Ranking the Big Ten: Cornerback

As the 2019 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 annual Ranking the Big Ten series today with the cornerbacks, a group that boasts some of the best lockdown defenders in the country.

Related: QB | RB | WR | TE | C | G | T | DE | DT | ILB | OLB

Hill has a case to firmly in the conversation of the best cornerbacks in all of college football.

A third-team All-American and consensus first-team All-Big Ten selection as a junior in 2018, Hill was also a semifinalist for the Jim Thorpe Award, given to the nation's top defensive back.

He now returns for his senior season as a unanimous preseason first-team all-conference pick, and is one of only four players in program history with multiple interceptions returned for touchdowns in his career (2).

After being tabbed a Freshman All-American and third-team All-Big Ten as a true freshman in 2017, Scott was missed the first eight games of his sophomore season to a knee injury he suffered in fall camp.

Even so, the Hamilton, Ohio, native still ranked fourth on the team with seven pass break-ups and tied for team lead with two interceptions. Despite playing in just 17 games over the past two years, Scott has already racked up four picks and 17 pass breakups.

When he's on the field, Scott is as good as there is, which is why he was named first-team preseason All-Big Ten by Athlon entering his junior campaign.

Opposing quarterbacks tested Bootle all last season, and more often than not he answered the challenge.

The Miami, Fla., native tied for the Big Ten lead and ranked ninth nationally with a whopping 15 pass breakups (1.3 per game), tying for the second-most in Nebraska history and the most by a Husker since Fabian Washington in 2004.

He wasn't able to haul any of those in for interceptions, which played a part in him only being a consensus third-team all-conference selection. If teams try to throw at him that much again in 2019, Bootle could be in line for even bigger numbers.

A five-star prospect ranked as the No. 1 safety in the 2017 class, Okudah came to Ohio State as one of the most highly-touted defensive back recruits in the country.

His first two seasons in Columbus have been good, but haven't exactly lived up to the massive hype the way Buckeye fans may have hoped. But that's expected to change in a major way in 2019.

Ohio State has had an unbelievable run of producing first-round draft picks at cornerback, and now Okudah is being viewed as the next in line. He was a second-team preseason All-Big Ten pick by Athlon, and much bigger accolades could be coming his way by the end of his junior year.

Reid broke onto the scene at Penn State in 2015, earning Freshman All-Big Ten honors in his first season with the Nittany Lions.

He started all 14 games as a sophomore and was an honorable mention all-league pick, but his rapid development was put on hold after an offseason injury sidelined him for his entire junior campaign.

Reid returned as a redshirt junior in 2018 and picked up right where he left off, posting eight pass breakups and two interceptions to garner more honorable mention accolades. Now a senior, he's a preseason third-team All-Big Ten selection by Athlon.