Previously: Quarterback, Running Backs, Receivers, Offensive Line

Now we move to the defensive side of the football, where things will begin to change a bit. Maryland will see a mighty fall at many positional groups, while Iowa will likely rise and plenty more shakeups will occur. Much like the OL, I will be blending PFF grades with my own charting when we move into opponents on the schedule from last fall. One more note: for this piece, I'm considering defensive lines to be interior DL and EDGE players, so both traditional DEs and standup pass rushers who some teams call "OLBs". 

 

12. Hawaii 

DE	DT	DT	DE
Andrew Faoliu	Blessman Ta'ala	John Tuitupou	Mataio Soli
Andrew Choi		Jojo Falo

The turnover from Todd Graham to Timmy Chang has been felt most severely on the defensive side of the ball for Hawaii, where they return just one starter on the defensive line and have a single player on this depth chart who played more than 100 snaps a year ago... yikes! Blessman Ta'ala might win the best name of the enemy series, and he is also a quality defensive tackle who takes on double teams well. That's about it in terms of projectable talent though; the rest will likely be rough. John Tuitupou is the other projected defensive tackle, an upperclassman but one without a ton of experience. He played only 95 snaps a year ago (though he was solid in those snaps). Andrew Faoliu transfers in from Oregon, having had a small role in 2019-20 before not playing last season. Mataio Soli arrives at the other end spot from Arkansas, playing just 65 snaps a year ago but the former 4* pedigree helps a little I guess. ​​​​​​Farther down the depth chart you find another transfer name in Jojo Falo, coming in from Air Force, as well as Andrew Choi, who was on the scout team last season.

This is a pretty grim situation and the Rainbow Warriors were a pretty easy decision to slot in 12th. They have little returning production, little program continuity, and little experience overall. Most teams should be able to go around Ta'ala by targeting the rest of the line and finding great success doing it. 

[AFTER THE JUMP: guess which Rutgers DE is now with a non-con opponent]

 

[UCONN Athletics]

11. Connecticut 

LE	NT	RE	RAZOR
Sokoya McDuffie	Dal'Mont Gourdine	Eric Watts	Kevon Jones
	Jelani Stafford		Brandon Bouyer-Randle

This.... isn't as horrible as I was expecting? There are some moving pieces here for sure, but for a bottom barrel FBS team, this DL is far from the worst case scenario. First of all, we should address the scheme: Jim Mora Jr. is moving UCONN to a 3-4, but the OLB position known as "RAZOR" uses edge defenders, which includes returner Kevon Jones. Jones had 60 tackles and a couple sacks a year ago and should be the best player of this positional group. As the RAZOR, Jones will get to drop into coverage, rush the passer, and defend the run, a Swiss Army Knife of sorts for the defense. 

The other returning starter is Eric Watts as a 3-4 defensive end (down lineman), and he's okay. Dal'Mont Gourdine moves up the depth chart at nose tackle, having played a heavy snap count last season as the 3rd defensive tackle. He probably won't be a star, but PFF's grading says he's far from a disaster. Sokoya McDuffie arrives after being Old Dominion's 3Tech a year ago and will be asked to be the other "defensive end" in this system. Similar story to Gourdine here via PFF, not horrible, not particularly great. Depth comes in the form of Youngstown transfer Jelani Stafford and Texas Tech transfer Brandon Bouyer-Randle. Not much to say about either of those guys, but the latter did play a real rotational role at a P5 school, so that's something. 

In total, you have a group that probably isn't wowing anyone, but all four starters + one backup have played real rotational (or more) snaps at FBS programs. Some of them are fresh faces and faced poor competition, etc, but that is actual experience to speak of, which you can't say for Hawaii. That moves the Huskies up a slot and gets them out of the cellar. 

