MSU and Ole Miss: Defensive Perception vs. Reality

Now that you’ve seen my offensive assessment, it’s time to move on to my thoughts on the defensive side.

Free safety –

BULLDOGS:

Jamal Peters FR.
Composite – 4* 97 rating

2014 stats – None recorded

Kendrick Market SR.
Composite – 3* 87 rating

2014 stats –
49 tackles, 1 tfl

Deontay Evans JR.
Composite – 3* 84 rating

2014 stats –
34 tackles, 1 tfl

REBELS:

Trae Elston SR.
Composite – 3* 88 rating

2014 stats –
59 sacks, 3 tfl, 1 int

CJ Hampton SO.
Composite – 4* 95 rating

2014 stats –
10 tackles

Armani Linton FR.
Composite – 4* 90 rating

2014 stats – None recorded

Composite rating average

BULLDOGS – 89.5
REBELS – 91

My take:
This is a position that will be much improved for Bulldogs, talent wise. It will be a mixture of great young talent and experience. I fully expect Jamal Peters to be the starter by the time SEC play begins or shortly thereafter. I also expect him to be a Freshman All-American.

If Kendrick Market comes back 100%, then by the end of the year free safety could become a strength of this team.

For the Rebels, Elston is a good football player with a lot of experience. He’s been solid over his Rebel career and I expect him to be solid once again in 2015.

I’m not sold on CJ Hampton. I wasn’t sold on him coming out of High School either.

Like Javon Patterson in the 2015 class, I think Hampton will be the Rebels annual major bust of the 2014 class.

That said, I think Armani Linton is a player. I see him being a star before he leaves Oxford and I wouldn’t be a bit surprised if he passes Hampton on the depth chart by mid season.

Strong safety/Rover –

BULLDOGS:

Kivon Coleman JR.
Composite – 3* 83 rating

2014 stats –
38 tackles, 2 tfl

Brandon Bryant RFR.
Composite – 3* 86 rating

2014 stats – None recorded

Brandon Wells SO.
Composite – 3* 85 rating

2014 stats –
6 tackles

REBELS:

Mike Hilton SR.
Composite – 3* 84 rating

2014 stats –
71 tackles, 4 tfl, 3 int

Chief Brown SR.
Composite – 3* 84 rating

2014 stats –
2 tackles

CJ Moore SO.
Composite – 3* 83 rating

2014 stats –
9 tackles

Composite rating average

BULLDOGS – 84.6
REBELS – 83.7

My take:
Coman gained valuable experience in 2014 and improved as the year went on.

He’s a solid player, but I expect Brandon Bryant to be the starting strong safety by the end of the year. Bryant has NFL talent and is super fast.

A weakness in 2014, this position has two capable body’s this year and one possible star.

Mike Hilton is undersized, but don’t tell him that. He doesn’t seem to notice. Hilton is a very good college football player and I expect him to have another solid season in 2015.

Chief Brown has been plagued by injuries in his career, but provides a solid backup option if needed.

Cornerback –

Taveze Calhoun SR.
Composite – 3* 85 rating

2014 stats –
53 tackles, 3 tfl, 1 int

Will Redmond SR.
Composite – 4* 90 rating

2014 stats –
51 tackles, 3 tfl, 3 int

Tolando Cleveland JR.
Composite – 3* 82 rating

2014 stats –
29 tackles, 2 tfl, .5 sack, 2 int

Cedric Jiles JR.
Composite – 3* 85 rating

2013 stats –
20 tackles

Jamoral Graham SO.
Composite – 4* 91 rating

2014 stats – None recorded

REBELS:

Tee Shepard JR.
Composite – 3* 89 rating

2014 stats – None recorded

Tony Bridges JR.
Composite – 4* 91 rating

2014 stats – None recorded

Kailo Moore JR.
Composite – 4* 93 rating

2014 stats –
5 tackles

Kendarius Webster So.
Composite – 3* 86 rating

2014 stats –
22 tackles

Cameron Ordway FR.
Composite – 3* 87 rating

2014 stats – None recorded

Composite rating average

BULLDOGS – 86.6
REBELS – 89.2

More from Mississippi State Football

My take:
Both Redmond and Calhoun have bright futures ahead of them. Both have the talent to play themselves into the top three rounds of the NFL draft.

I believe Redmond is the better of the two, but it is debatable.

Depth will not be a concern at cornerback for the Bulldogs in 2015.

