Your Starting 3-4 Defense Is....

With the final day Spring Practice happening tomorrow in workouts that will be closed to the public, I thought it would be a good time to put together our starting defense, since we don't have a depth chart listed on the A&M website. I'm going on what I saw in the Maroon & White game last Saturday, and projections based on what I already know about these players.

Defensive End	Nose Guard	Defensive End
Tony Jerod-Eddie	Eddie Brown	Spencer Nealy

Despite not playing this Spring because of injury, I fully expect Eddie Brown to be starting at NG when we take the field against SFA. Lucas Patterson has had a good Spring, per Mike Sherman, but I think Brown is a much better player who requires a double-team every snap, something that can't be said for Patterson. Tony Jerod-Eddie snagged the starting SDE spot early on in camp and held onto it. Spencer Nealy is going to be open some eyes coming the WDE spot this year. He barely scratched the surface of his potential last season. With the zone blitz scheme we're going to employ this season, we're going to see Nealy in coverage a bit, and there is going to be more opportunities for him to make plays.

Linebacker Corps

Strong Outside LB	Middle Inside LB	Weak Inside LB	Joker
Sean Porter	Michael Hodges	Garrick Williams	Von Miller

The player who probably faces the most competition for his starting position in Fall Camp will be Michael Hodges. Kyle "Ice Cream" Mangan has been competing hard for the starting position that Hodges took from him during the 2009 season, and I expect that to continue next Fall. The competition will make both of them better players. Porter and Miller gives us some serious speed coming from the outside to shut down the horizontal running game. I am very excited about seeing them let loose on opposing offenses next season.

Secondary

Left CB	Strong Safety	Free Safety	Right CB
		No Photo Available
Dustin Harris	Trent Hunter	Stephen Terrell	Terrence Frederick

 I really think we have the making of an elite, playmaking secondary next season, especially if we can get some pressure with our front seven. Stephen Terrell has beaten out Steven Campbell for the starting Free Safety spot, but I expect that battle to continue in Fall Camp. If our front seven improves and starts making plays, Hunter is poised to have an all-conference season, especially if he isn't called on to make every tackle and can actually play his position.

Overall, I like our starting eleven on defense. We are mixing youth with experience, but we're not in the position of needing to start any freshmen anywhere, a luxury we haven't had the past two seasons. A year of experience on the field should pay dividends in 2010 for players like Terrell, Davis, Porter, and Nealy. If we can improve into a top 50 national defense, we have a good chance to win the Big 12 championship this year, and  thnk this group can get us there. Of course, this is the offseason, and everyone is undefeated right now, but I really like our potential on defense this season.