2010 depth chart comes into focus

[JLEW1818]

NORMAN — No news was good news last week for Oklahoma football. Defensive end Jeremy Beal, slot receiver Ryan Broyles, linebacker Travis Lewis and running back DeMarco Murray decided to return for another season instead of entering the NFL Draft.

Now, with their return, combined with OU’s recruiting class all but a couple of players from being finished, the 2010 depth chart has come into focus:

Quarterback
Landry Jones capped his redshirt freshman campaign with a career-high 418 passing yards and three touchdowns in the Sun Bowl, all but ending the 2010 quarterback derby. Count on Drew Allen, who redshirted this past season, to be his backup, and talented incoming freshman Blake Bell to spend the season redshirting and learning the offense.

→Projected starter: Jones


Running back
Murray came back to school for his senior season to be "the guy” in the Sooner backfield. That’s exactly what he’ll be as the only returning OU back with any significant experience. It will be interesting to see who emerges as the back that spells Murray. Jermie Calhoun is probably the favorite, especially since Jonathan Miller will be coming off knee surgery. But don’t rule out hotshot incoming freshmen Brennan Clay and Roy Finch, whose playmaking abilities will make it difficult not to play them in some capacity right away.

→Projected starter: Murray


Wide receiver
A position of weakness could become a position of strength. That’s if Dejuan Miller and Jaz Reynolds play the way they did in the Sun Bowl. The duo combined to make nine catches for 120 yards. With Broyles manning the slot, all Miller, Reynolds and Brandon Caleb need to do is fill complementary roles. Broyles could end up becoming the most prolific pass-catcher in school history.

→Projected starters: Broyles, Miller, Reynolds


Tight end
He’s no Jermaine Gresham, but walk-on Trent Ratterree proved to be serviceable. Ratterree came up with the finest game in his career against Stanford, reeling in three catches for 86 yards, including a 36-yard grab inside the Stanford 5-yard line that set up OU’s go-ahead touchdown. If Eric Mensik moves back from tackle, he will provide the team with a power-blocking tight end to sidekick Ratterree and James Hanna, a flex specialist. Offensive coordinator Kevin Wilson is also high on the potential and versatility of Bishop McGuinness product Gabe Ikard, who redshirted this past season. Don’t count out blue-chip commitment Austin Haywood from making some kind of impact, either.

→Projected starter: Ratterree


Offensive line
The key to success next season lies here. Can the offensive line bounce back from a lackluster season? Part of that will depend on whether center Ben Habern (broken fibula) and guard/tackle Jarvis Jones (fractured heel) can return from significant injuries. Both will miss spring drills, which will inhibit the unit from progressing much as a group in the off-season. If OU can’t land a junior-college tackle, Cory Brandon will probably be the favorite to start at left tackle, where he played admirably in OU’s final two games. Guard Stephen Good must begin to live up to some of his recruiting hype. The good news is that position coach James Patton has recruited a quintet of talented prospects. Look for Mustang native Bronson Irwin, who has enrolled early and will participate in spring drills, to push Good, Tyler Evans and Tavaris Jeffries for playing time at guard.

→Projected starters: Brandon, Good, Habern, Evans, Jones


Defensive end
The strength of the team, Beal and Alexander could form the top defensive end twosome in college football. Both players are ferocious coming off the edge. R.J. Washington is loaded with potential, but David King will probably fill the role of third end.

→Projected starters: Beal, Alexander


Defensive tackle
Adrian Taylor has a tough road ahead to recover from his gruesome broken ankle in time for next season. If he’s unable to, OU could have some serious depth issues. Jamarkus McFarland made rapid progress and has a chance to succeed Gerald McCoy as OU’s next great defensive tackle. But after that, there are question marks. Stacy McGee made some improvement last season, but is yet to see the field for a meaningful snap. Same goes for Casey Walker. The Sooners are bringing in four defensive tackles, but will anyone of them be ready to contribute as freshmen? This is a potential trouble spot.

