Blue & Gold Illustrated: 2012 Notre Dame Football Preview
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BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED 2016 FOOTBALL PREVIEW ✦ 117 late in the year the much-maligned unit started to thrive. In the final four games of the season, Texas averaged 283.8 rushing yards per game and 6.2 yards per carry. Returning for the Longhorns are a pair of prominent sophomores in left tackle Connor Williams and right guard Patrick Vahe, the an- chors of the line. Senior right tackle Kent Per- kins returns with 24 career starts under his belt. Best Defensive Lines 1. North Carolina State — The Wolfpack are experienced and big, led by 274-pound junior end Bradley Chubb, who had 12.5 tack- les for loss and 5.5 sacks last fall. Sophomore Darian Roseboro, a former Rivals100 recruit who had four sacks in his first season, will man the other end spot. Junior B.J. Hill was productive last season, making 11 tackles for loss. Juniors Kentavious Street and Justin Jones, who combined for 60 tackles and 9.5 tackles for loss in 2015, join Hill inside, although Street could also line up at end. 2. Virginia Tech — After a down 2015 sea- son, fifth-year senior end Ken Ekanem will look to get back to being the player who posted 14.5 tackles for loss, 9.5 sacks and 19 quarter- back hurries in 2014. Senior Woody Baron and fifth-year senior Nigel Williams anchor the interior. Baron had eight tackles for loss a season ago, while Williams has 18 career tackles for loss. Redshirt sophomore end Vinny Mihota and redshirt junior Seth Dooley will be pushed by redshirt freshmen Trevon Hill and Darius Fullwood. 3. Texas — Losing fourth-round pick Hassan Ridgeway stings, but the Longhorns should manage. Fifth-year senior defensive tackle Paul Boyette racked up eight tackles for loss and three sacks last season. Junior Poona Ford and a pair of blue-chip freshmen (D'Andre Christmas-Giles and Chris Daniels) fill out the interior rotation. Getting pressure from the front will be vital, making redshirt junior end Naashon Hughes and fifth-year senior Bryce Cottrell important factors. Best Linebackers 1. Michigan State — Spartans head coach Mark Dantonio has made a living developing outstanding linebackers, and 2016 will be no different. Fifth-year senior Riley Bullough led the Spartans with 106 tackles last season, while contributing 7.5 tackles for loss and four sacks. If sixth-year senior Ed Davis can return, that is a huge addition. Davis registered 12 tackles for loss and seven sacks in 2014, but was lost for the 2015 season after suffering a knee in- jury in fall camp. His replacement — redshirt junior Jon Reschke — had 75 tackles. 2. Stanford — Despite the loss of Associ- ated Press first-team All-Pac-12 linebacker Blake Martinez to the NFL, the Cardinal return a deep and talented group of linebackers. A breakout season from senior Peter Kalambayi is possible. Senior Kevin Palma will be flanked by ei- ther junior Bobby Okereke or senior Noor Davis, a former Rivals100 prospect who has not lived up to his prep billing. Junior Joey Alfieri started five games last season, making 40 tackles. 3. Navy — This is not your typical Navy linebacking unit because the Midshipmen re- turn size, athleticism and production. Navy has two productive inside linebackers in junior Micah Thomas and senior Daniel Gonzalez, who combined for 138 tackles and 8.5 tackles for loss last season. On the outside a pair of athletic edge play- ers — junior D.J. Palmore and senior Josiah Powell — should help replace the pass rushing Navy lost when defensive end Will Anthony graduated. Best Defensive Backs 1. USC — Electric junior cornerback Ado- ree' Jackson is the alpha figure in the gifted USC secondary. Opposite Jackson is former Rivals five-star recruit Iman Marshall, a sopho- more whose growing pains last season should serve him well. The safety position needs to be sorted out, but keep an eye on sophomore Marvell Tell. If he can emerge this season it will give the Trojans a rangy, ball-hawking defender that will help ease the loss of safety/linebacker Su'a Cravens. 2. Virginia Tech — Injuries and youth re- sulted in a down season for the Hokies' second- ary last fall, but expect a bounce-back season. Virginia Tech returns a deep and more veteran group led by senior safety Chuck Clark, a play- maker with 202 career tackles and 19 career passes broken up. Redshirt sophomore Mook Reynolds and sophomore Terrell Edmunds have bright fu- tures after combining for 70 tackles last season. Fellow sophomore Adonis Alexander was in- definitely suspended following an April arrest, clouding things a bit for the Hokies. 3. Duke — Replacing unanimous All- American safety Jeremy Cash is a daunting task, but the Blue Devils return a productive and experienced secondary. Fifth-year senior cornerback DeVon Edwards has 298 career tackles and 21 career passes broken up. He's a dynamic kick returner as well (three returns for scores in 2015). Senior cornerback Breon Borders has picked off 10 passes in his career. Tasked with replac- ing Cash is fifth-year senior Corbin McCarthy or redshirt junior Phillip Carter, who have six career starts apiece. ✦ Special Teams Kicker: Conrad Ukropina (Stanford) The fifth-year senior nailed 18 of 20 field goals last fall, including 6 of 7 beyond 40 yards. Ukropina's 45- yard game-winner against Notre Dame dashed any hopes the Irish had of the College Football Playoff. Punter: Jake Hartbarger (Michigan State) Hartbarger is poised to emerge as one of the nation's top punters as a redshirt sophomore. He averaged 42.7 yards per punt in his first year, while recording 17 punts of 50-plus yards. Kick Return: DeVon Edwards (Duke) Edwards was a true impact returner last season, rank - ing fifth nationally with a 29.2 average on 24 returns. The fifth-year senior had returns of 100 yards, 95 yards and 94 yards for touchdowns in 2015. Punt Return: Brisly Estime (Syracuse) Estime finished second nationally with an outstanding 18.1-yard average. The senior's quickness makes him hard to hit and his speed allows him to be a home run threat, evidenced by his two returns for touchdowns last fall. — Bryan Driskell USC's secondary is led by sophomore cornerback Adoree' Jackson, who was the only player in the nation last year to amass at least 400 receiving yards, 600 kickoff return yards, 200 punt return yards and 30 tackles. PHOTO BY JOHN MCGILLEN/USC