1. Grimes is a 2022 breakout candidate who has a sky-high ceiling. Void in ONT. TreVius Hodges-Tomlinson, TCU Horned Frogs. The Bayou Bengals will have arguably the most talented secondary in the SEC this fall, but will need to improve after finishing dead last in the FBS in passing yards allowed. No analysis available. His physique and length can really throw off receivers at the line and negate easy access to the inside. College Football: Ranking the top 25 cornerbacks ahead of Week 10 Columbia, Missouri, USA; Missouri Tigers running back Larry Rountree III (34) is tackled by LSU Tigers cornerback Derek Stingley Jr. (24) during the first half at Faurot Field at Memorial Stadium. Bryant also had four solo tackles apiece against Memphis and Tulsa. Penn States Joey Porter, Jr. had 17 pass breakups in his college career. GP. Neither Drafttek.com or www.drafttek.com are affiliated in any manner "We didn't hear Texada's name called much last year, which is a terrific sign for an outside cornerback," Treash wrote. Last year, he had five PBUs. CORNERBACKS. Marshall opened his 2021 true freshman campaign with a couple of rough outings, but he played at an advanced level after those were out of the way. *Shaun Wade 6-0, 194 Ohio State 2. 24. His man-coverage grade ranked first among all Power Five cornerbacks in 2020. Will Shipley, Clemson Kobe Pace and Lyn-J Dixon are likely to occupy the top two spots on the depth chart for the Tigers. The 2021 season will be Texada's fifth with the Bears, making him one of the most veteran cornerbacks in the entire Big 12 Conference. Before his time at Cincinnati, Gardner was a 247Sports Composite three-star recruit out of Detroit, Michigan. Booth hauled in an interception and broke up two passes against Virginia. He had three interceptions and six passes defended. These are not NFL Draft rankings, but rather focus on the best players in college football. Oregon States Rejzohn Wright has excellent size and awareness and could be a great investment in later rounds. The 6-foot-2, 185-pound corner logged over 400 coverage snaps last season and didnt allow a single touchdown while intercepting one and breaking up seven others. Chase Lucas, Arizona State: He generated 15 tackles and broke up five passes in four games and earned second-team All-Pac-12 honors for the Sun Devils last season. If healthy, hes undoubtedly among the best at the position. with the National Football League. NFL Draft prospects: Ranking cornerbacks heading into the 2023 NFL Draft. Hudson Clark, Arkansas: He had no stars next to his name out of high school and began his collegiate career as a walk-on. The 5-foot-10, 176-pounder snagged an interception the following week against Maryland. With Greg Schiano on the sidelines in year two, expect Rutgers to continue improving, especially in the secondary. These power rankings are adjusted based on coach, quarterback and the market each season. He has fantastic eyes in this defense, and his four interceptions, six pass breakups and seven passing stops from this past season back that up. Steele and Isaac Taylor-Stuart, gives USC a solid duo at corner, plus both were former five-star recruits. Yes. Brandon Crossley, SMU:The Dallas native recorded 21 tackles, intercepted four passes and broke up five more for the Mustangs last season. He was able to display his awareness in coverage last season and now hell be counted on again in 2022. Even if he does allow some separation momentarily, his make-up burst to close down that distance is freaky. If fully healthy, Duck has star potential. In that 2020 season, Ricks was tasked with a high dose of man coverage and handled it like a pro. Theres nothing like taking away an opposing teams top receiver and force them to alter their game plan. He was also the No. Unlock all tools and content including Player Grades, Fantasy, NFL Draft, Premium Stats, Greenline and DFS. Now a month into the 2022 college football season, I decided it was time to rank the five best players for each position at this very moment. A college football website covering the power five conferences, Indiana's Tiawan Mullen after a 38-31 victory over Nebraska, Saturday October 26, 2019 at Memorial Stadium. (with WWEs Corey Graves). 