Tech has a very experienced group of defensive backs this year. I count six guys that are in their 5th or 6th year of college football. Seven guys account for over 10,000 snaps of football played in the secondary, about 85% of it at the Power Five level. That's a ridiculous number. Something we will probably never see again because of the extra COVID year and high use of the transfer portal.
In addition to those six old guys, you have Dadrian Taylor, Tyler Owens, and Kobee Minor. How many of those nine guys will be in the mix?
Last year, Tech's secondary accounted for five of the top seven most snaps played on the defensive side of the ball. All those DBs played over 650 snaps on the season. Adrian Frye played the 6th most snaps in the low 200s, and Malik Dunlap was 7th at around 150 snaps played.
The year before that, Tech played six DBs over 200 snaps. In 2019, Tech had eight contributors in the secondary. The top four most snaps played last year on Oregon's defense were DBs and it appears they used a total of seven.
We can expect anywhere from four to six guys to be significant contributors -- i.e., all towards the top of the team in most snaps played. Then we can anticipate another two to four guys to be a part of the plan, but in a lesser role (maybe 10-15 snaps per game).
Here are the nine contenders (only three from Texas). What stands out is their age and experience. These guys have seen some sh*t.
Target % is how often they were thrown at when covering a WR, TE, or RB. It makes sense that the true safeties (Waters and Pearson) were thrown at less than the CBs. Rayshad Williams having the lowest Target % is indicative of him having had the best career to this point out of the CBs listed. He's played a lot of coverage snaps, but his guy hasn't been open as often.
Reception % is how often they were in coverage and allowed a catch. Rayshad Williams stands out again here compared to the other CBs. 8.53% is really good. If you compare catches allowed to targets, Rayshad was 4th in the conference last year, behind a 7th round draft pick, a CB who transferred from Ok. State to LSU and is expected to be a draft pick, and Trevius Hodges-Tomlinson who was 1st team All Conference last year and a sure-fire NFL pick. That's outstanding company for Rayshad, and he put up those numbers defending the other team's best WR without any real help rushing the passer. He could be really good.
This chart shows yards allowed per target and yards allowed per coverage snap. Again, Rayshad Williams stands out among the CBs. He's put up legit numbers in his career. Adrian Frye has struggled, which is probably why he only played 200 snaps last year and an even smaller role the year before. We need him and Malik to step up. They have the size and experience to put it all together.
Blankenbaker stands out here. Only 7 yards allowed per target is very good considering how much football he's played. It's unfortunate that he broke a bone in his wrist over the off-season, but it sounds like it's not significant enough to limit him substantially. I won't be surprised if he ends up being one of the five or six significant contributors.
Marquis Waters and Dadrian Taylor have a chance to be one of the better safety duos in the conference. They've played a ton of football. Both have the lowest missed tackle percentages among the DBs listed above. Marquis Water's missed tackle % his last full year at Duke would be one of the best returning DBs in the Big 12. I don't think it's crazy to predict Dadrian Taylor to be one of the best non-Tyree players on the team. He's played a ton of football and was chosen by McGuire to represent the team at Big 12 media day.
I don't quite understand what happened with Malik Dunlap last year. He played 3x more snaps his (RS) FR year at NC State than he did last year for us. He's humongous. One of the biggest CBs in the country. Someone said that he was clocked at 23 mph this camp, which is elite speed. We need to figure out a way to get him involved. It makes no sense for him to not be a big contributor next year and I predict he will be in the 400 snap range.
Reggie Pearson kills people. He struggled a bit in coverage last year, but his career numbers above indicate he wasn't bad at all at Wisconsin. I think he's slimmed up some and may not have been in the best football shape last year after being out of football for over a year. Anyone that takes a year off from football, shows up to campus during fall camp, and then goes on to play the 7th most snaps on the team (despite missing two games).. that guy can play some football. I think it's fair to expect a big jump this year for him.
Tyler Owens has elite speed and was described by Dadrian Taylor as someone who "brings the boom stick." Kobe Minor is entering his third year and should be ready to contribute should we need him. I like the thought of these two guys being our 8th and 9th best defensive backs.
I think this could be a unique year for our secondary. Oftentimes, we are in desperate need for bodies and forced to play four or five guys about 85% of our secondary snaps. This year could be different. We have a versatile group of DBs that include some good tacklers and at least one potentially elite CB (Rayshad Williams). I wouldn't be surprised if we have up to six of these guys in the top eight most snaps played.
Now if we could just get a pass rush to help them out.....
In addition to those six old guys, you have Dadrian Taylor, Tyler Owens, and Kobee Minor. How many of those nine guys will be in the mix?
Last year, Tech's secondary accounted for five of the top seven most snaps played on the defensive side of the ball. All those DBs played over 650 snaps on the season. Adrian Frye played the 6th most snaps in the low 200s, and Malik Dunlap was 7th at around 150 snaps played.
The year before that, Tech played six DBs over 200 snaps. In 2019, Tech had eight contributors in the secondary. The top four most snaps played last year on Oregon's defense were DBs and it appears they used a total of seven.
