Recruit Breakdown: Defense

We all should know by now that Bo Pelini’s forte is defense. With top ten defense the goal for each of his coached college teams, it will be interesting to see what he can do with one of the (statistically) worse teams in the NCAA. I don’t expect instant turnaround to the number one defense in the land, but looking at these recruits, I should hope there’s some major improvement in the next couple of years.

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DBs/ATH
Alfonzo Denard 5′10″, 190, Rochelle, GA - Denard is fast with good leaping ability. “He’s an incredible athlete” is what is told over and over about this guy. With 53 tackles and 5 interceptions on defense, he also caught 780 yards and 14 TDs lining up at WR his senior year.
John Levorson 6′3″, 190, Crete, NE - He’s what Big Red Network calls the Godzilla on the field, faster, bigger, and stronger than almost everyone around him. He makes everyone else look like they’re running in slow motion. His impressive 92 tackles and 6 interceptions are equaled by his 1158 yards rushing in his senior year.
Courtney Osborne 6′3″, 175, Garland, TX - Let this guy build up speed and you’re down for the count. He accelerated out of frame, but I saw his top speed like a bullet.
Justin Rogers 5′11″, 180, Birmingham, AL - With 4.4 - 40 speed he could be listed as athlete. Rogers might be another guy like Helu, good on both sides of the ball. He rushed for 2110 and 28 TDs his senior year.
P.J. Smith 6′2″, 205, River Ridge, LA - He had 85 tackles and 4 interceptions his senior year. He reminds me of Mike Minter or Mike Rucker in his athletic background, playing both sides of the ball and being a standout in basketball.
David Whitmore 6′2″, 185, Port Arthur, TX - He’s built great for man coverages as a corner. He couldn’t rack up many stats his senior year because teams just started to avoid his side of the field. That’s probably because of his 90 tackles, 2 interceptions, and 13 breakups his junior year.
Mason Wald 5′11″, 205, Birmingham, AL - He had over 100 tackles with 7 interceptions his senior year. The word on the street is that he blows people up with his tackling. Can’t wait to see for myself what he can do.
Linebackers
Will Compton 6′2″, 230, Bonne Terre, MO - Compton has a nose for the ball. He had great, solid tackles wrapping people up, bringing them down, and/or standing them up. His Senior numbers are great with 107 tackles, 16 tackles for loss, 4 Sacks, and 2 interceptions.
Sean Fisher 6′6″, 225, Omaha, NE - In video, he seems to be in the right spot, right time every play. I can’t tell if it’s strength/speed or awareness, but if it’s both, can’t wait to see his 68 Tackles, 3 for loss, and 1 interception abilities at Nebraska.
Micah Kreikemeier 6′3″, 210, West Point, NE - This young kid’s acceleration is crazy. With a good frame to bulk up, he’s going to be huge hitter. He’s already got that instinctual dive/leap to cover those last few yards for the tackle faster than you can blink. 125 Tackles, 3 sacks, 1 int, and 2 fumbles recovered prove he can produce with the opportunity.
Alonzo Whaley 6′1″, 225, Madisonville, TX - built like a brick wall, Jamrog should be able to “add more bricks.” He played both FB and LB in high school and is listed that way for the Huskers. I read 162 tackles his senior season, and I am excited to see what he can do.
Linemen
Cameron Meredith 6′4″, 225, Santa Ana, CA - He’s just as fast as guys 20 lbs lighter, and could be a linebacker as well. He had 7.5 sacks and 9 QB hurries his senior year, a testament to his speed.
Quentin Toailoa 6′4″, 300, Highland, CA - A huge, powerful young man, he’s an anchor for a defensive line. He could be the Nose Tackle for a school that runs the 3-4 system. He’s like two players in one spot.
Josh Williams 6′4″, 225, Denton, TX - He had 75 tackles, a whopping 25 for loss with 12 sacks senior year. A top 20 DE in the country, we could see him play a couple of blowout games this year.

Sources:
The Lincoln Journal Star
Huskers.com
Rivals.com
Random Google Searches