Top 5 safeties in college football right now

Now a month into the 2022 college football season, I decided it was time to rank the five best players for each position at this very moment. For clarification, these lists are based on where these young men are today as college football players. I’m in the business of projecting forward and evaluating them as draft prospects, but for this exercise, I tried to isolate them from their team and purely judge them on who can help win games at the CFB level right now.

Here are the best five safeties in college football right now:

#1. Antonio Johnson, Texas A&M

College Football - Texas A&M v Colorado

The safety position wasn’t as easy to figure out, because the guy I wanted to place at the top here doesn’t have much of the classic production you'd expect to see. But he’s also not playing it in a very traditional manner and he deserves to be recognized for well he does his job. Antonio Johnson has played almost exclusively in the slot for the Texas Aggies, where he has been key to that unit's success.

He’s an excellent edge-setter in the run, who will funnel everything back inside and has tremendous length to keep blockers off his frame. As a coverage defender, he shows good spatial awareness in zone and is very patient in man to not overreact to fakes by the receiver. He also uses those lanky limbs to rip through the ball for some late break-ups. He’s a highly dependable tackler in space, who regularly tosses receivers to the turf with very little effort.

#2. Jordan Battle, Alabama

College Football - Alabama v Texas

Coming in right behind him (as the second of three straight SEC guys) I have what is probably the highest-graded college football safety on draft boards for most people. Jordan Battle at Alabama could have easily entered the 2022 NFL draft and probably been a top-50 pick after the season he put together (85 total tackles, three passes broken up and intercepted each, with two of those taken back to the house). Instead, he decided to stick around for his senior campaign.

The ball-production isn’t there yet this season (zero passes defended), but the way he charges up the alley in run support and the versatile piece he is in coverage for Nick Saban’s troops is very valuable for that unit. He’s so good at playing in-between routes in zone coverage and can drive down routes in two-high looks. He shuts down crossing routes instantly as he buzzes down into the flats or as a robber. The one thing he’s still working on is not getting sucked up as much by play-action.

#3. Christopher Smith, Georgia

College Football - Kent State v Georgia

Next up, I have what I would have maybe called “the other” Georgia Bulldogs safety coming into this season. I was very excited for the 2021 West Virginia transfer Tykee Smith to make his return from injury and would love to put his name on the list. However, he simply hasn’t played enough or put up the numbers to warrant that. Chris Smith, on the other hand, has been really impressive.

His instincts and range (as they’ve deployed him more as a center-fielding free safety) have been excellent while having been a reliable last line of defense as a space tackler. He had three huge plays in this year’s season-opener at Oregon: He flew up in run support from depth to stop the back cold, then had an awesome interception off Bo Nix and finally dislodged the ball on a deep shot (where the receiver originally seemed wide open, with him getting over there as the deep middle safety). He has added another pick and two TFLs to his resume so far.

#4. J.L. Skinner, Boise State

College Football - UT Martin v Boise State

The most fun I had watching among this group was this guy from Boise State, who the national landscape hasn’t caught up on yet. J.L. Skinner did fill up the stat sheet in a big way last season – 92 combined tackles (66 solo), seven of those for loss, three PBUs, two picks, two fumbles forced and three recoveries.

Having missed one game, he’s pretty much on the same trajectory and showed what a game-wrecker he can be from that safety spot right away against Oregon State in this year’s opener. He made a great pick, closing the ball on a shallow crosser and reaching between the receiver’s hands, batting the ball to himself and setting up his offense in scoring range.

Skinner says he molds his game after Kam Chancellor, which is on display with how emphatically he fills the C-gap and how he dominates first contact with any type of receiver trying to block. Despite being a 220-pound safety who can play in the box, he ended up in the deep post regularly last season. He does a great job of putting himself in position to bracket guys streaking down the seams, and when he drops down as a robber, you see receivers be aware of where he is and short-arm passes.

#5. Jammie Robinson, Florida State

College Football - Florida State v Louisville

And while the entertainment factor was greater with Skinner, I thought Jammie Robinson played the position with an energy and demeanor that was second to none. His ability to anticipate breaks, decipher through patterns and leverage receivers as a deep zone defender is very advanced for a college football player. His awareness allows the Seminole coaches to line him up in a lot of different spots as a chess-piece in coverage.

In the running game, his urgency to attack from the slot and deep alignments I really enjoy watching. I’ve seen him line up 12 yards deep and shoot through the legs of the back on power runs that bounced wide for no gain before. But what I came away with the most is how super-reliable Robinson has been as a tackler. Whether he has to put his body in the way of the rolling train and take the runner to the ground with him or twist guys down from the side.

Honorable mentions: Brandon Joseph (Northwestern), Ronnie Hickman (Ohio State), Brian Branch (Alabama), Quindell Johnson (Memphis), Kenny Logan (Kansas) & Bentlee Sanders (Nevada)

You can check out all my other college football positional rankings here or as one piece on halilsrealfootballtalk.com