Now, on to the defensive tackles…
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1. Gerald McCoy, Oklahoma–The best player on the field in the BCS title game. Should be the first pick in the next NFL draft. Just too quick and strong for opposing linemen to handle.
2. Brian Price, UCLA–Disruptive line presence who seemed to be the only thing keeping the UCLA defense from falling apart last season. Crafty player with outstanding interior pass rushing skills.
3. Ndamukong Suh, Nebraska–Whirling dervish who was all over the field for the Cornhuskers last season. Even scored three touchdowns, two off of interception returns.
4. Arthur Jones, Syracuse–Great player hidden on a bad team. Suffered a torn pectoral muscle in spring so may not be at full strength heading into fall.
5. Terrance Cody, Alabama–Mammoth run stuffer who eats up a ton of space. Doesn’t make many plays but occupies blockers, allowing other Tide defenders to clean things up.
6. Torrell Troup, UCF–A big run stuffer like Cody, but he makes plays, too. Had 12.5 tackles for loss at 320 pounds last year.
7. Jarvis Jenkins, Clemson–Relentless nose guard who had 10 tackles for loss last season as just a sophomore. Should improve on that this year.
8. Marvin Austin, North Carolina–High potential player who should start to show it this year. Big and nimble, but needs to be meaner and play with better leverage.
9. Geno Atkins, Georgia–Has been one of the best interior linemen in the SEC for a couple years now. Will do better this year with the return of Jeff Owens to the Dawg lineup.
10. Vince Oghobaase, Duke–The tallest tackle on this list at 6-6, he’s a pro prospect who led his team in sacks last year with six.
Honorable Mention: Malcolm Sheppard, Arkansas; Anthony Gray, Southern Mississippi; Sam Frist, Kent State; Tyson Alualu, California; Al Woods, LSU; DeMarcus Granger, Oklahoma
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Brian
I think Jared Odrick of Penn State should at least get an honorable mention here. At 6 ft 5 in and over 300 lbs the guy can still move quite well and stuff the middle against the run.
Ian
No love for Jared Odrick from Penn State? He’s going into his senior year after being named All-Big Ten 1st team as a Junior. He’s got to be at least honorable mention. Of his 20 solo tackles last year, 9.5 were for a loss to go along with 4.5 sacks.
AERose
Tyson Alualu is a defensive end, not tackle.
Heismanpundit
Alualu plays what amounts to a tackle position in a 3-4. Hill is the nose and Jordan is the end. Alualu will be lined up like a traditional tackle, not split wide.