Mark Pszonak contributed to this report.
With the college football bowl season officially over, it’s time to take a look at how our Rivals.com All-Bowl Team ranked as high school recruits. Today we wrap it up with the defense.
RELATED: All-Bowl Team Offense
DEFENSIVE LINE
The skinny: Thompson always held Georgia in high regard after the Bulldogs became his first offer. Despite taking closer looks at Auburn, Florida State and USC, at the end he realized he wanted to stay close to home and play for the Bulldogs. After having a productive true freshman season in 2015 despite a nagging ankle injury, Thompson showcased this true potential this fall with 64 tackles and five sacks. He concluded his season with a dominating performance in the Liberty Bowl, with eight tackles and three sacks.
The skinny: Anderson picked up an offer from Alabama in April and waited only a few days to commit to the Crimson Tide during a visit to campus. Anderson had a big 2015 season and followed that up with an even better 2016 performance. He made several pivotal plays in both the national semifinal and championship game, with a 26-yard interception return for a touchdown against Washington and then a seven tackle, one sack, two fumble recovery, one forced fumble performance against Clemson on Monday night.
The skinny: While Clemson was seen as the leader for a couple of months, the Tigers received a major push from both South Carolina and Virginia Tech before Ferrell committed in June. Ferrell did not play his senior season due to a torn ACL, which eventually led to him redshirting in 2015. Fully healthy for the 2016 season, Ferrell’s improved play added another important piece to the Clemson defense. Against Ohio State in the national semifinals he caused havoc in the backfield with four tackles, three tackles for a loss and one sack. His championship game also started off well, with a tackle for a loss, before an injury sidelined him for the remainder of the game.
The skinny: Landry surprised many with a commitment to Boston College soon after he had named Duke as his favorite. However, after visiting Boston and interacting with the coaching staff, he quickly committed to the Eagles. The coaching staff was also able to hold off numerous top programs who went after Landry until Signing Day. After an NCAA leading 15 sacks and seven forced fumbles, plus 46 tackles and 20.5 tackles for a loss in the regular season, Landry added four tackles, 1.5 sacks, one interception and two pass break-ups in the Quick Lane Bowl.
Honorable mention: USM's Ja’Boree Poole, Utah's Pita Taumoepenu – Stanford's Solomon Thomas, Tennessee's Derek Barnett, Georgia Tech's Patrick Gamble, LSU's Arden Key, LSU's Tashawn Bower, Alabama's Jonathan Allen
Farrell's take: Anderson is technically a linebacker, but he plays at the line of scrimmage and gets after the passer so much, he’s similar to some other hybrid guys to make this list. Thompson was a five-star stud and at one time our No. 1 prospect in the country while Anderson, Ferrell and Landry were all four-stars. In the honorable mentions, Poole was a two-star and Taumoepenu wasn’t even ranked because he moved from Tonga and played one year of high school football. Gamble was a high three-star and the rest on the list were all highly ranked with Thomas just shy of a fifth star. Barnett, Key and Bower were all four-stars as well and Allen a five-star.
LINEBACKERS
The skinny: Thomas took official visits to Florida State, USC, Alabama and Georgia before committing to the Seminoles on National Signing Day. Drama then ensued when rumors surfaced that he may try to get out of his scholarship and sign with USC, but by June this situation was resolved and he enrolled in Tallahassee. Thomas had a rough start to his collegiate career after receiving a medical redshirt in 2013, missing the first six games of the 2014 season due to an NCAA violation and then being ruled ineligible for the 2015 season. Finally a starter in 2016, Thomas finished off a productive season in the Orange Bowl against Michigan with 15 tackles and three tackles for a loss.
The skinny: Galambos trimmed his list to Pittsburgh, Rutgers and Harvard before committing to the Panthers in late August. Finishing up a productive four years on the field against Northwestern in the Pinstripe Bowl, Galambos had his best statistical game of the season. Despite the loss to the Wildcats, he still finished with a season-high 15 tackles, plus added two tackles for a loss and one pass break-up.
The skinny: Edwards initially committed to Western Michigan in June, but a December offer from Wisconsin ended up being too good to pass up. Soon after receiving the offer from the Badgers, the Illinois linebacker flipped to Wisconsin. Through his first two seasons, Edwards has quickly become one of the more productive linebackers in the Big Ten. He finished up his second season with 10 tackles and one interception, against the same Broncos program he was initially committed to.
Honorable mention: Oklahoma's Caleb Kelly, Indiana's Tegray Scales, Minnesota's Blake Cashman, BYU's Harvey Langi, Virginia Tech's Anthony Shegog, Alabama's Rashaan Evans, Clemson's Ben Boulware
Farrell’s take: Some big names on this list and some lightly recruited. Thomas was a five-star and top 15 national prospect while Galambos and Edwards were three-stars with limited offers. On the honorable mention list, it is a mixed bag from five-stars like Kelly and Evans to many three-stars and guys like Cashman, who weren’t even recruited at the D-1 level at all and had to walk on at Minnesota.
DEFENSIVE BACKS
The skinny: Lloyd, who was recruited as a dual-threat quarterback, trimmed his list down to Stanford, Nebraska, Miami, Utah and BYU before he committed to the Cardinal in June. While he was a Class of 2010 recruit, he didn’t actually make it to Palo Alto until 2012 due to an LDS mission in Chile. Making the move to safety before the 2014 season, Lloyd impressed in both 2015 and 2016. He finished off his collegiate career by totaling six tackles, one forced fumble and two interceptions, one of which was returned 19 yards for a touchdown, during a Sun Bowl victory over North Carolina.
The skinny: McQuay took official visits to USC, Florida State, Michigan, Vanderbilt and Oregon before committing to the Trojans during the Under Armour All-American Game. McQuay, who enjoyed his most productive season at USC this fall, culminated his time in Los Angeles with seven tackles, two pass break-ups and an important interception which set up the game-winning field for the Trojans during their victory over Penn State in the Rose Bowl.
The skinny: Averett committed to Alabama after a visit to campus during the spring. While programs like Penn State, Tennessee and Rutgers continued to push for visits, he stayed firm with the Crimson Tide. After somewhat of a slow start to his collegiate career, Averett impressed this fall while helping Alabama’s already impressive secondary reach yet another level. He played one of his best games of the season in the semifinal win over Washington with eight tackles and one sack, and then followed that up in the national championship game with five tackles against Clemson while often being matched up against Mike Williams.
The skinny: Smith committed to Clemson during the start of his junior season and never wavered on his word. After seeing minimal playing time last season, Smith stepped up to the plate in 2016 and produced for the Tigers. Finishing with 96 tackles, 5.5 tackles for a loss, three forced fumbles and two interceptions, Smith played an important role in the Tigers rout of Ohio State in the semifinals with six tackles, one forced fumble and an interception, which was returned 86 yards, and then added three tackles during the national championship victory.
Honorable mention: San Diego State's Ron Smith, Hawaii's Trayvon Henderson, Baylor's Orion Stewart, USF's Tajee Fullwood, Nebraska's Joshua Kalu, Florida's Chauncey Gardner
Farrell’s take: Smith is interesting as a first-teamer because he blew the coverage that led to O.J. Howard’s touchdown, but he also made some key plays and was excellent against Ohio State and a key to that win. Smith was a three-star as was Averett. Lloyd was a quarterback in high school who has made a nice transition. McQuay was a former five-star who hasn’t quite lived up to that billing but became a hero in the Rose Bowl and has come on at the end of his career. Most of the honorable mentions were lightly recruited guys who had great games.