NCAAF · 1 year ago

Ranking the Top 35 College Football Interior Defensive Linemen for 2024

Sammy Jacobs

Host · Writer

35. Rylie Mills, Notre Dame
Rylie Mills is the second half of the duo at defensive tackle, along with Howard Cross, that makes the Irish defense so formidable. Mills is on the Outland Trophy Watch List. Last season, he recorded 5.5 tackles for loss and 2.5 sacks in 13 starts. He has 16.5 tackles for loss in his career at Notre Dame.

Notre Dame National Championship Odds: +2000
1. Mason Graham, Michigan
Mason Graham is the best of the two great Michigan defensive tackles. A second-team All-American, Graham will anchor the Wolverine defense and help ease the transition under a new coaching staff. Last season, Graham made 35 tackles, including 7.5 tackles for loss and three sacks.

Michigan 2024 Season Win Total: 9.5
2. Howard Cross III, Notre Dame
The son of legendary New York Giants player Howard Cross Jr, Howard Cross III is making a name for himself with the Irish. He was a second-team All-American in 2023 after making 66 tackles, including seven tackles for loss and two sacks. Another big year will have the younger Cross following in his father’s footsteps to the NFL.

Notre Dame 2024 Season Win Total: 10.5
3. Deone Walker, Kentucky
Deone Walker is the anchor of an excellent Kentucky defense. He earned third and fourth-team All-American as well as first-team All-SEC honors. Walker has the best numbers of the group, with 55 total tackles, 12.5 tackles for loss, and 7.5 sacks.

Kentucky 2024 Season Win Total: 6.5
4. Dontay Corleone, Cincinnati
One of the last remnants of the Luke Fickell Era at Cincinnati, Dontay Corleone is a bad man not because of his ‘Godfather’ last night. His talents translated to the Big XII in 2023 after dominating the AAC. He may be the best nose tackle in the game. Corleone made 22 tackles, including 6.5 tackles for loss and three sacks. He also has a nose for the ball with three career fumble recoveries.

Cincinnati 2024 Season Win Total: 5.5
5. Nazir Stackhouse, Georgia
The Bulldogs have dudes everywhere on the field, and their dude on the inside is Nazir Stackhouse. The senior was a second-team All-SEC selection in 2023 as he made 24 tackles, three tackles for loss, and two sacks. Stackhouse also had an interception.

Georgia 2024 Season Win Total: 10.5
6. Shemar Turner, Texas A&M
Shemar Turner was second-team All-SEC his junior season in 2023 after making 79 tackles including 17 tackles for loss and eight sacks. Turner is also a beast on special teams, with two blocked kicks and two forced fumbles. Expectations are high for him under new head coach Mike Elko, who is a defensive wizard.

Texas A&M 2024 Season Win Total: 8.5
7. Bear Alexander, USC
Bear Alexander, one of the most discussed transfers over the last 12 months, will start his second year at USC in the fall. He transferred to the Trojans from Georgia prior to the 2023 season. While the USC defense stinks, Alexander made his impact felt with 48 tackles including 6.5 for loss earning All-Pac-12 honors.

USC 2024 Season Win Total: 7.5
8. Tyleik Williams, Ohio State
Tyleik Williams is a three-year veteran who carries on the tradition of great Ohio State linemen. In 38 career games, he has 19 tackles for loss and nine sacks. He made 54 tackles last season and earned first-team All-Big Ten. Williams will be a key cog in a Buckeye defense that has its eyes on a Big Ten and National Title.

Ohio State 2024 Season Win Total: 10.5
9. Walter Nolan, Ole Miss
Walter Nolan, the newest Rebel defensive lineman, was the most sought-after defensive lineman in the transfer portal. Last season, with Texas A&M, Nolan played in 12 games and recorded 8.5 tackles for loss and four sacks. Ole Miss is going for it all in 2024 and went all in on the transfer portal.

Ole Miss 2024 Season Win Total: 9.5
10. Kenneth Grant, Michigan
The Michigan defensive line duo of Mason Graham and Kenneth Grant is the best in the country. Grant was a second-team All-Big Ten selection as Michigan won the CFP National Championship. Grant played in all 15 games last season and made 37 tackles, five of them for loss, including 3.5 sacks.

