ESPN College Football

Posted by ESPN.com's Heather Dinich

This is it, the final ranking of the positions. I'll have one more post putting the top units together later and taking a look at who came out on top and how it might correlate to the ACC title race. Here's a look at who's best in the last line of defense:

1. Virginia Tech -- Victor "Macho" Harris is gone, but plenty of talent remains in free safety Kam Chancellor, cornerback Stephan Virgil, rover Dorian Porch, and rover Davon Morgan. Chancellor and Virgil started every game last season at their respective positions, while Porch picked up the starting duties at rover after Morgan suffered a season-ending injury in the fifth game of the year. All four players have shown big-play ability and figure to provide strong leadership this fall. Virgil will take over Harris' spot at boundary corner, and he tied for the team lead with six interceptions last fall.

2. Georgia Tech -- This is going to be a much deeper unit than it was a year ago, and junior safety Morgan Burnett should have plenty of help despite the Jackets' loss of veteran Jahi Word-Daniels. Mario Butler and Dominique Reese return along with sophomores Rashaad Reid and Cooper Taylor, who both gained valuable experience last year. The return of suspended cornerback Jerrard Tarrant will also give this unit a boost, and redshirt freshman Kamaron Riley is also an option. This should be the strength of Georgia Tech's defense this year.

3. Boston College -- The Eagles' secondary was one of the stingiest in the country last season with 26 interceptions, tied with Florida for the most in the country. Even though the Eagles lose Paul Anderson, who had six of those picks, there are more options. BC has nine lettermen and three starters returning here. DeLeon Gause and Roderick Rollins both started a majority of the games at cornerback and Marcellus Bowman and Wes Davis will most likely be the returning starters at safety. Dominick LeGrande will also see a significant amount of playing time.

4. Clemson -- Michael Hamlin is gone, and he'll be tough to replace as he was a four-year starting safety, but linebacker DeAndrew McDaniel was moved to strong safety to help with that issue. Sadat Chambers is the prime candidate to start at free safety. The cornerbacks, though, are all-conference candidates in Chris Chancellor and Crezdon Butler. They've started in the secondary together for each of the past two years and 26 straight games. They've also got a strong group of reserves, and Byron Maxwell might be the hardest hitter in the secondary.

5. North Carolina -- The Tar Heels return three of four starters in the defensive backfield, including Kendric Burney, but the loss of three-year starter Trimane Goddard is significant. Da'Norris Searcy, who was impressive in the Meineke Car Care Bowl, will be facing much higher expectations as the leading candidate to replace Goddard. Burney and Jordan Hemby return as starters at cornerback.

6. Virginia -- This ranking really depends a lot on whether or not Vic Hall spends all of his time at quarterback. If this past spring was any indication of where Hall will be needed most, it looks like the secondary will be led by cornerback Ras-I Dowling, who intercepted a team-best three passes and broke up a team-high 11 passes. Sophomore Chase Minnifield played in all 12 games with two starts and proved an ability to be around the ball with two interceptions and four break-ups. Senior Chris Cook returns after not being in school last year and is expected to fill a role in the secondary. He has started 19 games in his career and intercepted three passes. Sophomore Corey Mosley is the lone returning starter at safety.

7. Miami -- This was an area that needed improvement last year, considering the Canes were last - 119th in the nation - in interceptions. DeMarcus Van Dyke, Chavez Grant and Brandon Harris are the most experienced starters at cornerback. Van Dyke, entering his third season, made two starts last year. Harris started six games as a true freshman and Grant started seven. Sam Shields made the move from wide receiver and could also help. Randy Phillips is a leader and the frontrunner to claim one safety position, and Vaughn Telemaque is another option. Freshman Ray Ray Armstrong might get introduced to fans early.

8. Florida State -- Patrick Robinson and Jamie Robinson, two seniors, have been the veteran leaders of the group. Outside of Patrick Robinson, who has seven career interceptions -- six of which came in 2007, the secondary has combined for one career interception (Jamie Robinson). Jamie Robinson had two interceptions in the spring game. Korey Mangum, who moved to rover, and Ochuko Jenije at field field corner, started to help solidify the lineup. Former cornerback Terrance Parks practiced at both rover and safety this spring. Star recruit Dionte Allen was also in the mix.

9. Maryland -- Anthony Wiseman, Terrell Skinner, Jamari McCollough and Nolan Carroll make this a respectable group. They're all seniors and they'll give first-year defensive coordinator Don Brown exactly what he needs to work with in a defensive scheme that is focused on the secondary. Skinner is a hard hitter who had 63 tackles last year, Wiseman ranked fourth in the ACC in pass breakups, and McCollough had a team-high four interceptions. Kenny Tate could also be a major contributor. This should be the strength of the Terps' defense.

10. NC State -- Safety is definitely a position of concern, as young players will have to step up at boundary corner and free safety. Clem Johnson came on strong last season despite being slowed by various injuries, and Javon Walker missed his second spring practice after sitting out the 2008 season with a knee injury. Bobby Floyd is a walkon who started a game last season. The loss of Jeremy Gray at the boundary corner will be significant, but Dominique Ellis saw frequent action as a freshman. At the field corner, DeAndre Morgan is a proven veteran while Koyal George has also started a couple of games there.

11. Wake Forest -- Players like Alphonso Smith just can't be replaced, but Kenny Okoro is going to give it his best shot. Cornerbacks Josh Bush and Okoro both looked impressive this spring while competing for Smith's old position. They got a lot of reps with injured starter Brandon Ghee out and began to establish themselves as capable replacements. Ghee will no doubt be the leader of the unit, though, as he broke up seven passes, second only to Smith.

12. Duke -- This should be a group effort, as strong safety Catron Gainey and Leon Wright are the lone returning starters. He had 66 tackles last year, one sack and two fumble recoveries. The staff will look for more production from fee safety Matt Daniels, and former backup quarterback Zack Asack, who was converted to safety, has since been kicked off the team.