Ad Disclosure
The SEC features a pair of sophomore defensive ends that already have a chance to climb all-time career lists at their respective schools this season.
I’m talking, of course, about Texas A&M’s Myles Garrett (11.5 sacks) and Tennessee’s Derek Barnett (20.5 tackles for loss). Both players surpassed the SEC freshman sack record (more on that later) and should be more well-rounded in 2015.
If they want to rate as an all-time great, here are players that rate as the top 10 pass rushers in college football in the last decade. With two more productive seasons, Garrett and Barnett should crawl up this list.
10. Mario Williams, North Carolina State (2003-05): “Super Mario” snuck past our cutoff year by playing college football in ’05. He “only” made 14.5 sacks that year as an All-American. But Williams played through a staph infection to record four sacks in his final regular-season game. He also collected an eye-popping 27.5 tackles for loss that season. The Houston Texans famously drafted him No. 1 overall ahead of USC running back Reggie Bush.
9. Greg Hardy, Ole Miss (2006-09): He only started 13 games in college and accumulated a long list of injuries. Still, he set a Rebels school record with 26.5 sacks, leading the team in three different seasons. Moonlighting as a red-zone threat, Hardy also made six touchdown catches at Ole Miss.
8. Jadeveon Clowney, South Carolina (2011-13): After breaking the SEC freshman sack record in ’08 — which Garrett shattered last season — Clowney recorded 13 sacks and 23.5 tackles for loss the next season, punctuating it with the famous backfield hit on Michigan running back Vincent Smith. Battling fatigue, minor bumps and constant double teams, Clowney’s totals fell off a cliff in ’13, but he still became the No. 1 overall NFL draft pick.
7. Ryan Kerrigan, Purdue (2007-10): The rare Boilermaker to become a first-round NFL draft pick, Kerrigan made 34 sacks in four college seasons. The Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year in 2010, Kerrigan forced 14 fumbles, tying an FBS career record.
6. Von Miller, Texas A&M (2007-10): Entering college at a rail-thin 220 pounds, Miller had trouble with self-discipline early in his career at College Station as well — a theme that would follow him to the NFL. But he switched to a defensive end/linebacker hybrid in ’09 and led the nation with 17 sacks. He again reached double-digit sacks as a senior despite a high-ankle sprain. His bend at the line of scrimmage is renowned even at the pro level.
5. Vic Beasley, Clemson (2010-14): He broke Clemson’s career sack record as a senior in ’14, making 33 sacks in his final three seasons. A two-time consensus All-American, Beasley then unleashed a 4.53-second 40-yard dash, 41-inch vertical leap and a broad jump of 10 feet, 10 inches at the NFL Combine. That propelled him to the No. 8 overall selection in this year’s NFL draft.
4. Jarvis Jones, Georgia (2011-12): After suffering a neck injury as a freshman in ’09, the USC Trojans discovered Jones had spinal stenosis and did not allow him to practice the next spring. As a result, Jones transferred to Georgia, sitting out the ’10 season. When he finally emerged the next fall, Jones led the SEC with 13.5 sacks. He added one more to that total the next season, becoming a consensus two-time All-American.
3. Elvis Dumervil, Louisville (2002-05): At 5-foot-11, he didn’t become a first-round pick like most of these players. But Dumervil was one of the most dominant pass rushers in many decades. His 20 sacks in ’05 broke the Big East record set by Dwight Freeney. He made six sacks in a single game against Kentucky that year. Dumervil also became a strip-sack expert, setting the NCAA record for forced fumbles in a single season. He also made 10 sacks in ’04 for a huge two-year total.
2. Ndamukong Suh, Nebraska (2005-09): It’s rare that a defensive tackle rates so high as a pass-rusher — just ask another player with an extraneous “n,” Ole Miss’ Robert Nkemdiche. A rare defensive finalist for the Heisman Trophy, Suh embodied the term “unblockable” in 2009. That year, he made an incredible 85 total tackles from the interior of the defensive line, totaling 20.5 tackles for loss, 12 sacks and 10 pass deflections. Now he’s a poster child for overaggressive on-field behavior in the NFL as well as a four-time Pro Bowler.
1. Aaron Donald, Pittsburgh (2010-13): Three inches shorter and 22 pounds lighter than Suh out of college, Donald was every bit as dominant by the time he left the Panthers. Another defensive tackle, Donald made 66 tackles for loss and 29.5 sacks during his college career. He made nine sacks in ’14, earning NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year honors.
An itinerant journalist, Christopher has moved between states 11 times in seven years. Formally an injury-prone Division I 800-meter specialist, he now wanders the Rockies in search of high peaks.
