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With all due respect to the Big Ten, which is now being lauded as the greatest conference to exist in human history, to become a breakout player in the SEC is still the ultimate individual feat. It’s a sign that a player took his game to the next level after competing against the highest level of FBS competition.
Of course, that can come in a variety of ways. It can come in the form of a 5-star true freshman that puts the league on notice like Dylan Stewart and Colin Simmons did. It can come in the form of a player who finally gets the right opportunity like Whit Weeks and Alfred Collins got. It can even come in the form of a transfer who steps in and dominates like Kyle Kennard and Jermod McCoy did.
All 6 of those guys would’ve qualified as “breakout players” in the SEC in 2024. As a result, the 4 guys in that group who will be back in 2025 are ineligible for this list today.
On Thursday, we broke down the SEC’s top breakout candidates on the offensive side of the ball. Today, we’ll dig into the 7 SEC defensive players who’ll break out in 2025:
Ole Miss LB Princewill Umanmielen
That’s right. There’s another Umanmielen, and depending on who you talk to, it might be the younger brother who has more upside. After Princely Umanmielen transferred to Ole Miss and earned All-SEC honors in 2024, his younger brother followed suit by leaving Nebraska for Oxford. The 3rd-year edge rusher has all the tools to replace his brother and be an elite 1-2 punch alongside preseason All-American Suntarine Perkins. Umanmielen only has 1 career sack at the college level, but he’s got 40 total pressures on 453 career snaps. His pass-rushing skills will be monumental if Ole Miss’s defense wants to avoid a major regression after losing the elder Umanmielen, Walter Nolen, JJ Pegues and Jared Ivey to the NFL Draft.
Mizzou LB Damon Wilson II
One the most decorated transfers of the 2025 cycle left Georgia in hopes of getting regular reps at Mizzou. The former 5-star recruit had a significant role in Year 2 in Athens, which he turned into 26 hurries and 3 sacks as a member of UGA’s edge-rusher rotation. Wilson looked like he was the heir apparent to Mykel Williams, who is off to the NFL, but he opted for a change of scenery. Maybe you could argue that he’s too well known to be considered a “breakout candidate.” He’s on this list because he’s been more of a rotational player who has All-America upside who’ll likely get major NFL Draft buzz if he pops in Corey Batoon’s defense. Watch Wilson and you’ll see why he was so decorated both as a high school recruit and as a transfer.
Georgia Edge Isaiah Gibson
A silver lining of the aforementioned Wilson surprisingly moving onto Mizzou was that it opened the door for Gibson to be the SEC’s 2025 version of Stewart. The fellow former 5-star recruit will have a shot at regular reps in Kirby Smart‘s edge-rusher rotation, especially with the aforementioned Williams and Jalon Walker off to the NFL. That’s rare for a true freshman at Georgia, but perhaps a sign of things to come in the portal era. Even if Gibson is only more of a 3rd-down specialist as he figures out how to defend the run at the SEC level, there could still be plenty of moments in which we’re reminded that Georgia’s got an embarrassment of riches in its front 7. He’s a good bet to make an immediate impact rushing the passer.
Texas DT Cole Brevard
Imagine signing up to join a Texas front 7 that’s already set to return Anthony Hill Jr., the aforementioned Simmons, Trey Moore, Ethan Burke and Liona Lefau. No big deal. Well, check that. The Texas defense is a big deal, and it’s perhaps not surprising that it landed coveted interior defensive linemen like Brevard and UNC transfer Travis Shaw. Brevard is a journeyman of sorts having spent his first 5 seasons of college in the Big Ten at Penn State and Purdue. It took Brevard’s Year 5 season for him to establish a regular presence, though he did so for a doormat Purdue squad. He’ll enter a situation at Texas with ideal surroundings to make plays at nose tackle after he racked up 14 hurries and 13 defensive stops in 2024. There’s no reason why the 23-year-old can’t follow in the footsteps of elite interior defensive linemen in Pete Kwiatkowski’s scheme.
South Carolina DT Monkell Goodwine
Remember the guy who jumped over LSU’s punt protection and sent Williams-Brice Stadium into a frenzy? That was Goodwine.
Unfortunately for Goodwine, the highlight of his season came on special teams and not on defense, where South Carolina was stacked in the front 7. Fortunately for Goodwine, TJ Sanders and Tonka Hemingway are both off to the NFL after prolific careers as interior defensive linemen. Now, the former Alabama transfer should be in ideal position to take off with starter reps. That’s an extremely beneficial situation to operate alongside Stewart, who figures to command regular double teams after his Freshman All-American season. We could see plenty of offenses who succeed in making Stewart a non-factor with extra help in pass protection while freeing up Goodwine to make plays in Clayton White’s defense.
Alabama CB Cameron Calhoun
I know, I know. Three schools in 3 years isn’t the way you draw it up. Calhoun came to Alabama after a year at Utah and a redshirt season on Michigan’s national championship squad in 2023, but make no mistake. He’ll have star potential in Kane Wommack’s defense. You could argue that he’s already too successful to be a breakout candidate having just posted the No. 10 highest coverage grade among Power Conference corners. But Calhoun also only had 236 coverage snaps, and with all the promising pieces that Alabama returns on defense, he could easily be lost in the shuffle in the preseason. Calhoun allowed a 48.8% completion rate and he only allowed 35 coverage yards in 1 game in 2024. With offenses likely set on avoiding fellow outside corner Domani Jackson, Calhoun should see his fair share of opportunities to establish himself as a lockdown cover-man in an elite secondary.
Texas CB Kobe Black
In case you can’t tell, I’m bullish on the Texas defense. That means I’m even bullish on the guy who’ll be tasked with replacing Jim Thorpe Award winner Jahdae Barron, who is off to the NFL. As a true freshman, Black had the benefit of playing 110 snaps in that loaded Texas secondary. That’s because at 6-2, he already had a frame that can line up on the outside against SEC receivers. He’s more physical than you’d expect from an underclassman corner. In high school, he played safety, running back and inside receiver, which is the sign of someone who appreciates a bit of contact. Harnessing that physicality and using his length will be priority No. 1. That Texas defensive front will speed up quarterbacks and make life easier on a first-year starter at corner like Black. By season’s end, don’t be surprised if Black is a major reason why the Texas secondary doesn’t regress at all in a post-Barron world.
Connor O'Gara is the senior national columnist for Saturday Down South. He's a member of the Football Writers Association of America. After spending his entire life living in B1G country, he moved to the South in 2015.
