Absolute Units: Defensive Backs Edition (ft. Ohio State, Kansas State, Notre Dame, Michigan, Alabama)

We examine some of the strongest (and surprising) secondaries in the college game, from Will Johnson-led Michigan, to Caleb Downs-led Ohio State, to Xavier Watts' led Notre Dame, and more.

In honor of the recent birth of 9-lb Commissioner Jr., an Absolute Unit himself, this series from Robn explores some of the highest-projected positional units in college football for 2024.

This post utilizes advanced statistics from collegefootballdata.com and teamrankings.com. For a glossary of the metrics represented in this piece, click here.

This piece examines the best defensive back contingents in college football. All recruiting rankings are provided by our friends over at On3.

Ohio State - NCB Jordan Hancock, CB Davison Igbinosun, CB Denzel Burke, BS Lathan Ransom, FS Caleb Downs

2023 Unit Defensive Stats:

DB Havoc: 6.6% (53rd out of 134)
Passing Downs Success Rate Allowed: 25.1% (16th)
Passing Downs Explosiveness Allowed: 1.77 points (8th)
Opponent Comp. Pct: 52.7% (3rd)
Opponent Yds/Pass Att: 5.0 (1st)
Int: 7 (112th)

Key Backups In Rotation

Malik Hartford
Jermaine Mathews
Calvin Simpson-Hunt
Keenan Nelson

Lost From 2023:

Sonny Styles (not actually lost, just moving to the linebacker corps)
Josh Proctor (to the NFL)
Ja'Had Carter (transferred to North Carolina State)

Transfer Additions In 2024:

Caleb Downs (transferred from Alabama)
Keenan Nelson (transferred from South Carolina)

Top 25 Positional Recruits In Recent Years

2021: Jantzen Dunn (No. 8 S, No. 134 Nat'l) (now with Kentucky)
2021: Denzel Burke (No. 6 Ath, No. 166 Nat'l)
2021: Jakailin Johnson (No. 4 CB, No. 54 Nat'l) (now with LSU)
2021: Jordan Hancock (No. 5 CB, No. 58 Nat'l)
2022: Jyaire Brown (No. 24 CB, No. 202 Nat'l) (now with LSU)
2023: Malik Hartford (No. 11 S, No. 132 Nat'l)
2023: Jayden Bonsu (No. 23 S, No. 283 Nat'l)
2023: Jermaine Matthews (No. 4 CB, No. 48 Nat'l)
2023: Calvin Simpson-Hunt (No. 7 CB, No. 58 Nat'l)
2024: Aaron Scott (No. 5 CB, No. 34 Nat'l)
2024: Bryce West (No. 10 CB, No. 71 Nat'l)

It's easy to forget that just three short seasons ago Jim Knowles piloted one of the best defenses in the country at a Big 12 program. He's by now fully implemented his 4-2-5 base from Oklahoma State, and the institutional knowledge is being blessed by multiple AP Pre-Season First-Team All Americans.

Nine of 11 defensive starters are on their third year in Knowles' system, Eleven Warriors notes, and he's even swapping out parts with other contingents – Sonny Styles will shift down to the Will linebacker spot from safety, while Alabama transfer and Pre-Season All-American Caleb Downs will transfer to Columbus to start at safety, following up a 2023 campaign where he led all Alabama defenders in tackles as a true freshman.

Lathan Ranson returns at strong safety after missing the Buckeye's last four games last season due to a broken tibia, and Jordan Hancock looks to continue his new role from last year as the nickel cornerback. Davison Igbinosun returns the most defensive production of anyone on the team from last year, while his battery mate Denzel Burke (the other of the two AA's), part of Ohio State's insane 2021 secondary recruiting haul, opted out of the NFL and will be a fourth-year starter.

For all the name and recruiting-ranking power, though, this unit didn't actually create a lot of Havoc, and they didn't force a lot of interceptions. They did an exceptional job, however, of limiting opponent points by limiting explosive plays, relying on defensive athleticism to contain and control anything remotely threatening downfield. Teams averaged five yards per passing attempt against OSU last season - the lowest amount in all of CFB.

