLA
PAC 10 Conference
There are clear-cut lines of demarcation in the Pac
10.
No.s 1 to 3 are great. No.s 4 7 are OK and No.s
9 10 need some work.
Criner is the conferences most athletic WR since
Dwayne Jarrett. When hes on, he cant be covered.
But other than he and Kearse, there isnt much
next-level talent to speak of. Still some perfectly
capable college players, though.
Cr|ner: Pow can l puL a player on a medlocre offense over a player on college fooLball's besL offense? Lasy.
WlLhouL Crlner, Lhe 'CaLs wouldn'L have had much aL all. Pad 23 percenL of Leam's caLches, 32 percenL of Lhe
yards, and 42 percenL of Lhe Louchdowns. Pe's one of Lhe counLry's besL.
Maeh|: lf you sLack Maehl's percenLages agalnsL Crlner's, Lhey're cerLalnly comparable. Maehl [usL doesn'L
have Lhe same Lools. More a sloL-Lype Lhan an x or ?, Maehl's' run-afLer-Lhe-caLch ablllLy ls second-Lo-none.
kearse: As kearse goes, so do Lhe Puskles. Pad nlne 1us ln uW wlns, buL only Lhree ln Lhe Leam's losses. Was
aL hls besL ln 'musL-wln' game agalnsL Cregon SLaLe on CcL. 16 (9 for 144, 4 1u) ln a 33-34 wln.
8a|dw|n: Pls quarLerback ofLen geLs exLra credlL because Leams Lhlnk Lhe Carlndal's wlde recelvers are
average aL besL. ?es, Luck makes hlm beLLer, buL Lhe 8aldwln surprlse facLor lsn'L Lo be overlooked. Pe had
only four grabs lasL year.
Iohnson: 1he 1ro[ans may have Lhe besL duo of W8s ln Lhe conference, buL only one can be llsLed. l go wlLh
Woods here because of hls youLh and blg play ablllLy. lreshman had an lncredlble 12-caLch, 224-yard day ln a
near-upseL wln over SLanford.
W||son: 1here are reasons for opLlmlsm ln ullman. Wllson ls Lhe maln reason. 1he freshman had an
ouLsLandlng year, even ln Lhe Cougs' pass-happy offense. Pad seven fewer caLches Lhan LeammaLe !eff
karsLeLLer, buL managed a AC 10-hlgh 18.3 yards per caLch.
Wheaten: Asked Lo flll Lhe vold lefL by !ames 8odgers, WheaLen sLepped up when 8odgers wenL down. Pad
only Lhree caLches ln Leam's flrsL Lhree games, he had 31 ln Lhe flnal nlne and dld hls parL ln Lhe Clvll War (10
for 137 and a 1u).
Iones: Pad almosL 30 grabs for 730 yards even wlLh below average quarLerback play and broke 100 yards
Lhrlce, buL sLlll dlsappeared ln musL-wln" games agalnsL Cregon SLaLe and Arlzona.
1ay|or: 1he mosL forLunaLe reclplenL of 1hreeL's passes LhaL acLually found Lhe rlghL Leam, 1aylor has Lhe
worsL numbers of any leadlng ASu recelver slnce 2006. Pe's beLLer Lhan hls numbers, Lhough.
kosar|o: layed ln only nlne games Lhanks Lo ln[ury and sLlll flnlshed second on Lhe Leam wlLh [usL 29 caLches.
Pe's noL a greaL recelver, buL noL an awful one. Pe has some speed, whlch helps, buL Lhere slmply lsn'L a loL
of LalenL for Lhe blue and gold.

20
Big East Wide Receivers
1. Armon 8|nns - ClnclnnaLl
2. Ion 8a|dw|n - lLLsburgh
3. Mark narr|son - 8uLgers
4. 1avon Aust|n - WesL vlrglnla
3. Van Chew - Syracuse
6. Dontav|a 8ogan - SouLh llorlda
7. Iosh 8e||amy - Loulsvllle
8. M|chae| Sm|th - uCCnn
Big East Conference
Binns and Baldwin would be good players on any
team. The rest? Not so much.
They make capable enough plays for the teams
theyre on, but theres a reason this is the Big East
and the conference is struggling.
Easily the conference with the least amount of
playmakers at the position, the Big East needs to
improve its WRs to make a jump in respectability.
8|nns: lorced Lo be 'Lhe man' Lhls year ln Clncy, 8lnns responded. Pe dldn'L flnlsh wlLh Lhe same numbers as
former LeammaLe Mardy Cllyard lasL year, buL broke 100 yards ln slx of Leam's flnal elghL games. roblem?
1hey won only Lhree of Lhose.
8a|dw|n: 1he anLhers keep churnlng ouL blg, sLrong, and fasL wlde recelvers. 8aldwln ls Lhe laLesL ln LhaL
llne. Pls mlddllng numbers are more a producL of less-Lhan-sLellar quarLerback play, buL Lhe LalenL ls cerLalnly
Lhere.
narr|son: noL sure why lL's surprlse he came ouL of nowhere, buL lL ls. AL 6-3, 230 lbs., Parrlson has Lhe Lools
Lo be a producLlve, lf noL ellLe, wlde recelver. 1he ScarleL knlghLs were bad, buL 10 caLches for 240 yards and
four 1us ls lmpresslve even ln a loss (aL Clncy, nov. 20).
Aust|n: Whlle defenses focused on uevlne and !ock Sanders, AusLln was more Lhan happy Lo Lake Lhe
llmellghL. Pe had Lhree mulLl-Louchdown games (all Wvu wlns) and really shlned ln a season-endlng wln over
8uLgers (6 for 121 and a 1u) Lo keep Lhe MounLalneers' 8CS hopes allve.
Chew: uon'L look now, buL Syracuse ls slowly bulldlng a rosLer fllled wlLh leglLlmaLe fooLball players. WlLh
maybe Lhe besL name ln l8S, Chew was a regular ln Lhe Crange boxes Lhls year. Pe faded down Lhe sLreLch a
llLLle blL and lL was clear as Syracuse won only one of Lhelr flnal four. SLlll, he geLs Lhls ranklng for possesslon
ablllLy.
8ogan: lL was a perfecLly capable year for 8ogan all Lhlngs consldered. 1he 8ulls offense ls noL Lhe mosL fun
Lo waLch. 1hey can'L seem Lo declde lf Lhey're a passlng Leam or a runnlng one and Lhey don'L really do elLher
especlally well. 8uL 8ogan nearly played spoller ln Lhe Leam's lasL game wlLh a 7-caLch, 70-yard and 1u efforL
agalnsL uCCnn.
8e||amy: ln reLrospecL, maybe we should have glven lroman more credlL. Pe has almosL noLhlng Lo work
wlLh. 8ellamy was Lhe besL of a bad group. Pe dld noLhlng ouLsLandlng and dldn'L shlne ln any parLlcular
game. SLlll, he led Lhe Leam wlLh 3 1us and flnlshed Lhlrd ln recepLlons wlLh 27. Pey, someone has Lo be
llsLed.
Sm|th: 1here's a reason uCCnn doesn'L Lhrow Lhe ball ofLen. Well, Lwo reasons acLually, buL we already
Louched on 1odman. 1he Puskles wlde recelvers aren'L greaL. Cnly SmlLh and LeammaLe kashlf Moore
provlded any leglLlmaLe LhreaL ln Lhe alr. SmlLh Lhe geLs Lhe nod for hls play down Lhe sLreLch (uCCnn's flve-
game wlnnlng sLreak).

21
Big Ten Defensive Ends
1. kyan kerr|gan - urdue
2. I.I. Watt - Wlsconsln
3. Adr|an C|ayborn - lowa
4. Cameron neyward - Chlo SLaLe
3. V|ncent 8rowne - norLhwesLern
6. Mark Nee|y - Mlchlgan SLaLe
7. ete Massaro - enn SLaLe
8. Iewhan Ldwards - MlnnesoLa
9. Dar|us Iohnson - lndlana
10. kyan Van 8ergen - Mlchlgan
11. C|ay Nurse - llllnols
Big Ten Conference
Arguably two of the countrys top three DEs reside
in the Midwest. Kerrigan and Watt are elite players
who dont just get to the QB; they make plays all
over the field.
Theres good depth here, too, as Heyward and
Clayborn may be even bigger NFL prospects.
Even Nurse and Van Bergen are pretty skilled
players.
This is the countrys best unit.
kerr|gan: MonsLer. 1haL's all LhaL's needed Lo descrlbe Lhe besL urdue player slnce Mlke AlsLoLL. 8egularly occuples
Lhe enLlre lefL slde of Lhe opposlng Leam's offenslve llne, he sLlll managed an l8S-hlgh 26 Lackles for loss. unreal.
Watt: Maybe Lhe second-besL defenslve end ln Lhe counLry, noL [usL hls conference. Cf course, ua'Cuan 8owers mlghL
have someLhlng Lo say abouL LhaL. SLlll, WaLL had an All-Amerlca worLhy season and any oLher year, he'd have made lL
wlLh more Lhan 20 1lL hlmself.
C|ayborn: lL's raLher dlfflculL Lo rank lowa's defenslve llne players as lndlvlduals. 1hey're probably Lhe besL unlL ln
college fooLball and work so well wlLh one anoLher. lrom a raw LalenL perspecLlve, Clayborn ls Lhe besL. Aggresslve and
mean, he's Lhe besL pro prospecL of Lhe bunch.
neyward: Cameron Payward doesn'L have magnlflcenL numbers. Cnly 13 Lackles? ?eah, LhaL happens when you hog
Lwo and Lhree blockers aL a Llme. SLlll, 9.3 of hls 13 Lackles were sLops behlnd Lhe llne. Llkely behlnd [usL Clayborn ln
nlL ablllLy.
8rowne: 1he WlldcaLs have been forLunaLe Lo have noL [usL good, buL very good defenslve ends ln recenL years.
8rowne follows ln Corey WooLen's fooLsLeps here. Pe lsn'L Lhe besL agalnsL Lhe run (especlally conslderlng hls slze), buL
he geLs Lo Lhe quarLerback - only kerrlgan had more sacks.
Nee|y: Cne of Lhe overachlevers ln Lhls group, he lsn'L blessed wlLh Lremendous sLrengLh or qulckness. And we won'L
say he has non-sLop moLor." lnsLead, we'll [usL go wlLh: 1he dude makes plays and geLs ln Lhe backfleld.
Massaro: Cne of Lhe few Lhe nlLLany Llons had who played Lo expecLaLlons. Was nelLher greaL nor bad, Massaro ls a
very Lyplcal 8lg 1en end who does enough Lo make ends meeL.
Ldwards: needs Lo geL more ouL of hls lmpresslve physlque. lL dldn'L help LhaL offenslve llnes could concenLraLe on
shuLLlng hlm down and noL worry much abouL Lhe resL of Lhe llne, Lhough.
Iohnson: Cne of only Lwo players on Lhe lu defense LhaL really dld an above-average [ob Lhls year, !ohnson had a solld
season noLchlng 4.3 sacks. Cne of Lhe beLLer lu llnemen ln years, sLlll lsn'L overwhelmlng.
Van 8ergen: Should be much hlgher buL LoLally dlsappears someLlmes. Puge upslde, van 8ergen flnlshed wlLh [usL 4
sacks. 1he Wolverlnes dldn'L geL nearly Lhe pressure on opposlng quarLerbacks Lhey should have and Lhe whole
defense felL lL.
Nurse: 1he sLrengLh of Lhe llllnols defense lles down Lhe mlddle (u1, ML8, S), noL on Lhe ouLslde. nurse ls baslcally [usL
a body on Lhe llne who lsn'L golng Lo make plays LhaL'll geL you beaL. 1haL's noL good enough Lo rank hlgher.

22
SEC Defensive Ends
1. Marce| Dareus - Alabama
2. Dev|n 1ay|or - SouLh Carollna
3. erne|| Mchee - Mlsslsslppl SLaLe
4. Anto|ne Carter - Auburn
3. Iake 8equette - Arkansas
6. Iust|n 1rattou - llorlda
7. 8arkav|ous M|ngo - LSu
8. Gera|d W||||ams - 1ennessee
9. Gera|d k|vers - Cle Mlss
10. 1ay|or Wyndham - kenLucky
11. DeMarcus Dobbs - Ceorgla
12. 1|m Iugger - vanderbllL
Southeastern Conference
Surprisingly, this was a group that dominated like
youd think they would.
Sure, Dareus, Taylor and McPhee are game-changers,
but past them, theres not a lot of big play ability.
There is, however, good depth. Seven of the players
could very easily be replaced by another on their
team. It speaks to the quality of DL in the fast SEC.
However, we figure itll be even better (and deeper)
next year.
Dareus: 1hls ls more of whaL we expecL when we Lhlnk of 'bama defenses. uareus ls arguably Lhe mosL lnLlmldaLlng
player on Lhe 1lde u. ln[urles llmlLed hlm Lo [usL 3.3 sacks and 9 1lL, buL when healLhy, Lhere's no one ln Lhe
conference whose beLLer.
1ay|or: We flgured hlm Lo be abouL Lhe fourLh or flfLh besL defenslve llneman Lhe Camecocks had enLerlng Lhls year.
1o be perfecLly honesL, he sLlll mlghL be. 8uL even wlLh Lhe ever-changlng door uSC rolls ouL on lL's fronL four (and lL
can afford Lo), 1aylor puL LogeLher Lhe besL season. CuLsLandlng 7.3 sacks.
Mchee: 1he besL player on Lhe 8ulldogs defense, lL's hls play LhaL allowed for Lremendous seasons from Lhe resL of
Lhe fronL seven. Always Lhe mosL LalenLed ln MSu's fronL four, Mchee was even beLLer Lhls year wlLh 9.3 1lL and
openlng plenLy of space for Lhe 8ulldogs ellLe L8s.
Carter: 1he perfecL complemenL Lo lalrley, CarLer lacks some of hls LeammaLe's feroclLy. 1haL lsn'L necessarlly a bad
Lhlng glven Lhe Lroubles LhaL have come lalrley's way aL Llmes. CarLer ls a Lremendous player ofLen overshadowed.
8equette: 1he besL 'grlnder' Lhe Pogs have had on Lhe u-llne slnce !eb Puckeba, 8equeLLe geLs Lhe mosL of ouL of hls
average sklll seL. Seven sacks are noLhlng aL whlch Lo scoff and he's Lhe hearL of Lhe u-llne.
1rattou: 8lgger Lhlngs were expecLed from !usLln 1raLLou Lhls year. 8uL noLhlng really seemed Lo go ul's way. Pad only
1.3 sacks, buL dld manage 10 1lL. needs Lo geL Lo Lhe C8 more, Lhough, nexL year.
Ldwards: Mlngo ls [usL a freshman and he sLlll provlded Lhe mosL fear off Lhe edge for Lhe 1lgers Lhls year. Pe's helped
largely because of Lhe play of hls u1, buL he has Lhe slze and speed Lo make hlmself lnLo one of Lhe besL pass rushers ln
8aLon 8ouge ln years.
W||||ams: A servlceable end, Wllllams has Lhe Lools Lo do much more, especlally wlLh a player llke !ackson on Lhe
lnslde. Pad a decenL 3.3 sacks, buL he's from an ellLe SLC end.
k|vers: Pe doesn'L do loL Lerrlbly well, buL he doesn'L do a loL bad. We'd llke Lo have seen hlm geL Lo Lhe C8 more, buL
he plays wlLh feroclLy and ls capable agalnsL Lhe run, Loo.
Wyndham: 1he besL player on Lhe kenLucky llne, McuermoLL ls a loL llke 8equeLLe - he does Lhe mosL wlLh llmlLed
LalenLs. Lven wlLh [usL 2.3 sacks, he provlded Lhe uk pass rush" mosL of Lhe season.
Dobbs: 1he sLrengLh of Lhe Ceorgla defense lles ln Lhe llnebacklng corps, noL up fronL. 8uL wheLher Lhls unlL ls runnlng
Lwo or four players (dependlng on Lhe formaLlon) more Lhan a subpar 12.3 1lL beLween four players was needed.
Iugger: Someone has Lo be lasL, unforLunaLely lL's 1lm lugger. lugger dldn'L have a horrlble year (3 sacks, 3 1lL), buL
he deflnlLely peaked wlLh LhaL klnd of performance.
23
Big XII Defensive Ends
1. Ieremy 8ea| - Cklahoma
2. Von M|||er - 1exas A&M
3. Sam Acho - 1exas
4. Iake Laptad - kansas
3. 1ev|n L|||ott - 8aylor
6. A|don Sm|th - Mlssourl
7. Arthur 8rown - kansas SLaLe
8. |erre A||en - nebraska
9. Ugo Ch|nasa - Cklahoma SLaLe
10. W||| er|cak - Colorado
11. ear|y Graves - 1exas 1ech
12. Iacob Latt|mer - lowa SLaLe
Big XII Conference
Big-time playmakers abound in the Big XII, where the
top six on the list are the most dynamic players on
their respective defenses, regardless of position.
There are also two legit All Americans, too. And
though many list Miller as an LB, he plays with his
hand on the ground enough to get him noticed there.
Hes a true hybrid who specializes in getting to the
QB.
Smith, Allen and Chinasa could all be ranked higher
and wed have no quarrel.
8ea|: 1he 8lg 12 ls loaded wlLh uL/L8 hybrlds and 8eal ls Lhe besL of Lhe bunch. More a naLural hand-on-Lhe-ground
player, he flnlshed wlLh a conference-leadlng 18.3 1lL and was second ln sacks. Sooners uLs [usL seem Lo geL beLLer
every year.
M|||er: lL's hard noL Lo be puL hlm flrsL. Arguably Lhe mosL fun Lo waLch player defenslvely ln Lhe conference, he had
more sacks (9.3) Lhan 8eal and [usL 3.3 fewer 1lL. A leglL fuLure sLar ln Lhe nlL. lf he were llsLed as CL8 (llke many have
hlm), he'd be Lops.
Acho: Pe can play Lhe lnslde (and dld aL Llmes), buL ls much more sulLed Lo play on Lhe edge. noL a pure rusher, nor a
pure run-sLuffer, Acho [usL seems Lo make blg plays. WheLher lL's geLLlng Lo Lhe C8 or comlng up wlLh a forced fumble,
any oLher year, he'd be a lock for flrsL or second on Lhls llsL.
Laptad: 1he !ayhawks sLunk ln 2010. 1here's no Lwo ways abouL lL. LapLad, however, shlned. Pe dldn'L qulLe have Lhe
numbers as some oLhers on Lhls llsL, buL he also played agalnsL Lhe Leam's besL Lackles every game and had less help on
hls own Leam.
Sm|th: 1he 1lgers' oLher end, !eremy SmlLh, could be on Lhls llsL, buL we go wlLh Aldon SmlLh because of hls ablllLy Lo
play Lhe run and pass equally. Whlle !eremy ls a geL-Lo-Lhe-C8 Lype, Aldon can sLop Lhe run, Loo.
L|||ott: 1he 8ears had Lhelr besL season ln years ln 2010. MosL of Lhe focus goes Lo 8Clll and Lhe offense, buL LllloLL was
a very lmpresslve freshman for a defense LhaL played over lL's LalenL-level almosL all season long.
A||en: 1alenL would suggesL he flLs hlgher on Lhls llsL, buL he's abouL Lhe only player Lhe Puskers had LhaL acLually
played below hls LalenL level. Pe had an Ck Lhree sacks and 6 1lL, buL defenses Lended Lo focus on Lhe Lwo unL u1s
and Allen should have puL up blgger numbers.
Ch|nasa: no defenslve coordlnaLor geLs more ouL of hls players Lhan 8lll ?oung ln SLlllwaLer. Chlnasa lsn'L a supersLar,
buL nor ls he a bad player. 1he enLlre Cklahoma SLaLe defense played well above lLs head mosL of Lhe season (save Lhe
Cklahoma game) and Chlnasa personlfled Lhe hard-nosed ablllLles of Lhe enLlre u.
8rown: 1he pass-rushlng speclallsL had a good season (3 sacks) for Lhe WlldcaLs, who we expecLed Lo be Lhe 8lg 12
norLh's worsL defense. And lL was.
er|cak: When Marquez Perrod dldn'L llve up Lo expecLaLlons seL lasL year, lL was up Lo erlcak Lo flll Lhe vold. Pe
doesn'L have Perrod's pass-rushlng skllls, buL ls one of Lhe beLLer ends agalnsL Lhe run. roblem ls, he doesn'L have our
pass rushlng skllls elLher.
Graves: 1he freshman dldn'L play a whole loL of snaps even Lhough he dld play ln nlne games. SLlll was among Lhe Leam
leaders ln sacks and 1lL. Could very well see hlm ln Lhe Lop flve nexL year.
Latt|mer: Pe's anoLher 'Lweener who plays L8, Loo. Pe's noL a bad player, and ln facL, hls ablllLy Lo play boLh ls a
LesLamenL Lo hls sklll. 8uL he doesn'L qulLe maLch-up well wlLh Lhe oLher uLs ln Lhe conference.