 

10. Colorado State 

DE	DT	DT	DE
CJ Onyechi	Devin Phillips	Grady Kelly	Mohamed Kamara
Troy Golden	James Mitchell	Cam Beriteau

Extremely attuned B1G fans may notice that the Rams are slated to start a former B1G (half)starter, CJ Onyechi, formerly of Rutgers. Onyechi transferred to CSU in the offseason and is set to start at DE. He was mostly just a guy last year in the B1G and I'd expect that to be the case against Michigan, but he could be a solid player in the Mountain West. Devin Phillips returns as a starter at DT and he made Phil Steele's preseason projected 3rd Team All-MWC list based on a strong 2021 campaign. The same was true of Mohamed Kamara, who was CSU's 3rd edge last season and did well as a pass rusher, but PFF viewed him less favorably as a run defender. Kamara was on Steele's 4th Team All-MWC preseason list. The final starter is Grady Kelly, who was seldom used as a true freshman last year but is looking for a larger role. 

The reserves are a collection of players with backing roles last season, none of them playing more than 100 snaps. There's not a ton to say about those guys, but I felt that Colorado State was clearly the best non-conference defensive line here. UCONN's is not atrocious, but CSU has a former rotational player for a B1G team starting at one spot and two possible All-MWC selections at other spots. That's a better collection of talent than what the Huskies can offer. 

 

[Maryland Athletics]

9. Maryland 

DE	NT	DT	DE/JACK
Greg China-Rose	Ami Finau	Mosiah Nasili-KIte	Durrell Nchami
Quashon Fuller	Henry Chibueze	Anthony Booker Jr.	Jaishawn Barham

Ah, Maryland. It's not offense anymore, is it? The Terps return both defensive tackles (Finau/Nasili-Kite) but that's not really a good thing in my charting. Both were weak spots last season and received the ole cyan circle on my FFFF diagram, even if PFF looked at them a bit more favorably (they graded as average). The difference lies in how they did against better competition, which is my problem with the Maryland defense at large: generally respectable to solid against weak competition, but getting detonated by anyone with a real offense. Liberty transfer Henry Chibueze enters the fray at nose and Anthony Booker Jr. flashed in very limited work, but if neither find a way to beat out the starters, provided those two don't take big jumps, this is a rough interior defensive line projection when it comes to playing offenses with a pulse. 

I do like Durrell Nchami, though. He got hit with the injury bug early last season and Maryland definitely missed him. With Lawtez Rodgers out of the picture at the JACK spot, Nchami projects to be the starter and the most important passrusher on the line. If he can get and stay healthy, that is the most likely position on the line to get a star on a future diagram. The other edge spot saw the only player with a star last year, Sam Okuayinou, take off, which means Greg China-Rose is the next man up. He was not particularly great in rotational duty in 2021. The reserves at these two spots are pretty green, so the hope for Maryland is that the edge starters keep their jobs, stay in one piece, and are decent. 

There is hope for this group and I'm not ready to write them off entirely. Both tackles are returning players, even if they were subpar last year. They could both improve. Nchami could be a Dude, and Greg China-Rose could be decent. It could not be bad, but on paper, right now, it is. And out of all the B1G opponents, the Maryland DL is worst as of this writing. 

 

8. Indiana 

DE	DT	DT	DE/BULL
James Head Jr.	JH Tevis	Demarcus Elliott	Alfred Bryant
Beau Robbins	LeDarrius Cox	Sio Nofoagatoto'a	Myles Jackson

The Hoosiers are next up on the list, and their defensive line takes a hit compared to last season, losing Ryder Anderson, who was the lone star on last season's FFFF diagram. Both cyans return, however, and those were Demarcus Elliott and Alfred Bryant, who plays the standup "BULL" position. I felt that Elliott was the weakest player on the line last season, and his problems on the interior forced Sio Nofoagatoto'a to rotate in, a player that also returns. As for Bryant, he was a solid pass rusher who struggled with the other components of the game. 

