SDS’s 2025 All-Aura Team: The most entertaining defensive players in college football
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College football has never been more entertaining. We get more games with national championship implications. We get more upsets. The players have never been bigger, never been faster, and never been more spread out.
Last week, I gave you the most exciting, most intimidating, most entertaining offensive players in college football. Today, we’re covering the All-Aura defense. Let’s dive in.
The 2025 All-Aura Team Defense
Defensive lineman: Peter Woods, Clemson
Woods is a 6-3, 310-pound monster in the middle of the Clemson defense. He had 8.5 tackles for loss, 3 sacks, and a forced fumble last season for the Tigers, and he returns in 2025 with a chance to blossom into one of the nation’s best defensive linemen. According to The Athletic’s Bruce Feldman, Woods benched 490 pounds, ran a 4.86 40, and recorded a 33-inch vertical. For a 300-plus-pound defensive tackle, the combination of torque and explosiveness is simply unfair. He’s powerful enough to play tackle and twitchy enough to play on the end. He’s also a big guy wearing a cool number. Bonus points for that.
Defensive lineman: Dylan Stewart, South Carolina
The 6-5, 250-pound edge rusher was a 5-star recruit who made an immediate impact at South Carolina. And, like, I’m talking about impact. He had 10.5 tackles for loss and 6.5 sacks to earn a Freshman All-American selection and finish as a finalist for the Shaun Alexander Freshman of the Year award. South Carolina’s online bio for Stewart says he “has a chance to be elite” and that’s underselling it. He’s already there. There were times last season where it seemed like Stewart was too fast for his own good; the ball would be snapped, he would bend himself under the outstretched offensive tackle in his way, and he’d be at the quarterback before he knew what he was doing. Stewart’s ability to explode off the line and slide around blockers, for someone with his frame, is outrageous. And the prospect of Stewart adding 15-30 pounds of lean muscle during his time at South Carolina is terrifying. If he gets stronger, we might actually see a recreation of that Jadeveon Clowney hit. Or multiple. Stewart is probably the best edge rusher in college football, and he won’t even be eligible for the NFL Draft until 2027.
Defensive lineman: Landon Robinson, Navy
Though slightly undersized for a nose guard — he’s 6-foot, 287 pounds — this Naval Academy product is an absolute menace for an interior defensive lineman. According to his Navy bio, Robinson is the strongest player on his team, squatting 665 pounds and benching 465 pounds. He has a 33-inch vertical and has been clocked at 20.13 mph on the GPS. This is a nose guard at a service academy we’re talking about here. Benching 465 at sub-300 is insanity. Pairing that power with legit quickness produces the kind of athlete you’ll find in the SEC or the Big Ten. Instead, Robinson garnered First-Team All-AAC recognition as a full-time starter last fall after recording 61 tackles, 5.5 tackles for loss, 4 sacks, and 2 forced fumbles. His 26 stops and 28 quarterback pressures were both top-25 marks among interior FBS defensive linemen last season.
Linebacker: Sonny Styles, Ohio State
Styles kind of feels like what everyone wanted Isaiah Simmons to be. He’s also a year younger than his class. The senior Ohio State linebacker stands 6-5, 243 pounds. He played safety his first 2 seasons with Ohio State, converted to linebacker last spring, and was immediately a second-team All-Big Ten selection. Styles produced 100 tackles, 10.5 tackles for loss, 6 sacks, 5 pass breakups, and a forced fumble. He’s got a massive wingspan and is estimated to be in the 4.6 range in the 40-yard dash. According to PFF, Styles had 43 stops last season (plays constituting a failure for the offense). Texas had no answer for him in the Cotton Bowl. With Caleb Downs a constant threat to do damage wherever he lines up, Styles feels like a potential wrecking ball-type player in 2025. As he gets more comfortable with the nuances of playing linebacker, Ohio State should be able to do a ton of creative things at the second level with its personnel. Styles flies around the field and will deliver a boom when he needs to. Ohio State has the top safety in the country and it might also have one of the best NFL linebacker prospects in the nation, too.
Linebacker: Anthony Hill Jr., Texas
Some advanced tracking data from PFF regarding Hill: Since 2023 (his true freshman season), Hill has 127 plays where he made first contact on a ball carrier, which are the most among returning power conference linebackers. Hill’s 5 forced fumbles are tied for the most among power conference linebackers during the same span. And Hill’s 32 coverage stops are tied for the most among all linebackers. The former 5-star prospect walked in the door of Texas’s facilities ready to mess stuff up. As a true sophomore, Hill had 16.5 tackles for loss, 8 sacks, 4 forced fumbles, and an interception to pair with 113 tackles. He is constantly making plays. He is constantly around the football. Some NFL Draft analysts think Hill’s long-term future is as an edge rusher. Texas will let him do a little bit of everything in 2025. And he’s pretty good at a little bit of everything.