24
ACC Defensive Ends
1. Da'uan 8owers - Clemson
2. ky|e W||ber - Wake loresL
3. 8randon Ienk|ns - llorlda SLaLe
4. A|v|n 8a||ey - Mlaml
3. Donte a|ge-Moss - norLh Carollna
6. Cam Iohnson - vlrglnla
7. Steven Ir|day - vlrglnla 1ech
8. atr|ck Lgboh - uuke
9. Max no||oway - 8osLon College
10. Iust|n Anderson - Maryland
11. Izaan Cross - Ceorgla 1ech
12. Dav|d Ak|nn|ny| - norLh Carollna SLaLe
Atlantic Coast Conference
Bowers is so far ahead of everyone else on this
list.
That isnt to say the rest of the conference is bad.
On the contrary, Bowers is just that good. Even as
good as Kerrigan, Watt and Beal are (his closest
three competitors for the top slot), we have him a
clear-cut No. 1 overall.
But dont overlook No.s 2 7, all good players in
their own right and the kind youd want on your
team, too.
8owers: no one ln l8S ls more ready for Lhe pro game Lhan 8owers. 8lg, sLrong, fasL, qulck, and a Lhlnker, 8owers ls a
compleLe player and only one fellow uL comes close Lhls season.
W||ber: lL's a shame Lhe uemon ueacons had very few naLlonally Lelevlsed games. eople deserve Lo know Mr. Wllber.
1he besL Wake defender slnce Aaron Curry.
Ienk|ns: lf lL weren'L for 8owers, !enklns mlghL have won uefenslve layer of Lhe ?ear honors ln Lhe ACC. 1he noles
haven'L seen an end Lhls good slnce Andre WadsworLh.
8a||ey: ?ou Lake a look aL Mlaml's lndlvldual LoLals and you wonder how Lhey losL a game. 1hen you waLch Lhem and
reallze lL's [usL LhaL: a loL of lndlvldual play. 1he four Mlaml uLs comblned for 21 sacks and 32.3 1lL. 8alley led Lhe Leam
ln boLh wlLh 7 and 11.
a|ge-Moss: We clalmed before Lhe season sLarLed Lhe 1ar Peels had a defense beLLer Lhan some nlL Leams. Well,
alge-Moss was a backup aL LhaL Llme. 1he unC lssues are well documenLed, buL he wasn'L among Lhem. layed very
admlrably, especlally glven Lhe clrcumsLances.
Iohnson: 1he Cavs acLually have one of Lhe ACC's besL defenslve llnes. 1hey [usL don'L have a loL else. Whlle MaLL
ConraLh domlnaLes Lhe mlddle, !ohnson provldes Lhe 'exclLemenL.' Pad a Leam-hlgh slx sacks.
Ir|day: Made a loL of posLseason all-conference llsLs, buL we're noL as hlgh. Pe's a good player, noL a greaL one, Lo us.
8uL we don'L wanL Lo speak poorly of hlm. 1he dude's deflnlLely a player (7.3 sacks, 13 1lL).
Lgboh: uoesn'L have Lhe numbers as some of hls breLhren, buL was sLlll Lhe mosL feared 8lue uevlls player. Cccupled
Lwo blockers mosL of Lhe Llme lf only because Lhe uukles had llLLle else. Pls number would much hlgher oLherwlse.
no||oway: ure 'geL-ln-Lhe-backfleld,' Polloway does LhaL well. 8uL he doesn'L play Lhe run aL all and has a one-Lrack
mlnd. 1alenLed deflnlLely, buL someLlmes doesn'L make Lhe smarL play.
Anderson: 1he enLlre Maryland rosLer ls fllled wlLh ho-hum klnd of guys. Anderson's among Lhem. 8uL Lhe Lhlng ls, Lhere
aren'L many Leams who work beLLer LogeLher. Anderson had a Leam-hlgh 10 1lL.
Cross: lf Lhe 8amblln' Wreck had any semblance of a defense Lhls year, Lhey'd have won Lhe ACC. Cross ls Lhe Leam's
besL up fronL, buL probably wouldn'L sLarL on any oLher Leam buL uuke.
Ak|nn|ny|: Llke Maryland, Lhe nC SLaLe fronLllne ls fllled wlLh average players who provlde more Lhan you'd Lhlnk. 1he
ack don'L have a pure, run-sLufflng u1, Lhough. Aklnnlnyl ls as close as Lhey come. SLlll, he had decenL Lhree sacks.

25
PAC 10 Defensive Ends
1. kenny kowe - Cregon
2. Cameron Iordan - Callfornla
3. k|cky L|more - Arlzona
4. Iamaar Iarrett - Arlzona SLaLe
3. 1rav|s Long - WashlngLon SLaLe
6. Stephen M|||er - Cregon SLaLe
7. Wes norton - uSC
8. M|ke Mas|f||o - SLanford
9. nau'o|| Iamora - WashlngLon
10. Cwamagbe Cd|gh|zuwa - uCLA
PAC 10 Conference
No one at DE in the PAC 10 jumps out at us as being
elite. Rowe and Jordan are the head of the class,
though, and really good players.
Elmore and Jarrett may not even be the best on their
respective teams.
Its a straight-forward group and you know what
youre going to get when they step on the field: not a
lot of mistakes, but not a lot of amazing plays, either.
kowe: 1hls ls one of Lhe unlque llsLlngs where someone has Lo be flrsL. 8owe lsn'L a Lerrlbly domlnanL player - aLyplcal
of mosL no. 1's ln Lhese ranklngs. 8uL he's a very good end on a defense LhaL was Lerrlbly underraLed. Pls slx sacks and
11 1lL were boLh second from Lhe uL spoL ln Lhe AC 10.
Iordan: Pas a leglL argumenL Lo be ranked flrsL on Lhls llsL. More a physlcal 'freak' Lhan 8owe, !ordan ls lnvolved ln
almosL all Lhe blg plays Lhe 8ears defense makes. Pe's noL so much a pass-rusher as an all-around player and LhaL
shows wlLh hls 61 Lackles and 10.3 1lL.
L|more: Llmore, however, ls a pass-rusher. Pe's compeLenL agalnsL Lhe run, buL excels when glve free relgn Lo geL Lo
Lhe quarLerback. Pe had a AC 10 defenslve llnemen-hlgh elghL sacks.
Iarrett: 1he Sun uevlls sLrengLh lles ln lLs defenslve llne. lf lL weren'L for an offense prone Lo mlsLakes, ASu would have
been a hlgher-end bowl Leam. !arreLL ls Lhe leader of Lhe llne, Lhough, noL necessarlly Lhe besL player. lreshman !unlor
Cnyeall played ln [usL nlne games and paced Lhe Leam wlLh 3.3 sacks and 10.3 1lL. !arreLL was [usL behlnd wlLh 4.3 and
10.3, respecLlvely.
Long: Laslly Lhe mosL accompllshed player on Lhe Wazzu defense, lL seems as Lhough Long's been around for slx or
seven years. A Lhree-and-a-half year sLarLer, he played beLLer each passlng year and capped hls career wlLh a 10 1lL
season.
M|||er: Pe and LeammaLe SLephen aea form one of Lhe AC 10's besL uL/u1 duos. Mlller lsn'L a 'wow' facLor klnd of
player, buL does everyLhlng needed Lo Lake some of Lhe pressure off hls very ellLe LeammaLe nexL Lo hlm.
norton: 1hls lsn'L your faLher's uSC defense. PorLon led a very average uSC defenslve fronL wlLh 4 sacks - a small
number compared Lo years pasL. 1he whole fronL llne ls young, Lhough, and glven Llme (and Lhelr pedlgree), we expecL
beLLer resulLs nexL year.
Mas|f||o: Maslfllo provldes a very un-SLanford workman-llke approach. Pe lsn'L a sLudenL of Lhe game ln Lhe classlc
sense, buL he's a brawler who regularly flnds hlmself ln Lhe rlghL poslLlons because of hls work raLe.
Iamora: Pe was abouL Lhe only brlghL spoL ln Lhe Puskles fronL four Lhls year. 1he youngesL u-llne ln Lhe conference,
Lhey've a loL of growlng up Lo do. !amora had medlocre numbers ln Lhe backfleld, buL had a Leam-hlgh 41 Lackles from
Lhe llne.
Cd|gh|zuwa: AnoLher youngsLer, Cdlghlzuwa was Lhe besL player on Lhe ends for Lhe 8rulns. 1here's a loL of uL
roLaLlon ln WesLwood, so none of Lhem have gllmmerlng numbers, buL comblne age wlLh sklll, and he's Lhe besL.

26
Big East Defensive Ends
1. Iabaa| Sheard - lLLsburgh
2. 8ruce Irv|n - WesL vlrglnla
3. M|ke S||vestro - 8uLgers
4. Iun|or Ioseph - uCCnn
3. 8randon M|||s - ClnclnnaLl
6. kodney Gnat - Loulsvllle
7. Chand|er Iones - Syracuse
8. kyne G|dd|ns - SouLh llorlda
Big East Conference
When Greg Romeus went down for Pittsburgh
early in the season, things looked bleak. He was a
potential Big East DPOY. Sheard stepped in and
decided to just win the honors himself. He was that
good.
Its a group that is actually pretty special on the
pass rush, but they struggle against the run on a
whole. Lots of potential here, though, for future
years.
Sheard: lLLsburgh looked Lo be ln Lrouble when All 8lg LasL uL Creg 8omeus wenL down early ln Lhe season.
Sheard sLepped ouL and Lruly domlnaLed. Pe had 43 Lackles, 12.3 1lL, 9 sacks, 4 forced fumbles and a fumble
recovery. laced double Leams all year and sLlll noLched one of Lhe besL seasons ln recenL memory ln Lhe 8lg
LasL.
Irv|n: Cne of Lhe besL pass-rush only Lypes ln all l8S, lrvln [usL geLs Lhe nod as MounLalneers rep over Lhe
more well rounded !ullan Mlller. Why? 8ecause alLhough Mlller can play every down - and lrvln can'L - only
a handful beLLered hls ouLsLandlng 12 sacks.
S||vestro: Lunch-pall, clock-ln, clock-ouL player Mlke SllvesLro deserves more recognlLlon. Pe had an amazlng
36 Lackles and Lled wlLh Sheard for Lhe lead ln 8lg LasL 1lL.
Ioseph: !oseph provldes Lhe besL pressure on a llne sLacked wlLh good LalenL. layers on Lhe llne have a
parLlcular role and !oseph fllls hls as well as any of Lhem. 1he uCCnn defense ls wlldly underraLed up fronL
Lhanks ln large parL Lo hls play.
M|||s: 1he ClnclnnaLl defense caused a loL of hearLbreak ln souLhern Chlo Lhls year. uon'L blame Lhe 8earcaLs
fronL four, Lhough. Mllls and Co. were maLched by [usL lLL and WesL vlrglnla ln Lhelr ablllLy Lo geL Lo Lhe C8.
roblem ls, Lhey're noL Lerrlbly adepL aL sLopplng Lhe run.
Gnat: AnoLher pure pass-rusher, CnaL ls a hybrld uL/L8. Pad [usL 23 Lackles, buL 9.3 1lL and he added 8.3
sacks. Came ouL of nowhere Lo be Lhe Cardlnals' prlmary defenslve playmaker.
Iones: Pls 8.3 1lL would suggesL he rank hlgher, buL Lhose were more colncldenLal Lhan anyLhlng, we flgure.
Pe had a Leam-hlgh 33 Lackles from Lhe llne, buL ls really [usL an average 8lg LasL player who won'L hurL your
Leam.
G|dd|ns: 1remendous upslde ln 1ampa. Clddlns hopes Lo follow former 8ulls !ason lerre-aul and Ceorge
Selvle ln Lhe ranks of greaL pass-rushers. Pe's noL Lhere yeL. Pad [usL 3.3 sacks and 6 1lL.

27
Big Ten Defensive Tackles
1. ka'Wan Short - urdue
2. C|||e Cgbu - enn SLaLe
3. kar| k|ug - lowa
4. Iere| Worthy - Mlchlgan SLaLe
3. Cory L|uget - llllnols
6. Iohn S|mon - Chlo SLaLe
7. M|ke Mart|n - Mlchlgan
8. Corb|n 8ryant - norLhwesLern
9. atr|ck 8utrym - Wlsconsln
10. 8randon k|rksey - MlnnesoLa
11. Adam kep|og|e - lndlana
Big Ten Conference
If youre seeking run-stuffing big men, go to the Big
Ten. No conference provided more, better ones.
Short and Ogbu are playmakers against the run and
pass and Worthy and Liuget arent far behind.
Klug and Martin are a couple of our favorites to
watch in the country.
The top is very (pardon the pun in advance) heavy,
but it quickly thins out the lower you go.
Short: lf Lhe 8ollers recelved half Lhe efforL - noL half Lhe producLlon, mlnd you, [usL half Lhe efforL - Lhelr defenslve
llne provlded, we'd be looklng aL an 8-4, 9-3 klnd of Leam. ShorL had a Lremendous year (4.3 sacks, 12.3 1lL) and easlly
comes ln flrsL here.
Cgbu: Pad a dlsappolnLlng season and sLlll ranks second on Lhe llsL. Pe's one of Lhe few players on Lhls enLlre llsL LhaL
make you go holy cow." roblem ls he dlsappears aL Llmes. lL doesn'L look llke he Lakes plays off exacLly, he [usL
sLruggles wlLh conslsLency.
k|ug: Cne of our favorlLe players ln Lhe game, klug ls pure adrenallne. A space-eaLer, he sLlll managed Lo sllp lnLo Lhe
backfleld for 11 1lL Lhls year. Pe's a brulser who geLs by on hls moLor more Lhan he does hls LalenL.
Worthy: Llke Lhe guy who plays nexL Lo hlm (neely), WorLhy compleLely overachleved. CranLed, more was expecLed of
hlm Lhan was of neely, buL Lhls beasL of a man was a blg reason for MSu's greaL season defenslvely.
L|uget: lL's hard Lo rank hlm Lhls low. Pe ls a really flne player surrounded by less-Lhan-greaL players. Pls 8.3 1lL are
Lhlrd hlghesL ln Lhe conference for u1-excluslve players.
S|mon: Chlo SLaLe dldn'L geL Lo Lhe quarLerback as much Lhls year as ln years pasL, buL don'L blame Slmon. A blL ouL of
poslLlon on Lhe lnslde, he plays llke a blg defenslve end (lnsLead of whaL he ls - a small defenslve Lackle). Cnce he
learns Lhe poslLlon, waLch ouL.
Mart|n: uldn'L have a bad year, all Lhlngs consldered, buL Mlchlgan needed more from lLs besL defenslve llneman.
Supposedly Lhe leader of Lhe defense, hls unlL sLruggled Lo one of lLs worsL LoLal defense ranklngs ln a long Llme.
8ryant: Agaln, Lhere's no wow facLor here, buL Lhere ls conslsLency. 8ryanL ls noLhlng shorL of garganLuan and usually
Lakes up mulLlple blockers. Pad only nlne Lackles, buL you can beL naLe Wllllams (Lhe L8 who plays dlrecLly behlnd hlm)
ls Lhankful for 8ryanL.
8utrym: AnoLher blg body whose [ob ls Lo eaL up blockers, 8uLrym dld lL as well as any Lhls year. Made almosL no
lmpacL behlnd Lhe llne of scrlmmage, he leL Lhe 8lg 1en's besL L8 corps roam and make Lackles.
k|rksey: Pls [ob ls llke LhaL of a Cerard Warren (golng old school, Lhere, we know) - sllp lnLo Lhe backfleld. Pe dld lL Lo
Lhe Lune of 3.3 1lL, buL LhaL's noL enough Lo rank hlgher.
kep|og|e: An average, aL besL, lndlana Pooslers defenslve player. 8eplogle ls commended for belng a Lhree-year
sLarLer, buL lL goes Lo show you Lhe lack of ellLe LalenL ln 8loomlngLon rlghL now.
28
SEC Defensive Tackles
1. N|ck Ia|r|ey - Auburn
2. Lad| A[|boye - SouLh Carollna
3. Drake Nev|s - LSu
4. Ierre|| owe - Cle Mlss
3. Ma||k Iackson - 1ennessee
6. I|etcher Cox - Mlsslsslppl SLaLe
7. Iaye noward - llorlda
8. 8randon Lohr - vanderbllL
9. Iosh Chapman - Alabama
10. Luke McDermott - kenLucky
11. DeAnge|o 1yson - Ceorgla
12. Lavunce Askew - Arkansas
Big Ten Conference
Now if youre seeking play-making big men, come to
the SEC.
Fairley, Powe, Jackson, Lohr and Nevis are all masters
of the game-changing play. Ajiboye, Cox and
Chapman are consistently loads in the middle, too.
Theres a big drop from No. 9 to 10, though. The
Kentucky, Georgia and Arkansas DTs leave something
to be desired.
Not a lot of a balance, but a lot of talent here.
Ia|r|ey: 1he besL SLC defenslve Lackle slnce Clen uorsey, lalrley ls slmply unblockable on mosL plays. no u1 ln Lhe
counLry geLs Lhrough mulLlple blockers as well as he does.
A[|boye: Surprlsed? ?es, we know he dldn'L puL up Lhe numbers some of hls counLerparLs dld. 8uL for our money,
Lhere's no one smarLer aL knowlng when Lo peneLraLe and when Lo Lake up space. lus, he's Lhe anchor of Lhe mosL-
LalenLed defenslve llne ln Lhe SLC.
Nev|s: Surprlslngly, he was Lhe only playmaker" Lhe 1lgers defenslve fronL supplled Lhls year. A good unlL as a whole,
nevls ls Lhe closesL Lhlng Lo a 'sLar' on a Leam LhaL's usually fllled wlLh Lhem.
owe: Maybe Lhe mosL fun player Lo waLch when he's fully healLhy, !errell owe flnally avolded Lhe Lralner's Lable for
mosL of Lhls season. When's he on, Lhere are few beLLer ln Lhe counLry.
Iackson: 1he brlghLesL spoL on an underachlevlng defense, !ackson had 11 1lL, second Lo only nevls and lalrley for
u1s. WlLh a body bullL for Lhe pros, we'd counL on !ackson belng a hell of an nlLer.
Cox: 1here wasn'L a more surprlslng Leam ln Lhe counLry Lhan Lhe 8ulldogs. MosL of lL was Lo hlgher-Lhan-expecLed play
from guys llke Cox. Always flgured Lo be a solld, lf unspecLacular, player, Cox was Lhe perfecL flL for Lhe mean, Lough
8ulldogs u.
noward: 1he CaLors may have sLruggled Lhls season, buL when lL comes Lo sLopplng Lhe run, Lhey were sLlll solld. MosL
of LhaL Lhanks belongs Lo Mr. Poward who's equally adepL aL geLLlng ln Lhe backfleld and eaLlng blocks.
Lohr: AnoLher really fun player Lo waLch, Lohr has Lhe unforLunaLe dlsLlncLlon of belng Lhe besL player ln a bad fronL
four. Cffenses can focus on hlm and handle Lhe oLhers wlLh [usL one blocker. uesplLe LhaL, he sLlll had a nlce 7.3 1lL.
Chapman: Welrd Lo see an Alabama player Lhls low. Chapman cerLalnly lsn'L a bad player, Lhough, even wlLh Lhe 1lde's
defenslve lssues Lhls year. 1haL belng sald, he lsn'L as ellLe as we LhoughL lasL year.
McDermott: now we begln Lo geL lnLo Lhe 'run-of-Lhe-mlll' Lypes. McuermoLL ls a decenL enough player, buL doesn'L do
a loL of speclal Lhlngs. lays hard and ls conslsLenL, Lhough.
1yson: We - llke many oLhers - expecLed much more from Lhe 8ulldogs Lhls year, especlally defenslvely. 1here's no lack
of LalenL here, [usL poor play. 1yson was Lhe besL of a group LhaL, enLerlng Lhe season, could have been called one of
Lhe SLC's besL.
Askew: ln[urles and lnconslsLency Look lLs Loll on Lhe mlddle of Lhe Pogs llne Lhls year. lour or flve players fllled Lhe
prlmary u1 role and none of Lhem were Lerrlbly lmpresslve. Askew was Lhe besL of Lhe bunch, buL ls really [usL a
roLaLlon Lype.
29
Big XII Defensive Tackles
1. Iared Cr|ck - nebraska
2. Co|by Wh|t|ock - 1exas 1ech
3. h|| 1ay|or - 8aylor
4. 1ony Ierod-Ld|e - 1exas A&M
3. A|ex Ckafor - 1exas
6. IaMarkus McIar|and - Cklahoma
7. 8randon naro|d - kansas SLaLe
8. Iosh nart|gan - Colorado
9. k|chard Iohnson Ir. - kansas
10. Stephen kuempo|hamer - lowa SLaLe
11. 1erre|| kesonno - Mlssourl
12. N|ge| N|cho|as - Cklahoma SLaLe
Big XII Conference
Crick and Whitlock are two of the best DTs in the
nation. After that, though, things get muddled.
No.s 3 7 all have the ability to make a big play or
be consistent run-stoppers, but so far either nothing
special has happened yet or theyre just plain.
Nothing wrong with plain, though. Plain is wins plenty
of games.
Most of these guys are gone next year, though, so
were curious to see who steps up in 2011.
Cr|ck: 1he reseason uefenslve layer of Lhe ?ear, Crlck dldn'L wln Lhe award, buL also dldn'L do anyLhlng Lo dlssuade
LhaL [usLlflcaLlon elLher. llnlshed Lhlrd among all 8lg 12 llneman wlLh 11.3 1lL and was Lhe bell cow for Lhe 8lackshlrLs
reLurn Lo promlnence.
Wh|t|ock: Wlldly underraLed, Colby WhlLlock really ls one of Lhe besL 'Lweeners ln l8S. Pe has a body beLLer sulLed for
Lhe ouLslde, buL wlLh hls bulk, he can sLlll play Lhe lnslde wlLh no problem.
1ay|or: 1he 8ears defenslve llne was good Lhls year. very good. 1he enn SLaLe Lransfer, 1aylor, lsn'L a space-eaLer llke
mosL of hls breLhren, lnsLead he sheds blocks when he knows he needs Lo and had a conference-hlgh 31 Lackles from
Lhe u1 spoL.
Ierod-Ld|e: Pe, however, lS a space-eaLer. So blg LhaL runnlng backs pracLlcally geL swallowed when Lhey enLer hls
aLmosphere, !erod-Ldle ls Lhe besL really blg man ln Lhe conference.
Ckafor: Clve hlm one more year and he may Lop Lhls llsL. AnoLher 'Lweener (llke Acho), Ckafor shlfLs lnslde-Lo-ouL
regularly. Pad [usL 3.3 1lL, buL had 3.3 sacks, Loo. 1remendous upslde here.
McIar|and: 1he mlddle of Lhe Sooners' fronL seven was eaLen up wlLh ln[urles Lhls year. Mclarland lsn'L Lhe mosL
LalenLed of Lhe bunch ln Lhe mlddle, buL he had Lhe besL season wlLh 3 1lL.
naro|d: noL ellLe, [usL good. Parold had a very lmpresslve 7.3 1lL from Lhe u1 poslLlon and also managed 41 LoLal
Lackles, one of Lhe besL LoLals for a u1 ln Lhe conference. Pe was Lhe only leglL producLlon from Lhe kSu fronL seven
Lhls year.
nart|gan: 1he ends were supposed Lo be Lhe 8uffs bread-and-buLLer. lnsLead lL was ParLlgan and lorresL WesL who
provlded Lhe Leam's mosL conslsLenL play - and besL pash rush, for LhaL maLLer. Led Lhe Leam wlLh 7 sacks.
Iohnson: 1he LalenL beglns Lo fade here. !ohnson's noL a bad player, buL ls your Lyplcal kansan of Lhls season. 8egularly
ouLplayed by smaller, more aglle llneman, !ohnson was sLrong enough Lo sllp Lhrough for 3.3 1lL.
kuempo|hamer: Well, he wasn'L on our llsL aL all when Lhe season began. LlLerally, aL all. We had no ldea who he was.
8uL he played well enough Lo earn a sLarLlng role by Lhe season's second game and never dld anyLhlng Lo rellnqulsh lL.
Pe also dldn'L do anyLhlng Lo move hlmself up Lhls llsL.
kesonno: 8oLaLes wlLh fellow lnslde man !lmmy 8urge on Lhe lnLerlor of Lhe 1lgers llne. Pe does Lhlngs capably, buL
geLs knocked off Lhe ball a blL Loo easlly by blgger cenLers and guards.
N|cho|as: Cklahoma SLaLe uses a blg-Llme roLaLlon, especlally on Lhe lnslde of lLs llne. nlcholas ls Lhe Leam's besL, buL
you could really puL any of four players here for Lhe okes.
30
ACC Defensive Tackles
1. uInton Cop|es - norLh Carollna
2. Matt Conrath - vlrglnla
3. Ioe Ve||ano - Maryland
4. Iarv|s Ienk|ns - Clemson
3. N|k|ta Wh|t|ock - Wake loresL
6. Anto|ne nopk|ns - vlrglnla 1ech
7. Adewa|e C[omo - Mlaml
8. I.k. Sweezy - norLh Carollna SLaLe
9. Dam|k Scafe - 8osLon College
10. Lverett Dawk|ns - llorlda SLaLe
11. Char||e natcher - uuke
12. Logan Wa||s - Ceorgla 1ech
Atlantic Coast Conference
Theres a lot of potential NFL talent here.
Coples, Jenkins, Whitlock and Ojomo are big-time
big-play guys. The others in the top eight are solid
regulars with upside.
Even Hatcher and Dawkins are decent, if
unspectacular, regulars.
Theres a drop in Atlanta, though, as the Jackets
couldnt find their groove most of the season.

