We took a poll on our premium message board Canes Talk to find out who fans think is the best safety in the program's history.

Miami has produced some of the best safeties, but the fans have spoken about who is the favorite.

Kenny Phillips has two-year totals of 159 tackles (111 solo), nine tackles for loss, two QB pressures, one fumble recovery, ten pass breakups, and five interceptions, and was the team’s leading interceptor in 2006.

Phillips made an immediate impact as a freshman in 2005, starting the final 11 games of the season and was named ACC Defensive Back of the Week following his first collegiate start in Clemson’s Death Valley in 2005 (he ended that three-overtime game with an interception).

As a sophomore, Phillips was named to the All-ACC 1st Team and 2nd team All-American by Rivals.com. He started ten games at strong safety, missing only three games due to a torn ACL. He ranked fourth on the team in tackles with 54 total, broke up six passes, and recorded four interceptions. Phillips earned "ACC Defensive Back of the Week" honors for his play against Duke in which he tied a University of Miami record with three interceptions in one game.

As a junior, Phillips was named to the All-ACC 1st Team for a second straight year, and 2nd team All-American for a second straight year. He started 12 games out of 12 at safety. Phillips ranked second on the team with a career-high 83 tackles(54 solo), made 6.5 tackles for loss, forced three fumbles, broke up five passes, and intercepted two passes.

Phillips was also named to the 2006 All-ACC Academic Football Team.

Antrel Rolle was one of only four true freshmen who saw extensive action during the 2001 National Championship season. Most were on special teams, but he did get his first collegiate interception against the Washington Huskies. As a sophomore starter in 2002, he earned All-Big East first-team honors as selected by the league’s coaches for his 66 total tackles, six for loss, and two sacks.

Rolle was known for shutting down top receivers, such as Pittsburgh’s Larry Fitzgerald, and teams began shying away from passing to his side of the field. But Antrel still accounted for 51 total tackles and two interceptions in 2003. Rolle also had 13 punt returns for 203 yards (a 15.6-yard average). He took one punt back for a 66-yard touchdown against Louisiana Tech in the same game where he returned an interception for a 30-yard TD.

In 2004, Rolle was named a consensus first-team All-American, winner of the Jack Tatum Award as the best defensive back in the country, and a finalist for the Jim Thorpe Award.

Bennie Blades, a native of Broward County, was a two-time first-team All-American as a defensive back for the Hurricanes in 1986 and 1987. In his senior season, he was awarded the Jim Thorpe Award as the nation's premier defensive back.

Blades held the all-time interception record of 19 interceptions in a career and maintained, at the time, the interception return yards record (305), consecutive games with an interception (5), total tackles by a safety (286), and unassisted tackles by a safety (155).

Blades helped lead the Hurricanes to their second national championship in his senior year, 1987 when he was first in the nation in interceptions (.91) per game.

Blades was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2008 and the University of Miami Football Ring of Honor in 2009.

Ed Reed led Miami with nine tackles (six solo) in Miami's 37-14 victory over the Nebraska Cornhuskers to claim the Rose Bowl and the Hurricanes' 5th National Championship. Reed might be most remembered for his 80-yard run after Matt Walters interception and lateral that sealed the 18-7 victory for the Canes against Boston College, and kept the title hopes alive.

He holds Miami records for career interceptions (21), most career interceptions returned for touchdowns (4), most career interception return yards (389), and most season interception return yards (206 in 2001). He is second in games started with 48, tied for 3rd in consecutive games with an interception (4, twice), and is tied for 4th in successive games played (49) and tied for 6th in total games played (49).

The accolades are many: named a Consensus (AP, AFCA, FWAA, Football News, Sporting News, Walter Camp) All-American in both 2000 and 2001; Consensus All-BIG EAST in 2000 and 2001; 2001 Big East co-Defensive Player of the Year; named 2001 National Defensive Player of the Year by the Football News; 2001 Jim Thorpe finalist; 2001 Bronko Nagurski semi-finalist; 1999 All-BIG EAST second team; 1998 Freshman All American by the Football News and Sporting News Ed also excelled at track & Field, winning the javelin competition at the 199 BIG EAST Outdoor Track & Field Championships.

Reed became Miami's 8th football player, and 11th overall member, of the College Football Hall of Fame when he was inducted as a member of the Class of 2018.

In 2001, Sean Taylor was just one of four true freshmen to play and make an impact on special teams with 26 tackles (20 solo), as the Hurricanes won their fifth national Championship. In 2002 Taylor proved to be a worthy replacement for Reed mentioned above and was named First Team All-Big East. He was third on the team in tackles with 87 (53 solo), had four interceptions returned for 122 yards, and produced a punt 78 yards for a touchdown against Pittsburgh.

As a junior in 2003, Taylor would lead the nation with ten interceptions (returned 184 yards, second most in school history) to tie Bennie Blades' school record. He set a UM record by returning three of those picks for touchdowns and was once again third in tackles with 77 total (57 solo).

He was named the Big East Defensive Player of the Year, a finalist for the Jim Thorpe Award given to the nation's best defensive back, and a consensus All-American. His 306 interception return yards, and three touchdowns on interceptions returned are both second all-time at Miami behind only Reed. Sean is fifth all-time with 14 career interceptions, and his streak of interceptions in four consecutive games is the second-longest in Canes history.

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