Phil Steele Blog • March 22, 2017

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2016 Top 50 True Freshman DB's and their Impact on the season.

Today lets talk about my 2016 Top 50 True Freshman Defensive Backs and their impact on the season. Two teams have quite a few players on this list. LSU had 5 players, 3 in the Top 10, and Tennessee had 4 players, 1 in the Top 10.

Out of the Top 50 True Freshman on this list, 30 (60%) contributed in some way this past season. Of the 30 players with stats, 9 were from my Top 10. 2 players moved over to WR, PS#19 Marquez Callaway had 1 reception for 13 yards, and PS#20 Tyler Byrd had 16 receptions for 209 yards. Both were from Tennessee.

Only three players on this list had over 30 tackles. PS#27 Jordan Parker of Oklahoma led the group with 36 tackles. In second, PS#9 Deontay Anderson of Mississippi and PS#12 Chauncey Gardner of Florida each finished with 32 tackles. Only two players recorded a sack on the list. PS#16 Lamar Jackson of Nebraska and PS#23 Marquill Osborne of Tennessee each had 1.

Only three players on this list came away with interceptions led by one of the Top 3 tacklers, Chauncey Gardner with 3. PS#33 Donte Vaughn of Notre Dame and PS#41 Carlos Becker of Florida State were the other two with 1.

Here is the complete list of my 2016 Top 50 True Freshman Defensive Backs. Also listed below are my 2017 Top 50 Defensive Backs.
Top                    
50 RS NAME TEAM TKL SKS TFL PBU INT QBH OTHER INFO
1   Levonta Taylor Florida State 16 0 1 1 0 0  
2 Mecole Hardman Georgia 6 0 0 0 0 0 KR 1-17-0
3 Saivion Smith LSU 4 0 0 2 0 0  
4 Brandon Jones Texas 16 0 0 0 0 0 KR 2-44-0, PR 2-33-0
5 Jack Jones USC 13 0 0 1 0 0 KR 3-31-0
6 RS Eric Monroe LSU 0 0 0 0 0 0  
7 Nigel Warrior Tennessee 22 0 1 0 0 0  
8 Kristian Fulton LSU 2 0 0 0 0 0  
9 Deontay Anderson Mississippi 32 0 1 0 0 0  
10 Trayvon Mullen Clemson 17 0 0.5 1 0 0  
11 RS Nigel Knott Alabama 0 0 0 0 0 0  
12 Chauncey Gardner Florida 32 0 0.5 3 3 0  
13 Shyheim Carter Alabama 7 0 0 0 0 0  
14 David Long Michigan 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 games, No Stats
15 Brandon Burton UCLA 3 0 0 0 0 0  
16 Lamar Jackson Nebraska 17 1 1 0 0 0  
17 RS Byron Murphy Washington 0 0 0 0 0 0  
18 Jordan Fuller Ohio State 11 0 0 0 0 0  
19 Marquez Callaway Tennessee 0 0 0 0 0 0 rec 1-13-13.0, PR 2-114-1
20 Tyler Byrd Tennessee 0 0 0 0 0 0 rec 16-209-13.9, KR 10-263-0
21 Lavert Hill Michigan 2 0 0 1 0 0  
22 Damar Hamlin Pittsburgh 8 0 0 0 0 0  
23 Marquill Osborne Tennessee 6 1 1 0 0 0  
24 John Broussard Auburn 2 0 0 1 0 0  
25 Jared Mayden Alabama 1 0 0 0 0 0  
26 Shurod Thompson Oregon State 0 0 0 0 0 0 Did not qualify
27 Jordan Parker Oklahoma 36 0 1 3 0 0  
28 JoeJuan Williams Vanderbilt 19 0 1.5 2 0 0  
29 Travon Fuller Texas A&M 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 game, No Stats
30 RS Jamel Cook USC 0 0 0 0 0 0  
31 RS Marquel Dismuke Nebraska 0 0 0 0 0 0  
32 RS Christian Wallace Oregon State 0 0 0 0 0 0  
33 Donte Vaughn Notre Dame 22 0 0 6 1 0  
34 Stephen Davis Jr. Auburn 0 0 0 0 0 0 Moved to RB, Left team after knee inj
35 Dylan Singleton Duke 13 0 2.5 0 0 0  
36 RS Demetric Vance Michigan State 0 0 0 0 0 0  
37 Patrice Rene North Carolina 16 0 0 2 0 0  
38 Parrish Cobb Oklahoma 7 0 0 0 0 0 Trans from Baylor
39 RS Wayne Davis Ohio State 0 0 0 0 0 0  
40 RS Brady Breeze Oregon 0 0 0 0 0 0  
41 Carlos Becker Florida State 5 0 0 0 1 0  
42 RS Isaiah Gilchrist Washington 0 0 0 0 0 0  
43 RS Cameron Lewis LSU 0 0 0 0 0 0  
44 Troy Pride Notre Dame 12 0 0 0 0 0  
45 RS CJ Pollard USC 0 0 0 0 0 0  
46 Kenney Lyke Michigan State 1 0 0 0 0 0  
47 RS Nygel Edmonds California 0 0 0 0 0 0  
48 RS Andraez Williams LSU 0 0 0 0 0 0  
49 RS Craig Watts USF 0 0 0 0 0 0  
50 RS Khalil Ladler Virginia Tech 0 0 0 0 0 0  
Total 348 2 11.0 23 5 0

Here are the Top 50 Rated True Freshman Defensive Backs for 2017.

2017    
Top 50
Player
Team
1 Jeffrey Okudah Ohio State
2 Darnay Holmes UCLA
3 Shaun Wade Ohio State
4 Deangelo Gibbs Georgia
5 JaCoby Stevens LSU
6 Richard LeCounte Georgia
7 Lamont Wade Penn State
8 Devon Hunter Virginia Tech
9 Stanford Samuels Florida State
10 Isaiah Pryor Ohio State
11 Maleik Gray Tennessee
12 Thomas Graham Oregon
13 Jamyest Williams South Carolina
14 Todd Harris LSU
15 William Poole III Georgia
16 Bubba Bolden USC
17 Paris Ford Pittsburgh
18 Deommodore Lenoir Oregon
19 Chevin Calloway Arkansas
20 Cyrus Fagan Florida State
21 AJ Terrell (Aundell) Clemson
22 Deon Jones Maryland
23 Amir Riep Ohio State
24 Ambry Thomas Michigan
25 Daniel Wright Alabama
26 Chaz Ah You BYU
27 Isaiah Pola-Mao USC
28 DD Bowie Mississippi
29 Xavier McKinney Alabama
30 Marcus Williamson Ohio State
31 Kary Vincent LSU
32 Derrick Tucker Texas A&M
33 Grant Delpit LSU
34 Brendon White (ATH) Ohio State
35 Hamsah Nasirildeen Florida State
36 Malcolm Askew Auburn
37 Justin Broiles Oklahoma
38 Brad Stewart Florida
39 Marco Wilson Florida
40 LeAnthony Williams Clemson
41 Brandon McKinney Washington
42 Robert Barnes Oklahoma
43 Detravion Bishop Georgia
44 Elijah Molden Washington
45 Tre Brown Oklahoma
46 Markquese Bell Maryland
47 Alex Perry Arizona State
48 Bruce Judson Oregon
49 Montaric Brown Arkansas
50 Jaylon Johnson Utah