MWC unit previews: SECONDARIES

The Wimple's ranking of the MWC's secondaries, best to worst:

Air Force's corners are the conference's best returning tandem: Anthony Wright and Reggie Rembert were 1st- and 2nd-team all-MWC. Jon Davis joins returns as safety with them, and the only newcomer is Phil Ohili, who has two years' experience as a backup. Air Force and TCU had the best pass defenses in the MWC last season, holding opposing squads to 154 and 157 ypg, and 57.6% and 47.4% completions. AFA returns 75% of its starters secondary; TCU only 40%-- although new starting cornerback Jason Teague played lots and often in '09. AFA's and TCU's secondaries are the class of the conference in 2010.

See TCU's and the rest of the MWC's secondary ranking after the jump.

MWC unit previews: Special Teams

Preseason practices are just weeks away.  To get you there, the Wimple begins the MWC unit rankings, starting with special teams. 

Opponent Preview: SMU

This was supposed to be the (first in a long time) year the Ponies could sit back and relax during the off-season: the depthchart was filled with underclassmen who managed 8 wins in 2009, and there was little reason to expect they couldn't do at least 7 in 2010. Kyle Padron was back, with a good bevy of receivers. Knowing June Jones's offense like they now do, and with a slowly improving defense, hadn't the Mustangs finally found the golden road to repeating bowl eligibility?

And then came the sucker punch.

Opponent Preview: BAYLOR

Baylor has been on the cusp of bowl-eligibility, at least in pre-season writing, for years.  It appears that the Bears are finally going to make good on all that pre-season press, now that the team's best runningback and quarterback return, and get to work behind slightly improved lines.  It does not yet appear that Baylor is so much improved, however, that they may expect to leave Fort Worth with a win. 

Opponent Preview: OREGON STATE

Gary Patterson has already begun to raise expectations for Oregon State, reminding audiences that the Beavers were a drive away from the Rose Bowl, and return 21 starters.  While the Wimple hopes CGP's coaching is better than his math, El Bulldog is on to something: Oregon State is the toughest opener the Frogs have lined up since OU in 2005. 

Frogs Omaha-bound

Schloss's crew, following sophomore Kyle Winkler's dominating performance on the mound, knocked Texas out of the baseball post-season, and earned their first trip to Omaha for the college world series. Congrats, Frogs. Florida State awaits.









For a hilarious bit of gamesmanship, hear a Longhorn fan heckle Bryan Holiday ("get in the batter's box and shut up") second before Holiday hits one out of the park (literally) to put the game on ice.

TCU spring report

TCU held spring drills from a position it hadn’t since early 2006: front runner. The Frogs are commentators’ unanimous choice to win the Mountain West– with the more insightful conference watchers hedging their bets slightly because of the roady to Salt Lake City in November. Do these expectations align well with the Horned Frogs’ lineup on the field? Very much so. And TCU’s strength stems first from its experiences and depth along both lines.

The Frogs return four starts to the offensive line. Marcus Cannon moves to LT, Kyle Dooley, Jake Kirkpatrick, and Josh Vernon (pushed hard by Blaize Foltz) return at LG, C, and RG, respectively. (those four shown left, next to the only departed starter, big #70, Marshall Newhouse.) Filling Cannon’s shoes at RT will be Jeff Olson and/or Zach Roth, with James Dunbar backing up whoever fails to win that starting nod. Barring injury or academic issue, that will be the Frogs’ only question on offense going into fall practice.

Masticate on that a minute; TCU has 10 of 11 starting spots on offense well decided, going into fall drills. And this is a year after the Frogs broke nearly every school offensive record. Yes, TCU ought to field a frightening offense in 2010.

What do the other positions on offense look like?

Dalton leads the pack, for the fourth year running. His backup is the winner of the ongoing competition between Yogi Gallegos (right) and Casey Pachall. Pachall’s got the arm and speed and hype; but Gallegos has proven spunky, has a semester’s on Pachall with the playbook, and simply won’t cede the fight for backup snaps.

Dalton has an embarrassment of riches around him. On the ground, he’ll be handing off to returners Matthew Tucker and Ed Wesley (left), and new faces Waymon James and Andre Dean. (Dwight Smith’s injury takes him out of the rotation until further notice.) No team in the conference (country?) will have fresher runningbacks late in the game than TCU. Look for Wesley to line up in the slot, filling the Ryan Christian role to overflowing. Tucker and Dean run through blockers; Wesley and James run around them. Formation-wise, the Frogs are tooling more with the pistol. They’ve used it before, but it has appeared more often this spring. All the better, thinks the Wimple, to give more touches to the Gang of Four at tailback.

In the air, Dalton and the offensive coordinators have to figure out how to get a new WR into the rotation, joining Antoine Hicks and Curtis Clay outside, Jimmy Young and Jeremy Kerley inside, and Bart Johnson, Jonathan Jones, and Skye Dawson behind them. The new face? Redshirt freshman Josh Boyce, who lit up the defense all spring. In other news, Young’s move inside was an eye-opener this spring; he welcomed the move, because it shows the NFL another side of his talent. Add TEs Evan Frosch, Logan Brock, and Corey Fuller, and the real mystery this year on offense is how the heck Dalton & Co. will spread the ball to so many playmakers.

On defense, TCU looks on paper like it may lose some of its punch. However, it looked that way coming into 2009, and the Frogs rose up to clinch a second consecutive national top ranking for defense. So: count the Frogs out of contention for the top spot at your peril.

Along the line, just like their offensive compadres across the trench, rising seniors abound. Clarence Leatch, Kelly Griffin, Cory Grant, and Wayne Daniels will be an all-senior line. (Grant, Griffin, and Daniels are suffocating some poor UNLV Rebel, left.) Likely no single one of them will match new Indianapolis Colt Jerry Hughes’s production, the four of them will make the conference’s most formidable defensive front. Again. (Junior Ross Forrest or redshirt freshman Stansley Maponga may start ahead of Leatch. This is one of the defensive questions that is yet unsettled going into fall.)

Behind Griffin and Grant are three young tackles who have risen to battle for the #2 spots, in a yet-unsettled order: junior Jeremy Coleman, sophomore D. J. Yendrey, and early-enrolled true freshman David Johnson.

The second would-be difficult departure for TCU is Daryl Washington’s, at linebacker. Tanner Brock (#35, left) is tasked with replacing the athlete (now an Arizona Cardinal). Kenny Cain is pushing for that job as well, but to date it appears to be Brock’s to lose. Brock joins returning standout Tank Carder in the youngest linebacking corps at TCU in several years.