We can expect anywhere from four to six guys to be significant contributors -- i.e., all towards the top of the team in most snaps played. Then we can anticipate another two to four guys to be a part of the plan, but in a lesser role (maybe 10-15 snaps per game).
| HS Class | Snaps | Target % | Reception % | |
| 2017 | Marquis Waters | 2581 | 8.50% | 5.30% |
| 2017 | Keyon Blankenbaker | 1713 | 17.61% | 10.39% |
| 2017 | Adrian Frye | 1690 | 16.27% | 10.37% |
| 2018 | Rayshad Williams | 1331 | 13.91% | 8.53% |
| 2018 | Reggie Pearson | 1267 | 6.44% | 4.25% |
| 2019 | Dadrian Taylor | 1069 | 11.34% | 7.85% |
| 2018 | Malik Dunlap | 892 | 15.67% | 9.92% |
| 2019 | Tyler Owens | 132 | N/A | N/A |
| 2020 | Kobe Minor | 24 | N/A | N/A |
Here are the nine contenders (only three from Texas). What stands out is their age and experience. These guys have seen some sh*t.
Target % is how often they were thrown at when covering a WR, TE, or RB. It makes sense that the true safeties (Waters and Pearson) were thrown at less than the CBs. Rayshad Williams having the lowest Target % is indicative of him having had the best career to this point out of the CBs listed. He's played a lot of coverage snaps, but his guy hasn't been open as often.
Reception % is how often they were in coverage and allowed a catch. Rayshad Williams stands out again here compared to the other CBs. 8.53% is really good. If you compare catches allowed to targets, Rayshad was 4th in the conference last year, behind a 7th round draft pick, a CB who transferred from Ok. State to LSU and is expected to be a draft pick, and Trevius Hodges-Tomlinson who was 1st team All Conference last year and a sure-fire NFL pick. That's outstanding company for Rayshad, and he put up those numbers defending the other team's best WR without any real help rushing the passer. He could be really good.
| HS Class | Snaps | Yards / Target | Yards / Cov. Snap | |
| 2017 | Marquis Waters | 2581 | 8.88 | 0.75 |
| 2017 | Keyon Blankenbaker | 1713 | 7.03 | 1.24 |
| 2017 | Adrian Frye | 1690 | 11.18 | 1.82 |
| 2018 | Rayshad Williams | 1331 | 8.43 | 1.17 |
| 2018 | Reggie Pearson | 1267 | 9.15 | 0.59 |
| 2019 | Dadrian Taylor | 1069 | 11.14 | 1.26 |
| 2018 | Malik Dunlap | 892 | 9.29 | 1.46 |
| 2019 | Tyler Owens | 132 | N/A | N/A |
| 2020 | Kobe Minor | 24 | N/A | N/A |
This chart shows yards allowed per target and yards allowed per coverage snap. Again, Rayshad Williams stands out among the CBs. He's put up legit numbers in his career. Adrian Frye has struggled, which is probably why he only played 200 snaps last year and an even smaller role the year before. We need him and Malik to step up. They have the size and experience to put it all together.
Blankenbaker stands out here. Only 7 yards allowed per target is very good considering how much football he's played. It's unfortunate that he broke a bone in his wrist over the off-season, but it sounds like it's not significant enough to limit him substantially. I won't be surprised if he ends up being one of the five or six significant contributors.
Marquis Waters and Dadrian Taylor have a chance to be one of the better safety duos in the conference. They've played a ton of football. Both have the lowest missed tackle percentages among the DBs listed above. Marquis Water's missed tackle % his last full year at Duke would be one of the best returning DBs in the Big 12. I don't think it's crazy to predict Dadrian Taylor to be one of the best non-Tyree players on the team. He's played a ton of football and was chosen by McGuire to represent the team at Big 12 media day.
I don't quite understand what happened with Malik Dunlap last year. He played 3x more snaps his (RS) FR year at NC State than he did last year for us. He's humongous. One of the biggest CBs in the country. Someone said that he was clocked at 23 mph this camp, which is elite speed. We need to figure out a way to get him involved. It makes no sense for him to not be a big contributor next year and I predict he will be in the 400 snap range.
Reggie Pearson kills people. He struggled a bit in coverage last year, but his career numbers above indicate he wasn't bad at all at Wisconsin. I think he's slimmed up some and may not have been in the best football shape last year after being out of football for over a year. Anyone that takes a year off from football, shows up to campus during fall camp, and then goes on to play the 7th most snaps on the team (despite missing two games).. that guy can play some football. I think it's fair to expect a big jump this year for him.
Tyler Owens has elite speed and was described by Dadrian Taylor as someone who "brings the boom stick." Kobe Minor is entering his third year and should be ready to contribute should we need him. I like the thought of these two guys being our 8th and 9th best defensive backs.
I think this could be a unique year for our secondary. Oftentimes, we are in desperate need for bodies and forced to play four or five guys about 85% of our secondary snaps. This year could be different. We have a versatile group of DBs that include some good tacklers and at least one potentially elite CB (Rayshad Williams). I wouldn't be surprised if we have up to six of these guys in the top eight most snaps played.
Now if we could just get a pass rush to help them out.....
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