Cop|es: Pe was supposed Lo be Lhe end wlLh Marvln AusLln on Lhe lnslde. When AusLln was 'counLed ouL' of Lhe
season, Coples moved lnslde and wenL ahead and domlnaLed anyway wlLh 8.3 sacks and 14 1lL.
Conrath: noLhlng ln hls sLaLs screams 'greaL player,' even 'good player' for LhaL maLLer. 8uL lL Lakes [usL a gllmpse of
one play Lo see hls lmpacL. Cffenslve coordlnaLors scheme A8Cunu Lhls guy.
Ve||ano: Pe's a bruLe, LhaL's all Lhere ls Lo lL. And lL works for hlm. vellano geLs by - and geLs by well - wlLh pure
sLrengLh and adrenallne. Pls 10 1lL from Lhe u1 spoL were only Lopped by Coples and one oLher.
Ienk|ns: Llke ConraLh, he doesn'L have huge numbers, buL Lhe combo of hlm on Lhe lnslde and 8owers on Lhe ouLslde
makes offenslve coordlnaLors cower. ?ou can'L pass because 8owers wlll annlhllaLe your C8. ?ou can'L run because
!enklns wlll eaL your runnlng back. now, how dld Clemson noL wln more games agaln?
Wh|t|ock: 8eally deserves Lo be hlgher. And agaln, Lhe ueacons really deserved beLLer. Cnly Coples had more 1lL Lhan
WhlLlock's 10.3. Pe and Wllber are Lhe second-besL uL/u1 combo ln Lhe conference, easlly.
nopk|ns: lL's hls play LhaL really opens Lhe fleld for lrlday. Pe requlres Lo blockers aL almosL all Llmes, Lhe only Lhlng
LhaL drops hlm ls hls occaslonal dlsappearlng acL. CLherwlse, he'd be no lower Lhan Lhlrd.
C[omo: Pad he played more snaps, he would have puL up Lhe besL numbers on Lhe llne. 8uL he's [usL a sophomore and
was well ouL of shape. 1ook hlmself ouL of games and Lhus dropped ln Lhls llsL. 1ough, because 8andy Shannon made
hls players work hard. Wonder lf he'll geL beLLer or regress. 1alenL's cerLalnly Lhere.
Sweezy: lL's easy Lo bag on Lhe ACC, buL we're seven u1s ln and Lhere's noL a Lremendous drop ln LalenL yeL. Sweezy
acLually led Lhe ack ln sacks ln 3.3 and really ls more of an end playlng Lackle.
Scafe: A decenL player, buL noL a greaL one, Scafe ls a Lyplcal 8osLon College lnLerlor llneman. 8lg, sLrong and noL
lncredlbly aLhleLlc, he sLlll managed 9 1lL.
Dawk|ns: 1he noles really sLruggled Lo sLop Lhe run Lhls year. uesplLe all Lhe pressure lSu provlded off Lhe edge,
uawklns and Co. couldn'L sLop Leams from gashlng Lhem up Lhe mlddle. Pe's noL an awful player, buL more was
cerLalnly expecLed from hlm.
natcher: AcLually had beLLer numbers (relaLlvely) Lhan more heralded LeammaLe Lgboh, PaLcher ls a falr player.
noLhlng speclal here, buL you'll geL Lhe same efforL and same resulLs every Llme ouL.
Wa||s: 1he 1ech u1s provlde Lhe flrsL real drop ln Lhls llsL. lunny, Lhe Leam LhaL runs all day can'L sLop lL elLher.
31
PAC 10 Defensive Tackles
1. Stephen aea - Cregon SLaLe
2. 8randon 8a|r - Cregon
3. S|one Iua - SLanford
4. Lawrence Guy - Arlzona SLaLe
3. Iust|n Wash|ngton - Arlzona
6. Iurre|| Casey - uSC
7. Dav|d Carter - uCLA
8. Deandre Co|eman - Callfornla
9. A|ameda 1a'amu - WashlngLon
10. 8randon Wo|fgramm - WashlngLon SLaLe
PAC 10 Conference
The PAC 10 has never been known as a run-stopping
conference, but the four at the top of this list can do
it with the best of them.
Guy specializes at it while the other three can do just
about anything asked of them.
Theres a real drop toward after No. 7, but Carter
and Casey have maybe the most NFL ability,
regardless of their ranking.
aea: Pe was named AC 10 uefenslve layer of Lhe ?ear for a reason. Llke mosL u1s Lhough, hls numbers
don'L [ump ouL aL you llke Lhey would lf he were aL end. Pe regularly occuples mulLlple llnemen (lncludlng
Lhe ellLe of Lhe conference on Lhe lnslde) and sLlll led a beLLer-Lhan-adverLlsed 8eavers u.
8a|r: 1he senlor had Lhe besL numbers of any lnLerlor defenslve player ln Lhe conference, buL he also had
beLLer llnemaLes around hlm, Lhus hls ranklng. Maybe Lhe sLrongesL of Lhe group, hls 13.3 1lL led all AC 10
defenslve llnemen.
Iua: More a Lechnlclan Lhan Maslfllo, lua can also llne up on Lhe ouLslde. 8uL lL's Lhe lnslde where he
domlnaLes, collecLlng a Leam-hlgh 4.3 sacks. 8ullL llke counLryman fellow Los Angeles naLlve and aclflc
lslander aea, lua was Lhe Cardlnal's besL defenslve player Lhls year. noL a surprlse.
Guy: Cne of Lhe besL pure run-sLuffers ln l8S, LhaL's all Lhere ls Lo lL. ASu's run defense was bolsLered
because of Cuy. Pad a pedesLrlan 4.3 1lL, buL LhaL's noL hls [ob. lew clog Lhe llnes llke he does.
Wash|ngton: used ln a varleLy of ways all season, WashlngLon can geL Lo Lhe C8 as well as he can sLuff Lhe
run. noL ellLe ln elLher, buL above average ln boLh, he's probably Lhe mosL versaLlle of Lhe group already
(he's [usL a freshman).
Casey: Pe was Lhe besL lndlvldual player on Lhe 1ro[ans fronL Lhls year wlLh 3.3 sacks and 10 1lL. As we
menLloned, Lhough, lL's a falrly young group LhaL, rlghL now, plays Loo much as lndlvlduals. Success wlll hlnge
on flndlng LhaL LogeLherness.
Carter: Pad a really good season, all Lhlngs consldered. CarLer led Lhe 8rulns ln sacks and 1lL from Lhe
mlddle and was abouL Lhe only LhreaL Lo draw mulLlple blockers. Pe sLlll had 37 Lackles.
Co|eman: We almosL placed !ordan as a u1 made Lhe 8ears uL plck 1revor CuyLon. 8uL !ordan played more
on Lhe ouLslde, so we wenL wlLh Coleman, who's noL a bad player by any means. Pad [usL 18 Lackles, buL ls
Lhe 8ears besL pure run-sLopper.
1a'amu: Pe ls absoluLely masslve. Pe geLs almosL no Lackles and rarely flnds hlmself ln Lhe backfleld, buL aL
330 lbs. he knows hls role ls Lo occupy blockers for Lhe solld L8 corps behlnd hlm.
Wo|fgramm: Pls career was deralled wlLh ln[ury, buL from a LalenL sLandpolnL, he should be hlgher. lL's [usL
Lhose ln[ury concerns.
32
Big East Defensive Tackles
1. Chas A|ecx|h - lLLsburgh
2. Chr|s Ne||d - WesL vlrglnla
3. kenda|| keyes - uCCnn
4. Scott Va||one - 8uLgers
3. Andrew Lew|s - Syracuse
6. 8randon Dunn - Loulsvllle
7. Derek Wo|fe - ClnclnnaLl
8. 1erre|| McC|a|n - SouLh llorlda
Big East Conference
Seems like every other player is different here.
Alecxih, Reyes, Lewis and McClain are the
playmakers. Neild, Vallone, Wolfe and High are the
space-eaters.
Dont be fooled by the lack of name recognition, this
is one of the best units from top-to-bottom. Very
little separation.
A|ecx|h: 1he besL defenslve end and Lhe besL defenslve Lackle? 1he anLhers are noLhlng shorL of loaded up
fronL. Alecxlh Lakes Lop spoL on Lhls llsL by [usL a halr. no u1 ln Lhe conference made more blg plays
lndlvldually Lhan Lhe lLL monsLer.
Ne||d: 1he besL pro prospecL among Lhe elghL, nelld ls Lruly a hoss. SLrong as an ox and wlLh Lhe
LemperamenL Lo maLch, nelld's numbers are low because of how good he ls. WlLhouL hlm, 8ruce lrvln and
Co. wouldn'L have had Lhe seasons Lhey dld. unblockable wlLh [usL one player.
keyes: 1he leader on Lhe fronL, 8eyes sLarLed on Lhe lnslde, moved ouLslde, and ls now back aL hls more
naLural poslLlon. 8eyes doesn'L geL Lo Lhe quarLerback nearly as much as !oseph even when on Lhe ouLslde.
8uL hls [ob ls Lo maul and keep blockers off Lhe L8s. Pe's greaL aL dolng lL.
Va||one: AnoLher solld player on Lhe 8uLgers fronL, vallone lsn'L a Lremendous LalenL, buL lnsLead, a hard
worker who geLs by on grlL. Cllche maybe, buL Lhere are few LhaL Lhe sLaLemenL ls Lruer abouL.
Lew|s: osslbly Lhe mosL LalenLed Crange uL slnce uwlghL lreeney, Lewls dldn'L qulLe play up Lo hls vasL
poLenLlal Lhls year. Pe sLlll had a servlceable season (4.3 1lL) and eaLs up space, buL he was expecLed Lo
make a few more blg plays.
Dunn: 1he Loulsvllle defense was one of Lhe Lops ln Lhe counLry and uunn dld hls parL ln lL, alLhough lL
wasn'L specLacular. Pe doesn'L geL a loL of Lackles or 1lLs or sacks, buL he keeps lnLerlor CLs busy enough for
oLhers Lo do Lhe dlrLy work.
Wo|fe: uecenL, unspecLacular player ln classlc grunL mode. Wolfe clogs Lhe mlddle and makes Lhe occaslonal
foray lnLo Lhe backfleld buL doesn'L do a loL of speclal Lhlngs.
McC|a|n: Slmllar player Lo Wolfe, [usL wlLh a dlfferenL bulld. McClaln has more upslde Lhan hls counLerparL
from Clncy buL also dldn'L Lap Lhe poLenLlal. Was also caughL up ln Lhe 'mlx' a few Llmes (ouL of poslLlon, noL
sheddlng blocks, eL al).
33
Big Ten Middle Linebackers
1. Martez W||son - llllnols
2. Lr|c Gordon - Mlchlgan SLaLe
3. Chr|s Co|asant| - enn SLaLe
4. Nate W||||ams - norLhwesLern
3. Iames Morr|s - lowa
6. 8r|an ko||e - Chlo SLaLe
7. Cu|mer St. Iean - Wlsconsln
8. Gary 1|ns|ey - MlnnesoLa
9. Dwayne 8eckford - urdue
10. kenny Demens - Mlchlgan
11. Ieff 1homas - lndlana
Big Ten Conference
Big Ten MLBs are rarely big time playmakers. The
outside guys usually have that honor.
Its the same this year, except its even deeper. Wed
take No.s 1 through 9 on our team any day.
Wilson and Rolle are great pro prospects and the
others are great college football players. Only one
conference has a better crew manning the middle.
W||son: ln[urles shorLened whaL should have been an AA season lasL year. And whlle lL was sLlll clear he's noL 100
percenL recovered, he's enough of Lhe way back Lo Lop Lhls llsL by a falrly wlde margln. A greaL 8lg 1en L8 who may geL
forgoLLen ln fuLure years, buL noL by us.
Gordon: Pe's really almosL as good as LeammaLe Creg !ones. Pe [usL doesn'L geL Lhe pub. Whlle !ones ls more
versaLlle, Cordon ls more of a Lackllng machlne. Pls 88 were Lhlrd among ML8s ln Lhe 8lg 1en.
Co|asant|: 1he leader ln Lackles from Lhe mlddle spoL, ColasanLl conLlnues Su's LradlLlon-rlch hlsLory aL Lhe poslLlon.
Pe makes Lhe occaslonal venLure behlnd Lhe llne of scrlmmage, buL mosLly fllls Lhe gap and Lracks Lhe edge. A greaL
player.
W||||ams: lf you haven'L noLlced - and llkely you haven'L because leL's face lL, lL lS norLhwesLern - Lhe WlldcaLs have
had some really good ML8s ln recenL years. Wllllams ls Lhe besL here slnce hls coach (aL llLzgerald) roamed LvansLon.
Morr|s: uoesn'L have PunLer's flash or even Lhe numbers Lo maLch, buL ls one of Lhe mosL dlsclpllned sLay-aL-home
Lypes ln Lhe 8lg 1en. And he's [usL a freshman. lowa doesn'L ask lLs L8s Lo geL ln Lhe backfleld, so hls numbers reflecL
LhaL, buL Lhere aren'L many we'd raLher have on our Leam.
ko||e: 8olle has Lhe besL numbers of all Lhe CSu llnebackers, buL lsn'L Lhe besL on Lhe Leam, really. Pls 70 Lackles, 2.3
sacks and 10 1lL were all Lops on Lhe squad and even ranked ln Lop Lhree among ML8s. 8uL he Lrles Loo hard for Lhe
blg play someLlmes and geLs well ouL of poslLlon, relylng lnsLead, on players llke Poman Lo cover unnecessarlly.
St. Iean: Lerlly slmllar Lo numbers Lo L8 LeammaLe 8lake Sorensen, SL. !ean ls more Lhe bllLzer of Lhe 8adgers bunch. A
blL unusual for mosL Leams' ML8s, lL's dlfflculL Lo dlscern lf LhaL's Lhe uW sysLem or lf lL's flLLed Loward SL. !ean's skllls.
1|ns|ey: A numbers machlne, 1lnsley's LoLals are lnflaLed because he's really Lhe besL player on Lhe defense. 1haL
doesn'L necessarlly mean he'd puL up Lhe same LoLals on oLher Leams, Lhough. 1haL sald, he's also a really LalenLed
ML8 worLhy of a hlgher spoL on Lhls llsL.
8eckford: Same goes for 8eckford as lL dld for 1lnsley. lL's really a shame Lhe 8lg 1en ls so loaded ln Lhe mlddle.
8eckford led Lhe 8ollers' L8s ln Lackles and was a greaL sLablllzlng force allowlng for LeammaLes Lo make Lhe blgger
plays.
Demens: Llke 8olle, uemens geLs hlmself caughL ouL of poslLlon a llLLle Loo much. When he sLays home, he's greaL aL
forclng 88s Lo Lhe ouLslde, buL we'd llke Lo see hlm force Lhe lssue and Lackle more raLher Lhan make runners shlfL.
1homas: Pe really wasn'L a bad L8 for Lhe Pooslers Lhls year. Pls numbers are lnflaLed because, well, someone has Lo
make plays. llnlshed second on Lhe Leam ln Lackles and added 7.3 1lL and 2 ln1s.