The final holes to fill this offseason at TCU are in the secondary. Four year starting corners Rafael Priest and Nick Sanders were ably backed up last year by Greg McCoy and Jason Teague, who may outperform their elders this season. McCoy (right) had a monstrous spring, snagging passes right and left. Both McCoy and Teague started at least once last season. The only questions at corner were their backups; Malcolm Williams has moved over to be one of them, and done very well.

At safety, the master communicator and least-trumpeted star of the show, Tejay Johnson, returns, grooming a protégé in Jurrell Thompson, who impressed this spring. Ibiloye, Luttrell, and Jones all will see a lot of PT in 2010, but exactly which of them, with Thompson, will start and which will backup remains uncertain.

NEW MEXICO spring report

New Mexico went into spring drills with a mission to find a way to stop the bleeding. And, perhaps to the mild surprise of MWC fans everywhere, it may have found it. It starts on the defense, which was utterly hapless in 2009, ranking in the triple digits for total defense, scoring defense, and pass efficiency defense– despite the nation’s leading tackler prowling the middle of the field. It may be fair to ask how this unit could not improve.

The improvement begins up front, where highly touted transfer tackle Reggie Ellis (right), who followed Coach Locksley from Illinois to Albuquerque enters the gameday lineup, next to all-MWC end Jonathan Rainey and (probably) true freshman Calvin Smith, perhaps the conference’s biggest recruiting coup of the 2010 class. The other end, Jaymar Latchison, returns as well. Look for the Lobos to feature a dramatically upgraded pass rush.

Which dramatic upgrade will take loads of pressure off the linebackers, led by Carmen Messina (left), who was perhaps the team’s lone really bright spot in 2009. Messina tallied 163 tackles last year, half of them solo. Messina is the only returning starting LB for the Lobos; Joe Stoner played his way into a starting slot this spring, while the third spot remains open.

The Lobos’ strength on the line also will help their secondary, which has nowhere to go but up, compared to last year. And up they’ll go, with Bubba Forrest at full health (he didn’t practice this spring), and a raft of new athletes to up the competitiveness of the group. A. J. Butler, and Carmeiris Stewart (formerly at RB and WR), and several incoming freshmen can’t help but improve the performance of the defense’s third level.

Also working to help the defense will be a much-improved (compared to its near-useless 2009 incarnation) offense. New Mexico tallied triple-digit national ranks in rushing, scoring, and total offense last season. On this side of the trench, there’s nowhere to go but up, as well. Unlike the defense, however, the growth on offense is generated behind the line. Quarterback B. R. Holbrook (right) all but seized the starting role. Coach Locksley appeared unwilling to name Holbrook the starter only because he’d promised signees Tarean Austin and (all-name candidate) Stump Godfrey a fair chance at it. Neither Austin nor Godfrey enrolled early, however, and they’re clearly going to start well behind Holbrook come August. Brad Gruner and Tate Smith both were injured by the end of spring, leaving Holbrook most of the first-team snaps. Holbrook shone under center, and appears poised to lead a dramatically more effective passing attack. One of Holbrook’s better targets, Michael Scarlett, went down in the spring game, and his injury and status remain undisclosed. But TE Lucas Reed and WRs Myles Daugherty and Chris Hernandez will haul in the passes.

Lobo watchers have more reason to be excited about their team’s improvement on the ground. Demond Dennis and Kasey Carrier (left)made waves this spring, breaking long runs behind the stout line play of tackle Byron Bell. Dennis moved passed Wright into the #2 spot on the chart. LT Bell is the new leader of the line, which replaces three seniors on the right, including all-MWC and NFL-draftee center Erik Cook. Their replacements all saw significant playing time in ‘09, and showed well in the spring.

WYOMING spring report

Wyoming's spring drills concluded a couple weeks ago, featuring a new sight in the thawing Laramie snow: smiles from Coach Christensen. The contrast with last year's spring couldn't be starker. "It was a real good day... We did a good job throwing the ball down the field... I like the way the defense is playing... I think they're doing a trememdous job of working extremely hard... and playing physical," reported the coach after the first scrimmage. After the second scrimmage, the coach said his team was playing "like a real football team out there."

Austyn Carta-Samuels's (right) completion percentage hit 70 percent in one scrimmage; Dax Crum's hit 60 percent. The young replacements on the offensive line (which lost three seniors) appear to have the potential to outperform the '09 line. Josh Leonard, a true sophemore now taking the first-team snaps at right tackle, has impressed the coaches. Clayton Kirven will start at left tackle. Freshmen Thomas Vonashek, Skyler Hinton, and junior Nick Puetz seem to be high on the depth chart for the line.

That new line will be blocking for Alvester Alexander (left)again, who proved the most durable of the team's runningbacks in the spring. True freshman Nehemie Kankolongo early enrolled, but quickly had a spring-ending injury; Darius Terry also didn't make it to the final scrimmage. Both are expected back in the fall, but neither is expected to oust Alexander from the top spot.

At the all-important receiver position, returners Zach Bolger, (right) David Leonard, and Chris McNiell have raised their game, giving JUCO transfers Mazi Ogbonna and DeJay Lester more competition for starting snaps than they may have counted on. This warms 'Poke watchers hearts, and not just because the returning three accounted for more than half of the Cowboys' receptions and yards. Dave Christensen's pass-happy spread requires sure-handed receivers, and in 2009, the Cowboys appeared to have only one or two of those-- Leonard and Bolger.

Josh Biezuns and Gabe Knapton have thrived as converted defensive ends; they tallied tackles like candy on halloween in the team scrimmages. Their switched positions (each from linebacker) are part of Wyoming's move from a 3-4 defense to a 4-3, which the coaches say uses easier schemes, and will allow the Cowboys to keep their best defensive athletes on the field more. The starting line (probably Biezuns, Stover, Purcell, Knapton, though Stover and Purcell both didn't practice this spring, while rehabbing injuries) must replace one of the MWC's great defensive lines, which was an all-senior, all-multi-year starting group.

With Biezuns and Knapton (left) moved, exactly who'll join Ghalai Muhammed in the linebacking corps this fall is more fluid. Devyn Harris is probably one of the other starters. Wyoming's secondary will be one of the conference's best. If they go largely injury-free, corners (and brothers) Marcell and Tashaun Gipson, and safeties Shamiel Gary likely will join safety Chris Prosinski on the all-MWC list in 2010.

