As the 2018 season draws nearer by the day, it’s time to start taking a look at some of the top players to watch in the Big Ten Conference.
We continue our Ranking the Big Ten series today with the cornerbacks, a ball-hawking group that will be looking to give opposing quarterbacks nightmares this season.
Previous rankings: QB | RB | WR | TE | OT | OG | C | DE | DT | OLB | ILB | S
1. Lavert Hill, Michigan
Michigan’s defense ranked as one of the best in all of college football last year, and the lockdown play of Hill was no small part in that.
Hill finished with 25 tackles (five for loss), seven pass breakups and two interceptions to lead the Wolverines to the nation’s top-ranked pass defense. He was a second-team All-Big Ten player as a sophomore for his efforts.
Though he missed significant time this spring - only appearing in two practices - he’s expected to once again take the field this fall as one of the best cornerbacks in the country.
2. Josiah Scott, Michigan State
Scott broke onto the scene last year as a true freshman to emerge as one of the elite cornerbacks in the Big Ten.
A starter in 12 of Michigan State’s 13 games, Scott posted 30 tackles and led the team in pass breakups (10) and passes defended (12) and ranked second with two interceptions.
He was named Freshman All-American and third-team All-Big Ten after his first collegiate season, and now he returns as one of the top players at his position in 2018.
3. Kendall Sheffield, Ohio State
Ohio State’s recent track record of producing first-round NFL draft picks at cornerback has become downright ridiculous, and Sheffield is poised to add his name to that lengthy list.
Sheffield was the top-ranked junior college cornerback and the No. 4 overall JUCO prospect when he joined the Buckeyes last season, and he lived up to the hype by racking up 30 tackles with nine pass breakups.
He’s also a track and field standout who broke Ohio State’s 60-meter dash record earlier this year with a time of 6.663 and was rated as the fastest player in college football for this coming season by NFL.com.
4. Amani Oruwariye, Penn State
Oruwariye was one of the best ball hawks in the Big Ten as a junior last season, hauling in four interceptions with eight passes defended to go along with 28 tackles.
He ended up ranking 26th nationally and fourth in the conference in interceptions per game (0.4) and finished 10th in the league in passes defended per game (1.1). He also posted a whopping six PDs vs. Michigan State, tying for the highest single-game total in FBS last year.
Oruwariye was a consensus second-team All-Big Ten selection in 2017, and he now enters his senior season ready to add more accolades to his resume.
5. David Long, Michigan
While Hill might get a bit more of the attention, Long was just as much of a shutdown corner for Michigan on the other side of the field.
He had 21 tackles (1 1/2 for a loss), two interceptions and six pass breakups as a sophomore in 2017. Even more impressive, Long led the nation with a 17.6 passer rating when targeted last season, per Pro Football Focus.
Of the 22 times Long was thrown at during Big Ten play, according to PFF, only nine resulted in catches while two were picked off and four were broken up.