Cleveland has many snaps under his belt and looks ready to become a valuable backup.

Jiles is coming off injury and will be a huge boost if he can stay healthy. Thats a big if.

Graham is new to the position as a college player, but he was a great athlete in High School.

He looked like a natural in the spring. I don’t expect him to get a lot of playing time in 2015 as he is coming over from receiver, but it’s my personal belief that he is the heir apparent to Will Redmond.

Bridges and Shepard have a great skill set, but will it translate to SEC play? We will see. To hear the Rebel fan base, they’re already first team All-Americans and the best set of cornerbacks to ever play in the SEC.

Shepard is coming off a serious toe injury and neither have played a down of SEC football. I could see cornerback being a strength for the Rebels just as quick as I could see it being a major weakness.

I’ve had Rebels tell me that Bridges and Shepard are far superior to Redmond and Calhoun. I’m not even kidding. They will swear that two players that has never played a snap of SEC football are better than two players that have a lot of experience and have proven their worth against SEC teams. Not to mention both are future NFL players.

Webster is a good player and provides good depth for the Rebels. I’m not sure how quick Ordway can become a solid depth guy for the Rebals, but if he doesn’t beat out Kailo Moore, then there could be serious depth issues at cornerback in Rebel land. Kailo was my pick as the Rebels major bust of the 2013 class. So far, that has been the case.

Outside linebacker/Nickel –

BULLDOGS:

JT Gray SO.
Composite – 3* 86 rating

2014 stats –
9 tackles

Zach Jackson SR.
Composite – 3* 86 rating

2014 stats –
34 tackles,

Quadry Antoine JR.
Composite – 3* 86 rating

2014 stats –
5 tackles, 1tfl, 1 sack

REBELS:

Tony Connor JR.
Composite – 5* 98 rating

2014 stats –
69 tackles, 9tfl, 1 sack, 1 int

AJ Moore SO.
Composite – 3* 83 rating

2014 stats –
16 tackles, 1.5 tfl

DK Buford RFR
Composite – 3* 86 rating

2014 stats – None recorded

Composite rating average

BULLDOGS – 86
REBELS – 89

Dec 31, 2013; Memphis, TN, USA; Mississippi State Bulldogs linebacker Zach Jackson (14) celebrates after a play against the Rice Owls during the second half at Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium. Mississippi State Bulldogs beat Rice Owls 44 – 7. Mandatory Credit: Justin Ford-USA TODAY Sports

My take:
This position will be a lot closer than people think. JT Gray has future star written all over him. He’s always around the ball and he is a sure tackler with very good speed.

Replacing Matt Wells will not be an easy task, but Gray is a very capable replacement.

Zach Jackson played a lot of snaps last season. He almost equaled the production of the guy he backed up. Zach has great speed and I expect him to provide much needed depth yet again in 2015.

Tony Connor is a future NFL player. A good one at that. I’m not sure he’s a first rounder, because safety isn’t a position that gets a lot of first round looks, but he’s going to be off the board before round three.

Depth is the concern here. AJ Moore has the speed, but is he physical enough? We will see.

Outside linebacker –

BULLDOGS:

Beniquez Brown JR.
Composite – 4* 91 rating

2014 stats –
62 tackles, 7 tfl, 2 sacks, 2 int

Traver Jung JR.
Composite – 3* 87 rating

2014 stats – None recorded

Dez Harris RSO.
Composite – 3* 81 rating

2014 stats – None recorded

REBELS:

Denzel Nkemdiche SR.
Composite – 3* 85 rating

2014 stats –
28 tackles, 3.5 tfl, 1 sack

Terry Caldwell JR.
Composite – 3* 85 rating

2014 stats – None recorded

Shawn Curtis FR
Composite – 3* 80 rating

2014 stats – None recorded

Composite rating average

BULLDOGS – 86.3
REBELS – 83.3

My take:
Ben Brown is talented, he’s smart and he’s always around the football. He was quite possibly the Bulldogs best linebacker last season. Brown calls the plays and is a field general. A talented one at that.

You can’t teach his skill set. I have a feeling that he shows up on several “post” season All-SEC lists.

Jung is a juco transfer and is very similar to Matt Wells. He’s fast and always around the football. He’s expected to provide depth in 2015.

At one time Dez Harris was being called the next Bernardrick Mckinney. He was also a quarterback in High School.

Injuries have derailed his career thus far, but if Harris can fully recover then he will have a huge impact moving forward.

