Preview '08: DL

DL Depth Chart
LE	LT	RT	RE
Brandon Cooper RSo.	Kyle Love Jr.	Jessie Bowman Sr.	Tim Bailey Sr.
Jimmie Holmes Sr.	Reggie Odom RSo.	LaMarcus Williams So.	Cortez McCraney RSr.
Sean Ferguson Fr.	Josh Jackson Fr.		Charles Burns RJr.

2007 Stats
Name	Tkl	TFL	Sacks
Jessie Bowman	26	7	1
Tim Bailey	25	3	0
Cortez McCraney	24	6	1
Jimmie Holmes	21	4	2
Kyle Love	17	4	0
Brandon Cooper	4	0	0
LaMarcus Williams	2	0	0

This unit is the big question mark on the defense, more specifically the defensive ends. Tim Bailey has locked up one DE spot. The other spot is up for grabs between Cortez McCraney, Brandon Cooper, Jimmie Holmes, and surprisingly Sean Ferguson.

Bailey was rotated in frequently and was generally effective. As you can see with his 0 sacks, he wasn't getting to the quarterback much. This is a theme you see throughout the DL. Cooper came on in the spring and fall practices before getting injured and allowing others to catch him in the race to start. Holmes played alot last year and was very good early on, but sort of faded as the year went on. He might be the best pass rusher of the bunch. McCraney will get alot of playing time at DE, but will also be used at DT, maybe even moreso at DT. Burns will be used the same way, although probably not as much as McCraney. Ferguson is the wild card of the group. In fact he has been so impressive that he is going to start against Louisiana Tech. I'm a bit leery considering he weighs only 220 pounds or so. That is just too light. With his size and being a true freshman, I'm expecting he'll start wearing down after a few games and be moved down the depth chart. He should still be at least a valuable reserve.

On the other hand, DT is all set. Both starters return in Bowman and Love. They're very similar players, both being mammoth run stuffers. This duo should be a force against the interior run. The downside is neither one will get after the quarterback much or disrupt plays in the backfield. They're going to eat up blocks and clog the middle of field and not much else.

LaMarcus Williams is the primary backup. He saw significant playing time as a true freshman and was more than adequate. Williams, Bowman, and Love make a very capable 3 man rotation. Odoms is the fourth DT, but he has been uninspiring in practices. Having only 3 DTs really ready to play would be a concern, except as I already mentioned McCraney and Burns will be used as DTs some of the time as well.

Grade: 6.5/10

The DT group is going to be a force against the run, or at least the interior run. The big question is will this group be able to pressure the quarterback? A couple of guys are going to have to step up and be the guys that consistently get after the QB.