On Tuesday, representatives from the Rivals.com sites covering the American Athletic Conference gave their thoughts on who the AAC Offensive Player of the Year would be in a roundtable discussion.

Today, they continue the roundtable by discussing their AAC Defensive Player of the Year candidates. And while Tuesday's discussion features a variety of answers.

Here are the following individuals who have agreed to participate for today's question (all names are in alphabetical order):

Kyle Gauss, assistant editor, OwlScoop.com (Temple)

Chris Harmon, publisher, Inside Tulsa Sports (Tulsa)

Brandon Helwig, publisher, UCFSports.com (UCF)

Mike James, publisher, TheMidReport.com (Navy)

Mark Lindsay, publisher, PirateIllustrated.com (East Carolina)

Ben McCool, beat writer, BullsInsider.com (USF)

Jefferson Powell, publisher, Cougars Den (Houston)

Damon Sayles, managing editor, The HillTopics (SMU)

Isaac Simpson, beat writer, TigerSportReport.com (Memphis)

Guerry Smith, publisher, The Wave Report (Tulane)

Jason Stamm, managing editor, BearcatReport.com (Cincinnati)

QUESTION OF THE DAY: JULY 22

Who is your pick for AAC Defensive Player of the Year? And why?

GAUSS: If Quincy Roche hadn't decided to grad transfer to Miami, I would have chosen him to become the conference's first repeat winner. Instead, I'll go with Cincinnati cornerback Ahmad Gardner. A freshman All-American last season, Gardner did not give up a single touchdown in 2019 and held opposing quarterbacks to a 39.4 quarterback rating when they threw in his direction. He has very good length at 6-2 and should be poised for another successful sophomore season. I do wonder if opposing quarterbacks will be smart enough to not throw in his direction this season, which may limit his numbers. But regardless of whether or not it shows up in the box score, Gardner will make an impact on a lot of games this season.

Richie Grant is obviously very firmly in the conversation, as are names like Temple's Ifeanyi Maijeh and Memphis' Joseph Dorceus.

HARMON: This would've been an easy choice if 2019 Defensive Player of the Year Quincy Roche had stayed at Temple, but with Roche transferring to Miami, I'm torn between a few different guys. I also would've considered Navy linebacker Jacob Springer, who led the Midshipmen in tackles, sacks and TFLs last year, but he transferred to Ole Miss.

Defensive linemen have won the award over the past three years, and linebackers won it during the three years before that, with 2014 seeing the award split between a linebacker and defensive back. Two linebackers that could really blow up this coming season are Tulsa junior Zaven Collins and Navy junior Diego Fagot, but I'm going to stick with the recent trend of defensive lineman and pick Temple junior Ifeanyi Maijeh. He racked up 52 tackles, 10 tackles for loss, 6.5 sacks and five quarterback hurries in 12 games as a sophomore in 2019, earning first-team all-AAC honors.

If the defensive tackle makes another big jump in his junior season, his numbers could resemble his former teammate Roche when he won the award. Maijeh is on the 2020 Bednarik Award Watch List and was recently named to Phil Steele's Preseason All-America Fourth Team.

HELWIG: UCF safety Richie Grant. Coming off back-to-back all-AAC First Team selections, Grant is poised for a monster senior year. He led the league in interceptions as a sophomore with six, but for whatever reason, he only grabbed one last season. If he can get that turnover number up to go along with his consistent coverage and tackling ability, he can definitely take home that award.

JAMES: Navy's Diego Fagot was first-team all-AAC in 2019. He is second among returning AAC tacklers from last year. He's third in sacks, including the two he had two against Kansas State in the Liberty Bowl. He will only get better after a year of experience in Brian Newberry's system.

LINDSAY: UCF safety Richie Grant is my pick for AAC Defensive player of the year. At 6-0, 194, he had 78 tackles and eight pass breakups last season after recording 108 tackles the year prior.

McCOOL: Answering this question was a lot tougher than I thought it would be. I began with consideration of some of the more well-known defensive stars of the league, but I kept coming back to someone a bit more unknown. Six AAC players have been named to the Nagursky and Bednarik watch lists, but my pick is not one of them. I came very close to picking UCF's Richie Grant, who is likely to have a great season and a safe pick for this category.

In the end, I'm picking USF linebacker Dwayne Boyles for Defensive Player of the Year. Boyles isn't on a watch list, and he didn't make any of the all- conference teams. He's not even the most celebrated defensive player on his own team. What he did do, however, was lead his team in tackles for loss (12.5) and total tackles (75) as a sophomore. He also had a couple of pass breakups and three sacks.

The Bulls did not have a good defense last year, but I expect big improvements with first-year defensive coordinator and linebackers coach Glenn Spencer on board. Boyles will be poised for a breakout season if the defense shows the kind of growth that I'm expecting.

POWELL: In the last couple of years, the AAC has favored defenders that can get after the quarterback. I'm going to buck the trend here with my pick, but I'm going with who I think is the conference's most athletic defensive player -- and that's Cincinnati safety James Wiggins.

He may be an underdog considering he missed all of last season with an ACL injury, but I'm banking on him returning to form. Wiggins is a workout warrior that can run a 4.4-second 40, and you can see that transition to the field in his athletic ability. He's tremendous in coverage at the safety position and is more than capable of playing close to the line of scrimmage in run support. If he doesn't have any lingering issues from the ACL, I think we'll hear his name called early and often during the season if football gets played this year.

SAYLES: The race is wide open with Quincy Roche transferring from Temple to Miami, and there are a few players to watch. In my opinion, the player to watch will be another Temple player. Ifeanyi Maijeh put up solid numbers as a defensive tackle -- 52 tackles (10 for loss) and 6.5 sacks in 11 true games played. I remember Maijeh looking the part in pre-game warm-ups against SMU, but Gerald J. Ford Stadium didn't get a good chance to see him, as he injured his back in the first quarter.

Maijeh plays the game with a level of tenacity that's definitely appreciated. He dealt with a sports hernia earlier in the spring, but is expected to be at full throttle in time for the start of the season. If he's the same player he was last year, and if he can remain healthy, he'll be a problem for many teams in the AAC.

SIMPSON: I'm going to go with Navy junior linebacker Diego Fagot, who had a monster year in 2019, leading the Midshipmen in tackles with 100 and 5.5 sacks. He took a big leap from his freshman year to sophomore year, and I think he's poised to make another jump going into this season.

SMITH: Defensive end Quincy Roche would have been an easy choice if he had stayed at Temple, but he transferred to Miami, opening the door for others in what should be a wide-open race. I'll take a flyer on UCF safety Richie Grant, potentially the best defender on the best team, but it could be anyone.

STAMM: Cincinnati's Myjai Sanders was Mike Farrell's No. 4 best player among Group of 5 schools. But honestly, I think he's better than that. Sanders is an integral part of the Bearcats' defense, with 40 tackles and four sacks last season. The guy just finds the ball. And with a ball-hawking secondary that covers receivers like glue, Sanders will have ample time to get his share of sacks.

DID YOU MISS PART OF THE ROUNDTABLE DISCUSSION?

Sunday, July 19: Favorite to win the AAC

Monday, July 20: Dark horse of the year

Tuesday, July 21: Offensive Player of the Year