2025 Defensive Backs

Jackson Bennee has already racked up 3 INTs in just 4 games. He's 1 of only 6 players to have 3 INTs thus far. And only one player is ahead with 4 INTs. Quite a few White DBs are on this list of INT leaders in the FBS, including Nestor, Hubbard, McLaughlin, and Zachman. Also a couple LBs on here too.
www.ncaa.com

NCAA College Football FBS current individual Stats | NCAA.com

Discover the current NCAA FBS Football leaders in every stats category, as well as historic leaders.
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i watched the full replay of South Dakota’s lopsided loss to #1 North Dakota State, specifically eyeballing cornerback Mikey Munn. he got picked on early, giving up two long completions, one of which where he was beat on a double move that he too-aggressively jumped on.

however, the youngster settled in after that and pitched a shutout. he wasn’t targeted again the rest of the game, including a few plays obviously designed to go to his guy. an impressive performance considering the rocky start and the big talent difference in the two teams.

Munn has a chance to be an elite cover guy.
 
Chance Gamble had a strong showing in his first game back from injury for Georgia Southern, despite his team suffering a loss.

on his first play from scrimmage, Gamble came up against the run and made a quick, strong tackle limiting the play to a 2-yard gain. on the very next play, he blew up a bubble screen to his side.

the first play of the following series, he again came up to make a stop against the run, this time holding the runner to a 1-yard gain. two plays later, he was challenged on a double move but was up to the task and blanketed the wideout. in fact, his coverage was so superb the color commentator pointed it out along with a replay showcasing the outstanding effort. White Out in effect!

on the third series, he was targeted on a hitch route. he broke this pass up beautifully, again prompting a replay from the broadcast booth to focus on the high-level performance and eliciting more praise from the color commentator. later in the series, he had tight coverage on a first-and-goal incompletion, with the color commentator singling out his performance yet again.

on his fourth series, he gave up two completions in soft zone coverage, but tackled the receiver immediately, preventing any yards after the catch. but after two consecutive plays where another corner for Georgia Southern was targeted deep, the Eagles flipped Gamble to that side of the field to matchup with the speedy wideout. he then blanketed the receiver.

he was not targeted again in the contest.

White Out was in full effect. this cat should be in line for postseason honors.
 
found this update on Minnesota cornerback John Nestor’s performance. the numbers came before the Purdue contest, in which he added 6 solo tackles (7 total), another interception, and another pass break up.

dude is applying the White Out!

 
Nestor’s mate in the secondary, Koi Perich, also made a highlight play with this pick-six. Perish, just a sophomore, entered the season with lots of hype but has struggled to live up to the lofty expectations. hopefully, this is the trigger that will project him back into consistently showing the player we know he can be.

 
here’s a short profile piece on John Nestor, focusing on his impact for the Golden Gophers as a transfer: https://www.twincities.com/2025/10/...football-success-failures-in-transfer-portal/

the key bits:
Nestor has played 90% of Minnesota’s defensive snaps this season, with Pro Football Focus giving him an above-average overall grade (67.2). The Chicago native has a team-high three interceptions, and five pass-breakups and is fourth with 21 total tackles.
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it’s been talked about at length on these forums, but again i’ll reiterate that i’m not sure how PFF gets that grade. Nestor has had several games of grading close to 90 and has yet to give up a touchdown reception this season. how does his overall grade drop after the Purdue game where he had an interception, a pass break-up, and 6 solo tackles?
 
similarly, here’s a short profile piece on Utah’s Jackson Bennee: https://247sports.com/college/utah/article/the-holy-war-is-big-for-jackson-bennee-257062178/

the pertinent bit:

This season, Bennee has recorded 28 total tackles, a Big 12-leading three interceptions, and three passes defended. It marks a drastic rise for a player who joined the program as a walk-on just a year ago.
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the versatile Bennee reminds me a lot of former Ute phenom, Eric Weddle, so one wonders how an athlete as obviously gifted as Bennee was so overlooked by all the “talent evaluators” (sic) …
 
here’s a lengthy profile piece on one of the top cover men in all of the FBS, Georgia Southern’s Chance Gamble: https://gseagles.com/news/2025/10/8...ves-chance-gambles-journey-to-statesboro.aspx

it’s interesting to note that, according to the article, it was a black assistant coach that asked Gamble to make the switch from wide receiver to cornerback.

