Getting to the defensive backs. The top two All B1G teams have moved on, so lots of new people this year. This might be it. Not sure I'll do special teams (hope Tressel didn't hear that). Just listing the top four guys - the way teams play, it can be difficult to call guys only corners or only safeties anymore, and some teams play two safety looks and some play one safety.
14. Maryland: Lavonte Gater, Deonte Banks, Jordan Mosley, Nick Cross
Maryland is in rough shape. Their passing defense was dead last in the B1G in 2019. They up the most passing plays of 10+ yards in the league. A safety led them in tackles, Antoine Brooks, and he's gone. Deon Jones was a highly rated recruit who played, he transferred to Boston College. Bother their starting corners were seniors. I suppose the good thing is they did get the young guys some playing time so it won't be a complete shock for them this year. The safeties will probably be ok. Nick Cross was honorable mention B1G last year, and Antwaine Richardson redshirted after an injury and provides a veteran presence. When you're last, I suppose there is no where to go but up.
13: Rutgers: Tre Avery, Christian Izien, Lawrence Stevens, Avery Young
When in doubt on who is bad, go with Rutgers. A lot of teams that were pretty porous on defense return a lot of their secondary and aren't in bad shape. Rutgers played a healthy number of young DB's last year and only lose one senior in Damon Hayes, so experience is good. They may even have a talent infusion, as Brendon White is a transfer from Ohio State. I didn't include him as a starter because I'm a littlle unclear on his eligibility status. Sites seem to assume he is playing this year, but I think he needs a waiver. In any event, he's a former top 150 recruit who started for OSU when Schiano was the DC, and was the Rose Bowl MVP, but couldn't get on the field when OSU switched to a single safety look. He is a pretty good player who will add a lot if he's eligible this year. So Rutgers is in pretty good shape, but they are still Rutgers, which is why they land here.
12. Michigan State: Shakur Brown, Julian Barnett, Xavier Henderson, Tre Person
Like everything else Sparty, we are getting a lot of turnover here. While you could count on Dantonio rolling out an NFL corner every year, I'm stuck not sure what expect from them this year. They did lose some key guys, namely Josiah Scott, who was drafted by the Jaguars. They also lost long time contributors David Dowell and Josh Butler. The cupboard isn't bare, and Mel Tucker has some options on the back end. Xavier Henderson returns as a starting safety and was the team's second leading tackler last year. Julian Barnett was a top 100 recruit a couple years ago who played mostly receiver last year, but is likely to be a corner this year. Brown played a lot last year and seems entrenched as a starting corner. So...hey, it's a bunch of new guys and new coaches and no spring ball and that lands Sparty pretty low, as a lot of other teams are returning a lot of guys.
11. Purdue: Dedrick Mackey, Corey Trice, Brennan Thieneman, Cam Allen
Purdue may be low on this list, but they are in pretty good shape on the back end. They lose one starter in Navon Mosley, but otherwise return a lot of guys who have played quite a bit. They have a lot of options at corner - Mackey led the team in interceptions and pass breakups and Trice was honorably mentioned on the B1G team. They also return a couple guys who played last year in Simeon Smiley and Kenneth Major. At safety, they have a crafty vet in Thieneman. They also have a transfer from UConn in Tyler Coyle who I believe is eligible immediately and could give them two experienced seniors on the back end. So Purdue, which has real problems at linebacker, has a lot of options up front and on the back end here, and can hopefully improve quite a bit on their defense. A Purdue that can play some defense will contend in the B1G West.
10. Indiana: Tiawan Mullen, Reese Taylor, Marcelino Ball, Juwan Burgess
The Hoosiers have a definite them going for them, and it's continuity. Yet another position where they return a ton of guys who played last year. They lose one starter in safety and third leading tackler Khalil Bryant. Mullen returns from a great freshman campaign to start at corner, and they return three guys who started a game at the other corner position. They also have a few options of guys who played at safety. The Hoosiers also run a 4-2-5 base defense and call their nickel guy the "Husky," which seems like an odd name for the position but to each their own. Marcelino Ball returns as the Husky. The Hoosiers weren't bad on defense last year (SP+ 43rd) and return almost their entire two deep. They also return a ton of offense. I'm trying to figure out what our expectations should be for them. Their schedule is interesting - they kick off with Wisconsin then take on Western Kentucky, Ball State, UConn, Maryland, and Rutgers. 5-1 would be a breeze and an upset of Wiscy could land the Hoosiers in the top ten before they hit the meat of their schedule.
9. Illinois: Nate Hobbs, Tony Adams, Sydney Brown, Kerby Joseph
Stop me if you heard this before. Illinois returns a lot of experience on the back end - Stanley Green was the only senior last year. Both Brown and Hobbs made honorable mention in the B!G team last year, so what we have here is a pretty solid secondary, at least in theory. Illinois got to a bowl game because they played a little bit of defense last year, but what killed them was giving up long plays. They were next to last in the conference in giving up plays that went for at least 10 and at least 20 yards. The chunk plays killed them, and in theory having this much experience return in the back seven should help with that a lot. In theory, as Illinois never seems to quite live up to the sum of their parts. I have been bearish on Illinois, but Lovie has a pretty decent team returning and we'll see if they can make a step to contending in the B1G West.
8. Nebraska: Cam Taylor-Britt, Dicaprio Bootle, Marquel Dismuke, Deontai Williams
With all the upheaval in the front seven, the Huskers can at least keep calm about this group. While they lose 2nd Team All B1G LAmar Jackson, they return a couple corners with a lot of experience in Taylor-Britt and Bootle. Dismuke is the leading returning tackler on the team (third last year). Deontai Williams would have started for them last year but for injury. They are building depth here, too - I've read that Frost is loathe to burn redshirts, but Noa Pola-Gates was a top 150 recruit who redshirted last year. It wouldn't be surprising if he makes some plays. At least someone better - Nebraska's defense was pretty subpar last year, and they will be playing a lot of new guys. It may be another disappointing year up there.
