I think we need to slow our roll just a bit regarding how good our DLine is gonna be. I'm as excited as everyone else regarding Tuttle and KMac, but expecting freshmen to step in and be outstanding/dominant isn't optimal. While we'll be elite on the edges with Barnett, Maggitt and JRM, we'll be relying on OBrien, Vickers, O Williams and the two freshmen up the middle while still not knowing who our inexperienced MLB is gonna be at this point. We're certainly talented in those spots, but there's little evidence, IMHO, to believe that we'll be dominant between the tackles which is what I believe you're suggesting.
I'm not that concerned. There are no DE's or hybrid edge rushers in the country than Barnett, Maggitt, Vereen, Weatherd, Kyle Phillips, Lewis, Taylor, Mixon, Butcher, and Johnson.
And our DT's are better than you're painting them out to be. O'Brien was actually solid last year as a Sophomore, and improved as the season went on. He had 15 tackles in the final 5 games, after having had 8 in the first 8 games. He also had 2.5 tackles for a loss in the last two SEC games, after having had 2 total all season prior to those games.
And Owen Williams is one of the strongest players in football, and showed flashes of being at least solid last season, particularly the Arkansas State game where he went beast mode, with 5 tackles and 2 sacks.
Kahlil should, at worst, look like a good/very good DT. At best, he could be one of the better DT's in the East this year. He has the strength, he has the training, and he has the burst. If we don't expect him to play 50 snaps per game, and rotate him well with the others, he should be able to play at a high level this year.
Tuttle looked fantastic in the spring, and looks at least as good as anticipated. I think that he can be a fantastic DT off the bench, and can use his excellent burst in 15-20 snaps per game and cause some real headaches.
But, most importantly, as phenomenal as our edge rushers are, our DTs are going to look much better. QBs will be forced to step up in the pocket, and will not be able to flea to the outside. There will not be many double teams, and any extra blockers brought in will be focused exclusively on keeping the best ends in the country off of their QB for a second or two.
If Kahlil and Shy play to their abilities, we could have a top 3 SEC DT crew, combined with the best edge rushers in the country. If they don't fully adapt in year one and are only good bench options, we should still have an above average DT crew, which would still leave us with a top 2-3 line overall.
Our D-line *is* stacked, no matter what concerns you may have. The only question is: will we be the best d-line in the country, or will a good, but not great, young DT rotation leave us as a top 10-15 DL in the country. Either way, Perine running over us (i.e., 150+ yards) *would* be a tremendous boost to his Heisman campaign, and would come as a bit of a surprise to me.
