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#3 Kenny Willekes, Michigan State
This former walk-on turned All-American was named the Big Ten Defensive Linemen of the Year despite those two guys ahead of him competing in that conference. The 6’4”, a 260-pound defensive end put up 72 QB pressures and 41 total defensive stops in 2018, while recording the highest overall grade among all edge defenders in the Big Ten heading into 2019 according to PFF.
Willekes displays violent hands and pushes his blocker inside if the run is called in-between the tackles. He also does a good job closing down space to his tackle on the back-side of zone run plays as the unblocked defender and even gambles on some plays to shoot through the B-gap when he feels the run coming and he has somebody covering up for him.
Willekes has excellent snap anticipation and he loves the up-and-under combined with double-hand swipes or club-swims to knock away the hands of his tackle. This young man might just be the hardest-playing guy with the pursuit he showcases on ever snap and with how quickly he recognizes slip screens, he often is the first to show up at the recipient.
The reason he’s not number one is that he simply doesn’t have the elite burst or bend to just beat tackles around the corner consistently.