→Projected starters: McFarland, Taylor


Linebacker
The young talent here is overwhelming. Rising junior Travis Lewis led OU with 109 tackles in what he says was somewhat of a disappointing season for him. Ronnell Lewis proved against Stanford he has the ability to blow up the best of rush offenses. Fellow freshman Tom Wort was the story of spring drills and seemed destined to be a part of the rotation until tearing his ACL in the preseason. His rehabilitation is ahead of schedule, and he will vie for a starting role. Joe Ibiloye has similar skill sets to that of graduating senior Keenan Clayon; a safety in a linebacker’s body. The trick will be figuring out where to play everybody. The guess is that defensive coordinator Brent Venables will leave Travis Lewis on the weak-side, start Wort in the middle and rotate Ronnell Lewis and Ibiloye on the strong side in run/pass situations. Capable veteran Austin Box and incoming high-profile freshman Justin McCay make this group not only talented, but deep.

→Projected starters: Travis Lewis, Wort, Ronnell Lewis


Cornerback
While inexperienced here, the Sooners may not be as bad off as most teams would be replacing both cornerbacks. Freshman Demontre Hurst is a talented and exciting young prospect and will take over at one of the spots. The other could be filled by junior Jonathan Nelson, who won a starting job at strong safety late this year. Nelson is smart and athletic and was a corner before moving to safety this season.

→Projected starters: Nelson, Hurst


Safety
Quinton Carter may be the hardest-hitting safety OU’s had since Brandon Everage. He’s on the cusp of stardom and may get there in his final season. Proctor was beaten out by Nelson, but is a solid player and could resume his starting role if Nelson swings back to corner. Like Hurst, freshman Marcus Trice is an intriguing prospect. So is Kevin Brent, who underwent shoulder surgery last summer that forced him to redshirt. Both players could see time in dime and prevent packages.

→Projected starters: Carter, Proctor


http://newsok.com/ou-football-insider-2010-depth-chart-comes-into-focus/article/3432839?custom_click=lead_story_title

[yermom]

Defensive tackle
Adrian Taylor has a tough road ahead to recover from his gruesome broken ankle in time for next season. If he’s unable to, OU could have some serious depth issues. Jamarkus McFarland made rapid progress and has a chance to succeed Gerald McCoy as OU’s next great defensive tackle. But after that, there are question marks. Stacy McGee made some improvement last season, but is yet to see the field for a meaningful snap. Same goes for Casey Walker. The Sooners are bringing in four defensive tackles, but will anyone of them be ready to contribute as freshmen? This is a potential trouble spot.

→Projected starters: McFarland, Taylor

Read more: http://newsok.com/ou-football-insider-2010-depth-chart-comes-into-focus/article/3432839?custom_click=lead_story_title#ixzz0czOS9Jn E


you forgot the DTs :D

we're gonna miss GK

[JLEW1818]

you forgot the DTs :D

we're gonna miss GK

good call, fixed!

and yes we are gonna miss him..

man i hope Taylor is back 100%

[stoops the eternal pimp]

I like Hurst as the nickel....Interested to see how he fares at corner as a full timer

[JLEW1818]

is Gabe Lynn sleeping?

[Eielson]

I think Irwin and Haywood could be starting before the season is over.

And yeah, we will REALLY miss GK.

[Eielson]

is Gabe Lynn sleeping?

I don't know, but I saw him play in high school and he has the ability to be competing for a starting job this year or next.

[IronHorseSooner]

I have heard that Donald Stephenson has refocused and has been tearing it up. If we get Cullen, and DS keeps it up, I would bet that a couple of those guys on the line, especially the guys who have been dinged up, might be in danger of falling on the depth chart. Heck, we would have 3-deep across the line, you would figure that we could find five guys who could get the job done

[stoops the eternal pimp]

poor donald stephenson..It was probably those Oklahoma drill videos that was on the net showing him getting destroyed by everybody that has inspired him

[IronHorseSooner]

One position that they forgot is fullback. I will bet by the end of the season that Trey Millard will be the starter.

