Defense you say? No I'm not familiar with the concept

I recently outlined how the offense was sure to take another step forward this year, given all the talent at wide receiver and QB, I even went so far to say that if firing on all cylinders, the offense has the talent to score on every possession. Unfortunately, the defense may make it so they have to score on every possession.

Why the pessimism? Well, our most talented player from last year is leaving for the draft, our best returning linebacker was stabbed at a bar this winter (thankfully, he has recovered) and one of our most promising players from the secondary, Miami Thomas, is coming off of season ending knee surgery. To boot one of our highly touted D-linemen is currently suspended.

Last year the defense had some real problems, especially stopping the run. From a team that was supposed to have one of the best defensive lines in the nation, this came as quite a surprise to me. The preseason loss of Sirod Williams meant that the front four would be made up of essentially one tackle and three Defensive ends. The end result was getting gashed up the middle because our inside was too soft.

But it is a new day, with almost an entirely new D-line, new LBs and  frankly most of the defense looks alot different from last year.On the one hand there is a lack experience, on the other hand, given how the defense performed last season, alot of new faces might not be such a bad thing.

First off, the defensive line will regain Sirod Williams, having lost him to a medical redshirt last year, after an injury in last year at Camp Rantoul. Corey Liuget after being pressed into service as an undersized freshman last year will be a year older and a year bigger and figures to play a large role in the line. Josh Brent, who is currently under a team suspension, is rumored to be back by the team the season rolls around. Reggie Ellis, Clay Nurse and Whitney Merciless are all probable contributors as well. Most important to this unit though I feel will be Liuget and Sirod. If the D-line can shore up its weakness inside, reduce the yards allowed up the middle, and maybe just maybe get some pressure from the middle, it will go a long way to take pressure off of the LB's and secondary.

Last year's Linebackers are nearly all gone. Martez Wilson, in what will more than likely be his last year in college, will move to the middle, who he will be joined with for the time being is still pretty up in the air. Juco Aaron Gress was brought in to shore up the shortage of LB, so he will more than likely fill in on the strong side. For the other Russel Ellington, Ian Thomas, Nate Bussey? Take your pick, this position is likely not to be decided for quite some time. I  do hope that Martez adapts quickly to the position in the middle, because as we learned last year, the defense cannot afford a mlb that is not prepared for the position. As good as Brit was last year as the season progressed in the first 2 games  last year, his inexperience in the middle was very clear. Tez definitely has the speed for the position, and if he adjusts to it well he could be the key to the defensive turnaround.

The secondary last year could be defined very easily, Vontae Davis and three other people who will routinely get burned. Well this year, we lost Vontae to the NFL, so where do we go from here. In a move that literally looks like shuffling the deck chairs on the Titanic, Ashante Williams and Tavon Bellamy are switching positions, Williams to Safety and Bellamy to Corner. The great hope is that Miami Thomas will not have lost the speed and skill he demonstrated against OSU in 07 because of his ACL tear last year. Miami has to be great at CB or the whole defensive unit could be in for a really long year. Dere Hicks is going to be starting again this year, and his play against the run will probably be solid. Overall against the pass, this unit is totally wait and see.

There are sure to be quite a few changes to the defense as the freshman become acclimated, so a lot of this is still speculative. Zook has had several solid recruiting classes in a row, and it is about time for the depth of those classes to start showing, hopefully on the defensive side of the ball.