The slot vacated by Anderson at the other edge position is filled by James Head Jr., a rotational piece last season who PFF's grading argues should've been a cyan circle, not exactly what you want to hear about a starter. The loss of Weston Kramer at DT has forced Indiana to plug the hole with JH Tevis, a Cal transfer who was a respectable player in the PAC-12 last season as a starter. The only other reserve to note is LeDarrius Cox, who comes in from Ole Miss, but I don't have a ton to say about him. 

IU finds themselves 8th on the list because out of four starters, there are two where denoted as being weak pieces a year ago, and a third who ascends to a starting role that could've received the same treatment. Oh, and the fourth was not in the program in 2021. That's a wobbly hodgepodge of not great. One could make the case for Maryland ahead of Indiana, but here's where I cut the Hoosiers and Tom Allen a bit of credit, giving them the nod based on their track record of defensive competency when facing the better B1G offenses compared to Mike Locksley's record of defensive [NSFW]. 

 

[Marc-Gregor Campredon]

7. Rutgers

DE	DT	DT	DE
Aaron Lewis	Mayan Ahantou	Ifeanyi Maijeh	Wesley Bailey
Kyonte Hamilton	Rene Konga	Troy Rainey	Jahzion Harris

The Rutgers' DL sees a decent bit of churn, which you may have been able to guess from seeing CJ Onyechi with CSU. He, looooongtime Scarlet Knight Mike Tverdov, and gnat Julius Turner all exit, while Mohammed Toure is dealing with injury problems. That leads to a relatively new group of players, although there are nominal returning starters at both defensive tackle spots. Those players are Mayan Ahantou and Ifeanyi Maijeh, who both played a solid amount for Rutgers in 2021 and both are... okay? I don't have much to say about either, though maybe Ahantou is bordering on cyan territory based on his PFF grade (I don't have any individual scouting on him from FFFF). 

At defensive end, Aaron Lewis, one-time Michigan commit, is scheduled to step up into a starting capacity after being a rotational edge rusher the last couple of years. That should be alright but does not project to be a star in waiting. The same thing could be said about Wesley Bailey at the other edge position, as well as Kyonte Hamilton, both of whom were farther down the list of rotational pieces last year. The backup tackles got very little duty last season and now as RS FR are poised to take on larger roles for the Scarlett Knights. 

There's no one here that really excites me, but there also are no players except maybe Ahantou where I'm obviously on cyan watch, which puts Rutgers ahead of Indiana. Not to mention that Rutgers under Greg Schiano has done well on the defensive lines by slanting their tackles inside and turning the line of scrimmage into a slog.  

 

6. Illinois 

DE	NT	DE	EDGE/OLB
Jer'Zhan Newton	Calvin Avery	Keith Randolph Jr.	Seth Coleman
Bryce Barnes	TeRah Edwards	Jamal Woods	Ezekiel Holmes

Bret Bielema has brought Wisconsin's 3-4 defensive system with him to Illinois, which means three down linemen + one OLB who is more of a passrusher. The Illini had a very respectable defensive front a year ago, but heavy losses have sapped it of some stars (Owen Carney and Roderick Perry) and knocked the Illini down the ranking to #7. They return Jer'Zhan "Johnny" Newton, who was middling last season in PFF's grading but was only in his second year in the program. With 3 sacks to his name in 2021, it's reasonable to think Newton could take a step forward. Keith Randolph Jr. is the other returning starter at the other down lineman "DE" spot, and he was rock solid per PFF's numbers. 

Where Illinois is needing to rebuild their defense is at nose tackle, where Calvin Avery would appear to be a shaky first-time starter after getting 201 snaps a year ago, and EDGE, where Seth Coleman would be in line to try and replace Carney's 6.5 sacks. PFF liked Coleman last season, but he will be going from rotational to a true starter, which is a jump for a young player. Ezekiel Holmes played a limited role last season but can provide support if needed. The depth as a whole is pretty thin. Jamal Woods would seem to be the first up on the true DL with 158 snaps to his name, while Bryce Barnes and TeRah Edwards are very inexperienced, the latter being a transfer from Northwestern. 