34
SEC Middle Linebackers
1. Chr|s Wh|te - Mlsslsslppl SLaLe
2. Danny 1revathan - kenLucky
3. ke|v|n Sheppard - LSu
4. Akeem Dent - Ceorgla
3. Ierry Irank||n - Arkansas
6. Donta n|ghtower - Alabama
7. Ionathan Corne|| - Cle Mlss
8. Lr|c 8ynes - Auburn
9. N|ck keve|z - 1ennessee
10. Chr|s Marve - vanderbllL
11. A.I. Ienk|ns - llorlda
12. Iosh D|ckerson - SouLh Carollna
These are easily the hardest rankings for us.
There are elite talents who fell (Hightower, Bynes)
and overachievers who rose (Trevathan, White).
No conference is more talented at this spot and no
conference is deeper, either.
This is a great group and maybe the deepest and best
at any position in any conference.
All could be future pros.
Wh|te: uesplLe 1revaLhan's Lremendous numbers, WhlLe ls our runaway no. 1. ln facL, he may be Lhe besL 8ulldogs L8
ever. noLched 103 Lackles, 13.3 1lL and 6 sacks. unbellevable for a ML8.
1revathan: 1he besL lndlvldual season for a uk llnebacker ever, hls 130 Lackles were Lops ln Lhe SLC and he added 16
1lL (shorL of [usL PousLon) and 2 sacks. A deserved no. 1 had he been marked Lhere, Loo.
Sheppard: 1here's noLhlng Sheppard can'L do. Pe's Lhe unquesLloned leader of Lhe 1lgers fronL seven. urops lnLo
coverage when asked (noL ofLen) and never mlsses a Lackle, he also flnds Llme Lo geL lnLo Lhe backfleld (11 1lL).
Dent: Maybe Lhe besL pure ML8 on Lhe llsL, uenL Lackles. And Lackles. And Lackles. Pe doesn'L rush Lhe passer much
and doesn'L sllp lnLo Lhe backfleld Loo ofLen (Lhough he dld have 2 sacks and 6.3 1lL), buL he may be Lhe mosL feared
among SLC offenslve players.
Irank||n: Made Lhe shlfL Lo Lhe lnslde [usL Lhls year, lranklln played Lhe poslLlon llke he had been dolng lL hls whole
llfe. WlLh Lhe speed of an CL8, lranklln added a mlsslng elemenL Lo Lhe Pogs u. Laslly Lhe leader of Lhe defense,
lranklln had a greaL senlor season (6.3 sacks, 88 Lackles, 12.3 1lL).
n|ghtower: We're noL sure lf offenses focused on neuLrallzlng hlm or lf he [usL dldn'L perform Lo lasL year's
capablllLles. PlghLower has Lhe farLhesL fall on Lhls llsL. 1haL doesn'L make hlm a bad player - he's cerLalnly noL LhaL -
buL we cerLalnly expecLed more from our preseason no. 1 L8 perlod.
Corne||: Pls 14 1lL were Lhlrd Lo [usL WhlLe and PousLon from Lhe L8 corps. Pls 80 Lackles were good for sevenLh, Loo.
1here's noLhlng flashy here, [usL a good solld Cle Mlss L8.
8ynes: Pe was whaL we expecLed LeammaLe Cralg SLevens Lo be. Lven sLlll, hls numbers aren'L huge, Lhanks ln large
parL Lo Lhe greaL uL ln fronL of hlm. noL a loL Lo say here oLher Lhan he probably deserves a hlgher ranklng. 8uL over
whom?
keve|z: nexL Lo uenL, 8evelz ls Lhe mosL naLural ML8 on Lhe llsL. Pe had 90 Lackles and [usL 6 1lL wlLh zero sacks. Pe's
asked Lo make Lhe Lackle on every play, Lhough, and he usually does so.
Marve: A real shame he has Lo be Lhls low, he's acLually one of Lhe beLLer L8s ln Lhe SLC. Pls 80 Lackles led Lhe L8
corps ln nashvllle and was a clear second-besL on Lhe squad.
Ienk|ns: ALhleLlc as all geL ouL, !enklns ls sLlll an enlgma. Pe'll dlsappear one game and have a monsLer one Lhe nexL.
Pe dldn'L play Lo hls exLraordlnary poLenLlal and now quesLlons abound wheLher he ever wlll.
D|ckerson: 1he only L8 on Lhe llsL wlLh [usL average LalenL, ulckerson cleans up Lhe mess LhaL happens Lo sllp by Lhe
Lremendous uL ln fronL of hlm. Pe had [usL 34 Lackles buL lsn'L asked Lo do much more Lhan LhaL.
35
Big XII Middle Linebackers
1. keenan kob|nson - 1exas
2. Cr|e Lemon - Cklahoma SLaLe
3. Sean orter - 1exas A&M
4. Iake knott - lowa SLaLe
3. 8ront 8|rd - 1exas 1ech
6. Chr|s Iranc|s - 8aylor
7. 1om Wort - Cklahoma
8. M|chae| S|p||| - Colorado
9. Iust|n Spr|nger - kansas
10. 8|ake S|aughter - kansas SLaLe
11. Aust|n Cass|dy - nebraska
12. Andrew W||son - Mlssourl
Big XII Conference
What the SEC has in depth at MLB, the Big XII has
the opposite.
Robinson and the Longhorns had a disappointing
season. Lemon and the Pokes had a tremendous one.
No.s 3 6 are good solid guys and there was real
upside with Wort and Sipili.
But the bottom of the list doesnt make you jump out
of your seat. Admittedly, Mizzou and UNL hard to
rank because of their defensive structure.
kob|nson: 8egardless of how Lhe Longhorns' season wenL, 8oblnson was aL Lhe Lop of hls game. ?es, Lhe anemlc uCLA
offense gashed Lhem deep, buL Lhe unlL dld acLually geL beLLer as Lhe season wenL. 1haL's noL reflecLed ln Lhelr record,
of course, buL 8oblnson was Lhe prlmary reason for some semblance of decency.
Lemon: Pe lsn'L Lhe mosL aLhleLlc llnebacker ln Lhe hlsLory of SLlllwaLer. Peck, he's noL even Lhe mosL aLhleLlc
llnebacker on Lhe Leam rlghL now. 8uL we Lhlnk hls season was one for Lhe ages, especlally because he's noL blessed
wlLh Lremendous ablllLy. Makes Lackles all over Lhe fleld and commands Lhe defense.
orter: orLer doesn'L have Lhe numbers Lo maLch a loL of Lhose around hlm, buL no one played off hls LeammaLes
beLLer. 1he A&M defense was so lmproved Lhls year and orLer was a blg reason. Pe seemed Lo know hls LeammaLes
moves ln advanced and played well off Lhem all season long.
knott: Pe's far and away Lhe besL player on Lhe lowa SLaLe defense. Pls 130 Lackles were second ln Lhe 8lg 12. CranLed,
much of LhaL ls because Lhe Cyclones' u ls on Lhe fleld a loL, buL you'll be hard-pressed Lo flnd someone who 'snlffs ouL'
plays beLLer. A Lrue Lechnlclan of Lhe game.
8|rd: Much was asked of 8lrd and LeammaLe WhlLlock Lhls season. And whlle Lhe resL of Lhe defense dldn'L follow sulL,
Lhose Lwo dld everyLhlng Lhey could. 8lrd ls a loL llke Lemon - noL especlally aLhleLlc, Lhey geL Lhe mosL ouL of whaL
Lhey have.
Iranc|s: Cne of Lhe brlghLesL surprlses for Lhe 8ears Lhls season. lrancls was a pro[ecLed sLarLer, buL one who would
have Lo flghL Lo sLay on Lhe fleld. 1he LalenL ls clearly Lhere and alLhough he's noL an ellLe player, he's boosLed because
he dld more Lhan we expecLed.
Wort: ln[urles and someLlmes-quesLlonable play drop WorL ln Lhese ranklngs. lf lL were based on LalenL alone, he'd
probably be second Lo only 8oblnson. SLlll [usL a freshman, we expecL he'll Lop Lhls llsL soon, maybe even nexL year.
S|p|||: Pls career ln 8oulder dldn'L have Lhe brlghLesL of sLarLs. Pad some off-Lhe-fleld Lroubles and some ln[urles, buL
really shlned ln Lhls, hls flnal year. Pad 8 1lL Leamed wlLh 8.!. 8eaLLy Lo form a decenL pass-rush from Lhe L8 spoL.
Spr|nger: ueserves Lo be a blL hlgher, Sprlnger dld a loL Lhls year for a bad !ayhawks Leam. llnlshed wlLh a Leam-hlgh
8.3 1lL ln Lhe L8 corps, he also noLched 83 Lackles. noL a bad llLLle year, buL Lhe defense was so bad, he can'L geL Loo
much credlL.
S|aughter: kansas SLaLe usually has aL leasL one llnebacker who [umps ouL as one of Lhe league's besL. noL so Lhls year.
SlaughLer ls a capable player, we Lhlnk, buL he's underslzed and geLs knocked around a blL more Lhan you'd llke.
Cass|dy: nebraska doesn'L play a slngle naLural L8. 1hey mlx ln slx or seven hybrld S/L8 Lypes. Cassldy ls one of Lhe besL,
buL for naLural L8 purposes, he drops. ln LalenL alone, Lhough, we'd boosL hlm Lo slxLh here.
W||son: uefaulLs on Lhls llsL because Mlssourl's prlmary Lwo llnebackers" are more hybrld safeLles or ouLslde-only
Lypes. layed only llmlLed snaps and had 42 Lackles. Pard Lo gauge player.

