A Controversial Ranking Of The Top 10 Interior Defensive Linemen In College Football

With the start of the 2024 college football season less than two weeks away, it's time to break down and rank each position group. This week's group is the interior defensive line, one of the most important position groups on a defensive unit.

Here are the top ten interior defensive linemen for the 2024 college football season and a few honorable mentions.

Honorable Mentions:

Junior Tafuna, Utah

Nazir Stackhouse, Georgia

Patrick Jenkins, Tulane

Yahya Black, Iowa

Ty Robinson, Nebraska

10. Bear Alexander, USC

Interior Defensive Linemen Bear Alexander

The Texas native began his career with the Georgia Bulldogs, seeing action in 12 out of 15 games, recording 9 tackles, 2 sacks, and 13 quarterback hurries. A year later, Bear Alexander entered his name into the transfer portal, ultimately transferring to USC, where he made an immediate impact. In his inaugural season with the Trojans, Alexander started all 13 games amassing 48 tackles, 6.5 for loss, and 1.5 sacks while leading USC in quarterback hurries (4), forced fumbles (2), and pass breakups (1). He was named to Phil Steele's Pac-12 first-team honors for his 2023 season.

9. Walter Nolen, Ole Miss

Walter Nolen could be Lane Kiffins, aka "Portal King's" biggest get yet. The former No.1 recruit started his career with the Texas A&M Aggies, appearing in 22 games and starting in 14 across two seasons, tallying 66 total tackles (37 solo), 11 tackles for loss, five sacks, and a forced fumble.

8. Aeneas Peebles, Virginia Tech

Interior Defensive Linemen Aeneas Peebles

After spending the first three years of his career at Duke, Aeneas Peebles is one of the two players on this list to play for a new school in 2024. During his time with Duke, he amassed three forced fumbles, 88 tackles, and seven sacks, earning All-ACC First Team honors.

7. Shemar Turner, Texas A&M

Interior Defensive Linemen Shemar Turner

Entering his third season as a starter for the Aggies, Shemar Turner returns for his third season after earning second-team All-SEC honors, amassing 79 tackles, 17 tackles for loss, and eight sacks. Now, he gets to play under a defensive-minded coach, Mike Elko, who will elevate his game.

6. Kenneth Grant, Michigan

Interior Defensive Linemen Kenneth Grant

With Kenneth Grant and Mason Graham returning for the Wolverines, they form the nation's best interior defensive line duo. With Kris Jenkins off to the NFL, Grant will be in a more significant role and has a chance to feed off of Mason Graham being doubled, giving him a chance to get after the quarterback.

5. Tyleik Williams, Ohio State

Interior Defensive Linemen Tyleik Williams

Speaking of fierce defensive line units, the rival Buckeyes have one of their own. Tyleik Williams is a one-man wrecking crew. Williams is coming off a breakout season, earning second-team All-American honors, finishing with a team-high ten tackles for loss and the third-most sacks (3). He returns for a fourth year alongside teammates J.T. Tuimoloau, Jacks Sawyer, and Ty Hamilton, forming one of the nation's fiercest defensive lines.

4. Howard Cross III, Notre Dame

Interior Defensive Linemen Howard Cross III

While Howard Cross III is on the smaller side at 6-foot-1, 288 pounds, that hasn't stopped him from being one of the nation's top interior defensive linemen. He started all 13 games as the Irish's nose tackle, having his most productive season with the second-most tackles (66) and tackles-for-loss (7). In his sixth season of college football, Cross III needs to work on bringing the quarterback down more consistently, ranking fifth in pressures (39) but only amassing two sacks.

3. Peter Woods, Clemson

It took the former four-star defensive lineman Peter Woods no time to stand out as a true freshman for Clemson. His 17.1% pass rush win rate was good for the third in the nation, alongside his 88.6 run defense grade, which ranks seventh among interior defensive linemen per PFF. Now, with Ruke Orhorhoro and Tyler Davis off to the NFL, Woods will put the nation on notice as a full-time starter.

2. Deone Walker, Kentucky

At 6-foot-6, 348 pounds, he is an immovable object on the Wildcats' interior defensive line. In 2023, he led in tackles for loss (12.5), quarterback sacks (7.5), and quarterback hurries (8). Now, he returns to Lexington for a third season, where his wins above-average metric is the second highest since 2022, per PFF.

1. Mason Graham, Michigan

As a true freshman, Mason Graham was a consistent cog on the Wolverines' defensive line, playing in all 14 games and earning defensive freshman of the year honors. In Graham's sophomore season, he took his game to another level, starting all 13 games and amassing 36 tackles, including 7.5 for a loss and three sacks. Graham earned second-team All-American and first-team All-Big Ten honors from his breakout sophomore campaign.

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