Just crunched some #'s, and I have a few concerns! Check out '09/'10 defensive front 4:
'09 DT '09 DE
D. Williams SR Brown SR
Nelson SR Martin JR
Mathis SR
Thomas JR Walker JR
C. Hall JR R. Williams JR
Langley SO Sykes JR
? Hughes FR/SO (maybe JUCO) Bohannon FR/SO
? JC Signee/s ? FR Signee/s
? FR Signee/s
'10 DT '10 DE
Thomas SR Martin SR
C. Hall SR Walker SR
Langley JR R. Williams SR
Hughes SO/JR Sykes SR
? JC Signee/s Bohannon SO/JR
? FR/SO Signee/s ? JC Signee/s
? FR/SO Signee/s
First off, this look is based on nobody leaving early for the NFL. The '09 front four look okay, but a little thin at DT due to '07/'08 lack of recruiting. The '10 DE's look incredible (but the scary thing is what about '11 when they all graduate!!!), but DT looks real thin depending on how the JC/'09 recruiting goes.
Defensive front four players typically take a few years to develop into SEC calibur, so that leads me to where we are now with recruiting. This is from Scout as to who we've OFFERED as of today.
OFFERS that AREN'T committed elsewhere: 8 Total DE's/DT's
Well you say, what about TE's, FB's, and LB's. One TE offered who could transition (local kid Daniel Hood), no FB's offered, and 3 the 3 biggest LB's between 210-220 LB's!
Folks, according to Scout, that's it. The way I see it, we need to sign 3-4 DE's and
3-4 DT's this year with at least 1-2 of those DT's being JC.
Bottom line, the coaches know what they are doing on the recruiting front, but according to Scout, I just don't see that we've offered enough folks to fill our needs in the next few years unless the staff oversigns OL and some make a transition.
Needless to say, this is a most crucial year for recruiting the defensive front 4!! Anyone with greater insight, please enlighten me, because I just don't see us getting 6-8 folks on the defensive front signed this year!