I think this group has some potential. Randolph, Coleman, and Newton are all on the younger side of things and I think it's reasonable to believe they could improve, while Avery, a 2018 recruit, may be closer to a finished product. There's a bit of projection going on here and no obvious star, but I like the star potential more than I do with Rutgers, which gives Illinois the nod. 

 

[Patrick Barron]

5. Penn State 

DE	NT	DT	DE
Adisa Isaac	PJ Mustipher	Coziah Izzard	Nick Tarburton
Smith Vilbert	Dvon Ellies	Hakeem Beamon	Chop Robinson

PSU's defensive line is, in some ways, like looking into a mirror at Michigan's situation, although (for reasons I'll explain later) I like Michigan's depth a bit more. The reason I bring up the comparison, though, is that both teams lose their two star edge rushers, with PSU losing Arnold Ebiketie and Jesse Luketa, both being pretty significant losses. How they will plug those holes is a bit of an open question. Adisa Isaac is the highest upside option, a former blue chipper who was everyone's pick to be the breakout player of the defense last year when he ripped up his Achilles before week one (Ojabo parallels too!). If he can be back to 100%, Isaac has the best potential, whereas Nick Tarburton is a decent run defender but isn't going to give you much pass rush. Beyond that, Smith Vilbert had some moments in the Outback Bowl, and Demeioun "Chop" Robinson was a blue chip TR FR at Maryland last fall before bailing for PSU. How far he can come along in Year #2 at a new program is to be determined. 

At defensive tackle, Penn State gets the return of PJ Mustipher, and that's nothing to scoff at. Mustipher is a legit Dude, a super important piece of PSU's run defense and his absence was sorely missed in that Illinois 9OT-2Point-fest game after a mid-season injury. Mustipher's injury highlighted the very real depth problems at defensive tackle, as both Dvon Ellies and Coziah Izzard were major eyesores, and Hakeem Beamon couldn't even see the field during a mysterious RS season. Getting Mustipher back is huge, and he's a likely star on this DL, but the DTs have real questions outside of him. 

In totality, PSU boasts a defensive line with a pretty wide range of outcomes in my view. There's a scenario where, say, Robinson and Isaac both pop and when combined with Mustipher, the PSU DL is top notch. But there's also a scenario where the edge rushers are just guys, Mustipher is good but still feeling the effects of the injury, and the other defensive tackles are terrible again, in which case PSU's DL could be a real weakness. Trying to get a feel for the range outcomes made me more or less split the difference and put the Nittany Lions smack dab in the middle here at #5. 

 

4. Nebraska 

DE	NT	DT	EDGE/OLB
Caleb Tannor	Ty Robinson	Devin Drew	Garrett Nelson
Ochaun Mathis	Stephon Wynn Jr.	Nash Hutmacher	Jimari Butler

I was a big fan of the Husker DL last season and unfortunately the two key cogs of that unit have exited the program in Damion Daniels and Ben Stille. Don't fear, though! Scott Frost has more transfers coming down the pike here at Transfer U. The returning talent is decent at the edges, where Caleb Tannor is just a guy but Garrett Nelson feels like a rising star. Nelson plays the stand up OLB/EDGE position and he racked up 5 sacks and 6.5 TFL last season. With another year of seasoning, Nelson should find his way on to the All-B1G team. Tannor at the other edge spot has a better feel for the all-around profile of the position, but if the Huskers want pure pass rush, Ochaun Mathis is a hell of an option, a transfer from TCU. Mathis was 2nd Team All-Big 12 last season with a stat line boasting 4 sacks and 7 TFL. This combination of options gives Nebraska one of the best edge setups in the conference, in my opinion. 

