We continue our Seminole Madness tournament in the Defensive Playmakers bracket. You get one vote in the poll above that will stay open for 24 hours. You can also vote on Warchant's Twitter account (subscribers get two votes).
* Note: Whoever makes the best argument for a player will win a $25 eCard to Garnet & Gold (one winner per day). First 11 winners - Noleway85, BoNoles, JayColle, PlanoNole2, fsubuck, dougadee68, snapper-zapper, Noleway85, warchant99, seminoleken, islandchief
Here are the bios for this matchup:
No. 6 seed Corey Sawyer vs. No. 11 seed Derwin James
Corey Sawyer was another in a long line of high school quarterbacks who developed into big-time defensive backs at Florida State. After playing sparingly as a freshman, Sawyer grabbed a starting -- and starring -- role for the Seminoles in 1992. He intercepted seven passes as a sophomore and claimed second-team All-America honors. As a junior, he picked off six more passes and was named a Consensus All-American while leading FSU to its first national championship. Sawyer ended up declaring early for the NFL Draft after that season. His seven interceptions in '92 is tied for the fifth-best total in school history, and he also ranks fifth in career interceptions with 13.
Derwin James was the nation's No. 1 safety coming out of high school and needed no time to adjust to the college level. James earned a starting job early in the 2015 season and turned in one of the most productive freshman campaigns in school history -- he recorded 91 tackles, 9.5 tackles for loss, 4.5 sacks, two forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries. After missing nearly his entire sophomore season with a knee injury, James was very productive again in 2017, recording 84 tackles with two interceptions and 11 pass breakups. James left for the NFL after playing just 27 games in college and was selected in the first round by the Los Angeles Chargers.
* Note: Whoever makes the best argument for a player will win a $25 eCard to Garnet & Gold (one winner per day). First 11 winners - Noleway85, BoNoles, JayColle, PlanoNole2, fsubuck, dougadee68, snapper-zapper, Noleway85, warchant99, seminoleken, islandchief
Here are the bios for this matchup:
No. 6 seed Corey Sawyer vs. No. 11 seed Derwin James
Corey Sawyer was another in a long line of high school quarterbacks who developed into big-time defensive backs at Florida State. After playing sparingly as a freshman, Sawyer grabbed a starting -- and starring -- role for the Seminoles in 1992. He intercepted seven passes as a sophomore and claimed second-team All-America honors. As a junior, he picked off six more passes and was named a Consensus All-American while leading FSU to its first national championship. Sawyer ended up declaring early for the NFL Draft after that season. His seven interceptions in '92 is tied for the fifth-best total in school history, and he also ranks fifth in career interceptions with 13.
Derwin James was the nation's No. 1 safety coming out of high school and needed no time to adjust to the college level. James earned a starting job early in the 2015 season and turned in one of the most productive freshman campaigns in school history -- he recorded 91 tackles, 9.5 tackles for loss, 4.5 sacks, two forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries. After missing nearly his entire sophomore season with a knee injury, James was very productive again in 2017, recording 84 tackles with two interceptions and 11 pass breakups. James left for the NFL after playing just 27 games in college and was selected in the first round by the Los Angeles Chargers.
