Greg McElroy ranks top 10 secondaries in college football

The college football season is on its way, which means the time for in-depth breakdowns of the top contenders is upon us.

Over on his YouTube show, Always College Football, ESPN analyst and broadcaster Greg McElroy has done some nice work breaking down certain position groups across the country for 2024. Recently, he did a video ranking the top 10 secondaries entering the season, with some surprising takes throughout.

To see which defensive backfield McElroy pegged No. 1, as well as his full top-10 secondaries in college football, take a look below:

1. Notre Dame

Nominating the Irish at No. 1, McElroy obviously had high praise: “I think one of the best corners in the country in Benjamin Morrison (and) you have one of the best safeties in the country in Xavier Watts. You also have the addition of Rod Heard, which I think was massive coming over from Northwestern.”

With that personnel in place, he sees ND a step above the rest. “If you look at what they have at both corner spots, one of the best tandems in the sport, one of the best safety tandems in the sport, assuming that Rod Heard is as advertised.”

2. Ohio State

You can make a case they have the best safety in Caleb Downs,” says McElroy, and all eyes are on the blue-chip Alabama import. “I think he’s an absolute machine there at the back end and immediately upgrades their group collectively from where they were a year ago”

There’s other personnel to like as well, Per McElroy: “By the way, Denzel Burke is back and I think he’s a top five, top 10 corner in the country. Davison Igbinosun is back there at the other corner to go along with Jordan Hancock as well. So you look at all these guys that are back, with the addition of Caleb Downs, and Ohio State is at worst the No. 2 group.”

3. Michigan

Greg McElroy certainly likes one member of the Wolverine secondary and declared: “I think Will Johnson is pound-for-pound the best corner in the country.” With him and plenty of depth, UM should be more than fine.

However, there are some setbacks and injuries within the group to monitor. “All of that, it’s not ideal,” says McElroy, “but they’re still in pretty good hands with some of the pieces that are back in the back end.”

4. Oregon

“If you look at where Oregon was last year, yes, they lost some pieces to the NFL,” notes McElroy, but he’s supremely confident in the new pieces brought in, especially when it comes to one cornerback addition. “They did however add some pieces via the transfer portal, like Jabbar Muhammad, which I thought was a great get from Washington — led all Corners last year with 19 forced incompletions.”

He wasn’t the only newbie McElroy was high on: “They also added Kam Alexander from UTSA, Kobe Savage from Kansas State, and Brandon Johnson from Duke all were starters at their previous school.”

5. Oklahoma

After establishing a strong defensive unit in 2023, McElroy is confident in Brent Venables bringing another good secondary to the SEC, starting with their star safety: “Billy Bowman is back at safety, six interceptions last year, third among all defenders in college football,” notes McElroy.

He adds that the conference transition may not be such a challenge. “So I look at this group and look at how many pieces are back that played impact roles last year and I think Oklahoma is really well-positioned to transition nicely into the Southeastern Conference.”

6. Georgia

“They return only two players off last year’s team,” warns McElroy. Although, they do have one ringer. “The good news is Malaki Starks is one of the best safeties in the sport. That’s a great starting point.”

For McElroy, he’s just unsure if the Dawgs can replicate the other elite players it lost. “I look at the loss (Kamari) Lassiter, I look at the loss of Javon Bullard at safety, a lot of people say well Georgia is at worst No. 2 in the country. I disagree I think those two guys were two of the best at their respective position in the sport. Them being gone is not going to be just some plug-and-play.”

7. Iowa

“Sebastian Castro is back as one of the best corners on the interior you’ll find in the entire sport,” says Greg McElroy, noting some proof. “(He) was a first-team All-American according to some publications just a year ago.”

Castro is far from the only worthwhile piece returning. “You look at what they bring back too with Xavier Nwankpa and all the other kind of safeties that are back, like Quinn Schulte and some of the other guys as well Jermari Harris, Deshaun Lee, these guys are flat out good across the board.” 

8. Arizona

Head coach Jedd Fisch may have departed, but like on offense, many of the top Wildcats stuck it out in Tuscon. “They bring back four of their five starters from a year ago, including Tacario Davis,” says McElroy.

With two other quality DBs coming back, he’s got the ‘Cats top 10. “You also have Treydan Stukes back at corner, you also have Gunner Maldonado who’s back at safety. These guys both played at a high level of times last year as well. So, Arizona comes in at No. 8.”

9. Clemson

“RJ Mickens is back, Avieon Terell is back at corner, who I think his best football is in front of him,” Greg McElroy touts of the Tigers. However, there’s a certain young safety that really caught his eye last season and could be in for a huge fall.

“Khalil Barnes at the nickel spot can play some safety. I think he’s a star and proved that last year with some of the opportunistic plays that he played at times last year. Goodness gracious, he had three forced fumbles, three interceptions, he also had a fumble recovery which he returned 42 yards for a touchdown. I mean, this is a guy that just flat-out makes plays.”

10. Wisconsin

“I think they have one of the better safeties in the country in Hunter Wohler,” McElroy said pointing out Wisconsin’s strong secondary. “I think they have a legitimate difference-maker at corner in Ricardo Hallman.”

Wisconsin’s defense, and particularly its secondary, was solid in 2023 under Luke Fickell, but Greg McElroy expects improvement in 2024. “I do think this is a group that has its best football sitting right in front of it.”