White defensive backs 08-09

[Jimmy Chitwood]

we've dropped the ball by not giving these guys their due this year. while there aren't many of them around, the white DBs who have managed to overcome the obstacles they've faced are usually team leaders, and are often among the elite, most hard-hitting athletes in the country.

please feel free to post pics and bios of any guys who should be mentioned.

 

[Jimmy Chitwood]

to get this thread started off properly...

Vanderbilt free safety Ryan Hamilton has been named the Football Writers Association of America/Bronko Nagurski National Defensive Player of the Week for his remarkable performance in the Commodores' 23-17 win last Saturday at Ole Miss.

Hamilton, a 6-2, 210-pound junior from Wycombe, Pa., tied a school record with three interceptions. He returned one interception 79 yards for a touchdown, instantly changing the momentum after the Rebels built an early lead. Hamilton's third interception sealed the victory as time expired.

The effort resulted in a sweep of national defensive awards for the Commodore junior. On Sunday, he received the Walter Camp Foundation's National Defensive Player of the Week award. Hamilton claimed top weekly defensive honors from the Southeastern Conference on Monday.

Hamilton, who became the second Vanderbilt defender to win the FWAA's weekly award this season, added a fumble recovery and had six tackles (four unassisted), including a goal-line stop that prevented a Rebel score.

He will be added to the 2008 Bronko Nagurski Trophy Watch List.

Ryan Hamilton

 

[Jimmy Chitwood]

in a game that finished just a little while ago, Oregon State upset #1 USC. the game was sealed by a 4th quarter interception by senior safety Greg Laybourn. with under 3 minutes to go, Laybourn snared the errant throw and returned the pick to the two-yard line.

Greg Laybourn

 

[Jimmy Chitwood]

the Northwestern Wildcats are one of the few teams in Division I that start a pair of white safeties, and they are two very good ones. Brad Phillips and Brendan Smith are both juniors. in addition to being ballhawks, the two headhunters are also among the team leaders in tackles.

Brad Phillips with the interception

Brendan Smith returns the pick for a touchdown

 

[Jimmy Chitwood]

if the reports are true, Arkansas State free safety Evan Van Dolah just might be the fastest safety in the country.

Van Dolah, a junior for the Red Wolves, is said to run a 4.36 40.

 

[Jimmy Chitwood]

BYU traditionally plays a lot of white athletes, and this year is no different. junior Scott Johnson is one of only a handful of white athletes "allowed" to play cornerback. and he has responded by being completely dominant, both defending the pass and coming up to stop the run. senior Kellen Fowler starts at free safety. sophomore strong safety Andrew Rich is considered a fifth starter in the secondary.

the Cougars also play a large number of young white cats.

cornerback Scott Johnson with a big hit

Johnson once again showing that real corners can tackle

 

[Jimmy Chitwood]

Northern Illinois strong safety Mike Sobol flies under the radar, but he flies to the ball. the sophomore currently leads the Huskies in tackles.

Mike Sobol demonstrating how to tackle

 

[Jimmy Chitwood]

i posted about him on another thread, but most folks have never seen/heard of Peter Ittersagen.

he's a tremendous kick returner, and regarded by some as possibly the best small-school corner in the nation. somehow this legitimate NFL prospect managed to fall through the cracks all the way down to Division III Wheaton College.

Pete Ittersagen

 

[Jimmy Chitwood]

Colorado State not only starts a white duo at the two safety spots, they also dare to start a white corner! and their fifth defensive back is also a white athlete. someone call the NAACP!

Nick Oppenneer, a junior, has won the starting spot at right cornerback, and he has quickly established himself as a shutdown corner. the term is used far too often, but in this case it is legitimate. it is rare that opposing quarterbacks even throw Oppenneer's direction, an amazing feat considering he's a first-year starter for the Rams and considering whites aren't supposed to have enough "athleticism" to man the position.

free safety Klint Kubiak has been beset by injuuries since arriving at CSU, but he is a playmaker when he's healthy and has a knack for finding the ball when it's in the air. the top-notch talent has once again caught the attention of NFL scouts with his play this fall. strong safety Mike Pagnotta is undersized, but he plays big. a physical and versatile player, Pagnotta makes his presence felt all over the field. Jake Galusha backs up both safety spots and plays in nickel situations.

sophomore cornerback Scott Zick and freshman free safety Zach Donaldson see a lot of action on special teams.

