Quick: Name the player that led FBS in tackles for loss in 2017.

Drawing a blank?

Here’s a hint: It wasn’t one of the first-round picks in the 2017 NFL draft. In fact, wasn’t any of the picks in the 2017 NFL draft.

Still struggling to come up with an answer? OK, I’ll help you out. It was Indiana linebacker Tegray Scales.

You know, the guy who earned second-team All-America honors but somehow didn’t make first-team All-B1G. Yes, Scales burst onto the scene in a big way with his FBS-leading 23.5 tackles for loss. Fortunately for IU, he took a rain check on the NFL.

Scales, who also finished second in FBS with 126 tackles, is earning more preseason praise this year than he did last year. Two weeks ago, the senior linebacker was named Sports Illustrated’s No. 49 player in college football in 2017.

On Monday, Scales was put on the watch list for the Bednarik Award, which is given annually to the best defensive player in college football. Scales’ teammate, IU cornerback Rashard Fant, took that praise to an even higher level.

Fant dubbed Scales “the best linebacker in the entire country.”

For Indiana — the program that hasn’t had a linebacker drafted since 1988 — to have the best linebacker in the country would be unprecedented.

Scales does have plenty of competition, even just within the B1G. Josey Jewell, Jack Cichy and Jason Cabinda could all challenge Scales for the title of “best linebacker in the entire country” in 2017. In terms of pure numbers and experience, Scales has a leg up on all of them.

Still, Fant’s claim looks a whole lot more believable now than it would’ve looked at this time last year.