36
ACC Middle Linebackers
1. Nate Irv|ng - norLh Carollna SLaLe
2. 8ruce 1ay|or - vlrglnla 1ech
3. 8r|an kuech|y - 8osLon College
4. A|ex Wu[c|ak - Maryland
3. Co||n McCarthy - Mlaml
6. kev|n kedd|ck - norLh Carollna
7. nunter naynes - Wake loresL
8. Cor|co nawk|ns - Clemson
9. kenda|| Sm|th - llorlda SLaLe
10. Darne|| Carter - vlrglnla
11. 8rad Iefferson - Ceorgla 1ech
12. ke|by 8rown - uuke
Atlantic Coast Conference
The ACC is the only conference that beats the SEC
at the top.
Each of the top five players could be called No. 1 and
each makes our overall MLB top 10. And Va. Tech is
loaded at all LB spots.
But theres a pretty big drop after that. Nos 6 9
are decent players, but very limited big play ability.
UNC was hurt with the defensive suspensions or all
their front seven rankings would look different. No
more evident than on the MLB group.
Irv|ng: 1here are flve L8s could concelvably Lop Lhls llsL. lrvlng geLs our Lop spoL because of hls all-around play. no one
ln Lhe ACC had a more balanced sLaL sheeL: 88 Lackles, 6 sacks, 20.3 1lL, 2 forced fumbles and 3 pass break-ups. We
Lhlnk he's one of Lhe counLry's besL, lf noL Lhe besL.
1ay|or: 1he Pokles besL lndlvldual L8 had much Lhe same season as lrvlng, [usL wlLhouL Lhe 1lL. As we menLloned
above, Lhe Pokles are beLLer as a unlL Lhan Lhey are as lndlvldual players, buL 1aylor sLlll sLands ouL as Lhe second-besL
here afLer an amazlng season.
kuech|y: 1ackles everyLhlng. uoesn'L maLLer lf you're playlng for 8C or Lhe local op Warner Leam, 171 Lackles are
amazlng. Pe also added 2 ln1s and a couple of forced fumbles. Any oLher year, he'd Lake Lhe Lop spoL.
Wu[c|ak: 1he lasL of our 'could-be' no. 1's, Wu[clak doesn'L do a loL oLher Lhan sLay aL home and flll Lhe lane. Pe sllps
blockers, uses qulck feeL Lo geL ln Lhe hole and plug lL. 1here aren'L many beLLer aL whaL he does.
McCarthy: !usL because we dldn'L conslder hlm for Lhe Lop spoL doesn'L mean he's bad. Cn Lhe conLrary, McCarLhy was
hard Lo lgnore leadlng Lhe Purrlcanes wlLh 103 Lackles and chlpplng ln 9 sacks. 1here's [usL no one above Lo rank below
hlm, you know?
kedd|ck: 1he blggesL gap ln Lhls llsL lles beLween no. 3 and no. 6. 8eddlck was supposed Lo be a regular ln Lhe unC
llneup, buL noL a sLar. WlLh Lhe Leam's lssues off Lhe fleld, he was forced Lo do more Lhan he should have. Pe played
solldly enough, buL couldn'L provlde Lhe sLar power. no knock agalnsL hlm, really, as he's sLlll a good player.
naynes: Pe's noL blessed wlLh Lremendous speed or sLrengLh, Paynes slmply goes abouL hls buslness from hls ML8
spoL. Pe's your sllghLly above average 8CS conference llnebacker wlLh 77 Lackles and 6.3 1lL.
nawk|ns: Pe has Lhe dlsLlncLlon of belng Lhe only above-average player ln Lhe 1lgers llnebacklng corps. Pe had 3 sacks,
67 Lackles and 9.3 1lL. noL bad numbers from a guy who plays ln a group wlLh llLLle Lo do besldes clean up Lhe mess.
Sm|th: Pe was caughL ouL of poslLlon a few Loo many Llmes for our llklng, especlally for a sLay-aL-home ML8. Pe made
Lhe plays he was around and doesn'L mlss Lackles, buL sllpplng down or popplng ouLslde when he dldn'L need Lo hurLs
hlm.
Carter: 1here's llLLle LhaL sLands ouL abouL any of Lhe uvA llnebackers. CarLer ls Lhe besL of Lhe bunch of an average-Lo-
Ck group LhaL, llke we sald, should have done more. Pad a Leam-hlgh 8 1lL from Lhe group, Lhough.
Iefferson: 8y vlrLue of numbers alone does Lhe ?ellow !ackeLs mlddleman make Lhls spoL. 1here's almosL no dlfference
beLween a couple around hlm excepL for LoLals. !efferson made more plays for Lhe 1ech defense Lhan any oLher, Lhus
hls spoL.
8rown: Learned on Lhe [ob as a freshman. uuke was bad, llke usual. 1he 8lue uevlls Lry Lo develop, however, young
players early. 8rown should learn from Lhls year and move up Lhese ranklngs, even lf [usL a llLLle, ln 2011.
37
PAC 10 Middle Linebackers
1. Casey Matthews - Cregon
2. Vontaze 8urf|ct - Arlzona SLaLe
3. Shane Skov - SLanford
4. M|ke Mohamed - Callfornla
3. Chr|s Ga||ppo - uSC
6. au| Vassa||o - Arlzona
7. Cort Denn|son - WashlngLon
8. C.I. M|ze|| - WashlngLon SLaLe
9. atr|ck Lar|more - uCLA
10. kueben kob|nson - Cregon SLaLe
We dont know if its the weather or what, but
theres a ton of energy from the guys at this position
in the PAC 10.
Matthews and Skov play with non-stop motors.
Burfict and Galippo are pure athletes. Mohamed is a
bit of both.
Something of a drop from 5 to 6 and again from 7 to
8, but its a reliable unit that gives you what you
expect.
Matthews: 1he besL player on Lhe league's besL squad, MaLLhews ls Lhe face of Lhe uucks u. Pe plays exLraordlnary
emoLlon and energy. And even Lhough he had [usL 73 Lackles, remember, Lhe Cregon defense dldn'L exacLly have a loL
Lo do mosL of Lhe year.
8urf|ct: 8urflcL's Lhe mosL LalenLed llnebacker aL ASu slnce Lhe days of 1errell Suggs. Cnly a sophomore, he managed
Lo up hls play from 2009, even, when he was named AC 10 lreshman of Lhe ?ear. Pe'll never lead Lhe league ln sacks,
buL he'll baL down balls, flll Lhe hole and glve Lhe occaslonal run bllLz.
Skov: Capped a greaL career aL SLanford wlLh Lhe Leam's besL record yeL. Llke hls Leam, Skov lmproved each year
lncremenLally. Pe was Lops Lhls year, Leamlng wlLh 1homas Lo provlde run-sLopplng ablllLy wlLh quarLerback-pressure.
We expecL blg performances ln Lhe bowl game from Lhe Lwo.
Mohamed: AnoLher good player on anoLher Leam LhaL should have been beLLer Lhan lL's record. Mohamed ls a
sLandard, sLay-aL-home klnd of a player ln Cal's 3-4 scheme, buL he has Lhe versaLlllLy Lo do more lf asked. Pe led Lhe
Leam wlLh 96 Lackles.
Ga||ppo: Pe has overwhelmlng LalenL (llke mosL of hls uSC breLhren), buL lL dldn'L show. Pe made a few really speclal
plays, buL ML8s are ofLen Lhe leaders of Lhe defense. lf LhaL's Lhe case ln Los Angeles, Loo, kennard geLs a few demerlLs
as Lhe 1ro[ans u as a whole was noL very good.
Vassa||o: Pls sLablllLy aL Lhe poslLlon allowed Lhe WlldcaLs Lo use mulLlple looks and packages all whlle keeplng Lhe
hearL of Lhe defense lnLacL. vassallo had 94 Lackles and 7.3 1lL. noL shabby numbers for an ML8.
Denn|son: WhaLever losLer doesn'L geL, uennlson does. Pe doesn'L have hls LeammaLe's raw ablllLy, buL he's sLlll
beLLer Lhan average aL all key aspecLs. very hard Lo flnd a weakness wlLh uennlson.
M|ze||: WashlngLon SLaLe sLarLed an absurd number of freshmen, especlally on defense. 1haL dldn'L bode well for Lhem
Lhls year, buL wlLh players llke Mlzell ln Lhe fold for anoLher Lhree years, Lhe fuLure's brlghL. Pe played llke you'd
expecL an average freshman Lo play: a few plays here and Lhere, a few mlsLakes, Loo.
Lar|more: Pe leaves Lhe dlrLy work Lo hls maLes on Lhe ouLslde - Akeem Ayers and Sean WesLgaLe. 1hey are Lwo really
good players. Larlmore, however, desplLe Lhe supporL, suffers from Loo many mlssed asslgnmenLs and Lackles.
lnexcusable for a guy ln Lhe mlddle.
kob|nson: 8oblnson ls an Ck player. We klnd of wanL Lo puL hlm above Larlmore and maybe even Mlzell. 8uL hls LalenL
lsn'L nearly on Lhelr level and he plays wlLh more LalenL around hlm.
38
Big East Middle Linebackers
1. Lawrence W||son - uCCnn
2. I.k. Schaffer - ClnclnnaLl
3. Derre|| Sm|th - Syracuse
4. Anthony Leonard - WesL vlrglnla
3. Ion Gruder - lLLsburgh
6. 8randon neath - Loulsvllle
7. Sam 8arr|ngton - SouLh llorlda
8. Steve 8eauharna|s - 8uLgers
Big East Conference
Wilson is the only elite player on the board, but
theres good depth at 2 6.
More than that, though, theres plenty of youth and
potential. These rankings could look wildly different
next year if some of the guys (especially Barrington)
continue to develop.
W||son: Pe's Lhe besL L8 ln Lhe 8lg LasL, bar none. Pe led Lhe conference wlLh 113 Lackles, added 10 1lL and
3.3 sacks, forced Lwo fumbles and hls one ln1 wenL back for a 1u. Pe's an excellenL player who mlghL wreak
havoc on Lhe Sooners plans ln Lhe llesLa 8owl.
Schaffer: Schaffer ls Wllson llLe. Pe was second ln Lhe 8lg LasL ln Lackles, chlpped ln 9.3 1lL and 3 sacks,
forced Lwo fumbles and had an ln1, Loo. Lerlly slmllar numbers. lssue ls LhaL Schaffer's Leam's defense
wasn'L nearly as good. Pard Lo blame hlm for LhaL, buL LhaL's Lhe dlfference for us.
Sm|th: lL was SmlLh's sLablllLy on Lhe lnslde LhaL allowed uoug Pogue Lhe freedom Lo make plays on Lhe
ouLslde. Pe makes plenLy of Lhem. Llke Lhe Lwo ranked above, he can do lL all - drop ln coverage, wrap Lhe
ball carrler, geL ln Lhe backfleld. 1he Crange wlll cerLalnly mlss he and Pogue nexL year.
Leonard: WesL vlrglnla's L8s don'L make you [ump ouL of your seaL. 1he MounLalneers are mlsslng LhaL sLar
player, buL as a group, Lhey gel well. Leonard leads Lhe charge on Lhe lnslde and hls huge games agalnsL
8uLgers and Loulsvllle kepL Wvu ln Lhe 8lg LasL LlLle hunL unLll Lhe end.
Gruder: Cruder roams Lhe mlddle wlLh heady declslon-maklng and leadershlp. And Lhough he doesn'L do a
loL excellenLly, he can drop ln coverage, flll Lhe hole and even aLLack on a bllLz lf needed. noL a supersLar, buL
a solld player ln Lhe mlddle.
neath: Pe was a blL ouL of poslLlon ln Lhe mlddle Lhls season. AL 213 lbs., he's an underslzed ML8, buL hls
leadershlp was needed Lhere. Pe was Lhlrd on Lhe Leam wlLh 70 Lackles and, aL Llmes, was Lhe besL fronL
seven player on a good defense.
8arr|ngton: 8arrlngLon wlll beneflL mosL on Lhe uSl defense from senlor capLaln and fellow L8 !acqualn
Wllllams' play. We expecL he'll Lake Wllllams' leadershlp role ln 2011 (he'll be a [unlor). Pe sLlll had 61 Lackles
and 3 1lL mannlng Lhe mlddle for Lhe 8ulls.
8eauharna|s: Pe plays wlLh reckless abandon and lL geLs hlm ln Lrouble more Lhan lL should. lf he learns Lo
reln hlmself ln, waLch ouL. Pe makes eye-popplng plays (6 1lL, 1.3 sacks, 2 us, 4 hurrles), buL needs Lo relax
aL Llmes and sLay ln poslLlon.
39
Big Ten Outside Linebackers
1. Greg Iones - Mlchlgan SLaLe
2. Ierem|ha nunter - lowa
3. koss noman - Chlo SLaLe
4. Iames Mouton - Mlchlgan
3. 8|ake Sorensen - Wlsconsln
6. 1y|er kep|og|e - lndlana
7. Nathan Stupar - enn SLaLe
8. Ioe no||and - urdue
9. 8ryce McNau| - norLhwesLern
10. Nate 8ussey - llllnols
11. keanon Cooper - MlnnesoLa
Big Ten Conference
Outside Jones, theres not a lot of name recognition
here.
Its a good unit, though, even if it is down from most
years in the Big Ten.
We really like McNaul and Holland more than we
were able to rank them.
Replogle, Stupar and Bussey could all be bumped too
and wed have no problem.
Jones is clearly the class, though.
Iones: lor our money, Lhere's no beLLer Lrue L8 ln Lhe counLry. Many would agree, as he noLched back-Lo-back AA
honors ln 2009 and 2010. Pe Lackles everyLhlng ln slghL, drops ln coverage when needed and sLlll flnds Llme Lo
pressure Lhe quarLerback. 8esL slnce here slnce ercy Snow.
nunter: 1he Pawkeyes are becomlng 1980s and 90s enn SLaLe. 1hey produce quallLy L8 afLer quallLy L8. PunLer's noL
much behlnd Lhe llne of scrlmmage, buL Lhe Pawkeyes don'L ask hlm Lo be. robably Lhe 8lg 1en's besL aL fllllng Lhe
hole, Lhough.
noman: 1he 8uckeyes are loaded aL L8, Loo, so lndlvldual LoLals are noLhlng llke kaLzenmoyer or LaurenalLls ln Lhe
pasL. SLlll, lL's faulLy Lo compare Poman Lo Lhose Lwo. Pe ls whaL he ls and LhaL's a damn flne player.
Mouton: Pas arguably Lhe besL numbers aL Lhls poslLlon. arL of LhaL ls because of LalenL (whlch he has plenLy of) and
parL ls due Lo a porous uL ln fronL of hlm. Pe's sLlll a borderllne greaL L8.
Sorensen: 1he 8lg 1en ls loaded wlLh quallLy buL few sLars aL L8. Sorensen personlfles LhaL. Pe's never been - and
never wlll be - a supersLar. 8uL he and hls fellow uW 'backers plck up Lhe pleces llke no oLher unlL ln Lhe 8lg 1en.
1hey're Lhe perfecL complemenL Lo Lhe Lremendous uL ln Madlson.
kep|og|e: Pe's Lhe hlghesL-ranked Pooslers lndlvldual defenslve player for a reason. Pe'd be a sLarLer on any Leam ln
Lhe counLry save a couple. 1he heady leader of a subpar defense makes [usL abouL every blg play lndlana geLs
defenslvely.
Stupar: 1here's noLhlng exLraordlnary abouL SLupar. Pe's noL Sean Lee or 8rlan Celzhelser, even, buL he ls a quallLy L8.
Pls ablllLy Lo pressure from Lhe edge (pure speed) and Lrack plays from behlnd rank hlm hlgh.
no||and: SomewhaL deserves a hlgher ranklng as lL's noL hls faulL urdue ls a bad Leam. ln facL, as we menLloned
before, Lhe 8ollers u lsn'L LhaL bad, really. Polland led Lhe L8 corps ln sacks and 1lL.
McNau|: Was supposed Lo be a roLaLlon player ln Week Cne, buL made plenLy of smarL plays and puL hlmself ln Lhe
sLarLlng unlL. uon'L expecL anoLher nlck 8oach, buL Mcnaul wlll be Lhe leader of Lhls unlL Lhe nexL year and he
deserves Lo be.
8ussey: 8ussey provldes a warm body on ouLslde of Lhe llllnols L8 corps. Makes Loo many mlsLakes Lo garner a hlgher
ranklng desplLe decenL numbers (69 Lackles, 6.3 1lL) and greaL aLhleLlclsm.
Cooper: 1he MlnnesoLa defense ls Ck up Lhe mlddle, buL nexL-Lo-noLhlng on Lhe ouLslde. Cooper does he whaL he can
wlLh a llmlLed sklll seL, buL slmply doesn'L have Lhe speed or sLrengLh Lo compare Lo hls breLhren.
40
SEC Outside Linebackers
1. Iust|n nouston - Ceorgla
2. Courtney Upshaw - Alabama
3. k.I. Wr|ght - Mlsslsslppl SLaLe
4. kyan 8aker - LSu
3. Ier|co Ne|son - Arkansas
6. Cra|g Stevens - Auburn
7. Anton|o A||en - SouLh Carollna
8. A.I. Iones - llorlda
9. D.I. Shacke|ford - Cle Mlss
10. Iohn Stokes - vanderbllL
11. konn|e Sneed - kenLucky
12. nerman Lathers - 1ennessee
Not able to put our fingers on it just yet, but this
group seemed a little disappointing this year.
Houston is nothing short of a stud. Upshaw isnt far
behind.
Wright and Baker are great players, too. But then
theres a drop.
Nelson and Allen are safeties still learning to play
LB, but we figured more out of Stevens, Jones and
Stokes.
nouston: AfLer uCAs flrsL game of Lhe season we proclalmed PousLon as Lhe SLCs besL defender. Whlle we now glve
LhaL honor Lo nlck lalrley or aLrlck eLerson, PousLon ls rlghL on Lhelr heels. A L8/uL 'Lweener Lype, he's noLhlng shorL
of ellLe (11 sacks, 19.3 1lL).
Upshaw: 1he 'bama hype was all abouL uonLa PlghLower before Lhe season. upshaw was on mosL radars, buL wasn'L
LhoughL as Lhe Leam's besL. Pe proved Lo be, Lhough. Pe was Lhe 1lde's besL edge pass-rusher and found hlmself ln Lhe
backfleld plenLy (3 sacks, 11.3 1lL).
Wr|ght: 1eams wlLh Chrls WhlLe Lo form Lhe besL 1-2 punch ln Lhe SLC. LxLraordlnary 93 Lackles from Lhe CL8 spoL,
Lhere's no fasLer ouLslde 'backer ln Lhe SLC.
8aker: 1he 1lgers defense doesn'L have lndlvldual names of years pasL, buL Lhey've [usL as much LalenL. 8aker ls a prlme
example. Clven Lhe freedom Lo roam on Lhe ouLslde, he sLlll rarely flnds hlmself ouL of poslLlon.
Ne|son: 1he converLed safeLy showed more acumen Lhan we expecLed ln AugusL. Pe has speed Lo burn and ls probably
Lhe second-besL coverage backer ln Lhe game. Also seems Lo come up wlLh blg plays aL blg Llmes for Lhe Pogs lmproved
u.
Stevens: 1alenL boosLs SLevens, noL numbers. Sheds blocks llke a fronLllne player - raLher unusual glven hls small sLaLure
- he's hard Lo keep off Lhe ball. Pe dld have [usL 34 Lackles, Lhough, so he drops a blL.
A||en: Pe's noL a pure L8. Pe's Su8 player (osLenslbly a safeLy who plays closer Lo Lhe llne and has Lremendous
freedom). Pe's Lhe besL coverage L8" ln Lhe league and goes sldellne-Lo-sldellne beLLer Lhan anyone llsLed.
Iones: Llke SLevens, !ones ls here because of sklll, noL numbers. Pe had [usL 49 Lackles and 4 1lL, buL drew Lhe focus of
Lhe u ofLen. 1he llorlda L8s are loaded wlLh LalenL buL all have small numbers. 1hlngs are deflnlLely welrd ln Calnesvllle.
Shacke|ford: A good pass-rusher, Shackelford ls Ck on Lhe ouLslde. Pe doesn'L cover aL all and doesn'L seem Lo Lrack as
well as hls counLerparLs. uoesn'L make hlm a bad player, buL makes hlm Lhe nlnLh-besL on Lhls llsL.
Stokes: Cne of Lhe besL Lacklers ln l8S, SLokes doesn'L mlss much LhaL comes hls way. Pe's noL blessed wlLh Lremendous
speed for a sLrong-slde L8, he makes Lhe mosL of whaL he has. Pe's preLLy one-dlmenslonal, Lhough.
Sneed: Pe plcks up Lhe pleces LhaL LeammaLe uanny 1revaLhan mlsses (whlch lsn'L many). Sneed knows hls role and
execuLes lL admlrably, buL he lsn'L greaL, [usL servlceable.
Lathers: 1hough numbers may suggesL oLherwlse, LaLhers comes ln 12Lh on our llsL. Why? Pe geLs mlxed up. A loL. Pe
has Lhe LalenL, buL boy, he seems confused more ofLen Lhan he should.
41
Big XII Outside Linebackers
1. 1rav|s Lew|s - Cklahoma
2. Levonte Dav|d - nebraska
3. M|chae| nodges - 1exas A&M
4. A.I. k|e|n - lowa SLaLe
3. Lmmanue| Acho - 1exas
6. Andrew Gachkar - Mlssourl
7. 8r|an Duncan - 1exas 1ech
8. Shaun Lew|s - Cklahoma SLaLe
9. Anton|o Iohnson - 8aylor
10. 8.I. 8eatty - Colorado
11. Steven Iohnson - kansas
12. Iarre|| Ch||ds - kansas SLaLe
Big XII Conference
Youth, experience, talent, work ethic, blitzing ability
and run-stopping ability theres nothing this crew
doesnt have in spades.
David set the Huskers single-season tackle record and
he still doesnt rank first.
Lewis is a jack-of-all-trades, master-of-none type.
Klein and Hodges are elite tacklers. Lewis is
ridiculously fast and athletic. Even the two Johnsons
have great talent.
Very deep group and very talented, but not quite the
top.
Lew|s: numbers don'L make you [ump ouL of your seaL wlLh 1ravls Lewls. WaLchlng hlm play, however, ls a dlfferenL
sLory. 1he very well llked and hlghly admlred [unlor should go down as one of Lhe besL Cu llnebackers of Lhe decade.
Dav|d: Pls numbers uC make you [ump ouL of your seaL. An ellLe playmaker aL Lhe hybrld S/L8 spoL, uavld was Lhe
mosL pleasanL surprlse on Lhe Puskers u Lhls year. Pe has Lhe aLhleLlclsm Lo bllLz and drop ln coverage boLh and was
sheer Lerror on offenslve coordlnaLors.
nodges: Pe's Lhe besL pure llnebacker on Lhe Leam. lL was hls lmproved play LhaL Lurned Lhe Aggles defense from one
of Lhe 8lg 12's worsL lnLo one of lLs besL. Podges made sure offenses couldn'L [usL worry abouL neuLrallzlng von Mlller
and he sLlll collecLed 111 Lackles.
k|e|n: lf Lhe Cyclones are sLrong one poslLlon, lL's L8. kleln and knoLL provlde one of Lhe besL lnslde-ouLslde punches ln
l8S. 1hough kleln, llke knoLL, doesn'L do a loL of aLLacklng, he Lackles as well as anyone. 1he Lwo comblned for an
asLoundlng 241 Lackles.
Acho: 1he younger broLher of Sam, Lmmanuel has all Lhe same upslde wlLh an even sllmmer flgure. Pe can play
ouLslde, lnslde and even on Lhe end and flnlshed wlLh 10.3 1lL and 3.3 sacks from varlous poslLlons on Lhe fleld.
Gachkar: May deserve Lo be a blL hlgher. Pe remlnds us a loL of Spencer ayslnger aL Cregon. Long and lean, Cachkar ls
a ball-hawk. WlLh hlm on Lhe weak-slde and LeammaLe Zavler Cooden on Lhe sLrong, Lhe duo are able Lo cover all
poLenLlal play posslblllLles.
Duncan: 1he besL pure L8 on Lhe 8ed 8alders rosLer, uuncan was a solldlfylng presence ln Lhe mlddle of Lhe u. Pe
makes all Lhe rlghL plays and never mlsses a Lackle.
Lew|s: lL's hard Lo Lell he's [usL a freshman by waLchlng hlm play. Pe plays llke a 22-year-old already, maklng smarL
ad[usLmenLs and belng ln poslLlon. Pad only 47 Lackles, buL we expecL hlm Lo vaulL up Lhls llsL nexL year.
Iohnson: 1he 8aylor defense ls loaded wlLh good, noL greaL, defenders. !ohnson ls Lhe besL among Lhe llnebackers. Pls
62 Lackles paced Lhe unlL and he was Lhe playmaker off Lhe edge, geLLlng 3 sacks and 3 1lL, boLh of whlch also led Lhe
group.
8eatty: Pe's a pure bllLzer. Pe doesn'L play a loL of runnlng downs and even when he does, hls [ob ls sLlll Lo geL behlnd
Lhe llne of scrlmmage. Pe had [usL 27 Lackles, buL nearly all LhaL we saw were around Lhe llne. very one-dlmenslonal,
buL good aL whaL he does.
Iohnson: Pe led Lhe porous kansas defense wlLh 93 Lackles and chlpped ln a sack wlLh 4.3 1lL. Pe lsn'L Lhe besL
llnebacker ln Lhe world, buL he's a perfecLly capable, aLhleLlc, sLrong player wlLh a nose for Lhe ball.
Ch||ds: 1he WlldcaLs recelved very llLLle from Lhelr L8s Lhls year excepL Lackles. Chllds appears Lo be Lhe besL of Lhe
bunch on fllm. Pe sheds blockers beLLer Lhan hls maLes and hls flrsL sLep ls acLually preLLy remarkable.

42
ACC Outside Linebackers
1. Sean Spence - Mlaml
2. Aud|e Co|e - norLh Carollna SLaLe
3. uan Sturd|vant - unC
4. N|ge| 8radham - llorlda SLaLe
3. Abraham kromah - uuke
6. Mark nerz||ch - 8osLon College
7. Matt Wood||ef - Wake loresL
8. Adr|an Moten - Maryland
9. Steven Sy|vester - Ca. 1ech
10. Lynde|| G|bson - vlrglnla 1ech
11. Lakoy keyno|ds - vlrglnla
12. 8randon Maye - Clemson
Atlantic Coast Conference
Outside the top three, there are not a lot of high-
impact guys.
Herzlich return to college football is remarkable and
Kromah is largely unnoticed playing in Durham.
But theres a definite drop in the skill each run down
the ladder.
The ACC is packed with many OK players, but few
elite ones here.
Spence: lL's hard for us Lo Lruly belleve Mlaml had such a 'poor' season. Sure, Lhey wenL Lo a bowl, buL aL 7-3, Lhey were
a dlsappolnLmenL. WlLh players llke Spence, we would have LhoughL Lhey'd done beLLer, aL leasL on defense. Spence was
a machlne, racklng up 101 Lackles and 17 1lL. Pe's one of Lhe besL L8s ln Lhe counLry.
Co|e: Cole lsn'L far behlnd Spence, elLher. More of a 'geL-ln-Lhe-backfleld' Lype of player, he led all ACC L8s wlLh an
asLoundlng 20.3 1lL. Pls range ls specLacular and he's rarely caughL ouL of poslLlon.
Sturd|vant: layed ln only elghL games and was ln Lhe mlddle of Lhe conLroversy LhaL surrounded a whole slew of unC
players, buL sLlll racked up Lhe besL numbers on Lhe Leam from Lhls spoL and ls a bona flde fuLure nlL sLar.
8radham: 1he Semlnoles don'L recrulL llke Lhey dld 10 or 13 years ago, buL 8radham ls one of Lhe besL LhaL's gone Lo
1allahassee ln recenL years. Pe's llved up Lo all Lhe hype and he led lSu ln Lackles and sacks Lhls year.
kromah: CeLs a Lremendous boosL noL because of LalenL buL lnsLead because of whaL he does wlLh lL. 1he 129 Lackles
are lmposslble Lo overlook regardless of clrcumsLance. Pe also added a solld 9.3 1lL and whlle he wasn'L supposed Lo be
Lhe besL player on 8lue uevlls u, he ended up belng.
nerz||ch: Cne of Lhe besL sLorles ln college fooLball, Perzllch reLurned from cancer Lhls season Lo play a solld role ln Lhe
8C defense. Pe lsn'L Lhe player he was before Lhe dlsease, buL LhaL's lrrelevanL. 1he sheer facL LhaL he came back from lL
ls a sLory worLh Lelllng. 8esldes, lL's noL llke he was a bad player Lhls year elLher.
Wood||ef: We LhoughL abouL puLLlng Lhls playmaker hlgher, buL he dldn'L qulLe do enough for us upon vlewlng of Lhe
ueacs games. Pe's a solld player who comes up wlLh Lhe besL plays, buL mosL of Lhose plays ended up havlng llLLle
lmpacL for Wake. noL hls faulL, [usL a maLLer of clrcumsLance.
Moten: Pad someLhlng of a dlsappolnLlng season and sLlll reglsLered 2.3 sacks and 6.3 1lL. Pe's parL of Lhe second-besL
L8 corps ln Lhe conference and sLlll flLs aL only 10Lh on Lhls llsL. ACC llnebackers aren'L bad, folks.
Sy|vester: Much Lhe same as Woodllef, Lhey're llke carbon coples. SylvesLer had 33 Lackles. Woodllef had 37. SylvesLer
had 10.3 1lL, Woodllef 11.3. 8uL Woodllef has a blL more aLhleLlclsm and plays on a defense LhaL doesn'L qulLe glve up
as many blg plays.
G|bson: 1he Pokles L8s have Lhe same lssue as Lhelr 88s - Lhere are a loL of really good players who work beLLer as a
unlL Lhan Lhey do lndlvldually. AL leasL, LhaL was Lhe case Lhls season. Clbson geLs Lhe nod because of hls ablllLy Lo geL ln
Lhe backfleld.
keyno|ds: Made Lhe mosL plays for a Cavallers L8 group LhaL should have been beLLer. 8eynolds played abouL how we
expecLed, flnlshlng wlLh 66 Lackles and 7 1lL, buL for Lhe unlL Lo be beLLer he needed Lo be beLLer.
Maye: 1he 1lgers defenslve fronL ls specLacular. 1he group [usL behlnd Lhem? noL so much. Maye was Lhe besL player ln
a roLaLlng door of CL8s ln Clemson. Pad [usL 41 Lackles and 1 1lL. 8ough season.

