We all know that the offensive players get most of the hype, but this week's Top 10 list is a nod to the biggest impact defenders.
- James Laurinaitis, Ohio State, LB: The heady Buckeye is already a two-time All-American and has won the Nagurski and Butkus awards and probably has more hardware coming this year. Opponents marvel at Laurinaitis' balance and ability to maneuver through trash to get to plays most other linebackers can't. Laurinaitis excels against both the run and the pass and he is just so smart and instinctive, he has been making big plays for OSU since he burst onto the scene three years ago when the Buckeyes beat Texas in Austin on a prime-time Saturday night stage.
- George Selvie, USF, DE: The one-time Bulls center is the king of the negative-yardage play. Last year as a sophomore, he led the nation with 31.5 TFLs and was second with 14.5 sacks despite getting increased attention from offenses as the season wore on. USF coaches are expecting Selvie to have a similar impact after an off-season of adding 10 more pounds to his lithe frame, up to 245.
- Kevin Ellison, USC, S: It's hard for any USC Trojan to be underrated these days, but when you play on a defense with Rey Maualuga, Brian Cushing, uberfreak Taylor Mays and DT Fili Moala, you can sneak under the radar. But the truth is, no one on the USC defense plays faster, makes fewer mistakes or gets more praise from the Trojan coaches. Ellison, a 225-pound heavy hitter, is the leader of what may be the best defense in the country. Some of his more hyped teammates might prove to be better NFL players years from now, but at this point, he'd be the guy many inside the program would pick first today.
- Greg Middleton, Indiana, DE: Like Selvie, this is another big-play DE who came out of nowhere last season. As a first-year starter, Middleton piled up a nation's best 16 sacks, which is even more impressive when you consider he did so in a league with some very good O-linemen. Middleton, a 275-pound junior, could be even scarier this fall. Word is the guy has been unblockable in camp now that he's gotten better at using his hands.
- Eric Berry, Tennessee, DB: The dynamic sophomore is creating plenty of buzz these days thanks in large part to his work as a QB with the Vols offense, but it's Berry's skills on defense that already have Vol insiders saying he'll be the best DB this program has produced in decades. "When you put it all together -- talent, knowledge of the game and worth ethic -- he's the best I've ever coached," UT secondary coach Larry Slade told the Atlanta Journal Constitution. "And the great thing is that Eric is just getting started. Last year, he was just doing it on sheer talent. But now he's had a year to study the game and learn what works. He's very special."
- Scott McKillop, Pittsburgh, LB: He's been called a huge overachiever, but that actually takes some credit away from just how instinctive and tough the Panther middle linebacker really is. He led the nation in tackles in 2007, averaging 12.6 tackles per game and sparked the Panthers to be the country's fifth-ranked defense. The latter point is pretty amazing when you consider the injury-ravaged Panthers (5-7) were the only team among the nation's top 14 defense to win fewer than nine games in 2007.
- Malcolm Jenkins, Ohio State, CB: Jenkins is athletic and sharp enough to play both the corner and safety for OSU and make big plays at both spots. If there is a knock on him, rival coaches say he can get a little overly aggressive and get out of position.
- Brandon Spikes, Florida, LB: By far, the biggest bright spot in a very down 2007 for the young Gators' D was the emergence of Spikes. He was second in the SEC with 131 tackles and also ranked sixth in the SEC with 16 tackles for loss.
- Rey Maualuga, USC, LB: The biggest hitter in college football, Maualuga is a highlight waiting to happen. He delivers more violent hits than any player in the country. There are times when he dominates like no other linebacker as he did in last year's Rose Bowl. Other times his aggressiveness gets the best of him and he ends up running himself out of plays, but he has gotten a lot better at sniffing out plays and staying disciplined in the last year.
- Gerald McRath, Southern Miss, LB: A tackling machine who flies all over the field for the Golden Eagles. I'd asked new USM running back coach Frank Wilson just how good McRath is last week. Wilson, a former Ole Miss assistant, evoked the name Patrick Willis, saying he's instinctive, tough and explosive just like the NFL Rookie of the Year, although he may not be quite as fast. As McRath gets better at using his hands, he should give opponents even more fits.
Just Missed the Cut: Maurice Evans, Penn State, DE; Alphonso Smith, Wake Forest, CB; Patrick Chung, Oregon, S; Ricky Jean-Francois, DT, LSU; Brian Orakpo, Texas, DE; Nic Harris, Oklahoma, S; Jan Jorgenson, BYU, DL; SenDerrick Marks, Auburn DL; Brian Cushing, USC, OLB; Macho Harris, VT, CB; Jason Phillips, TCU LB; Greg Hardy, Ole Miss, DE; William Moore, DB, Mizzou; Michael Hamlin, DB, Clemson and Mike Mickens, Cincy CB.