7. Northwestern: Greg Newsome, Travis Whillock, J.R. Pace, Cameron Ruiz
Another team, another group returning almost entirely intact. Northwestern lost corner Trae Williams, but everyone here has started games. They were pretty good last year - Northwestern does a wonderful job of limiting big plays and making teams earn their paycheck. They could even be higher, though they do have a couple concerns. They like Newsome a lot at corner, but he's battled injury through his time there. That's a concern, because the Cats are a little thin in the secondary. While they have 16 guys total listed in the secondary, fully half are true or redshirt freshmen. Injury situations will quickly put very inexperienced guys into the lineup, so that could be rough. Still, Northwestern will field a rock solid defense yet again, and if the offense bounces back, you have another strong team in the B1G West.
6. Iowa: Jack Koerner, Julius Brents, Matt Hankins, Dane Belton
Iowa has a bit more attrition to deal with than other. They lost Michael Ojemudia and Geno Stone, who both were drafted. Still they do have a lot of returning guys - Koerner was second on the team in tackles, and Belton started a handful of games as a freshman and looks destined to play the CASH position for the Hawkeyes. I love that every team has some weird name for their fifth defensive back. In any event, like Northwestern Iowa is always very solid on defense and very hard to get chunk plays against. They do have some turnover on the defense this year so expect a drawback from last year, though still a pretty solid group.
5. Minnesota: Coney Durr, Benjamin St. Juste, Justus Harris, Jordan Howden
The Gophers turned in a fabulous performance on defense last year, and as noted are dealing with a lot of attrition. The secondary returns a lot, but loses it's most important guy in Antoine Winfield Jr. Whether they can replace him is an open question, but they are very solid at cornerback with Durr and St. Juste. St. Juste is an interesting case, as he was at Michigan, and the rumor was he was going to medically retire. Then he suddenly transferred, landed at Minnesota in June and was starting midway through the season. Now he's one of the better corners in the league. Anyway, having a couple guys who can cover will help the Gophers get the rest of their defense sorted out. I would expect a bit of of a drop off from last year, but not any sort of implosion.
4. Penn State: Tariq Casto-Fields, Donovan Johnson, Lamont Wade, Jaquan Brisker
Where to put PSU? On one hand, they had an elite defense last year (10th by SP+) and they field lots of talented players. OTOH the secondary was...shaky? They were 13th in the conference in giving up passing yardage and near the bottom of the conference in giving up long passing plays. That's a conundrum for me. They lose corner John Reid, a fourth round draft pick, as well as safety Garrett Taylor. Still, they do return a lot of talent and experience, so there isn't any real reason for them to remain shaky in 2020. Lamont Wade was a big time recruit who started last year, and Jaquan Brisker filled in last year as a JUCO transfer. Penn State's defense figures to be awfully good this year, and if the back end cleans up some of those statistics, they could be a real monster.
3. Ohio State: Shaun Wade, Josh Proctor, Cam Brown, Sevyn Banks
Welcome back Kerry Coombs, good luck! Ohio State was lights out in the passing defense last year, with the great pass rush and two first round corners. A big chunk of that pass rush is gone in Chase Young, and Jeff Okudah and Damon Arnette are about to get paid. Long time starting safety Jordan Fuller also headed to the NFL. Oh and by the way two other DB's, Amir Riep and Jahsen Wint got themselves arrested for rape and kicked off the team. So what we have here is definitely the shakiest group on OSU's team. It's good to have a star, though, and OSU did get lucky when Shaun Waded decided to return to school. He covered the slot last year and loves to hit and be physical (too physical, a the Clemson refs determined *sad face*). He will probably play on the outside this year to show he has first round cover skills. Josh Proctor will probably be the safety in OSU's single high looks. The other corners are pretty much just guessing, Brown and Banks were four star types who have gotten a bit of playing time. Also in the mix is five star sophomore Tyreke Johnson. Malik Hooker's little brother MArcus might get some run. All in all, expect more hiccups on the back end than last year.
2. Michigan: Ambry Thomas, Dax Hill, Brad Hawkins, Vincent Gray
Another year, another season of Michigan wrecking like 9 of the teams on their schedule on the defense. The question for Michigan is never will they suffocate the mediocre offenses, it's whether they can handle the good offenses. This year returns a great corner in Ambry Thomas and a reliable safety in Brad Hawkins. Vincent Gray got a lot of run as the third corner, and Lavert Hill leaving means he will get the start. Uber recruit Dax Hill finally has a clear starting spot as Josh Metallus leaves. While Metallus was solid for Michigan, a lot of people know him for being the guy five yards behind an OSU receiver scoring a touchdown. Will an upgrade at athleticism mean they can compete in The Game this year? Finally, the depth here is perhaps shaky - Michigan has a good track record but outside the starters no one has played much of consequence, so who knows what to expect.
1. Wisconsin: Caesar Williams, Faion Hicks, Reggie Pearson, Eric Burrell
Wiscy may lack the star power of the teams behind them, but what they won't lack is experienced, good players. The Badgers return every single player in their secondary, and could field an entire second team of experienced guys who can play. Heck, let's do it. At safety Scott Nelson was the starter until injury, and Collin Wilder played a lot in Wiscy's three safety look. At corner Rachad Wildgoose played in the nickel and was honorable mention in the All B1G team. Deron Harrell started some games before he was passed up by the other guys. With all this experience Jim Leonhard has the ability to do some interesting stuff in coverage, and I expect that Wisconsin's defense will be a really, really tough shell to crack this season.