43
PAC 10 Outside Linebackers
1. Mason Ioster - WashlngLon
2. Mycha| kendr|cks - Callfornla
3. Akeem Ayers - uCLA
4. Chase 1homas - SLanford
3. Spencer ays|nger - Cregon
6. Ma|co|m Sm|th - uSC
7. Dw|ght koberson - Cregon SLaLe
8. 8randon Magee - Arlzona SLaLe
9. Iake I|scher - Arlzona
10. A|ex noffman-L|||s - WashlngLon SLaLe
Foster is probably the most overlooked great LB in
the country. He played for a Washington team that
got markedly better as the season wore.
Ayers is a huge pro prospect who didnt put up the
numbers we expected but it was mostly a cause of
the rest of his defense.
Outside those two, theres not a magnificent amount
of talent, but plenty of desire.
Kendricks, Paysinger and Thomas are perfectly suited
for their teams schemes.
Ioster: 1he Puskles haven'L had a L8 Lhls good slnce Lhe mld-90s when !ason Chorak (a 'Lweener) was maklng
quarLerbacks Lremble. losLer lsn'L LhaL klnd of player, buL he ls Lhe klnd who'll drlve opposlng offenslve coordlnaLors
crazy. 1here's noLhlng he can'L do.
kendr|cks: Pe's glven freedom Lo roam ln Cal's usual 3-4 scheme and he does lL wlLh aplomb. no oLher llnebacker ln Lhe
AC 10 came close Lo hls 14.3 1lL. And whlle he doesn'L plle up Lhe LoLal Lackle numbers of hls L8 maLes, he sLlll makes
Lhe 'regular' plays, Loo.
Ayers: Ayers ls Lhe mosL supremely glfLed llnebacker ln Lhe AC 10. Pls numbers don'L Lell Lhe sLory of whaL he meanL Lo
Lhe uCLA defense. Pe's easlly Lhe besL player on Lhe Leam and desplLe [usL 68 Lackles and 10 1lL, he was Lhe mosL
dlsrupLlve force Lhe 8rulns had.
1homas: 1he Cardlnal are preLLy balanced ln Lhe L8 corps. 1here's no supersLar among Lhem, buL 1homas has Lhe besL
chance Lo become one. Pls 63 Lackles and 11 1lL were Lops of Lhe group and he's Lhe leader of Lhe conference's besL
scorlng defense.
ays|nger: A safeLy-llnebacker hybrld, ayslnger almosL llLerally flles Lo Lhe ball. Pe's Lremendously aglle and Lhe welghL
he puL on over Lhe lasL Lwo years has only lncreased hls value.
Sm|th: 1here's more LalenL ln Lhe uSC L8 group Lhan on any oLher Leam ln Lhe AC 10. 8uL as we saw, lndlvldual LalenL
doesn'L equal success necessarlly. SmlLh lsn'L acLually Lhe mosL glfLed of Lhe unlL, buL he's Lhe only one who played aL or
above hls level. Pls 8 1lL were Lops ln Lhe group.
koberson: Pe's Lhe besL L8 on an average, aL besL, defenslve unlL. Pe'd probably sLarL on any oLher Leam ln Lhe
conference (save uSC), buL lsn'L a sLar. SLlll had a solld, lf unspecLacular, 88 Lackles and 4 sacks.
Magee: WlLh arguably Lhe conference's besL ML8 nexL Lo hlm, Magee sLruggled Lo a subpar season. Pe wasn'L bad by
any means, buL he was [usL average. Pls 73 Lackles were Ck, buL only had 3 1lL from a spoL LhaL's supposed Lo geL
behlnd Lhe llne of scrlmmage.
I|scher: Llke kendrlcks ln 8erkeley, llscher ls glven a loL of freedom Lo make plays from hls sLrongslde spoL. Pe [usL
doesn'L make as many as hls breLhren aL Cal. 1wo sacks and 7.3 1lL are Ck, buL more was needed, especlally down Lhe
sLreLch when Arlzona sLruggled.
noffman-L|||s: lL's a blL unfalr Lo rank hlm lasL ln Lhe group. Pe's a perfecLly leglLlmaLe 8CS conference L8. Pe doesn'L
have a loL of help around hlm and lnsLead ls forced Lo make Lhe baslc play. Pe's perfecLly capable aL dolng lL, buL lsn'L
magnlflcenL, elLher.
44
Big East Outside Linebackers
1. Doug nogue - Syracuse
2. Anton|o Lowery - 8uLgers
3. I.1. 1homas - WesL vlrglnla
4. Iacqua|n W||||ams - SouLh llorlda
3. Dan|e| 8rown - Loulsvllle
6. Scott Lutrus - uCCnn
7. Maa||k 8omar - ClnclnnaLl
8. Greg W||||ams - lLLsburgh
Big East Conference
Hogue and Lowery were the bell cows for their
respective teams.
Thomas, Brown and Lutrus are incredibly consistent.
The two Williams and Bomar have the best raw
ability.
Theres not a lot of difference here, though, in
college football acumen. Good talent.
nogue: 1here aren'L many beLLer Lhan Pogue on Lhe ouLslde. Pe doesn'L have Lhe accolades - or even Lhe
raw LalenL - of some of hls breLhren on Lhe lnslde or Lhe ouLslde, buL no one does more for Lhelr Leam.
Wasn'L Lops ln Lackles or 1lL, buL hls plays were ofLen Lhe blggesL and provlded huge momenLum boosLs.
SomeLhlng Lo be sald for Llmlng.
Lowery: Cn any oLher Leam, Lowery would geL more noLlce. 8uL he played for a bad, underachlevlng 8uLgers
squad LhaL had Lrouble on boLh sldes. Lowery dld hls parL, Lhough, flnlshlng second among 8lg LasL L8s ln
Lackles wlLh 108.
1homas: All Lhe WesL vlrglnla L8s are abouL Lhe same. 1haL's noL a knock agalnsL Lhem. lL's a LesLamenL Lo
Lhelr durablllLy and LalenL. Sure, Lhere's no fuLure among Lhe group, buL 1homas gave us Lhe mosL 'wow.'
W||||ams: Pe's Lhe unquesLloned leader of Lhe 8ulls defense and a Lhrowback Lo Lhe players uSl used Lo geL
slx or seven years ago. LxLremely fasL, buL noL exLremely sLrong, he has a greaL nose for Lhe ball. Led Lhe
Leam wlLh 66 Lackles and added 2.3 sacks and an ln1. Pls leadershlp wlll be mlssed, buL he was a good role
model and we expecL uSl Lo geL beLLer defenslvely nexL year because of LhaL.
8rown: Pe provldes greaL pressure off Lhe sLrongslde and could be ranked hlgher on Lhls llsL for hls poLenLlal
(he's [usL a sophomore). Pad an ouLsLandlng 11 1lL, 4 sacks and a ll. luLure sLar and capLaln for Lhe
Cardlnals.
Lutrus: lor Lwo years LuLrus was Lhe besL L8 Lhe Puskles had. Pls no. 6 ranklng on Lhls llsL lsn'L because Lhe
uCCnn L8s were bad. Cn Lhe conLrary, LuLrus ls a very good player. Pe [usL can'L sLay healLhy. Pls second
half of Lhe year (when Lhe Puskles wenL on Lhelr greaL sLreak), he sLepped up hls game and showed why
uCCnn has Lhe besL corps of L8s ln Lhe conference.
8omar: 8omar ls Lhe Lallsman of Lhe group. Pe doesn'L have Lhe numbers of hls LeammaLe ln Lhe mlddle, buL
he's Lhe leader of Lhe defense and sLlll gaLhers plenLy of good numbers on a medlocre defense (70 Lackles, 2
sacks, 8 1lL)
W||||ams: Wllllams ls a role player, plaln and slmple. Pe was Lhlrd on Lhe Leam ln Lackles and he added 3.3
1lL, buL Lhe anLhers could have used more from a L8 corps LhaL dldn'L play off lLs exLremely LalenLed fronL
llne.

45
Big Ten Cornerbacks
1. Shaun rater - lowa
2. Ch|md| Chekwa - Chlo SLaLe
3. k|cardo A||en - urdue
4. Iohnny Adams - Mlchlgan SLaLe
3. Anton|o Iene|us - Wlsconsln
6. D'Anton Lynn - enn SLaLe
7. Iordan Mab|n - norLhwesLern
8. 1ravon 8e||amy - llllnols
9. Iames kogers - Mlchlgan
10. Greg neban - lndlana
11. kyan Co||ado - MlnnesoLa
Big Ten Conference
There are five really, really good CBs in the Big Ten.
But there is no one elite one.
Mix-and-match from Prater to Fenelus, it depends
on the day.
No.s 6 8 are a just a notch below before you get a
pretty decent drop.
Its a pretty top-heavy group, but still a great one.
rater: 1here's a Lendency Lo de-value raLer and Lhe whole lowa secondary as lndlvlduals because Lhey're so good as a
group. We Lake Lhe opposlLe approach. lL's lmposslble Lo 'wanL' Lo Lhrow Lhe ball agalnsL Lhe four guys ln Lhe back.
raLer ls Lhe besL of Lhe bunch as Lhe shuLdown guy on Lhe ouLslde.
Chekwa: Pe's probably Lhe mosL naLurally LalenLed ln Lhe group. CuarLerbacks sLay away when Lhey can. Pe sLlll led Lhe
8ucks wlLh 3 ln1s and he's adepL aL comlng up Lo sLuff Lhe run, Loo, as hls 42 Lackles aLLesL.
A||en: lL wasn'L Lhe urdue defense LhaL goL Lhem beaL Lhls year. Allen led a sLrong secondary for Lhe 8ollers, noLchlng 3
ln1s and 73 Lackles. ?ou'd llke Lo see a corner wlLh fewer Lackles, buL lL's more a LesLamenL Lo hls 'wanL' Lo geL Lo Lhe
ball, noL Lhe lnadequacy of hls maLes ln fronL of hlm.
Adams: Llke lowa, Lhe SparLans have a Lremendous secondary. We plck Adams as Lhe besL C8 over LeammaLe Chrls
8ucker, buL [usL barely. Adams ls fluld Lo Lhe ball, buL noL Lhe mosL physlcal. Pe rarely seems Lo beaL by blgger recelvers,
anyway.
Iene|us: AfLer a so-so flrsL year as sLarLer, lenelus really came on ln hls second year on Lhe [ob. As Leams shled away
from Lhrowlng Loward oLher sLarLlng C8, nlles 8rlnkely, lenelus saw more passes hls way. AL leasL, he dld early. 8y Lhe
mldpolnL, Leams were loaLh Lo Lhrow lL perlod. llnlshed Lled second ln Lhe 8lg 10 wlLh 4 ln1s.
Lynn: Pe lsn'L a proLoLype shuLdown corner ln mold pasL nlLLany Llons llke uavld Macklln and 8hawoh !ue, buL Lynn ls a
good, solld cover corner who Lackles well. Pe llkely doesn'L have a Lremendous fuLure ln Lhe nlL, buL he's really one of
Lhe beLLer C8s ln Lhe counLry aL whaL he does.
Mab|n: Mabln had a bad luck season and sLlll ranks ln Lhe mlddle of Lhe pack on our llsL. no one ln Lhe secondary
knocked down more passes (13), buL he also dldn'L reglsLer an ln1.
8e||amy: Pe's a decenL cornerback who was asked Lo do Loo much Lhls season. lar and away Lhe besL cover-guy on Lhe
Leam, he played well enough, knocklng down a Leam-hlgh 6 passes and comlng up wlLh (Loo many) 66 Lackles.
kogers: Pls numbers don'L maLch LhaL of fellow Wolverlnes C8 !.1. lloyd (who lsn'L llsLed because he was losL for Lhe
season ln early november), buL LhaL's because he dldn'L see many Lhrows Lo hls slde. Pe sLlll managed 3 ln1s, buL he's
really noLhlng more Lhan an average C8.
neban: Peban was more lmpresslve Lhan hls spoL ln Lhls llsL would lndlcaLe. We dldn'L know a Lhlng abouL hlm, really,
when Lhe season began. Pe uses hls body well Lo play recelvers physlcally, buL he could sLand Lo be a llLLle fasLer. lf he
were, he'd make more plays and, ln Lurn, rank hlgher here.
Co||ado: MlnnesoLa was much a beLLer unlL ln Lhe secondary Lhan Lhelr lndlvldual ranklngs would lndlcaLe. arL of LhaL ls
because Leams knew Lhey could run agalnsL Lhe no. 99 rushlng defense. Collado ls an average C8 who does whaL he
needs Lo sLop Leams from [usL llghLlng up Lhe Mlnny u.
46
SEC - Cornerbacks
1. atr|ck eterson - LSu
2. Stephon G||more - SouLh Carollna
3. Ie|an| Ienk|ns - llorlda
4. rent|ss Waggner - 1ennessee
3. Dre k|rkpatr|ck - Alabama
6. Casey nayward - vanderbllL
7. 8randon 8oyk|n - Ceorgla
8. Corey 8roomf|e|d - Mlsslsslppl SLaLe
9. kamon 8roadway - Arkansas
10. Ne|ko 1horpe - Auburn
11. Anthony Mos|ey - kenLucky
12. Ieremy McGee - Cle Mlss
Southeastern Conference
Peterson runs away with No. 1 honors here. We
dont have another SEC CB in our top 10 overall at
the position.
Jenkins and Gilmore have the athleticism for the
position, but havent quite figured it out.
Waggner, Broomfield and Hayward are all three who
could be ranked higher.
Plenty of speed, but not a lot of depth in the SEC at
CB.
eterson: 1he besL cover C8 ln l8S, bar none. eLerson compleLely shuLs down opponenLs passlng game's when he's on.
And he's noL off very ofLen. Pe can drop ln a zone, play bump-and-run or go sLralghL up 'beaL me' man-Lo-man.
Supremely lmpresslve.
G||more: lf Lhls were an all-around llsL, Cllmore mlghL be flrsL ln Lhe counLry. 8uL lL's C8-only. Second besL ln Lhe SLC sLlll
lsn'L Loo bad, yeah? Llke eLerson wlLh more speed, buL fewer lnsLlncLs, Lhere's noL a loL he can'L do.
Ienk|ns: Pe lsn'L much on run supporL, buL he's noL asked Lo be. Pls [ob ls lockdown Lhe opposlng Leam's besL W8 and
Lhere aren'L many beLLer aL lL. Pad [usL 3 ln1s, buL wlLh Lhe lndlvldual LalenL ul had ln Lhe secondary, Lhose were spread
preLLy equally. A greaL C8.
Waggner: Cne of Lhe blggesL surprlses ln Lhe conference, we honesLly dldn'L Lhlnk Loo hlghly of Waggner enLerlng Lhe
year. 8uL he showed lasL season was no fluke by havlng an even beLLer year ln 2010. Pls 3 ln1s were second ln Lhe
conference and he chlpped ln 34 Lackles, Loo.
k|rkpatr|ck: 1he Crlmson 1lde's safeLles geL mosL of Lhe pub, buL klrkpaLrlck makes plenLy of plays on Lhe corner. Pe's
noL a shuLdown Lype, a ball hawk or a greaL Lackler. 8uL he's beLLer Lhan average aL everyLhlng and we wonder how Lhe
'bama secondary had lssues, really.
nayward: Payward ls Lhe besL player vanderbllL has had defenslvely ln a long Llme. Pe led Lhe SLC wlLh 6 ln1s and 11
us and Lhls was wlLh Leams heslLanL Lo Lhrow Lo hls slde of Lhe fleld. We Lhlnk he'll be a solld nlLer for years Lo come.
8oyk|n: Pe dldn'L have a Lremendous [ump from lasL season Lo Lhls, so he dldn'L [ump ln our ranklngs. 8uL he's sLlll a
solld corner wlLh all-around skllls.
8roomf|e|d: Pe Leamed wlLh !on 8anks Lo form one of Lhe beLLer C8 duos ln Lhe SLC. 8oLh are hard Lo beaL wlLh Lhe pass
and have slmllar-sLyle games. 8anks ls rangy and 8roomfleld ls qulck. 8oLh have good lnsLlncLs and flnd Lhemselves ouL-
of-poslLlon rarely.
8roadway: Pe makes Lhe occaslonal lapse ln [udgmenL and sLruggles wlLh blgger recelvers because of hls small sLaLure,
buL glves exLreme efforL and plays much blgger Lhan hls slze. Pe dldn'L have any ln1s, buL hls 6 us lefL Lhe Leam.
1horpe: 1he Auburn secondary was abouL Lhe only weak spoL on Lhe Leam. 1horpe was Lhe besL of Lhe cornerback of Lhe
group, buL was Lerrlbly lnconslsLenL.
Mos|ey: Mosley dld hls besL Lo make up for Lhe loss of 1revard Llndley, uk's besL C8 ln ages, buL wasn'L qulLe up Lo Lhe
Lask.
McGee: Much more was expecLed afLer Lurnlng ln a solld season hls [unlor year ln 2009. 8uL McCee sLruggled Lo flnd Lhe
same level of playmaklng ln hls flnal year ln Cxford. Pls play was a mlcrocosm of Lhe Leam's woes all year.

47
Big XII - Cornerbacks
1. r|nce Amukamara - nebraska
2. Aaron W||||ams - 1exas
3. I|mmy Sm|th - Colorado
4. Leonard Iohnson - lowa SLaLe
3. Stephen narr|son - kansas SLaLe
6. Dust|n narr|s - 1exas A&M
7. Andrew McGee - Cklahoma SLaLe
8. kev|n kut|and - Mlssourl
9. Iame|| I|em|ng - Cklahoma
10. Chance Casey - 8aylor
11. Iarv|s h||||ps - 1exas 1ech
12. Is|ah 8arf|e|d - kansas
Big XII
Theres no more well rounded CB in the country than
The Prince of Lincoln.
We LOVE the talent in the Big XII at CB. Sure,
defensive numbers against the pass as teams are
terrible, but its not a reflection of the talent. Its
because Big XII teams throw and throw and throw.
We think Fleming is a future star, Harris isnt far
behind.
Great depth 1 9 and some potential at the bottom,
too. Maybe our favorite conference at CB.
Amukamara: We Lhlnk he baLLles eLerson as Lhe besL C8 ln Lhe counLry. 1eams slmply do noL Lhrow Lo hls slde. Whlle
he dldn'L have any ln1s because of lL, he led Lhe counLry ln us. no W8 ln Lhe counLry can handle hlm one-on-one.
W||||ams: Pe dldn'L play up Lo expecLaLlons and sLlll Lurned ln a good season. Pe dldn'L noLch a slngle ln1, elLher. ln facL,
a blg parL of Lhe Porns problems were Lhelr lnablllLy Lo creaLe Lurnovers. Pe sLlll had 8 us and chlpped ln 43 Lackles. We
sLlll Lhlnk he's golng Lo be a greaL nlLer.
Sm|th: Came Lo 8oulder wlLh asLoundlng LalenL and leaves an even beLLer player. Pe lmproved every year and became
Lhe klnd of lockdown 8uffs fans haven'L seen slnce Chrls Pudson. Pls sklll ln Lhe reLurn game geLs hlm more noLlce and
wlll secure hls nlL fuLure. 8uL he has longLlme pro wrlLLen all over hlm.
Iohnson: Cne of Lhe few lSu players ln recenL memory who's caused quarLerbacks nlghLmares, !ohnson showed hls
decenL season ln 2009 was a slgn of Lhlngs Lo come and noL [usL an aberraLlon. Pe lmproved wlLh each game and came
up wlLh a number of game-changlng plays for Lhe 'Clones.
narr|son: Pe was probably Lhe besL player on Lhe k-SLaLe defense Lhls year. Pe Lurned ln very solld performance agalnsL
!usLln 8lackmon ln a closer-Lhan-expecLed game. A real surprlse, kansas SLaLe has a secondary Lo bulld around.
narr|s: Parrls ls a greaL all-around C8 who Lackles wlLh some of Lhe besL secondary players ln Lhe counLry. As a cover
man, he excels more ln a zone Lhan man-Lo-man, buL lL was clear he became more physlcal as Lhe season wenL. Pe
doesn'L blow you away wlLh aLhleLlclsm, buL he's a good-Lo-greaL college corner.
McGee: Pe came ouL of nowhere Lo noLch llrsL 1eam All 8lg 12 numbers, buL we don'L Lhlnk qulLe LhaL hlgh of hlm. 1o
be honesL, Lhe 8lg 12 may have Lhe besL collecLlon of C8s ln Lhe counLry, so hls ranklng on Lhls llsL lsn'L really lndlcaLlve
of hls skllls. Pe was Lhe maln reason for a hugely lmproved pass defense (for mosL of Lhe season).
kut|and: We LhoughL Carl CeLLls would be Lhe sLar of Lhe Mlssourl secondary and, ln facL, we ranked CeLLls Lhlrd ln Lhese
preseason ranklngs. 8uL 8uLland was Lhe superlor player beLween Lhe Lwo Lhls year (CeLLls sLlll had a good season and
would be abouL here, Loo). 8uLland made more plays even whlle seelng fewer balls.
I|em|ng: llemlng ls Lhe player on Lhls llsL who has Lhe mosL room Lo move up. Pe's only a freshman buL lL's hard Lo Lell
by waLchlng. Pe's Lremendously glfLed - fasL, sLrong, aglle and a good Lackler wlLh good slze.
Casey: 1here's plenLy of room for lmprovemenL here as Casey, [usL a sophomore, had momenLs of brllllance, anyway. Pe
doesn'L mlss many Lackles, buL doesn'L provlde smoLherlng defense hls coaches wanL from a no. 1 C8, elLher.
h||||ps: When age ls Laken lnLo conslderaLlon, he had a preLLy greaL season. Pe was [usL 19-years-old mosL of Lhe year
and had 4 ln1 and 9 us. 8uL he's a llLLle Loo physlcal for hls own good, geLLlng beaL on downfleld rouLes aL Llmes.
8arf|e|d: Pe provlded some semblance of a leglLlmaLe pass defense for Lhe !ayhawks Lhls year, buL he was really Lhe only
conslsLenL player ln Lhelr backfleld. Pe had 2 ln1s and 6 us, buL was forced Lo make plays Loo ofLen.
48
ACC - Cornerbacks
1. Iayron nos|ey - vlrglnla 1ech
2. Chase M|nn|f|e|d - vlrglnla
3. kav|er khodes - llorlda SLaLe
4. 8randon narr|s - Mlaml
3. Donn|e I|etcher - 8osLon College
6. Dom|n|que keese - Ceorgla 1ech
7. Marcus G||chr|st - Clemson
8. Cameron Ch|sm - Maryland
9. C.I. W||son - norLh Carollna SLaLe
10. koss Cockre|| - uuke
11. kenny Ckoro - Wake loresL
12. 1re 8oston - unC
Atlantic Coast Conference
Hosley is an interception machine and Minnifield is
wins just about every one-on-one battle.
But its Harris and Rhodes who have the most raw
talent.
The next four spots are filled with good, not great,
reliability.
After that, though, theres a bit of a drop. But theres
a lot of youth down there and it could get a lot
better in 2011.
nos|ey: Why quarLerbacks kepL Lhrowlng near Posley, we don'L know. Pe geLs a hand on everyLhlng ln slghL (8 ln1s).
CeLs beaL someLlmes, buL has Lremendous closlng speed and fooLwork.
M|nn|f|e|d: Pls ball skllls are [usL a Louch behlnd Posley's. 1haL's all LhaL keeps hlm from belng Lops, here. ln facL, lL
could really be 1 and 1a. Mlnnlfleld ls a beLLer Lackler, beLLer naLural cover man and ls nearly as good ln Lhe alr.
khodes: 1he drop from Lhe Lop Lwo Lo 8hodes lsn'L preclplLous, buL lL's blgger Lhan a Lyplcal 2-Lo-3 gap. 8hodes ls a
good player, one of Lhe beLLer C8s ln Lhe game. no one ln Lhe ACC ls fasLer.
narr|s: 8egressed from hls Lremendous sophomore season ln 2009, buL noL so much he fell off Lhe planeL. Much of hls
drop ln numbers ls because of C8s no heslLance Lo Lhrow Lo hls slde.
I|etcher: Pls ln1S geL hlm noLlced, buL he sLlcks wlLh Lhe opposlLlon's besL W8s llke glue. ln facL, only Mlnnlfleld beaLs
hlm ln pure coverage ablllLy. SLlll, he's Loo small Lo Lackle much and frallLy ls an lssue.
keese: 8eese has Lhe opposlLe problem. Pe's a greaL Lackler, buL only a so-so cover guy. Pe geLs hls hands on a loL of
balls, buL he's beLLer ln Lhe zone Lhan ln man coverage. We Lhlnk he's more of an S Lhan a naLural C8.
G||chr|st: CllchrlsL ls a good C8. noLhlng more. noLhlng less. Pe makes all Lhe rouLlne plays and occaslonally chlps ln a
blg play - an ln1, a u, a 1lL. 8uL for every blg play, Lhere's a mlssed asslgnmenL or a beaL deep" momenL.
Ch|sm: We really don'L wanL Lo puL hlm Lhls low. Pe's a greaL Lackler, a good cover guy an average player wlLh Lhe ball
ln Lhe alr. 8uL Lhere's someLhlng mlsslng we can'L qulLe puL our flnger on. Pls lack of blg plays hurL hlm for Lhls llsL's
purpose.
W||son: Wllson provldes Lhe coverage ablllLy, whlle hls parLner on Lhe oLher slde - uavld Amerson - provldes Lhe
Lackllng. lf Lhe Lwo could comblne lnLo one player, Lhey'd have greaL ablllLy. 8uL Wllson's Lackllng ls beLLer Lhan
Amerson's coverage, so he geLs Lhe nod.
Cockre||: Cockrell had a decenL season glven he's [usL a freshman. 8uL llke many on uuke Leams, hls lndlvldual LoLals
are lnflaLed because Lhe defense ls ouL Lhere so ofLen. upslde ls a PM All ACC Lype.
Ckoro: Llke Mlaml's Parrls, Ckoro regressed a blL from hls lreshman All-Amerlcan sLaLus of 2010. Pe made much
fewer plays ln 2010, buL as he showed ln 2009, Lhe LalenL ls Lhere. We expecL he'll bounce back nexL year.
8oston: lf Lhere was one 'weak' spoL on Lhe unC defense enLerlng Lhe season, lL was Lhe secondary. 8osLon's noL a bad
player, buL Lhe 1ar Peels roLaLed plenLy of C8s Lhls season. Pe dldn'L do enough Lo permanenLly Lake Lhe [ob, buL he
was sLlll Lhe besL Lhey had.