5. Clark played one season at Liberty, then transferred to Louisville and has played well in all three years of his college football career. The Big-12 has two players ranked, while the Big 10, ACC, and Pac-12 each have one player ranked. Thats not even half of that entire groups average.". These 2022 college football recruiting rankings have been compiled after sifting through well over 2,000 names and even more video clips and highlight reels of the best high school football players in the country. Oregon has one of the top cornerback duos in college football, and arguably the best secondary in the nation, so it's no surprise one of their cornerbacks made it onto my list. Jarron Morris, Texas State: Last season he tied for first on the team with 69 total tackles, to go along with four interceptions and he broke up 11 passes. He had seven total tackles, including four solo against Ohio State. During his freshman season in 2019, Stingley recorded 38 tackles, 15 pass breakups, and six interceptions. Avery tallied seven tackles, including one for loss and an interception in the opening win over Michigan State. Did Steph Curry cook up the best Game 7 performance ever? Avery had four solo tackles apiece against Purdue and Nebraska. "The Tigers deployed a healthy dose of man coverage last season, and unlike most first-year corners in the SEC, Ricks handled it like a pro," Treash wrote. McCreary tallied three solo tackles, forced a fumble and picked off a pass in the opening win over Kentucky. He was also the No. The former four-star prospect picked off two passes against rival Michigan State. Patrick Surtain II, JR, Alabama. Coming off an 11-interception season during the 2021 NFL season expectations were set high for Diggs entering the 2022 NFL season. The Cincinnati Bengals snatched up Chase Brown Stay Alive in Power 5 | 2020 All rights reserved. Marshall didnt record a penalty in that span, nor did he allow any of his eight deep targets to be caught. Hodges-Tomlinson has improved each season and if he continues that trend, he will rise up this list. Press Esc to cancel. After being the third corner behind Ahmad Gardner and Coby Bryant in 2021, Bush is now the leader in the secondary. Stroud earned a 92.2 PFF grade in 2021, tying with Bryce Young, and he was the seventh-highest-graded player at the position this past season. The Georgia native had an interception against Massachusetts and Coastal Carolina. Houston Texans land two of the top six prospects on PFF's big board: . The Mississippi native recorded a season-high, eight total tackles against Auburn. 51 overall recruit was the highest-graded outside corner in the country. 20. Its quite clear he already has an excellent feel for the position and could be the first Thorpe Award winner from Alabama since star safety, Ringo was the No. 5 overall and coming back to get Ohio State wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Ngjiba at No. 12 ranked cornerback in the recruiting class of 2019. Clarks only interception of the year came in the win over Syracuse. with the 36th pick in the second round of the 2021 NFL . Turner will have his hands full in the Big Ten against some good receivers, but he is a solid player in his own right. "He has allowed more than 40 receiving yards into his coverage just once in his entire career removing the games with just a few snaps played and looking at those with a minimum of 15 coverage snaps, Mullen has allowed fewer than 40 yards in 94% of his games, which is the best rate among qualifying FBS cornerbacks over the past two years.". Emmanuel Forbes from Mississippi State Team. 17. LSU brings in just one freshman cornerback to the . Not to mention the six-foot-one, 195-pounder had four solo tackles apiece against Missouri and Auburn. Call (800) 327-5050 or visit gamblinghelpline.ma.org (MA), Call 877-8-HOPENY/text HOPENY (467369) (NY). He earned first-team All-Big Ten honors. The 5-foot-10, 175-pounder has inside-outside versatility and is a ferocious blitzer. In all, he gave up only 15 catches on 32 targets for the entire season. Last season Clark generated 36 tackles and broke up 10 passes in 10 games. The third-best cornerback on the PFF big board, Banks can fly and clocked a 4.35-second 40-yard dash at the NFL . He had 49 total tackles, one interception and two passes defended. The top safety prospect in this year's draft is Trevon Moehrig a free safety with good ball instincts (7 career interceptions which is the most amongst active . Not to mention Canteen generated four solo tackles and picked off two passes in the win over Troy. The 2020 JUCO product even earned a 97.8 PFF grade in single coverage this past year the highest mark in the country by more than five grading points. As such, there's no better time to dive into early position rankings of the top returning players in college football. He was targeted 13 times over those two games, but he allowed just four catches for 31 yards while forcing five incompletions.". 