Minnesota has the luxury in 2020 of having both starting cornerbacks returning, both coming off All-Big Ten Honorable Mention campaigns. The returners have a plethora of experience to rely on that should make this group possibly the strength of the defense this upcoming season. This essentially leaves one position, nickel corner, up for grabs in 2020 as an open competition. Here are the names to know entering the 2020 season:
WHO'S GONE?
For cornerbacks, Minnesota has the luxury of bringing most of the 2019 group back, the only departure of the group being Kiondre Thomas who transferred to Kansas State. Thomas had an up and down career at Minnesota with a high overall PFF grade of 73.6 in 2018 before losing his starter spot and finishing 2019 with an overall grade of 60.7.
WHO'S BACK?
Coney Durr
The Baton Rouge, LA native returns for his redshirt season in 2020 as a solidified starter and arguably the team’s best corner after an All-Big Ten Honorable Mention season in 2019. Coney started all 13 games last season, recording 33 tackles, 10 PBUs (tied for team lead), one INT, and one TD. With another positive season in 2020, Durr should have an opportunity to make All-Big honors this fall. He finished with a 73.2 overall grade per PFF in 2019 with a 71.3 coverage grade, both above average. Look for Coney to have a big senior season for Minnesota.
Benjamin St. Juste
If there was one player who made a huge leap during the 2019 season, it was Michigan transfer Benjamin St. Juste. He arrived on campus only weeks before the 2019 camp started and played in rotation throughout the first four games with Coney Durr, Kiondre Thomas, and Terell Smith. St. Juste separated himself as a step above and became a solidified starter for Minnesota, starting the final nine games and ending the season with All-Big Ten Honorable Mention honors. Despite only starting nine games, Benjamin accumulated 45 tackles and tied Durr with 10 PBUs. Significant performances included seven tackles and two PBUs against Iowa as well as a team-high nine tackles against Wisconsin. His PFF grades for 2019 were an overall defensive grade of 75.0 and a coverage grade of 74.2, both slightly ahead of Coney Durr. Now Benjamin enters this year being the unquestioned other corner to pair with Coney Durr. With a 6-3 frame, long arms, and solid hips, St. Juste has played himself into being a legitimate NFL prospect with a strong 2020 season.
Phillip Howard
Despite putting himself into the transfer portal in the spring, Howard returns for his redshirt senior year at Minnesota to provide added cornerback depth with the departure of Kiondre Thomas. As a redshirt junior, Phillip played in 11 games totaling five tackles, one interception, and one forced fumble. With the top two cornerback positions being nearly cemented, it will be interesting to see what the staff can do with Howard. Does he have the ability to play the run well enough to bump him inside to nickel corner? Will they play him in passing situations and move Coney Durr into the slot or will he be primarily a backup? Howard will be given every opportunity at playing time this fall if he can win the nickel corner job. His overall grade was the highest of any corner in 2019 (granted limited snaps) where he ended with a 80.8 defensive grade and an 80.6 coverage grade.
Terell Smith
Smith is an interesting player returning for Minnesota. As a true freshman he was named the team’s Outstanding Defensive Freshman of the year and started nine of 11 games, totaling 43 tackles, eight PBUs, and one interception. His sophomore season, however, was a disappointment in only playing nine games (starting none), recording nine tackles and one PBU. Smith looked a step slower last season than he did in his freshman campaign and did not have the same playmaking ability that we saw. The 2019 PFF grades for Smith show the same story, where he was sixth to last on the team in overall PFF grade (which includes any player that played a snap last year) with a 54.8 grade including a porous 43.5 tackling grade. Now with Durr and St. Juste stepping up as the starters, Smith finds himself battling for a backup role in 2020. I don’t believe he is a good enough tackler to step into the nickel role and will most likely be a backup with his eyes set on starting for the 2021 season.
Solomon Brown
Redshirting as a true freshman in 2019, Brown returns to campus in 2020 with an eager shot to compete for the starting nickel spot. He made his collegiate debut against Maryland where he recorded a tackle. As a high schooler, Solomon finished his career with 229 tackles and four interceptions. In his senior season alone, he recorded 92 tackles, three TFLs, four forced fumbles, one interception, and six PBUs. He was a 5.5 3-star from Rivals and committed to Minnesota over Cincinnati, Iowa, Iowa State, Indiana, and UCF among others. His high school tape shows him playing at both safety as well as nickel corner and solid tackling ability. I expect him to be one of the players who competes for the starting nickel role along with Justus Harris.
Justus Harris
Harris was thrown into action very early in his collegiate career starting a game as a true freshman against Iowa where he recorded five tackles and was picked on a bit due to his lack of speed. The past two years Harris has been a Quad Team Member both years (play on all four special teams) playing in every single game recording 13 tackles, one forced fumble, and blocking one punt. Justus has the experience as the nickel corner playing the position since arriving on campus but was thrust into a backup position when Chris Williamson emerged on campus. Now with Williamson gone, Harris will again have the opportunity to compete for a starting role a few years later. The big knock on him was lack of speed as a freshman, so it will be interesting to see if he has improved his speed/quickness enough to be a force this year.
WHO'S COMING IN?
Victor Pless
Pless will be a true freshman in 2020 when he arrives on campus to a deep cornerback room. A 5.5 3-star ranking by Rivals, Victor pledged to Minnesota over offers from Cincinnati, Houston, Louisville, Indiana and Oregon State among others. I did like what I saw from Pless on film however with two solidified starters returning, expect a redshirt year for the freshman.