Kansas State - CB Jacob Parrish, CB Keenan Garber, SS VJ Payne, FS Marques Sigle

2023 Unit Defensive Stats:

DB Havoc: 7.0% (44th out of 134)
Passing Downs Success Rate Allowed: 25.4% (19th)
Passing Downs Explosiveness Allowed: 2.17 (107th)
Opponent Comp. Pct: 56.4% (16th)
Opponent Yds/Pass Att: 6.7 (30th)
Int: 13 (26th)

Key Backups In Rotation

Jordan Wright
Colby McCalister
Justice James
Dante Thomas
Darrell Jones

Lost From 2023:

CB Will Lee (transfered to Texas A&M)
S Kobe Savage (transfered to Oregon)

Transfer Additions In 2024:

Jack/S Jordan Riley (transfered from Ball State)
S Dante Thomas (transfered from Northwestern State via Southwest Mississippi CC)

Top 40 Positional Recruits In Recent Years

2021: Will Lee (No. 3 CB, No. 15 Nat'l)

This one's a bit under the radar. Then again, almost everything with Kansas State always is; The Sunflower State is a seeming black hole for the average college football fan every year, even while long gone are the days of Bill Snyder being the most prolific coverer of underdog spreads. The critical departures here are Kobe Savage and Will Lee, but everyone else from a deep core is back.

Jacob Parrish, VJ Payne, Keenan Garber and Marques Sigle return their 186 tackles, 25 PBUs, 7 picks and 9 TFLs from last season, forming the best unit of DC Joe Klanderman's defense. But what's equally impressive is the depth. McCalister, James and Wright all played meaningful minutes last year despite being down on the depth chart, while transfer Dante Thomas (the No. 5 corner in the 2020 class who somehow landed at Northwestern State) was arguably the best secondary player to come out of JUCO to the FBS this past offseason.

Ball State transfer Jordan Riley (not listed) should drift between the Jack and Saftey position at the upper end of the box, dropping back into coverage if needed to bolster the unit to fit a true 3-3-5. In typical fashion, this unit was all-around solid last year in nearly every metric – with one achilles heel: allowing explosive plays.

With the shifting landscape this year in the Big 12, they'll miss Oklahoma and Texas, as well as the conference's best team in Utah, and face only two teams who posted Top 50 Passing Plays Explosiveness metrics on offense last season.

Notre Dame - ND Jordan Clark, CB Christian Gray, CB Benjamin Morrison, SS Rod Heard II, FS Xavier Watts

2023 Unit Defensive Stats:

DB Havoc: 7.5% (20th out of 134)
Passing Downs Success Rate Allowed: 24.7% (12th)
Passing Downs Explosiveness Allowed: 1.95 (39th)
Opponent Comp. Pct: 52.4% (2nd)
Opponent Yds/Pass Att: 5.5 (3rd)
Int: 16 (10th)

Key Backups In Rotation

Jaden Mickey
Adon Shuler
Chance Tucker
Luke Talich

Lost From 2023:

SS DJ Brown
CB Cam Hart

Transfer Additions In 2024:

SS Rod Heard (transferred from Northwestern)
ND Jordan Clark (transferred from Arizona State)

Top 30 Positional Recruits In Recent Years

2022: Jaden Mickey (No. 22 CB, No. 185 Nat'l)
2023: Christian Gray (No. 11 CB, No. 112 Nat'l)
2023: Adon Shuler (No. 25 S, No. 295 Nat'l)
2023: Ben Minich (No. 27 S, No. 304 Nat'l)
2024: Tae Johnson (No. 8 Ath, No. 215 Nat'l)
2025: Dallas Golden (No. 9 S, No. 80 Nat'l)
2025: Ja'Don Blair (No. 13 S, No. 121 Nat'l)
2025: Mark Zackery (No. 12 CB, No. 104 Nat'l)

What Notre Dame has done in the secondary is remarkable. The unit was Top 20 in the country in just about every important metric last year, and they've achieved that thus far largely with homegrown, strong-but-not-eye-popping guys as opposed to an Ohio State or Georgia type recruiting haul.

