With Week 6 of the College Football season in the books, defensive transfers have continued to shine for their new program’s with some of the country’s top performances. Here’s a look at the 5 best defensive standouts from around the country this past week:
1.) Devin Neal – Louisville
In the Cardinals 33-20 upset of Notre Dame this past weekend, Neal was a defensive star contributing eight tackles and two interceptions to help limit the Irish offense.
Neal currently leads this Louisville program in interceptions and sits second in tackles, with his most recent performance earning the Baylor transfer ACC Defensive Back of the Week.
2.) Prince Dorbah – Arizona State
Despite Coach Prime and Co. stealing a 27-24 win at Sun Devil Stadium last weekend, the former Texas defensive lineman was all over Colorado with seven tackles, 3.5 for a loss, and 2.5 sacks on QB Shedeur Sanders.
Since his arrival in Tempe, Dorbah is tied for the most sacks among FBS transfers and he’ll look to get after quarterback Michael Penix and the No. 7 Washington Huskies after a bye this weekend.
3.) Steve Linton – Texas Tech
In a dominant 39-14 win at Baylor, the Syracuse transfer managed just a total of three tackles. However, all three were record sacks on Bears QB Blake Shapen with Linton forcing two fumbles and one turnover while dealing with an ankle injury.
Linton had been fairly quiet to start the season with just 11 tackles and a fumble recovery prior to Saturday night, but this performance showed Red Raider fans exactly why they went out and acquired the grad transfer this past offseason.
Look for Linton to continue his run of form as Texas Tech welcomes Kansas State to Jones AT&T Stadium this weekend.
4.) Nicario Harper – Illinois
While this past weekend marked a 20-7 loss for the Fighting Illini, Harper still fought for an astounding and team-leading 17 tackles to help limit the Nebraska offense to just 154 passing yards.
The two-time transfer who played defensive back at both Southern Miss and Louisville already has quite a statline on the season with 30 total tackles, one for a loss, an interception, and two passes broken up in just four appearances.
5.) Jamil Muhammad – USC
The former Georgia State quarterback turned linebacker/defensive end has been a massive part of the Trojans defensive success this season with 23 total tackles, 10 for a loss, two forced fumbles, and six sacks (tied for the most among FBS transfers with Dorbah).
This past weekend, Muhammad helped USC to a 43-41 comeback win in overtime against Arizona while notching five tackles, three of which went for a loss, and adding two sacks to his season total.
Muhammad’s performances have been huge but his continued success will be pivotal as USC prepares for a slog of ranked opponents in No. 21 Notre Dame this weekend, No. 16 Utah next, and No. 7 Washington in early November.