TCU's 2010 schedule, analyzed

While not the gold-plated gift-wrapped schedule given the Horned Frogs in 2009, TCU does have a favorable schedule in 2010. (See it in the table on the sidebar.)

The Frogs stick to the tried-and-true formula for non-conference games: one cartel semi-heavy-weight, one Big12 team, SMU, and one creampuff. The semi-heavy-weight cartel team is the opener, at JerryWorld, in Oregon State. The location takes a lot of the punch out of this matchup; the crowd, jet-lag, and general comfort level will be thoroughly friendly for the Frogs.

The creampuff is largely an unknown 2A team; these games are unfair, and good for little more than injuries and concession sales. The Wimple wishes TCU would add North Texas instead of a 2A team. The level of competition would hardly be different, and an all-1A schedule appeals to the computers. Oh well.

Baylor is the Big12 team on the schedule, for the third time in four years. The Bears come to Fort Worth again, and likely will leave just as shut-out as last time. Yes, Robert Griffin is a dynamic quarterback. No, he hasn’t played a defense like TCU’s before, and yes, doofus Baylor fans will supply all the bulletin board material needed to motivate the Frogs. This will be fun.

Finally SMU. This year– the first year in memory– the Mustangs don’t double the “creampuff” category. In fact, the Frogs may face a decent test in their Friday night roady to Dallas to face the Mustangs. The spread still probably will be in the double digits: perhaps half of last season’s ridiculous 40-point bet. But SMU showed a new and encouraging intensity in last year’s tilt, and have added confidence and a little success to their mojo since then. The Wimple doesn’t see SMU pulling off a 2005-esque upset this year, but he is glad the 2011 game is in Fort Worth.

Conference play– and the Frogs’ first foray outside the Metroplex this season– begins in Fort Collins at week 5. Colorado State won’t be a gimme at Sonny Lubick stadium this season. If the Frogs take bad injury luck north again, like they did in 2008, this could be uncomfortably close. Next come three MWC top-halfers to Fort Worth. Wyoming brings their now-confident spread to ACS first, followed by BYU’s not-so-new quarterback, and then Air Force’s triple option. TCU cashes in a lot of schedule grace with these three coming at or after the halfway-point in the season, and all at home.

By this point the Frogs probably will be 8-0, having played without a bye, and almost a month at home. The next two roadtrips will be a challenge. First it’s a late game in Las Vegas, which TCU will win handily. UNLV may be playing harder in 2010, but it will be in the midst of a thorough identity change, and out for the count before halftime. The team will return to Fort Worth sometime in the wee hours of Sunday, with the season’s toughest game looming. Week 10 (November 6, again) features the Frogs’ return to Salt Lake City to face the Utes. This year the game starts at 1:30 in the afternoon, and TCU (hopefully) will have the senior quarterback. Again the possibility of a BCS berth (or something larger) may hang on the outcome of this match. It may be the biggest Mountain West game of the year, or longer.

The Frogs host San Diego State in week 11, and then enjoy their only bye of the year, before finishing against a much improved New Mexico in Albuquerque.

TCU ought to be favored in every game this year, except maybe the grudge match in Salt Lake City. TCU hasn’t won in Rice-Eccles at least since its entry into the Mountain West. This will be TCU’s first day game there since then, and if injuries don’t significantly alter the two-deep beforehand, TCU will have the more experienced team at nearly every position.

So the schedule doesn’t hinder the Frogs; given TCU’s unprecedented pre-season poll position (#6 in ESPN’s post-spring lineup), any ceiling on the 2010 Frogs will be self-imposed. If the Horned Frogs show 2009-like intensity consistently in 2010, the purple-clad Fort Worth crew may force a rewrite of the BCS rules come bowl season.

COLORADO STATE spring report

The Rams had many weeks to stew in the stink created by the nine-game losing streak they endured to finish 2009. It'll be up to a slew of new offensive starters to reverse the luck over Fort Collins in 2010.

Up front, CSU graduated four linemen, and put all four into NFL camps. Only tackles Paul Madsen, Mark Starr, and guard Jake Gdowski started any games last year, and one backup, Ryan Griffith, played in a few games at the other tackle spot. So the guns up front will be young and inexperienced. Tyler McDermott (Jr., 6-2, 274) (right) appears to be the coaches' first choice at center, though he flubbed too many snaps during the spring to nail down the first spot on the 2-deep. Weston Richburg (Fr., 6-4, 278) is pressing.

Finding the starting five up front may be the Rams' biggest issue this fall, however, because the other big offensive questions appear to have been settled, more or less, in the spring. For the first time in Steve Fairchild's tenure, it appears he has more than one year's signal-called lined up under center. Early-enrolled true freshman Pete Thomas (left) wound up taking the first-team snaps for most of the last practices in April, ahead of redshirted freshman Nico Ranieri. Both of the freshmen showed well enough that Coach Fairchild didn't let disgruntled and disparaging remarks make it to the press this spring, like he has his first two years. The two young QBs have enconsed themselved deeply enough atop the depth chart that senior Jon Eastman transferred to a 2A school, and T.J. Borcky resumed play at WR.

Speaking of wide receivers, the Rams must replace the most prolific duo at that position that they've had in a long time. The lineup to replace Rashaun Greer and Dion Morton (who took with them 41% of the team's '09 catches and 48% of its receiving yards) appears to be T.J. Borcky (jr., 6-4, 204), Lou Greenwood (soph., 6-0, 183), Marquise Law (soph., 6-4, 193), Byron Steele (soph., 6-3, 207), Jyrone Hickman (sr., 6-3, 199) and Tyson Liggett (sr., 5-9, 186). Those five make a talented group, but like so much of the 2010 offense, untested.

There's genuine reason for optimism for the Rams on the ground: returners Leonard Mason and John Mosure have not kept ahead of freshman Chris Nwoke and transfer Raymond Carter (right) at runningback. There's suddenly tremendous depth in the backfield in Fort Collins; if the young line ahead of it can exceed last year's push, the Rams may feature a balanced attack, and return to their '08 form.

On defense there is less turmoil with the depthchart. DEs Zach Tiedgen and Cory Macon didn't practice, but expect to start in the fall. Their absence gave converted lineman Adam Seymore and Broderick Sargent a spring to take their first college snaps up front. Look for Wyittier, Miller, and Macon to start this fall, with Nuku Latu advancing to the top spot at DT to replace James Morehead.