In my opinion Denzell Nkemdiche has been one of the most over hyped college football players in the history of SEC football.

I’m not sure why this is, but nothing about his game shouts star player and never has.

What’s funny is Rebels everywhere use to swear that he was better than Beenardrick Mckinney, a recent second round pick of the Houston Texans.

In my opinion this position is questionable. From starter to backup, I’m just not sold that the Rebels are going to be good here.

Caldwell is quick to the ball, but like Nkemdiche, nothing really sticks out about his game.

Middle linebacker –

Richie Brown JR.
Composite – 3* 88 rating

2014 stats –
50 tackles, 1 tfl, 3 int

Gerri Green RFR.
Composite – 4* 90 rating

2014 stats – None available

Leo Lewis FR.
Composite – 4* 96 rating

2014 stats – None available

REBELS:

CJ Johnson SR.
Composite – 4* 96 rating

2014 stats –
38 tackles, 8 tfl, 4 sacks, 1 int

DeMarquis Gates SO.
Composite – 3* 87 rating

2014 stats –
13 tackles

Christian Russell SR.
Composite – 3* 88 rating

2014 stats –
23 tackles, .5 tfl

Composite rating average

BULLDOGS – 91.3
REBELS – 90.3

My take:
This position is absolutely loaded for the Bulldogs. The question is, how do you share the snaps?

If Gerri Green can stay healthy, he will be the best linebacker to ever wear a Bulldog uniform. I know that’s a bold statement, but I’m not the first and won’t be the last one to ever say this.

Richie Brown wasn’t considered a starter last year, but he might as well have been. He equaled the production of the starters.

Richie, Gerri and Leo form the best set of middle linebackers in the SEC.

CJ Johnson has been plagued by injuries for most of his Rebel career. He never lived up to the hype surrounding him and was basically wasted at defensive end for four years.

As a senior he’s making the move to middle linebacker. A position he has not played in almost five years. I just don’t see this working out in his favor, although it’s a move out of necessity and not because of defensive end depth like some will try to tell you.

It’s a desperation move mainly because of the depth at the linebacker position. It’s very rare that you see a defensive end make this switch in year five.

Russell is another player that hasn’t lived up to the hype coming out of juco.

Defensive end –

Ryan Brown SR.
Composite – 3* 85 rating

2014 stats –
39 tackles, 7 tfl, 3.5 sacks

AJ Jefferson JR.
Composite – 3* 89 rating

2014 stats –
28 tackles, 7 tfl, 2.5 sacks

Will Coleman RJR.
Composite – 3* 86 rating

2014 stats – None recorded

Jonathan Calvin JR.
Composite – 3* 87 rating

2014 stats – None recorded

Grant Harris RFR
Composite – 3* 84 rating

2014 stats – None recorded

REBELS:

Marquis Haynes SO.
Composite – 3* 88 rating

2014 stats –
31 tackles, 9 tfl, 7.5 sacks

Fadol Brown JR.
Composite – 2* 75 rating

2014 stats –
38 tackles, 5.5 tfl, .5 sacks

John Youngblood JR.
Composite – 2* 77 rating

2014 stats –
12 tackles, 1 tfl, 1 sack

Channing Ward SR.
Composite – 5* 98 rating

2014 stats –
30 tackles, 3tfl, 2 sacks

Victor Evans RFR.
Composite – 3* 84 rating

2014 stats – None recorded

Composite rating average

BULLDOGS – 86.2
REBELS – 84.4

My take:
I have seen several mention that Ryan Brown is the next Preston Smith. That will definitely be a tough task to pull off, but he has a very similar skill set.

Ryan is a big guy that is very physical. Look for huge things out of him in 2015.

While many expect Ryan to be the next Preston, I expect AJ Jefferson to be the star at defensive end in 2015. If this spring is any indication of what AJ will become, then go ahead and put him on your All-American list.

He may not become an All-American, but he’s a guy with a ton of talent and his motor never stops

Harris, Coleman and Calvin look to provide depth behind them. They have the talent to be very solid depth guys in 2015.

Chris Jones, Fletcher Adams and Nelson Adams will also be moving over from defensive tackle at times.

The Rebels will be no slouch at defensive end themselves. I do not expect Haynes to duplicate his 2014 sack total, but I do expect him to still be a solid player.

He has All-SEC potential, but he’s not sneaking up on anyone in 2015.

Fadol is another solid player for the Rebels. He’s not going to do anything great, but he’s a solid SEC starter and he gives the Rebels a lot of experience up front.