No one epitomizes this more than AP First-Team All-American Xavier Watts, who came to Notre Dame in 2020 as a wide receiver recruit who barely cracked most Top 400 lists. Benjamin Morrison, who returns 10 PBUs and is Pro Football Focus' second-rated CB in the country this year, rated roughly the same two years later out of the 2022 class (Morrison suffered a right shoulder injury in March spring and had the area scoped. He is projected to be healthy to start the year).

Notre Dame's success rate allowed on passing plays by opposing offenses was just 33%, third-best in the country. Cam Hart and DJ Brown, two key pieces of last year's secondary, are gone. But their production could be offset (maybe?) by the transfer additions of Heard and Clark, who both project to slip into starting roles.

The stars of consistent on-field success and academic fit might be aligning on the trail, too, with the 2025 haul of Golden, Blair and Zackery, their best in years.

Michigan - NB Zeke Barry, CB Will Johnson, CB Jyaire Hill, SS Makari Paige, FS Wesley Walker

2023 Unit Defensive Stats:

DB Havoc: 7.5% (26th out of 134)
Passing Downs Success Rate Allowed: 24.6% (11th)
Passing Downs Explosiveness Allowed: 1.63 (1st)
Opponent Comp. Pct: 55.2% (9th)
Opponent Yds/Pass Att: 5.7 (5th)
Int: 18 (3rd)

Key Backups In Rotation

FS Rod Moore
SS Ja'Den McBurrows
CB Jacob Oden
CB Myles Pollard
FS Quinten Johnson

Lost From 2023:

CB Josh Wallace
S Keon Sabb
CB Keshaun Harris
DB Mike Sainristil

Transfer Additions In 2024:

FS Wesley Walker (transferred from Tennessee via Louisville)

Top 30 Positional Recruits In Recent Years

2022: S Zeke Barry (No. 11 S, No. 146 Nat'l)
2022: S Keon Sabb (No. 8 S, No. 87 Nat'l)
2022: CB Will Johnson (No. 2 CB, No. 16 Nat'l)
2023: CB Jyaire Hill (No. 20 CB, No. 166 Nat'l)
2023: S Brandyn Hillman (No. 6 Ath, No. 207 Nat'l)
2024: CB Jo'Ziah Edmond (No. 18 CB, No. 121 Nat'l)
2024: S Jacob Oden (No. 29 S, No. 344 Nat'l)

Will Johnson is where the ink starts hitting the page with this unit. He's strong. He's versatile in coverage, getting physical in a press-man against the likes of Marvin Harrison Jr. one minute, then is dropping back in coverage the next. More importantly, he's the highest rated player in EA Sports College Football '25. And by his own estimates, he did it all last year at only 70% health.

To illustrate the extent to which Michigan values this unit is, even after the losses of Sainristil and Wallace: Both of the team's team captains come from the DB corps. Fifth-year senior Makari Paige and Rod Moore were named the team's co-captains.

Moore tore his ACL in the Spring and is out for at least the majority of the season. He is listed on the depth chart as a "backup," and along with Quinten Johnson and projected starter Wes Walker at the position, Michigan has to have the best free safety unit in college football. Walker's map to Ann Arbor resembles the route of a drunk southern tailgater, beginning at Georgia Tech, transferring to Tennessee, then transferring to Louisville at the start of this past off-season before changing his mind and committing to the defending national champions. But he is the only truly new face in this unit that has almost as many new coaches as it does new players. (We're not counting Jyaire Hill, a surprise projected starter at corner, as "new" since he redshirted last season).