I have more questions on the interior, though, where the loss of Stille and Daniels will really hurt. Ty Robinson was bad last season for the Huskers, even though his recruiting ranking indicates he should be better, and though Devin Drew got good marks from PFF at Texas Tech, he's joining a new program. The same can be said for backup Stephon Wynn Jr., arriving from Alabama, while Nash Hutmacher played just 26 snaps last season. The coaching staff will need to make this group gel. There are reasons to believe it could be pretty solid, but they need improvement from Robinson and to integrate fresh faces at this positional group. 

Still, with the strength of the edges and the likelihood that Drew and/or Wynn are at least decent transfer pickups, Nebraska ranks pretty highly on my list. I debated between them and PSU, but for now, the experience and fewer question marks/range of outcomes gave Big Red a small nod. 

 

[Patrick Barron]

3. Ohio State 

DE	DT	NT	JACK/"LEO"
JT Tuimoloa	Tyleik Williams	Taron Vincent	Zach Harrison
Javontae Jean-Baptiste	Ty Hamilton	Jarron Cage	Jack Sawyer

Speaking of a range of outcomes, Ohio State! The Buckeyes I could see ranking as high as #1 by the end of the season because, well, it's Ohio State. They have talent pouring out their ears and if they figure out how to unlock that talent and integrate it into a new scheme, they could shoot up the list. But I also can't rank them at the top right now based on what I saw from them at times last season, considering it's mostly the same guys... and the two who depart were their best tackle (Haskell Garrett) and best edge (Tyreke Smith) in your author's charting. 

But talent, yeah, it's here. The four edge positions are inhabited by three former 5* talents and one former 4*. Zach Harrison hasn't really become the monster he was expected to be, but he's a very solid player. What's interesting is that it seems like he may get the first attempt at playing Jim Knowles' "LEO" hybrid edge. We'll see how long that lasts. Worst case scenario is that OSU abandons it and just lets hyper athletic edge rushers rush the QB. The other edge spot sees the ascension of JT Tuimoloa, a top five national prospect in the 2021 class who I felt was extremely disappointing when I saw him last fall, but again, true freshman. It's very early. Jack Sawyer was also a top five prospect in that same class and I liked him quite a bit more. Both seem like obvious breakout candidates, while Javontae Jean-Baptiste is still around and still mostly a guy. Fine to put him in the rotational mix. 

The defensive tackles have a pair of veterans at nose tackle in Taron Vincent and Jarron Cage, and a pair of youngsters at DT in Tyleik Williams and Ty Hamilton. Everyone here has recruiting stars o'plenty in their past, so there's a lot for Knowles to work with. And as a whole, they were pretty decent last season... that is until they got paved off the road by Michigan's offensive line in The Game. Which, like OL, is sorta the enigma here. I like OSU's talent, and with competent coaching, I think they should move back to near the top spot. But they have to earn that, and I can't rank them higher than two teams who fared far better against Michigan's between the tackles running game a year ago (also teams who got an ounce of pass rush). So the Buckeyes sit at #3 right now. 

 

2. Michigan State 

DE	DT	DT	DE
Brandon Wright	Jacob Slade	Simeon Barrow	Khris Bogle
Jeff Pietrowski	Jalen Hunt	Maverick Hansen	Itayvion Brown

I love Michigan State's defensive tackles but am more iffy on their defensive ends. The headliner of this group is Jacob Slade, who was a monster in the middle of the line a year ago, giving Michigan's guards all kinds of problems, a big part of MSU's victory in the rivalry game. What really helps MSU is the fact they have a glut of options at that position, even if no one is anywhere close to as good as Slade is. Simeon Barrow is a quality starter, and then a mix of Jalen Hunt, Maverick Hansen, and Deshaun Mallory, who I didn't even have room to list here, provides probably the deepest collection of DTs in the conference. Mark Dantonio left the program in a pretty rough place, but even his late stage years couldn't fully destroy the assembly line of feisty DTs that East Lansing produces. 