At linebacker, Ram fans can't wait to see Ricky Brewer back from a one year suspension. He showed well this spring, while youngster Mychal Sisson played about half of the spring before his scheduled shoulder surgery. The two should anchor the defense in 2010. Davis Burl played well in Sisson's absence.

In the secondary, Ivory Herd (left) hopes to follow Elijah-Blu Smith's path to being a fixture in the Rams' defense. Herd started in injured Klay Kubiak's place for about half of 2009; Smith was thrown into the mix in 2008 because of injuries, as well.

BYU spring report

The Cougars faced a progression of spring questions in the last month.
Will Max Hall's backup, Riley Nelson, or returned missionary James Lark, or early-enrolled super-recruit Jake Heaps seize the starting role at QB? There is not a clear answer to that question, except that Nelson and Heaps do appear to have edged past Lark in the competition. By all accounts Nelson (spring 11 on 11 stats: 29-of-51 for 389 yards and 5 TDs) and Heaps (spring 11 on 11 stats: 62-of-105 for 774 yards and 7 TDs) are contending to start, while Lark (spring 11 on 11 stats: James Lark 27-of-46 for 253 yards and no TDs) is contending for the backup role. All three were given the same number of snaps with the first team; apparently Heaps is the least inclined to run with the ball-- making him the philosophical heir to Hall and Beck before him. This battle continues into fall drills.

Who will snap the QB the ball? 2009 starting center R. J. Willig graduated, and the spring competition to replace him was less successful than Cougar fans hoped. Terence Brown leads for the starting role, but he was sloppy with snaps often enough to unsettle the BYU faithful.

Will new TEs figure prominently in 2010? All-star TEs Dennis Pitta and Andrew George graduated, taking with them fully one third of BYU's 2009 receptions and receiving yards. BYU watchers expect WRs O'Neill Chambers, McKay Jacobsen (pictured), Luke Ashworth, and Ross Apo to pick up most of that slack, while new TEs work their way into the gameplan.

The defensive questions cover most of the field-- six of the front seven 2009 starters graduated.
Will the D-line backups morph into solid starters? For the second year running, BYU must replace all (or most of) one of its lines. It was offense in 2009, and that project went better than expected. 2010 will feature a new starting d-line. Backups Matt Putnam ('10 junior), Romney Fuga ('10 junior) and Vic S'oto ('10 senior) showed well in the spring, and will be joined in the fall by returned missionary Eathyn Manumaleuna, and a quartet of freshmen.

Who'll man the open linebacker spots? There're three of them open for 2010, in the fruit-basket turnover on defense that has upended the Cougar two-deep. Hotshot early-enrolled prospect Kyle Van Noy showed well, once he showed up. His absence, punishment for the ever-vague "violation of team rules" raised eyebrows early in the spring. Aveni Leung-Wai has the edge for a starting spot by smart play in the spring; as does Brandon Ogletree. Recruits Austen Jorgensen and Zac Stout will be in the mix in the fall, as will zenior Shane Hunter.

Who replaces safety Scott Johnson? Johnson was the brain of the Cougar defense, and his replacement has yet to come to the fore. Andrew Rich practiced little this spring; top prospect Shiloah Te'o was dismissed from the team. Junior Steven Thomas and redshirt freshmen Jray Galeai and Travis Uale will press Rich for the starting spot this fall.

[updated] UNLV spring report

Due to the wholesale change in coaching staff this offseason, ushering in new schemes, UNLV is probably more profitably studied not for what will be different in 2010, but what will be the same. Remember, outgoing head coach Mike Sanford was the offensive guru who learned the spread at the feet of Urban Meyer, but couldn't make it work in Las Vegas. Incoming coach Bobby Hauck is a defensive guy, who prefers to keep the ball (a) on the ground, (b) as long as possible, and (c) to take it away from the other team as often as possible. Flashy? Not really; but Hauck would rather line up the ws then wows, even though both have been lacking in Las Vegas for longer than the Wimple dares remember.

But first Hauck and his coaches (predominantly fellows who followed him from Montana) had to line up athletes for this year's freshman class. They worked the Nevada schools diligently, signing eleven Nevada players, including local star Taylor Spencer, and also four Texans, including Houston speedster Tim Cornett and D/FW quarterback Taylor Barnhill. Because no freshman stood out this spring, the first fall question will be: which of these freshmen may see playing time in 2010? TE recruits Jordan Sparkman and Anthony Vidal hope to see the field more than they might have under Sanford's spread; Hauck's new OC Rob Phenicie like to use tight ends to bolster his ground game. Which bodes well, as well, for incoming freshmen Vandrell Sullivan, Dionza Bradford, and Tim Cornett, each of whom ran the ball in high school. Of the three, only Sullivan is early enrolled (?). C. J. Cox still leads the depth chart after spring ball, ahead of Brandon Randle and Channing Trotter.

The second gnawing question in Las Vegas this fall will be: Can UNLV's new coaches develop defensive players? Sanford's crew's inability to do so resulted in their ouster. They bequeath to the new staff a senior-heavy defensive roster. If Kraig Paulson (the DC) can get the team to perform at even just a slightly better level, UNLV may be the MWC's surprise of 2010. Paulson likes LBs Starr Fuimaono, Ronnie Paolo, senior Calvin Randleman (right), DT Isaako Aaitui, and safety Alex De Giacomo. They'll be the core returners in 2010. Hauck says the team needs more athletes on defense, however. Multi-year starter DT Malo Tuamua may be done for his career, having torn his ACL at the end of spring. JUCO Transfer Nate Holloway may press Ramsey Feagai for first-team snaps, if he can get into better football shape by fall drills.

Finally, the Rebels are trying to master a different style of ball; the tight ends and runningbacks love it-- they get to tote the rock a lot more than they would have under Sanford's spread. That C.J. Cox tops the depthchart going into fall might trouble Rebel watchers, however. Trotter appeared to have more oomph last season than Cox, and sophemore Bradley Randle just hasn't performed to match the hype that attended his signing last year.

Senior Omar Clayton and Junior Mike Clausen seem to be adjusting well to the new schemes; they have (so far) maintained the top two spots on the depthchart at QB. Michael Johnson (right) has emerged opposite Phillip Payne as a go-to wideout.

[updated] UTAH spring report

When Utah's spring got underway the second week of March, the Utes primary questions were on the defense, at all three levels. See James Durrant's writeup at the Utah Rivals site for many more details. Second-year line coach John Pease hoped to get his players back to the production Utah fans grew used to under Gary Anderson's tutelege, and to answer to this offseason's first question: who will replace DT Kenape Eliapo and DE Koa Misi? At tackle, Neil A'asa appeard to get ahead of Lei Talamaivao and James Aiono; Trevor Reilly leads at end.

