By Luke Brumm
We finished up the offense with the o-line. Now it’s time to move onto the defense, starting with my Top 5 interior lineman for 2024.
5. Shemar Turner – Texas A&M
Shemar Turner has been a beast. He will no longer be playing next to Walter Nolan, so he has a chance to put up much larger numbers. He will be the main focus of the Aggie defensive line and I expect big things from him in 2024. The four-star lineman from Desoto, Texas, sits at 6’4″, 285 lbs. and might put on a few more as he moves to more of an interior d-line role. He has been a bright spot as he has accumulated 79 total tackles and eight sacks so far in his career. I look for him to be A&M’s best defensive player this upcoming season.
4. Tyleik Williams – Ohio State
Tyleik Williams is a dawg and has has been a contributor on the Buckeye defense for three years now. He will be a senior and already has 91 tackles and nine sacks on his career. He stuffs the middle and makes it hard for teams to run against him. Ohio State is adding some players on defense, so that unit as a whole should improve from the 2023 group. Williams and the Buckeyes are talented and seem ready to end their title drought, so we’ll see what transpires in 2024.
3. Deone Walker – Kentucky
Deone Walker is slept on a little. That might be because he goes to Kentucky, but he is a beast. At 6’6″, 348 lbs., he is a force to be reckoned with. He stuffs the middle, but is also great at getting to the quarterback on passing plays. He had 7.5 sacks in 2023 and has 8.5 total in his career. He is only a true junior, so he is younger than a lot of the other standout d-lineman. He had 55 total tackles in 2024 and 40 in 2023. I love him as an NFL prospect and can see him going high in the first round.
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2. Howard Cross III – Notre Dame
Howard Cross III is the best in a great group of defensive players Notre Dame has. He is a 6’0″, 280 lb. lineman from Paramus, New Jersey, and arrived at ND in 2019. He has been a force for them since 2021. In his career he has 143 tackles and nine sacks. He is a force in the run game and a decent pass-rusher. He will need to up his sack total a little for me to consider him a great in that aspect. Either way, he will be a key in how good the Fighting Irish will be in 2024.
1. Mason Graham – Michigan
Mason Graham is the undisputed best interior lineman in college football, in my opinion. He is also a true junior like Deone Walker and has been just as dominate, if not more so. 63 total tackles and 5.5 sacks in two seasons is good, but his effect on the game is what’s crazy. Offenses plan around him and, but even then he still makes plays. I expect a legendary season from him – and Michigan will need it. They lost a ton of talent, especially on defense, so they will look for Graham to lead the way in 2024.
