Big plays on offense will always get the most attention on the highlight reels but everybody knows that defense wins championships in football and that will never change. The best teams in the country have quality defenses that are loaded with talent and that will certainly be the case again this year with an elite class of prospects looking to earn some hardware on that side of the football. Here is a look at the early predictions for every major defensive college football award.
Lombardi Award: Malik McDowell, Michigan State Spartans
The Lombardi Award is technically given to the top offensive lineman, defensive lineman or linebacker in college football but an offensive player hasn’t won the award since 1996 so we feel comfortable predicting that it will go to an elite defensive tackle this season. McDowell is an absolute monster at the defensive tackle position and he will line up at all four spots as a versatile pass rusher in the Michigan State defense. McDowell is coming off a season in which he had 13 tackles for loss with 4.5 sacks and he will have every opportunity to significantly build on those numbers as a featured lineman on the Spartans defense in 2016.
Ted Hendricks Award: Myles Garrett, Texas A&M Aggies
Garrett has piled up 33.5 tackles for loss, 24 sacks and 20 quarterback hurries over the last two seasons at A&M and all eyes will be on the junior end to see what he has in store for this season now that he will be eligible for the NFL Draft. There is a very good chance that Garrett delivers his best season yet and there won’t be many defensive ends that will be able to match what he does this season. Garrett will be an absolute force on the edge and his numbers alone should be enough to allow him to take home the Ted Hendricks award as the nation’s top defensive end. It would help if the Aggies surrounded him with some better talent on defense because as of now, he has to do everything on his own.
Dick Butkus Award: Anthony Walker, Northwestern Wildcats
Walker was a force at Northwestern last season but the fact that he doesn’t play at a big-time school kept him from getting the publicity that he deserved. Although, Northwestern did upset Stanford early last year and did spend some time in the Top 25 throughout the season. Walker registered 120 tackles including 20.5 for loss, which ranked fourth in the entire country. He also had four sacks, four pass breakups and one interception. Those are ridiculous numbers for a linebacker and the scariest part is that he will have every opportunity to top those statistics this season. The 6’1’’, 235-pound Walker is an elite college linebacker and it won’t be a surprise if he finally receives the attention he deserves at Northwestern this season.
Jim Thorpe Award: Jourdan Lewis, Michigan Wolverines
The reigning Jim Thorpe award winner Desmond King will look to build on what he accomplished last season at Iowa when he returns this season and while he will be in the running to win the award again, we are looking elsewhere for our pick to earn top defensive back in the nation honors. In all honesty, King probably should have declared for the NFL Draft.
Lewis actually had one more pass defense than King a year ago but King’s eight interceptions were six more than the two that Lewis finished with and that went a long way to determining the award. However, the Michigan defense will be that much more aggressive this year under new coordinator Don Brown and there is no doubt he will scheme to get the most out of his star cornerback. Lewis has the potential to build on his performance from last season when he was a second-team All-American and he will have a very good shot at beating out King as the nation’s top defensive back this season. And if we’re wrong here, it’ll be King who wins the award. One of the two of them should claim it.
