Yes, I expect Mutcherson and Cousin to be fully back on the team for the upcoming season. Given that, the defense for next year looks to be much improved. As you can see, that 2nd team group is pretty much equivalent to this year's starting crew, so the upgrades seem pretty clear along the Defensive Line in particular...Linebacker is also going to much stronger with Harris and Mills being vastly more athletic than crew of Meeks/Knott/Seeley. No comparison there. The only thing that held Harris back was schematic understanding, which Wally is fixing over the course of his RS year....and Mills getting a taste of the field this season coupled with another off season will allow him to have tremendous development going into 2015. The key to everything, of course, is that Tucker and Leath are as good as advertised...and no doubt it will take them a little time to really adjust to this level of football. Tucker coming in early is huge in this regard.
Garcia as a backup is intriguing as well, because he showed moments of real ability though he was clearly thrown into battle way too soon this year...but another year of growth mixed with that experience could let him become a solid factor next year. Ditto for Cousin. As a backup, he can have the luxury of developing as he plays in smaller doses. Returning the 3 starters in the secondary and adding Wiltz makes for a nice four man group...and Kenneth Lynn was playing very well at the end of the year, so he is no lock to lose his job to Wiltz. That competition is nothing but good. At DE, Meyers always impressed as a Morrissey style of player, and Pierson really started coming on at the end of the season....Taylor had some good moments as well...so I think that's at least 3 very solid DE guys. Not great, but adequate as Big 12 quality players. Don't see any way that Meyers stays at DT, BTW.
There are many question marks, and much depends on the two Jucos in the center of the D-line. But...if they come through...this defense will be not just be better, it will be a lot better. To be clear, that will elevate them to being an average defense, not a good one. But that is still a quantum improvement over this season. Given our offensive tools and Mangino's system gaining strength, an average defense would be a very big deal and I think can carry us to a bowl game.
NG Demond Tucker
DT Bobby Leath
DE Dal Pierson
DE Mitchell Meyer
LB Jordan Harris
LB Brian Mills
NB Reggan Northrup
CB Jomal Wiltz
CB Nigel Tribune
SS Kamari Cotton-Moya
FS TJ Mutcherson
Backups
NG Devlyn Cousin
DT Robbie Garcia/Ayeni
DE Trent Taylor
DE Darius White/Gabe Luna
LB Alton Meeks/Sam Seonbucher
LB Levi Peters/Luke Knott
LB/NB Willie Harvey
CB Kenneth Lynn
CB Sam Richardson
SS Kamari Syrie
FS Qujuan Floyd
Just looking ahead, and trying to staunch the tide of pessimism...there is talent on this defense and I believe we will see fairly dramatic improvement. Overall, this 2015 defense looks to have a lot of speed...as always, the first concern is can it be staunch enough to stop the inside run games it will face. Leath/Tucker are the key to that and to everything else.
Garcia as a backup is intriguing as well, because he showed moments of real ability though he was clearly thrown into battle way too soon this year...but another year of growth mixed with that experience could let him become a solid factor next year. Ditto for Cousin. As a backup, he can have the luxury of developing as he plays in smaller doses. Returning the 3 starters in the secondary and adding Wiltz makes for a nice four man group...and Kenneth Lynn was playing very well at the end of the year, so he is no lock to lose his job to Wiltz. That competition is nothing but good. At DE, Meyers always impressed as a Morrissey style of player, and Pierson really started coming on at the end of the season....Taylor had some good moments as well...so I think that's at least 3 very solid DE guys. Not great, but adequate as Big 12 quality players. Don't see any way that Meyers stays at DT, BTW.
There are many question marks, and much depends on the two Jucos in the center of the D-line. But...if they come through...this defense will be not just be better, it will be a lot better. To be clear, that will elevate them to being an average defense, not a good one. But that is still a quantum improvement over this season. Given our offensive tools and Mangino's system gaining strength, an average defense would be a very big deal and I think can carry us to a bowl game.
NG Demond Tucker
DT Bobby Leath
DE Dal Pierson
DE Mitchell Meyer
LB Jordan Harris
LB Brian Mills
NB Reggan Northrup
CB Jomal Wiltz
CB Nigel Tribune
SS Kamari Cotton-Moya
FS TJ Mutcherson
Backups
NG Devlyn Cousin
DT Robbie Garcia/Ayeni
DE Trent Taylor
DE Darius White/Gabe Luna
LB Alton Meeks/Sam Seonbucher
LB Levi Peters/Luke Knott
LB/NB Willie Harvey
CB Kenneth Lynn
CB Sam Richardson
SS Kamari Syrie
FS Qujuan Floyd
Just looking ahead, and trying to staunch the tide of pessimism...there is talent on this defense and I believe we will see fairly dramatic improvement. Overall, this 2015 defense looks to have a lot of speed...as always, the first concern is can it be staunch enough to stop the inside run games it will face. Leath/Tucker are the key to that and to everything else.
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