6-4. Follow Walter @walterfootball for . 35 Overall. The Alabama native racked up eight total tackles and broke up two passes against Mississippi State. 16. Darrell Luter Jr., South Alabama Jaguars. Another guy who has really stood out in that spot this season is Garrett Williams. Phillips took a massive step forward midway through his 2021 campaign. PFF's exclusive metrics provide matchup previews, position rankings, grades, and snap counts. He earned a 76.1 coverage grade while allowing 0.68 yards per coverage snap in 2021. 2020 Stats: 1 INT, 1 FF, 40 SOLO. Get the fastest scores, stats, news, LIVE videos, and more. Should the Celtics Be Worrying About Jayson Tatum? Before playing for the Crimson Tide, Jobe was a 247Sports Composite four-star recruit out of Cheshire, Connecticut. In 2022, DeBerry is heading into his fourth season. Before his time at Baylor, Texada was a 247Sports Composite three-star recruit out of Frisco, Texas. The Wolverines' All-American kicker cemented his legacy after he got snatched up in the third round Friday night. He came up with the game-sealing pick-six against the Alabama Crimson Tide in that national title game. 1) Patrick Surtain II, Alabama Funny enough that a lot of the best cornerbacks in this class are legacy players with dad's who made a big impact in the NFL. The Ohio native generated six solo stops at SMU. Yes. Tre Avery, Rutgers: The former Ohio State recruit broke up a pass in seven of the Scarlet Knights first eight games last season. He was also the No. Hodges-Tomlinson, whos the nephew of TCU legend LaDainian, finished last season with first-team All-Big 12 and second-team AP All-America honors. "We only got to see two games from Duck in 2020 because of injury. Jared Carrabis, Dallas Braden and the guys from Baseball Is Dead are joined by WWE announcer Corey Graves to talk about the Pirates, wrestling crowds and more. The 2019 four-star recruit allowed the fourth-lowest catch rate in the Power Five over that span at 42%. Before his injury-riddled 2021 campaign, Ricks produced at an extraordinarily high level for a true freshman. He had four interceptions and 10 passes defended in 2021. Best Bets Tool. On such reps, he allowed just five catches from 20 targets for 56 yards. He makes sure to somehow get the ball carrier to the ground, where he can wrap around the knees or clutch a leg. Darrell Luters name should be in any conversation about the most underrated player in college football. Chestnut was a freshman starter for the Orange and registered three interceptions and eight passes defended. His press performance wasan area of focus for Elamthis past offseason, and its safe to say the hard work paid off.". 20. Hell want to regain his form, as Indiana is in search of a bounce back season in 2022. Ringo did a good job of sticking with his receiver by allowing only two of his 36 targets in single coverage to have separation (seventh-lowest rate in the Power Five). 14 ranked cornerback in the recruiting class of 2018. McDuffie didn't have a chance to stuff the stat sheet in 2020 because of the Pac-12's shortened schedule due to the COVID-19 pandemic. He also had three solo tackles against Oklahoma. Now entering his junior season at LSU, Stingley has put together back-to-back impressive seasons with the Tigers. It might be jerseys or whatever, but this is the biggest corner Ive ever seen. Hes going to challenge TCUs TreVius Hodges-Tomlinson for best cornerback in the Big 12 in 2021.". 116 ranked cornerback in the recruiting class of 2019. PFF's exclusive metrics provide matchup previews, position rankings, grades, and snap counts. Now, did he make some mistakes this past season? He was also the No. In his last matchup McCreary snagged an interception and broke up two passes in the victory at Mississippi State. These power rankings are adjusted based on coach, quarterback and the market each season. The Giants added to their depth in the defensive backfield on Saturday, selecting cornerback Tre Hawkins in the sixth round . When Stevenson was left on an island, he almost always came out on top. QB | RB | WR | TE | iOL | OT | DI | EDGE | LB | CB | S. Mullens 2021 campaign was derailed by an injury, limiting him to only four starts and 227 snaps overall. He has earned an 83.5 coverage grade since 2020 with zero catches allowed in 10 of his games played. All defensive