Bronx, N.Y. - We continue our position-by-position breakdown of the 2021 Fordham football Rams today as we wrap up the defense with a look at the defensive backs.
 
Fordham returns a wealth of experience in the defensive backfield, a unit that was tops in the Patriot League in the spring with eight interceptions, led by senior captain Jesse Bramble.
 
Bramble saw his 2019 season cut short by injuries and did not see action in the spring. He made the most of his limited playing in 2019, making 15 total tackles, 13 solo, including 2.0 for loss and 1.0 sack.
 
Bramble is joined in the defensive backfield by returning junior starters Anthony Tony-Itoyah, B.J. Ferguson, and Stephen Williams II.
 
Williams, a preseason All-Patriot League section, started all three spring games at strong safety. He recorded nine total tackles, seven solo, and also intercepted two passes, both coming against Colgate. Tony-Itoyah started all three spring games at cornerback, recording seven tackles, while Ferguson started all three games at free safety, finishing with seven solo tackles, including two for loss and he intercepted a pass.
 
Other returners in the defensive backfield include senior Natani Drati, junior Nasir McNair, and sophomores Nahil Perkins, Deon Montgomery and Jed Denobile.
 
Drati appeared in all three games in the spring at safety, making solo stops in the Colgate and Bucknell games, while McNair did not see action in the spring after playing in nine games as a freshman, making two starts at cornerback. Perkins appeared in all three spring games, recording a pair of solo tackles in the win over Colgate, while Montgomery also saw action in all three games of the spring, recording a solo stop at Holy Cross. Denobile appeared in two spring contests, making one tackle.
 
Newcomers in the defensive backfield include sophomore Brandon Spencer, along with freshmen Chase Carlin, Trey Bradford, Demarice Rice-Williams, and Michael Petrillo.
 
Spencer, a transfer from FAU, played at Lehigh in 2019 where appeared in seven games, making 19 tackles. Carlin is a product of Chatham High School in Chatham, N.J., where he served as a team captain, while Bradford earned First Team All-League honors at San Marcos High School in San Diego, California. Rice-Williams is a graduate of Dorman High School in Roebuck, S.C., where he was selected to the 2020 NC/SC Shrine Bowl, while Petrillo attended Delbarton High School in Morristown, N.J., where he was also a member of the rugby squad.