OUInsider - Owen Field

Since last month i previewed the offense , its the defenses turn to get my attention.

Defensive ends .....David King is a good football player . He is thick and will play the run well , he has always been a smart player , and that is a big plus when sealing off the outside edge. I need to see more out of him as far as pass rushing goes , but with his size and strength he has a chance to collapse the pocket. RJ Washington ...Coming out of high school this guy was a stud , and he still could be this season . Unlike King he is blessed with quickness and is a natural pass rusher . He showed flashes of finally getting it last year , so lets hope the light has come on and this is the year he puts it all together. Depth......I dont feel all that great about the guys behind these two , the juco guy is supposed to have alot pass rushing talent , but there is always a learning curve for jucos. The other guy is a young up and comer , put hasnt played much big 12 football . After that its freshman with talent on paper but no playing experience .I am a little concered about the depth we have at this position. I think the starters will be solid , but we need at least one more guy to stand out so we can rotate them.

Defensive Tackle ...Ok we might have 5 or 6 all conf dt or we might have none , its a crap shoot with these guys. Casey Walker...seems steady when he is in there , on of the best we have at jamming up the line of scrimmage . He is not great at moving the pocket back and getting pressure on the qb. The coaches seem to love this guy, so they must see something i dont on the field. S. Mcgee ....This is the guy i would start , he sometimes makes mistakes and sometimes seems unmotivated out there . But when he wants to bring it is our best pass rushing DT . Is always around the ball and the QB. Uses quickness and good hands and feet to get off the ball and around lineman . J Mcfarland....Another all star out of high school who needs to finally put the peices together. He is a combination of the other 2 , he can use strength to stop the run and some quickness to get to the QB. Will sometimes makes plays that make you think all american , then might disappear for 2 quarters. J Phillips ...This guy has me excited , he is athletic , tall , quick , and i think after about 4 games will crack the starting lineup or at least log more minutes than the 3 seniors. Depth....Behind these guys are youngster with alot of talent and potential . I feel better about the DT position than alot of people on this board. I think by the end of the season this will be a position of strength for this team , and i look for one of these guys to end up all big 12.

Linebackers.....I love me some Tom Wort ,always have and always will. He plays with great passion and speed , and is a smart player , who is a solid tackler . The problem is he is not the biggest guy in the world , so when he smashes into guys and flies around the field making the massive hits . He is doing as much damage to himself as he is to the other team. Forget him making a full season healthy , i just want him to go a game without getting dinged up and coming off the field . We are much better with him on the field , so something has to change . Either move him to the Will backer or try and get him to bring down the intensity a notch . Of course thats what makes him such a great player so this is easier said than done . Maybe teach him to tackle using his shoulders instead off blasting into them with his chest and head . Corey Nelson ....Ahhhh Nelson and i have had a checkered past on my weekly game reviews in the past . I called BS when the coaches called him our best defensive player before last season and he proved me right. The guy does have a ton of talent , he has tremendous speed and quickness, and by the end of the season was making alot of plays . He is great coming of the edge and rushing the passer , and is one of those big play kinda guys. But on the down side ,he makes alot of mistakes on the field also. Which include getting out of position , missed tackles , not getting off blocks. I like his potential and if he can cut down on the bad plays , he might yet be one of our best defensive players in the future . Ibby ....The Sam is kind of the red headed stepchild of our defense . We put different guys in and out of this spot ,and pull this position in and out of games so much that we sometimes forget we run a 4-3 . He seems to be a solid tackler and a smart player , but if history has taught us anything we will hardly see him because we will be playing a nickel package or some weird front . So go get em Ibby and make it hard for Stoops to take you off the field. Depth....ok here is where i get really nervous for our team . We have 3 solid to great guys , 1 is a guy who gets hurt 7 times a year , the other is a young guy with tons of potential . who is on the smallish side for a backer , and the other is a red headed stepchild named Ibby. If any of these guys go down we are up the creek without a paddle . Because behind them are guys with no experience what so ever. I am always confused by the fact we have 2 DE and 3 Lbers , but during recruiting we seem to sign 2 backers and 5 de every year. We might have 2 all conf LBers this year or we might end up playing a 4-1-6 defense who knows.

Defensive Backs.....Welcome to the secondary Tony Jefferson , for to long have you played some weird hybrid of a position , while our safety position struggled. Now he can bring his talent and int . and make this a position of strength instead of our Achilles heal . Tony is one of our best players ,he is a great tackler ,has good hands ,is smart, and a natural leader. He will be all big 12 at least this year .J Harris .....with Trey Franks gone , Javon has moved into my top spot of players to nag and bitch about. I know Harris is a big hitter and a decent tackler , but he lacks speed ,footwork , and makes dumb decisions on the field. He busts way to many coverages and takes bad angles on run support . The coaches see something i dont ,because if it was me i would leave Colvin at the other safety position and we would be set for 2 years with an all conf duo. Colvin....Great player who needs to be left in one position instead of moving around every year. He is smart ,quick ,a solid tackler , and is one of our best in coverage . Safety is asked to do alot in a Stoops defense and these 2 guys will star back there . D Hurst ...I have defended Hurst on this board for 2 years . Why people on here want him replaced and get on his case is beyond me. This guy is not the one giving up big plays and busting coverage . He is a smart player , who is great at run support for his size and an excellent cover corner. I think he has a chance to be all big 12 this year and will make it in the NFL. So for all you detractors go back and watch last years games and watch Hurst ,you will see just how solid he is. The other corner spot is a grab bag of guys without much exp . it includes young guys we always hear the coaches are high on , incoming fresh , guys who could be playing other position and we moved them to corner. We just need one of the 6 guys on the roster to step up and take over a corner spot. I have not mention Gabe Lynn yet ....Gabe has the size and the speed to be a great cover guy , but after his mental breakdown against Tech his is very fragile . I dont know if he was just nervous or maybe one of those guys with great athletic talent but the mental part of the game is tough for them . Whatever the reason Stoops has to coach him up and get his confidence back . Depth....I think we will be fine with our main 4 or 5 guys , but after that we are in trouble.I have faith in Mike as a DB coach and i think his zone principles will result in fewer big plays and more turnover for the defense this year.

Overall ....I feel really good about Stoops and the defense this year . I think we will score alot of points and since one of our strengths will be rushing the passer and 3 smart, talented dbs getting ints , this plays right into our hands. We might have as many as 5 or 6 all big 12 guys on def this year . But other than at DT we have to stay healthy , because we have zero depth . The main thing this year is to play smarter , dont give up the big plays and bust coverages. Make the other team march down the field against our zone and they will make a mistake eventually. I look for our turnover margin to be one of the best in the country this season , and this is one of the most important keys to winning a game. Ok sorry was so long , just bored and wanted to talk a little Sooner football.