backs are in man coverage except for the free safety who is responsible for the deep middle of the field. He tallied four solo tackles in the opener against Coastal Carolina. Coaches put them out on an island because they are the most trusted defenders on the field. College Footballs 20 best cornerbacks of 2021, Sydney Brown adding versatility to reigning NFC Champs defense, Iowa bolsters pipeline after having four players taken in 2023 NFL Draft, Jake Moody sets record for highest Michigan kicker ever drafted, Tuli Tuipulotu bringing pain and intensity to the Los Angeles Chargers, Chase Brown sets another milestone after becoming day three draft pick. As such, there's no better time to dive into early position rankings of the top returning players in college football. Alabama plucked college football's top returning cornerback out of the transfer portal in Eli Ricks, who comes from LSU. When talking about play-makers at the cornerback spot, Riley Moss at Iowa has been as good at it as anybody since the start of the 2021 college football season. The 5-foot-10, 165-pounder followed up that performance with nine total tackles, including six solo, against Boston College. Cincinnati made the College Football Playoff last season and Bush was a contributor. He was also the No. However, keeping Shipley - a five-star prospect in the 2021 signing . Gambling Problem? The 2020 JUCO product even earned a 97.8 PFF grade in single coverage this past year the highest mark in the country by more than five grading points. 21+ (18+ NH/WY). Hell likely be an early favorite for the Jim Thorpe Award. In terms of total ball-production, Joey Porter Jr. is right up there at the top of the list for the Penn State Nittany Lions. These 20 defenders displayed what it takes to be a successful corner in big time College football last season and theyll be out to get their hands on more balls in 2021. He was also the No. DJordan Strong, Coastal Carolina: The Mississippi native recorded 30 tackles, broke up seven passes and snagged five interceptions last season. Zone coverage in which two CBs cover one third of the field (each on the outside) while the FS mans the middle third. (Lynn Harrington/stayaliveinpower5) Coaches put them out on an island because they are the most trusted defenders on the field. He has plenty of experience, but had just one interception and one pass defended in 2021. He pretty much picked up right where Jaycee Horn left off in 2021, as he picked off three passes, broke up 11 more and finished with an 89.7 PFF coverage grade. The college football season is approaching. These 2022 college football recruiting rankings have been compiled after sifting through well over 2,000 names and even more video clips and highlight reels of the best high school football players in the country. 6 ranked cornerback and No. The six-foot, 180-pounder generated seven total tackles, broke up two passes and snagged two interceptions in the blowout victory. Jay Ward, LSU: The Georgia native racked up 29 tackles, blocked a kick, intercepted three passes and broke up six more for the Bayou Bengals last season. After landing Stingley Jr. in the 2019 class, LSU landed another top cornerback in last year's recruiting class. In that 2020 season, Ricks was tasked with a high dose of man coverage and handled it like a professional, as his man-coverage grade ranked first among all Power Five cornerbacks in 2020. 1. Ricks' physicality at the line of scrimmage and catch point makes him a difficult cornerback to beat outright. Over his last four games, in particular, the 5-foot-11, 193-pound cornerback didnt allow a single yard while intercepting one pass and breaking up two others. McMillan followed up that performance with an additional five solo stops and an interception at Georgia State.The 5-foot-10, 161-pounder also picked off a pass against Tulane. Trent McDuffie, Washington: In just four games last season he recorded 14 tackles, forced a fumble, picked off a pass and earned second-team All-Pac-12 honors for the Huskies. #15. The 2019 No. Darrell Luters name should be in any conversation about the most underrated player in college football. His name is familiar and Porter brings the physicality that his dad brought to the football field. However, Taylor-Britt is the best playmaker out of the Blackshirts, who also returns kicks and earned second-team All-Big Ten honors last season. Now he heads into the 2022 season hoping to lead the Hurricanes to an ACC title. Life is a bit easier for a cornerback when playing for one of the best front sevens college football has ever seen, as Ringo did in 2021, but he more than proved to be a talented player with a high ceiling. He finished the year with four interceptions and five passes defended. Our exclusive database, featuring the most in-depth collection of NCAA player performance data. 18. This is where the aforementioned Kelee Ringo finally comes up. His 80.7 coverage grade from Week 8 on was the third-best among Power Five outside corners. 