There's fruitbasket turnover occuring at linebacker in SLC this offseason, as the Utes graduated one of the conference's best-ever LB corps. So the second question in Salt Lake City was: Will Utah find a linebacking corps this spring? Replacing Mike Wright, Stevenson Sylvester, and Kepa Gaison won't fall to inexperienced players. DC Kalani Sitake, who coaches the linebackers, thinks his team is in better position going into 2010 than it was going into 2009. Projected starter Nai Fotu is out for the year with a torn ACL, J.J. Williams (pictured) and Boo Anderson may have won themselves starting spots with a strong spring. Chad Manis, Chaz Walker, Jamel King, and Matt Martinez were are in the mix for the third spot. Four-star recruit VJ Fehoko doesn't join the team until fall.

In the secondary, Coach Whittingham replaced J.D. Williams, who joined Bobby Hauck's staff at UNLV, by moving his TE coach, Jay Hill, to cornerback. Hill gets one starter back, Brandon Burton. Conroy Black is pushing Lamar Chapman gets the first-team snaps at the other end. In between them are two question marks, making the last defensive question for the Utes: Will the new safeties save the secondary? Only Justin Taplin-Ross (pictured) nailed down a starting spot this spring. Early-enrolled Damian Payne practiced much of the spring with the first team, rotating with redshirt freshman Chris Washington.

On offense, the questions were less pressing to start the spring, owing to a much fuller roster of returners. However, returning starter and phenom Jordan Wynn went down on the first play of the spring game, and there're rumblings his injury was more serious than the Whittingham has let on. Fortunately for the Utes, senior Terrance Cain (pictured) took over and was brilliant, as was redshirt freshman Griff Robles. It appears the Utes' attack is not dependent on Wynn.

Fully four starters return on the o-line, leaving a battle (and the first offensive question) only at left tackle: who will replace all-MWC Zane Beadles? Caleb Shlauderaff moves over from guard into that spot this spring, and that move may be permanent if the Utes can't find a better tackle. Walter Watts will take Shladeraff's spot next to center. Percy Taumoelau is also in the mix at left tackle.

Matt Asiata was granted a medical redshirt, but didn't practicing this spring. Eddie Wide and Sausan Shakerin had the show largely to themselves, and put on a good one.

At wideout, the story is much different. David Reed, Aiona Key, and John Peel took just over half the team's receptions and even more of the team's receiving yards with them to graduation. Only Jerome Brooks returns, having had over 17 receptions for more than 154 yards in 2009. DeVonte Christopher, Shaky Smithson, and Luke Matthews return with Brooks, all having caught passes last season, and all hoping to answer the question Who'll be Jordan Wynn's go-to receivers? They were pushed hard for first team snaps by walk-on Griffin McNabb (pictured), who who shone late in the spring, and was the go-to receiver in the spring game. The team's three receiver recruits don't enroll until the fall.

[updated] SAN DIEGO STATE spring report

No team in the conference is as close to dramatic improvement as is San Diego State. It returns all of its coaches, its best weapons (QB Ryan Lindley and both of his go-to receivers), it has a wealth of runningbacks, and a burgeoning defense. The Aztecs are precisely one viable running threat away from the promised land. But the way to the promised land (which is defined these days in San Diego as bowl eligibility) is blocked until SDSU improves its push up front. Thus the Aztecs's first spring question: which of the five new o-linemen will improve the abysmal push up front the team has manufactured since... since at least as long as anyone at the Wimple can remember?

Impressively sized Juan Bolanos (6-7, 340), Riley Gauld (6-5, 299), and Joe Unga (6-6, 305)transfer in from junior colleges, but none of them participated in spring drills. True freshmen Zack Dilley and Garrett Corbett join the team in August. These new fellows join returning starters Tommie Draheim (LT), Trask Iosefa (C), and Nik embernate (RG), and backups Mike Matamua, Erik Quinones, Damian Shankle, and Emilio Rivera in OC and o-line coach Al Borges's search for the Aztecs' stoutest front five. Atypically, there are no o-linemen in the class ahead of the five signed this week, because Hoke's team did not enroll a single lineman last year, due to their unwillingness to sign a player at those positions without proper evaluation.

The skinny out of spring drills is that the o-line is still a big problem, waiting for the big transferring JUCO players to improve it.

Once it has a better line in place, San Diego State can begin sorting its many runningbacks, including hyped recruit and early-enrolled true freshman Ronnie Hillman. The team must answer the question who will be 2010's workhorse backs, and hoped to have the answer by the end of spring drills. Hillman (pictured) competed with veterans Brandon Sullivan, Davon Brown, Anthony Miller, and Walter Kazee. Kazee was limited in spring drills, but expects to be back in full form by August, when Dwayne Garrett, Adam Muema, and Deonte Williams join the fracas. Somebody among those eight runningbacks will capitalize on better o-line play, if he gets it, and keep opposing defenses honest for the first time in Ryan Lindley's career (and many quarterbacks before him, it can be said...). Hillman appears to be playing up to his billing.

Defensively, the Aztecs return a boatload of starters at all levels. Early-enrolled DE Perry Jackson, a very highly rated JUCO transfer, is competing on the line. Competition among the LBs and DBs will be high, as the coaches settle on replacements for all-MWC LB Jerry Milling and CB Davion Mauldin. Starting and backup Aztec back graduated or left the team this offseason, as well. DC Rocky Long has a full score of players competing for these spots, however. Expect no dropoff, but improvement, as the team answers its last spring question: who'll step up in the back eight on defense?

Andrew Preston (pictured) moved from linebacker to the hybrid LB-S "Aztec" back this spring; he loves the new position. "You get to fly around and get to play the whole field," said Preston. The team focused on man coverage from its cornerbacks. Admittedly, covering Brown and Sampson (and Dominique Sandifer, and newcomer Osborne Nicholas) isn't easy, but there's worry that its secondary isn't getting the job done. They shut down the offense during the spring game however, and drew praise from Coach Hoke.

[updated] AIR FORCE spring report

The Air Force Falcons were the first in the MWC to break out the pads for spring drills this year, getting underway in balmy mid-February in Colorado Springs (average February high: 44). Troy Calhoun replaced one coach on each side of the ball, but the transitions should have been relatively easy, as neither departed coach was exclusively responsible for the team's schemes.

