Marlon Humphrey praises Trevon Diggs, reopens controversial debate
Former Alabama cornerback Marlon Humphrey had high praise for another Crimson Tide alum on Sunday night. The current Baltimore Ravens star gave a Twitter shoutout to Dallas Cowboys cornerback Trevon Diggs after his sixth interception in five games.
“Trevon Diggs holding down Bama for DBU by himself,” Marlon Humphrey tweeted with a pair of moneybag emojis.
His seemingly innocent claim has once again sparked football’s greatest controversy. With a long list of schools claiming the title of DBU, each mention brings out fans and players alike to debate the short-term and long-term champions in the category.
Along with the duo of Humphrey and Diggs, Alabama has 15 other defensive backs in the NFL. Headlining the list are Washington Football Team safety Landon Collins, rookie Denver Broncos cornerback Patrick Surtain II and Pittsburgh Steelers safety Minkah Fitzpatrick.
The current ‘DBU’ titleholder
While the recent play of Trevon Diggs was not taken into account, ESPN attempted to settle the Position U debates one-by-one this summer with a series of analytics-driven articles.
Fanbases argue each season over where their favorite players stack all-time and which school claims the best talent at each position. ESPN puts math into the discussion with a formula that backs up the title of Position U. In a tight race for first, ESPN named Ohio State Defensive Back U over LSU, Alabama, Florida and others.
The title of DBU has been the most contested in college football and ESPN lists Ohio State on top. Every season, the school with the first defensive back drafted or the most interceptions also attempts to stake claim to the honor. This formula lists LSU second and Alabama third with Florida just behind in fourth.
With the recent play of Trevon Diggs certainly changing the landscape, Marlon Humphrey is demanding a recount.
How ESPN crowned a champion
The ESPN formula for determining each Position U school combines each players college success, NFL Draft stock and NFL success. The system awards points for all-conference and All-American selections during college with a sliding scale based on draft position and NFL success. The formula only considers the first five years of each player’s professional career, giving credit to the trainers and coaches beyond that point.
ESPN’s solution to the transfer portal problem is simple. Any award won by the player goes toward the school where he was playing that season. Any professional achievements by that player are credited to the last school he attended before entering the draft.