8 Florida State 143.07. ), Rankings&Projections |WR/CB Matchup Chart |NFL & NCAA Betting Dashboards | NFL Player Props Tool | NFL & NCAA Power Rankings With some departures from the program, Bernard-Converses presence means a lot for the Tigers in 2022. Not to mention he was named the leagues Newcomer of the Year and earned first-team All-Sun Belt honors. "The 5-foot-11, 195-pound cornerback has earned an impressive 88.3 coverage grade in his collegiate career," Treash wrote. Two of the top three corners happen to play on the same team. Smith learned a lot from former Gamecock Jaycee Horn. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Type above and press Enter to search. South Carolina Corner Cam Smith really took off last year and exploded onto the scene with 11 pass breakups. 14. Clark Phillips III (true soph) has been one of the top DBs out west in the second half of the season. The Virginia native had five solo tackles at Pittsburgh and four on the road at Florida State. Luter missed the final two outings due to injury, but we wont let that take away from what he did in 10 games as a starter. TreVius Hodges-Tomlinson, TCU: Despite the loss of two star players to the NFL, the Horned Frogs will boast one of the best secondaries in the Big 12 this fall. Here's a look at 25 of the top defensive players heading into the 2021 college football season. When a defensive player deflects or 'breaks up' a pass (statistic). If he bounces back from his foot injury, he'll be back in the mix as one of the top players at his position in the country. Now, did he make some mistakes this past season? The 5-foot-10, 185-pound corner has some legit bounce and quicks. Andrew Booth, Clemson: The former five-star prospect proved his value to the Tigers defense last season and finished with second-team All-ACC honors. (with WWEs Corey Graves), Tyrese Maxey playing through knee injury in Game 1 vs. Celtics Monday, Players you can drop in fantasy baseball for Week 6 of 2023 MLB season, MLB lineups for Monday, May 1: Whos starting, whos sitting, Starting pitcher streamer rankings for fantasy baseball for Tuesday, May 2, Full field for 2023 Wells Fargo Championship, Comcast drops NFL Network and NFL RedZone from cable packages. Although Prunty is currently in the transfer portal, theres no denying he was one of the Big 12s most underrated corners. 4 overall recruit in the 2020 class. Joey Porter Jr., Penn State Nittany Lions. Surtain is the surest thing at corner in this year's class. Strong started off on fire, with four solo tackles, including one for loss and forced a fumble in the win over Kansas. Roger McCreary, Auburn: He played in 10 games last season and finished with 45 tackles, plus three interceptions. Avery also earned third-team All-Big Ten honors, which is not too shabby for a former three-star prospect. The California native generated five tackles and picked off a pass in the win at Utah. Derek Stingley Jr., LSU: The former five-star prospect is arguably one of the best cover corners in the SEC. In his entire career with Alabama, Jobe has made 91 tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss, two sacks, two forced fumbles, 15 pass breakups, and one interception. Before he was a Tar Heel, Duck was a 247Sports Composite three-star recruit out of Boiling Springs, South Carolina. The six-foot-two, 196-pounder ended his true freshman campaign with Freshman All-SEC and third-team AP All-America honors. Stanford has struggled the last few seasons, but Kelly is a bright spot. He has five interceptions and 13 passes defended over the last two seasons. *Paulson Adebo 6-1, 190. Turner has just one season of playing at Michigan, but he proved to be valuable on their CFP run. He has proven to be the best corner returning to the ACC and has the skill set to make the leap to even higher levels of play in 2022. Below are PFFs picks for the top-25 cornerbacks entering the 2022 college football season along with some superlatives at the end, including the biggest projections and sleepers. McMillan