[delhalew]

That is so exiting. I hope Taylor's rehab goes well.

[BoomerJ]

How about them kickers?

[JLEW1818]

Hartley

[goingoneight]

Vinson/Stephenson I think is your LT battle unless Cory Brandon has considered a fulltime move to LT.

Guards are as up for grabs as any position has been during the entire Stoops era.

Habern/Lepak/Irwin/Woods... according to 2009, you can never have too many centers. :(

James Patton needs to put together a masterpiece this offseason. At least now he has some numbers to work with.

[JLEW1818]

If C. Brandon plays like last year. we will lose 3+ games

[PLaw]

If C. Brandon plays like last year. we will lose 3+ games

^^^^^^this!

It has been a long, long time that I have been that disappointed by the lack of leadership from veteran players. T. Williams, C. Brandon, B. Simmons got called out, but at that point it was too late and then that injury bug bit hard.

Still not over having to move Eldridge to freakin' center for the first ball game.

Here's to a heathy, PO'd O-line in 2010 that wants to play like a champion.

BOOMER

[VMG]

Interesting that no one mentions Daniel Franklin at LB...

[stoopified]

is Gabe Lynn sleeping?I think another Gae,Ikard is gonna start at TE.He was a playmaker in HS and would have played this year if healthy.

At RB I think it will be a 2-3 back situation.I'm thinking Murray,Calhoun,Miller.

On O-line I'm guessing there will be about 8-9 players fighting for a starting role.At this point Ithink Habern is about the only sure starter and then only if fully recovered.

WRs I think Miller,Broyles are obvious,I think Caleb,Reynolds are likely as well as a couple of frosh.

QB- Jones(duh) Allen/ Bell

DE- Beal,Alexander,King,Washington

DT McFarland ,Taylor(if recovered,S.McGee,C.Williams

LB T.Lewis,Box,Wort,R.Lewis

Cb Hurst...and who knows?

S Q. Carter,J.Nelson,Proctor

Looking at it written out the only thing comes into focus is who we have coming back,not where or in what order they line up.It is awfully early.Hopefully after spring we have a truer picture of where we stand.

[JLEW1818]

So Eldridge and Trent Williams

One started at center the first game

One started at center the final game

can't be too mad about 5 losses really. lol
LOL

[sooner59]

Hartley

I, for one, was a Hartley fan. But even I didn't realize how nice it was to have a guy like that at kicker. The only time I was worried with him was the 44 yard FG at Oregon, but it was blocked. And that may have been his only miss that season.....if you can call that a miss.

[rawlingsHOH]

Projected starters: Broyles, Miller, Reynolds
if the line comes around, like i think it will, this trio is going to be scary good!

[JLEW1818]

whats wrong with Brandon Caleb ?? if u look back at the film vs North Texas in 07, he is playing in the first td drive.... ?

[silverwheels]

whats wrong with Brandon Caleb ?? if u look back at the film vs North Texas in 07, he is playing in the first td drive.... ?

Injuries. When he's healthy he plays pretty well.

[JLEW1818]

i think he is our second best WR, when healthy ..

[silverwheels]

i think he is our second best WR, when healthy ..

He makes a good argument for himself when he is healthy. I really like Dejuan Miller, though. Hopefully he gets the ball thrown to him a lot more next year.

[JLEW1818]

i hope Miller changes his number... just don't seem right..

[misplacedsooner]

i like miller and reynolds better on the field than caleb personally.

[rawlingsHOH]

whats wrong with Brandon Caleb ?? if u look back at the film vs North Texas in 07, he is playing in the first td drive.... ?

coaches have hinted, passed by younger talent.

i'm sure he'll play a lot. a lot of nagging injuries too. just nowhere near the explosiveness of the top 3. he isn't an nfl guy.

[delhalew]

When nobody but Broyles would catch a pass, Caleb stepped up and got a couple good ones each game. He was the anti-Pooh. For that, I'm in his corner.

