the enemy 2021
Previously on The Enemy, Ranked: Quarterback, Running Back, Receiver, OL, DL, Linebacker
We have made it to the last The Enemy piece, featuring the secondary. The secondary comprises cornerback and safety, but does not include hybrid space players, which we included in our preceding piece on linebackers. Some teams roll with five DB's, others with four, so the charts will vary based on which team I'm talking about. As a general trend for this piece that will be reiterated the farther we go down the list, the P5 teams who appear on Michigan's schedule this season have good secondaries. While I was generally unimpressed by the DL's and even some of the LB groups, the secondaries make up for that, with the number of just solid secondaries running 10 deep on Michigan's schedule. That's going to be a challenge. Let's get started with the kings at the top, Indiana:
1. Indiana
| CB | CB | FS | SS |
| Jaylin Williams* | Tiawan Mullen* | Raheem Layne | Devon Matthews* |
| Reese Taylor | Christopher Keys | Juwan Burgess | Josh Sanguinetti |
It says a lot about how good Indiana's secondary was last season that they could lose Jahmar Johnson, a 1st team All-B1G safety, in the offseason, and still manage to stay #1 on this list. The strength of IU's secondary is the corners, a pair of studs in Jaylin Williams and Tiawan Mullen, both of whom were starred on last season's FFFF. Mullen is a legit superstar who should be a damn near lock to be 1st team All-B1G this season, while Williams was 2nd team last season and should be a favorite to be right there yet again. Reese Taylor is an experienced veteran who figures to be the nickel corner on this defense, which is a fine option to have. At safety there's going to be some drop off in losing Johnson, but Devon Matthews is still around, 3rd team All-B1G last season, even if the reality of his play may be a bit worse than that distinction.
Raheem Layne returning from injury is the favorite to replace Johnson at the free safety position and given that safety is a position where you like to have some players who know the scheme and their way around the field, it's nice to have a pair of seniors lining up there. As a four or five man unit, Indiana's secondary is great, and no other team on Michigan's schedule comes close to having the lockdown corner tandem of IU, and that's before you get to the veteran safeties. The Hoosiers took #1 on our list by a healthy margin.
[AFTER THE JUMP: A different surprising team checks in at #4 this time]
Previously on The Enemy, Ranked: Quarterback, Running Back, Receiver, OL, DL
The Enemy series is beginning to near its conclusion, and today we pick up with the LB group. For this section, we had to again set some ground rules that will outline the piece. As a general rule, teams who employ a hybrid safety/LB saw that position included in this piece, including Indiana's "Husky", OSU's "Bullet", and Nebraska's hybrid space player. 3-4 OLB's who are edge rushers were included in the DL piece and are not featured here. With that in mind, let's dive in with #1 on our list and Wisconsin:
1. Wisconsin
| OLB | ILB | ILB | OLB |
| Noah Burks* | Leo Chenal* | Jack Sanborn* | Nick Herbig* |
| Aaron Witt | Mike Maskalunas | Maema Njongmeta | CJ Goetz |
Much the way that Wisconsin churns out terrific OL's like butter, they do the same at LB, running their patented 3-4. This year may well be a high tide in terms of great Wisconsin LB groups thanks to the return of every starter off last year's group. The unit starts with Jack Sanborn, the team's leading tackler each of the last two years and a likely lock for 1st team All-B1G. He's a classic do-it-all Wisconsin LB, who can run defend, cover, and blitz. Leo Chenal starts next to Sanborn on the inside and he's also really good, a more aggressive LB which can sometimes get him into trouble but it may well take him to the All-B1G team this season in the process. The OLB's have different responsibilities, with Nick Herbig being the one who has to drop into coverage more often. He had his lumps last season as a true freshman starter but he's undeniably talented: Herbig was a composite top 150 recruit out of Hawaii. I'm betting on big time improvement from him. Noah Burks is the OLB who gets to rush a bit more and the game tape tends to be more promising than the stats he's produced up to this point, but he's a two-year starter who's in his sixth year in the program. That's a lot of reason for optimism.
The back-ups don't have as much to talk about, but they may well not be needed all that much. The starting four are going to play the vast majority of the snaps. Obviously injuries are a possibility, but this starting group will see the majority of the work, and if they're healthy, they'll be really, really good. Wisconsin was the clear #1 on our list. COVID may still be rattling our world, but Wisconsin having elite LB's suggests that Earth is still somewhat normal.
[AFTER THE JUMP: You will never guess who's #3]
Previously: Quarterback, Running Back, Receiver, OL
Another week, and another The Enemy piece. This week we switch over to the defensive side of the ball, starting with the defensive line. For clarification on this piece, I'm defining the defensive line to mean down linemen and LB's who are explicitly edge rushers ("JACK" type players), so in Michigan's case this would include the three DT's and then Aidan Hutchinson + whoever is lined up opposite Hutchinson. For some teams this requires a judgement call, although most on this list run standard four man defensive lines. Onto #1:
1. Ohio State
| DE | DT | DT | DE |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tyreke Smith* | Haskell Garrett* | Taron Vincent | Zach Harrison |
| JT Tuimoloau | Antwaun Jackson Jr. | Jarron Cage | Jack Sawyer |
Yep, another article where the Buckeyes start out on top. It really shouldn't be terribly surprising, given how well OSU has churned out defensive linemen in the past decade, although this group has some questions, as every team in this article does. What is not a question mark is Haskell Garrett, who was a 2nd Team All-American last season and would have been a high draft pick had he departed for the NFL early. Garrett is a wrecking ball defensive tackle who is going to be the veteran leader of this group. The ends, which are normally dominant for a school like OSU that produced the Bosas and Chase Young, were not quite as sharp last season but there are lots of reasons for optimism. Tyreke Smith's underlying metrics were very good in 2020, even if they didn't materialize into actual sacks, and he's a returning starter who could make that leap to great this season.
Zach Harrison, who you hopefully don't remember from his agonizing recruiting process that nearly saw Michigan pluck the 5* DE from OSU's grasp before a cold dose of reality smacked the Wolverines upside the head on November 24, 2018, has actually not been as good as advertised thus far in his NCAA career. The Bucks need improvement from Harrison, but the talent in his body makes that a decent bet. And of course, even if Harrison doesn't pop off, they have two more 5* blue chip recruits in TR Fr Jack Sawyer and JT Tuimoloau to plug in at DE. The other DT spot is led by Taron Vincent, who was, surprise, also an elite recruit and has solid experience. Experience is a theme for back-up tackles Jarron Cage and Antwaun Jackson Jr., who provide solid depth. Ohio State ranks #1 because of a track record of producing stars at this position, in addition to the presence of an established star in Garrett, the good shot that they get another star out of one of Smith/Harrison/Sawyer, and the depth provided behind them.
[AFTER THE JUMP: More lines with more questions]
Find out who Michigan will try to stop from catching footballs this fall.
This year's The Enemy series begins with the most important position on the field.
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