is dynamic and tallied 33 tackles and three interceptions. Sometimes called cover 4, is similar to cover 3 except each CB has an outside quarter and each safety has an inside quarter. That puts him in the company of several stars, including 2022 first-round picks Derek Stingley Jr., Kaiir Elam and Trent McDuffie and NFL talents Adoree Jackson, Carlton Davis and Patrick Surtain II. For clarification, these lists are based on where these young men are today as college football players. While South Carolina has a lot to figure out, they know what Smith brings to the table. Jobe will enter his senior year in 2021 for the Crimson Tide. Alabama and. The two-time All-Big Ten rusher became the last Illinois player to be selected in the 2023 NFL Draft. 48 ranked overall player in the recruiting class of 2019. 5 Notre Dame 174.38. ET on Thursday. Especially considering how well hes played for an otherwise so-so South Carolina Gamecocks team. (Note: This has nothing to do with pro potential.). But the 2022 NFL Draft deadline is approaching for those who are eligible, so we now know who among college footballs top talents will be leaving and returning for this season. One of his interceptions was returned for a touchdown. ), Alabama plucked the top cornerback returning to college football out of the transfer portal in Eli Ricks, who comes from, Ricks' physicality at the line of scrimmage and catch point make him a difficult cornerback to beat outright. He has the length and strength to give wide receivers a problem at the line at 6-foot-2 and 205-pounds but also rare long speed for that size. He was even ejected for targeting against Minnesota. You just love his play-making skills as the flat defender in cover-two, where he can sink and get his hands on passes over his head. Luter missed the final two outings due to injury, but we wont let that take away from what he did in 10 games as a starter. Before LSU, Ricks was a 247Sports Composite five-star recruit out of Rancho Cucamonga, California. With the 2021 college football season right around the corner,. Taylor-Britt had four solo tackles and an interception in the home win over Penn State. Some FCS games are graded after the season has completed to provide additional data for draft prospects of interest. Eligibility restrictions apply. Before his commitment to Florida, Elam was a 247Sports Composite four-star recruit out of North Palm Beach, Florida. Browns 2021 man-coverage grade ranked seventh among all FBS corners. The Eagles' defense was shredded by Patrick Mahomes Iowa had the same amount of players drafted through the first three rounds as Ohio State, Michigan and Penn State. Additional 2020 college football recruiting links: 2020 College Football Recruiting Tracker and Grades, 2020 College Football Top Recruiting Classes, $$ Pure WalterFootball with no advertisements for $7.99 a month. Linebacker U The . Alexander had 17 pass breakups and 1.4 wins above replacement which is the highest among all cornerbacks in 2020. jaire.alexander.coverage. Godspeed to the SEC wide receivers facing these two next year. Subscribe to PFF+ to unlock Sign Up In back-to-back games against Syracuse and Boston College Booth had five tackles apiece. Marshall opened his 2021 true freshman campaign with a couple of rough outings, but he played at an advanced level after those were out of the way. He had nine passes defended and three interceptions in 2021. Hell be a great addition to the Huskies. He finished the year with one interception and four passes defended. 2020 College Football Top Recruiting Classes . Prunty has great range, standing six-foot-one, and weighing 185 pounds. Stingley tallied six total tackles, including five solo in the road win at Vanderbilt. The six-foot-one, 190-pounder finished 2020 with second-team All-Pac-12 honors. 1. He has the length and strength to give wide receivers a problem at the line at 6-foot-2 and 205-pounds but also rare long speed for that size. "Duck finished his first season with an 81.3 coverage grade, a top-20 mark in the Power Five and one of the 15 best we have ever given to a true freshman in our seven years of grading college football," Treash wrote. We are on to the 2022 season, where teams across the country will compete for a chance to play for the College Football Playoff National Championship at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, Calif. Theres still a lot to be figured out between now and then with team rosters and depth charts the transfer portal deadline is months away.