Michigan Big Ten Title Odds: +550
11. Junior Tafuna, Utah
Junior Tafuna was a three-time All-Pac-12 selection for the Utes. The Big man in the middle of the Utah defensive line makes that unit run. He has 12 tackles for loss and seven sacks in his career and demands a double team most of the time, freeing up teammates to make plays.

Utah 2024 Season Win Total: 9.5
12. Patrick Jenkins, Tulane
You do not often find a Group of Five players on a defensive lineman list, but Patrick Jenkins may be the best defensive pro prospect in the AAC. In 14 games for the Greenwave in 2023, Jenkins put up huge numbers from his defensive tackle position. He made 11.5 tackles for loss and 5.5 sacks. It is a little surprising he did not portal to a Power Four school.

Tulane 2024 Season Win Total: 7.5
13. Yahya Black, Iowa
There is no such thing as a top defensive players list without an Iowa Hawkeye. Yahya Black was a third-team All-Big Ten selection after his most productive season in the black and yellow. Black made 51 tackles, with five tackles for loss and 3.5 sacks.

Iowa 2024 Season Win Total: 7.5
14. Ty Robinson, Nebraska
UCF’s Malachi Lawrence may be the best pass rusher in the Big XII in 2024. He had a breakout sophomore season with the Knights in 2023. Lawrence made 27 tackles, but 10.5 came for a loss with 7.5 sacks.

UCF 2024 Season Win Total: 7.5
15. Malachi Lawrence, UCF
UCF’s Malachi Lawrence may be the best pass rusher in the Big XII in 2024. He had a breakout sophomore season with the Knights in 2023. Lawrence made 27 tackles, but 10.5 came for a loss with 7.5 sacks.

UCF 2024 Season Win Total: 7.5
16. Aeneas Peebles, Virginia Tech
Aeneas Peebles joins the Hokie defense after a first-team All-ACC year at Duke, during which he had 8.5 tackles for loss and 4.5 sacks. With 47 games under his belt, Peebles brings experience and production to a team that may be a sleeper in the ACC in 2024.

Virginia Tech 2024 Season Win Total: 8.5
17. Tonka Hemingway, South Carolina
South Carolina’s Tonka Hemingway earned second-team All-SEC in 2023 and is looking for 2024 to be his biggest year yet. Hemingway has 13.5 tackles for loss and 5.5 sacks in four years with the Gamecocks.

South Carolina 2024 Season WIn Total: 5.5
18. Peter Woods, Clemson
After a productive 2023 season with 2.5 sacks and 26 tackles, Peter Woods was named a Freshman All-American. Woods should take the next step as a sophomore and help anchor a Clemson defense that will look to get back atop the ACC.

Clemson 2024 Season Win Total: 9.5
19. Damonic Williams, Oklahoma
Damonic Williams, a former freshman all-American and All-Big XII honorable mention player at TCU, looks to be the stopper in the middle for his new team, the Oklahoma Sooners. Williams played in 12 games for TCU in 2023 and made five tackles for loss, including three sacks.

Oklahoma 2024 Season Win Total: 7.5
20. Philip Blidi, Auburn
Philip Blidi was one of the most sought-after transfers on the market in 2024. He looked like he was staying at Indiana but hopped back in the portal a few days before spring practice. Blidi had four tackles for loss for the Hoosiers and was probably their best interior lineman,

Auburn 2024 Season Win Total: 7.5
21. Zeek Biggers, Georgia Tech
Georgia Tech’s big man in the middle, Zeek Biggers, has played in 34 games for the Yellow Jackets. 2023 was his best season as he finished with 40 tackles and four tackles for loss. Biggers’s name should appear on some award watch lists and preseason All-ACC teams.

Georgia Tech 2024 Season Win Total: 5.5
22. Nash Hutmacher, Nebraska
Nash Hutmacher was an All-Big Ten honorable mention in 2023 for the Cornhuskers after making 40 tackles, eight tackles for loss, and 4.5 sacks. He eats up space and makes plays in the middle of the Nebraska defensive line.

Nebraska 2024 Big Ten Title Odds: +6600
23. Kevin Pointer, Wake Forest
A 12-game starter in 2023, Kevin Pointer set career-highs in tackles, tackles for loss, and sacks. He figures to be one of the best defenders for Wake Forest in 2024. He has 13 career tackles for loss.

