Choose your surprise player(s) on Defense for 2019

Posted on: February 18, 2019 at 09:46:21 CT

Tired of the NCAA speculation, and this is a football board after all, so who's going to surprisingly step up and make an impact this coming year? Let's look at it in terms of the 3 levels of the defense:D-line, LB, Secondary.

We have very solid players on the interior up front(especially if a few DEs step up and allow Byers to play inside), but we all know the edge rushers are a question. Did anyone expect Hansford or Jeffcoat to be major contributors their freshman year? I didn't, but this coming year I think it's an expectation that the coaches and players have. I'm thinking Jeffcoat adds the strength required to be a consistent edge player and lead the team with 10+ sacks. However, if the staff moves Parker back to D then I may change my mind on this pick.

I also think that we have some good depth at linebacker, so it's not out of the question for one guy to rise above the others and be a very good player. Garret is the man at MLB, but if Jamal Brooks shows he's versatile enough to replace T. Hall then I think he is the guy to surprise here. He's got great size and showed good explosion when he got on the field. With the depth we have here I feel good about anyone that gets reps with the 1st team.

In the back end, I'm curious if J. Williams (175 lbs) will have the strength to be an every down safety as a true freshman. He's got some time to add strength, but Gillespie showed some ability and got better as the year went on. I think he continues his improvement and becomes the leader back there.