North
Carolina
All
four starters are back from the nation's
14th ranked passing defense. All four of
them are seniors. Two of them, Kendric
Burney and Deunta Williams,
have started every game in their Carolina
careers (38 each) and both are NationalChamps.net
Preseason All-Americans. Burney and Williams
have combined for 314 of Carolina's school
record 508 interception return yards from
a year ago. Williams ranks third at UNC
with 12 career interceptions, while Burney
has nine. Senior CB Charles Brown
is a talented cover man who finished second
on the team last year with 66 tackles. At
strong safety is Da'Norris Searcy,
who also doubles as the team's punt return
specialist. His 14.9-yard return average
was fifth best nationally. The back ups
too are quite impressive. Sophomore cornerback
Mywan Jackson had an incredible
spring game hauling in two interceptions.
Butch Davis is no stranger to coaching defense
and getting the right recruits that he likes
to fit his system. He has them across the
entire defensive board but these cover men
are tops.
Iowa
The
Big Ten’s best pass defense (4th nationally)
from a year ago has three of its parts back.
Their 21 interceptions were also 5th best
nationally. This Hawkeye crew could have
received our top billing had it not been
for the loss of lockdown corner Amari Spievey
who left early for the NFL. Senior All-Big
Ten safety Brett Greenwood
has been a starter since his freshman year
and is extremely dependable. He has racked
up 168 tackles in his career with 7 interceptions.
NationalChamps.net Preseason All-American
Tyler Sash is the best
ballhawk in the league from the other safety
position. He was also a semi-finalist for
the Jim Thorpe Defensive Back Award while
picking off a team high six passes with
203 return yards (a school record). The
lone starting returnee at corner is Shaun
Prater who tied for second in the
Big Ten in pass break-ups (league games).
Anchoring the other corner will be Micah
Hyde. The former Ohio Division
IV Offensive Player of the Year as a senior
and first team all-state QB was one of only
three true freshmen to see action in 2009.
This backfield could prove to be, once again,
a key to Iowa’s continued success.
Florida
Not
many teams can lose two early NFL Draft
entrees in Joe Haden and Major Wright and
come back the following season with such
a highly ranked unit. Welcome to Gainesville
where head coach Urban Meyer out recruits
the best of them. According to coaches,
the guys who are returning finished this
spring every bit as good compared to the
unit that lined up last fall, which is a
pretty hefty statement seeing this was the
nation's No. 2 rated pass defense. The safeties
are Will Hill -- a USA
Today First Team High School All-American
out of New Jersey who enters his third year
of starting and Ahmad Black
-- a 2009 All-SEC performer who started
all 14 games during the Gator's 2008 BCS
National Championship run where he finished
tied for the lead nationally with seven
interceptions. If that were not enough enter
early enrollee Matt Elam,
a five-star prep player who was rated the
No. 1 safety in the country by most recruiting
services. Elam has already proven this spring
that he is more than qualified to play right
away. At one corner is Jelani Jenkins;
another former high school Parade All-American
while the other corner has upwards of four
different players vying for first team duties.
The Gators won't miss a step in this backfield.
This may be the most athletically gifted
bunch in these unit rankings. They may not
be quite as experienced but by season's
end they will be chomping the rest of the
competition per usual.
West
Virginia
Just
two seasons ago Mountaineer fans were crying
the blues about how poor this secondary
was performing. But slowly, defensive back
coach David Lockwood has molded this unit
into one of the Big East's better coverage
units. Sands and Hogan give WVU two Preseason
All-Americans at NationalChamps.net. Robert
Sands may be the best defensive
player in the entire conference. He will
return for his third season as a starter
at free safety. The 6'5, 221 pounder from
the south Florida area led the Big East
last fall in passes defended (13) and tied
for the lead in interceptions (5). Brandon
Hogan returns for his final season
at corner with explosive speed and quickness.
Moving the former slot receiver into this
backfield has proven to be one of the best
moves this coaching staff has made. Sports
Illustrated named him an Honorable Mention
All-American while starting all 13 games
in '09. Hard-hitting Sidney Glover
is a presence at safety in this 3-3-5 stack
defense. He was a two-year starter at the
spur safety position before moving to bandit
this spring. He continues to be one of the
team leaders. Keith Tandy
returns for his second year as the starter
at cornerback. The statistical numbers were
not far off from being very good last fall
(29th nationally in pass efficiency defense).
Those numbers and accomplishments will get
much better this fall. These starters are
all third and fourth year veterans.
South
Carolina
South
Carolina had the eighth-best pass defense
in the nation last season, allowing a meager
163.0 yards per game through the air. The
Gamecocks are looking for even more considering
everyone is returning to this backfield
with the exception of safety Darian Stewart.
These players are aware of their expectations
despite there only being one senior in this
lineup. Cornerback C.C. Whitlock
even made the statement, "We're looking
forward to being the top secondary in the
nation." Those are some big words,
but on paper they do have some truth behind
them. The cornerback position also features
Stephon Gilmore, one of
the top freshmen last year in the SEC who
started every game as a true frosh. All-SEC
free safety Chris Culliver
has switched positions and will be permanently
playing cornerback for the first time in
his career. Culliver has excellent speed
and is the school’s all-time leader
in kickoff returns (94) and kickoff return
yards (2,215)...the 2,215 yards ranks fifth
all-time in the SEC. Akeem Auguste
will now move to free safety after being
a starter at corner all of last fall. Two
rising sophomores, D.J. Swearinger
and DeVonte Holloman, are
also in the mix.
Just
Missed:
BoiseState, Nebraska,
TCU, Texas
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