Wake Forest 2024 Season Win Total: 4.5
24. Jay Toia, UCLA
The UCLA Bruins hope that defensive tackle Jay Toia can put it all together in 2024 as they transition to the Big Ten. In 38 career games between USC and UCLA, Toia has 66 tackles, seven tackles for loss, and two sacks. He has a lot of size and a ton of talent.

UCLA 2024 Season Win Total: 5.5
25. C.J. West, Indiana
CJ West was among the most sought-after players in the transfer portal in 2024 after an All-Mac performance in 2023. He comes to Indiana after putting up 40 total tackles and seven tackles for loss for Kent State.

Indiana 2024 Season Win Total: 5.5
26. Tim Smith, Alabama
Tim Smith has played in 51 games for the Crimson Tide and will likely play over 60 games. Smith had a career-high in sacks in 2023 and should top that number this year in Kane Wommack’s aggressive defense. He has 11 career tackles for loss and two fumble recoveries.

Alabama 2024 Season Win Total: 9.5
27. Omarr Norman-Lott, Tennessee
After transferring from Arizona State in 2023, Omarr Norman-Lott has significantly impacted the Vols' interior defensive line. Last season, he played in 10 games and collected 5.5 sacks and six tackles for loss. Norman-Lott will be a big reason Tennessee’s defense can dominate in 2024.

Tennessee 2024 Season Win Total: 9.5
28. Cam Horsley, Boston College
A fourth-team All-ACC preseason selection in 2024, Cam Horsely has big expectations this season with the Eagles. In 48 career games at Boston College, he has 122 tackles, 11.5 tackles for loss, and 3.5 sacks.

Boston College 2024 Season Win Total: 4.5
29. Lee Hunter, UCF
Lee Hunter saw his role increase for the Knights in 2023 after transferring from Auburn in 2022. He started all 13 games for UCF in 2023, making 69 total tackles, 11 tackles for loss, and three sacks.

UCF 2024 Big XII Championship Odds: +900
30. DeMonte Capehart, Clemson
DeMonte Capehart will move into a starting role in 2024 after playing in 34 career games with the Tigers. He has nine tackles for loss and two sacks, and his numbers should improve with more playing time.

Clemson ACC Championship Odds: +350
31. Uso Seumalo, Kansas State
Uso Seumalo excels on and off the field. He is an All-Big XII honorable mention and a first-team Academic All-Big XII performer. This combination makes Seumalo one of the best linemen in the conference. Last season, he made 18 total tackles with 1.5 sacks in 11 games in a reserve role. As a redshirt sophomore in 2024, he should see his numbers go way up.

Kansas State 2024 Season Win Total: +375
32. BJ Green, Colorado
Another potential impact transfer for Coach Prime, BJ Green, comes to Colorado after three seasons at Arizona State, where he played in 36 games and made 21 tackles for loss and 13.5 sacks. Colorado's bowl hopes go up if he can bring that production to Boulder.

Colorado 2024 Season Win Total: 5.5
33. D’anta Johnson, East Carolina
D’anta Johnson is the captain of the Pirates’ defense and is entering his fifth season with East Carolina. He has played 33 career games. In 2023, he was an All-AAC selection after posting 9.5 tackles for loss and four sacks. He may make first-team All-AAC in 2024 if he raises those numbers again.

East Carolina 2024 Season Win Total: 6.5
34. Soane Toia, San Jose State
Soane Toia is a preseason All-MWC pick after having a career-best season in 2023. In 44 career games with San Jose State, Toia has posted 94 tackles, 17 tackles for loss, and 7.5 sacks. Last season, he had seven tackles for loss and five sacks. It should be another productive season for Toai.

San Jose State 2024 Season Win Total: 4.5
35. Rylie Mills, Notre Dame
Rylie Mills is the second half of the duo at defensive tackle, along with Howard Cross, that makes the Irish defense so formidable. Mills is on the Outland Trophy Watch List. Last season, he recorded 5.5 tackles for loss and 2.5 sacks in 13 starts. He has 16.5 tackles for loss in his career at Notre Dame.

Notre Dame National Championship Odds: +2000
1. Mason Graham, Michigan
Mason Graham is the best of the two great Michigan defensive tackles. A second-team All-American, Graham will anchor the Wolverine defense and help ease the transition under a new coaching staff. Last season, Graham made 35 tackles, including 7.5 tackles for loss and three sacks.

Michigan 2024 Season Win Total: 9.5

Ranking the Top 35 College Football Interior Defensive Linemen for 2024

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