With recent indications we are moving to a star defensive alignment. 4-2-5, 2-4-5 or 3-3-5. What that implies is you'll see on the field most of the time two big bodied DL like Holmes, Johnson, Barndt and Butler, two more athletic edge players like Pate, McLaughlin and SaKa who can play with a hand in the ground or standing up, two sideline to sideline linebackers like Wendell Davis and Gallagher, and five Defensive backs including a guy who can be a hybrid DB/linebacker. The transfers we've brought in certainly are geared to play in this kind of defense but still not sure we have all the personnel and depth to play this defense well.
If you'll all indulge me, lets briefly break down each group of D-Linemen.
DT
Here's who's back: Jason Gold, Jordan Butler, and Najee Story (I assume he's at DT, not certain). Then the new transfers, as Corbi mentioned, are Holmes, Barndt, and Ryan Johnson. And there's incoming frogs Austin Firestone and Brendan Flakes. Also walk on Carmen Bastone.
I have to think that if Gold finally gets healthy, he's a starter and a decent one. I think Butler showed us two years ago that he has a lot of potential, and now we have three new guys who have all played a lot of CFB already. Does that make us better than last year? You smarter guys here tell me.
We're in the second year of the new scheme, a tweaked and improved one, hopefully. And I have to think we don't get physically manhandled in the middle like we did last year. Those two things should make us better. But will we have a real inside playmaker, like Lowry, John Gill, Cofield, Big Lanny...? We'll see.
DE
We have a LOT of guys coming back: Tommy is of course the set in stone starter on one side. The other side is up for grabs. There's McLaughlin, who's played the most of everybody else. Then there's O'Rourke, Cullen Coleman, Olges. And new transfer Pate. They're the veterans. They've at least appeared in games. Then there's Jaiden Cameron, and soph Aiden Hubbard, and incoming frogs Saka and Kenny Soares. Saka is listed at LB, but Lou reported last summer that he was recruited to play DE.
Regarding Jaylen Pate, we won't see or know anything about what he looks like in a purple uniform until August, but just on paper, it seems he and McLaughlin will fight it out for the starter spot opposite Tommy.
Cullen Coleman is still listed at LB on the roster, but we know for sure he got moved to DE sometime during the fall, and had a handful of game reps late in the season. Olges also played DE in a few games last year. We can assume that one of those younger players, between Coleman, Olges, Cameron and Hubbard, was able to show some significant growth this spring. Which one? Enough to make an impact off the bench similar to Leota a few years ago? Fans wanna know.
At the end of last spring, JON was surprisingly forthcoming (by Fitz State Secrets standards) with some specific intel about certain individual players all over the defense. Hopefully we'll get that again a few weeks from now. Or, maybe Lou can get a little more insight from his sources for us.
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