A Look at Next Year: Defensive Backs

Today, I will take a look at next year’s defensive backs.  Like most units, this unit should be pretty solid next year. 

5              Johnny Adams         CB            5-11         175          JR            Akron, Ohio - Buchtel

12            Dana Dixon              CB            6-2           170          SO           Detroit, Mich. - Renaissance

32            Mitchell White        CB            5-11         180          JR            Livonia, Mich. - Stevenson

33            Jeremy Langford     CB            5-11         205          RS FR      Wayne, Mich. - John Glenn

31            Darqueze Dennard  CB            5-11         185          SO           Dry Branch, Ga. - Twiggs County

36            Arjen Colquhoun     CB            6-0           187          FR            Windsor, Ontario - 

15            Trae Waynes           CB            6-0           165          FR            Kenosha, Wis. - Bradford

14            Tony Lippett            CB/WR    6-2           189          RS FR      Detroit, Mich. - Crockett

35            Chris Laneaux          DB           5-11         180          FR            Kalamazoo, Mich. - Portage Northern

39            Trenton Robinson   S              5-10         195          SR            Bay City, Mich. - Bay City Central

6              Mylan Hicks            S              5-11         191          RS FR      Detroit, Mich. - Renaissance

9              Isaiah Lewis            S              5-10         195          SO           Indianapolis, Ind. - Ben Davis

23            Jairus Jones             S              6-1           209          SO           Tampa, Fla. - Wharton

26            RJ Williamson         S              5-10         182          FR            Middletown, Ohio - Dunbar

27            Kurtis Drummond   S              6-1           196          RS FR      Masury, Ohio – Hubbard

As we can see from the list above, the only significant losses for next year are senior safety Trenton Robinson and Tony Lippett, who will be making the permanent move to wide receiver.  Make no mistake about it, Robinson will be a significant loss.  He was an excellent safety and the leader of the secondary, and he should have a decent shot at getting drafted in the NFL draft.  Nevertheless, the Spartans are bringing back all their starters at the remaining positions and they should have some pretty solid depth at defensive back. 

Isaiah Lewis will be back at strong safety.  Of course, Lewis took part in some heartbreaking plays this year, but overall, I thought he played pretty well.  As a junior, I think he will take another step towards solidness.  I expect him to become about as solid as Trenton Robinson was this year – can’t complain about that.  Apart from Lewis, the Spartans will also return all three of their backup safeties:  Dana Dixon, Jairus Jones, and Kurtis Drummond.  Dixon and Jones will be juniors, and Drummond will be a sophomore.  The Spartans also have guys who were once decent recruits.  Guys like Mylan Hicks and RJ Williamson.  Hopefully, at least one of these guys or one of the other backups will emerge as a star next year.  The Spartans are also in the running for some elite safety recruits in the class of 2012: Demetrious Cox and Jordan Diggs.  Both of these guys seem outstanding enough to earn some playing time as freshmen.  Hopefully the Spartans will get at least one of them to commit. 

As for cornerbacks, starters Johnny Adams and Darqueze Dennard will both be back next year.  Both played very well this year and both should be even better next year.  In fact, these two have the potential to be two of the Spartan’s best corners in recent memory.  The Spartans will also be returning backups Mitchell White and Jeremy Langford.  I cannot say that I recall seeing much of Langford, but White played well the few moments I can remember him playing.  The Spartans also have some interesting 2011 recruits who I suspect will step up and challenge for playing time next year.  Arjen Colquhoun and Trae Waynes are both big and both have under 4.4 speed.  The Spartans will also be bringing in two sound-looking prospects: Jermaine Edmondson and Ezra Robinson.  Both of these guys are rated as 3-star recruits, and they are both big and fast corners.  I don’t expect them to play much next year, but if there are injuries, these guys should provide decent depth.  You hate to see freshmen cornerbacks playing because they often get burned by more experienced wide receivers.  Still, if freshmen are going to play anywhere, it’s more frequently at the cornerback position.