Nick Oppenneer knocks away the pass

Klint Kubiak with the pick in the endzone

 

[Jimmy Chitwood]

the Charbonnet brothers at Texas Tech are an incredibly gifted pair of defensive backs. Daniel Charbonnet, a senior, currently plays out of position at strong safety for the Red Raiders, although his size and 4.31 speed would seemingly be better suited at cornerback. however, he is still tied for the nation's lead with 4 interceptions on the year.

younger brother Taylor, a redshirt freshman, plays mainly on special teams, despite possessing 4.37 speed, a 35-inch vertical jump, and an incredible 3.94 short shuttle. even more importantly, he can cover receivers like white on rice. and despite being "unbeatable in practice" (his head coach's own words), even when matched up against Tech's top receiver, he isn't a mainstay in the line-up.

despite that, he should inevitably be a star in the making at cornerback for the Red Raiders in years to come.

here is a link to an article that illustrates the talent of this pair of real "brothers."

Taylor (left) and Daniel Charbonnet

 

[Jimmy Chitwood]

despite being Texas A&M's fastest and smallest (5-10, 184-pounds) defensive back, and being the team's top cover corner for the past two seasons (including Freshman All American honors two years ago), Jordan Peterson, in a bizarre move by the new coaching staff, was moved to free safety to begin the 08-09 season.

despite the ridiculous position change, Peterson has been one of the few bright spots *pun* on an otherwise abysmal Aggies team, including having a 48-yard interception return for a touchdown this year.

Peterson who is an incredibly physical defensive back and who possesses both phenomenal leaping ability and superior closing speed apparently still doesn't have the necessary physical tools required to be a cornerback. if only he'd been born with more melanin in his skin, perhaps that would be a different story.

Jordan Peterson shows how small the margin of error is for a white cornerback before he is thrown under the bus.

 

[Jimmy Chitwood]

the Iowa Hawkeyes have a pair of young white safeties who are making their presence felt in the Big Ten. sophomore free safety Brett Greenwood, who has also played some cornerback for the Hawkeyes was named to the conference all-freshman team a season ago, and is looking even better this year.

freshman strong safety Tyler Sash looks like he might earn a spot on that list this season, after compiling ten tackles, a sack, and an interception in his first start.

Tyler Sash with the tackle

Brett Greenwood is worshipped and feared

 

[backrow]

and white safety from Oregon St, whose name eludes me now, sealed their win over number 1 USC with a 28 yard interception return!

 

[Colonel_Reb]

That would be number 44, Greg Laybourn, backrow.

 

[Jimmy Chitwood]

and white safety from Oregon St, whose name eludes me now, sealed their win over number 1 USC with a 28 yard interception return!

backrow, he's the second guy mentioned in this thread. *points up a few posts*

Greg Laybourn celebrates his game-clinching interceptionEdited by: Jimmy Chitwood

 

[backrow]

how about NCAA interception co-leader (along with Daniel Charbonnet) Sean Baker

this redshirt freshman SS (6'1, 206lbs) currently has 4 interceptions, 1 of them returned for a 40 yards TD, 1 fumble returned for 33 yard TD, on top of that he leads the team in tackles.

Edited by: backrow

 

[Jimmy Chitwood]

great find, backrow. i knew absolutely nothing about Baker. hopefully, he will continue playing great football.

i posted a picture of him in another thread, but Northwestern redshirt freshman safety Brian Peters has been getting more playing time of late in the talented Wildcat secondary. he's a guy to keep an eye on.

 

[Don Wassall]

I had only about 30 minutes to watch college ball today so alternated between Notre Dame-Stanford and Michigan-Illinois in order to see two guys with non-stop motors and tight hips running the ball.

McGuffie and Gerhart are both having nice games again, but ND's Kyle McCarthy has been unbelievable. With 10 minutes still remaining in the 3rd quarter he has 13 tackles and an interception!

Oh, and the black WRs were dropping one perfectly thrown ball after another, though I'm not sure if Juice Williams can throw a perfect ball. I think 6-year-old white boys have better hands on average than the average black "skill" player. Edited by: Don Wassall

 

[backrow]

they were giving Kyle McCarthy props as well, calling him technically the best tackler on the good tackling team, and said he might not always look for the punishing hit but once he lays his hands on someone, they are going down...

 

[ToughJ.Riggins]

There were a full 4 televised games here in Jersey with a white RB starter. It looks as though Jake Sharp may have reclaimed his starting job today as well with a great overall performance today when you count his receiving threat. He ran the ball decently too, something he had been strugglng with from outrunning his blockers. Quigley and Crawford stuggled mightily today. McGuffie's stats weren't great today, but he made the most of a bad situation and had another solid game!

