Depth Chart Review--Defense

Last year, the defense had some serious losses, returning, in fact, just two starters.  You might think that this year's team would actually have lighter losses--and they do--but in fact the losses on defense are pretty serious.  The sardonic among us will wonder if some of this might be addition by subtraction, but I'm going to suggest that we are losing some real contributors, and that the team's struggles on defense were on the defensive line and this is a needed area of improvement for the team.

For example, only one of the lineman is graduating, and that;s Brandon Jones, a late bloomer who wasn't even on the two-deep a couple of years ago.  It is worth noting that this depth chart shows two TRUE freshmen in the starting lineup for our bowl game.

Beyond the front four, well, every player except one is leaving.  All three starting LBs (and a reserve), CB Roger Williams and both safeties, each of who was a major contributor to the defense for their entire career.  The only player here that is returning is Adrien Spencer.

The line did a lot of rotation, which I think will help us a little for next year because everybody got some snaps.  (Note that Kevin Alvarado could return as well).  But, it is possible that the line will only move from small and inexperienced to small and seasoned.

At LB, Dwayne Woods was on the two-deep as a true freshmen, so he might be expected to drop into a slot, and Champ Fells should be ready to go, as he got a number of snaps and made some plays.  The SAM side will be someone completely new.  In the backfield, Keith Morgan got some snaps during Mahone's suspension, so he might be a little ahead of the game, but we haven't seen enough of Quiles or Tim Moore (another true freshmen) to know what to expect.

Obviously, there's a year of coaching and growth to come, but on paper, based on what we saw this year and based on the youth of many of the players who are on the depth chart but returning, I think it is safe to say that we are at least one year from getting the defense where we would like to see it.