AFA returns every player from 2009 that carried the ball- an astonishing fact, given the Falcons' reliance on its ground game to move the ball. It seems therefore a given that coach Calhoun will be focusing not ballcarriers this spring, but on both lines, where the Falcons are practically holding an open tryout for starters. The entire 2009 starting o-line graduated, as did two of the three d-linemen.

So the first, and biggest, spring question at the Academy this year was: will backups Chase Darden, A.J. Wallerstein, Michael Hester, Tyler Schonsheck, and Blake Dowd cut the mustard up front for the offense? Similarly, will Wylie Wikstrom (DE) and Ryan Gardner (DT) nail down the starting snaps this month?

Some Academy watchers think that the complete turnover on the o-line will not be as disruptive as a similar event would be at another school. That none of the '09 backups were freshmen may indicate that the new starts will bring significant experience to their starts in 2010. Whether or not that is true, the jury is out on the beef up front until September.

Until then, it looks like four of the five spots up front on offense are filled: LT Jason Kons (freshman 6-4, 250), C Michael Hester (sophomore, 6-3, 240), RG A. J. Wallerstein (sophomore, 6-4, 285) and RT Chase Darden (junior, 6-3, 255). The left guard spot may go to Tyler Schonsheck (junior, 6-1, 265), but his competition with Nick Jackson (freshman, 6-4, 270) is ongoing. Look for the Academy's o-line recruits Jacob Ehm (6-6, 245), Joe Frank (6-4, 290), Drew Kerber (6-3, 280), Tristian Turknett (6-2, 287), Jake Welch (6-3, 290), and Charlie Zemko (6-3, 250) as backups, at most, in 2010. More likely, given the youth ahead of them on the two-deep, they'll not surface in games for another year.

On defense, Ryan Gardner and Wylie Wikstrom do appear to have secured the top spots on the chart at DT and DE. Both had exemplary springs. Elsewhere, only S Chris Thomas and LB John Falgout leave large holes in the team's production, to be filled by younger players. Phil Ofili and Brian Corcoran may replace Thomas and Falgout. Reports out of spring were very positive about the Falcons' secondary, though the lineup to replace Thomas remains unsettled.

The surprise out of spring is how strong quarterback Connor Dietz showed-- so much so that one cannot say Tim Jefferson is the clear starter going into fall drills. This kind of competition has to be good for the Academy, however, and may surpass the emergence of a starting o-line (which may be largely complete) as the top story for the team this August.

The 2010 schedule, recently out, features a blockbuster conference showdown in week two against BYU, in Colorado Springs. This is precisely the kind of battle that plays well in the Falcons' hands; they'll throw their experienced, difficult ground attack and speedy defense at the Cougar's new starting quarterback and defensive line. Bronco Mendenhall has to be sweating those matchups already. An upset in week two may signal another year in which the Academy muscles its way into the league's top three.

MWC Review

Before signing day arrives, and the inevitable collective dive into the measurements, SAT scores, and possible position switches for thousands of yet-untested true freshmen, let's peruse the 2009 season with a wide lense. It was a pretty good year for the Mountain West-- although less successful than the blockbusting '08 season. The last three seasons the conference has gone .947 (18-1) against 2A foes; .629 (34-20) against non-cartel 1A teams; and .520 (26-24) against the cartel. In '09 the MWC fared slightly better than average against 2A and non-cartel 1A teams, (6-0 for 1.000, 12-7 for .632) and slightly worse against the cartel (7-9 for .435). The Mountain West had at least two teams in every poll this season (a first), and three teams ranked in all but four of the season's 16 poll weeks (previous record in '08: only five weeks without three ranked teams). And until TCU's lain egg at the Fiesta Bowl, it appeared the conference would sweep its five bowl games.

Coaching continuity had a lot to do with the conference's sustained success. For the second year running, the MWC had a BCS team without losing its BCS coach. Despite overtures from Tennessee, Notre Dame, USC, Kansas, and Cincinnati, the Mountain West keeps Gary Patterson and Kyle Whittingham (and Troy Calhoun) for another year. The situation is nearly the same with coordinators-- only Air Force lost a coordinator to poaching. (UNLV's turnover not included, obviously.) CSU fired its OC, and UNLV has an entirely new crew, but otherwise the staffs are unchanged at the tops in the conference.

The only new kid on the block is UNLV's Bobby Hauck, and his team of coordinators, most of whom followed Hauck from Montana State. Hauck poached JD Williams from Utah (cornerbacks) to be his assistant head coach, pass defense, and secondary coach; Brent Myers from Louisville will coach tight ends-- an emphasis in Hauck's run-heavy offenses. The rest of his staff followed Hauck from Montana State: Rob Phenicie (OC); Kraig Paulson (DC); Ty Gregorak (LB, recruiting coordinator) Chad Germer (o-line); Dominic Daste (RB); Michael Gray (DT); Mike Gerber (strength and conditioning).

How about the rookies? Dave Christensen leads these coaches going away, having led his Wyoming Cowboys not just out of a projected last-place finish, but to their first bowl (and bowl win) since '04. The first-year head coach had the sagacity to deemphasize the pass (his forte) and rely on the Cowboys less-dead running game, with true freshmen playmakers to boot. Christensen's returning crew is large, young, and optimistic. Brady Hoke appears to have his San Diego State Aztecs turned around, although his team lost a couple it shouldn't have. Whether Hoke can generate a running game in San Diego remains his biggest worry-- and the lack of one his team's Achilles heel.

Which leaves New Mexico's Mike Locksley, who probably has about half a season to show some wins, or else. The wheels came off in Albuquerque this season, and unless the Lobos show drastic improvement right off the bat in 2010, they'll be begging Rocky Long to come back by Columbus Day.

The shape of the league-- the Big Three atop, AFA leading the rest of the pack-- remained unchanged in 2009. Oddly, the league standings were perfectly transitive. TCU beat everybody; BYU lost only to TCU; Utah lost only to TCU and BYU; AFA lost only to the Big Three; Wyoming lost only to the Big Three and AFA; etc. Maybe AFA narrowed the distance between it and the Big Three (losing to TCU and Utah by a combined six points), but the better analysis that AFA neither gained nor lost ground. In '07, remember, the Academy took second place in the league.