[jkm, the stolen pifwafwi]

coaches have hinted, passed by younger talent.

i'm sure he'll play a lot. a lot of nagging injuries too. just nowhere near the explosiveness of the top 3. he isn't an nfl guy.

i just shake my head at this kind of thinking. wes welker wasn't an NFL guy either. you don't have to have a guy with NFL talent to have a GOOD WR corps. the grouping of brandon jones, will peoples, and mark clayton was pretty darn good with a role player at the #2 (who in a lot of respects, reminds one of caleb).

also, until he got hurt, caleb did something that guys like reynolds couldn't do - get open. that (and catching the ball consistently) is all we need from the mid-range guy to keep the press off of broyles. the deep guy just has to be a threat to get behind the defense, tennell proved all season long that catching wasn't a requirement to a defense giving those fly routes attention.

[oudavid1]

I see Caleb getting to play and complimenting are WR corps, and it will be nice to have Senior Leadership. http://bit.ly/5XSDi8

[gaylordfan1]

I agree with you guys... but with a team with no WR play throughout the year (with exception to Broyles) you would think he would have stepped up and would have shined if he had talent that showed earlier in his career. Even with all the defenses showing favoritism torwards Broyles he still didn't stand out much. I hope he comes out in '10 hungry for the ball and racking up yards after the catch.

[BigTime1]

Caleb did step up when we needed someone in a couple of games and I give him his credit for that. But with guys like Mccay, Stills, and Powell coming in Ive got to think that they are as good as he is or probably better than he is right now. Especially with Stills getting spring ball. I see us using some of those guys and him playing a limited role unless he has some major changes this spring and becomes a lot more of a threat to other teams. He is not someone teams have to account for and just allows them more time to concentrate on other areas of our offense. Which is his downfall to me.

[gaylordfan1]

I read an article (I think ESPN) saying that McCay might be played at LB for us. He was listed as a LB in the Army game but played at WR. Just an observation, don't really know. He looked great at WR in his highlight films.

[gaylordfan1]

He will be needed at WR more than LB. The kid looks like a TO type.

[BigTime1]

Thats what I was thinking. As explosive as he looks like he can be and as loaded at LB as we are right now I think he'll be a REC. I think he can be really good.

[gaylordfan1]

It was stated in a thread somewhere on this site that Stills and Jefferson were here on campus but one or both were unable to enroll for this spring.... something about being short on credits. Does anyone have anymore insight on this?

[jkm, the stolen pifwafwi]

i hate to be the one that keeps bringing up this thing called history, but what you get out of seniors is consistency. what you get out of freshmen are flashes of brilliance.

[BigTime1]

he wasnt consistent as a jr he had his multi drop games. Is there gonna be some kinda miracle turn around this spring? Adron Tennel was a Sr. too... he was really consistent wasnt he? Thats not a very accurate statement it differentiates too much between each player.

[jkm, the stolen pifwafwi]

he wasnt consistent as a jr he had his multi drop games. Is there gonna be some kinda miracle turn around this spring? Adron Tennel was a Sr. too... he was really consistent wasnt he? Thats not a very accurate statement it differentiates too much between each player.

consistency implies that they play the same every game, not that they play like a superstar every game. in other words, you know what you are going to get out of a senior every game, you have no idea with a freshman. take broyles for example, look at his game by game receiving yardage as a freshman.

suspended, 141 yards, 86 yards, 12 yards, 18 yards, 61 yards, 22 yards, etc

tennell is such a bad example - just like bassey was a bad example a decade ago. they were both great practice players that got talked up way too much by the coaches and just couldn't translate it to game day. as such he got a lot of snaps 2 years ago, that they should have thrown caleb's way. caleb came into this season with very, very few gameday snaps and saved our bacon a couple of games while broyles was down. did he have drops? yep. so did mark clayton. did he drop 2 sure TDs in a game? yep. so did mark clayton.

caleb isn't a superstar, but he may be something more important to us as a team that likes to win - someone who "fits" this system - like will peoples, like jejuan rankins.

the guy out there that is ye olde square peg in ye olde round hole is dejuan miller. talent wise he needs to be on the field, scheme wise he limits what can be run. having a guy who pretty much can only work the sidelines is problematic in this O, especially with that body. if he can get the slant route down this year he can be a weapon running over safeties.

