Offense
I'm not sure what to think yet. The offense looks to be improved over last year, but how much they have improved is still an unknown. Offensive line is still going to be a weak point for the team. Frankly, the #1 O-line looked down right terrible in the spring game. There were no running lanes what-so-ever and pass protection was mediocre at best. Alvester Alexander is lucky we are so thin at RB because he hasn't done much to lock down the starting spot. I definitely wouldn't call him a power runner and he hasn't really shown the ability to make multiple tacklers miss. The one thing he does have is break away speed, which allows him to break big runs if a hole does open up. Believe it or not, I don't think the receiving corp is going to change a whole lot from last season. Leonard still looks to be the #1 target. Ogbonna will see some reps at WR, but he isn't that star receiver that many people were hoping for when he committed. Lester seems to be a waste of space in my opinion. McNeil looks to be improved and should see more action with the departure of Bolling. The one position on offense that is keeping me optimistic about next season is QB. I think ACS is going to have to shoulder a lot of the offensive load once again, but he looks even better than last season. I think he will be up for the challenge. We are developing more depth on the offesnive side of the ball. Depth is often overlooked in college football, but it is what separates great teams from good teams. Injuries are inevitable and it is critical that the player filling in doesn't result in a huge drop off from the starter.
Defense
The #1 defense should be pretty damn good this year. They really seem to be thriving in the 4-3. Both Biezuns and Knapton have a chance to make some noise this season in the MWC. I like their chances since they are unknowns on the DL and should see a lot of 1-on-1's with offensive tackles this season. We are WAY undersized at defensive tackle with the guys we have playing right now, but plenty of help is on the way in the fall, so I'm not worried about that position. Hell, even these small guys seem to be holding their own, but they will see far better O-lineman than what we have. I really like our LB's. Hendricks is a solid MLB and Muhammad is a phenomenal athlete with just as much speed as many of the RB's and WR's he will be matched up with. Harris and Keith Lewis will provide even more speed at the other OLB spot. I've been rather critical of the secondary, but I was impressed by what I saw out of them. They provided solid coverage that allowed more time for the guys up front to get pressure on the QB. I'm still not sold though, as I think they are facing a pretty weak receiving corp overall. Hopefully they prove me wrong. As much as I liked what I saw from the #1 defense, I am equally as worried about our defensive depth. There is a HUGE drop off in talent and speed from the #1 unit to the #2 unit. We can't afford many injuries to the defensive starters or we will be in a world of hurt. I think thats oart of the reason the #2 offense looked so good.