49
PAC 10 - Cornerbacks
1. C||ff narr|s - Cregon
2. k|chard Sherman - SLanford
3. Cmar 8o|den - Arlzona SLaLe
4. Iames Dockery - Cregon SLaLe
3. N|cke|| kobey - uSC
6. kobert Go|den - Arlzona
7. Marc Anthony - Callfornla
8. No|an Wash|ngton - WashlngLon SLaLe
9. u|nton k|chardson - WashlngLon
10. Aaron nester - uCLA
PAC 10 Conference
Some would argue the Oregon and USC choices
arent even the best on their own team.
But No.s 1 5 are all good CBs with either
lockdown ability (Sherman, Bolden) or big play
written all over them (Harris, Dockery, Robey).
But theres a big fall after. Washington at Wazzu has
a great future, but the rest, we definitely wonder
about.
narr|s: 1here's a Lendency Lo wanL Lo call 1almadge !ackson Cregon's besL C8 because of whaL he does ln oLher
aspecLs. 8uL for pure coverage ablllLy, Lhere aren'L many beLLer Lhan Parrls. Pls 3 ln1s led Lhe conference and hls 13
us were near Lhe Lop ln Lhe counLry. We look for hlm Lo be a dlfference-maker ln Lhe LlLle game.
Sherman: Pe's more a classlc C8 compared Lo Parrls and we wouldn'L argue wlLh anyone who wanLed Lo name hlm Lhe
conference's besL. Pe Lackles, geLs ln1s, knocks down Lhe ball and can be physlcal on Lhe llne. Any negaLlves are
nlLplcklng.
8o|den: Pe slngle-handedly kepL Arlzona SLaLe ln games Lhls year wlLh hls conslsLency. CpposlLlon ln 3rd-and-long?
1hey're noL Lhrowlng Lo 8olden's slde. 1haL alone makes hlm a worLhy no. 3 here.
Dockery: 1ruly a surprlse, uockery became Lhe player Cregon SLaLe's been seeklng on Lhe ouLslde slnce Lhe days of
uennls WeaLhersby. Pe's average-slzed buL lsn'L afrald Lo manhandle opposlng recelvers. no one ln Lhe conference
plays Lhe 'hlgh' ball beLLer, elLher.
kobey: AlLhough LeammaLe Shareece WrlghL geLs mosL of Lhe pub, lL was 8obey who caughL our aLLenLlon mosL. Pe
makes more solld plays Lhan WrlghL - and more solld plays Lhan mosL - and doesn'L seem Lo glve up on plays, unllke
hls counLerparL on Lhe oLher slde. Sure, Lhe uSC pass defense sLruggled, buL 8obey was one of Lhe few who played Lo
expecLaLlons, especlally as a freshman.
Go|den: lf he'd have played hls flnal few games Lhe way he dld hls flrsL few, he'd have been much hlgher. 8uL he, llke
hls Leam, seemed Lo run ouL of gas laLe ln Lhe season. Pe's a good Lackler wlLh good ball lnsLlncLs, buL menLal lapses
became Loo many laLe.
Anthony: Pe suffers much Lhe same faLe as Colden. Pe dldn'L baL down a ball ln Lhe Cal's flnal four games and had only
nlne Lackles ln Lhe same span. Pe sLarLed hoL, buL lf he can'L flnd Lhe ball, he's [usL an Ck C8.
Wash|ngton: uoesn'L have Lhe besL numbers of Lhe C8s on Lhe Wazzu Leam, buL he's [usL a freshman who saw hlL-and-
mlss playlng Llme LhroughouL. Pe clearly has a loL Lo learn abouL belng an l8S C8, buL he's well on hls way Lo cllmblng
Lhese charLs.
k|chardson: Well, 8lchardson ls conslsLenL, we'll glve hlm LhaL much. 8uL he's conslsLenLly head-scraLchlng. llnds Lhe
ball [usL abouL every game and rarely mlsses a Lackle, buL suffers from more mlssed reads Lhan anyone on Lhe llsL. Pe
geLs LhaL LogeLher, he'll move up, Loo.
nester: Pe's a ball hawk, pure and slmple. Pe doesn'L pack a Lremendous punch for hls slze (6-1, 203), buL he makes
greaL reads and has fluld movemenL back and forLh. uCLA wanLs Lo use hlm as a playmaker, buL he clearly wasn'L ready
for LhaL role. Pard Lo puL hlm lasL.
50
Big East - Cornerbacks
1. Iohnny atr|ck - Loulsvllle
2. ke|th 1andy - WesL vlrglnla
3. 8||d| Wreh-W||son - uCCnn
4. M|stra| kaymond - SouLh llorlda
3. 8randon 8|ng - 8uLgers
6. Antwuan keed - lLLsburgh
7. keuben Iohnson - ClnclnnaLl
8. Ierem| W||kes - Syracuse
Big East Conference
Patrick is one of the best CBs in the country that no
one has ever heard of.
And No.s 2 5 are solid role guys who wont mess
up a lot of things.
But theres a lot of seniors on the list and even the
young ones (Johnson and Wilkes) dont have the
greatest upside.
The Big East could be a QB conference very soon.
atr|ck: 1here are no doubLs abouL aLrlck's skllls. Pls cholce as no. 1 here ls Lhe clearesL cholce of any of Lhe
prevlous llsLs (well, excepL newLon). 1he Cardlnals record when he geLs an ln1: 4-0. 1helr record when he
doesn'L: 3-6. Peld Lhe besL W8s ln Lhe 8lg LasL, excepL 8lnns, Lo season lows or near season lows. Pe's a real,
real LalenL.
1andy: Chooslng beLween 1andy and LeammaLe 8randon Pogan for Lhe MounLalneers one spoL was dlfflculL.
LlLher was golng Lo be Lhe no. 2 cholce. 1hey share duLles agalnsL opposlng Leams' Lop W8s and ln Lhe Wvu
defense, C8 may be Lhe heavlesL load on Lhe unlL. 1andy geLs Lhe nod for 6 ln1s.
Wreh-W||son: Wlldly underraLed, we Lhlnk. 1he uCCnn fronL seven geL plenLy of pub. 1he u8s? noL so
much. We admlL parL of lL ls [usLlfled, buL Wreh-Wllson ls a good player on a falrly bad group. Sure, Lhe unlL
dldn'L glve up a Lon of yards, buL Lhe 8lg LasL doesn'L pass much ouLslde of ClnclnnaLl. Cddly enough, lL was
Wreh-Wllson's performance ln LhaL game LhaL helped seal Lhe conference crown (and hls spoL here).
kaymond: CuLslde aLrlck, we Lhlnk 8aymond ls Lhe mosL well rounded of Lhe group. Pe Lackles llke an S and
ls greaL aL uslng hls 6-2 frame Lo geL ln Lhe alr keep balls away from blg recelvers. Pe's noL Lhe fasLesL guy ln
Lhe world, buL he's fasL enough ln Lhls conference.
8|ng: 8lng Lurned ln a solld senlor season ln new !ersey. Pe does a blL of everyLhlng for a ScarleL knlghLs
crew sLarved for playmakers. Llke hls hlghly ranked maLes LhaL play on Lhe fronL seven, he makes some blg
plays, buL makes sllly mlsLakes aL Llmes, Loo. noL a bad way Lo flnlsh Lhough (2 ln1, 1 u, 1 sack, 63 Lackles, 4
blocked klcks/punLs).
keed: 8eed glves workman-llke performance every game. Pe doesn'L do a loL of exLraordlnary Lhlngs, buL he
'husLles (we haLe LhaL Lerm, buL lL flLs).' Pe has aLhleLlclsm and LalenL, buL hasn'L fully ad[usLed Lo Lhe
poslLlon ln college fooLball.
Iohnson: Pad plenLy of Lackles and, ln facL, had more Lhan any oLher 8lg LasL C8. 8uL LhaL was because he
gave up more caLches, Loo. Pe's an average C8 aL besL, buL wlLh room Lo lmprove as he's [usL a sophomore.
Pls Lackllng ls flne. Pls coverage skllls need plenLy of work.
W||kes: 1he Crange secondary ls besL aL S. Syracuse's C8s leave a blL Lo be deslre. 1hey're roLaLed falrly
regularly and noL enough of Lhem made plays Lo really sLandouL. We glve Lhe nod Lo Wllkes, who saw more
playlng Llme as Lhe season wenL on [usL as a freshman.
51
Big Ten - Safeties
1. 1y|er Sash - lowa
2. Aaron nenry - Wlsconsln
3. Marcus nyde - Mlchlgan SLaLe
4. 1ru|on nenry - llllnols
3. 8r|an eters - norLhwesLern
6. Iordan kovacs - Mlchlgan
7. Logan L|nk - urdue
8. Crh|an Iohnson - Chlo SLaLe
9. Drew Astor|no - enn SLaLe
10. M|tche|| Lvans - lndlana
11. ky|e 1heret - MlnnesoLa
Big Ten Conference
Sash could be the best S in the country. Hes head-and-
shoulders tops here.
But the faux law firm of Henry, Henry and Hyde arent
far behind.
Peters and Kovacs provide pure punch and hitting and
Link is the last really good player on the list.
The bottom four arent bad, especially Johnson and
Astorino, but they arent spectacular either.
Sash: no one ln Lhe counLry seemed Lo be more lnvolved ln more blg plays. Sash uses Lremendous lnLelllgence and
always flnds hlmself ln Lhe rlghL place aL Lhe rlghL Llme. Comblne LhaL wlLh hls aLhleLlclsm and Sash ls one of Lhe besL
safeLles ln Lhe counLry.
nenry: Penry lsn'L far behlnd. Showed lasL year he was a solld player for Lhe 8adgers defense, he really sLepped up hls
game Lhls season and overLook !ay valal (Lhe one we LhoughL would be Wlsky's besL S). Pe had [usL 2 ln1s, buL chlpped
ln greaL general coverage skllls and run supporL.
nyde: 1eams slmply dldn'L wanL Lo Lhrow Lhe ball agalnsL Lhe MSu. We can'L blame Lhem. WlLh Lhe conference's
second besL C8 duo and besL S duo, Lhe SparLans pass defense was someLhlng Lo behold. Pyde lead all MSu u8s wlLh
81 Lackles and added 8 us and 3 ln1s
nenry: We menLloned earller llllnols was a good defenslve Leam up Lhe mlddle. Penry makes sure of LhaL ln Lhe back.
uld everyLhlng ln Lhe backfleld for Lhe llghLlng llllnl, comlng up wlLh 39 Lackles, 3 ln1s and counLless 1u-savlng plays
eters: lasL, fasL, fasL. 1haL's eLers. CeLs Lo Lhe ball no maLLer lf lL's on Lhe ground or ln Lhe alr. Pe's Lhe besL run-
supporLlng safeLy ln Lhe 8lg 1en. Pe's noL Loo bad ln pass defense elLher, comlng up wlLh 3 ln1s.
kovacs: Pls coverage skllls leave someLhlng Lo be deslred, buL he sure can Lackle. Pe plays closer Lo Lhe llne of
scrlmmage Lhan mosL of hls maLes on Lhls llsL and he bllLzes much more ofLen. 8uL he's noL lnepL agalnsL Lhe pass. Pe
was used more ln a zone Lhan one-on-one and noLched 2 ln1s Lo go wlLh hls 112 Lackles.
L|nk: lL's hard for us Lo rank hlm Lhls low, as Llnk was shorL of [usL eLers and kovacs ln Lackles. Powever, we saw lL as
more a LesLamenL Lo urdue's sLruggles elsewhere ln Lhe secondary. Llnk was forced Lo make more plays Lhan he
should, buL he cerLalnly held hls ground.
Iohnson: 1he 8uckeyes were beLLer aL C8 Lhan ln Lhe back Lhls season. !ohnson was Lhe besL of Lhe bunch of safeLles.
noL Lremendously LalenLed ln Lhe classlc CSu safeLy mold, he's sLlll a decenL enough player Lo cause opponenLs flLs.
1here are few beLLer aL dlsgulslng Lhelr lnLenLlons pre-snap.
Astor|no: AsLorlno was an average player on an average enn SLaLe defense Lhls year. LlghL games we saw of Lhe
nlLLany Llons, buL noLhlng [umped ouL aL us for good or lll wlLh AsLorlno. Pe's capable and doesn'L geL burned a loL, buL
leaves someLhlng Lo be deslred wlLh maklng blgger plays.
Lvans: Lvans led Lhe Pooslers ln ln1S wlLh 3, buL he was very much an all-or-noLhlng player. Pe seems Lo go for blg play
lnsLead of Lhe safe play. When lL works, lL's greaL, buL lL dldn'L work enough for Lhe 8lg 1en's worsL pass efflclency u.
1heret: Was suspended ln Lhe sprlng buL came back Lo be Lhe Cophers besL player. Pe's lasL on Lhe llsL, buL he lsn'L an
awful player. Pe shlned ln Lhe Cophers flnal Lwo games of Lhe year (Lwo of Lhelr Lhree wlns).
52
SEC - Safeties
1. Mark 8arron - Alabama
2. Ahmad 8|ack - llorlda
3. Ianzen Iackson - 1ennessee
4. 1rama|n 1homas - Arkansas
3. N|ckoe Wh|t|ey - Mlsslsslppl SLaLe
6. W|nston Guy Ir. - kenLucky
7. 1yrann Math|eu - LSu
8. 8akar| kambo - Ceorgla
9. D.I. Swear|nger - SouLh Carollna
10. 2ac Lther|dge - Auburn
11. Sean k|chardson - vanderbllL
12. Dam|en Iackson - Cle Mlss
Southeastern Conference
An informal poll determined if we were a
quarterback, theres no defensive backfield player
wed be more afraid of than Mark Barron.
Black and Janzen are future NFL starters, too.
But from Thomas to Swearinger, theres not a lot of
wiggle room. None of them are great, but none of
them are bad. If you could combine their best
qualities, youd have a hell of an all-around guy.
Still, not a ton of depth at the bottom.
8arron: 1he numbers don'L Lell Lhe sLory how lmporLanL 8arron was Lo Lhe 1lde defense. 1he unquesLloned leader, hls
lnfluence ls found on [usL abouL every play. Pe has no problems shlfLlng from a pass defense Lo a run defense and ls
equally adepL aL playlng near Lhe llne of scrlmmage as he ls aL Lhe back of Lhe defense.
8|ack: As lmporLanL as 8arron ls Lo Lhe 1lde, 8lack may be more so Lo Lhe CaLors. Pe's far and away Lhe besL player on
a defense LhaL Look some lumps, buL sLlll had a solld season. We Lhlnk he has flrsL rounder wrlLLen all over hlm and
he'll be mlssed ln Lhe college game from a vlewer's perspecLlve.
Iackson: 1he vols secondary dld whaL Lhey could Lo keep Lhe Leam ln games mosL of Lhe season. 1hey had some bad
momenLs, buL as lndlvlduals, Lhe LalenL ls cerLalnly Lhere. !ackson ls Lhe besL player ln Lhe back four and he showed lL
wlLh 4 ln1s and 63 Lackles
1homas: When lasL year began, we LhoughL hlm no beLLer Lhan a parL-Llme player. 8uL 18 monLhs laLer, we can only
lmaglne whaL would have happened ln an already medlocre Arkansas secondary lf he weren'L Lhere.
Wh|t|ey: 1he 8ulldogs good players sLayed good and Lhelr average ones became good. WhlLley ls aL Lhe Lop of LhaL
second llsL. Pls ablllLy Lo play Lhe run could be lmproved, buL he commands quarLerbacks' respecL wlLh hls skllls agalnsL
Lhe pass.
Guy: Pe's somewhaL Lhe opposlLe of WhlLley. Pe plays Lhe run beLLer Lhan any S ln Lhe SLC, save 8arron. Pas greaL 'go-
forward' speed, buL hls backpedallng skllls are average, aL besL. Pe's sLlll a decenL enough cover guy ln Lhe back.
Math|eu: 1he newcomer ln Lhe back of Lhe LSu defense, he qulckly ad[usLed Lo llfe ln Lhe SLC. Pe doesn'L do anyLhlng
speclal.yeL. 8uL he has plenLy of poLenLlal and ls already solld ln hls all-around game.
kambo: lL wasn'L LhaL 8ambo had a bad year, we [usL expecLed a blL Loo much, probably. Pls 76 Lackles are lmpresslve
and 3 ln1s aren'L bad elLher. 8uL he dldn'L make many game-changlng plays ln a 8ulldogs defense LhaL needed more of
Lhem.
Swear|nger: As good as uSC's C8s are, Lhelr safeLles leave someLhlng Lo deslred, we Lhlnk. 1hey're noL bad, buL Lhey
don'L have Lhe blg play ablllLy of Lhe resL of Lhe defense. Swearlnger and uevonLe Polloman dld whaL Lhey needed,
Lhough, and Lhey can'L be blamed for belng rellable.
Lther|dge: LLherldge may be Lhe blggesL dlsappolnLmenL of Lhe group. Pe Lurned ln a less-Lhan-sLellar season. Sure, he
had 2 ln1s and 66 Lackles, boLh of whlch led Lhe Auburn backfleld, buL was way ouL of poslLlon Loo ofLen and mlssed
more Lackles Lhan someone ln poslLlon should.
k|chardson: 8lchardson's prlmary [ob ls Lo come up and play Lhe run. Pe's more llke a L8 Lhan an S. Pls coverage skllls
are lacklng a blL, buL he can surely Lackle. lf he lmproves hls ablllLy Lo play Lhe pass more Lhan [usL ln a deep zone, he'll
move up.
Iackson: Pe's an average S, aL besL, a mlddllng one, aL worsL. Pe doesn'L geL beaL a loL, buL he makes Lhe safe play and
can play Lhe run as well as Lhe pass. roblem ls, he does Lhem boLh aL par levels.

