Photo Attribution: Corie Brianne
By now you guys know that I’m a Justin Gilbert apologist extraordinaire. I’m a sucker for the evolution of freaky athletic DBs (or WRs) that double as heart-in-your-throat punt returners. They’re like 55% of the reason I watch college football I think.
So with all this Brodrick Brown love lately I decided to go to the stats to back up my Gilbert4Prez 2012 campai…wait…what is this1…
| Career stats | Brodrick Brown | Justin Gilbert | Edge |
| Passes broken up | 23 | 11 | Brown |
| Interceptions | 7 | 5 | Brown |
| Total passes defended | 30 | 16 | Brown |
| Tackles | 145 | 77 | Brown |
| Points | 0 | 24 | Gilbert |
Oh, so you’re saying Brown is statistically superior in every imaginable category relevant to cornerbacks other than points scored2?
Well crap. The one thing I’m missing here is numbers on thrown at. For example, in 2010 Darrelle Revis was thrown at 55 times, Antonio Cromartie was thrown at 103 times (none of his kids were thrown at). Is Gilbert the Revis of this scenario? Are Brown’s numbers inflated because offensive coordinators crap their drawers every time they see this in the film room? Maybe, but I doubt it.
And we should find out for sure this year with both guys being highly touted as two of the best in the Big 12, there will be no cornerback favoritism by opposing teams this season.
Evidence of their collective greatness: the sophomore-junior duo led all other corner duos in the country in passes defended with 35, just edging out Carrington Byndom and Quandre Diggs of Texas3.
- I threw out Brown’s freshman year on stat sheet so you’re looking at Brown’s Soph-Jr years and Gilbert’s Frosh-Soph years ↩
- And we’ve established that this is simply because Justin Gilbert does Justin Gilbert things on kick returns ↩
- Do I mention here that OSU faced 100 more pass attempts and 300 more than the nation’s least passed against team, Alabama? Nahhh… ↩
“None of his kids were thrown at” – I laughed out loud
This is as difficult to answer as say, who is better between Randle and Smith. Both DBs are great in their own right and possess different strengths. As Gilbert has the bigger NFL potential and upside, he hasn’t surpassed Lockdown Brown yet. I would have to say that due to the amount of passes thrown Brodricks way, his lack of size, his ability to make one on one open field tackles of the likes of Colin Klien and shutting down much bigger WRs, ie Jeff Fuller, I would have to say that Brown has established himself as the better CB as of right now. Both Gilbert and Brown are going to wreck havoc in the secondary this season, but I think we know what Brown will give us…Gilbert on the other hand has the chance to make this season unforgettable and could blow up the scene.
why isnt this a poll? Right now its obviously Brown. Gilbert is so fast and will be the best by the end of the season
Give me Bulldog
-Matt Millen
LOL ^^^^^^^^^
You’ve obviously over-simplified this because we all know both UT and OU have superior DB’s and OSU’s defense generally sucks for 2012 because it generally sucked in 2011; just read what ESPN, or SI, or Sporting News have to say about it. I’m certain they know more about Cowboy football than any of us mere mortals that bleed orange could possibly understand, they are, after all, professional sports analysts……..why, you even implied that OSU might be better in something than Alabama, ergo, you must not be that bright…LOL
So these professional sports analysts didnt influence everyone to send two teams from the same conference into the national championship? Whats the difference between professional sports analysts and a amateur sports blog? Oh…. professionals blatantly plagarize… http://deadspin.com/5934914/for-the-second-time-in-three-weeks-espn-plagiarizes-another-reporters-work?tag=Media-Meltdowns
By the end of last year, Gilbert was the best CB @ OSU. His closing speed combined with his ability to jump through the roof surprised the best QBs in the country (looking at you Luck; RG3 who?). I’m expecting big things from #4 this year on defense…on kick returns, not so much (thanks for the rule change NCAA).
Test
Good point
I think the A&M game sold me on Bulldog last year. I believe Gilbert had a pick also in that game but Browns D on Fuller was HUGE….the difference in the game if you ask me. The whole thing is kind of stupid really. This has become a “which guy would you pick” discussion. The great thing is we don’t have to pick. We got both guys on our side.
I agree with Casey here. We got BOTH and they will only make each other better.
Bulldog for President!
It’s stats like this that make me even more disappointed we didn’t get to see OSU Vs. Alabama last season. I mean, would they have had any idea what to do with the air raid that would’ve been poured on ‘em? That said, I doubt we could’ve stopped their run game. BUT STILL!!
Well it’s not like LSU didn’t have great corners….
Well yeah, I had a brain fart there for a second and was thinking the Nat Champ would’ve been us against ‘Bama. It would’ve been us against LSU. D’oh!
Even so, it still would’ve been awesome.