Tuesday July 18, 2006

ACC Defensive Backfield Ratings

1. Miami
The Canes have four of the top safeties in America with Brandon Merriweather, Kenny Phillips, Anthony Reddick and Levon Ponder. Merriweather is a tough, physical strong safety that excels against the run. Phillips was one of the top freshmen in America last season. Reddick was a starter before a knee injury that kept him out for the season last year. Ponder was the nickel back that had a great season. Corner is a completely different story as Glenn Sharpe and Randy Phillips have little starting experience.

2. NC State
The Wolfpack had to rebuild its secondary last season and now the front seven needs rebuilding. Three starters return for what should be the strength of the defense. Garland Heath and Miguel Scott are another pair of excellent safeties in the league that features some great tandems. A.J. Davis is the best corner on scholarship. N.C. State has a lot of proven depth in the secondary as seven or eight players have seen significant action.

3. Virginia Tech
Jimmy Williams is gone but Tech returns a deep and talented secondary. Aaron Rouse is one of the nation’s top strong safeties. Roland Minor is the top returning corner. Victor Harris is a converted tailback that might take over at corner. D.J. Parker returns after a solid year at free safety.

4. Florida State
The Seminoles have starters back at corner but little experience at safety. The future NFL safety is newcomer Myron Rolle. This true freshman amazed coaches in the spring and should be one of the top safeties in the league. Roger Williams played a little last year at the other safety. JR Bryant and Tony Carter were first-year starters last season and played OK. They have recruited well here so depth is not an issue.

5. Virginia
Marcus Hamilton is the one star of this unit. He is another of the top corners in the ACC. Like several teams in the league, UVA has depth here also. Chris Gorham, Michael Hamilton, Vic Hall and Chris Cook have played significant snaps so far in their careers. This is a solid secondary.

6. North Carolina
The Heels return three starters from last season in the defensive backfield. This group could be characterized as solid. Tremaine Goddard is the one All-ACC candidate in the group. UNC has depth here also but no one has stepped up to grab the attention of NFL scouts yet.

7. Boston College
The Eagles have another of the top safety duos in the ACC with Jamie Silva and Ryan Gillespie. Their top corner is DeJuan Tribble who is a two-year starter and is considered an excellent cover guy. The Eagles are experienced and talented in there secondary that should be considered a strength of the defense.

8. Wake Forest
Like several teams in the league, Wake Forest returns three starters in its secondary and is only looking to replace a corner. John Gattis and Patrick Ghee return at safety and are dependable performers. Both players are seniors and leaders of the defense. Alonzo Smith enjoyed one of the best seasons of any freshman corner in the country last year. He is excellent in man coverage. The staff has no idea who will step up at the corner opposite of Smith.

9.Clemson
For in-depth coverage of Clemson’s secondary check yesterday’s blog.

10. Maryland
The Terps should be good at corner this season with Josh Wilson returning as one starter and Notre Dame transfer Isaiah Gardner at the other spot. They also return free safety Christian Varner and Marcus Wimbush should take over at strong safety. Depth is not a strong suit here but the starters could be considered the strength of the defense. Maryland does have a new defensive coordinator in Chris Cosh so we will have to see how his schemes will be different from the retired and successful defense of Gary Blackney.

11. Duke
Ted Roof has three returning starters in his secondary but one is worth the price of admission. John Talley is perhaps the best cover guy in the ACC. He might not reach his total of five interceptions this season because teams will certainly shy away from his side of the field. Demonto McCormick returns opposite of Talley and is solid. Chris Davis is another starter returning at free safety but the Devils are looking for a new strong safety.

12. Georgia Tech
There is good news and bad news for Jon Tenuta, Tech’s defensive coordinator. The good news is Kenny Scott returns and is one of the top corners in the league. The bad news is Tech fans will need to buy a program in the season opener against Notre Dame as few defensive backs have ever seen the field. Tenuta is a great defensive coordinator but he will need to be with this young and inexperienced secondary.

In summary, it is a very good year for defensive backs in the ACC. There are not that many first round picks outside out safeties at Miami and FSU. Instead, there are a lot of solid players with experience around the league.

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