The MWC's surprises, in rough order of magnitude, were these:
(1) Colorado State cratered, finishing 0-9 in conference after starting 3-0, including its first win in Boulder in over a decade.
(2) Wyoming wins bowl eligibility in its Year One of the spread-- albeit a run-heavy adaptation of Dave Christensen's attack.
(3) New Mexico's Year One of the spread features no wins and less offense until its eleventh game, against wheels-off CSU. The punch (alleged)? Later reports indicate it may not be as surprising as Lobo fans wish.
(4) BYU, with a 80% retooled offensive line, out-slugged Oklahoma in a defensive battle only a couple hours' drive from Norman.
(5) BYU gets out-slugged in a offensive embarrassment by Florida State, in Provo.
(6) ESPN Gameday comes to two Mountain West conference games, as well as the AFA-Army game.
(7) TCU loses its bowl, but remains ranked in the top 10.
(8) BYU's defense was faster than Oregon State in the Las Vegas Bowl.
(9) TCU likely will start 2010 ranked in the top ten, and below another non-cartel team.

The Mountain West's best 2009 moments:
(1) BYU topping OU;
(2) Colorado State beating Colorado;
(2) Wyoming beating Fresno State in double overtime in the New Mexico Bowl;
(3) ESPN Gameday at TCU;
(4) ESPN Gameday at BYU;
(5) Troy Calhoun turning down the top job at Tennessee

The MWC's reasons for optimism about 2010:
(1) TCU's returning seniors;
(2) the impossibility that AFA could have worse injury luck than last year;
(3) Jordan Wynn and Austyn Carta-Samuels were only freshmen;
(4) the bullseye for media attention is on Boise State's back
(5) Whittingham, Patterson, and Calhoun all return, with nearly idental staffs
(6) Pete Thomas (CSU QB) early enrolled;
(7) Harvey Unga, Jeremy Kerley, Vincent Brown returned for their senior years, and Matt Asiata and DeMarco Sampson won medical redshirts and sixth years of eligibility;
(8) New Mexico is .500 (in its last two games).

TCU wraps up, upset, but set up.

So the Frogs didn't turn into princes upon invitation to a BCS bowl, and indeed the Wimple's forecast that any one loss in 2010 would feel like a letdown proved true. But good news accompanies even the truth of this prediction. How far fell the Frogs after that loss? TCU went to Glendale ranked #3 by the press, and #4 by the BCS. AP and the coaches put TCU in their final ballots at #6 (there is no final BCS poll).

How did the Frogs get to so high a ranking? By spreading the ball around. It began in Virginia, where TCU's three-headed backfield and utterly dominant o-line tallied 154 yards, keeping TCU in possession of the ball almost 35 minutes. They tallied 212 a week later against Texas State, and Dalton joined the fun against Clemson a week later. When the trio only managed 128 yards in the face of Clemson's impressive d-line, the junior signal-caller galloped for 100 himself, 68 of those in the second half. Still working with a partially concealed playbook against SMU, Dalton rode the SMU pony to a conference-high 160 efficiency rating. Turner, Wesley, and Tucker tallied 196 yards. Following a bitter-cold close call at Air Force, TCU upped the intensity of its ground game against Colorado State. Against the Rams, 14 Frogs toted the rock, for 278 yards and three touchdowns.

Those six games clearly were tune-ups for TCU, which blew the dust off of long-unused pages of its playbook for the tilt in Provo, where the Frogs dominated BYU in all three phases, for all sixty minutes. The steam-roll had only begun: Colorado State was the first of six conference opponents to give up more than 40 points to TCU; the other five came in a row: UNLV, San Diego State, Utah, Wyoming, and New Mexico. Of those five, only Utah scored more than 12, and only New Mexico held the Frogs to less than 326 rushing yards. TCU sold out its first conference game since its Southwest Conference days, (breaking its home record) when Utah and ESPN Gameday came to town. The Frogs rode the Mountain West all the way to 3rd in both human polls, and 4th in the BCS, and a record-setting bowl bid. Never before had a BCS bowl chosen a non-cartel team over a cartel-team; Boise State matched that record with a remarkable one of its own: never before had a second non-cartel team secured a BCS berth in one season. Their excitement about that unprecedented chance to bowl for big money carried into their outstanding Fiesta Bowl win over the Frogs.

TCU's 2009 senior class is small, but talented. Four of them (Washington, Hughes, Newhouse, and Gresham) are invited to the NFL Combine, and three will play in senior all-star games. Probably six or seven will be on NFL rosters next season (Washinigton and Hughes will be TCU's highest-picked draftees in years). It was the Frogs' juniors that carried the greatest load this year. Dalton, Cannon, Kirkpatrick, Vernon, Kerley, Young, Clay, Johnson on offense; Griffin, Grant, Daniels, Luttrell, Johnson, Ibiloye, Teague, and Jones on defense. Next season these juniors (then seniors) will cap the most talented team to wear purple in decades, perhaps ever.

TCU has finished seven of the last ten seasons ranked, but never maintained anything close to that strength in the polls across an offseason. After finishing 21/18th in 2000, TCU debuted 2001 unranked. After finished 23/22nd in 2002, TCU began the next year at 25th. After a 25/23rd finish in '03, TCU began 2004 unranked. After finished 2005 ranked 11/9th, TCU began the next season ranked 22nd. The exception is that TCU took a 22/21st finish in 2006 to a 22nd ranked beginning to 2007. The Frogs began 2008 --/44th, and finished 7/7th, only to debut 2009 ten spots lower at 17/17th. 2009 concluded with TCU 6/6th.

Incredibly, early-preseason polls rank TCU the same: sixth. A similar ranking in August would herald a new paradigm in college football. Boise and TCU likely will begin the 2010 season ranked in the top ten-- the first two non-cartel teams to achieve that kind of confidence and recognition among voters. While several non-cartel teams have clawed their way into the national title discussion by year-end, none have ever begun the year in that conversation. Boise certainly will do so in 2010, and TCU might.

The 2010 seniors clearly will be the most talented class to graduate from TCU since the 1950s, if not longer. They will be just the first such class, however. In a few weeks Gary Patterson's crew will close the second jaw-dropping class of recruits in as many years. The remarkable truth is that Patterson has created much more than a flash in the pan success in Fort Worth. He has set up the Frogs to succeed repeatedly on a once-unthinkably-high level. That players like Tanner Brock, Jason Teague, Greg McCoy, Blaize Foltz, Matt Tucker, Curtis Clay, Zach Roth, D.J. Yendry, Braylon Broughton, Andre Dean, Waymon James, and Casey Pachall didn't start this season is a revealing tribute to the quality of TCU's upperclassmen.