Ward has been a major disappointment. This is one bust that I didn’t see coming.

Youngblood gives you his all when he’s on the field. He’s a warrior. I’m just not sure he’s good enough to be your third or fourth defensive end.

Oct 4, 2014; Starkville, MS, USA; Mississippi State Bulldogs defensive lineman Nick James (88) during the game against the Texas A&M Aggies at Davis Wade Stadium. The Bulldogs defeated the Aggies 48-31. Mandatory Credit: Marvin Gentry-USA TODAY Sports

Defensive tackle –

BULLDOGS:

Chris Jones JR.
Composite – 5* 99 rating

2014 stats –
26 tackles, 3.5 tfl, 3 sacks

Nick James JR.
Composite – 4* 92 rating

2014 stats –
11 tackles

Nelson Adams JR.
Composite – 3* 85 rating

2014 stats –
19 tackles, 2.5 tfl, 1.5 sacks

Cory Thomas RFR.
Composite – 3* 86 rating

2014 stats – None recorded

Fletcher Adams FR.
Composite – 4* 92 rating

2014 stats – None recorded

REBELS:

Robert Nkemdiche JR.
Composite – 5* 100 rating

2014 stats –
35 tackles, 4 tfl, 2 sacks

Isaac Gross SR.
Composite – 3* 89 rating

2014 stats –
37 tackles, 8 tfl, 1 sack

DJ Jones JR.
Composite – 4* 93 rating

2014 stats – None recorded

Woodrow Hamilton SR.
Composite – 3* 85 rating

2014 stats –
10 tackles, .5 tfl

Breeland Speaks RFR.
Composite – 4* 91 rating

2014 stats – None recorded

Composite rating average

BULLDOGS – 90.8
REBELS – 91.6

My take:
This is a position that I believe both teams can be very explosive at in 2015. The Rebels have more experience on the line, but the Bulldogs match them talent wise.

Chris Jones and Robert Nkemdiche have the talent to be the best two defensive tackles in the country. I expect both to have breakout seasons in 2015.

Nick James came on at the end of last year and carried that into the spring. I think he’s finally put it all together and he’s ready to become a major player for the Bulldogs.

Isaac Gross has put together a fine resume in his Rebel career. He’s explosive off the ball. Being undersized has not stopped Gross from being a good SEC defensive tackle.

Depth is a concern for many Bulldog fans, but I don’t think it should be. I really like the Adams brothers and Cory Thomas looks like a Chris Jones clone.

The Rebels are fortunate to have an experienced guy like Woodrow Hamilton as the third defensive tackle. The fourth guy will be either Speaks or juco transfer DJ Jones.

DEFENSIVE COMPOSITE RATING TOTALS:

BULLDOGS – 87.7
REBELS – 87.8

REALITY:

Free Safety – Rebels
Strong safety/rover – Rebels
Cornerback – Bulldogs
Outside linebacker/nickel – Rebels
Outside linebacker – Bulldogs
Middle linebacker – Bulldogs
Defensive end – Bulldogs
Defensive tackle – Rebels

Overall summary:
I bet many Rebels and media members alike are surprised by this outcome. Most Rebels will try to argue it. I’m not sure how, but they will find a way.

That’s not all. I think it’s safe to say that Kailo, Channing and CJ’s ratings were way off base, which further misleads the defensive rating averages.

If you can’t agree with that, then you’re not only highly delusional, you’re also not very smart.

Maybe someone can point out where the far superior Rebel talent is? I’m having a hard time understanding why the media is hyping the Rebels because of what they return and just cannot see the Bulldogs being able to survive because of their loses to the NFL.

I think we all know why this is happening. Recruiting rankings. The one thing the Rebels and media members alike put so much stock in.

But hey, forget about reality, perception is way more important, right Rebels?

Rebel fans, I welcome you to reality. Keep letting the media sway your thoughts about little ole Mississippi State, like they do year in and year out.

Not only do the Bulldogs improve their overall talent level from last year, they also have the best quarterback in the SEC and possibly the best in the nation.

Perhaps our talent is equal or at least close to that, but at the end of the day, there’s one key ingredient that sets it a part.

That ingredient is Dak Prescott. A talent that the Rebels haven’t had since 2003.

Good luck in 2015 my Rebel friends. I’m afraid you may need it!

Next: Should the Egg Bowl be Played on Thanksgiving Night?

Home/Mississippi State Football