RANDOM STUFF
• I was out at USC's practice last night and Joe McKnight made quite the entrance. He arrived riding in a golf cart driven by injured QB Mark Sanchez and was wearing a full-length brace on his right arm. McKnight, coaches later explained, suffered a hyperextended elbow at Saturday night's scrimmage after he tried to brace himself by placing his hand on the ground to keep his feet on a kickoff return. The mishap is just the latest in what already has been an eventful few weeks for the enigmatic tailback. A few days earlier McKnight injured two figures, including a fracture on the tip of one of them when a teammate accidentally closed a door on the sophomore's right hand. Earlier in camp, McKnight was sidelined due to skin irritation.
McKnight is expected to miss "a couple of practices," Pete Carroll said. "It's unfortunate, Joe keeps coming up with something. He has missed a lot of practice already and it's killing him. He hates the fact that he has. The fingers are fine, he's ready to go, but something else popped up."
McKnight, though, appeared to be in good spirits as he and Sanchez joked with teammates throughout practice.
USC seems to be getting good news though on the Sanchez front. He threw Saturday night and felt great and he is slated to being running again on Tuesday. Sources say he could be back on the field full go by next week, in time to prepare for the opener at Virginia.
• Stephen Garcia still is having a hard time staying out of Steve Spurrier's doghouse, Travis Haney reports: "Considering the Floridian's off-the-field travails since arriving a year and a half ago, and the supposed cleaning up of his act, Spurrier still seems irked by Garcia's attitude and slowness to learn. Just Friday, Garcia was the only player to miss a team breakfast."
"Oh, he's missed a bunch of them," Spurrier said Saturday. "He misses everything. He's struggling to do things right. But that's just him. He can't hardly call the play right. He gets confused. I don't know what it is. He just has a tough time."
Wow. Does any coach give better sound bytes than Spurrier?
• Missouri is shuffling its O-line, Stu Durando writes: "Gary Pinkel and his staff have been working on the best way to restructure the line since losing their best two linemen -- third-team All-America center Adam Spieker and left tackle Tyler Luellen -- after the 2007 season. The latest configuration includes Colin Brown and redshirt freshman Elvis Fisher at the tackles, Kurtis Gregory and Ryan Madison at the guards and Tim Barnes at center. Even a first-year freshman is in the mix for playing time."
My three cents: this is interesting since Pinkel's now protecting Chase Daniel's blindside with a guy (Fisher) who has never played in a college game and will open up with an Illinois team that has a lot of speed coming off the edge.
• For the second straight scrimmage, Davin Meggett turned heads at Maryland, reports Sandra McKee. The freshman running back and son of former NFL star Dave Meggett carried 12 times for 159 yards, including a 65-yard touchdown. After catching a 63-yard pass that officials ruled was just short of the goal line, Meggett followed a block into the end zone. Meggett and blazer Da'Rel Scott form a dynamic tailback tandem that I hear has Terps fans very excited about.
• Potential position move along the Auburn D-line, according to Jay G. Tate: "There is a growing belief that Sen'Derrick Marks may move to DE again shortly. The thought is that he presents an upgrade over Mike Goggans ... and instantly provides an answer to Auburn's depth problem on the strong side. Raven Gray, who is behind Goggans right now, has not played well so far this season. Jomarcus Savage was in a sling today with shoulder discomfort and A.J. Greene just hasn't been very good to this point."
• The BC offense has been dismal during camp, writes Steve Conroy:
"Sunday's tilt was not nearly as bad as Wednesday's, when starting quarterback Chris Crane was picked off four times and the defense scored three touchdowns. Yesterday, Crane went 10-of-20 for 66 yards, with an 8-yard touchdown pass to Brandon Robinson. Wes Davis picked him off late in the scrimmage for the only turnover."
I watched BC scrimmage about 10 days ago and their offense didn't look very good then either, although they do have some speed and many of the young O-linemen should develop into being outstanding players in the not-too-distant future.
• One of the interesting aspects of recruiting is that coaches never quite know what they might be getting themselves into. Dan Woike has a cool story about the success USC has had recruiting Tongan players and it features this quote:
"I had chance to have dinner at Uona's place, and we had some stuff," Pete Carroll said in reference to freshman LB Uona Kavienga. "I had some horse -- delicious."
• Former ESPN Mag intern Stewart Mandel has set up a "conference showdown," challenging the fans of each conference to raise money for DonorsChoose.org -- a charity that helps raise funds for public schools.
It's a cool idea and nice to see so many fans have stepped up.
• A little welcome to new colleague Brian Bennett who takes over the Big East blog for ESPN.com.
• The other day while I was up in Bristol, I was going to grab lunch with Todd Harris at the ESPN cafeteria and we ran into UFC star Frank Mir, in town to appear on ESPN's MMA show. Mir and Harris are broadcast partners on the WEC fights and so they ended up chatting for a while. I got to talk to him for a little bit and he seemed very down to Earth and was really polite. He came across as a real class act.
Bruce Feldman