In sum, with the talent returning and enrolling (including early-enrolled Dwight Smith, called the best runningback to come from east Texas in a generation), a top-ten pre-season rank, and continuity on the staff, TCU is set up perfectly for a run at the sport's holy grail. It'll be decided in Glendale in 2010, and for the first time since our grandparents were young, it is not unreasonable to consider the Frogs in the running for it. It's crystal, football-shaped, and until 2010, had been reserved only for the privileged few. Next year, that club may have to expand like nobody could have imagined just a year or two ago.

AIR FORCE wraps up, topped out?

What does an all-senior offensive line, a returning QB, two tailbacks, and a smash-mouth defense get these days for a service academy? Air Force took these assets into 2009, and emerged with its third straight bowl bid, and only bowl win of the decade, topping Houston (convincingly) in a chilly Armed Forces Bowl, and tallying its third eight-or-better win season in a row. QB Tim Jefferson completed long passes to returning WRs Kevin Fogler (pictured) and Jonathan Warzeka, adding hope to Falcon fans' expectations of a fourth bowl and second post-season win in 2010. More importantly, Jefferson's aerial prowess (10-14 for 161 yards) forced Houston to give the servicemen room on the ground to do what they do best: run. Jared Tew and Asher Clark ('10 sr. and jr., respectively) took 60% of AFA's ground snaps in the game, for 75% of its ground yards, and 80% of its touchdowns.

This summary was about what AFA watchers expected to see all year from the Falcons, but injuries hobbled Jefferson and Clark for much of the season. Sophomore Connor Dietz and junior Jared Tew stepped into the QB and RB slots effectively enough to keep the Academy's post-season run going, but the team standouts came from the defense. DBs Reggie Rembert, Anthony Wright, and Chris Thomas plagued offenses all season, in front of another great defensive front for the Academy.

Glass-half-empty people may focus on AFA's inability in '09 to cover any of the distance between it and the MWC's big three, but the Wimple is the half-glass-full type, and prefers to note how the Academy hasn't lost any distance to those three, either. And that's saying something, considering how steadily AFA battled injuries this season, and how much the MWC's top teams have improved in the last few years. AFA took Navy and Utah to overtime (losing both tilts) and played TCU to the wire in a blizzard-like game in Colorado Springs, perhaps covering the memory of its lopsided defeat in '08 with its manly showing in '09. For a second year, AFA finished fourth in the conference, beating all of its teams except Utah, TCU, and BYU.

Does the outlook brighten for 2010, or have the Falcons reached the highest altitude? There seems ready room for improvement in the Falcons' OOC performance, perhaps generating a top-25 ranking. AFA played Minnesota close, and missed its first victory over Navy in years by a missed field goal; they almost got a second victory over Utah and TCU in three years, as well. Jefferson, Clark, Dietz, Tew, Fogler, Warzeka, Rembert, and Wright all return; the Academy's skill and speed positions are well-stocked. Jefferson's connections with his wideouts in the bowl fund optimism that the Academy can manage a more balanced attack in 2010-- and a balanced pass-run option attack would be frightening to opposing defenses indeed. But... (how rarely to college teams avoid that rejoinder!)

But both lines lose seniors in droves. Four o-linemen graduate, including all-MWC Nick Charles and Peter Lusk; two of the three d-linemen played their last this week, including all-MWC noseguard Ben Garland. Both AFA inside LBs graduate as well. Replacing these interior starters will be coach Calhoun's biggest worry this offseason, and any dropoff in production from the new personel up front will make merely maintaining course in 2010 a program success. That no freshmen appeared on the late-season two-deep on either line may indicate the Falcons have depth enough to make this transition less painfully than in the past-- but that will remain a hopeful guess until the first whistle in September.

SMU wraps up, winning.

Take a good look at it: to the right is a shot of SMU players triumphantly hoisting a bowl trophy. Players from the Hilltop haven't had a chance to do such a thing since they were state employees, paid from the governor's office, with generous contributions from the school's boosters. Craig James remains the most famous of that infamous lot, still taking potshots at TCU from his plush digs at ESPN.

But the kids you see at right are not anybody's employees; they're June Jones's latest devotees, and they put a stunning exclamation mark on the '09 season in the Hawaii Bowl. Sure Nevada had nearly the worst pass defense in the nation, but unlike other porous defenses on SMU's schedule (UAB, Tulane, Washington State, Rice, UTEP all ranked in the bottom 20), Nevada had a decent offense that was favored to keep SMU's aerial circus off the field, even without 2/3 of its 1,000-yards-each trio. But Jones and his freshman phenom Kyle Padron put the bowl practices-- a luxury not afforded the Ponies in a generation-- to good use. "I think I've grown a lot in these last few weeks," Padron said. "Any time you can get extra practice in with the coaches we have, it's going to help in the long run."

And in the short run, Mr. Padron.

SMU's true freshman gunslinger (pictured) racked up stats remeniscent of Colt Brennan, in Brennan's Hawaii stomping grounds: 460 yards, two touchdowns, zero interceptions. The Ponies' defense turned in its best performance of the year, holding Nevada to 10 points, 177 yards in the air and 137 on the ground. The 35 point margin of victory was the Mustangs' first comfortable win of the year-- of the last few years-- and nearly equalled the sum of the margins of victory in SMU's seven other wins this year. Add it all up, and everything about the game points to better things ahead in Dallas. Only graduating center Mitch Enright is older than a sophomore on SMU's 09 o-line two-deep; likewise only one d-linemen on the two-deep is older than a sophomore as well, junior nose-tackle Chris Parham. Senior WR Emmanuel Sanders graduates, and junior RB Shawnbrey McNeal has left early for the NFL, but the rest of the offense is scheduled for 2010. LB Chase Kennemer and two DBs graduate as well.

With McNeal (pictured) gone pro, SMU will be auditioning for a go-to runningback. McNeal handled 63% of the team's carries in '09, for over 83% of the team's ground yards. True freshmen Darryl Fields and Kevin Pope join a sparse backfield this summer.

In short, the crew that improved the school's rushing attack from 119th to 100th, scoring offense from 93rd to 55th, rush defense from 116th to 88th, pass defense from 119th to 46th, and scoring defense from 115th to 90th, returns in 2010. Likely SMU won't be threatening TCU's stranglehold on the Iron Skillet in 2010, but expect another round of improvement across the board-- and perhaps a different take on that Skillet in 2011.

Here're KDFW33's three-part look at SMU's '09 season.