White Defensive Backs

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Jimmy Chitwood

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i wanted to start a thread for white defensive backs we need to keep an
eye on in this upcoming '06 season. as most of you know, i think Utah's
Eric Weddle is the best DB in the country, period. at either corner or
safety... and Tommy Z is finally getting some much-deserved hype, as
well.

but here's to the rest of the guys out there who play great football but get
virtually no air-time on ESPN...

my first guy to talk about is FS/SS John Wendling from Wyoming.
after leading the Cowboys in tackles as a sophomore, Wendling has just
gotten better and better. here's the skinny:

from the Cowboys website: he will enter his senior season as a
leading All-America candidate in 2006. A three-year starter at safety for
the Cowboys, he has added 13 pounds to his frame from a year ago,
while maintaining his speed and explosiveness -- he ran a 4.38 40-yard
time during winter conditioning and posted a vertical jump of 40.9
inches. During 2006 spring practice, Wendling trained at the strong-
safety position, in addition to his familiar free-safety spot. He could be
utilized at either position his senior year. Prior to the 2005 season, he
was ranked by Phil Steele's College Football Preview as the No. 16 best
free safety in the nation.

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as posted on Fox Sports '06 college football preview:
Best Defensive Player: Senior SS John Wendling. The big, fast tackling machine suffers from playing in the same conference as Utah's Eric Weddle. At 6-1 and 222 pounds with sub-4.4 speed, he's a sleeper pro prospect who'll get more and more attention as the year goes on from the scouts.
Edited by: Jimmy Chitwood
 

Jimmy Chitwood

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next on the list, versatile DB Joe Sturdivant from SMU.

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you wanna talk about underrated? the senior was only second-team Conference USA last year, despite leading his team and the league in pass breakups (14) and he led his team (and was fourth in the league) in tackles with 112. He was named the Conference USA Defensive Player of the Week twice and was the only defensive player in the league to win the honor multiple times in 2005.

here's the link to his player bio at SMU: link he was also noted on Fox SPorts college preview. here's what they had to say:

Best Defensive Player: Senior SS Joe Sturdivant. The leader of the secondary didn't just lead the team in tackles last season, he led the team in tackles with 33 more than the number two man. He's like a free safety when the ball is in the air, and he hits like a linebacker.
 
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Nice stuff Jimmy...keep it up so we know what DBs to look out for this year.
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Jimmy Chitwood

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i'll keep working on it, but i appreciate any help i can get!
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Edited by: Jimmy Chitwood
 

Vindicator

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Here are the white defensive backs who are on the Bronko Nagurski Trophy 2006 preseason watch list of 56 players:

Nick Bunting, Tulsa, LB
Rob Caldwell, Navy, LB
Joe Garcia, Nevada, DB
Korey Hall, Boise State, LB
Will Herring, Auburn, LB (also on Lott Trophy watch list)
Cameron Jensen, BYU, LB
Sabby Piscitelli, Oregon State, S
Paul Posluszny, Penn State, LB
Eric Weddle, Utah, DB
John Wendling, Wyoming, S
Tom Zbikowski, Notre Dame, DB

The overall list is created by the Football Writers Association of America. Writers and journalists generally tend to be chicken hearted caste proponents which explains the skew toward black players. There are 5 CBs on the overall list none of which are white. Of the 38 players who are "defensive backs" 11 are white.
 

Jimmy Chitwood

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Vindicator, i'm not trying to bust your bubble, but several of those
players you listed are linebackers, not defensive backs.
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Jimmy Chitwood

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Colorado State's Ben Stratton has long been a favorite player of
mine. this year he is returning from a season-ending knee injury that
erased his chances of gaining more pub in '05.

Stratton was the team's top corner before being moved over to safety. an
all-conference caliber player, he's fast, smart, and is one of the team's
surest tacklers. he's versatile, able to play all four spots in the secondary,
and big, 6'2" 205 lbs. look for him to regain his spot as one of the
Mountain West's best defensive backs.

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Edited by: Jimmy Chitwood
 

Colonel_Reb

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CB Alert! TCU has a white CB projected as a starter. His name is Mike Salvage. He is 5-10, 190, and is a Junior. Here's more on him.

Junior college transfer who enrolled at TCU in the spring of 2004... went through spring drills and enters the fall listed as the second team right cornerback behind senior Drew Coleman.

2003-04:
Played cornerback and returned kicks for Santa Rosa JC in the NorCal Conference... ranked among the top 100 JUCOs by SuperPrep... the Bear Cubs were 7-4 in 2004 under coach Keith Simons... turned down Kentucky, Michigan State and Oregon State.

High School:
Starred as a running back and receiver at Elsie Allen High School in Santa Rosa, Calif.

Personal:
Michael Glenn Salvage was born March 28, 1983... parents are Andre and Lisa Salvage... is a communications major at TCU.

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Colonel_Reb

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Also, Northwestern CB Eric Peterman, SS-Brian Heinz, and
FS-Brendon Smith; Ohio University SS Todd Koenig; FSU Roverback Anthony Houllis; Stanford CB Nate Sanchez; and Boston College FS Jamie Silva.
 