[BoulderSooner79]

Tennell was very consistent as a senior (unfortunately). I agree Caleb was a positive contributor when he could stay healthy, but he was dinged up a lot.

[rawlingsHOH]

take broyles for example, look at his game by game receiving yardage as a freshman.

suspended, 141 yards, 86 yards, 12 yards, 18 yards, 61 yards, 22 yards, etc

Perhaps that had more to do with game plans and match-ups than his "poor" play? Bradford was throwing the ball all over the field that year. A different guy was the "hero" every week.



the guy out there that is ye olde square peg in ye olde round hole is dejuan miller. talent wise he needs to be on the field, scheme wise he limits what can be run. having a guy who pretty much can only work the sidelines is problematic in this O, especially with that body. if he can get the slant route down this year he can be a weapon running over safeties.
Not even close to the truth.

[NormanPride]

He hit a couple pretty nice seam routes against Stanford...

[Collier11]

Alot of the reason that Caleb was so inconsistent is that he never fully recovered from his injury...when fully healthy he played very well

[jkm, the stolen pifwafwi]

Perhaps that had more to do with game plans and match-ups than his "poor" play? Bradford was throwing the ball all over the field that year. A different guy was the "hero" every week.

regardless of the reason broyles disappeared during those games, he disappeared. that is why freshman are "inconsistant". this is also why coaches go on and on about the presense or lack of senior leadership on teams.

miller had 36 catches on the year. this amounts to a grand total of 3 per game. of these 3, 1.XX was made on the sidelines. what part of that is not even close to being the truth? miller was at his best on the sidelines in shallow 1 on 1 situations. our offense for YEARS has thrived on the crossing route, not on the 8 yard out.

[NormanPride]

Our entire offense in 2006 was Paul rolling out to throw out routes to Kelly. Just look at the Drive in the CCG.

[jkm, the stolen pifwafwi]

Our entire offense in 2006 was Paul rolling out to throw out routes to Kelly. Just look at the Drive in the CCG.

well, those were probably the only routes where he wouldn't jog

[JLEW1818]

well, those were probably the only routes where he wouldn't jog

:D :D

[gaylordfan1]

I think its funny that everyone has their panties in a wad about Caleb!!!

[BigTime1]

They dont. Its more about the principle that jkm cant understand. Just because someone is a senior doesnt make them a presence or a leader. The guys have to respect what they are doing on the field. Miller did good with the few opportunitys he got and will prob really come on this spring. Inconsistantcy is measured a lot of ways. Maybe those were the games he was getting doubled and since he was we threw it to other recs. Maybe the run was working just fine and we didnt need to throw as many little dump offs to him as we sometimes do to supplement the run that he turns into big gains on occasion. You are just to general with your statements and seem very nieve about what goes on in the locker room or on the field.

[jkm, the stolen pifwafwi]

oh, i fully understand the principle that you've founded your argument on. my point is that history favors MY arguments more than YOUR arguments. does that mean either one will be right? no.

you see, you are approaching this from the fan perspective -> a few exciting plays = much better player = better player gets PT. i'm approaching this from the observed practice of our coaches -> a few exciting plays = diddly squat = many other variables go into getting PT.

you would argue that after 4 games in 2000 renaldo works should start. i'd argue that based on what we've seen out of our coaches Q would start for the rest of the season.

lets look at the pro's con's of dejuan miller pre-2009 football season

pros
1. size
2. speed
3. great hands

cons
1. horrible practice player
2. inconsistent
3. slow learning curve

in other words, it boiled down to a talent vs work ethic debate. was his talent at such a level that work ethic didn't matter? well, at the beginning of the year the answer was a definitive "No". and this is true of our coaching staff almost every year. the most talented guy who meets the expectations of the coaches from a work ethic stand point starts until it is proven that he can't handle the job.

obviously, as this season progressed, the weight that the coaches placed on talent overcame work ethic and miller ended up starting. however, who is to say that he doesn't slack off this spring and get supplanted by someone else?