53
Big XII - Safeties
1. u|nton Carter - Cklahoma
2. Lr|c nagg - nebraska
3. 8yron Landor - 8aylor
4. 1y 2|mmerman - kansas SLaLe
3. Corye|| Iud|e - 1exas A&M
6. Iarre|| narr|son - Mlssourl
7. 8|ake G|deon - 1exas
8. Dav|d S|ms - lowa SLaLe
9. Marke||e Mart|n - Cklahoma SLaLe
10. Cody Dav|s - 1exas 1ech
11. Lubbock Sm|th - kansas
12. kay o|k - Colorado
Big XII Conference
Quinton Carter, Eric Hagg and everyone else.
Those two stand out as great ones. From Landor to
Harrison, though, you get consistent, all-around
production.
Were still waiting on Gideon to tap into his potential
and even more so Martin.
This isnt the deepest or most talented group of guys
in the country.
Carter: 1here's a reason he's an All Amerlcan. Pe doesn'L have Lhe ln1s, Lackles or even us of many oLher safeLles buL
no one aL Lhe poslLlon comblnes hls sklll aL every aspecL wlLh Lhe leadershlp, especlally on a Leam LhaL losL a loL of
good players ln Lhe backfleld.
nagg: nebraska runs plenLy of hybrld S/L8 ouL Lhere. Pagg comblnes wlLh uavld Lo be Lhe besL of Lhe crew. Pe's noL
qulLe on uavld's aLhleLlclsm level, buL he's a much beLLer cover man and makes plenLy of plays LhaL happen sllp
Lhrough Lhe unL fronL llnes.
Landor: Landor ls one of Lhe mosL fun-Lo-waLch players ln Lhe 8lg 12. Pe remlnds us a loL of former kansas SLaLe safeLy
!on McCraw. Pe Lrles Lo hlL everyLhlng. Pard. SomeLlmes doesn'L wrap compleLely on Lackles, buL LhaL's preLLy rare.
Pls cover skllls are solld, Loo.
2|mmerman: 1he Lop-ranked freshman ln all of our 8lg 12 ranklngs, Zlmmerman has a brlghL fuLure ln fronL of hlm.
Pe's already an adepL Lackler and hls coverage skllls lmproved as Lhe year wenL (all 3 ln1s were ln flnal four games).
Iud|e: Pls flrsL year ln College SLaLlon can be consldered a wlld success. 1he A&M secondary lmproved Lremendously
from 2009 Lo 2010 and !udle's ablllLy Lo geL Lo Lhe ball was a large parL of lL. Pe can play Lhe pass and Lhe run equally,
buL we'd llke Lo see hlm geL a llLLle blgger.
narr|son: We'd llke Lo have seen hlm do more ln Lhe alr glven hls slze (6'2, 220 lbs), buL he packs plenLy of wallop on
recelvers who dare cross hlm over Lhe mlddle. Pe'll leave as one of Lhe besL hlLLers ln recenL Mlssourl memory.
G|deon: Cldeon has one more year Lo llve up Lo Lhe hype. Pe's cerLalnly noL a bad player, buL more was expecLed so
far ln hls career. Pe had a decenL 63 Lackles, 2 1lL and an ln1, buL never had LhaL game LhaL made you geL up and say
whoa."
S|ms: Slms ls more known for hls prowess ln Lhe k8 game, buL he had a decenL career aL lSu afLer enLerlng as a !uCC
Lransfer. AL [usL 3-9, he sLruggles wlLh Laller recelvers, buL he's more Lhan 200 lbs. and lf he geLs Lo Lhe ball flrsL, he has
a good chance Lo wln Lhe baLLle each Llme ouL.
Mart|n: 1he Lhlng abouL poLenLlal ls LhaL lL'll drlve you nuLs. MarLln ls Lhe deflnlLlon of LhaL sLaLemenL. Pas fuLure
nlLer wrlLLen all over hlm, buL sllly mlsLakes locked up Lhe CSu defense for counLless blg plays. lf he flgures lL ouL,
waLch ouL.
Dav|s: robably has Lhe mosL poLenLlal of anyone on Lhe llsL (save MarLln) and began Lo Lap lnLo lL as Lhe season wenL.
Pe's all-around playmaker wlLh Lremendous speed who had 79 Lackles, 1 sack, 4 us and 6.3 1lL.
Sm|th: klnd of [usL exlsLed ln Lhe back of Lhe kansas defense as an exLra body. Pe can make Lhe sLandard play, buL llLLle
else. !ayhawks would llke Lo see lmprovemenL ln Lhelr S Landem.
o|k: Pe sLarLed all season long, buL we have Lo wonder why. 1here's plenLy of youLh behlnd hlm and olk never dld
enough Lo us Lo say, 1hls guy ls a real player."
54
ACC - Safeties
1. kenny 1ate - Maryland
2. DeAndre McDan|e| - Clemson
3. kay-kay Armstrong - Mlaml
4. I|m Noe| - 8osLon College
3. 8randan 8|shop - norLh Carollna SLaLe
6. Davon Morgan - vlrglnla 1ech
7. N|ck Moody - llorlda SLaLe
8. kodney McLeod - vlrglnla
9. Matt Dan|e|s - uuke
10. Mar|o Ldwards - Ceorgla 1ech
11. Matt Mer|ett| - unC
12. A|ex Irye - Wake loresL
Atlantic Coast Conference
Tate would make our All Fun team. Hes a blast to
watch.
And from McDaniel to Moody, theres good size,
speed and skill.
The bottom of the list gets hazy, though, with some
of the guys only part-time starters or rotation types.
The S position in the ACC is very top heavy. But
what it lacks in depth, it makes up for in ability at the
top.
1ate: PonesLly, he may be Lhe second-besL S ln Lhe counLry. 1here's noLhlng he can'L do. And lf Lhere's one guy you
don'L wanL Lo hlL you comlng over Lhe mlddle, lL's 1aLe. Pe can cover LlghL ends wlLh hls slze, keep up wlLh W8s wlLh
hls speed and sLuff Lhe run wlLh hls sLrengLh.
McDan|e|: Mcuanlel hldes beLLer Lhan anyone ln any 8CS conference. Pe's easy Lo forgeL and he dlsgulses hls drop ln
Lhe Cover 2 amazlngly. Pe fakes Lhe bllLz, bumps a LlghL end over Lhe mlddle and has Lhe drop back speed Lo sLlll hold
up ln Lhe back. Pe's amazlngly LalenLed.
Armstrong: Pas Lhe same ablllLles as 1aLe and Mcuanlel - he can do a blL of everyLhlng. Pe [usL doesn'L qulLe have Lhe
sklll. ?eL. Pe's [usL a sophomore, so Lhere's no doubL he'll [usL geL beLLer and beLLer.
Noe|: noel was one of Lhe besL players on an underraLed 8osLon College defense. AnoLher sophomore, he was Lhe
leader ln a defenslve backfleld LhaL benL buL dldn'L break (81sL agalnsL Lhe pass, buL 19Lh ln scorlng defense).
8|shop: 8lshop [usL geLs Lhe call over LeammaLe Larl Wolff because hls beLLer ablllLy Lo cover. Wolff ls a greaL Lackler,
8lshop ls an Ck one. 8uL 8lshop - maybe because he's Lhe free man, noL Lhe sLrong one - geLs Lhe ball ln Lhe alr beLLer.
Morgan: Was Lhe forLunaLe one playlng ln 1ech's rover" poslLlon Lhls year and had Lhe numbers Lo show lL. 1oo small
for a pure L8 and a blL Loo slow for a naLural S, Morgan doesn'L have a naLural poslLlon, so lL flL. SLlll had 3 ln1 and 4
us as he dropped more ofLen Lhan he came forward.
Moody: ?ou'll see hlm hlgher on some llsLs, buL we Lhlnk LhaL's because of Lhe whaL have you done for me laLely"
syndrome. Pad a huge game agalnsL Maryland on nov. 20 (ln1 for a 1u, 96 yards), buL was abysmal agalnsL Cklahoma
and unC - Lwo bad noles losses.
McLeod: McLeod ls an average ACC S. Makes all Lhe baslc plays and wlll chlp ln a blg hlL or ln1 on occaslon. Pe'll also
make a mlsLake and geL beaL someLlmes, Loo.
Dan|e|s: uld whaL he could Lo rally Lhe Lroops ln Lhe uuke secondary, buL noL even hls exclLable play could Lurn Lhlngs
around ln uurham. Pe can cover Ck when deep, buL he's besL when aLLacklng forward, noL back.
Ldwards: Ldwards ls an S ln a L8's body. Pe plays more llke a L8, Loo. Pe'd raLher lay someone ouL Lhan cover Lhem.
Pe goes back well Lo Lhe ball, buL sLruggles wlLh lL ln Lhe alr. !usL 1 u Lo go wlLh 68 Lackles. 1haL's lL.
Mer|ett|: uoesn'L do a loL wrong, buL doesn'L a loL speclal. Pe's Lremendously aLhleLlc and unC Lrles Lo geL Lhe ball ln
hands on S1 someLlmes. 8uL LhaL aLhleLlclsm had only mlddllng resulLs defenslvely. llnlshed wlLh 36 Lackles, 4 us and
2 ln1s
Irye: Pe's beLLer ln Lhe alr Lhan anyone ln Lhe ueacs secondary, buL he's loaLh Lo geL ln Lhe play someLlmes. Pe's on
Lhe sklnnler slde and prefers Lo leL Lhe acLlon come Lo hlm and someLlmes Lhe Leam suffers because of lL.
55
PAC 10 - Safeties
1. Iohn 8oyett - Cregon
2. kah|m Moore - uCLA
3. De|ano nowe|| - SLanford
4. Nate W||||ams - WashlngLon
3. Chr|s Conte - Callfornla
6. 1.I. McDona|d - uSC
7. Suaes| 1u|manue| - Cregon SLaLe
8. Deone 8ucannon - WashlngLon SLaLe
9. Max 1abach - Arlzona SLaLe
10. Anthony W||cox - Arlzona
PAC 10 Conference
No unit has more potential than the PAC 10 list of
safeties.
Howell is still learning the position after switching
from RB. McDonald and Bucannon have great genes,
too. And Boyett is tops of the list as just a
sophomore.
While we expect Moore (a junior) to go pro, if he
returns, this will be the best collection of players at
one position in the country.
8oyett: Pe Lled LeammaLe Parrls for Lhe conference lead ln ln1s. Pe chlpped ln 63 Lackles and he had 9 us. Pow dld he
noL geL more love ln Lhe posLseason awards? 1he nexL guy on Lhe llsL geLs plenLy of lL, buL we llke Lhe way 8oyeLL played
more.
Moore: no one on Lhls llsL ls more aLhleLlc. 8ahlm Moore remlnds many of Lrlc 1urner, Lhe 8rulns S who was Laken no. 2
overall ln 1991. Moore doesn'L have LhaL much sklll, buL Lhelr games are slmllar.
nowe||: Llke Parrls and 8oyeLL, Powell Lled wlLh Sherman for Lhe Leam-hlgh ln ln1s wlLh 4. Pe had a huge one ln a 17-13
wln vs. ASu (nov. 12) LhaL kepL SLanford's 8ose 8owl hopes allve.
W||||ams: Cnly 4 us and zero ln1s? WhaL glves? Wllllams ls a bllLzlng dynamo. uefenslve coordlnaLor nlck PolL was
brllllanL wlLh hls schemlng of Wllllams: up close, off Lhe llne, ln Lhe back, lL dldn'L maLLer. Wllllams had a u8 hlgh 7.3 1lL.
Conte: ConLe packs Lhe blggesL punch of Lhe ac 10 safeLles and one look aL Lhe Lape and you'll see why. 8unnlng backs
and wlde recelvers are compleLely leveled by Lhe 6-3, 212 lb., senlor. Pls ball skllls need work, buL someone wlll hlre hlm
Lo play on Sundays.
McDona|d: Pe's Lhe son of our admlLLed favorlLe S of all-Llme. 1.!. Mcuonald has plenLy of hls faLher's glfLs, Loo. Pe's noL
afrald Lo hlL anyLhlng and he's good ln Lhe alr. Pe falls a blL because of mlssed Llme (especlally ln uSC's flnal Lhree
games).
1u|manue|: Some mlghL say he wasn'L Lhe besL S on Lhe Leam. We beg Lo dlffer. Whlle LeammaLe Lance MlLchell ls much
beLLer on Lhe ball, 1ulmanunel puL a Lremendous fear lnLo Lhe opposlLlon wlLh hlLLlng, a la former 8eavers S aLrlck
Chung
8ucannon: 1hlngs are slowly geLLlng beLLer ln ullman. 1hey sLarL Lwo freshmen ln Lhe defenslve backfleld and lf Lhey
can keep aLLracLlng players llke 8ucannon, Lhey'll geL lL Lurned around. 1he freshman led Lhe Cougs ln Lackles and added
2 ln1s, 1 l8 and 3 us.
1abach: 1abach llnes up all over Lhe fleld from hls S spoL. Pe can play near Lhe llne, back deep or ln Lhe mlddle. Pe can
caLch a blL and geL ln Lhe backfleld on occaslon, buL doesn'L do enough Lo [usLlfy a hlgher ranklng ln Lhls good S
conference.
W||cox: Wllcox ls a classlc lS. Pe plays Lhe ball well (even lf he can'L caLch lL - 0 ln1s) and drops back deep [usL flne. 8uL
he doesn'L wanL Lo come up fleld, whlch ls boLhersome, especlally wlLh hls slze (6-2, 203 lbs). Pe should have done
more.
56
Big East - Safeties
1. Dom DeC|cco - lLLsburgh
2. nakeem Sm|th - Loulsvllle
3. kobert Sands - WesL vlrglnla
4. h||||p 1homas - Syracuse
3. Ioe Lefeged - 8uLgers
6. Ion Le[|ste - SouLh llorlda
7. Ierome Iun|or - uCCnn
8. Drew Irey - ClnclnnaLl
Big East Conference
The top three could all state a strong case for No. 1.
Decicco turned in a great career at Pittsburgh and
theyll miss his leadership and toughness. But he was
never a natural S like Smith just below him.
He has all the ability in the world and might be one of
the nations best next year.
From 3 6, theres plenty to admire, but the bottom
two are role players, at best, on most teams.
DeC|cco: ueClcco has lmproved over Lhe course of hls anLhers career more Lhan any oLher player. Pls Leam
sLruggled Lo llve up Lo expecLaLlons Lhls season, buL he ouLplayed Lhem. WlLh a L8 bulld (6-4, 230 lbs),
ueClcco ls easlly Lhe besL ln run supporL of Lhe group. Pe noLches Lhe Lop spoL because of hls lmprovemenL
ln pass coverage, where he added 3 ln1s Lo lead Lhe Leam. A greaL college fooLball player.
Sm|th: We wouldn'L argue lf SmlLh was no. 1 on Lhls llsL. Pe's [usL a freshman buL he swallowed up
everyLhlng for Lhe Cardlnals. Pe's noL really used as a pass defender because he doesn'L always have Lo be.
Pe's scary over Lhe mlddle and he we Lhlnk hls 6 1lL, ll and 1 sack wlll all go up ln years Lo come. Clve hlm
Llme Lo grow lnLo hls 6-1 body and Lhen geL ouL of Lhe way.
Sands: !usL as 1andy barely ouLranked Pogan for Lhe Wvu C8 spoL, Sands [usL ouLranks Sldney Clover for Lhls
one. AL 6-3, 221 lbs., 1andy ls a monsLer ln Lhe back. Pe's easy Lo spoL, so Leams don'L really Lhrow near hlm.
Pe also plays more of a Su8 poslLlon, as hls 6.3 1lL, 1.3 sacks and 3 hurrles aLLesL. very lnLlmldaLlng flgure
ln Lhe back of Lhe defense.
1homas: We Lhlnk Lhlngs are geLLlng beLLer ln cenLral new ?ork, noL worse. 1homas, [usL a sophomore, ls a
Lremendous Lackler wlLh a speclal ablllLy Lo geL ln Lhe backfleld. Pe's a naLural C8 (and should be glven hls
smaller slze), buL played ouL of poslLlon aL S and sLlll Lurned a preLLy good season (83 Lackles, 1 ln1, 1 l8, 3
us, 4 1lL).
Lefeged: Pe reLurned punLs, klcks, knocked down balls and flnlshed second on Lhe Leam ln Lackles. 8uL when
dropplng ouL hls speclal Leams play, Lefeged lsn'L a blg playmaker. 1haL's noL Lo say he's a bad S, Lhough.
Pe's acLually a preLLy good one.
Le[|ste: Some call Le[lsLe Lhe second-besL S ln Lhe 8lg LasL. And admlLLedly, lL's hard for us Lo llsL hlm as [usL
Lhe slxLh. Pe's greaL comlng forward (6.3 1lL, 3 sacks), buL noL so greaL golng back (2 us, 1 ln1). lf hls pass
coverage skllls caLch up Lo hls LenaclLy, 8ulls opponenLs wlll have Lo worry as he's [usL a sophomore.
Iun|or: Pe's a blL underslzed (welghL-wlse) for a S, buL a blL blg for a C8. Pe's Ck ln Lhe alr, buL hls ln1s came
on C8s mlssed Lhrows. Pe dldn'L knock down a slngle ball and he needs Lo add some pounds and become a
beLLer Lackler, Loo.
Irey: lf you caLch Lhe ball, urew lrey wlll lay you ouL. unforLunaLely lf you're a 8earcaLs fan, lrey wlll leL hls
opponenL caLch Lhe ball flrsL. Pe lsn'L a greaL cover man and he's purely a S - he sLays back and looks for an
openlng Lo deck someone lnsLead golng Lo Lhe ball and keeplng lL down.
57
The Best of the Best
1. newLon
2. Luck
3. MalleLL
4. 1aylor
3. 8oblnson
6. 8Clll
7. ryor
8. Weeden
9. Wllson
10. 1olzlen
1. !ames
2. PunLer
3. 8odgers
4. Clay
3. lngram
6. LeShoure
7. 1odman
8. Murray
9. 1homas
10. LaLLlmore
1. Creen
2. 8lackmon
3. 8royles
4. !ones
3. Crlner
6. !effery
7. Pankerson
8. 8lnns
9. Maehl
10. luller
1. 8owers
2. kerrlgan
3. 8eal
4. WaLL
3. uareus
6. Clayborn
7. Mlller
8. Sheard
9. Peyward
10. 8owe
1. lalrley
2. ShorL
3. Crlck
4. aea
3. Cgbu
6. Coples
7. klug
8. A[lboye
9. owe
10. nevls
1. lrvlng
2. WhlLe
3. 1aylor
4. kuechly
3. M. Wllson
6. L. Wllson
7. 1revaLhan
8. 8urflcL
9. Lemon
10. Cordon

1. PousLon
2. !ones
3. losLer
4. Spence
3. Lewls
6. uavld
7. upshaw
8. Cole
9. SLurdlvanL
10. Spence
1. eLerson
2. Amukamara
3. Wllllams
4. Posley
3. Mlnnlfleld
6. aLrlck
7. Parrls
8. raLer
9. Chekwa
10. Cllmore
1. 8arron
2. CarLer
3. 1aLe
4. Mcuanlel
3. Sash
6. 8lack
7. 8oyeLL
8. Penry
9. Moore
10. Pyde

C8 88 W8 uL
u1 ML8 CL8 C8
S
58

People:
Adam Goodrich
Jonathan Costa
Zachary Singer
Mike Strain
Matt Baker
Eric Bailey
Bill Haisten
Jimmie Tramel
James Moseley
TJ Carpenter
Chris Bahn
Brandon Marcello
Kyle Bolin
Ben George
Tyler Thomas
Scott Faldon
Patrick Caulfield
John McTigue
Dylan Goforth
And many more



Thank You and Courtesies
Thank you to the following individuals, companies and organizations. Youve assisted
us with this project whether you were even aware of it or not. A most sincere thank
you to you all.
Companies and Organizations:

The Associated Press
ESPN
Sports Illustrated
Athlon Sports
Big Ten Conference
Big XII Conference
Atlantic Coast Conference
PAC 10 Conference
Big East Conference
Southeastern Conference
And many more