Colonel_Reb

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I almost forgot to mention the other half of Utah's Safety Corps, FS Steve Tate. He's really good too. Thanks, Jimmy, for getting this thread up and going. It is long overdue. Maybe we can use it as information central for all these guys. A good idea would be for a few of us to pick certain guys to keep track of every week, and then keep stats posted regularly on them and how they are doing compared to their teams and conferences. Anyway, great work guys!
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SteveB

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Texas A&M's Jordan Peterson is listed as a starting cornerback going into the fall practice. Look for big things from this kid.
 

Colonel_Reb

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There's also UNLV Safety Jay Staggs, who has one unreal hairdo. Looks sorta like a young, pumped-up, Ted Nugent.

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Jimmy Chitwood

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here's another pic of Mike Salvage:
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good luck this year!
 

Jimmy Chitwood

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here's the link to Nowrthwestern's cornerback Eric Peterman player bio: link
and teammate and free safety, sophomore Brendan Smith's bio: link

here's the bio for Stanford cornerback Nick Sanchez: link
check out his nickname...it's Dirty! ha!
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and here's a pic of him making an interception against Washington State:
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Texas A&M Aggie cornerback, Jordan Peterson bio: link
and a pic from his high school days:
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Edited by: Jimmy Chitwood
 

Jimmy Chitwood

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it appears that Vanderbilt still is one of the more likely SEC schools to play white guys at the skill positions. their top back-up going into the fall at tailback is white, and the same goes for the free safety spot. 6'1", 205 pound, redshirt frosh Ryan Hamilton looks to be likely to take over the starting spot at free safety early on this year, barring anything unforeseen of course. here's his player bio: link

his former coach had this to say about Ryan..."He's a guy with good size and speed who is extremely intelligent regarding the game...As a safety, he arrives to the football with a lot of impact."

Fox Sports says this: It's just a question of time before Hamilton makes his presence felt. He has more range than projected starter Ben Koger and is every bit as physical. He dominated as a scout teamer last season and should push for time early on.

here's a pic:
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Jimmy Chitwood

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despite being a very black city, and school, Memphis has a returning white starter at cornerback at their university. senior Dustin Lopez is a 5'10, 192-pound cover corner, but sadly, like so many corners, isn't very physical. blessed with good speed, and outstanding agility and leaping ability, Dustin needs to step up his game in his last season. here's his bio: link

and here's a couple of pics (note the nice hops):
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whiteCB

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Ryan Hamilton, just another fine white football player from the great high school football state of Pennsylvania.
 

Jimmy Chitwood

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what's messed up about the Vandy situation, is that Ryan Hamilton, if he takes over the starting role, will be taking it from another white DB, Ben Koger. here's his player bio: link

maybe, Ben could move to strong safety if Ryan stays at FS... "I have a dream today..."
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Ben Koger
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Bronk

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Sturdivant is on that Nagurski Trophy Watch List as well. Hell of a player. Watch him if you get the chance.
 

Jimmy Chitwood

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BYU is continuing its tradition of having a lot of white skill position players. 6'1", 197-pound junior Kayle Buchanan is expected to start at one corner spot. here's his player bio: link

Kayle:
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here he is after a interception against UNLV:
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additionally, the Cougars have several white guys battling for the starting safety spots, but no one has been named as of yet.
 

Jimmy Chitwood

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as has been mentioned above, Oregon State strong safety Sabby Piscitelli is expected to have an all-Pac-10 season. A tough, hard-hitting, aggressive player, Sabby brings tremendous size to the secondary (6'3", 224 pounds) while also being acknowledged as one of the fastest players on the team.

versatile and intelligent, Sabby also has tremendous athletic ability and has even played some cornerback for the Beavers. his 10 career interceptions is the most of any active player in the Pac-10. here is his player bio: link

Sabby looking cool:
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Sabby returning an INT for a touchdown:
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Don Wassall

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Mitch Meuwsen was a heck of a safety for Oregon State but was completely ignored by the NFL. Let's hope Piscitelli has a better fate at the next level.
 

Jimmy Chitwood

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Wisconsin strong safety Joe Stellmacher has been named to the pre-season all-Big 10 first team. Joe's player bio: link
additionally, Joe has been rated as the #10 strong safety in the nation by the Sporting News.
here's Joe's mug:
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Joe with a big hit:
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Jimmy Chitwood

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Arizona State has a tradition of white skill players, and they continue the trend this season with senior safety/corner/returner Zach Catanese. Zach was a juco all-American and had a solid season last year for the Sun Devils, and he has been recognized as pre-season second-team all-Pac 10. here's his player bio: link

Zach:
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with the tackle:
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Jimmy Chitwood

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KG2422 noticed that Iowa has a white cornerback that is expected to start.
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Adam Shada was one of the better defensive backs in the conference last season and looks to improve upon that performance this year.
here's Adam's bio: link
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