 

[GreatLakeState]

While Otis Wiley has had a bunch of picks and gets most of the attention, Michigan State's other safety, Dan Fortener, is playing really well. Second on the team in tackles, has a pick, a recovered fumble, and a tackle behind the line, thus far.

MSU has two good linebackers, Eric Gordon and Adam Decker. Decker made the game-saving tackle Saturday against Iowa. Decker, like Charlie Gantt I mentioned in another post, is from Detroit area white football power Birmingham Brother Rice. Gordon is from Traverse City, home of Thunder Dan Majerle.

 

[whiteCB]

U of Texas safety Blake Gideon is as good as they come and he's only a FRESHMAN. In high school he recorded 300 tackles, 10 INTs, six forced fumbles, seven fumble recoveries and 14 TDs in his final three years ... also saw action on special teams and at QB ... named first-team 5A all-state by The Associated Press and the Texas Sports Writers Association, district 14-5A MVP and first-team All-Centex as a senior ... helped the Leander Lions finish second in the district by posting 142 tackles, eight INTs, 10 PBU, three forced fumbles and four fumble recoveries ... also posted 533 rushing yards and 14 TDs as a situational QB ... posted a career-high 15 tackles to go along with an INT, a forced fumble, 99 yards rushing, a TD and a blocked extra point against Pflugerville ... earned honorable mention all-state by The Associated Press and first-team all-district honors as a junior ... notched 119 tackles, two INTs, three forced fumbles and three fumble recoveries ... tabbed honorable mention all-district as a sophomore ... posted 39 tackles in six games before sustaining a season-ending injury ... a versatile three-sport letterman who played baseball as a freshman and ran on the 4x100, 4x200 and 4x400-meter relays ... led the 4x400-meter relay to regionals as a sophomore and junior.

Here's the biobio

 

[Jimmy Chitwood]

as GreatLakeState mentioned, Michigan State's Danny Fortener is an incredibly talented defensive back, running a reported 4.31 40. and more importantly, he's turned into a really good football player, as GLS' stat report noted.

Danny celebrates his interception with a teammate

 

[Jimmy Chitwood]

he's gone largely unnoticed playing for woeful Wyoming, but sophomore free safety Chris Prosinski is the best player the Cowboys have suiting up.

after 6 games, Prosinski leads the team in tackles (32 solo, 51 total), interceptions (2), and pass break-ups (6).

in high school he was a two-time state champion in the high jump, and he also won state championships in the 100 meters and 110-hurdles as a senior. in addition to his state champion credentials, he set his high school records in the long jump, 110-hurdles, 300-hurdles, and 4x400 relay while managing a 4.0 grade-point average. wow!

Chris Prosinski makes one of his 7 tackles against NDSU.

 

[Jimmy Chitwood]

the Stanford Cardinal have surprised a lot of people this season after winning only 4 games last year. after six games, they're at .500 including a close loss at Notre Dame. their emergence from the cellar of the Pac-10 has been triggered in large part by white athletes, including a quartet of young white defensive backs.

Bo McNally

junior Bo McNally is the leader of the secondary from his strong safety spot. the postseason award candidate looks more like a cornerback with his explosive closing speed, ball skills, and small stature (6-0, 205 pounds), but like seemingly all white defensive backs he hits like a ton of bricks.

redshirt freshman Sean Wiser has seemingly come out of nowhere to earn the starting position at free safety, as well as backing up at strong safety. a long (6-2) and lean (194 pounds) headhunter, Wiser looks to be a fixture in the Cardinal secondary for years to come.

Taylor Skaufel with the hit

sophomore free safety Taylor Skaufel gets a lot of minutes, rotating in at free safety as well as in nickel and dime packages.

sophomore Mark Mueller is the rarest of athletes: a tall cornerback (not to mention his pale skin).

but despite being 6-3 and possessing 10.7 100-meter speed, Mueller has yet to unseat senior wopamo osaisai (the Pac-10 champion in the 100-meters, 10.37), or junior kris evans (10.8 100-meters) to get in the starting line-up, even though osaisai and evans are beaten like african war drums on a nightly basis. in fact, evans and osaisai are ranked #2 and #4 in tackles for the Cardinal.

if that doesn't tell you how awful their cover skills are, then nothing will.

Mueller does see a lot of action, however, and is (of course

) a demon on special teams where he has the team's lone blocked kick of the season.

Mark Mueller introduces himself