Before his time at Cincinnati, Gardner was a 247Sports Composite three-star recruit out of Detroit, Michigan. With the 2021 college football season right around the corner,Pro Football Focus' Anthony Treash recently released a ranking of the top-ten cornerbacksacross college football. He also added 39 tackles and two interceptions in 12 games during his 2020 campaign with the Gators. Here are the top 25 college football cornerbacks heading into the 2022 season. Void in ONT. In coverage, hes consistently at the catch point and winning, with a 20.6% forced incompletion rate since 2019 the second-best among all active Power Five cornerbacks. Fans tuning into South Alabama games this season will see one of the better players in the Sun Belt lining up at corner. 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. Luter was tested with 45 targets in coverage but only allowed a 26.7% catch rate and actually came up with more combined interceptions and pass breakups (14) than catches allowed (12). TRE'VIUS HODGES-TOMLINSON, TCU After playing less than 100 snaps as a three-star true freshman in 2019, Hodges-Tomlinson struggled to a 45.4 coverage grade in TCU's 2020 opener. Joey Porter Jr., Penn State Nittany Lions. He has five interceptions and 13 passes defended over the last two seasons. He had four interceptions and 10 passes defended in 2021. Brendan Radley-Hiles, Washington: The one-time Nebraska commit started 32 games over the past three seasons with Oklahoma and racked up 115 tackles and three interceptions during that span. Tre Avery, Rutgers: The former Ohio State recruit broke up a pass in seven of the Scarlet Knights first eight games last season. Turner has just one season of playing at Michigan, but he proved to be valuable on their CFP run. ), 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. Boston College has a few key players on offense, but DeBerry is by far the best player on their defense. For clarification, these lists are based on where these young men are today as college football players. He plays in control and isnt going to lose at the catch point with his physical frame. Continues to be regarded as one of the nation's top recruiters. "The 6-foot-2, 188-pound cornerback has seen 84 targets in press coverage since landing in Cincinnati, and he has allowed just 16 first downs while making a whopping 22 plays on the ball, the most in the FBS over that time. Mullen made clutch plays at Wisconsin, with three solo tackles, a forced fumble and a sack. 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. 9. Kansas State cornerback Omar Daniels enters transfer portal His size also allows him to rip through the outside of tight-ends with no receivers to his size and he forcefully brings ball-carriers to the ground. Trailing him are two other highly talented corners Caleb Farley from Virginia Tech and 2021 Derion Kendrick from Clemson who both possess great timed speed natural cornerback skills. Oregon's Christian Gonzalez and Illinois' Devon Witherspoon are the two best cornerbacks in this year's draft. He has received plenty of playing time over his three years at Auburn and Pritchett is now a leader on the team. Eli Ricks, LSU: Last season he delivered on all the hype that he arrived with as a five-star recruit. 2023 NFL Draft: Grades for all 31 first-round picks Oregon States Rejzohn Wright has excellent size and awareness and could be a great investment in later rounds. 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. Before LSU, Stingley was a 247Sports Composite five-star recruit out of Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The next game Clark recorded nine total tackles against Texas A&M. He was also the No. Two of the top three corners happen to play on the same team. Gonzalez had 50 tackles and four interceptions for the Ducks in . 9) Thomas Graham Jr., Oregon. The Top Five 1. Avery had four solo tackles apiece against Purdue and Nebraska. McCreary held his own against the Alabama receivers and generated five solo tackles, including one from behind the line of scrimmage. With Elam back in the lineup again this fall, the Gators will keep their amazing legacy of defensive backs on the gridiron. In high school, he clocked a verified 4.35 40 time. 2021 Top Cornerback Recruits - 247Sports And Turner did that despite playing a decent amount of press-man and being picked on with the 13th-highest target rate among that group at 17.4%. Coverage of the first round can be found on ESPN, ABC and NFL Network starting at 8 p.m. Rated by 247Sports composite scale as a three-star recruit in K-State's 2021 class, the underclassman originally chose Chris Klieman's squad over an offer from Colorado and a host of non-Power . Hell have more responsibility this fall, with fellow corner Olaijah Griffin off to the NFL. Darrell Luter Jr., South Alabama Jaguars. Overall, Turner finished with an 83.3 coverage grade and is a candidate to obtain elite status in 2022. He was also the No. Alabama plucked the top cornerback returning to college football out of the transfer portal in Eli Ricks, who comes from LSU. Clark Phillips III (true soph) has been one of the top DBs out west in the second half of the season. 2 ranked cornerback and No. PFF ranks college football's top ten cornerbacks for the 2021 season Entering his junior year at Indiana in 2021, Mullen has totaled 65 tackles, eight tackles for loss, 3.5 sacks, 17 pass breakups, three forced fumbles, and three interceptions in 18 games over his first two seasons. GP. Follow Walter @walterfootball for . Among the cornerbacks in college football, Emmanuel Forbes . He had three interceptions and six passes defended. The former junior college transfer picked off two passes apiece in victories over Georgia Southern and Appalachian State. It might be jerseys or whatever, but this is the biggest corner Ive ever seen. In seven games, Tomlinson-Hodges totaled 26 tackles and 13 pass breakups. In seven games,Stingley was targeted 30 times, allowing just seven first downs while forcing five incompletions. First Take - Top Cornerbacks for the 2021 NFL Draft - Sports Illustrated When a defensive player deflects or 'breaks up' a pass (statistic). 