Ranking the Best Defensive Lines for the 2020 College Football Season (Bleacher Report)

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6. Florida Gators

For the past two seasons, Florida defensive coordinator Todd Grantham has trotted out a strong defensive front, which has been a key to the Gators' resurgence under head coach Dan Mullen.

Last year, the Gators were on the brink of competing for the SEC East, and a loaded defensive line paved the way. Florida was fifth nationally with 49 sacks and eighth in rushing defense, allowing just 102.8 yards on the ground per game.

Both of those are excellent indicators of how strong the Gators were up front.

Defensive tackle Adam Shuler and Jabari Zuniga will are big losses, but Florida got huge news when Kyree Campbell elected to return for another season rather than go to the NFL after he racked up 39 tackles a season ago.

Florida will get a handful of potential impact defenders back, including Elijah Conliffe, Zachary Carter, Marlon Dunlap Jr., Jaelin Humphries and Tedarrell Slaton. At 6'5", 358 pounds, Slaton could be a force if he can stay in shape. He has a monumental impact against the run, and he's an NFL prospect because of his sheer size.

The biggest addition to Florida's recruiting class is 5-star defensive tackle Gervon Dexter, who leads one of the most impressive defensive line hauls of 2020. The Gators aren't going anywhere, and they've got the pieces to improve the line from a year ago.

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3. Georgia Bulldogs

The nation's best defensive line from a season ago belonged to the Georgia Bulldogs, who pieced together a rugged, nasty group that swallowed up running backs.

How good were they? The Junkyard Bulldogs allowed 74.6 rushing yards per game and just two rushing touchdowns all season. UGA wasn't exceptional at getting to the quarterback, sacking opponents just 31 times, but that wasn't their game.

What will they do for an encore? You can expect a small drop-off, but not much.

It will hurt to lose Tyler Clark, who was the team's best lineman a season ago. Michael Barnett was a quality piece as a rotational guy, too. But take a look at all the talent coordinator Dan Lanning has coming back, which includes Nolan Smith—since we're counting Thibodeaux as a lineman for Oregon, we've got to count the Bulldogs standout.

Yes, he comes off the second level more often than not, but Smith can play with his hand down and will be a problem for everybody.

UGA also brings back the formidable trio of Jordan Davis, Malik Herring and Travon Walker. Julian Rochester could take a big leap forward in his second year removed from a knee injury. Everybody in Athens is excited about seeing incoming 5-star defensive tackle Jalen Carter too.

There are other former top recruits, such as Zion Logue, Bill Norton and Tymon Mitchell, who need to take the leap to being key backups, but the potential is there. It's all about building quality depth, and with the way head coach Kirby Smart has recruited, the options exist.

This unit could be inconsistent early as it arranges its pieces but could thrive as the season progresses. UGA expects to contend for the national title in 2020, and the defensive line will be a major part of it, if so.

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2. Alabama Crimson Tide

Alabama lost out on McKinnley Jackson to Texas A&M on national signing day and watched longtime commitment Jayson Jones flip to Oregon.

The Crimson Tide will be fine, though.

After a bit of a down year from his front seven, coach Nick Saban won't allow that to happen again. If it does, defensive coordinator Pete Golding will be looking for a job. Alabama has a ton of talent returning from injuries in the linebacking corps, and the line will be reloaded too.

Losing Raekwon Davis will hurt, but there is so much potentially elite talent coming back.

DJ Dale dealt with nagging injuries all season, and LaBryan Ray suffered a season-ending foot injury, but both will be back and should be dominant. When you consider Byron Young and Justin Eboigbe played as true freshman out of necessity a year ago, that's quality depth.

Others such as Christian Barmore and Ishmael Sopsher are former highly rated recruits who have the potential for breakout campaigns. Stephon Wynn Jr., Phidarian Mathis and others are in the rotation too.

Besides Ray, Barmore will be an exciting option to watch develop as a third-year sophomore. He finished last year with 26 tackles, six for loss and two sacks in 11 games.

"I think we need to make significant improvements with those guys," Saban told BamaOnline's Charlie Potter. "But I always say guys improve a lot from their first year to their second year."

Tim Smith, Jamil Burroughs and Jah-Marien Latham are new names to watch on the interior, and elite playmakers Will Anderson and Chris Braswell are among the top outside linebackers/weak-side defensive ends in the nation and can take UA's line to another level.

This group will enjoy the biggest improvement on Alabama's team and be one of the most improved units in the nation.

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