Tailback - Kejuan Jones and Donta Hickson gone; Jacob Gutierrez and Allen Patrick step in to back-up AD. Jones has a great career, Hickson was decent coming in during blowouts. Patrick showed great speed and wiggle in 2005 when he played, and Gutierrez proved to be QII. We're as good or better here in 2006.
Fullback - J.D. Runnells gone; Dane Zaslaw or Matt Clapp take over. Maybe some fall off here. Depends on the pass game really. AD ran fine without Runnells in the game in 2004.
Tight end - Bubba Moses and Willie Roberts gone; Joe Jon Finley and Aaron Cummings step up. Moses was rarely a factor in the pass game and Roberts...why was he on scholarship again? I think this position gets better in 2006
Offensive line - Davin Joseph, Kelvin Chaisson, Chris Bush, and Chris Chester gone; George Robinson, Branndon Braxton, Sherrone Moore, Jon Cooper, and J.D. Quinn move in. Call me less than impressed with the OL in 2005. Bush and Chester were really never better than back-ups forced to start. Senior Chaisson was the biggest disappointment. The young crew can't do worse than the 2005 crew did. I think four of the five coming up had enough of a taste of playing in 2005 to make their spring and fall practices produce a tight line in 2006.
Defensive Tackle - Dusty Dvoracek and Remi Ayodele gone; DeMarcus Granger, Cory Bennett, and Brian Simmons in. Dvoracek will be tough to replace, Remi not so much. If DeMarcus Granger is as advertised, we do well here in 2006. Surely Bennet and Simmons can give us as much as Ayodele did (or didn't).
Linebacker - Clint Ingram gone; Ryan Reynolds or Demarrio Pleasant in. Pleasant looked geat when he filed in against UCLA. He led the team with 10 tackles that day, including two for losses and a sack. He and Reynolds will put up a good fight in the spring and fall. Either way, we'll be as good here in 2006 and in 2005. Curtis Lofton in the mix, perhaps? Or, does he continue to back up Latimer in the middle? You can throw in that Brent Venables is the best coach on the staff. He always has his guys ready to go - starters and back-ups. Thank you, Brent!
Cornerback - Chijioke Onyenegecha and Eric Bassey (and Jowahn Poteat) gone; Brian Jackson, Marcus Walker, D.J. Wolfe, and Reggie Smith in. With a healthy Walker, one corner spot is easily covered. Jackson and Smith supposedly have the ability to push Wolfe. Either way, Wolfe will be a better player having a full year at CB under his belt and having to fight to keep his job. Even if he loses out to Jackson or Smith, OU is deeper here than in 2005. I'd say the 2006 corner will be a better two-deep set than anything ever thrown together in 2005.
Overall - Hey, guys, we don't lose too much. With an average at best OL and secondary, we still managed an 8-4 record (with the referees handing one of those losses to us against a highly overrated Tech team).
We play Washington and Alabama-Birmingham at home next year, and Oregon on the road. While Washington is not a gimme, they're no 2005 UCLA either. The UAB game is one of those that will be challenging for a half or so. Oregon is the key. They couldn't beat us on neutral ground in the bowl game, and their QB Kellen Clemens is gone. Call me less than impressed with the pair of QBs they threw out in the bowl game. AD's Heisman run begins in earnest with this game.