Iowa
Defensive
Line Coach Rick Kaczenski will be working
with what could be the most experienced
defensive line in the country. The 2009
starters return intact (all four started
all 13 games last year). All four are all-Big
Ten candidates and Adrian Clayborn
is a NationalChamps.net Preseason All-American.
Clayborn has started 17 straight games and
has 140 career stops. He was named 2009
Defensive Performer of the Year by the College
Football Performance committee. He had 70
tackles last year, including 20 tackles
for loss (-107 yards) and 11.5 quarterback
sacks. He forced four fumbles and blocked
a kick, and ran it back for a touchdown,
against Penn State. The play against Penn
State was one of the top defensive plays
of the year in college football. He was
a first-team all-Big Ten selection and was
also named the MVP in the FedEx Orange Bowl
victory over Georgia Tech. Anchoring the
starting end spot on the other side of the
line will be junior all-Big Ten candidate
Broderick Binns. He had 63 tackles
in 2009 and now has 83 career stops. Binns
played very well as a starter last year.
Seniors Karl Klug and Christian
Ballard enter spring ball as the
returning starters at defensive tackle.
Ballard has started 26 straight games and
has 109 career tackles. Klug had 65 tackles
last year, along with 13 tackles for loss
(-40 yards) and two forced fumbles. Ballard
also had nine tackles for loss (-35 yards).
Miami
FL
Six
defensive ends have started at least one
game, making for some stiff competition.
The best of the bunch is senior Allen
Bailey, a NationalChamps.net Preseason
First Team All-American who has led the
team in sacks the last two seasons. Bailey
is a monster wherever he is used along the
line and is poised to go among the NFL's
higher picks with a strong season. Adewale
Ojomo, a superb pass rusher, is
back after missing all of last season with
a broken jaw and is ready to fulfill the
promise that had some calling him an All-ACC
player prior to his injury. Other ends that
are already proven are Andrew Smith
(15 tackles, 2.5 for losses last year),
Marcus Robinson (six tackles
for losses, four sacks), Olivier
Vernon (seven tackles for losses,
1.5 sacks last year as a freshman) and Steven
Wesley (six tackles for losses,
three sacks). They will combine to give
Miami an explosive rotation of fresh legs
coming off the edge. Josh Holmes,
a smallish but explosive player, is a returning
starter and will form part of a rotation
at defensive tackle that will also include
Micanor Regis and Curtis
Porter, a pair of 300-pound run
stuffers who shined in limited duty last
season. Regis played well above his sophomore
status last year (played in every game).
Marcus Forston was tabbed
a First Team Freshman All-American in 2008
by just about every publication but only
played in three of the first four games
last fall due to an injury. He returns healthy
giving Miami some of the best line depth
anywhere from both the inside and out.
Penn
State
Replacing
players such as Jared Odrick and Jerome
Hayes on the defensive line of scrimmage
would prove cumbersome for most any team.
However, three starters return up front
from the nation's sixth ranked rushing defense
and the Big Ten's top rated sack unit. At
6'6 and 270 pounds, Eric Latimore
has all the physical tools for a Penn State
defensive end. A multitude of nagging injuries
have hampered his previous seasons but he
has gotten healthy and was a top candidate
for the team award given to the most improved
defensive player this spring. On the other
side Jack Crawford is an
elite athlete standing at 6'5, 265 pounds
with legitimate 4.7 40-yard speed. He was
Penn State's most consistent DE a year ago
recording 14.5 tackles for loss and 5.5
sacks. The top priority is replacing Jared
Odrick at tackle. That honor will fall on
big 300-pound Ollie Ogbu
who has excellent quickness off the ball.
He will be the most consistent down lineman
in the middle. Ogbu was not a highly touted
recruit and many felt his scholarship would
be a waste, but he has proven everyone wrong
and will be a three-year starter this fall.
Devon Still will get first
crack at the other tackle spot. Coach Paterno
has spoken highly of him since he arrived
on campus back in 2007. His one-on-one battles
with All-American offensive lineman Stefen
Wisniewski were some of the best highlights
of spring football.
West
Virginia
The
entire defensive line from this 3-3-5 alignment
returns from last season. Tackle Scooter
Berry has a team leading 28 starts
to his credit and has dotted a few All-Big
East lists over the past few years. Berry
fought through a shoulder injury and academics
most of last season seeing action in only
eight games. But the senior-to-be is one
of the team's top playmakers when he is
on top of his game. Senior Chris
Neild has the second most starts
on the team with 27 and anchors the line
for the third year at nose tackle. He started
13 games last fall, which was good enough
for All-Big East recognition. With a neck
as big as his thighs, he is a superb run
stopper and was awarded the John Russell
Award for leadership by the coaching staff.
Arguably WVU's biggest defensive success
story in 2009, Julian Miller burst
onto the scene as a redshirt sophomore and
made quite an impression as a defensive
end. He finished with a team-high nine sacks
(4th best in the conference), 14 tackles
for loss and 53 tackles (second most for
a defensive linemen in the Big East). He
enters 2010 as one of the players to watch.
Clemson
Both
tackles Brandon Thompson
and Jarvis Jenkins are
worthy NFL talents. They are in their third
season of working together. Jenkins was
the top tackler among all linemen last year
with 69 stops and Thompson was not far behind
with 50 stops. Great depth is also what
separates this unit from the rest. Jamie
Cumbie is really a third starter.
The 6'7 tackle also amassed 53 tackles.
Da'Quan Bowers is the returning
starter at DE. The No. 1 ranked player at
any position coming out of high school according
to ESPN, Bowers had some injury problems
his first two years but still managed to
record 58 tackles last fall despite missing
two games and playing sparingly in three
others. Malliciah Goodman
and Andre Branch are two
more talents on the outside. Goodman was
a freshman All-ACC selection by Rivals.com.
Kourtnei Brown is another
talented end who lettered in 2007 and 2008,
then redshirted in 2009. This group has
a combined 357 tackles among them.
Just
Missed:
Boise State, Oregon
State
|