That situation on the interior gives MSU a very high floor, but defensive end is a bit more of a muddled picture. Right now some depth charts have Brandon Wright ahead of Jeff Pietrowski, which is surprising. Pietrowski was essentially a starter last year and a pretty damn good one in fact. If Wright, a converted RB who they like as a speed rushing option, is ahead of him, that's a pretty good sign. Khris Bogle on the other side of the line comes over as a transfer from Florida after being a rotational piece in Gainesville with mediocre marks from PFF. Itayvion Brown made the positional switch from LB and is the projected backup, but if I had to name an area of weakness on the DL, it would pretty clearly be at this edge spot.  

Overall, though, MSU ranks near the top because they can offer a star DT, a quality starter next to him, and then infinite depth at that position, as well as a half-returning starter who was quality at EDGE, a transfer EDGE who was a rotational piece at an SEC school, and intriguing upside plays. It's not a perfect line and I wonder if they may struggle to generate pass rush against elite OLs, but against most teams, the Spartan defensive line should win the day. 

 

[Bryan Fuller]

1. Iowa 

DE	DT	DT	DE
John Waggoner	Noah Shannon	Logan Lee	Joe Evans
Ethan Hurkett	Lukas Van Ness	Yaha Black	Dontae Craig

The Hawkeyes surprisingly find themselves in the pole position of this list, and it's mostly because of depth and experience over star power. Though they do lose a DE starter in Zach VanValkenburg, the Hawkeyes return a full DE starter (John Waggoner) and a half-starter in Joe Evans, as well as four defensive tackles who played at least 330 snaps last season, and no one in this group profiles as an obvious weakness. Having a laundry list of bodies who can give you quality snaps is a pretty nice luxury and it's what lands Iowa #1. 

Noah Shannon and Logan Lee project as impact defensive tackles in the middle of the defense, Waggoner is a decent edge guy and Joe Evans was pretty good last season. I'd bet on the latter being a potential dangerman on the defense, and like with MSU, the sheer depth at defensive tackle, where every contributor returns, is impactful. The same can be said for the return of Dontae Craig, a respectable rotational piece at defensive end.

There is not a ton of flash here, but Iowa's steadiness and statistical profile last season speaks for itself. The Hawkeyes were 13th best nationally in rushing yards allowed per game last season (best of any team on Michigan's schedule this fall) and they return nearly everyone from that defensive line. The B1G Championship Game tape revealed a similar story, as Michigan really got two key plays on the ground outside the tackles (one to Corum and one to Henning), and otherwise they were well under 4 yards per carry against Iowa. That's because the Hawkeyes are legit in the defensive trenches, which puts them at #1. 

 

[Marc-Gregor Campredon]

Where would Michigan rank?

I would put Michigan somewhere in the 3-4 range I think? The Wolverines definitely have some questions to answer on the defensive line, but that's only natural when you graduate two first round caliber pass rushing talents. I do really like the defensive tackle potential, with Mazi Smith being a possible Dude and Kris Jenkins being everyone's pick as a breakout player. That could be one of the best interior tandems in the conference, hands down. And I also think Mike Morris should be a quality B1G starter, although probably not a pass rushing extraordinaire. I think the combination of him + the defensive tackles means Michigan should have one of the league's best run defenses, but I definitely wonder about drop off in the pass rush. Indeed, that's really the biggest question on the team. There are plenty of talented options between Braiden McGregor and Derrick Moore and Jaylen Harrell, etc, but no obvious answer. 

I think Michigan slots ahead of PSU because the questions are similar between the two teams at EDGE, but Michigan's tandem of DTs are better. Compared to Nebraska, I think it's close, with Michigan getting the nod inside and Nebraska with the much better pass rush outside. Similar story to Ohio State, where the Buckeyes have considerably more talent and pass rushing upside, but also questions as well. Somewhere in that range feels fitting to me, but there is a range of outcomes and higher potential possible.