By Leo Cumberland–
The building block of defensive coordinator Todd Grantham’s 3-4 defensive scheme is built around the disruption of the interior nose tackle.
Defensive tackle Sheldon Rankins is the foundation of one of the nation’s top ranked defenses.
A year ago, Rankins started all 13 games and finished with team highs of 8 sacks and 13.5 tackles for a loss. Rarely coming off the field, Rankins also added two interceptions.
“When you combine that with his explosive power off the ball, his lateral movement, his ability to play with his hands, his acceleration off the blocks, then you start looking at the measurements he has, you end up with an impact player and that is why he is one of the leaders on our team,” Grantham said.