1. Walker, Deone
Kentucky 6060 345
Three year starter, Detroit, Michigan. Third team All-America and first team All-SEC in 2023. Named a pre-season All-American and first team All-SEC in 2024. Walker is a massive interior defender with a rare combination of length, size and athletic ability. He’s lined up all along the Kentucky front playing 4i, 5, 3, and 1 technique as an interior defender. He’s also had reps as a wide 9 in a two point stance. While not his strength, he’s made some plays from that alignment in the pass rush. He plays with a high motor and makes plays with second effort. Quick and explosive at the snap he can penetrate an inside gap or split a double team with quickness and power. Excellent pass rusher, his hand placement and power is elite to separate from blocks and chase down quarterbacks. Uses a variety of moves and can counter initial move. Has a closing burst in the backfield and led the nation in pressures with 51. He also added 7.5 sacks. Excellent lateral ability to make plays all along the line against the run. Plays a little high at times and is inconsistent shedding straight up blocks.
2. Graham, Mason*
Michigan 6030 320
Two year starter, Anaheim, CA. Second team All-American and first team All-Big Ten in 2023. Has played all along the Michigan front from 0 to 3 technique with some 4i and 5 technique as well. Powerful and massive he’s a former wrestler and plays with excellent balance attacking blocks. Quick first step and hands he’s adept at defeating blocks inline. Solid stack and shed in spite of less than ideal length. Graham plays with an incredibly hot motor and has agility to consistently make plays along the line. Normally plays with knee bend and maintains leverage for the most part. Makes plays with second effort and can chase across the field. Takes the shortest path to the ball and can make plays from inside to the alley. Excellent penetrating gaps he can create havoc in the backfield. As a pass rusher he shows a violent push pull into a move including arm under and over to escape. Can knock a blocker back with a bull rush. At times, long-armed blockers can stun him upright creating some delay escaping a block.
3. Nolen, Walter
Mississippi 6040 290
Two year starter, Powell, TN. Transferred from Texas A&M after the 2023 season. Former five star recruit, he was named first team Pre-Season All-SEC. Versatile defensive tackle he has primarily lined up as a 5, 4i, and 3 technique and can also play 0 or 1. Powerful and athletic he shows a quick first step and ability to shoot violent hands to attack and separate from blockers. Excellent anchor in the run game he rarely stays blocked with ability to stack and shed. He can split double teams with quickness and can penetrate in the backfield on stunts. Plays with consistent gap integrity with the ability to be disruptive. As a pass rusher he has enough juice to turn the corner coming off the edge and chase the quarterback down. He also flashed a quick out to in move against an overset. On the interior he can bull rush or stunt a gap. He shows an inside rip move and can stack moves to get free. Will occasionally get too high on a block and get stalemated. Some balance issues show up at times working off a block.
4. Grant, Kenneth*
Michigan 6030 339
Two year starter Gary, IN. Second team All-Big Ten in 2023. Quick and athletic Grant has ideal size for an interior defender. He’s played 0, 1 and 3 techniques and has the ability to align at any interior defensive line position. Comfortable playing one or two gap. He turns quickness into power with a quick first step and strong hand usage to stack and shed. Anchors well against powerful blockers and shows solid lateral movement working tracking a ball carrier inline. Can attack a gap and get penetration. Plays with a hot motor and pursues to the whistle often chasing downfield on pass plays. As a pass rusher has an array of moves including a bull rush, push-pull, arm over and under along with various hand swipes. Can bull rush into a move and quickly escape. Excellent closing burst chasing the quarterback. Still a work in progress in some areas as hand placement and pad level are inconsistent. He can get upright and knocked off the ball on occasion. Seems to run out of gas at times. Solid prospect with upside as an NFL rotation player.
5. Sanders, TJ
South Carolina 6040 290
Two year starter, Marion, SC. Third team All SEC in 2023. Strong, athletic player with a hot motor. Sanders has the length and overall size teams are looking for in a versatile interior defender. Has played a 5, 4i, 1 and 3 techniques. He shows solid quickness at the snap and is quick to shoot his hands to control blockers. He’s adept at hitting gaps to disrupt running plays and uses excellent agility to make plays in line. His quickness, range and lateral movement allow him to chase down backs in the backfield. His initial quickness and speed creates speed to power in the pass rush and he gets consistent pressure pushing the pocket. He flashes hand swipes and counter moves but is inconsistent escaping a block to get to the quarterback. He needs to improve techniques to develop the ability to stack moves and consistently counter when necessary. He can have some trouble disengaging from powerful blockers and tends to get upright versus double teams. He’s an ascending player with the tools of an NFL starter.
6. Alexander, Bear*
USC 6030, 315
Two year starter, Terell, TX. Phil Steele first team All-SEC and SEC Honorable Mention All-SEC in 2023. Transfer from Georgia in 2023. Has played mostly as 1, 0 or 3 technique but projects to be able to play a 5 as well. Quick and explosive at the snap he shoots his hands into blocker and shows power locking out and shedding an offensive lineman on single blocks. Normally maintains knee bend and pad level and can locate the ball to make plays inline. Flashes pursuit skill and can penetrate a gap to make plays in the backfield. He draws a lot of double teams both in the run game and rushing the passer. As a pass rusher he’s more a collapse the pocket player than escape and chase the quarterback. He relies on a bull rush as his main move and gets a lot of pressure that way on single blocks. He needs to develop more in this area to be a complete defensive tackle. There is some inconsistency versus double teams as he can get stalemated and knocked upright. Has the tools of a solid starter or rotation player. After three games decided to take a redshirt season in 2024.
7. Corleone, Dontay*
Cincinnati 6010 320
8. Hemingway, Tonka
South Carolina 6025 288
9. Williams, Tyliek
Ohio State 6024 325
10. Brinson, Warren
Georgia 6040 310
11. Caldwell, Jamaree
Oregon 6010 325
12. Collins, Alfred
Texas 6050 313
13. Huntley, Alex
South Carolina 6040 303
14. Banks, Caleb
Florida 6056 325
15. Hunter, Lee
Central Florida 6036 323
16.Harmon, Derrick
Oregon 6050 310
17. Graves, Aaron
Iowa 6040 300
18. Griffith, Thor
Louisville 6020 320
19. Phillips, Jordan
Maryland 6030 320
20. Capeheart, Demonte
Clemson 6043 320
21. Stewart, Shemar*
Texas A&M 6060 290
22. Jules, Deandre
South Carolina 6037 323
23.Turner, Shemar
Texas A&M 6030 289
24. Mills, Rylie
Notre Dame 6054 306
25. Cross lll, Howard
Notre Dame 6010 288
26. Smith, Tim
Alabama 6040 303
27. Otis, Jahiem
Alabama 6036 321
28. Harris Jr, Zxavian*
Mississippi 6070 320
29. Peebles, Aeneas
Virgina Tech 6010 290
30. Stackhouse, Nazir
Georgia 6030 325
31.Toia, Jay
UCLA 6021 328
32. Thomas, Omari
Tennessee 6030 325
33. Akingbesote, Tommy
Maryland 6040 307
34. Hamilton, Ty
Ohio State 6030 295
35. Black, Yayha
Iowa 6050 342
36. Thomas, Wy’Kevious
South Alabama 6010 310
37. Mesidor, Akeem
Miami 6020 281
* Denotes Underclassman