[jkm, the stolen pifwafwi]

He hit a couple pretty nice seam routes against Stanford...

i thought you might find this interesting:

O 2-9 O17 Jones, Landry sideline pass complete to Miller, Dejuan for 7 yards to the
OU24 (McNally, B).
O 3-2 O24 Jones, Landry crossing pass complete to Miller, Dejuan for 22 yards to the
OU46, 1ST DOWN OU (Howell, D).
O 3-6 O50 Jones, Landry crossing pass complete to Miller, Dejuan for 16 yards to the
STANFORD34, 1ST DOWN OU (Bademosi, J).
O 1-10 S34 Jones, Landry sideline pass complete to Miller, Dejuan for 20 yards to the
STANFORD14, 1ST DOWN OU (Yancy, A;Amajoyi, C).
O 3-15 O31 Jones, Landry sideline pass incomplete to Miller, Dejuan, dropped pass,
PENALTY OU holding declined.
O 1-10 S37 Jones, Landry ST pass complete to Miller, Dejuan for 10 yards to the
STANFORD27, 1ST DOWN OU (Evans, K).
O 2-4 O20 Jones, Landry deep pass incomplete to Miller, Dejuan, QB hurry by Keiser, T.

O 1-10 O17 Jones, Landry sideline pass incomplete to Miller, Dejuan, QB hurry by
Keiser, T, PENALTY STANFORD pass interference (Evans, K) 15 yards to the
OU32, 1ST DOWN OU, NO PLAY.
O 1-10 O42 Jones, Landry deep pass incomplete to Miller, Dejuan, QB hurry by Stephens,
T.
O 3-4 S24 Jones, Landry crossing pass complete to Miller, Dejuan for 9 yards to the
STANFORD15, 1ST DOWN OU (Evans, K).


thrown at 10 times - 4 on the sidelines (2 catches, 1 drop, 1 PI) [i have no idea what a ST pass is]

[LawtonBoy74]

ST= Sick Throw :D

[gaylordfan1]

ST... I would think slant.

[jkm, the stolen pifwafwi]

ST... I would think slant.

maybe, although i matched up a couple of the slants to broyles and they were "crossing pass"

[NormanPride]

I get the feeling that most of the passes the outside receivers get in that noting system are "sideline" passes. I'm not saying he didn't rely on the sideline most of the time in his first year, but I think he showed a bit of what he will be able to do if he keeps working like he did over the last half of the season. He was almost in the doghouse at the beginning of the season and he started the Bowl game. I know there were injuries and disappointments, but still coming from our coaches that's practically Lazarus-esque.

[jkm, the stolen pifwafwi]

I get the feeling that most of the passes the outside receivers get in that noting system are "sideline" passes. I'm not saying he didn't rely on the sideline most of the time in his first year, but I think he showed a bit of what he will be able to do if he keeps working like he did over the last half of the season. He was almost in the doghouse at the beginning of the season and he started the Bowl game. I know there were injuries and disappointments, but still coming from our coaches that's practically Lazarus-esque.

your only saying that because you can count on one hand the players that have re-emerged from stoops' dog house resembling structure.

to me, WR isn't as big of a worry as it was for me last year at this time. i was pretty much set that we were going to suck at WR. broyles was a sophomore and our superstar WRs have pretty much all suffered from the sophomore jinx via injury. after that we were touting adron tennell who i didn't think was very good. caleb looked okay (well, great compared with tennell) and i just didn't see anything else. i figured gresham would lead the NCAA in catches and drops and it wouldn't even be close.

this year, i'm not as worried as i was last year. the main reason isn't caleb or miller or the incoming freshman - it was the game by game improvement of jaz reynolds and trent raterree. they may not be super star quality starters, but at least they can provide depth. last year, we had zilch depth.

