College Football: Top 50 players for 2017

If Micah Kiser played for a blue blood program he’d be one of the most talked about defenders in the nation. The junior inside linebacker at Virginia led all players from Power-5 conference teams in total tackles last season. He also forced five fumbles, third-best in the ACC. Kiser is a hard-hitting, tackling machine.

Early reports have him listed as the No. 1 inside linebacker in the upcoming draft class. The measurables are all there. He’s big guy (240 pounds) with wide arms (he’s 6-foot-2). He has a nose for the quarterback and the football. Not many linebackers spent as much time in the opposing backfield as Kiser.

However, the stats are a bit inflated by the Cavaliers porous defense. Virginia allowed 446.6 yards per game. That’s worse than programs like New Mexico, Buffalo and Toledo. They kept their opponents under 20 points once in 2016 (and still lost that game 13-10 to UConn). A hapless defense meant a lot more offensive plays to defend and increased opportunities for Kiser to shine. You can’t hold the lack of success of his unit against him, rather he deserves added credit for taking every opportunity to make a game-changing plays.

Kiser made some of his biggest plays against No. 5 Louisville in what could have been the Cavaliers biggest win of the year. It would have been if it weren’t for 18 fourth quarter points by the Cardinals to squeak out the win. Kiser finished that game with 14 tackles (tied for the second most of any game he played all season) and 2 sacks.