Finishing off my series on players emerging from the shadows in 2023, let’s take a look at some safeties.
1. Malaki Starks, Georgia
Overshadowed by: Cam Smith
Another year, another standout player on the back end of the defense for the Dawgs. Starks started in the national title game as a true freshman and played more snaps than anyone else on Georgia’s defense in 2022. He’s a potential All-American as a sophomore.
2. Rod Moore, Michigan
Overshadowed by: Ji’Ayir Brown, Sydney Brown
Michigan once again had a dominant defense in 2022, and a large part of that was due to the emergence of Moore as a standout on the back end. He’s the best-returning safety in the Big Ten and has a case to be a pre-season All-American.
3. Kendal Daniels, Oklahoma State
Overshadowed by: Jason Taylor
The lesser known of the two standout Cowboys safeties, Daniels was a star as a redshirt freshman, earning second-team All-Big XII honors. He now steps into a leadership role on Oklahoma State’s defense and will be a key player if they’re going to bounce back from a rough second half of 2022.
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4. Calen Bullock, USC
Overshadowed by: Mekhi Blackmon, Rejzhon Wright
As a sophomore, Bullock made second-team All-Pac 12, and deserving so, as he was one of PFF’s top-three graded safeties in the entire country. With a bevy of high-level safeties from the conference moving onto the next level, he’s got the chance to take the mantle as the guy in the conference on the back end of the defense.
