Okay, here is my amateur look at the defense:
RE- Parker, Lyle
NG- Black, Frere, Tate
DT- Johnson, Weir, Alburtis
DE- Taylor, Kellman
I listed allot of people here because allot of people are going to play. This is the one area, above all others, that I hope we can add a JUCO or even true freshman difference maker to play immediately, especially on the interior. Black is going to have to step in right away and be the man in the middle, Frere looked better this year than his freshman year, but I am not sold on him being a starter. I feel good about Taylor with Kellman as his understudy at DE. The rush end spot needs to get a more consistent pass rush, I am not sold on Lyle or Parker being able to get it done. Taylor was the most consistent at pressuring the QB from his DE spot, which is not a good thing as the rush needs to come from the other side. Johnson has some talent at the DT spot, but desperately needs to add size for next year, and Weir didn't show much in his first year with the program. This position group next year will determine whether or not we go to a bowl. The secondary was made to look much worse than they actually were due to the lack of a pass rush.
SAM- Bibbs, Mathis
MIKE- Smith, C Bell
WILL- Raven, Garrin
This is an intriguing group of young talent, not a senior in the bunch. With the exception of Smith, who is a MIKE all the way, the rest of the group could play any of the three spots, which is going to make for an interesting battle. Bell and Mathis give us a couple of guys with not only speed, but size to go with it. We have had some good backers recently, but we haven't had a 'full sized' backer since Tim Dobbins. Bibbs is a freakish athlete, and was playing as well as if not better than Banks was before he got dinged up. Raven is another guy who can fly and showed a real mean streak towards the end of the year. Smith is very solid, and great against the run. It is going to be fun watching these guys fly to the ball next year. Garrin brings experience plus speed, and needs to make a statement in 08. Expect to see all 6 of them on the field to keep them fresh, as there is minimal drop off from first to second team. The good thing is that is a result of an abundance of talent, not a lack of it.
CB- Bell, Sandvig
SS- Smith, Matthews
FS- Brown, Johnson
CB- Singleton, McDowell
This is a group that took allot of heat this year, much of which was undeserved. Given enough time, WR will always get open vs a DB. That was too often the case this year as a lack of a pass rush lead to DB's being stuck on islands vs WR's. I've said it before, and will say it again, Bell and Singleton next year will be the best set of corners we have had since Hobbs and Jackson. and have the potential to be better than that. Bell is a burner with great size, and Singleton is the big hitter. McDowell and Sandvig are both solid back-ups, provided Sandvig can get back from the knee injury. Smith and Brown are undersized at safety, but make up for it with big time hitting ability. Both need work on pass coverage though. Depth at safety is a big concern. Matthews bring great size to the position, but can he cover the pass? Safety is number 2 as far as JUCO need, IMO. However, if this group can stay relatively healthy, they will be great at corner, and solid at safety. Expect to see Sandvig cross-trained between safety and corner. A solid group, but depth is shaky.
RE- Parker, Lyle
NG- Black, Frere, Tate
DT- Johnson, Weir, Alburtis
DE- Taylor, Kellman
I listed allot of people here because allot of people are going to play. This is the one area, above all others, that I hope we can add a JUCO or even true freshman difference maker to play immediately, especially on the interior. Black is going to have to step in right away and be the man in the middle, Frere looked better this year than his freshman year, but I am not sold on him being a starter. I feel good about Taylor with Kellman as his understudy at DE. The rush end spot needs to get a more consistent pass rush, I am not sold on Lyle or Parker being able to get it done. Taylor was the most consistent at pressuring the QB from his DE spot, which is not a good thing as the rush needs to come from the other side. Johnson has some talent at the DT spot, but desperately needs to add size for next year, and Weir didn't show much in his first year with the program. This position group next year will determine whether or not we go to a bowl. The secondary was made to look much worse than they actually were due to the lack of a pass rush.
SAM- Bibbs, Mathis
MIKE- Smith, C Bell
WILL- Raven, Garrin
This is an intriguing group of young talent, not a senior in the bunch. With the exception of Smith, who is a MIKE all the way, the rest of the group could play any of the three spots, which is going to make for an interesting battle. Bell and Mathis give us a couple of guys with not only speed, but size to go with it. We have had some good backers recently, but we haven't had a 'full sized' backer since Tim Dobbins. Bibbs is a freakish athlete, and was playing as well as if not better than Banks was before he got dinged up. Raven is another guy who can fly and showed a real mean streak towards the end of the year. Smith is very solid, and great against the run. It is going to be fun watching these guys fly to the ball next year. Garrin brings experience plus speed, and needs to make a statement in 08. Expect to see all 6 of them on the field to keep them fresh, as there is minimal drop off from first to second team. The good thing is that is a result of an abundance of talent, not a lack of it.
CB- Bell, Sandvig
SS- Smith, Matthews
FS- Brown, Johnson
CB- Singleton, McDowell
This is a group that took allot of heat this year, much of which was undeserved. Given enough time, WR will always get open vs a DB. That was too often the case this year as a lack of a pass rush lead to DB's being stuck on islands vs WR's. I've said it before, and will say it again, Bell and Singleton next year will be the best set of corners we have had since Hobbs and Jackson. and have the potential to be better than that. Bell is a burner with great size, and Singleton is the big hitter. McDowell and Sandvig are both solid back-ups, provided Sandvig can get back from the knee injury. Smith and Brown are undersized at safety, but make up for it with big time hitting ability. Both need work on pass coverage though. Depth at safety is a big concern. Matthews bring great size to the position, but can he cover the pass? Safety is number 2 as far as JUCO need, IMO. However, if this group can stay relatively healthy, they will be great at corner, and solid at safety. Expect to see Sandvig cross-trained between safety and corner. A solid group, but depth is shaky.
