Defensive money-ball?

Is there a way to money-ball a defensive roster construction?

Over the last few weeks I fleshed out an idea for an entirely new offensive system which combined the underdog construction of a smash mouth and/or unorthodox run game that loaded the field with blockers with an Art Briles-inspired outside “choice route” passing game.

It basically embraced the extremes of football strategies aiming to pair versatile, physical, but largely unextraordinary players trying to win in the box with isolated speed outside. Heavy run game and a solo outside receiver. I named it “neanderball plus math” or Nball+.

Now, an arguably more difficult challenge emerges. If you wanted to try and find a money-ball type edge to zag against the rest of football and build a winning roster, perhaps you’d use Nball+ on offense, but how would you would a defense that wouldn’t get you blown out in big games once your team made the College Football playoffs? Our goal is to have a system that could theoretically elevate a school like Oregon State, Liberty, or Oklahoma State to the extent they could potentially win the National Championship.

Defense tends to rely on fielding instinctive, twitchy players who can react quickly in order to squelch offensive designs. How do you do that without recruiting the sorts of prized athletes everyone else wants and will pay top dollar to acquire?