re: Phil Steele's All Americans released

There is no difference in the back 4, so we're talking about 7 position that have to fit the system.

OLB -- Justin Houston, Cornelius Washington, and Darryl Gamble fit perfectly in this scheme at this position. After that there is no proven depth. Freshmen and a walk ons.

DE -- Damarcus Dobbs and Abry Jones will probably start. Dobbs is proven and fits. Jones has the right body, but it is not proven. Plenty of bodies w/ experience for depth here, but no real game changers.

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This is where things get interesting:

ILB -- Lots of talent here, maybe the most of anywhere on the D, but I don't know that they'll fit the scheme that well. Marcus Dowtin, Christian Robinson, and Akeem Dent are all proven, but maybe a little small for this position.

NT -- Clearly, this is the most difficult spot to fill. We've got DeAngelo Tyson (6'2 294), Kwame Geathers (6'6 324), and Justin Anderson (6'3 330) all vying for the spot, but none are proven.

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My 2 doubts about the D:

1. Up the middle we will be weak. Not due to lack of talent, but due to lack of size. Teams w/ a downhill running attack (I Formation, for example) will hurt us. But who runs the ball like this in the conference anymore? Luckily, our 4 toughest conference opponents next year do not have this running style (Florida, Ark, Aub, and SC).

2. Our depth behind the starters in the front 7.