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. Did Steph Curry cook up the best Game 7 performance ever? A Look at LSU Football's 2021 Offseason Depth Chart: Cornerbacks He followed up that performance with three solo tackles and three pass breakups in the victory over USC in the Pac-12 Championship. Before his time at Baylor, Texada was a 247Sports Composite three-star recruit out of Frisco, Texas. Mullen is also the proud owner of the highest run-defense grade among cornerbacks since he came to Bloomington as a true freshman in 2019. When Stevenson was left on an island, he almost always came out on top. Syracuse has a talented secondary and Chestnut will have a lot of eyes on him in 2022. Honorable mentions: Clark Phillips III (Utah), Tyrique Stevenson (Miami), Storm Duck (North Carolina), DShawn Jamison (Texas) & Steven Gilmore (Marshall), You can check out all my other college football positional rankings here or as one piece on halilsrealfootballtalk.com, Be the first one to comment on this story. Opposing Offensive Coordinators avoided his side of the field because he can blanket 50 yards like its nothing. Karon Prunty, N/A: The Virginia native started all nine games as a true freshman last season and broke up 10 passes along the way. Here's a look at 25 of the top defensive players heading into the 2021 college football season. 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. He had 49 total tackles, one interception and two passes defended. Top Returning 2021 College CORNERBACKS May 21, 2021 Landry Football The 2021 college football season will be here before you know it and we will get you better prepared for the season than ever before. Check out our college football page for more content like Top 25 College Football Cornerbacks! Canteen tallied 34 solo tackles and broke up 10 passes in 13 games. His 11 pass breakups in 202o tied for the lead in the SEC. College Football's Top 25 Breakout Running Backs for 2021 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. Mandatory Credit: Brad McClenny-USA TODAY NETWORK. Alexander had 17 pass breakups and 1.4 wins above replacement which is the highest among all cornerbacks in 2020. jaire.alexander.coverage. Smith learned a lot from former Gamecock Jaycee Horn. 116 ranked cornerback in the recruiting class of 2019. The former four-star prospect generated six total tackles, including five solo against Alabama in the SEC Championship. C.J. 4. Leinweber's Top 22 Cornerbacks in the 2021 NFL Draft Senior Scout Lorenz Leinweber gives you his top 22 cornerbacks in this class. 4. Alabama plucked college football's top returning cornerback out of the transfer portal in Eli Ricks, who comes from LSU. 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. NFL Draft Cornerback Rankings 2021: From The College Perspective 5 Notre Dame 174.38. "He forced tight coverage on over 57% of his targets in 2020, the highest rate among Power Five cornerbacks. Team: Dallas Cowboys. 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 has been one of the most productive corners in the FBS over the past two seasons, with 71 tackles and seven interceptions during that span. 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. Darrell Luters name should be in any conversation about the most underrated player in college football. 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. 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. Hudson Clark, Arkansas: He had no stars next to his name out of high school and began his collegiate career as a walk-on. His breaks and processing speed shined down the stretch for Utah. The two are simply one of the top tandems in college football in 2021 and will be valuable parts to seeing the defense improve next season. He had two interceptions and 11 passes defended in 2021. 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). Corners are usually the fastest players on the team and can blanket an entire side of a field. Over his last six games, the 2020 No. The Giants added to their depth in the defensive backfield on Saturday, selecting cornerback Tre Hawkins in the sixth round . Stingley didnt put up the numbers he had as a true freshman in 2019, but didnt suffer a sophomore slump. 2021 High School Pos Rankings State Rankings. There are some very talented cornerbacks in this draft class. I was just talking about the biggest corner Ive probably ever seen on a college football field, so now its appropriate to mention that this guy may be the longest. Marshall had a fantastic freshman season for Florida that saw him collect one interception and three passes defended. He was also the No. As a true freshman Moore started the first 11 games of Alabamas National Championship season and earned second-team All-SEC. His man-coverage grade ranked first among all Power Five cornerbacks in 2020. Best returning Pac-12 corner https://t.co/tqqNiToeoJ, Anthony Treash (@PFF_Anthony) January 1, 2022. Malachi Moore, Alabama: Hes one of the most dynamic players on the Crimson Tides defense and makes clutch plays from his STAR position. He was able to display his awareness in coverage last season and now hell be counted on again in 2022.
top college cornerbacks 2021
