The '10 edition of the Wildcat defense seeks to fill some major holes with the players lost ( C Peters, M Johnson, S Maxwell, T Lindley, and to some degree C Harrison) at the end of the '09 season. The defense is very very young and inexperienced this year and needs at least a couple of players in the front 7 besides D Trevathan to take huge strides in becoming impact players for the year. Having said that, there are some potential players who may do just that (D Evans, T Wyndham, R Lumpkins, and Q Huzzie or possibly A Williamson).
Evans and Wyndham seem to be the leaders, especially since they have extensive experience on the field as starters in the '09 season. Huzzie (a red shirt Freshman), a MLB candidate seems to have an extremely large football acumen, the ability to read what the offense is trying to set up, the speed to get to the ball, and the impact ability to change a game based upon his high school tape. Another reason to look to Huzzie is the fact that he has been on campus for a year studying the playbook, watching filem, and working out (albeit recovering from shoulder surgery). Williamson has been told that he is as strong as any of the LBers currently on the team; however, he will be arriving on campus as a true Freshman and will not know how, when, or where to line up.
There are also a couple of other lesser known players who may be able to step up for the season as well (R Sneed at MLB, and possibly J Dufrene), each of these players has previous playing time, but have yet been able to crack the starting line up. The early money is on Sneed just due to the fact that he does have substantial playing time as a Wildcat Defender.
DEs: This unit is probably the deepest on the Front 7, but is not the most talented. Wyndham and Evans both had flashes for the '09 season and both return to action more dangerous than last year. Wyndham is recovering from surgery this spring and Evans looks to be more focused than ever and ready to make it happen.
The main backups seem to be J Henderson, P Ligon, and Collins Ukwu although Tristan Johnson seems to be having an outstanding spring. Henderson who arrived in January will be light years ahead of the other incoming Freshmen arriving later this summer, and Ligon (a redshirt Freshman) has a year in the program and looks to breakout behind Wyndham at the RDE position. The staff heralded UKWU last year, but somehow he was just not able to put it together on the field.
It would be hard to fathom any of the other incoming freshmen have an impact this year at this position, but stranger things have happened.
DTs: The loss of C Peters to the NFL leaves a huge hole in a suspect defense. R Lumpkins returns as a starter at one DT position with both M Crawford, and Shane Mc Cord returning with experience as well. Somehow, you almost have to give the starting nod to Crawford given the fact that he has the most experience and has now been in the program for a year.
M Cobble (a redshirt Freshman) looks to be having an excellent spring and has been mentioned several times by the staff as being a contender for serious playing time. Questions about the eligibility of M Walker continue to about, and there seems to be no other returning players who are serious contenders for the position.
B Laughin, a true Freshman might be the most surprising player that UK signed in the '10 class. He brings impact, play making ability, speed, and intelligence to a position in dire need of some true playmaking depth. Most think that Brice will be on the field sooner rather than later and might represent a starter at DT for the '11 season.
Some has suggested that T Mc Adoo, another true Freshman may find himself at DT. While this may be true, Joker has indicated that he will indeed start out as an O-lineman.
LBs: The Linebacking unit has a ton of unproven potential. The lone returning starter is Junior D Trevathan (WLB) who has begun to get some well deserved mention among the media outlets. The best guess is that William Johnson or Ryan Mosby will return to backup Danny. Ryan adds speed and striking ability to his arsenal of ability and may in fact bethe ultimate replacement for Danny when he leaves for the NFL
R Sneed, the previous backup to M Johnson also returns and may begin the season as the starter at MLB, but most think that Q Huzzie will eventually settle in as the starter due to his overall onfield ability. It seems as though Williamson will be on the field as a Freshman due to his strength and playmaking ability as a backup to the starter, but look for him more towards the end of the year as he begins to learn his assignments.
The SLB will also undergo a facelift and change due to the departure of Sam Maxwell. This position is tough to figure out given that the returners have had almost no field time or playmaking ability. R Wilson and J Dufrene look to be the main contenders, but Dufrene has had almost no impact for the team and Wilson returns from a bad Freshman outing (11 tackles in 11 games). It is hard to see anyone else making an impact here unless the staff moves someone to this position from another position (D Tyler?).
Bottomline, the linebacker position is in a state of great transition and at least one player needs to step up immediately. It would probably be better is someone at the SLB position separates themself, since there seems to be talent and depth at the other two positions. There seems to be noone coming in as a true Freshman who will be able to come in and immediately start, so the LB unit is definitely a work in progress
"OPERATION WIN"
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