College Football: Top 50 players for 2017

Shaquille Quarterman finished fifth in the ACC in defensive rookie of the year voting after a tremendous season. He, alongside fellow freshman linebackers, Zach McCloud and Michael Pinckney were key pieces in a Hurricane defense that finished 20th in the nation in total defense. They were the only all-freshman trio of starting linebackers in the nation.

The Hurricanes saw an uptick in their defense as soon as Quarterman arrived on campus. At 6-foot-1, 240 pounds he has a rare combination of size and power that stops ball carriers in their place. His 10 tackles for a loss are proof of his knack for getting into the opposing backfield and wrecking havoc.

Miami finished 20th in total defense last season, allowing a hair less than 350 yards per game. Their 4.75 yards allowed per play was ninth best in the nation and on par with eventual national champion Clemson, who allowed 4.63 yards per play. A big reason for the ‘Canes stellar defensive stats was their strength against the run. They allowed 160.1 yards per game against ranked opponents and 118.9 yards per game against unranked teams.

He and his compatriots received high praise from Winston Moss, a Miami linebacker in the mid ’80s. He called the trio of linebackers “young lions”. If that’s the case, then Quarterman is the Alpha male of an incredibly promising pride.