Top 5 edge rushers in college football for 2018

4. Sutton Smith, Northern Illinois

This guy had a 2017 season for the ages. Smith topped everybody in the nation with a whopping 30 tackles for loss and was tied for first with 14 sacks. In addition to that, he forced and recovered three fumbles respectively, scored two touchdowns and produced a ridiculous 64 QB hurries on 439 rushes, earning PFF’s highest grade among edge rushers in all of college football.

What makes those numbers even more impressive is the fact he did so at six feet, 225 pounds. At that size, he brings a burst around the edge that your typical base end can’t match and it’s tough for those tall tackles to put hands on him. He loves those quick inside moves as a pass rusher, which he counters with a hesitation combo back to the outside. At his stature, he can’t just control the point of attack in the run game, but the NIU coaches allowed him to stunt inside with a teammate cleaning up RBs bouncing and stuff like that.