[JLEW1818]

1 more time :D !
we must be able to run block.... so we can actually run.... so we can have play action

it really is that simple

[NormanPride]

I thought the WRs improved quite a bit on run blocking. Caleb was about the only one that could early on, but I saw Jaz and Miller throwing some okay blocks on the edge against the trees.

[josh09]

In threads like this, I like to post my own opinions :D

Like you said, I believe our success next year lies in the O-line. If we can avoid injuries(heh), then I think the experience that these guys have received over the past year will work strongly in their favor.

Next is cornerback. If we are successful in replacing this position next year (and that's a big IF), then our defense could be just as successful, if not better, than 2009. It looks like a hit or miss at this position.

Yes, we will miss GK, but having watched McFarland, and having played against him in high school, I believe he's more than capable of filling GK's spot.

Overall, we will be better. In my opinion, we should be the favorite to win the Big 12, and that's totally unbiased. People saw how Gilbert did for Texas in the NC, but I don't think one game will get him ready for next year, and quite frankly, his stats weren't that impressive when looking over them again, and all he did was look for Shipley, who is now gone. But make no mistake, in about 2 years, he will be in the Heisman conversation.

Big 12 Top 5:

1. Oklahoma-defense could be insane, and if offense gets on the right track, could contend for NC
2. Texas-doesn't rebuild, just reloads from a great 2009 team, with a promising true sophomore in 2010
3. Nebraska-returning many players from a team that was a few points away from a 1-loss season
4. Texas A&M-defense will be stacked, Johnson will be ready at QB, and the running backs look ready to play
5. Mizzou-return many players, but who will step up?

National Top 5
1. Alabama-we said the same thing about Florida at this time last year, but they had to face a stronger Tide team. This Alabama team in 2010 looks like it could run through the SEC to another title with ease.

2. Ohio State-this was tough for me, because I've always felt that the Big 10 was extremely weak. But this team returns many players, including Terrelle Pryor, who could end up being very good. Another trip to the Rose Bowl seems imminent, if not a trip to the Fiesta Bowl for the NC.

3. Oklahoma-like I said, our defense could prove to be unstoppable if we do what we're supposed to do, and if our offense clicks and the players use their experience, we could end up in Arizona for the final game. But first we need to prove ourselves.

4. Texas-lets face it, Texas won't have a rebuilding year, at least when Mack is coaching and they have recruits coming in like they usually do. They might have a weak year, but to them, thats a 9 or 10 win season. But if Gilbert emerges, like he began to at the end of the Bama game, this team could be dangerous.

5. Boise State-yes, I think they're awfully annoying too, but they're still good. Petersen knows what he's doing, at least until we start talking about the schedule. The fact is, despite all the winning they're doing, they will never get a shot at the NC unless they start scheduling stronger teams.

[silverwheels]

A lot of things would have to happen for us to be a top 3 team next year, and I don't see them all happening.

[Collier11]

Well one thing has already happened, there has been a mass exodus of talent from good teams, next year will be wide open again with Ohio State and Bama being the only two really good teams IMO

[JLEW1818]

Oregon should be better... "should"

[Collier11]

On offense, what do they return on Defense? I honestly dont know?

[JLEW1818]

i think i counted 18 returning starters

or more..

http://oregon.rivals.com/cdepthtext.asp

[Collier11]

yea theyve got 9 returning on D, they will be tough

[goingoneight]

DeJuan Miller was called several times for the deep ball against Stanford. Landry overshot him a couple of times and threw it away a few times as well.

I saw one play that told me he could be great and it was unfortunately against Tech. They called Miller OOB, but he laid out for a badly overthrown ball and one-handed it. Guy's just got to get more oppurtunities.