Rivals.com All-Bowl Team Defense

The Bowl season is over and with that comes out Rivals.com All Bowl Team, not an easy team to put together. But here are the players that stood out to me ending today with the defense.

RELATED: All-Bowl Offense

The skinny: Hubbard accumulated an impressive number of offers during the winter and spring of his junior year, before committing to the Buckeyes in early April. He never wavered on his word and signed with Ohio State on Signing Day. Hubbard became one of the key members of Ohio State’s dominant defensive line over the last two seasons. He finished his collegiate career in the Cotton Bowl against USC with four tackles, 3.5 tackles for a loss and 2.5 sacks.

The skinny: Fennell had official visits scheduled to South Carolina and Georgia Tech, before surprisingly committing to the Gamecocks during an in-home visit in December. After redshirting in 2015 and making a minimal impact in 2016, Fennell began to showcase his abilities this season. He finished the season with a dominant performance against Michigan in the Outback Bowl with seven tackles and two tackles for a loss.

The skinny: Payne, who committed to Alabama over Auburn and Mississippi State at the Under Armour All-America Game, chose the Tide despite growing up being an Auburn fan. Payne had a memorable National Semifinal performance against Clemson, with an interception and a touchdown reception. He also dominated the interior against Georgia with six additional tackles.

The skinny: Harold never saw his recruiting process take off so he initially played at Division 2 Northwest Missouri State before walking on at Missouri. He eventually became a starter for the Tigers and one of the captains of the team in 2017. Despite a loss to Texas in the Texas Bowl, Harold dominated the Longhorns with seven tackles, 3.5 tackles for a loss and two sacks.

Farrell’s take: This is an interesting mix of rankings from Payne as a five-star down to Harold who transferred from a D2 school. Hubbard appears to be clearly underrated as a high three-star out of high school but he was projected as a linebacker, so there’s that. The same can be said for Fennell (the linebacker part) although he hasn’t been nearly as successful as Hubbard.

As for Payne, who has been the most dominant of the group, he was an absolute monster, built like a block and able to hold up blockers at the point of attack and push the pocket. At times on the camp circuit he would show his pass rushing moves, especially a nice inside rip, but other times he was stoned despite his size, which was puzzling. However, with the ability to bull rush and be more physical in pads, he was unstoppable and showed off light feet and the ability to shoot the gap. He was obviously a special prospect based on his ranking and has lived up to the billing. He’s a prospect who can play over center or in a 4-3 scheme so scouts will love his scheme versatility.

Honorable mention: Deadrin Senat, USF; Channing Hames, Marshall, Lowell Lotulelei, Utah, J.D. Waggoner, Iowa State

The skinny: Coney took official visits to Notre Dame and Florida before committing to the Irish in late October. He then took an official visit to Miami in December before reconfirming his pledge with the Irish. Coney, who enjoyed his best collegiate season in 2017 with 116 tackles, finished in style against LSU with 17 tackles in the Citrus Bowl.

The skinny: Griffin committed to UCF in late July, but then took official visits to Toledo and Cincinnati in January before re-affirming his pledge to the Knights. In Orlando, Griffin has become one of the leaders of the UCF defense. He helped finish off UCF’s magical undefeated season with 12 tackles, 3.5 tackles for a loss and 1.5 sacks against Auburn in the Peach Bowl.

The skinny: Despite his father having played at Ohio State, McCray committed to Michigan in early March, after a visit to Ann Arbor with his family. While his career with the Wolverines was ravaged with injuries, McCray ended his collegiate career in style with nine tackles and four tackles for a loss during a touch loss to South Carolina in the Outback Bowl.

The skinny: Smith initially committed to UCLA on Signing Day, but never faxed his letter of intent. Upon finding out that his recruiting coach, Jeff Ulbrich, was leaving the Bruins, Smith decided to take a step back and finally committed to Georgia almost two weeks later. A dominant 2017 season continued in the National Semifinals against Oklahoma with 11 tackles and one tackle for a loss and then ended in the Championship game against Alabama with 13 tackles and one sack.

Farrell’s take: Three highly ranked guys here and Griffin, who we had as a three-star prospect. Griffin has been the leader of the “national champion” UCF team on defense and is an amazing player.

Coney, McCray and Smith were all highly regarded and ranked and Smith has emerged as the best linebacker in the country by far. When he decided not to head West and delayed his process, I didn’t think a ton of it because while I thought he was good and a Rivals100 prospect, he was undersized and I wasn’t sold on how effective he would be at the next level. Man, was I wrong. He’s an absolute terror, and you could argue that no linebacker in the country arrives to the football faster. He’s a quick-twitch kid, has added good size and teams will covet him highly as a terrorizing outside linebacker at the NFL level.

Honorable mention: Andrew Van Ginkel, Wisconsin; Marcel Spears, Iowa State, T.J. Brunson, South Carolina, Mack Wilson, Alabama, Leighton Vander Esch, Boise State

The skinny: Webb committed to Ohio State more than a year before his Signing Day during a visit to campus. At the time of his commitment, both Michigan and Michigan State were thought to be the favorites, while LSU and Illinois were also involved. Webb became an integral part of the Ohio State defense over the last two seasons. He once again proved his worth against USC in the Cotton Bowl with five tackles, a fumble recovery and an interception which was returned for a touchdown.

The skinny: Murphy took official visits to Washington, Texas A&M, USC and Arizona State before committing to the Huskies in late January. After redshirting last season, Murphy earned increased playing time this season despite dealing with an injury. Despite losing to Penn State in the Fiesta Bowl, Murphy shined with seven tackles, two tackles for a loss, one sack and an interception.

The skinny: McLaurin committed to Mississippi State over offers from Ole Miss, Memphis and Southern Miss a few days after his participation at the Bulldogs’ summer camp. In Starkville, McLaurin established himself as one of the leaders of the Bulldogs’ defensive unit. He took his game to an even higher level in the TaxSlayer Bowl against Louisville and star quarterback Lamar Jackson when he totaled 11 tackles and three interceptions during the victory.

The skinny: Curry committed to Oklahoma State in August, but then took an official visit to Louisville in December. Despite this visit, he never seriously wavered and signed with the Cowboys on Signing Day. Curry enjoyed his best game of the 2017 season in the Camping World Bowl victory against Virginia Tech with seven tackles and a game-clinching interception in the fourth quarter.

Farrell’s take: A good mix of rankings here with four-stars like Webb and Murphy and three-stars like McLaurin and Curry. Murphy was the one I remember the most, followed by Webb as both weren’t the biggest corners but had great instincts and played the ball very well. Webb and Murphy were highly ranked and expected to be stars so these performances are no unexpected. Curry was on the cusp of a fourth star, so we liked him as well while McLaurin was a low three-star prospect and the surprise of this group.

Honorable mention: Jaron Bryant, Fresno State; Antwan Collier, UCF; Amani Hooker, Iowa, Julian Blackmon, Utah