Georgia Southern is not a good team, but Gamble is a legit talent. he’s so much better than his teammates in the secondary, that he rarely even gets targeted. White Out in full effect.

despite his team’s struggles, he should definitely be in line for postseason honors. additionally, he has the physical tools to play at the next level. it’ll be interesting to see how he tests out. i’m confident he will “surprise” the “experts.”
 
here’s a lengthy profile on the impactful emergence of Iowa sophomore defensive back, Zach Lutmer: https://www.hawkcentral.com/story/s...ch-lutmer-cooper-dejean-hawkeyes/86687380007/

it confirms what i asserted during the game (though it wasn’t credited on the box score), Lutmer played outside at cornerback before sliding inside to the slot/Cash position (as Iowa calls it) later in the game. it even compares Lutmer to Cooper DeJean because of several obvious similarities.

and again, it’d be nice to know how PFF comes up with their grades …

the relevant bits:

About a week before Iowa football’s matchup with Wisconsin, defensive coordinator Phil Parker pitched an idea to Zach Lutmer.

From a personnel standpoint, Parker suggested adding a twist to the Hawkeyes’ defense. Lutmer, who started every game this season at “Cash” (a slot corner/linebacker hybrid in Iowa’s defensive system), would also take snaps at the outside cornerback position.

Lutmer served double-duty on defense in Iowa’s blowout win over Wisconsin, playing Cash and cornerback.

…

Lutmer has the highest PFF (Pro Football Focus) grade this season among Iowa’s defensive regulars, ranking above Ethan Hurkett, TJ Hall and Aaron Graves. He is also third on the Hawkeyes in total tackles this season with 31.
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Lutmer has started every game this season, registering 31 total tackles, two tackles for loss, a sack, a fumble recovery, five pass deflections, and an interception.

he is continuing the tradition of the Hawkeyes having a dominant White defensive back. will he emerge as the third-straight White corner from Iowa to go on to play in the NFL?
 
we’ve overlooked Northwestern safety, Robert Fitzgerald so far this season, but the run-stuffing junior safety has emerged as the clear leader for the stout Wildcat defense.

Fitzgerald has led Northwestern in tackles in 5 of their 7 games this season, amassing 36 solo tackles (60 total). he also has a fumble recovery and 1 pass breakup.
 
Jimmy Chitwood said:
we’ve overlooked Northwestern safety, Robert Fitzgerald so far this season, but the run-stuffing junior safety has emerged as the clear leader for the stout Wildcat defense.

Fitzgerald has led Northwestern in tackles in 5 of their 7 games this season, amassing 36 solo tackles (60 total). he also has a fumble recovery and 1 pass breakup.
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Fitz is definitely flying under the radar on a 5-2 Northwestern team!
 
it was a quiet week for our cornerbacks, as both Chance Gamble and John Nestor were out with injury. Mikey Munn had a bye week.

Jackson Bennee had to play free safety again to cover for the injured Nate Richie.

i didn’t get to see the Iowa game, so i don’t know if Zach Lutmer played corner again, or if he spent his time at the “Cash” position for the Hawkeyes.
 
Jimmy Chitwood said:
we’ve overlooked Northwestern safety, Robert Fitzgerald so far this season, but the run-stuffing junior safety has emerged as the clear leader for the stout Wildcat defense.

Fitzgerald has led Northwestern in tackles in 5 of their 7 games this season, amassing 36 solo tackles (60 total). he also has a fumble recovery and 1 pass breakup.
Click to expand...
Made sure 1st page /Post #7 Robert Fitzgerald was a Honorable Mention on July 15 this Summer ....had thought about including a pic of him ; but didn't ; sure looks worthy. Thanks for those stats. Hard nosed player like his Dad (Pat / Linebacker) was

THANKS for adding the Pic Jackson Bennee back in September.

Thanks Jimmy C high octane Fuel for this 2025 DB Thread

Robert Fitzgerald (rs Jr.) 6'-0 210 Northwestern
Led NU in tackles in 3 of the first 4 games of the season, recording 36 tackles and 1.5 tackles for loss in four starts at safety... Posted a career-high 13 total tackles at Tulane (8/30).
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