Wink Martindale is the new defensive coordinator, coming back to the college game most recently from the 6-11 New York Giants. He is the self-styled "OG" of the Wolverines' offense – the In The Trenches podcast explores the origin of the remark – while Lamar Morgan, formerly of Louisiana, is the new defensive backs coach and is credited with landing multiple top 100 recruits in just a few months on the job.

Martindale's scheme is based on havoc, confusion and all sorts of motion. It's also risky - sending unexpected pressure leaves vulnerabilities downfield. It'll be interesting to measure the defense's ability this season to throw off more inexperienced quarterbacks.

Alabama - CB Domani Jackson, CB Zabien Brown, SS Malachi Moore, FS Keon Sabb

2023 Unit Defensive Stats:

DB Havoc: 6.9% (47th out of 134)
Passing Downs Success Rate Allowed: 25% (15th)
Passing Downs Explosiveness Allowed: 2.04 (67th)
Opponent Comp. Pct: 59.3% (46th)
Opponent Yds/Pass Att: 6.5 (18th)
Int: 12 (39th)

Key Backups In Rotation

DaShawn Jones
Jalen Mbwake
Kameron Howard
King Mack

Lost From 2023:

Caleb Downs (transferred to Ohio State)
Kool-Aid McKinstry (NFL)
Terrion Arnold (NFL)

Transfer Additions In 2024:

Keon Sabb (transferred from Michigan)
DaShawn Jones (transferred from Wake Forest)
Domani Jackson (transferred from USC)

Top 20 Positional Recruits In Recent Years

2021: Kool-Aid McKinstry (No. 1 S, No. 17 Nat'l)
2021: Devonta Smith (No. 13 S, No. 179 Nat'l)
2021: Terrion Arnold (No. 2 CB, No. 35 Nat'l)
2022: Antonio Kite (No. 13 S, No. 161 Nat'l)
2022: Earl Little (No. 12 CB, No. 85 Nat'l)
2023: Dezz Ricks (No. 2 CB, No. 18 Nat'l)
2023: Caleb Downs (No. 1 S, No. 5 Nat'l)
2023: Jalil Hurley (No. 4 S, No. 50 Nat'l)
2023: Tony Mitchell (No. 10 S, No. 116 Nat'l)
2024: Red Morgan (No. 16 CB, No. 248 Nat'l)
2024: Jaylen Mbakwe (No. 2 S, No. 13 Nat'l)
2024: Zay Mincey (No. 3 S, No. 23 Nat'l)
2024: Zabien Brown (No. 4 S, No. 26 Nat'l)

Amidst all that is new at Alabama: their defensive coordinator, Kane Womack. Womack and DeBoer go back to the Indiana days, and his most recent stop was as South Alabama's head coach where he led them to their first bowl game since 2016. Womack runs the "Swarm" defense, which is a catchy way of saying a sticky 4-2-5 that descends from the Gary Patterson school. His defenses have done well in the past limiting yards after catch and swarming the box.

It's easy to focus on the massive losses to this unit: Kool-Aid McKinstry, Terrion Arnold, Caleb Downs and three others are all gone. That's one of the steepest personnel cliffs you can drop off of, comprising over 200 tackles and 22 PBUs last year alone.

But many are neglecting the fact that Alabama gained a ton of transfers, too, in the chaos of Saban's retirement. The defense is no exception. Womack will have All-SEC Malachi Moore, Michigan transfer Keon Sabb and USC transfer Domani Jackson to work with, as well as corner Zabien Brown and Devonta Smith, lined up at the (lol) Husky position. The Wake Forest-sourced Da'Shawn Jones will serve in a key depth role. He will also have at his disposal the 2024 recruiting class' second, third and fourth-best safeties.

The Tide catch some of the SEC's very best receiving teams on their uneven schedule this year, in Missouri, LSU, Georgia and Oklahoma, so this unit will be tested.

Honorable Mentions

Georgia: The team's units can't be on every single list, right?
Oklahoma:
Iowa:
Clemson:
Wisconsin: