NCAA Football: Five Most Talented Defenses in 2012 - jmik58's Blog

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NCAA Football: Five Most Talented Defenses in 2012 Stuck

Posted on July 18, 2012 at 11:10 AM.

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As I stated yesterday, offense sells tickets (assuming you can afford them), but the reason we play is to win championships. And to win a title, you must have an exceptional defense.

While it may be fun to talk about programs that win by developing talent, the reality is that if you want to contend on a regular basis you have to have talent on the field -- specifically on the defensive side.

If you read through my Offensive Talent Rankings you're hopefully familiar with how I formulate my list; as well as what it does and doesn't mean.

To quickly recap, here are the factors I use to determine a rating per unit based on talent:

Points are assigned for each starter that had a recruiting rank in the top fifty or 100 out of high school or junior college. (I use Phil Steele's rankings since his figures are an average of most of the major recruiting publications.)
Points are assigned for each starter who has achieved on-field success such as awards, All-Conference, and All-American.

What the ratings mean:

That teams have more/less talent on their squad compared to other teams.

What the ratings DON'T mean:

That the teams on this list are ranked by how "good" they are as a unit.
This is NOT a projection of wins or an implication of how well they will play.

How to use it:

Hold teams accountable for their abundance of talent. (Or, "talent-accountability" as I affectionately stated yesterday)
Applaud those that succeed without as much talent.

Honorable Mention: (Notre Dame, Oregon, Oklahoma State, Pittsburgh, Alabama, Ohio State, Florida)

5. Florida State Seminoles

Most of the pundits may have jumped the gun by expecting great things out of FSU in 2011. This year looks to be the best shot for the Seminoles to finally get over the contender hump. Seven of their starters are top-25 recruits while three others are top-75.

Individually, the ‘Noles are led by defensive linemen Timmy Jernigan (2011 ACC Defensive Freshman Player of the Year) and Brandon Jenkins who is a two-time first-team All-ACC performer. In the secondary, strong safety Lamarcus Joyner brings second-team All-ACC experience to round out a very solid unit that should complement one of the nation’s best fronts.

4. Georgia Bulldogs

This is definitely the year that results are a must for the ‘Dawgs. They have one of the country’s best quarterbacks and plenty of experience. The one aspect that really holds them to the fire this year is the exceptional collection of talent they bring to the defensive side.

Every single starter on the defensive side was a top-100 recruit out of high school or junior college. Out of the eleven, three of them were top-five recruits – one each on the defensive line, at linebacker and corner. Georgia is led by two standouts in linebacker Jarvis Jones and free safety Bacarri Rambo – each returning from first-team All-American honors in 2011.

3. USC Trojans

The Trojans definitely own the western half of the college football landscape in projecting the 2012 season, and they have the talent to back it up. To be a national title contender – or favorite – you’ve got to have skill on both sides of the ball and USC is no exception.

Recruiting has never been a problem for USC and their current allotment of starters tells the tale well. All eleven of their defensive starters were top-50 recruits, six of them top-15. Inside the box, the Trojans return defensive end Wes Horton (second-team All-PAC-12) and linebackers Hayes Pullard (second-team Freshman All-American) and Dion Bailey. Bailey, a rising star, earned PAC-12 Defensive Freshman Player of the Year, first-team Freshman All-American honors, and was a second-team PAC-12 performer.

In the secondary, cornerback Nickell Robey – a first-team PAC-12 player – is backed by outstanding free safety TJ McDonald (third-team All-American and first-team All-PAC-12).

2. Texas Longhorns

My biggest “surprise team” of 2012 may very well be the Longhorns. The reason being: their exceptional collection of talent on defense.

Every single one of the Lonhorns’ starters on “D” was a top-50 recruit coming out of high school or junior college. Every…single…one. Of those eleven, seven were top-20 and six were top-8. I repeat, six of the defensive starters for Texas in 2012 were top-8 recruits at their position.

Texas may hold the best bookend combination in the nation in defensive end Alex Okafor (first-team All-American) and Jackson Jeffcoat (second-team Big-12. In the secondary, Texas returns decorated players Quandre Diggs (Big-12 Freshman Defensive Player of the Year, second-team All-Big-12) and Kenny Vaccaro (first-team Big-12).

1. LSU Tigers

While many teams near the top are packed full of raw talent, the proof shines through in performance on the field. LSU definitely has serious clout in regard to returning starters with accolades; unfortunately for the rest of the nation, they also still have a slew of top-notch recruits.

Ten of LSU’s starters on defense were top-100 recruits – five of those being top-15. Among them are defensive ends Barkevious Mingo (second-team All-SEC) and Sam Montgomery (first-team Freshman All-American). Anchoring the middle is first-team Freshman All-American Anthony Johnson.

Rounding out the Tigers exceptional collection of talent is the “Honey Badger” Tyrann Mathiew (2011 Bednarik Award Winner and first-team All-American), along with free safety Eric Reid, a second-team All-SEC performer from 2011.

What teams will under-achieve or out-perform their talent in 2012?

Justin Mikels is a staff writer for Operation Sports. Follow him on Twitter @long_snapper.

Comments

# 1 THE YAMA @ Jul 18

Not saying they're a top 5 talented defense, but UCF is a team that prides themselves on defense. Year in and year out they are consistently in the top defensive categories.

# 2 DGMikeBarker @ Jul 18

Can't wait for Georgia Tech to get their first Top 10 recruiting class. Good list though. Clemson and Alabama will be on the Top 5 next year with their monster recruiting class.

As for returning talent, LSU, FSU, Both USC's, and Georgia should be the most dominate.