Before Northwestern kicked off the 2020 season, the main question hanging over the Wildcats' secondary was who would replace Travis Whillock. After three games, the question became a much more fun one to think about: is Brandon Joseph the best safety in America?

He certainly thinks he was the best safety in college football and also believes he was snubbed by the Jim Thorpe Award, awarded annually to the nation's best DB.

"The Thorpe was something that was on my mind last year, but really we had bigger goals," Joseph said at Thursday's spring practice press conference. "We had goals to make it to the Big Ten Championship, and we had goals to win the Big Ten Championship. Last year is in the past now, so all I can do is go and try and win it this year. And that is my goal, to go and get that thing."

Joseph had a strong case for the award in 2020. His six interceptions were tied for most in the nation and he was arguably the best player on arguably the best defense in the country.

Last season, as a redshirt freshman, Joseph talked often about relying on the veterans around him and just going out there and playing football like he has his whole life.

But this year, eight key contributors from the Cats' 2020 unit are no longer with the team. That means that players like Joseph will have to be more of a leader.

"My role is changing," Joseph said. "Last year, I had all the experience in the world around me, and I'm losing a lot of that this year. I'm realizing that I'm going to need to step into that leadership position. I'm going to use everything I learned from them boys last year.

"I had Greg Newsome, JR Pace, Paddy Fisher, Blake Gallagher; I had probably the best defensive players in the nation surrounding me. So I'm going to take everything that they taught me and try to use it in the leadership (role) that I want to have this year."

The losses of Newsome at cornerback and Pace at safety will hurt the "Sky Team", the back end of new defensive coordinator Jim O'Neil's defense. Pace was a wily veteran leader in his fourth year of getting major playing time, and he helped guide Joseph through his first season as a starter along side him. Some lucky NFL team is going to make Newsome, a first-team All-Big Ten performer, a multi-millionaire on April 29th.

Pace and Newsome will be big losses for Northwestern's defense, as Joseph and junior corner AJ Hampton are the only returning starters in the secondary. But Joseph isn't worried.

"I do think Northwestern has a new standard," Joseph said. "(We had) one of the best DB units in the nation last year, and having the best returning corner in the Big Ten and the best returning safety in the Big Ten, there's a new standard in this DB room."

A good sign for Northwestern is that he realistically could've been referring to either Hampton or Cameron Mitchell as the best returning corner in the Big Ten. Hampton was a smart, physical corner opposite Newsome at the end of the 2020 season, and Mitchell played impressively for a freshman in the Big Ten Championship and Citrus Bowl after Newsome went down with a groin injury.

Pro Football Focus grades Mitchell as the best returning corner in the Big Ten, and Hampton as the sixth-best. Throw in Rod Heard at corner and Coco Azema at safety, players who both performed well in the action they saw in 2020, and the Sky Team seems like it has a bright future if Joseph can pass on what he learned and continue to raise the standard for Northwestern DBs.

O'Neil has a long history of working with DBs, too. He was the defensive backs coach for the Oakland/Las Vegas Raiders the last two years, and also coached the secondary with the New York Jets earlier in his career.

"I don't think we could've asked for anything better than this," Joseph said. "Getting a dude like Coach O'Neil that has the experience that he has and has seen the things he's seen.

"He's been here for a few weeks, and he's already evolved my game into something I didn't even know I could do. Having Coach O'Neil here, it's going to be exciting to see what we can do on defense."

A first-team All-American like Joseph getting even better? That does sound exciting. The Thorpe Award might be calling Evanston home by this time next year.