Linebacker: Whit Weeks, LSU
Weeks was the Energizer Bunny of the LSU defense last season. In the most complimentary way possible, he plays like an insane person. Weeks explodes to and through the ball carrier. His 125 tackles last season were tied for the ninth most in the FBS. His 56 stops were the third-most among FBS linebackers, according to PFF. And when LSU let Weeks rush the passer, he was wildly efficient. He had 25 quarterback pressures on just 70 snaps as a pass-rusher. Just watch 40 on Saturdays and you’ll see something wild. When he tipped an interception to himself against Arkansas last fall, he celebrated by pretending to shotgun the football in the endzone. He has more than earned his nickname.
Edge: Trey White, San Diego State
I’m cheating a little here but defenses do weird stuff all the time with their formations so get over it. White is awesome. He’s one of the best players you haven’t heard about. In early November last season, White was your FBS leader in tackles for loss and sacks per game. He ended the campaign with 60 tackles, 18.5 tackles for loss, 12.5 sacks, 2 pass breakups, and a forced fumble. SDSU only had 32 sacks as a team, and no one outside of White had more than 4. The Aztec defense was about one guy, and offenses still didn’t really have a counter for him. According to PFF, White had one of the 12 best pass-rush win rates of any qualified edge at the Group of 6 level. It was a breakout season for White, who had recorded just 16 tackles prior to the campaign. This year, he makes the switch from No. 47 to No. 2, which scores additional points in my book.
Defensive back: Caleb Downs, Ohio State
In my mind, Downs is the best player in football this season. He’s a 6-foot safety who lines up everywhere and has played massive roles for an Alabama team that made the CFP during his true freshman season and an Ohio State team that won a national title during his true sophomore season. He doesn’t have great size and he doesn’t really flash elite speed on tape, but he’s the best defender in the country because he’s a smart, physical bully. He didn’t allow a touchdown last season. He sniffs out plays before they get started, be it down in the box or lined up at safety. He also plays in the slot. He got to rush the passer a few times last season and recorded 4 pressures. He was absolutely lights out in the Rose Bowl against Oregon. On the heels of an 82-tackle sophomore season, I can’t wait to see what Matt Patricia has cooked up for Downs in the Buckeye defense this fall.
Defensive back: Raion Strader, Auburn
Strader is 1 of only 6 players in the last 4 seasons to register at least 20 passes defended in a single season. With the Miami RedHawks last fall, Strader broke up 18 passes and picked off 2. He led all FBS players in passes defended in part because offenses just wouldn’t stop throwing it near him. He saw 101 targets in 12 games last fall. He allowed only 59 receptions with an average of just 3.2 yards gained after the catch by the offense. Quarterbacks had a 77.8 passer grade when they targeted him. He was a freshman All-American in 2023 and the MAC Cornerback of the Year in 2024. Strader has All-SEC potential with Auburn.
Defensive back: D’Angelo Ponds, Indiana
Ponds is a 5-9, 170-pound cornerback. That is… undersized. To put it nicely. And yet he’s one of the more feared defensive backs in college football. As a true freshman at James Madison in 2023, Ponds was a semifinalist for the Shaun Alexander Freshman of the Year award after recording 13 pass breakups, 2 picks, 2 tackles for loss, and 51 total tackles. He followed Curt Cignetti to IU and made the step up in class from the Sun Belt to the Big Ten look easy. Ponds had 4.5 TFLs, 3 picks, and 9 pass breakups. He also blocked a kick. Ponds doesn’t miss tackles, plays sturdy in run support, and absolutely locked down receivers last fall. According to PFF, Ponds has allowed receptions on just 49.2% of the targets he has seen to this point in his career and gave up only 8.2 yards per catch on his 60 targets last year — the best among qualified Big Ten corners.
Defensive back: Koi Perich, Minnesota
As a true freshman in 2024, the Golden Gopher safety led the Big Ten with 5 interceptions. He also became the first FBS freshman since 1976 to record more than 100 punt return yards (188), 100 kick return yards (314), and 5 picks in a season. As a sophomore, Minnesota says Perich is going to be this year’s Travis Hunter. Coach PJ Fleck has said Perich will could play receiver or line up as a Wildcat quarterback. How much action he gets on offense remains to be seen because his defense is outstanding. He was the top-graded safety in the Big Ten last year and opposing quarterbacks had a 28.7 passer grade when they threw his direction. He had a game-sealing interception to help Minnesota knock off USC. A week later, he picked off UCLA in the closing seconds to seal another Minnesota win. Perich is a ball player, and the Gophers are going to line him up everywhere to showcase his talent.
Derek Peterson does a bit of everything, not unlike Taysom Hill. He has covered Oklahoma, Nebraska, the Pac-12, and now delivers CFB-wide content.
